A gourd just isn't shaped the same as a baby's bottom!

Several months ago Jamie and I decided that we were going to use cloth diapers.  Since then we have talked a lot about it, researched it, and started to make the plunge into acquiring the necessary materials.  I actually alternate between being really excited and rather overwhelmed.  Sometimes it seems very straightforward and other times it seems like there are potential snafu's lurking in the bushes (what if I can't put them on right? what if I get detergent build up and need to 'strip' them? what if I can never figure out night time diapering? what if they keep repelling liquids even though I've washed them a billion times? etc etc).

Whenever I feel panic start to build I go and look at my diaper covers and breath a big relaxing sigh because they are just that darn cute! (I also go and pull up my baby budget spreadsheet and double sigh, because if we stick with it, and don't go hog wild on buying cute diapers, they can be pretty economical as well.) To start out we are probably going to mostly use prefolds with covers but we will also try a few all-in-ones, and a few fitteds with covers, to see what we really end up liking.

Also, to make them seem less daunting I decided that I should practice putting them on.  Unfortunately I don't really own anything that is a good "baby" replica that is easily accessible. (Jamie and I both have stuffed animals from our childhood, but they are buried deep in the recesses of the closet.)  Therefore I have resorted to diapering Jamie's dried gourd.  It makes an mediocre substitute, but better than nothing!

Step1: Gather the necessities (in this case prefold, snappi, cover, and "baby").

Step 2: Successfully wrap the "baby's" bottom with the prefold, affix with a snappi

Step 3. Add waterproof cover...and voila you are done! What a beautiful "baby" bottom! :)

Baby girl and family update:
Baby girl is now 32 weeks done (tomorrow starts the first day of week 33).  It is a little crazy to think that probably within 7 or 8 weeks we will be holding her in our arms, and at the latest 9 weeks! (My doctor doesn't tend to let her patients go past 41 weeks...but lets hope it doesn't come to that anyways.) There is so much to do before then, both in getting ready for her and just life in general! For baby girl her main job in the next 8 weeks is to plump up and keep practicing her baby skills in utero (inflating/deflating her lungs, swallowing, sucking, etc).  It is hard for me to imagine that she may be not quite doubling her size before birth because I feel huge already...how the heck is another 3-4 lbs going to fit inside my abdomen! More and more my belly is getting in the way of simple tasks.  The other day while teaching I dropped my pointer stick on the floor, stared at it waaaay down there, and let out a big involuntary sigh.  My students all laughed and one of them picked it up for me...whew!


Future mommy parental unit: huge growth chamber!

Future daddy parental unit: A very excited Jamie who takes it all in stride!  He is also currently in full beard glory; however, no matter how hard he tries I don't think he will be able to get his beard as big as my belly. ;)