The Vance House Rejoices!

Why are we rejoicing you might ask?  Because we have completed our first week of cloth diapering and I love it.  Whew!  You never know if something that you put money into is going to be a dud!  Luckily, this wasn't it!

DISCLAIMER:  If you have no interest in cloth diapers, do not keep reading.  This post will be really boring and confusing!  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Now that I'm for sure about cloth diapering, the rest of my "stash" is on its way!  The rest of the post is essentially about how I decided what the rest of my stash was going to be.  Let me warn you again, if you don't care about cloth diapering, stop reading!

My least favorite was the BumGenius AlOs (All in One).  I’m a little surprised by this because I thought that they would be my favorite.  They’re a few reasons for this conclusion.  They are messier than the rest, they take longer to dry and the leg gussets turn inside out on themselves, which isn’t a good thing when I’m trying to contain runny poop.  They definitely aren’t a terrible diaper; they just won’t be my first choice when getting into the diaper drawer.

Here's Amos in the BumGenius AIO

 If you look closely, you can see how the leg gusset will turn inside out! 

Second place goes to the Kissaluv Marvels.  The Marvel is a lot like a pocket diaper, except you don’t have to deal with taking out a “soiled” insert and restuffing it back in every time.  Instead, the insert is sewn in and agitates partly out in the wash.  It’s a pretty handy system, BUT I chose not to get anymore because they are so bulky on.  Every time I put it one him, I want to break out into "I Like Big Butts" and Jason doesn't appreciate it.  Not a terrible thing, but still enough to keep me from buying any more.

Amos in the AIO Marvels

 Mr. BIG BOTTOM

And finally, my favorites, and what I chose to buy more of were the GroVia AIO and the Best Bottom All-In-2!  I love both of these diapers.  The Gro Via is the slimmest diaper on Amos.   He barely looks like he is wearing a cloth diaper when he has these one.  The absorbent cloth is only attached in the back, so it dries MUCH faster than the BumGenius and the leg gussets are a big improvement.  It even has the option of snapping in additional doubler for nighttime. Again, it’s basically like having a pocket diaper, with out the mess of a pocket diaper. 

Amos in the GroVia AIO.  He loves them!

 Check out those leg gussets!  Much better!

The inside of the GroVia AIO

Showing the snap in doubler for extra absorbency.

The second winner is the Best Bottoms.  What a great system.  It was actually developed by a mom who used cloth diapers and wanted to make something wonderful that everyone can afford.  It’s a shell with inserts that snap in and out.  So if the shell isn’t dirty-, which it isn’t most of the time – you don’t have to change it.  Just change the insert!  That means less wash and less money on more diapers!!!  It sounded too good to be true, that’s why I didn’t make it all my stash the first time, but it really does work!  No leaks, and pretty trim make it a winner!

Amos in the Best Bottoms!

Double leg gussets!  Can it get any better!

The inside.

With the medium insert.  

(Side note: I didn't start cloth diapers until Amos was out of the small insert size.)

And now for the deals!  That's right, I didn't pay full price for any of these diapers!!!!!!  Right now GroVia is running a special:  buy 2 AIO diapers and get the third diaper free!  So of course, I purchased three more GroVias for the price of 2.  I added three more Best Bottom shells, 12 more inserts and 4 overnight inserts to my cart at KellysCloset too.  Then I found the coupon for 10% off my entire order!  ChaChing!

Lastly, a SURPRISE!!!  I was perusing our local overstock warehouse, I found a Day Pack of the Flip Diaper system by Cotton Babies.  I’d been interested in trying these out, but hadn't.  The system is pretty much like Best Bottom’s system, where you use a shell and change out only the inserts.  They were selling the pack for half off, so I thought that I couldn’t pass up the deal. 

The Flip on my model!

The Flip cover.

The Flip with the insert.  It doesn't snap in, it just slides in and fits under the flap of the cover.

Congratulations on making it to the end of a really long cloth diaper post.  You must love cloth diapers as much as I do!  My hope is that they save our family a ton of money and we are able to spend it on other things, like car insurance!

Amos has brown eyes!

After 7 weeks its time to make it official, Amos will follow in suite with his mom and dad.  He's got their big brown eyes!  I know, I know, you're shocked!  But hey, crazier things happen!  I'm just glad he got his dad's dark features!

We've had an exciting week at home together.  Amos and I are learning what its like to stay at home during the day.  He's on a pretty good routine for naps, which gives me time to get things done.  I accomplished one of my cleaning tasks each day, which left us with nothing to do on the weekend except spend time with Dad!  We also got to hang out with some friends who were gracious enough to have us over or come over!

At the end of the week, Gramps and Grammy brought Uncle Joe over to hang out!  

Uncle Joe must of had the magic touch, because Amos is a sleep fighter!

On Saturday night, Jason and I were able to get away, thanks to the Corcoran's, for a date night.  We had fun, reminiscing about the past, and dreaming about the future Olive Garden - thanks to a gift card from one of Jason's old students!  Then we finally saw Harry Potter.  I think we may have both teared up a little!  We came back to the Corcoran Cottage to find a wide-awake little guy!  I told you, sleep fighter!

He's getting so big and smiling a lot more these days - even laughing!  Jason thinks he's already ready to wrestle!  He's a little man.  We love him more each day!

We don’t need all that stuff…

So I’m glad that I stopped myself before I got all caught up in the baby toy business!  Instead of going out and purchasing some new developmentally appropriate toys for Amos, I slowed down and thought, “I can make those things.”  I saved myself from spending $60 plus on a new toy, and used the stuff we had.  Here's our first homemade toy.  And man did he love it.

Time flies...

Six weeks means…

Daddy heads back to work!  We sure have been lucky to have him home with us for 6 whole weeks!  We spent a lot of time this week in Daddy’s classroom helping him get ready for the start of the new school year.  Everything looks great!

Time to start using cloth diapers.  I have four different types that I’m going to experiment with before buying any more.  I’ll let you know what happens.

Grandma and Grandpa had to come and see the little guy before he got too much bigger.  They already couldn’t believe how much he had grown!  He loved hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.  Especially when he fell asleep in Grandma’s arms.

After six weeks Amos loves…

taking his evening bath.

being swaddled.

his pacifier.

            any spinning fan.

            light.

            being on his tummy.

            hanging out in Mommy’s wrap.

            eating.

            Mommy and Daddy.

After six weeks Amos hates…

            being naked…unless in the bathtub. (see above)

            getting lotioned.

            staying in one place for too long, unless he’s sleeping.

            the booger sucker.

            being cold.

            changing clothes.

The love list is longer than the hate list.  I think that is a good sign.  He’s a keeper!

 YEA!!!

SMILE...

Amos doesn’t feel like the fragile baby boy we brought home from the hospital.  We weighed him this week and he is up to over 12 pounds.  He does an excellent job at holding his head up, and it’s a pretty big head to hold up!  I’m learning that his favorite position may be on his stomach.  We put out a blanket and he can lay there pretty content for most of his “wake time.”  That allows Mom and Dad to enjoy a meal together while watching him squirm and grunt!  He’s moved into size 1 diapers and his Newborn clothes are becoming high waters!  We’re just barely squeezing into some of them!

Amos started the week a pretty fussy baby, but ended it all smiles.  Early on in week 5, I learned that my milk was a little low, and realized Amos might not be getting all the food he needed.  We worked really hard all week long, some days feeding every 2 hours, even at night, and I think we are back were we need to be.  Our reward, a smiling baby boy!  

Also, Aunt Audrey came over and took some photos for us!  Not many smiles, but he sure is cute!  Check out her stuff here:  http://www.memoriesdeveloped.com

It's only been 4 weeks and there is already so much to love...

We love...

his expressions.  If his eyes are open, we're bound to see something that will make us crack up!

how he fits perfectly in our arms.

his non-stop effort to hold is big head up.

his BIG eyes!

that he’d rather sleep in our arms than in his crib.

the noises he makes when he begins to fall asleep.

that he is sooo predictable.

how quickly he’s soothed in our arms.

that he’s a chunk and a hunk!

that he likes people.

the way his hair gets curly when its wet.

he enjoys his baths.  We know because he frowns the whole time.

that he's soft everywhere, especially his head.

that he's intense and focused.  He really doesn't want to miss anything!

We love that God blessed us with a little boy named Amos and that we get to be part of sharing the LOVE OF GOD with him.

Amos is over 10 lbs and will be a month old on Friday!