The Compact - Halfway!

I've made it halfway through my year of The Compact. I'd say it is still going pretty well. The reality for me is that I don't really buy much to begin with. This whole exercise has just stopped me from buying clothes and shoes and makeup and perfume and nail polish really. It has made me much more cognisant of what I buy and where it comes from. And it makes me much more creative in justifying why I've made a purchase that may be borderline against the purpose of the Compact. Like the manicure and pedicure I got just a few weeks before having Iain. It's probably against the Compact since it uses nail polish and other resources that aren't the best for the environment, but I really "needed" it and it helped me to relax and momentarily feel pretty -- even if I did end up taking off the nail polish on my hands within a few hours since I picked a color that looked like white out instead of a nice, neutral, natural color. That didn't help my argument any.

And while Rick has been off work for two weeks to help with the baby and just get a break, we've spent a lot of that time shopping because Rick finally had time to get a few things that we "needed" --or that he's been wanting for awhile now but not had time to find as of yet. The question is, did we "need" them? Not really. But he wanted them and I didn't disagree since he isn't doing The Compact and I'm happy that they are helping us get our house organized. For instance, he bought a new carpet runner for the hallway to make Ada's incessant runs from one end of the house to the other be a bit more muffled --for a stretch of eight feet at least. And he finally found a DVD cabinet that will fit his extensive collection and have room for our board games too. This seemed like a better solution than having my distant relative custom make one in his garage out of all new materials.

Then there are my contributions to his buying spree. While at Ikea we got a salad spinner for $4. We were going to splurge on the collapsible one from Bed Bath and Beyond but it was $30. I considered this a "need" as far as The Compact goes since I keep having to throw out salad greens we get from our CSA because I am not good enough at cleaning and drying them so they don't go bad. I'm working on it but the spinner will surely help. I did try to convince him that he "needed" a santoku knife while we were at Ikea, but he didn't fall for that one. It isn't something he needs at all since he didn't know what it was, and we have a set of knives including a chef's knife (they are interchangeable) so "need" didn't even factor into the decision in the slightest.

While at Ikea, we did "need" to eat and Iain "needed" a nap so we made him a makeshift space at our table and enjoyed a nice lunch without breaking any of the rules of The Compact.Then Rick wrapped him up like a burrito and we went on our merry way.

The only other thing I can think of that I bought this past month was a pair of sunglasses for Ada. She "needed" them to protect her eyes since she was going camping with Grandma Ba and Grandpa Rich in Wisconsin for 10 days. I also bought her sunblock. And I feel no guilt for buying either one.

Moral of the story: After six months, The Compact gets to be second nature and becomes mildly annoying as you wait for the end of the year to arrive. But it's a worthy exercise and offers much insight into your consumer habits.

What to register for...

A soon-to-be mom asked my advice on what to register for for her pending arrival. Turns out I have a lot of opinions on the subject so here they are...

What to register for that you will actually use…
Note:
*Consider how you will clean spit up and diaper leaks off of everything you register for.
*If you plan to reuse it for subsequent children, take unisex colors into consideration.

Car Seats
· Infant Car Seat – Graco Snug Ride is nice to have because you can have baby fall asleep in the car and move him in and out fairly easily, but it only goes up to about 22 lbs so you’ll have to upgrade at that point.
· Toddler Car Seat – we got the Sunshine Kid’s Radian 80 – it can go from infant all the way to 65 lbs or your kid is done using it. But it stays in the car. It has great safety ratings, is easy to use, and it is the only folding car seat on the market in case you fly and want to take it with. Some car seats only work up to 45 lbs so you’d need to then get a booster seat at that point. This one might be expensive, but it saves you from having to buy other ones. If you start at the infant weight, you need an insert of some sort.
· Bundle Me/Fat Suit – In winter, it’s nice to have a fuzzy warmer either designed for the car seat and stroller or a “fat suit” as I call them, to keep the baby warm.

Strollers
· Travel System – snap and go system…could be handy going to and from car with a bunch of stuff. Your Graco Snugride would snap to it. Be sure that if you go this route, the stroller and car seat are compatible.
· Full-size stroller-that’s personal preference. If you are having more kids, I recommend the Phil and Ted’s – it’s the one we are getting this time since you can attach a 2nd seat to it for #2. Side by sides are a pain to maneuver. For as much as you’ll use it in the city, SPLURGE on a NICE stroller with good wheels. Used can save a ton of money. Consider the cargo space when shopping for a stroller as you’ll always need a diaper, wipes, change of clothes, burp cloths, snacks, and a drink with you, not to mention a toy or two.
· Stroller accessories –Rain cover, skip the cup holder unless you find one well designed and can’t live without a latte. A fuzzy stroller liner is nice for winter months, but a few blankets can achieve the same effect.
· Lightweight stroller - $20 at target comes in handy – called an umbrella stroller. just beat it up. Can get the McClaren version for maybe $120 but it is just a nicer version
· Stroller toys – just toys with a loop so you can use those plastic chains to keep them attached
· Stroller diaper bag – our “skip hop” brand has clasps that hook onto the stroller handlebars and is super handy. We got a manly messenger bag looking one for Rick but he never used it—or he did use it, but never for diapers…
· Sling & Wrap Carriers -I have an Ergo that I like, the Moby wrap is very popular. I borrowed a Baby Bjorn with Ada and that worked really well too. I also had a hot sling that I didn’t really care for, maybe it was too small or just not my thing. I like the Ergo since you can wear the baby front, back or on your hip. There is an infant insert you can get, and it works for bigger kids.

Activity Things
· Pack and Play – SO handy. We use the basinet portion for the first month or so. Then Rick kicked Ada out of our room because we would wake up at every peep she made when she really didn’t need us that much. She’d let us know when she needed us. That was clear. Without the bassinet, it’s great for having friends over to take naps and is just a great must have.
· ExerSaucer – Adjustable height is nice, one with a lot of playful do-dads is good, and something that they can chew on is nice too. Consider how well spit up will clean off of it and watch for small creases and crevices.
· Bouncy Seat – Vibrations, Music, what more can you ask for?
· Swing – Some kids love them, some don’t. If it folds up when not in use, you’ll be happier that it isn’t taking up half of your living room.
· NoWalkers – They aren’t recommended for safety– especially if you have stairs since they can roll right down them.
· Activity Mat with arches above and toys hanging from it. Hours of entertainment for the newborns.

Nursing
· Breastmilk storage bags/bottles – If you’re nursing and plan to pump and freeze milk so others can feed the baby when you aren’t around, you’ll need bottles or bags. I’m a fan of the bottles since they are reusable and better for the environment.
· Cooler/Insulated Tote – If you’ll be transporting breastmilk in bottles or bags, you’ll need a small (tiny2-6 bottle capacity) cooler with ice packs to haul it in.
· Boppy and 2 covers – The U-shaped pillow. One cover will typically be in the wash. The Boppy is great for nursing or just setting the baby down if you don’t want them to roll. The U-shape gives you a lot of positions to prop up the baby when nursing and comes in very handy.
· A wrap or cover for nursing – or just a lightweight blanket. Hooter hiders is a popular cover that comes in trendy patterns and works well to provide discretion when feeding around others.
· Nursing Bras- Wait a week or two for your breasts to settle on a size, and then go to a specialty store and try on nursing bras. SPLURGE on a nude and black version that is comfortable and supportive. Bravado and Nummies are two brands I recommend. Look for comfort, ease of releasing the clasps for easy access (you may be sleep deprived and don’t want to mess with clasps that are counter-intuitive), and padding in case you leak a bit.
· Nursing Bra Pads- If you leak a lot, they make re-usable cotton pads that you can wash or disposable ones with a sticker on the back that you use and toss. Maybe have a couple on hand but wait to buy the jumbo box until you know if you leak. Some women do, others don’t.
· Lanolin cream – get a tube or a few and keep them handy. Nursing can be super painful the first two weeks and this cream is a lifesaver. Ask for it in the hospital and use it often. Just like you’d use chapstick for sore lips. It won’t hurt the baby so lay it on thick.
· The nursing consultant at the hospital can help you with shields or other nursing gear if you have difficulty nursing. No need to get any of that beforehand.
· Wait on a pump. Wait until you know you can nurse before investing in or renting a pump. Then weigh the options of renting versus buying. The Medela Pump in Style is $300 and one of the most popular pumps on the market, but still lacks what I consider “good design” as it is heavy and bulky, but it gets the job done. Some women prefer hand pumps. You’ll just have to try a few options to see what works best for you.

Feeding
· Bottle warmers are dumb in my opinion. I always tried to give milk to Ada that was room temperature or had been run under hot water/set in a bowl of hot water to defrost so that she wouldn’t get used to warmed bottles and demand them when we couldn’t warm them for her – in the car or on the road for instance.
· Sterilizers are silly too. There are steam sterilizer bags that can be microwaved 20 or 30 times to sterilize the bottles. I think the dishwasher sterilizes them plenty but if you have nursing pump tubes and accessories, the sterilizer bags are handy.
· Bibs – you can never have enough. For bibs, I recommend those that can be rinsed and hung dry once they start eating solids at 5 months. Before then, get the most absorbent bibs you can since they are for catching drool and spit up, not food. They will need to be washed often so look for durable fabrics.
· Burp Cloths – again, get as many as possible. Cloth diapers are super absorbent and cheap. Baby wash cloths work well too. All sizes, shapes and absorbencies are good to keep on hand everywhere.
· Bumbo and tray – great for when you start feeding solids and the baby can’t quite sit up on his own.
· Bottles – don’t go crazy buying a million bottles and nipples and such just yet. You can get one or two of a couple different versions but baby might not like them so don’t invest too much until you know what he likes. Some look like a boob to avoid nipple confusion (which some say doesn’t even exist), others have plastic inserts, some are glass, BPA free, plastic with special technology to vent air through the bottom. Try a few out and see what you like and what baby will drink from when the time comes. I prefer Dr. Brown’s Bottles that have a straw-like thing in the middle because they are suppose to reduce baby’s gassiness – but a lot of bottles will make that claim. It comes down to trial and error. If you get glass bottles, be sure to get the rubber safety covers for them in case they get dropped. When you do find one that works, you’ll want to have 10-12 on hand, with extras at grandmas/daycare/the car/etc.
· Bottle drying racks – you wash bottles everyday unless you are strictly nursing. But assume that you pump and someone else will feed the baby at some point, or you switch to formula or whole milk at age 1.
· Bottle brushes – one to travel with, one for home. There are little wire ones with tiny bristles for hard to reach parts that come in handy too.
· High chair or booster seat or both – Whatever you prefer. Just make sure the cover comes off and can withstand many wash machine cycles. Consider a design that doesn’t allow food to slip under the cover easily—one that has the cover extend over the sides is best. Ours collected crumbs under the seat and drove Rick nuts having to pull out mashed peas after every meal.
· Infant spoons – Get a bunch. Keep them handy everywhere.
· Sippy Cups and Silverware – These come later on, but can be nice to have. Sippy cups, small plastic cups, plastic plates, bowls, Bowls with lids are great for when your child doesn’t finish a meal and you want to save it for later, or for traveling.
· Grocery store cart cover – I have one. Used it half-a-dozen times. Usually forget to take it inside and gave up. That’s a personal preference. It can make baby’s ride more comfy and contain toys, keep cooties at bay.

Making Baby Food?
· Food Processor
· Steamer
· Food Containers – small tupperwear like containers that seal tightly
· Freezable food containers – like covered ice cube trays.
· Baby recipe book

Diapering
· Wipe warmers are unnecessary. Just hold the wipes for a few seconds if they are cold and they will work just fine.
· Small wipe travel containers – It’s great to have thin wipe containers that hold about 30 wipes each. Tuck them in the car, your purse, diaper bag, the stroller, etc.
· Changing pads – Again, great to tuck into various places for when you need them. Look for lightweight, washable, with a little padding to keep baby comfy.
· No diaper genie or other diaper odor eating/disposal machine. Just take the funky diapers straight out to the trash, and the less funky ones to the garbage, which you need to take out often. These take up space, are an investment for the constant refills, and most people who I know that have had them, don’t really like them.
· Have some tiny diapers on hand, but don’t buy a lot since baby grows fast in the beginning and you’ll get stuck with too many extras. Try to buy as you go.
· Diaper rash cream. White or clear. Whatever brand you prefer.

Cloth Diapers
· Covers- 6-10 of each size – can be reused if not soiled.
· Cloth Diapers -about 30 of each size, one use and wash
· Doublers for overnight – an insert that doubles the absorbency. 5 or 6 should be enough since you should be washing them every 3 days or so.
OR
· All-in-one diapers – You’d probably need 12-20 of them and wash them constantly since they are one use, then wash.

· Charlie’s Soap to wash them since it doesn’t leave residue and helps keep them absorbent.
· A sprayer for the toilet if you prefer (we haven’t had one and have survived just fine.)
· A medium size (5 gallon) garbage can, washable, that can hold water and has a pop up lid that stays closed. Bigger and it’s hard to pickup or dump and the smell gets so bad you don’t want the ability to procrastinate washing them beyond every three days.

For the Bathroom
· Shampoo and body wash all in one. Consider a large pump bottle for convenience.
· Baby lotion – avoid fragrance. Stick to the basics. Aquaphor is nice to have on hand for eczema or heat rash.
· Baby Towels – 2-5 is plenty. Adult bath towels can be too big.
· Baby Washcloths –3-5 is fine. They are lighter weight and more delicate. Nice to have.
· Baby Bath Tub – One with the mesh sling inside is nice.
· Bath toys – just a few, and maybe something to contain them all in. No need to have the bathroom overrun with bath stuff. There are rubber duckies that tell you if the temperature is too hot. The ones that spit are neat but tend to grow mold or some mysterious black stuff in them and then spit it out when they are squeezed. It’s gross so maybe avoid those or make sure anything that spits can be opened and washed thoroughly.
· Step stool – Wait. When baby is big enough to wash his own hands, he’ll need a stool to help him get to the sink. But that can wait a year.
· Potty – Wait. You won’t need this until he is 2 or 3 or even 4. Then you can shop around and see what you like.

Baby Care & Grooming
· Nail Clippers – The First Years’ Deluxe nail clippers with magnifying glass are the best. Get 2. Ignore the magnifying glass part and be thankful they are big enough to hold on to.
· Grooming kit – Skip it. Get a baby brush or comb but this other stuff is just fluff. Ask the pharmacy for droppers or medicine spoons when you get a prescription if you need those items.
· Baby brush or comb
· Blue Ball Aspirator – Get one from the hospital and ask if they will give you an extra. The white ones in the grooming kits don’t suck well enough.
· Thermometer – I don’t think any of them are very accurate or good. Ear versions aren’t good until baby is 6 months old. Others tend to have the batteries die when you need them most. Good luck getting one you like that is accurate/decent.
· Teething rings – Get a variety. Each kid likes different styles. Some don’t like any. Some kids don’t mind teething.

Safety
· Audio monitor – In a small city condo, we don’t use a monitor. But if we have to run across the hall or downstairs or want to sit on the porch for dinner, it is nice to have one. We also take it with us when we travel to the grandparents’ larger homes.
· Outlet covers
· Video monitor – Nice, but not necessary. You’ll spend a lot of time just starring at the baby and saying “ah, so cute.” Good if you freak out about SIDS. Could be nice if you tend to want to go in at every sound.
· Corner guards
· Cabinet/drawer latches
· Edge guards
· Safety gates
· Smoke & carbon monoxide alarm

Nursery Furniture
· Crib, mattress, waterproof mattress pad cover
· Dresser
· Changing table with as much storage as possible
· Changing table pad and waterproof cover
· Glider or upholstered rocker and Ottoman – We splurged and are glad we did. Watch for a smooth, quiet ride and washable fabric. High enough you can fall asleep in if need be. You’ll spend a lot of time in it so make sure it is comfy. We only use the ottoman for the first few months since it takes up a lot of valuable play space on the floor. But the ottoman rocks too.
· Bassinet or the pack and play – if you want baby in your room for the first few weeks/months

Bedding
· Fitted Crib Sheets – 4-6 just in case you have a bad night with a sick child. Be sure to get ones that are tight, but not so tight you can’t get them on at 3am when you are covered in puke and have a baby screaming at you. There are some that are designed to go on really easy or zip on and off.
· Pack and Play sheets – 2-3 should be enough
· Crib bedding set – Honestly, just get sheets. You’ll have baby blankets. If you want the bed skirt, fine. The bumper only gets used for a few months and even then there is a suffocation hazard so you’re encouraged not to use it.
· Swaddlers – 3-5 each of the small and medium versions unless you do laundry really frequently – Kiddopotamus brand is great. They keep baby tucked in, warm and recreate the womb for a great sleep experience.
· Receiving blankets – Skip. Just use blankets and swaddlers.
· Blankets- 4-6 is good. All different weights, and sizes.
· Changing table pad covers - 2-4 should do it.

Miscellaneous
· Hamper – you need some system for managing large quantities of dirty baby laundry.
· Window treatments – make the room as dark as possible for optimal sleep
· Waste basket – Skip. I avoid having one in her room so that it wouldn’t smell and she wouldn’t get into it.
· Crib mobile – A fancy one with music that Ada could turn on and off herself was awesome. Ours has a remote that we never really used.
· Diaper stacker- Skip it. Wait until you figure out how everything fits into the nursery and then get a system that works for you if needed.
· Lamp
· Rug
· Toy storage, book storage

Clothes
· Clothing hangers - 12-24 to start, you can always get more. Consider those with clips for matching bottoms – more for little girls than boys.
· Onsies in each size. Maybe 6-10 of each size to start.
· Seasonal outfits – hats/gloves/fat suit for winter, sun hat, sunglasses, swimsuit for summer.
· Baby socks – 2 or 3 packs. They disappear in the wash so having 12-16 isn’t bad.
· Hand mitts for the first few weeks to prevent them from scratching themselves.
· Cute hats to keep their heads warm the first few weeks and help regulate body temperature.

Toys
· No need to register for them unless you find things you really like. You’ll get plenty of toys.

Books, Music and DVDs
· Baby Einstein DVDs
· Baby Einstein Music
· Raffi Music – He’s a kids popular song guy.
· Books on nursery rhyme lyrics unless you know them all already.

Keepsakes
· This is a personal preference. You’ll have cards, notes, photos, etc. to store so a small fancy box might be a good start. Or a nice album.

Ada's Airport Adventure

Last weekend, I took Ada to the airport so I could fly to Minneapolis for Cadence's bachelorette party and she could go to grandma's house for the weekend. My in-laws were kind enough to meet me at O'hare to make the trade and it worked perfectly. When Ada saw them, she lit up and emitted high pitched squeals of joy. That made it so much easier for me to leave her for a weekend. That, and I really needed a break.

I thought I was getting a break but instead, I was up until one am on Friday morning, and then two am on Saturday morning. Cadence knows how to keep me going and after eight hours of shopping, wedding errands, long and delicious dinners, and a bachelorette dinner, drinks (water for me) and dancing, I was whipped. She did let me take a nap on Saturday and Sunday, thankfully. At least I didn't have to change any diapers.

I must admit that I did miss Ada and Rick while I was gone. It's hard not to when you spend so much of your time tethered to your child. It was so great to see them at the airport. I found them hanging out in the baggage claim area having a grand ol' time. Ada, in her light pink waffle fabric, tight fitting pajamas with white polka dots and her pink winter boots was quite a sight to see. She had the best time waiting for me as Rick entertained her with the stairs, escalators, and moving walkways that serve the baggage claim area. That running hug and scream of joy with outstretched arms is the best feeling ever after being squished onto a plane, in a seat that barely is wide enough for your hips, and even worse when you are a row from the back and pregnant.

Moral of the story: It's good to get away from the monotony of life if even just for a little bit, so that you can come back refreshed and more appreciative of what you've got.

The Compact Update

Another month of The Compact almost complete. My friend Amanda just made me buy covers for the knobs on our stove so Ada doesn't blow up the house. I consider them a necessity and an insurance policy more than a splurge so I don't think they break the intention of The Compact at all. If they do, again, I just say Rick bought them.

My biggest temptation of the month was at Costco of all places. They had the New Moon -Twilight Saga DVD that was just released for $17. I just saw it again today at Blockbuster for $27. But I resisted and hope to buy it once it goes into the "previously viewed" bin. Otherwise, Rick might just have to get it for me for my birthday or something. Maybe I can download it online instead of buying the DVD. I'm so addicted to the whole Twilight series it is kind of ridiculous. Oh well. There are worse guilty pleasures.

Victoria's Secret has also been tempting me with their Free Panty offers. I have been meaning to give them to friends but instead just have been letting them expire. It is really hard for me to pass up a free deal but I don't really need them and don't need to be tempted in that store anyway.

A visit to Minneapolis last weekend included a trip to Nordstroms, the Mall of America and a fabric store. Absolute torture, but again, I resisted. I bought an ice cream cone while my friend Cadence bought wedding shoes and other wedding essentials. It really wasn't so hard not to shop since I'm pregnant and only had a tiny suitcase with me.

My challenge now includes what to wear to Cadence's wedding in a month. A book club friend loaned me two dresses and another offered me access to her closet to see what will fit. Cadence gave me three tops she had in a goodwill pile and a purple scarf that I'm enjoying. So I'm good on clothes for the most part. My friend Alison also just returned the last of my maternity clothes so I have a few more items to chose from in my daily struggle to get dressed.

And in a random search on the Internet for "reclaimed fabric", I was inspired by a craft website that showed several projects made from vintage sheets and old jeans. I'm hoping to get to go shopping this weekend for some fun fabrics so I can make baby gifts for friends. I have a backlog of baby gifts to work on and so getting a few more fabrics would be super helpful, or at least researching ideas for what I can make with the fabric I do have.

Mason jars to hold all of the new foods in my pantry has been the other issue. My mother-in-law gave me a few smaller jars for jelly that have come in very handy for spices and seeds. And a free-cycler just offered me her husband's collection of Nescafe jars with plastic lids so I hope to pick those up this weekend as well.

I've spent a mint on food this month, and stocking up at Costco on dried fruits, grains, and canned goods helped that bill mount quickly. But I think I can spread that over the next few months as these bulk items should last us quite some time. It's a great time to be learning how to cook and pregnant since I can spend on food and save on clothes.

April is the Sycamore kids clothing community garage sale at the school so it is my opportunity to get anything we need for Ada for the summer. And maybe a few things for baby boy in the belly too... I doubt that though. He already has a ton of stuff. We'll see.

Moral of the story: Month three of the compact wasn't so bad. And surely I've saved more money and a ton of time, and become even more creative than before.

Less Easily Embarassed

One thing I hate about pregnancy is the resulting incontinence. It's common among women and all doctors recommend doing kegels, kegels, and more kegels to strengthen the pelvic floor and prevent leaks. Nobody tells you these things until after you get pregnant and it is too late to go back. It wasn't bad during the first pregnancy, but I don't think I did enough kegels between pregnancies (Bad Amanda!) so I'm paying for it now.

With so much pressure on my tiny bladder, each cough or sneeze could cause a little leak. It used to be that I'd laugh so hard I'd pee. I wish that was the case and someday I'll get back to that point. Until then, you might notice that I cross my legs and pray that I've remembered to go to the bathroom recently each time I cough or sneeze. Poor Rick tries his best not to laugh at me, and I try not to cry or yell at him because it is funny...but in a sad way, not a ha ha way.

Some days I change underwear three or four times a day. Most days I don't have any problems at all. But if my allergies are acting up or I catch a cold, watch out.

Two weeks ago, we were walking back from a nice dinner out as a family and I happened to sneeze on the walk home. A big sneeze on a full bladder. Thankfully I was wearing black pants and only four blocks from home. That was by far the worst of it.

That episode encouraged me to now carry a backup pair of underwear in my purse. It happened to coincide with my recent trip to Minneapolis and it is always wise to travel with a change of underwear handy in case you lose your luggage. I learned that the hard way in Germany and went underwear shopping for both Rick and I within a few hours of landing. Not how you want to start a trip.

So now I carry nude underwear in my purse. It's just part of my normal purse contents. I think nothing of it. Or I thought nothing of it until we were at Costco this past Monday and Ada was sitting in the cart as I strolled through the frozen foods section. La la la. "What do you have there Ada?" I notice that she's managed to get into my purse in the seat next to her and pull out a pen and, of course, my nude underwear. Pre-Ada, I might have been slightly embarrassed. Post-Ada, it didn't even phase me. I quietly chuckled under my breath and stuffed them back into my purse... and zipped it up this time.

Moral of the story: Things you once found embarrassing, just aren't as bad once you've been exposed to a dozen people during labor and delivery. One of the many perks of having a child.

Target Shopping vs. The Compact

Luckily I took Rick with me so I wouldn't feel so bad going to Target Friday night. You would think people have better things to do on a Friday in the city, but no. The place was hopping.

In my effort not to buy things for the year... I must report that I did very well. We got the cleaning products and daily necessities we needed - diapers, wipes, toothpaste, tissues, etc. And we only bought two things that I would count as "questionable". Batteries for a frother we bought at Ikea a year ago and haven't used since we didn't have the proper battery for it (but we bought the smallest possible two-pack), and sippy cups for Ada since we only have one large one and four small ones and it's the one item she needs for daycare in March. I think both fall under necessities so we're good.

My mom, in her desperate attempt to be supportive of me and thereby my commitment to The Compact, or her crazy love of pictures, offered to purchase the extra sheet of photos from Ada's Valentine's that we didn't use so she can have one on the fridge and in her home office and her work office and one for a friend. All just to save me a little guilt (and have more opportunities to stare at her bubbly little grandchild.) I'll be delivering it next weekend. :)

I will say that I am spending way more money on food these days, but I think that is due to the fact that I'm learning to cook and buying way more food and crazy ingredients than ever before. That makes me want to start composting...we'll see about that. I'm still in the research phase.

And the one thing I really want that I'm not giving in to...yet... are things for my camera. My photography class I'm taking this month is causing a bit of a dilemma. My instructor suggested we get a UV lens cover to protect our camera lenses - a $5 insurance policy for a $100 lens and a smart investment. And there is a software he is training us on that is $250 or so but I might be able to find that used or in a previous version so that's a new challenge. And he told me it isn't smart to connect the camera to the computer to download the photos, but instead use a memory card reader to do that. Easy enough since I have the card reader, but now I want another card so I can switch out between the two. Turns out I have another card, but it's in Granny's digital photo frame displaying adorable photos of Ada and doesn't have the capacity that I need. And I think I have a third card, but I'm not sure where Rick put it last. (It's always his fault since he borrows my camera for work and then leaves important things like the memory card at work so we go on vacation for a weekend and have to buy a new card -- but I never see the original one again, type things.) So there is hope for that yet.

Moral of the story: I must admit, I'm still loving the compact and the effect it's having on our bank account. Amen to that.

Red, Blue, Green, Purple

Rick noticed a few weeks ago that the dome light in our CRV wasn't working. We stopped in to the auto store for a replacement. Almost $11 later, we purchased one that fits our car. Great. Check that off the list, right?

Not so fast.

In the parking lot, we install the new light and it is red. I look at Rick, who is by now looking at me as well, and I say "Why did you get a red one? How dumb is that?"

To which he replies, "I thought it was white. The package says something about 7 colors and has a red stripe at the bottom."

"Well what the heck does that mean?" We look at each other, way beyond confused.

Then we look back at the dome light. It's now blue. Now it's green. Purple. Teal. Eventually it glows white and then back to red. Somehow there are 7 colors in all, I guess.

We just looked at each other and laughed hysterically. At first, I was annoyed at having paid almost $11 for this tiny lightbulb that wasn't what we wanted and doesn't shed a whole lot of light on the interior of the car. That all changed once we put Ada in the car for the first time.

As Rick was buckling her into the car seat, directly in line with the dome light, she started squealing with delight. Who knew that a little light bulb changing colors could summon so many joyous noises from one little girl! The oohs, and ahhs, and eekkks elicit laughter from us every time we get in the car now. My hope is that our "investment" will help her learn the names of her colors more easily. Right now she says something like "Boo" which you'd think was "blue" but she says it when the light is red. So we're working on it.

And as an added benefit, we just turn the dome light to "on" whenever she's having a bad moment in the car and she's distracted for a few minutes, which is typically all the time we need to locate her crackers or a blanket or the toy that rolled under the seat in front of her.

Amazing what a little light bulb can do.

Moral of the story: Sometimes screwing up can turn out to brighten your life, in more ways than one, for years to come.

Mega Super Duper Kid Sale

Back home, in Sycamore, there is a school fundraiser where all the parents in the community can sell or donate their kid's stuff and both the parents and the school make money.

I've been to these types of sales before and I must say, the Sycamore sale is, far and away, the BEST.

Why?

Because it is so organized and the incentives are all in line to make it successful.

For instance:

The space is huge.

There are plenty of tables. There are hanging racks for big items or "nice" items in the back. There is a separate area for toys. There are about ten tables for shoes. The clothes are sorted by size and gender. There are boxes and bags for you to carry all of your new treasures. And there are multiple cashiers for speedy check out.

What's the secret?

Organization and Incentives

There appears to be a committee of community members or parents from the local elementary school who run this twice a year - Spring and Fall and it is well advertised in the community.

They put a call out to parents to donate. Parents then are assigned a "family number" as I'll call it and given a bunch of safety pins and price tags, and (I'm assuming since I haven't "sold" yet) a pricing guideline and a few rules.

There are 3 sets of tags - each a different color.

White: Try to sell it but if not, give it back to me so I can try again next year. Keep it at full price.

Blue: Try to sell it, then try to sell it for half price, then give it back to me.

Pink: Sell it or donate it. I don't want it back.

Each tag is safety pinned to the item and garments with multiple pieces are pinned together so parts don't get lost. Shoes and toys with are placed in Ziploc baggies to keep them all together with the tag taped to the outside. Each tag has a top and a bottom with a perforation for when it's sold. The tag includes a short description of the item (old navy shirt, circo pjs), the "family number", and the price, all duplicated below the perforation as well - typically $2 for shoes and clothes, $4 for pjs, and toys/strollers/beds/bouncy chairs can be whatever the tagger thinks is fair. Nicer stuff costs a bit more, but it's all really reasonable.

When a shopper selects the items they want, they head to the checkout tables where each tag is separated at the perforation leaving them with a record of the items cost and the "family number". Why?

That's where the incentives come in. The reason you get a "family number" for the stuff you donate is that you get a percentage of the proceeds from the stuff you sell. And that percentage goes up (I want to say your percentage increases by 30%) if you volunteer for 3 hours during the sale/setup/or take down of the event. This is a great motivator for volunteers and ensures that you have plenty of people to straighten, check people out, organize and keep things running smoothly. And, if you volunteer, (I think this is how it works) you can attend the pre-sale the night before and shop before they open it up to the community.

The sale starts at 9 am on a Saturday morning and goes until 1:30. From 12-12:30 they kind of close to regroup (again, I think that's how it is from memory) and then at 12:30, all of the Blue and Pink tagged items drop to half price. The white ones stay at the original price. And once they close up at the end of the sale, more volunteers come in to re-sort all of the stuff. Family's that want their unsold good back, have boxes with their number on them in the center of the room. Volunteers grab all the white tags and place them in the number boxes and Family's pick them up later that afternoon. The rest gets loaded up and taken somewhere to donate (I'm guessing again.)

Pretty neat huh? I'm one of those people who is always looking for ways to make things run more efficiently or better and this is one of the first times that I can honestly say whoever is organizing this thing really "gets it". That's why I keep going back each season and I either shop for friends from the city or convince them to drive the hour and fifteen minutes out to Sycamore for the sale. My friend Colette threatens to fly back from Seattle for it. It's that good. And this year, I got about 10-14 pants and shirts for my friend Alison's son Will for $27, and $10 got Andrea news boots and snowpants for her daughter Isabella. Ada got a whole new fall wardrobe with the $50 we dropped on her stuff - including snowpants, a snowsuit, pants, dresses and tops. Not to mention the fact that the parents in the community made some money, the school made some money and I saved a boatload.

Moral of the story: A family garage sale run right can really pay off for everyone involved.

Shut it.

There are days when you just want your kid to settle down and be quite. Today wasn't really one of those days but Ada found a way to "zip it" "shut your trap" and "put a sock in it" without me even asking her to.

We are at the local Dominick's waiting in line for some issue two carts ahead of us. It is taking way too long and Ada is being really patient playing with Gigi her giraffe. Finally, the issue is resolved and it's our turn to load our groceries onto the conveyor belt. Ada wants to be held and I want my two hands free to unload the cart. She's getting fussy so I hurry, and once I've made space, I put her in the main basket of the cart instead of the kiddie seat.

"Hold on to the edge. I'm going to move the cart up the line." I say, thinking that she can understand everything I'm saying or at the very least "hold on".

My mistake.

I advance the cart and she falls on her butt back into the basket. She's now even more fussy. I'm holding her and calming her down when the checkout woman says, "Do you want a sticker?" and gives Ada one of the "Thank You for shopping at Dominick's" fluorescent orange stickers that they put on the milk and liquor to show that you didn't steal it. She did the same thing for the little girl in front of us and that little girl was wearing it nicely on her dress. Not Ada. Nope. She put that sticker right smack dab over her mouth. And then she peeled it off. And then she put it back on...the whole way home.

I didn't hear a peep out of her until we got home and pulled up to unload the groceries. It was a miracle sticker. Entertained her. Keep her quiet. Was free. Didn't break or damage anything (yet anyway...I'm not exactly sure where the sticker is right now... maybe stuck to the seat of the car???)

I think I might just have to go back to Dominick's to get a few more of those stickers so I can keep them in my purse for "special occasions".

Moral of the story: Blessings come in small ways from the most unexpected places, including a simple sticker from Dominick's.

Why I hate my wardrobe... but am thankful for it anyway

Warning: This has little to do with Ada, unless you count her standing in front of the mirror whenever I'm trying to check out my outfit.

I've always hated my wardrobe. I've always considered myself fashionably inept (compared to Audrey Hepburn okay, not Paris Hilton.) Just recently, or maybe constantly for the past several years if you ask my husband since I'm in denial, my wardrobe issues have escalated since:
1.) my size keeps fluctuating --pregnant/not pregnant/post pregnant belly/not prgnant but feeling round in the middle/and hopefully buff once again, someday-- and I must say I have a much better appreciation for anyone dealing with weight issues and dieting. Gesh!
1.5) my bust size keeps changing... not pregnant, pregnant, nursing, weaning, not nursing/not pregnant. And then the whole depressing issue of having your chest be smaller than your belly from the side view. Sigh.
2.) my wardrobe budget feels non-existent some days and pathetic others. I just don't want to spend my money on clothes.
3.) my shoe size keeps changing so I have a crappy shoe selection to go with my clothes that I do have that do fit (thank God for my neighbor Kelly who is my same shoe size or close enough to it that her shoes work -- and she has a gazillion so that helps-- though she can never move away from me.)
4.) I don't really like shopping, am less than talented at accessorizing and my skills are limited when pulling an outfit together -- but can't afford a personal shopper or wardrobe consultant at this point in my life.
5.) my style is basic, boring, and unexciting. I try to be classic and conservative but I am in need a few pieces with panache to spice things up. (I'm thankful that Kelly has a ton of accessories for me to borrow too.)
6.) I'm 30 and a mom. I'm trying to dress my new age and not look like a frumpy "mom" in mom jeans up to my ribs or sweats with food stains all over my chest and sleeves (from Ada of course). And trying not to look like someone from the eighties--but it seems like those styles are coming back in again??? I'm not going to tight roll my mom jeans no matter what the style mavens say!
7.) I don't have time to shop or have a shop-tasticly talented shopper girlfriend in the city to shop with.
8.) being a woman makes fashion infinitely more challenging than it is for a man. Men(mostly) don't have the option of high heels or flats, pants or skirt, capris or cropped, mini, pencil or a-line?
9.) I just learned black purses could have a season... now I know patent leather is really more appropriate for the colder months...
10.) and sales tax in the city is 11%. I'd rather go naked and get laughed at.

I do feel lucky to have this problem for a few reasons, for which I am incessantly thankful:
1.) Rick's really supportive and helpful and honest (which is a good thing unless you really just want him to lie), but he's not a fashionista and will occasionally just agree with me so that we get out of the house on time swearing that "no one will even notice anyway."
2.) at least I have clothes, and clothing options.
3.) at least I have shoes, and shoe options.
4.) at least I have boobs, even if they change size frequently and I have to buy more bras.
5.) at least I have hair, even though I didn't even cover that in my first list of drama. I don't ever do much with my hair so it doesn't cause too much trouble-- I'm extra thankful for that.
6.) at least I have money to buy clothes and shoes and stuff to feel fashionable.
7.) and at least I have friends who let me borrow their stuff and only laugh about me in private.

Thank goodness.

So until I'm blessed with so much money that I've already saved all of the world's problems and rescued humanity from all evil, I'll just do my best to try to look good and avoid public nudity at all costs. For those of you dealing with similar issues, we can always move to small towns in the middle of nowhere where noone cares about fashion much at all and if you got it from Wal-mart, it "looks good".

1.5 Year Check Up

Today was Ada's 1.5 year checkup. She got another shot (whoopity do). Then the doctoress pulled out the milestone checklist to see how Ada is doing compare to other kids. She's still off the charts for height and weight. Her gross motor skills are fine. But her communications skills are lacking. One theory is that she uses sign language pretty well and that's slowing down the need for her to use words. At this age, she should have five to twenty words or so. Ada says Mama, Dada, BaBa (not for bottle -- just because) and that's it.

The theory now is that we go back in three months to check on her progress and re-evaluate, just in case. If she's progressing nicely and just a bit behind the curve, that's fine. Otherwise, we can meet with a speech pathologist (or is it speech therapist?) and see if we need to focus on something specific. We're going to try to work with more picture books and focus on body parts, colors, numbers, common household objects, etc. I'm thinking a little less time spent with her all time favorite Finding Nemo DVD won't hurt (She only watches it once or twice a week so don't get all excited that TV is my babysitter since I don't even have TV access. We only get that snowy fuzz, and maybe channel 2 if it is sunny out.) Feel free to leave comments or email me with any tips if you've been in this spot before. I'm sure she's just taking her time and working us as much as she can and I'm not worried. There is a difference between being worried about something and keeping an eye on it. I'm keeping an eye on it...and her size since she's still off the charts -- but that runs in the family.

Speaking of height, at 34 inches -- if you double that -- since they say a kid's height at age 2 doubled is their likely adult height -- she's already going to be 5'8" and she's got six more months to grow. I really need to get Aunt Heather to commit to teaching her basketball and volleyball since she played Cornell. I can't pass up that opportunity for Ada --but I'm not going to be some pushy mom that makes her play sports if she really wants to go out for the ballet or theater or start her own dog walking business at age ten. I'm cool with all of that.

Back to her doctoress visit...

I then asked about potty training as I've started to do some research and the Doctoress recommended getting a potty and getting Ada used to it. Start explaining when we go to the bathroom and referencing the potty. Give her some time to acclimate to the potty and accept it as her own. That sort of thing. I've had a few mom's tell me their potty training stories and advice so again, if you have anything to add on that topic, please feel free to leave a comment below and I'd be happy to consider it. We're at ground zero for this stuff and I don't want to mess it up.

My next-to-final beef of the day is Ada's shoe size. Her feet keep getting bigger and bigger, it seems like every week it's a new size. She's already a size 7 and we have a collection of shoes in size 6 and 8 but only one pair of sevens and I bought them from Target, thought they were cute, they had rubber soles so that would be good, and they seemed to fit-- but now that she's worn them a few times, I notice that she slips all over tiled-floors in stores and our hardwood floors at home, so they really aren't that great. And the selection at Target was crap. Totally picked over by the time I got there. Disappointing. So I've sent Grandma Ba on a mission to see what she can find. That way, she gets to fill her need to buy cute things for Ada, Ada gets new shoes, and I don't have to fight the crowds and crappy selection at Target(not to knock target because I do like that store for the most part -- minus their current selection of sunglasses and that's only because I just broke mine camping... but I digress, again.)

And my final beef of the day... dun, dun, dun... the damn black berry tree in front of our neighbor's house! Don't get me wrong. I love the tree, its beautiful shade, its size (big for a city tree), and its ability to freshen the air I breath. Love all that. Hate the damn berries that fall all over the sidewalk, making it a purpley/black gooey mess for a month and a half each year. Rick's smart enough to walk across the street to avoid it but since I tend to park just beyond it on this side of the street, that doesn't always work. (We WILL NOT park under it as the car then turns into a giant mess of crap, covered in berries and pigeon poo and there is no hope for ever getting it clean for less than a $20 car wash.)

So today, on the way to Ada's Doctoress appointment, we had to walk through the berries to get to the car. As I buckle her into her car seat, I notice some of them embedded into the soles of her stupid pink sandals that don't fit the cute chubbiness of her feet, and I make a mental note to clean them at some point and hope they don't stain the car. Of course, what happens when I get to the Doctoress' office? Ada wants to stand on my lap. In her pink shoes. With berries on the bottom. And what happens? My jeans (albeit my "fat" jeans which offer the poorest fit of all jeans in my collection) get berry rubbed into the left front thigh. Nice. Thanks Ada. Just what I've always wanted.

But wait... it keeps going. She gets berries on the paper covering the baby scale when they weigh and her (32.2 lbs), on the paper covering the exam table when they check her ears, all over the tiled floor of the exam room, a few spots on the carpet outside of the exam room, just above my cleavage (if I had any--how did berries get there anyway?), and all over her inner calves. A mess. Luckily, we saw our friend Jen outside on the walk back home from the car and crossed the street to talk to her, and thereby avoiding the berries on the sidewalk. And, I remembered to take Ada's shoes off immediately upon entering the house so she didn't stain our new living room rug -- the one with a big cream colored circle on it that is just waiting for a big nasty purple berry stain.

Moral of the story: Days like this are the reason we have other mom friends we can call or chat with and vent to. It makes it all just that much easier to deal with.

GIRL does NOT have to equal PINK

When Rick and I found out we were having a girl, my immediate reaction (once I finally stopped calling her a "Him" since I thought she was a he from the get go) was NO PINK.

Now don't get all crazy on me. I have a rational reason for saying this.

First off, my brother Rob, hates pink. I don't mean "dislikes". I mean HATES. If he could annihilate one color from the planet, I can guarantee it would be pink. Then he had a baby girl. Oh, don't think he changed. He just learned to adjust. He's secretly sorry he isn't color blind. You should have seen the torture his daughter's baby shower was for him. "Awe, so cute. So PINK. Thanks! You guys shouldn't have (or should have in any other color, really.)" It was painful to watch. I'd say 90% pink. Pink camouflage (which is just wrong on so many levels I can't even tell you.) Pink blankets, sheets, diapers, onsies, shoes, hats, gloves, jackets, barrettes... EVERYTHING PINK. Poor guy was miserable. And I don't really blame him. But seeing him go first I had the foresight to strongly suggest that people interested in getting gifts for Ada steer clear of all things pink. It kinda worked... sort of...

And it was a kind of game at my baby shower because if something was pink when I opened it, my good friends would all be heard under their breath saying "Oooohhh, they didn't get the 'no pink' memo. Whoops.". And I had to politely say that "some pink is okay but without restrictions, people just get out of hand with the pink stuff."

And let's be practical -- which I am. I'm not going to deny the fact that if and when we have more kids, I plan to reuse as much as I can from kid #1 for kid #2. So we are either going to have another girl, or a boy dressed in pink flowers-- unless I swap with my friend Jen who had a boy and has all blue. What happened to all of the other colors of the world?

Which brings me to the point of: When is a children's clothing designer going to start making really cute baby stuff using the rest of the colors in the rainbow that aren't blue or pink. Ever hear of ROY G BIV? Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue(omit), Indigo, Violet? Brown, Black, White, and Cream are all good too. But pink, baby blue -- the curse is in the name of the color, light green and light yellow really get old after awhile. Everything in moderation, right?

People are predisposed to immediately say girl=pink and boy=blue and that is just crazy. Do you know what happens when people do that?

Pink bib... pink pajamas...
then pink shirt, pants and shoes...

and finally... pink pajamas and pink toys...What's a mom to do?

Moral of the story: Do your best to suggest that there are other colors in the rainbow than pink and blue.

Pedialyte Coupon

It all started with a Pedialyte Coupon....

The coupon was in the Sunday Chicago Tribune. We had Pedialyte on our grocery shopping list as I always try to have some of the individual bottles on hand just in case Ada gets sick. They only last 24 hours once you open them so no reason to get their big bottle unless you use a lot of Pedialyte.

So I send Rick and the two dollar off coupon to the store. He comes back with Pedialyte Popsicles. "They were all out of the single serving bottles so I thought we'd try these."

"Really? That's not really what I was going for but okay." Ignore the fact that we have a whole box of Popsicles in the freezer right now.

So today I decided I'd give the Popsicle a try. I gave Ada a blue one to see what would happen. It started out well. She appeared to be enjoying it.

Then she started chewing on the plastic so I moved it up.

Then she started sweeping it across the floor. I cleaned up the mess and tried to help her get a hold of it a little better.

Then it broke in half in the plastic sleeve and she started screaming at me to leave her alone because she was doing just fine without my help. You know that "Ehhhhhhehehehhhhhh" cry. So I left her alone. Then she pulled it out of the plastic and started crawling across the floor of the kitchen with it.

Done.

Bye Bye Popsicle. We'll try again later when you're older. Better luck next time.

Until then, I have over 2 dozen Popsicles in my freezer -- which is about the size of a postage stamp. Maybe an international postage stamp, but still.

Moral of the story: Be sure to always feed your child on an easily washable surface in washable clothing. See photo below for further support of this moral.

Advice - Baby Clothes

To all of you who love to shop for baby clothes, here are a few practical tips from a mom.



Try to get things on sale or clearance since 1) you don't know how long it will last 2) babies stain things 3) you can buy more for the same amount of money 4) the baby might not even fit into it during the season it is made for.



Don't buy clothes with buttons, snaps or other decorative stuff (i.e. crap) up the back because baby spends most of their time laying on her back and that would not be comfy --it follows that whole do unto babies as you would have done unto you. Which leads me to my next point.



Get the kid some pants. I have a million onsies and three pair of pants, none of them that match more than one onsie. I default to one pair of pants all the time, which rarely match and frequently are in the wash. And baby's legs get cold.



Outfits that zip from heal to chin with footies are awesome. They may not be the most fashionable thing out there but if mom or dad is taking baby to the doctor, this is the outfit of choice. The doctor's office makes you undress the baby, re-dress the baby, and you may have to change the baby again while you're there so it just makes life easier for everyone. Especially when they are crying after getting their vaccines.



Pajamas with the hand covers for baby's first few weeks and months are great. Their fingernails are sharp and it makes mom feel awful when she notices they have a giant mark of Zorro (or the Harry Potter lightening bolt for generation Yers) on their forehead from a stray figernail gone wild in the middle of the night.



The soft and fluffy fleece blankets from Target that are 100% polyester suck. Don't waste your time with them because they pill up like crazy when you wash them and quickly become the crappiest blanket on the block. Not cool.



Sunhats and sunglasses often get overlooked on the baby shower list but would come in really handy - even in winter. And so would music for baby - but I digress as that is a whole different entry. A mom can never have enough burp cloths, wash cloths, baby socks and believe it or not baby blankets.



And if a mom has decided on cloth diapers, she'll need clothes with extra length as the diaper takes up a bit more room. When it doubt, buy bigger as babies tend to grow into things and the sizing on most baby clothes completely lies.



Moral of the story: Shopping for baby is tougher than it appears, look for ease of dressing and undressing in addition to cuteness, and avoid the crappy fleece blankets so your gifts don't suck.

07 Advice Cloth Diapers -Beyond the Baloney

Parents magazine recently had some guy write an article about Cloth Diapers and boy did he ever bomb. His “source” was some clerk at a baby store that didn’t help him much, and his research left much to be explained. So here’s what I think you need to know in one quick read, let’s call it Cloth Diapers – Beyond the Baloney.

If you are like me – i.e. you want to keep it simple, are willing to invest a couple hundred dollars to get the right stuff and not have to mess with it all, don’t want to break the bank, plan on having more than one child, and will be okay doing laundry every 2or 3 days – then this is how you do it. If you aren’t like me, this will probably be helpful anyway as you educate yourself about cloth diapers. And if you really don’t want to become an expert in cloth diapers, consider this the cliff notes.

Let’s begin.

There are all different types of cloth diapers and a whole new vocabulary to go with them. Here is what I feel you need to know.

Cloth diapers have 2 layers (for our purposes), an absorbent layer and a waterproof layer. One soaks up the pee and poo, the other keeps it in the diaper, hopefully. The absorbent layer (diaper) needs to be changed every time whereas the waterproof layer (cover) can be rinsed or just reused depending on its state post pee or poo. For overnight or long car trips, a “doubler” can be added to double the absorbency. A “doubler” is just an additional liner you put between baby and the diaper so they can wear it longer.

There are other options out there called All-in-ones (AIOs), Pocket Diapers, and fasteners. Don’t waste your time unless you have lots of money and aren’t doing your own laundry. They are one use diapers and so you need a lot of them and have to wash them constantly, not to mention they are expensive. There are also diaper services in which case you just pay them and tell them how much your baby weighs so they know the size to send to your home and you are done with it.

Pre-fold Cloth Diapers – These are sometimes called Indian/Chinese or Diaper Service Quality (DSQ). Who cares. Just go for the ones that are unbleached (Indian/more of a brown color instead of white) if you are given the option because they are softer and seem to be more absorbent. The difference between them is so minimal you should not stress it. Supposedly the bleached ones last longer. Flip a coin or get some of each. Oh, and the reason they are called pre-folds is because they have more layers in the middle for absorption. You’ll see them labeled as 4-6-4 meaning four layers on the sides, six in the middle. I think the more layers, the better so look for 4-6-4 or 4-8-4.

Covers – There are a ton of options in even more fabric/color/pattern options. I recommend the Thirsties PUL Covers (stands for polyurethane laminate if you must know). See "Why Thirsties?" below. I’ve also tried Bummis Super Whisper Wrap and they don’t have the inner leg gusset that prevents leaks except on the smallest sizes- but they do have cute patterns. Their Super-Brite might be better since it has the leg gussets.

My “Beyond the Baloney” recommendation is that you get at least 24 pre-fold cloth diapers and 6 diaper covers that will fit your baby for each weight phase they enter. Since I’m trying to make this as simple as possible, here is one option (Note: I’m not being paid by anyone to say any of this stuff but if someone would like to pay me, I’d happily accept.)

Get you credit card out.
Go to https://www.kellyscloset.com/

Buy the following:
Diapers and Covers

For an infant 6 to 12 lbs:
6 X-Small Thirsties Brand diaper covers $10.75 each when you buy 3 or more. (Yes, that may seem expensive but again, if you are like me, you won’t regret it and if you do the research you’ll find that is pretty average for these things unless you buy the crappy ones.)

24 Chinese Pre-fold Cloth Diapers by Tiny Tush or from Cottonbabies (or another retailer or manufacturer)
Get the “natural” color cotton ones if possible as they are more absorbent and softer. I like the Indian pre-folds personally.

For a baby 12-20 lbs
6 Small Thirsties Brand diaper covers, 24 Pre-fold Cloth Diapers

For a baby 18-27 lbs
6 Medium Thirsties Brand diaper covers, 24 Pre-fold Cloth Diapers

For a baby 25-40 lbs
6 Large Thirsties Brand diaper covers, 24 Pre-fold Cloth Diapers

Wet Bags
2 Small Wet Bags :A small wet bag for each diaper bag and a backup in case the one you need is in the laundry. (Ziplock Gallon bags work too but we’re trying to save the environment here so at least label and reuse them a few times if you do have to go that route.) I like the Bummis Wet Bags way better than the Mommy’s Touch but I’m sure there are better bags out there. Bummis have a drawstring closure whereas I’d recommend a zipper closure but the Mommy’s Touch fabric feels slimy and feels wet to the touch. I don’t think either of them are all that “waterproof” for long periods of time but they both wash up nicely and really, they don’t have to be perfect for Pete’s sake. They are just keeping the poo enclosed until you get home.

2 Extra Large Wet Bags: These go in the diaper pail to hold the stinky dirty diapers until you do laundry. One will be in the wash with the dirty diapers so you need two.

6 Diaper Doublers
For overnight to prevent leaks, add a diaper doubler to baby’s diaper for extra absorbency. I found some at a local store on clearance. If you need a specific recommendation because you really want me to do all of the work for you… Kissaluvs Diaper Doublers are what I have and they work fine. I have four of them but would prefer to have six or eight since you never know when the last change is before the baby goes to bed and it is good to have a few backups in case you guess wrong.

Why these items you ask?
A) Because I said so.
B) To make little girls/boys like you ask questions (My father’s answer to everything.)
C) If you must know, these covers are the best in my opinion because they are high quality, have the Velcro closures(no pins, no snappis fasteners, no pulling the darn things up/down when they are covered in poo), have a fold-over laundry tab to latch the Velcro when you wash the covers so the Velcro lasts longer and doesn’t get stuck on other laundry, and if you look at the leg holes, they have an inner elastic that holds snug to your baby’s legs to prevent leaks, unlike other covers.
D) Because I married an architect and DESIGN MATTERS DARN IT. Pay the extra couple of bucks to get something that doesn’t suck. And just think about the money you’re saving by not running to the store every other day for a pack of disposables.

Why 6 of each diaper cover?
It turns out that’s how many I’ve needed or wanted to have. More would be great and I’ve tried to get by with less but when baby has a poop filled day with five blowouts that slime each cover, you’ll be glad you have six covers. And only six covers should do as long as you are lucky enough that baby doesn’t have a lot of blow outs and you can reuse them. I tend to alternate them so that if she is wet, I switch to a different cover when I change her so I can let the wet one air dry and use it again next time. If you aren’t cool with that, buy more covers, do laundry more often, put the baby in the next size up while you wash and dry one, or go rinse and dry them out between uses.

How do I wash them?
And I recommend Charlie’s Soap. You’ll read once you get these that you shouldn’t use Dreft or other detergents as they will build up on the diapers. You can use Oxiclean once a week to strip them of any build up but don’t use it more than that as it is said to strip the fibers. They also recommend Bio-Kleen, Seventh Generation, Ecover which can be found in grocery stores like Whole Foods. Don’t bleach them as that will weaken the fibers and shorten their life span.

Why Kellyscloset.com or cottonbabies.com?
They have been good to me. My orders have been correct, timely, and they called to confirm something that was confusing on my order. The website is pretty good for a diaper website, and they have reasonable pricing, free shipping on orders of $100 or more and quantity discounts. I don’t know Kelly, I don’t have any affiliation with them. I found her site in the “Baby Bargains” book and liked it. Same with Cottonbabies.com. Feel free to shop around of course.

And when you are done having kids, consider selling your diapers and covers back to them or passing them on to a friend or someone in need. That’s the true spirit of reduce, reuse, recycle.

Moral of the story: Cloth diapers take some getting used to, you need to educate yourself about them a bit, and the investment is upfront, but they make you feel good for keeping the disposables out of the landfill and that makes it all worth it. And they are really cute on baby’s bottom.

05 Rant Stupid Keys

In each of my previous rants, I have made mention of the inner and outer vestibule doors in my building that are a giant pain in my backside since they make getting in and out of my building extremely difficult with a child. I wish that was the case this time.

Today started out well. Ada had her first transition day at day care. She was there until 2 pm and decided she wasn’t interested in having an afternoon nap. Once we arrived home, she was still fighting the idea of a nap so I fed her a bit. Normally that is a simple task but I was pumping and feeding her a bottle at the same time since she wasn’t hungry when I started – crazy I know.

So, here I am sitting at my computer desk, Ada in the bouncy seat next to me. The pump is at my feet. I have a tube top on that makes the pump hands free. I’m pumping and have prepared a bottle for Ada in case she decides she is hungry mid-pumping. As she bounces away, the hunger cry begins. I grab the bottle and start feeding her. I make the mistake of picking a burp cloth up off the floor to catch her dribbles and to my surprise, both pump containers start to leak all over the floor. I lost about an ounce of milk because these stupid pump containers were not designed to resist gravitational forces when you lean over. (see rant 01 for more design issues involving breastmilk) An ounce is a BIG deal in the world of breastfeeding. This stuff is gold remember. Oh, and since I like to multitask, I’m also on the phone with my husband saying “Shit, Shit, Shit, I’ll call you back. I’m spilling milk all over.” Click.

We survive the milk episode and I’m a bit spacey. “Pregnancy Brain” (overall forgetfulness and an inability to complete a thought while pregnant) doesn’t disappear with the birth of a baby. It just morphs into “Mommy Brain” and becomes a constant state of distraction. Ada is still not interested in taking a nap so I decide we’ll venture out to run errands. We’re expecting a hefty snow storm tomorrow so it is a good time to seize the day and shop. Before motherhood, shopping was enjoyable. Now… not so much.

Facts of life: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie... he’s going to want a glass of milk.(See the children’s book by that title.) If you want to go shopping, you’re going to need to take a stroller. So as per usual, I bundled baby Ada into her car seat and take her out my front door and into the hallway. She starts crying. I go back inside for the stroller thinking I’ll do this in phases, the shopping list, my coat and the diaper bag are next. Once in the hallway, I have this great idea to take the stroller to stage two: between the vestibule doors, and come back for the rest of the stuff. I open the inner vestibule door and finagle the stroller through. As the stroller clears the doorway it starts rolling down the stairs and I quickly grab it and place it at the bottom of the stair clear of the outer vestibule door in case my neighbors need to get in while I proceed to phases three, four, five and six.

Then it hits me.

I’ve just locked my baby in the hallway of my building, while she’s crying, and I don’t have keys to the vestibule door. I resist the urge to panic and instead prop open the outer vestibule door and push every buzzer in the building as I pray one of my neighbors is home. My chances are limited as I know I’m not going to buzz myself in and I’m fish sitting for one of my neighbors who is in San Francisco so that leaves four options and it is 3:30 in the afternoon. I buzz. No one answers. “Shit, Shit, Shit.” I buzz again. Nothing. So I take a deep breath, step outside (thank goodness it is the first day of Spring and 45 degrees out since I’m not wearing my coat) and flag down the first person to walk by my building. “Hi. Can I borrow your cell phone? I just locked my child in my building and I don’t have my keys.” “Sure,” he says as I quickly call my husband and explain the situation. “How can I get into our house?” I ask. “Ummmm…” He replies. Well, if I wasn’t so anal about locking all of the windows, I could maybe push one open but I’m on an elevated first floor so I’d need this random guy to help me out. Not gonna happen. Back door? Nope, it’s locked too, and I don’t have a key to get into the fenced in area behind the house anyway. The Security Shop around the block has a copy of the key to the doors, but I can’t leave the baby, and they surely won’t give it to this random guy helping me out. Not to mention it would cost me $100 just for them to walk around the block and open the door. Instead, my husband says he’ll grab a cab and be home in 15 minutes. Okay. That will work. I’m saying thanks and goodbye to my random stranger/ hero when one of my neighbors miraculously appears. And she has keys! Thank you God! I thank her profusely for her well timed arrival and go inside to find that Ada is no longer crying after her 2 minute adventure alone in the hallway and is calmly looking around for Mommy. Of course when I go to see if she is okay, she starts crying. Go figure.

Moral of the story: Babies need their naps, don’t try to accomplish anything while a baby is crying, and (obviously) never walk out your front door without keys to get back inside.

03 Pharmacy Meltdown

It’s a Monday. We’ve had a fairly good day and it is time to visit the doctor since Ada is still suffering from a cold and it’s been over a week so the doctor wants to see her. Our appointment is at three, we have friends coming over at 6:15, and we want to pick daddy up from work after running errands at Target to get supplies for day care. To the doctor’s office we go, but not before prepping the diaper bag, packing the baby in the car seat, and dragging everything to the car via the front door, inner vestibule door, down four stairs, out the outer vestibule door and into the car. We skipped the stroller this time knowing we would have the cart and wouldn’t be going far from the car.

Travel to the doctor’s office is uneventful. Once we arrive, Ada is a bit fussy. She drinks from her bottle a bit as I struggle to show the receptionist my ID and insurance card which is the same as it was last week when I was here but they have to check every time “Just to be sure.” After waiting for ten minutes they finally call her name over her screams of discomfort. We’re lead back to the examination room and I’m asked to undress her. The nurse weighs her says the doctor will be right in. We hang out and I feed her the rest of her bottle. She pees, I change her. The doctor comes in and examines her. That’s a tough job when Ada screams while the doctor tries to get a good listen to her chest. Finally the doctor decides to give her a prescription for Albuterol to help open her lungs a bit since she has some phlegm making it tough to breathe while she’s eating. We’re good to go.

Suddenly I remember the paperwork I dropped off on Friday and ask the doctor if it is completed and in her file or what the status is so I can submit it to her day care. “what form would that be?” asks the doctor. “The one recording all of her immunizations that I dropped off on Friday and called you about.” “Oh, let me check.”, she replies. Ten minutes later she returns to say they found it and she starts filling it out. She needs to get more information and says she’ll be right back. Ada is doing well and we’re playing. Ten minutes later the doctor returns and says she’ll make a copy of the immunization information and we’ll be ready to go. She’ll be right back. Ten more minutes pass, Ada starts screaming because she’s dirty, and I change her. Ten more minutes pass and finally a nurse comes in to say, “You’re just waiting on this form right?” “Yes.” “The copy machine back here isn’t working for some reason so I’ll take this up to the front desk to copy it and meet you there.” “Great.” The bundling begins. I settle Ada down, pack her into her car seat, repack the diaper bag, put on my coat, gather everything up and head to the cashier to pay my co-pay. The nurse meets me and hands me the paperwork that she finally photocopied as I glance at my phone. It is 4:30. Holy crap. I only have half an hour before I’m supposed to pick Rick up from work and we still have to go to Target and get Ada’s prescription filled before company arrives at our house at 6:15. I call Rick. He encourages me to head to Target and if he doesn’t hear from me by 5:25 he’ll take the bus home and let our friends into our house.

Ada and I head to Target. And she cries most of the way there. I park and load her car seat into a nearby stroller. With my list and coupons in hand, we hustle toward the pharmacy. We grab a few things on the way and Ada’s level of fussiness starts to increase. As we reach the pharmacy counter, Ada has hit full blown meltdown. Nothing is working. She’s screaming bloody murder as I’m trying to give the prescription to the pharmacist and explain that she has never had a prescription filled there before. The pharmacist fills out the necessary paperwork for me since my hands are full with a screaming child that is inconsolable at this point, and asks me to come back in twenty minutes. With Ada bouncing in my arms, I head for the Kleenex aisle and then to the elevator as we’re off to the baby section. We grab a few things for daycare and are lucky to get the last box of Target brand un-scented bulk baby wipes. Back to the elevator, we return to the pharmacy. The meltdown returns. As I struggle to unload my cart with my free hand, the pharmacist is ringing up my purchases and trying to explain how I’m supposed to give Ada her new inhaler with the fancy contraption it attaches to as my phone is ringing. I fumble for the phone as I dig out my coupons and pass the crumpled wad to the cashier while subsequently putting my credit card into the reader and trying to unsuccessfully wedge Ada back into her car seat. I ignore the call as it happens to be my friend, neighbor and regular pharmacist Kelly, whom I’m sure knows that I am cheating on her with this Target pharmacist and will therefore think I’m a bad friend/neighbor/customer. Ada’s meltdown continues as I am momentarily shocked by the $180 price tag of my quick target run, but I’m too busy to care as she is still screaming, the guilt for cheating on my pharmacist is mounting, and I’m trying to figure out if I’ll make it home in time to great our dinner guests. The wonderful pharmacist, her name was Beth, kindly steps around the counter to help load all of my purchases into my cart and send Ada and I on our way.

We exit the Target and arrive at the car. I load everything into the car and Ada is still crying. It’s 5:15 and I need to catch Rick before he gets on the bus so I can pick him up from work. As I start the car, I check my voicemail and learn that my friend/neighbor/pharmacist Kelly needs to borrow black pants for her trip to New York tomorrow. I try to return her call but get voicemail and leave a message saying she can have whatever she wants and can stop by anytime. I try to call Rick and get his voicemail. As I try again, he is calling me and I go to click swap call/answer and hit Ignore instead and lose his call and my connection to his voicemail. At this point, Ada is screaming, I’m trying to drive in downtown Chicago, and I can’t get Rick’s stupid phone to connect. I’m screaming at Ada who’s screaming at the world, when finally I connect with Rick and put him on speakerphone as I finish my tirade of insults I’m spewing at traffic at the light in front of me. Rick, unbeknownst to me, has been fighting a cold and has just ridden down the elevator from the 35th floor while his sinuses are draining to innocently answer the phone as I’m screaming into his ear that has yet to pop from the pressure in the elevator, resulting in a shape pain that makes him wince. Poor guy. He quips back that I need to calm down and I explain that I’ll meet him in five minutes at his building. Whew.

In route to Rick’s office, Ada is screaming, I get stuck at every red light and behind every loading and unloading cab to be had, and the five minute drive seems like 25 minutes. I arrive and pull up to the curb for Rick to get into the backseat of our blue Honda Civic and what do I hear but… oh yes… silence. Daddy’s here and all is well in the world as Ada passes out and doesn’t utter a peep the rest of the way home.

Morals of the story: Pharmacists are some of the best people on earth, patience is a virtue when visiting the doctor, and don’t take a partially sick child with you anywhere.