Traveling With Cloth Diapers

We did it. We made it through our first trip without using a single disposable diaper! We were gone 5 days and 4 nights and by the last day I had 3 fresh FuzziBunz that I could use for the trip home and for bed time.

Here's what I took with me:

EVERYTHING!

Yup, I brought my whole stash. Laugh if you must, but I had no clue as to what exactly I needed so I got a HUGE bag and stuffed it full of all my cloth diapering stuff. It basically included all my M, L, and XL FuzziBunz, day and night prefolds, all my FuzziBunz inserts and my single Flips insert, Bummis covers, biodegradable liners, swimming diaper and wet bag.

Here's what I did:

I'd start the day out with a fresh FuzziBunz, but instead of putting the inserts inside the pocket diaper I'd lay it on top and add a biodegradable liner. After a couple of hours I'd check the diaper to see if I needed to switch the insert. My goal was to catch the FuzziBunz before it got too wet to use again.

Things To Be Noted:

• You better believe I started laundry as soon as I walked in the door!
• I had to do an extra cycle to get the odor out since the diapers had been sitting all week.
• My little wet bag held everything from the whole week except for 4 diapers. I didn't think I could cram it so full.
• My wet bag held the odor IN as well!
• My nighttime regiment failed me every night. Cai had never leaked out of my nighttime prefold and Bummis cover gettup until camp. He was absolutely soaked in the mornings. I think it must have been the crazy schedule with going to bed late. He was also guzzling water since it was so hot during the day so that is probably part of it. When we got home I stacked a 4-layer FuzziBunz insert in my diaper with a 3-layer insert on top and he was completely dry every morning. So, problem solved!
• I even used one reusable swim diaper. Yes, he did poop in it but I dumped it right in the toilet and washed it out in the shower right away and it was good to go again.
• I definitely like using FuzziBunz the way they are intended better than as a cover. They absorb much better and last much longer between changes, but for traveling purposes it worked fine.

We are home all this week and then we're off again. I think we've got a good system down so we're gonna stick with it!

For Your Viewing Enjoyment - Lady Gaga and The Rabbit

This was part of a series of videos for our camp we did last weekend.

I'm not a huge video watcher on blogs,

but I literally laugh out loud every time I see this!

Fun Facts For Friday...On Saturday

1 - Poor Zeke had to wait a whole week to play with his birthday presents. He's been talking about getting home and playing with his stuff all week long.

You know when you only see something for a short time and when you think about it and imagine it, it gets bigger and bigger? Well, I think that's what happened to Zeke. He'd been thinking about "ALL" his presents he'd gotten and thought he had way more than he actually did, so when we got home and he saw his stash he was a little disappointed and kept insisting that there was more.

Don't worry, he got over it as soon as he started playing with the stuff he actually did have:)

2 - It really was nice to just walk right in the hotel cafeteria and eat food that I didn't have to prepare OR clean up, but as much as I have loved Marlins for two out of four weeks::sense the sarcasm:: I am so glad to be home in my own kitchen. I'm actually ready to cook for my family this week.

3 - I love when we get home after a trip because the kids are content to play with their toys for hours on end.

4 - Our family gets to stay at home for a whole week together before venturing out for another camp. WOOHOO!

5 - Words Of Wisdom

Zeke - "Mommy, when do we get to go home?"

Me - "In two days buddy. Don't you like to be here at the beach?"

Zeke - "Yeah, but I like to be home better. I miss my home..."

Have a good weekend!

Camp Kids

When we come to do camps as a family we are trying to teach our kids what we are REALLY here to do.

They know we are here to clap

We're here to help each other

We're here to lift our hands in praise

We're here to dance

We're here to jam out to Jesus

But ultimately we're here to help students get closer to Jesus!

They KNOW that is why we are here.

BUT

Swimming is a pretty close second!

11 Months

We're at the beach again for Cai's monthly checkup.

In fact, we're at the exact same hotel as we were when he turned 10 months:)

Therefore, I don't have a weight update but I can guarantee he is at least 22 pounds!

Here are some things he's been working on this month:

He stands all by himself, even to play for extended periods of time

His sign language is picking up.

He still isn't an avid waver, but he does wave on occasion.

Does NOT like to have things taken away from him.

Gets sad when we walk past him.

Apparently he thinks we should always pick him up when we walk by him.

He has begun some separation anxiety,

but not nearly as bad as Zeke used to be.

He has taken several stand-alone steps this month.

He is into EVERYTHING! That's why you don't get a still photo of him this month.

Likes to steal his cousin's paci, her food, and her toys.

As soon as she sees him she starts crying, ha!

I can't go through a single monthly update without a food update.

He likes, pizza, chicken nuggets, almost ALL fruit and vegetables I give him, rice and bean burritos, mac-n-cheese...I could go on and on. I still make him normal baby food, but as soon as the "real" food comes out he won't have anything to do with the baby food.

Started cloth diapering his chubby little bootie this month and STILL love it!

Loves reading and being read to.

He is still as snuggly as ever...

...BUT...

...he is ALL boy! He is SO rough and can wrestle with the roughest of 'em.

The 4th And The Big 4

Zeke turned the big "4" today!

Since we knew we'd be at the beach this week, we threw an awesome birthday party together on the 4th with his cousin Karis who turned 1. The whole town of Rolesville was invited. Actually, not really, but the whole town of Rolesville DID park beside and behind our house to watch the fireworks. Yup, there were actually "Event Parking" signs all around our house.

We had an awesome view right from our backyard. It was fun to have all our family and tons of people from church to join us! Have I ever mentioned how much I love being in Raleigh?!

But today has been a fun day too. We've gone swimming in 4 pools, the ocean, played on the beach, walked the pier, seen jelly fish, sung worship with the Journey students and had a lot of cousin time.

I can't believe Zeke is 4!

He is such a fun kid. How do I even begin to describe the little man he is becoming?

He is:

Such a sensitive little guy. He gets his feelings hurt very easily.

A rock star. He can jam out with the best of them. Music runs in his veins. He watches and studies the band and then goes home and practices. I mean, I know he's my son, but he is pretty amazing. Josh and I will be totally shocked if he doesn't do something with his music. He loves guitar, keys but drums might be his thing.

Along with the rock star in him, come the emotions. Josh has even told him, "Gosh, Zeke, you're such a musician." after Zeke was freaking out about something insignificant!

Very observant. He notices home decor and clothing accessories before Areyna does.

Creative thinker. If you ask him what shape a round object is he will make the shape with his hands and say, "O" not circle. A square is a "box". He is VERY descriptive! Teaching him should be interesting:)

He still LOVES to cuddle. But will turn around and wrestle a minute later.

Is into sharing with Josh (and everybody else for that matter). He ALWAYS saves his last bite or sip for Josh and will make sure he got it and that I don't throw it away.

Always makes sure I eat my meals.

So, to my little man who turns 4 today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my little hopper!

Potty Mouth

We are in the thick of our cloth diaper experience and still loving it! It's been almost 2 weeks and here's our experience with cloth diapering so far.

Yes, I love it!

No, I don't have to change diapers any more or less than normal. He goes through 4-5 a day.

Yes, I have used ones.

No, I don't have to do laundry any more than normal. Let me take that back...I am keeping up with my dirty laundry more efficiently!

Yes, they really work.

No, I don't have to use a single diaper pin.

Yes, I plan on using them when I travel. I'll definitely let you know how that goes! We have our first road trip this week.

Here's my stash and what I like/dislike about each one:)

BUMMIS SUPER WHISPER WRAP

I love this wrap. I use this mainly at night because it seems to keep him dry all night. This is all trial and error for me, so if it works then we repeat:) I like this one because the elastic is snug enough to keep everything in, but doesn't rub on his skin. Also, the velcro is low enough to stay off his chubby tummy.

I'll probably use this one in the car when we travel.

Leaks: NONE

DIAPERAPS

There are so many diaper wraps around but this is the particular one that was handed down to me. I have several of these. I let Cai crawl around in this one for a while and it started to give him little red lines from rubbing him up where the velcro was. Not my favorite, but works fine as a backup.

Leaks: TWO - I've tried it with 2 different kinds of inserts and he has been wet both mornings. It may only be used as a daytime backup diaper, although the print is a little misleading.

PREFOLDS

My Fuzzibunz didn't come with inserts so I've been using prefolds as my inserts and they have been working great. They are really bulky, though, so I have invested in some regular inserts. The time Cai leaked out of his wrap I had tried to wrap him up a special way instead of tri-folding it and just wrapping it up. Let's just say that the stuffed animal that I practiced on was a bit smaller and quite a bit more stationary. I don't like to use these alone but are excellent for diaper wraps as a tri-fold or as an insert to a pocket diaper.

FUZZIBUNZ

These are my absolute favorite! You put an insert or prefold inside of the little pocket (hence the name "pocket diaper") and the only thing left to go around your babies bootie is the fleece. It's so soft and even after already going through 2 kids there are NO stains! The snaps are adjustable around the legs and tummy.

I also like that you can use the Fuzzibunz as a wrap and put the insert or prefold against the booty. That way you don't have to go through so many covers. This is probably the route we'll go when traveling.

You can visit their seconds factory to get discounts on new diapers!

Leaks: NONE

BIODEGRADABLE LINERS

These are what make cloth diapering SO easy! They look like dryer sheets. You can buy these to line your prefold, wrap or fuzzybunz so all the poop and pee go directly on it. When you take the diaper off all you have to do is dump the mess in the toilet and flush it down. It's that easy!

Rash: NONE

INSERTS

I was realizing how bulky the prefolds were and was interested in getting some inserts to go in my Fuzzibunz. I found a store that sells cloth diapers and accessories locally so the kids and I headed out to see what they had to offer. They didn't sell Fuzzibunz but they did sell Thirsties, BumGenius and Flip, all of which I've heard excellent things about. I bought a Flip insert and it worked GREAT! I literally got HOURS out of that insert with my Fuzzibunz cover.

I ordered the rest of my inserts off of the Fuzzibunz website. They even sent me an extra 3-pack of the 4-layered insert! They work awesome! I tried to use 1 with my Bummis wrap 2 nights ago and he leaked through so I'll either need to try to double up or just stick with the night-time pre-fold for bedtime.

WET BAG

I am going to try cloth diapering on the road so I needed to get something to put all our soiled diapers in until we can wash them. I got the green Bummis Wet Bag. We don't use a diaper pail.

When we used disposables we just threw them right in the trash can. Now instead of the trash we take a step to the left of the trash and throw them in the washing machine instead. I put a little water and vinegar in the washing machine to soak them until I have a full load.

CLIPPIES

This is the substitute to diaper pins. They are for those brave souls who like to use the prefolds on their own or with their wrap in other folding styles besides the trifold.

Swim Diaper

This has worked well so far for swimming. I may get another 1 or 2:)

Here are a list of reputable websites to get cloth diapers from:

Cotton Babies

Diaper Junction

The Happy Baby - this one has free shipping

Remember - check to see if your brand has a seconds factory or store for discounted new diapers!

Here is what my typical nighttime gettup consists of:

A Bummis wrap...a prefold which is trifolded inside the wrap...I double up the front a little bit for some extra absorbency in the front since he's a boy...biodegradable liner on top. Every time I've used this method he's been dry in the morning and can make it through breakfast until he poops:)

So, questions...concerns...suggestions?

Welcome Home Chala Eli Hambrick

We went to meet our new nephew at the airport yesterday.

How awesome to think that this little boy is part of the family now!

ALL the kids loved him:)

Welcome Home Eli...we love you already!

When All Your Cousins Are Girls

When all your cousins are girls,

and your visit at their house is longer than anticipated,

and the watermelon was messier than anticipated,

and the visit consists of a bath before we go that wasn't anticipated...

the only boy becomes very secure in his masculinity!