Well, I'm officially six months - with exactly three calendar months left until my due date! Ethan and I really enjoyed having the last week off to just relax. I think Ethan is going through a man version of nesting, because he definitely was keeping himself busy this week cleaning out the spare bedroom and the garage. I mostly read books on my kindle and watched TV. It was a nice, lazy week. Neither of us are looking forward to getting back to the routine this week, but that's life :)
Ethan took me out last night to a great restaurant in West Seattle called Salty's for my birthday. It is a seafood restaurant, and it overlooks the water - you can see all of downtown Seattle. It was very nice! He also got me an awesome HD camcorder for my birthday so we can take home movies of Caleb. I am so spoiled this year! I plan to take a home movie of my stomach moving when Caleb is kicking and put it in my blog. Caleb tends to be stubborn and stop kicking as soon as I start paying attention, so we'll see how long it takes me to capture him on film.
Oh, we also visited the Mountainside daycare this week and we actually both liked it. We are just waiting to hear back if they will have a spot available. We also interviewed a potential nanny and we really liked her too. She is coming to visit in a couple weeks and check out the house and neighborhood. If all goes well, we would love to hire her, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that.
I decided to devote part of this post to a topic that seems to keep coming up, which is cloth diapering. Now, I have told several people that we plan to use cloth diapers for Caleb, and the universal reaction so far has been some form of "Why?!". Also, most people seem to laugh at us for even considering it, which I can sort of understand if you have never tried or looked into cloth diapering, because it does seem overwhelming at first. So here is some information on why I'm going to use cloth for Caleb. Of course this is all based on research that I've done, since I obviously have never had a baby to diaper. :)
1. It's cheaper. You can buy a variety of cloth diapers, and you can spend a range of money on it, but if you stick with the basics and buy Chinese Prefolds, you can get about 36 (which is about how many you need) for under $50. Then you have to buy covers. You really only need about 6-8 covers max, and they range between 12 and 25 dollars a piece. Throw in an all-in-one (which is basically just a diaper that includes a cover, and goes on just like a disposable) or two, and you can easily get everything you need to cloth diaper for under $200, and that is not even being that economical. When you consider that you can use the diapers for more than one child, the cost savings really add up. It is true that you can get pretty cheap disposables at discount stores or in bulk online, but even so, cloth is cheaper in the long run. (also with disposables, you have to find the brand and style that works for your baby to avoid blow outs, so you might not be able to get the cheap kind from what I hear)
2. It's easy. I think the conception is that cloth diapers are difficult to put on and messy to wash. This isn't really true. You don't have to even use diaper pins these days, just learn a quick fold for the inside of the diaper, use a snappy to fasten it, and then pull on a cover. All in all, it may take 15 to 30 seconds longer than applying a disposable. Some people have pointed out that you might have to change the baby more often with cloth diapers. Well, yes, because the baby can feel when it's wet. However, I don't really want Caleb hanging out in pee-soaked diapers, so this doesn't bug me ;). If this is an issue (such as overnight), you can buy thicker felt and wool covers for overnight wear that soak up more urine.
As for washing the diapers, it is not as bad as people might think. With breast fed babies, the poop is water soluable. You just toss the diapers in the hamper and then wash each load once on a cold rinse, once on a normal hot cycle, put them in the dryer and you are done. Babies that are cloth diapered have less (if any) blow outs, so you don't have to do as much regular laundry and clothing changes. Once the baby is on solids, you can get little paper inserts for the diapers (they are very cheap) and just toss the liner and the poo in the toilet, no big deal at all.
3. (My favorite reason) Cloth diapered babies potty train earlier. This is because the babies can feel when they are wet and dirty more easily, and they don't like it. I don't really want to be changing pooped in diapers for a three year old, so I love this.
4. Babies get less diaper rash with cloth diapers.
5. Cloth diapering is much better for the environment. Now admittedly, I'm not an environmentalist so this isn't my top reason, but it's true that disposable diapers fill up landfills and don't degrade very quickly.
6. Cloth diapers are cute! You can get covers in all kinds of different styles, patterns and colors. I'm all about dressing Caleb up, so I like this.
So that is why I'm using cloth diapers, and no I'm not going to change my mind after a week or two, because I've thought a lot about it, and I think this is what is best for us. Note, I'm not trying to criticize people that use disposables, as that would be pretty much everyone I know, so please don't take offense! We will probably even keep some disposables on hand just for added convenience if we go on a long trip or if we have a babysitter, so it's not like I'm opposed to them.
The only reason I might not use them is if we end up going with daycare, and they won't let us, which is unfortunately a possibility at this point :(
Tomorrow I have a midwife appointment where I will get weighed and they'll make sure Caleb is growing ok. I'm sort of dreading the weigh-in part because I'm sure I have gained a ton more weight with the holidays. Ugh. I am consoling myself with the fact that there are only three more months to go, so there is an end to the weight gain in sight! I really don't like gaining weight, so it's probably my least favorite part of pregnancy. Other than that though, I love going to appointments because it's one more milestone closer to having Caleb as an outside baby, and also I get to hear the heartbeat, which is always fun.
Here is the baby update for the week:
How far along: 27 Weeks 2 Days
Sleep: Bad. I keep waking up off and on and I'm not getting good sleep at all. I don't know why, I guess it's hormones. I'm going to start taking unisom again and see if that helps.
Best Moment This Week: My birthday dinner with Ethan
Movement: Pretty much same as last week - lots of strong kicks.
Food Cravings: Nope, no cravings. I don't think I'm going to have any either.
What I miss most: Ugh...not gaining huge amounts of weight
What I'm looking forward to: Baby classes are starting soon and I'm excited about that.
This Week (from the BabyCenter): This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
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