Four Months Old

Despite my best efforts to keep Charlie tiny and snuggly, he keeps getting bigger and bigger! I won't have his 4 month old stats until he doctor's appointment on Wednesday, but I'll be sure to post 'em when he's weighed! My bet is that he's around 11 lbs. now. I mean, c'mon - look at those chubby cheeks!

Really? Almost two weeks?!

Wow, I'm not sure what has happened over the past two weeks, but apparently we've been pretty busy. Oops! Hmm...what has gone on in the past few weeks? Unfortunately, Charlie got sick again on Valentine's day, but he's much better now. He seems to keep getting the same cold over and over again. Poor kid. In good news, Jeff and I have started scoping out new jobs now that he's getting ready to graduate. Don't even ask me where we're going to be moving - we have no idea! Somewhere between New York and Florida. Helpful, I know.

Other than that, things have been relatively normal around these parts. Charlie has taken to a new sleeping schedule that is less than favorable, but a schedule none the less. We put him to sleep around 8:30pm, he sleeps until around 2:30am, eats and goes back down for about 3 hours, eats and then goes down for another hour or so. Its helpful because he's usually ready to eat right around when we get up anyway, but its not helpful because most of his long sleep stretch is when we're up milling around and getting stuff done (read sitting on the interwebs and watching TV). There is something to be said about watching TV on the couch in peace that makes the multiple wakings during the night okay.

Another new endeavor for the little man is the Bumper Jumper he got from Grandpa for Christmas. Add this right to the cool baby stuff list. We didn't think he'd like it, but we were quickly proven wrong. He just bounces and bounces and bounces. I'm not sure if he realizes its him that's causing the moving, but

Lastly, I've made a dangerous discovery. Etsy. I knew it existed and I've seen some of the adorable things that people have bought off it, but I'd never ventured there myself. Big mistake. Big wonderfully, adorable mistake. The cloth diapers we have are great, but they're not cute. I want cute cloth diapers, darn it! I absolutely have the ability to make my own pocket diapers or fitteds, but A) I'd need to buy all the materials, including waterproof fabric and a snap setter B) I'd need to find the time to actually make them. This realization resulted in me being okay with spending $10-$15 on a beautiful, handmade diaper that will fit Charlie until he's potty trained. Sometimes, time really is worth money. I've got four fabulous diapers coming in the mail. I can't wait!! I'll be sure to post some fluffy butt pictures when they arrive.

(You know you're a Mom when retail therapy includes cloth diapers...)

In conclusion, I promise to get back to posting regularly! We've got a lot of exciting stuff coming up - some 4 month pictures, a visit to PA to see lots of family and friends, hopefully some news on where we're going next, and more!

Pictures!

Enjoying his new carrier.

Chillin' in the Bumbo.

Because I haven't posted in a week, everyone likes cute baby pictures, and I'm feeling uber lazy.

Enjoy!

Hanging out with Daddy.

Finally, Some Inspiration!

I, in some delusional state, thought that while on maternity leave I would be able to work on the numerous sewing and quilting projects I've got in the works. Hahahahaha! Isn't that hysterical? While I thoroughly enjoyed my time off, I did not turn on my sewing machine once (aside from whipping up Charlie's Christmas outfit).

I miss quilting...big time. I never got a chance to make one for Charlie as his official baby blanket, but it was probably a good thing as I didn't know he was a boy until he arrived. Ever since the moment I heard, "its a boy!" I've been brainstorming his boyish room and baby blanket. I quickly fell in love with the rocket ship collection from Dwell Studios and used that as my inspiration. Isn't it so freaking cute?! Though his room is still yellow as a hold over from the neutral look, it'll work in the meantime.

Having found bedding and a new direction, I could start working on a quilt. Fast forward a few weeks and I still had nada...until today. I stumbled upon this pattern on a blog and am absolutely in love with it. This is for a pillow, but I can only imagine that I'd be able to work the pattern in to a quilt somehow. Now that I have a general idea, I'm itching to get to JoAnn Fabrics and start it! Now, to only find time...

Yes, We Still Like Our Cloth Diapers

When we first mentioned that we'd be using cloth diapers, most people looked at us like we were nuts. Didn't we know how messy, time consuming, inconvenient, and gross cloth diapers were?!?! Apparently not, because back in July we dished out $350 for a set of 24 bumGenius diapers. Well, I'm happy to report that we are two weeks into using them and we love them!

The life of a cloth diaper is a simple one. Wear, poop, wash, repeat. Well, maybe its a little more complicated than that. We wash whatever diapers are in the pail every other day (or every third day if we're lazy). The ONLY bad part about these diapers? Pulling out the microfiber absorbency liners before putting everything in the wash. If you're wondering, two day old pee smells fantastic. Today's fun fact about breastfeeding is that the resulting poop is water soluble. (Sorry if that's TMI, but I'm a Mom - baby poop is in my daily vocabulary) Yup, just throw it in the wash. Poop and all. But what about your washer!? That's what water soluble means - it gets washed away. A cold rinse, hot wash, and extra hot rinse does the trick. We end up with bright, clean diapers and liners and a clean washing machine. No harm done. And we even air dry them. Aren't we just so green?

Right now, Charlie is still wearing disposable diapers at daycare just because we have a ton of them, but after this last bag runs out, we're sending him in with cloth. Just using them at home for the past two weeks, we've used/washed them to the equivalent of 65 disposable diapers (almost a $20 case worth). Not too shabby. When we're using them full time, they'll pay for themselves in no time.

I seriously urge anyone remotely interested in cloth diapering to at least give it a shot. The diapers we have are all in one pocket diapers that will fit Charlie from now until he's potty trained (thanks to strategically placed snaps and the removable liners). They are SO much softer than disposables, are less likely to give him diaper rash, and we've had no leaks or blow outs since we've switched over.

Between cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and buying like new baby clothes from consignment, I'm thoroughly enjoying the amount of money we're saving. The thing that makes me laugh about all of this? Being environmentally and economically savvy is now chic. When I was younger it was just what you did to save money when you didn't have a lot of it! I'm glad that my motivation to be price conscious is finally hip.

Kitty PSA

Hi. Remember me? The cat. I still live here. I'm still cute. Don't forget the kitty.

That is all.