miami and cloth diapers... say whaaaaa?

We have been busy. Finding the time to write is almost impossible. I miss not writing everyday. I have tons of pictures to share and lots of stories waiting to be told. I'll get to them eventually... It'll probably be a few months down the road, But whatever, Life is short and I'm enjoying every second with these little babies. And if they want held on the couch and that means I don't have time to blog, So be it.

We have been sick for quite some time, and everyone finally started feeling better Thursday.

Mike and I are headed to Miami for a little getaway just the two of us! In the 6 years we have been married we have been away twice not counting our Savannah "honeymoon." Hawaii, and Utah for general conference. So this is long over due. And the best part... Toyota is paying for the whole thing! My expenses too! The perks of being a Toyota Pro are pretty sweet! So today, I'm off to get a pedicure, and find a cocktail dress. I've never had an excuse to have or wear one! EEEEEEE!! I'm so excited to get dressed up!

So on a completely different note, {back to reality.} We started our cloth diaper journey. Now granted it's only day 4 of 100% cloth diapering... But I can't tell you how much I am kicking myself for not trying it sooner. Over the span of all 4 kids do you know how much money I could have saved?  It makes me sick to actually do the numbers. But oh well, 2 outta 4 ain't bad right? I am SO surprised by just how easy it is. I don't even know what I was scared of!! Let me start from the beginning... I put a shout out on facebook asking if anyone had experience with with them. I was pretty excited that so many people had, or knew someone I could ask. My friend Courtney said she had some that I could try. So first reaction... Oh gosh. I better have some disposables on hand just in case I chicken out. Then I thought to myself. No, I'm going to force myself to do this 100%. We were at our last resort with poor Brent and his ultra sensitive bum. And so I figured, Well, If I'm doing it with Brent, Kynzi is going in them too, or she's getting potty trained. {She hasn't quite got the whole sit on the toilet before you go thing... She's at the I pee then take my diaper off and sit on the toilet stage.} So I put both of them in  We have had NO leaks, And these have been the first mornings that Brent has woken up with dry pajamas. {Thanks for the two insert tip Bethany.} And we haven't had any major blowouts. Kynzi filled the entire diaper and got a TINY bit on her onesie, But in a normal diaper that would have been EVERYWHERE. Brent got a red bum yesterday from something that he ate, and without any bum cream his heine was cleared up overnight. Something that in an earths best all natural diaper would have taken at least two or three days to clear up with cream.

Washing them is easier than I thought. And as long as you can keep up with the laundry it isn't a big deal at all. And even if you can't as long as you can throw the bag of soiled diapers in the washer every night, you're fine. And I just stick them on a drying rack over night and they are ready to go in the morning. Now, I will say the only thing is that the initial start up cost can be expensive. Very expensive. But if you had a baby shower, You could just ask everyone to buy one diaper and a couple inserts and Voila! You'd have your supply. We were SO SO blessed that Courtney and Phillip gave us their entire set of fuzzibunz. Oh my I still can't express how grateful we are. Otherwise, There is no way I could have committed 100% to these. At least not all at once. I would have had to build our supply slowly. Or I would have had to wash them as they used them!

So far, I have been washing them with the Costco free and clear detergent, But it has more wax than The diapers should be washed in over time. So I'm off to get the ingredients to make my own detergent for them.

As I was changing their diaper using disposable wipes, I thought to myself, Well this is dumb, If I am washing diapers I may as well wash wipes too. So I am going to pick up a set of reusable wipes and I am planning to make my own wipe solution to go with them.
The only two things I still need are a sprayer for the toilet,  And some on the Go wet bags. And I'm thinking I'll make those.
First reusable paper towels and now diapers and wipes too?! Who am I? I mean, I am ALL about Organic and all natural, But let's be honest, The whole reason I am being so "Green" Is because it is SO cost efficient. {And the fact that Brent is allergic to everything} But I am a cheap skate and I hate spending money on stuff I am throwing away. Between wipes and diapers I am saving at least $200 a month. No, I'm not kidding. So even though we didn't have to buy our cloth diapers, even if we did, It would have paid itself off in one or two months. 
I am now a cloth diaper convert. I love love love them. If you've been curious or throwing around the idea, pick up a couple and just try it out, You'll be surprised at how easy it is, and how few bum rashes your little one gets!