The Little Things in Life

I know it may seem a little old-fashioned but I enjoy my cup of coffee at home. Of course, coffee house cup is amazing but there is something good about enjoying that time relaxing with my kids and husband. These times really go by fast and before you know it, the kids are grown up and out of the house.

When I look around and watch people, I see a race. We seem to have created bizarre races for ourselves trying to outdo each other. Competing to see who's ahead in their list of friends, how many parties they're invited, who they know, where they work, what they wear, how many kids they have, how good the kids are at school and on and on it goes.

In the end, does it really matter. We are all going to the same place in the end so how is winning this race going to help us get there. To me, its the little things in life that count. Playing a board game with my daughter, seeing the toothless grin on my baby's face, my husband's smile when he's just had some chocolate, my parents voice, these are the little things that count for me.

Cloth Diapers - A Way of Life

It has now been a month since we started using cloth diapers. The Green Baby Diaper Service has proven to be worth it. I am now using the diapers at night and am finding they are better than disposable. The best part about using the cloth diapers is I don't have to keep emptying the diaper pail. The diaper service comes and takes all the diapers once a week and I get a set of fresh diapers and covers. The diapers are quite absorbent and leak much less than their disposable counterparts. The baby also feels the wetness so she lets me know when she needs changing. This is, of course, a great step in future potty-training. The cloth diapers are also easy to take along when we go out. I just keep a bag to put the dirty ones in and when I return home, they go into the large bag provided by the service to keep all the dirty diapers. I highly recommend Green Baby Diaper Service and if anyone wants to see for themselves how the diapers work, go to YouTube and just type snappi or cloth diapers and something will come up.

Happy diaper changing!

Cloth Diapers - Day One

Well, I started using the cloth diapers today. We received the diapers two weeks ago but since the baby is a preemie, we didn't start using them till today. She's now full-term plus one week, weighing around 7lbs. The diapers fit well now, the snappi elastic thing holds them together and then there is a velcro cover on top. We used about 6 diapers today. At night, though, I'm still using disposable as I'm too tired to coordinate putting together the cloth diaper. For disposable diapers, I really recommend the Whole Foods 365 brand and the Huggies cotton diapers. Both didn't give the baby a rash whereas Pampers did. I found the most important thing with the cloth diapers is to tuck in all the cloth into the cover otherwise you will definitely get a leak. Overall, the cloth diapers are quite absorbent and even the leak was not really bad. I am still a little slow putting them on but that should improve with time. Its a little hard getting the diaper on and tucked when the baby keeps moving. Oh yes, if you've got a sound sensitive baby then opening the velcro cover will definitely wake your baby as it did mine. Well, let's look forward to Day Two and things should improve.

Cloth vs Disposable Diapers

We all assume disposable diapers are convenient, less messy and cheaper. Well, I recently discovered that this may not be the case. I know, with our first one, the diapers were an on-going cost that didn't go away till she was potty trained. Even with the first, I wanted to try cloth diapers but thought washing/changing will be difficult for family helping out and a service would be too costly. However, I recently found a service that is less than or equal to using disposable diapers. http://www.greenbabydiaperservice.com/

I still have to speak to them and see how this will work out but I thought I should still do an estimate of how much disposable diapers cost per month for infants. Obviously, this cost does lower as the child grows but so does the diaper service.

Here's my analysis:

Diaper cost

Diapers needed / week 80
Diaper cost for 40 diapers $14.00
Diaper cost / week $28.00
Diaper cost / month $120.00
Diaper pail liner ($30 for 3months) $10.67

Total cost / month $130.67

This can be compared to the diaper service's basic package of $75/month or basic plus covers for $100/month. Not bad, I think. Plus the added benefit of never having to tell hubby to empty the diaper pail since the diapers are picked up by the service, washed, folded and returned once a week. The best part, I feel, is for the conscience that you're doing something to minimize the effect on the environment.

Update
I spoke to the diaper service and there is an additional cost of buying covers but about 6 are needed which is not much. Plus they can be resold or reused as necessary. Even after that cost, it is still cheaper and perhaps for later, easier potty training. The liner they provide can be used in a diaper pail which cuts down on the smell just as it does with disposable.

I look forward to blogging about the use of cloth diapers in the near future. Keep checking.

What may the future hold?

This was a response I wrote to a friend's blog. I thought that it could still be food for thought for the rest of us. Today is Earth Day and perhaps these are the things that we should be thinking about.

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Our belief systems encourage us to help each other. Right now, more than ever before, charity is going to help with the imbalance of this economy. We need to re-evaluate our “wants” from our “needs”. It will take a while, but once our society starts to realize the real “needs”, we will become more efficient. Out of this efficiency, will come disposable income, that can be used firstly in charity and secondly to invest in the future. Our future investments should ideally be creating jobs that are long-term and help the environment. These are not quick fixes and perhaps the most important policy right now would be to educate people about the environment, controlling their finances for “needs” and realizing that life is not short. Life can be very long, especially when you don’t have a plan.

10 Ways to stress-free baby in today's economy

Being a second time mom, and inclined to do thorough research on every possible child-related topic, I think I can now come up with a list for new moms-to-be to keep their life stress free. So here it is:

1. Don't worry about the little things, cooking, cleaning, laundry. Do it as you need it. After a while, things will return to normal. Just keep your cool till then.
2. Make baby and yourself the priority. Take care of yourself and baby, let everyone else fend for themselves. They didn't just go through childbirth, they're not sleep-deprived, they can take care of themselves.
3. Always have enough diapers in the house. You never know when you'll suddenly run out.
4. If you're breastfeeding, then have a manual pump handy for emergencies. If you're using formula, then have extra formula, bottles, nipples, bottle brush in the house.
5. The only thing you need, required by law is a car seat. Everything else is extra. Don't stress yourself about how much the baby will cost. Babies need attention more than cool toys and a perfectly coordinated nursery. The most important person in their life is "mommy".
6. Use freecycle or other sharing groups if your budget is tight. Kids grow out of things very quickly and there's always someone clearing their home of these things.
7. Have the pediatrician on speed dial. Emergencies happen so be prepared. Have a plan with your partner as to what you would do in an emergency so that you're not wasting time talking about this at the time of the emergency.
8. Have basic medicines like fever reducer, cough/cold at home. Also keep a list of home remedies handy as small babies cannot take these medicines.
9. Have a diaper bag (this can be an old backpack) ready at all times even if you're not going anywhere. Every 2-4 weeks, update the bag, especially the first few months of a baby's life.
10. Lastly, when you're feeling stressed, take a deep breath, have a glass of water, sit down and think about what's best for baby and yourself.

There will be advice coming out of everyone, especially when you didn't ask for it. Don't listen to everything and think about it before you follow the advice. And if this blog doesn't help your situation, then forget about it and do what you think is right. Follow your maternal instinct. Its there for a reason.

Enjoy your first baby. There's nothing in this world that compares to the baby's first smile when he/she looks at you.

First day as blogger

A few weeks ago, the thought of writing came to mind. I wrote short stories in school and then later enjoyed writing for projects but it had been a long time. However, with recent developments in life, the mind started overflowing with nowhere to go. So here's my first blog.

I'd like to first introduce the kind of topics that I'm going to be writing about. As a mom of a six year old girl and expecting another one in a few months, children are of course first on my mind. Second comes work. I enjoyed working and miss it terribly. Its been six years now since I took my "break" from work. Considering the economic situation right now, I don't know when or if I'll go back to work, but I live in hope. The other topics that I may blog about can vary from friendship, family relationships, living in USA, politics, electronics, cooking, cake decorating, organic foods and housekeeping.

If there's something on your mind that you'd like me to research, I can do that too. Just put a comment and I will definitely reply.

Next blog will be more organized as I get better at it. Watch for it.