Enough.

Enough leaking diaper nonsense... this ends today! I'm replacing elastic and velcro. And stripping diaper pads. I'm going to make these work until we're ready for pull-ups/training pants. Yeah! I love Grovia diapers, but there is a limit to how many wears you can get per cover before you can expect to do some diaper upkeep.
~Becky

Update...

Charlie is sleeping-in this morning. I've heard him make noises a few times, but I never know what I should do with myself in situations like this, ha ha.

So I stripped the diaper pads and they came out looking SO clean. I guess it would make sense that I would need to do this more frequently as he is older/bigger/I've used quite a bit of diaper cream lately. I'm thinking I should just strip the diaper liners every time, keep them seperate and soak them prewash or something so they don't contaminate the diapers, which is sort of their role in the first place. Must start this now before his diaper pail is full and I have to sort through to find the liners I've already used, soak them and then wash diapers.

I had 2 plain jane diaper covers waiting to be re-velcroed for months. CHECK. But they won't last. I wonder where a person buys better quality velcro? Oh well, its not really that much work AND it got me back on my sewing machine (GOAL- to sew more things, preferably toddler boy clothing, sew cute, pun intended).

And I seam ripped out the velcro on the 4 grovia diaper covers that I had revelcroed a while back. Boy I sure sewed those suckers on there. Then I ran out of velcro. I'm considering not doing it and using baby safety pins, which is what I had been doing anyways, and Charlie likes the cute little animals on them.

Finally, I still need to re-elasticize them (just doing the 4, the snap one held up better, thinking I just didn't use it as frquently, but in retrospect I would purchase all snaps in the future). I will attempt to complete this tonight, as I need the diaper covers to use. I found this link- http://www.mamaslaundrytalk.com/2010/02/25/how-to-repair-the-elastic-in-a-cloth-diaper/
which states that I do not need to remove the old elastic.

And that's all I know about diapers right now. Your supposed to blog about things that are happening in your life, right? Lizzie might be interested anyways. And your probably thinking, sounds like a lot of work, right? But so worth it for Charlie's little bum, and I've actually saved like $2000- 3000 dollars on diapers (by the time I'm done anyways). So, actually not so much work. Although now thinking of the fairly minimal cost of purchasing a few new covers, I would still be saving thousands.
Oh well, now I've saved another $50. I'm already making money today.

"Maw-Mawwwwww!"

~Becky

Truman and his Pumpkins. (p.s. TGIF)

Truman is starting to get famous for his pumpkins- this picture shows what he has left this year. And again he tried several new varieties. I thought I had better get this seasonal photo up- as it is unbelievably that time of the year again.
Pretty soon it will be Thanksgiving (and before that, Charlie's baptism).

Truman and my pumpkin

Truman will be Charlie's great-godfather/uncle (as he is my sponsor).

I also finished my first week back at work. I feel mostly caught up, as I have a somewhat smaller caseload, and my coworkers have been great. Its been tough, though, every day a little more so. There's always something tugging at my heart, and its almost like I've reverted back to my, not so far off ago, post-pregnancy emotional state. I'm such a mess sometimes, which makes me feel so ridiculous, because my life is wonderful!
I've been in discussions with my boss and her boss, working out my part-time status. Its so difficult- even though it does not seem like it should be (I just want to work part-time so I can be with my baby more!)- and not because of where I work. They are trying to accommodate me and my new restrictions, so to speak. I knew that I would probably take a pay-cut, lose my benefits and have to move to a foreign part of the company. But honestly, my options really aren't that great, and change, no matter how wonderful, is hard. And why should I have to be demoted, worry about my finances, insurance, disability benefits, retirement, career, etc. just because I've made this choice? It feels like I'm being punished. And now it sounds like I'm whining. Except, I know in my heart that this is the only thing that I want to do, and all of the negatives are nothing compared to being able to stay at home during this time in my child's life. Its going to be so worth it. (I know I say this a million times, but maternity leave would be so much better if it lasted for a full year.)

One interesting thing I've come to realize, is that every mother/parent goes through this struggle to some degree- making a choice, sacrificing something. I'd never realized that before. (And oh so many other things I've learned; naive little me.)

~Becky

Happy Halloween!

~Becky (and Trav and Charlie)

P.S. I have to go back to work tomorrow :( Charlie is 3 months old!
Time to take off my leggings and go back out into the real world for a while. Its just such a long time to be away from my baby...
But happily, its only for six weeks, and then I am only going to be working part-time.

P.P.S. Why are pictures in black and white and sephia so fun?