Cloth Diapering

We used cloth diapers with Kai until he turned one and began preschool and they told us they wouldn't allow cloth diapers at school.  So we switched to disposables and have been using them ever since.  When Ruby was born, we stuck with disposables initially, figuring we didn't have the time or energy to deal with cloth.  It was a good decision for us for the first couple of months, because it meant one less thing to have to worry about.  Honestly, we were in a bit of a tailspin for much of the fall semester.  I finally figured out why every thing seemed so much more difficult this time around.  We adopted Kai when he was 2.5 months old.  He was already smiling and cooing and just being downright adorable.  No one told us that those first 2.5 months were so...ummm...hellish?  Good Lord!  I think we spent two months just trying to get Ruby to go back to sleep, because it seemed like every time her eyes were open she was screaming her head off.  Not that we didn't love her and think that she was adorable, but she was equally a...challenge.  Combine a colicky infant with a headstrong two year old and a 10 year old who needs hands-on assistance with about two hours worth of homework every night, and you have one crazy household.

We're good now, though, thank god.  We've finally found our rhythm (most days), the house isn't as much of a disaster (most days), and Ruby is A LOT easier to deal with (most days).   So we've switched Ruby to cloth diapers, and I love them.  I also love the money we're saving by not having to buy disposables.  This is especially important since we're spending all of our money on formula now as a result of my utter failure at breastfeeding (I lasted all of 2.5 months before I threw in the towel).  Anyway, we made the switch about a month ago, and then this past weekend I tried my hand at actually making my own.  I have a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine, which only cooperates with me about half the time.  The other half it jumbles up all of the thread and jams every five seconds until I finally give up in frustration and put it back in the closet until the next time I feel the urge to get crafty.  This time it only took one frustrated phone call to my aunt (thanks, Aunt Sara!) who suggested I change the needle in case it was bent.  It fixed the problem and I made my first cloth diaper.  It turned out super cute--it helps that I had an adorable model!