Baby Claire's First Music Video!

I'm getting ready to return to work after two months off, and I wanted to share a few pictures of Claire with my students, but I realize now this is totally long!  I figured I'd just share it with family and friends (and maybe some with my students, but as Matt says, there's a lot of naked baby in there).  I used Windows Movie Maker (of course) but I had a lot of trouble converting the videos.  Apparently I'd just be better off with Windows 7, that was the extent of my "tech help" so I had to convert them on my own.  I actually have a lot of videos, but I got so sick of converting them (silly me, I guess I should have done this all along, I didn't realize they weren't playing on here... like, I swear when I put videos on here before they did play) I ended up just picking a few of my favorites.  Well, there was a cute one of her in just a diaper, but it was a blue diaper, and even I did a quick double take--that's a GIRL, right?  :) 

Claire and I are enjoying our last few days off before I have to return to school and she goes to school for the first time.  I'm a bit torn up about it, since I always dreamed of being a true stay-at-home mom, and obviously that's not going to happen.  At least I get summers off with her!  It's a long way until May though!

Claire's First Christmas!

A Very Grinchy Christmas indeed!

Claire tries for her Grinchiest expression.

Claire's first Christmas was a very successful one.  Even though we had to travel to FOUR different places, she behaved quite well.  However, this year taught us that it will be the LAST time we decide to travel around to so many places on Christmas!  Next year I'm looking forward to a fun morning at home opening our gifts from Santa... and then staying home to play with said gifts for hours upon hours.

Looking less than thrilled on Christmas Eve--Where's my Grinch?

Claire obviously received the best stuff.  On Christmas Eve we had a small get together and she received a copy of The Night Before Christmas, which we read before bedtime, along with How the Grinch Stole Christmas (which is still her favorite... I mean, you'd think someone not two months of age would not show preference, but she seems very happy hearing that book and looking at it's pictures.  Perhaps because they are black and white and red pictures, or maybe, just maybe, I make those voices the best).  
She also received some "educational" literature:

The White on Black book is a favorite that we are putting in our diaper bag for when we are out and would like to read.  The Mizzou 101 book is so she grows up being a smart, educated Tiger!

So then we readied ourselves for Christmas Day.  Claire wore a beautiful red, black, and white plaid dress (her first fancy outfit!) and we had a second dress in the waiting, just in case (and yes, eventually we spit up on the very nice dress).

A brief moment in the Santa hat and "Baby's first Christmas" bib and nice dress.  All will soon go to hell in favor of comfort!

But after a whole day of "Ho, Ho, Ho-ing" around town, Claire had quite the stash of gifts:

Claire's swag.  Note, most of the books DID come from me (I am the English teacher), but she also has lots of cool toys, too.  I'm partial to the stuffed animals, but she got a lot of great noise making toys, too.  Hours of fun (for us, very soon, I'm sure). 

These aren't even all of them!  We didn't throw in her outfits or other baby gifts that are really more for us.  And her Baby Einstein entertainment thingy is still at her grandparents' house--we didn't have room in the car!  Of the gifts so far we've played with the snail tummy time toy (which she LOVES!), her rattle ball, and we've read Green Eggs and Ham, a story from her big book, and the Dog book, which although I didn't think she'd really register what it was, perhaps she recognizes pugs, because she loved looking at it, especially when there was a page that had moving parts, then she'd look with big eyes and smile up at me.  

But her favorites?  The stuffed animals, of course!

It's like playing Where's Waldo

Here I am! 

She also surprised herself by hugging a few of the toys.  She doesn't know how to hug, I know this, but she grows more active with her hands and arms every day.  So in her flailing she got her arms right around Eeyore,  and surprised herself by giving him a big hug.  I had to laugh, because once she did it, she kept looking at him and doing it again.  I think she just liked the way he felt, but still, it's a start!

I like you, Eeyore, but Dad says I can't do any more than that until I'm 21. 

And here is Claire's accidental hug of the Grinch.  By this point, she realized we were taking great pleasure in something she was doing, so she's got a pretty smug look on her face!  We are just completely in love with Claire--what a great Christmas present to us to get to enjoy the holiday through her eyes!

Did you know he stole the last can of Who-Hash?  But then his heart grew three sizes, so he gave it back. 

The Three Wise Bags

Claire after her bath this morning--super stoked about Christmas Eve!

I can finally say I know more about sewing than I thought I did.  Last Christmas I made everyone a standard pair of flannel pants (and much to their dismay, I didn't go to the flannel sale at JoAnne's Fabrics this year, so no one got a pair of pants!).  However, in my quest in all things crafty, I found this pattern for an awesome bag!  I was going to make my own diaper bag, or a school bag, but I'd kind of been shot down on the diaper bag idea, and we already had one.  We really need two diaper bags so I can use one for just daycare and one for us.   But in the meantime, I got a great idea that these would make nifty "Grandma's Day Out" bags for our two new grandmothers!  This way they could have something special to carry when they go out with Claire (of course, they could just use MY diaper bag, but that's not nearly so special).  So I decided on the pattern, and bought some fabric, and came up with these:

The flowery bag is for Grandma Katy and the circle bag is for Grandma Paula. 

A close up... this is my favorite--except for mine, of course.

 So I picked coordinating fabrics for both Grandma bags.  I didn't want anyone jealous or upset about color choice (not that they would be, but you never know, I've made people angry over smaller issues).  I found the fabric at JoAnne's Fabrics, although I'd had my eye on some designer Anna Marie Horner fabric when I'd looked at the bag originally.  After I'd finished Bag #1, I realized that in fact it was a great size, and customizable to fit things like bottles and my phone (I can't find a good place to stick my phone in the current bag, drives me crazy).  So, I sucked it up and got in touch with Sew Fresh Fabrics on ETSY who was kind enough to talk me through the process of buying fabric online--and I did!  And I LOVE the end result:

My new diaper bag!  I love love love the fabric!  It looks so good together!  Who knew I could pick colors so well? :)

My customizable inside--note: I've got 4 BumGenius in here, plus a receiving cloth, wet bag, wipes, a changing pad, a bag of cleaning products, and assorted other goodies inside--more than enough space!

And on the outside, although you might not be able to tell, there are pockets on both sides.  One side is split in half and fits two bottles perfectly.  The other side I left open, which fits a bottle of water (to mix the formula, of course). 

But I wasn't done yet!  We've been trying to use cloth wipes, but found that we needed several more.  Remember all those flannel pants I made last year?  Well, their scraps went to good use!  I also picked up a remnant of fleece and made some fleece liners for her cloth diapers (for when we have to use diaper rash cream, since it'll ruin her diapers if it gets on them).  The fleece was better, because it was no stitch, but I made a ton of wipes (these are just some... we've been wiping with them since I made them, we are totally out of the cute purple ones, so I can't show you!)

Fleece liners in two sizes (for our two diaper types, since one is a little smaller).  And many many wipes!

 And what does Claire think about all this?

Claire's first smile on camera... she's been smiling forever, but it's sort of like Bigfoot--you can't catch it on film to prove it!

Adventures in Parenting: How to Make the Most of the Worst of the Worst

Or perhaps I should title this... "Parenting 101: What the Heck NOT to do with Your CHILD"... or "Don't Believe the Weather Channel"

Anyway, yesterday we had a day of adventures planned for us.  1.  I had a doctor's appointment (I'm cleared!  Finally!), 2.  We had our free car maintenance at Bommarito Volkswagen up in Saint Louis.  3.  We planned to pilgrimage to Cotton Babies, and 4.  SHOPPING!  I love the malls in STL, and I wanted so many things (none of which I found to buy, of course).

So, we did get to do all of those things, baby in tow.  She was doing great.  This was my first big trip with baby, so I felt silly like I was packing our lives away in the diaper bag, but I wanted to be prepared for anything (oh.. foresight).  We got great things at Cotton Babies, I found the vest I'd wanted for half off (I'd ordered then canceled, then went back to reorder, but figured I'd look at them first--50% off!!).  I also am wanting to try cloth wipes for at home use, so I picked up a bottle of wipe spray, but decided I'd make wipe cloths instead of buying them, since they're too darn simple not to make (and I have a ton of flannel just laying around with nothing to do).
But at the Galleria, we didn't find anything, and we needed to get home, so we cut our shopping short.  Not short enough, however.  As soon as we hit the road it started to mist (I'm recalling a Stephen King story about how the mist was deadly... I think I'm pairing it with falling, man eating frogs that came from the mist, but I might be mingling stories here).  Anyway, my dad called from home and said it's bad, stay up there, get a hotel.  No sooner did I get off the phone, it WAS bad, so bad in fact, we didn't know exactly what to do.  We'd made it to I-70 (for those not local, that's the highway that cuts through the state, and takes us home), but cars were sliding left and right (and right off the road, and into other cars, etc.).  So we tried to make a "hasty" retreat to a gas station, only to get stuck on the off ramp.  The car was sliding so bad I just threw it in park and sat there.  It was too slick to even get out of the car to walk... and oh we'd made it so close to that gas station/McDonalds.  A very nice, saintly gentleman was walking back to the highway and helped us maneuver the car up the rest of the ramp (he literally stood at my window, guiding the car--he could push it... since we were on ice and all).  We got to the station and found out in fact I-70 wasn't an option--a few semis had jack-knifed, blocking the way, and they were shutting the highway down, at least for a while.  Many people in our situation were simply stuck all night on the highway in their cars (we only had a half tank of gas, which used to be my definition of "basically a full tank"... we'd have never lasted all night on that though!).  So we settled in, did a diaper change and a feeding and discussed options (there weren't any).
The baby was a dear.  She loved the lights in the McDonalds, so we just kept her happy and kept checking for news about when we could leave.  My diaper bag was pretty stocked--I had 3 disposable diapers, plus 4 BumGenius diapers (that's a good day/night of diapers, if not more), so we were set.  I also had 12 hours of formula or so, but at midnight we gave her her last bottle, so I started to get scared, as we weren't leaving yet.  Now, Claire's normal feeding schedule was just about the same... we always give a late night bottle and then make it till about 5 a.m.  So, I figured we had a few hours, but with our situation, who knew when we'd get home!  I also realized that I'd ill-packed one item--wipes!  I never really do diaper changes on the go, so I had no idea how many we had in our little travel pack, but realized at the gas station that we were down to our last two wipes.  I started to panic, since they didn't have wipes or formula at the gas station, but I remembered my earlier purchase of butt spray (and our easy access to napkins!) and was at least relieved I wouldn't be dunking and flushing my daughter in a seedy gas station bathroom to get her clean.

Well, we called the hospital for advice on what to feed her (we got a big fat--don't do anything but formula) so we started to re-access.  We were at mile marker 200, there was a Wal-Mart at mile marker 193.  We found out from some locals that the south service road was passable, so we could get there.  It kind of felt like the Zombie Apocalypse, discussing rumors about where people were headed for safety and which places were impassible.  Minus the zombies, of course.  I was apprehensive about leaving a known safe place for the unknown, because if we got stuck, well, then, what?  We filled up our tank and headed out though, because the promise of Wal-Mart and formula was too strong a draw.  We made it there (it took about 30 minutes to make it 7 miles) and basically made Wal-Mart our house for a few hours.  Poor Claire had thrown up part of her midnight bottle and was gooey with formula, so she had a little impromptu hair wash and outfit change in the Wal-Mart family bathroom sink (I have travel cleaning supplies in the bag, clever me, plus a change of clothes, plus an extra hat).  We also immediately bought some formula, for just in case.  Then we strolled around Wal-Mart--they had a really neat selection of stuff there, not like our normal store, so we found lots of stuff we probably should have bought, but didn't (you don't need baby toys during the apocalypse, right?).
We unfortunately were NOT getting any updates at Wal-Mart, it was sort of like a dead zone.  So I took a brief "break" in the car (parked in the lot with about 100 semis, not even kidding), and we finally heard through MoDot's hotline that they'd cleared the highway so it was open.  We ran to a gas station on our way out and asked, sure enough, they thought we could make it.  Now, normally from that exit (it's also, little known fact, the home of the closest Jack-in-the-Box to where I lived in Columbia during college, don't ask) it takes me an hour flat to make it home.  Well, it took us about 2 1/2 hours to get home... getting us home just after 5, which was exactly when Claire woke her pretty head up and started fussing for a bottle (we never even needed the extra formula, thank goodness). 

NOW the story is funny, and kind of wonderous, but at the time I was freaking the "eff" out.  On my own I'd have been scared, because that's the way I am.  I don't talk to people.  With just Matt this would have been an adventure.  It'd have been kind of fun in a weird way.  With the baby... well, it was one of the scariest things I've ever been through.  Amazing what being "responsible" does for the psyche.  I was just impressed I packed so well, in the end!  Now I'll never make fun of myself for packing like we'd be gone for two days, as, we almost were!

Our lovely Planet Wise wet bag held all our dirty diapers with no stink or mess.  The baby slept great in her car seat (and since she has to sleep elevated anyway, it actually worked out better than most nights--she slept like an angel).  Even though our iPod jammed (with the repeating tracks of the vacuum playing, which is her "lullably") we had static from the radio and the new Taylor Swift CD... which she adores.  So she was happy as a clam.  Other than US being extremely tired when we got home, for her it was as if nothing had happened.  I never really realized she'd actually developed a bit of a pattern to her daily routine until we were out and about and she held to it.  Now I'm even a little relieved at knowing when I have to go back to work, I already have her in a set routine of sorts!

I think for any parent this would be scary.  Just remember, Wal-Marts are the best place to get stuck because they have everything you'll ever need.  Second best places are gas stations with McDonalds built in.  If we'd made it to a hotel, we'd have had a place to rest and sleep, but still no supplies (not that we actually needed any) but still--it's better to have stuff and little comfort, than great comfort but no stuff.  That's the moral of the story.  Oh, and don't believe the stupid reports about a "chance" of glazing on overpasses and bridges.  What they mean by that is, don't, for whatever reason, leave your house, ever.  So, there you go.  That was our night of horrors.  At least there weren't any actual zombies.  (And if there were, Wal-Mart DOES have guns and ammo... so... just saying).

How Time Flies! What I've Figured Out So Far...

Claire will officially be 6 weeks old on Wednesday.  Can't believe it!  I'm sure most people who know me well figured I'd never last.  Well, the teenage years quickly approach (so it seems), so stick around and I'm sure you'll witness many a melt-down.

These are just some of the things I'd never think of or know before I was a Momma.  It's amazing what having Claire has done to my patience, my ability to function on little to no sleep, and my gag reflex!

1.  Sometimes even though I really really love cloth diapering, I wish I'd used a disposable.  Those times are when I'm hunched over the toilet trying to spray out a diaper and questioning whether or not it's a new one or used... therefore it would be okay just to throw it away, right?  Right?

2.  Sometimes ingenuity finds you at your weakest moments... meaning a sleep deprived momma can indeed rig a sleep sack to not block breathing, BUT still hold in the pacifier.  That's skill.

3.  It probably doesn't matter that she's just peed in the bathwater.  I'll call it Eau de Claire.

4.  That Alice in Wonderland movie with Johnny Depp is NOT the movie to watch when you're up all night with a crabby baby watching movies to keep you awake.  I don't know if it was just that terrible or I was just that done with putting up with bullshit.  Not a ringing endorsement, is it?

5. On our most trying days... the baby is clean, neatly dressed in a wonderful outfit, has every feeding in and written down... I on the other hand, haven't showered (or better yet, got in the shower but didn't have a chance to actually break into the soap or shampoo before we started screaming and I had to get out), have formula dried all over me, and can't remember if I've eat or brushed my teeth all day.  The lesson?  Avoid mirrors, it's fine.

6.  Baby socks are such crap.  I mean really.  If I can't manage to wrangle my own socks, my husband can't stay in his socks, how in the world am I expected to keep her socks on her and keep them together after wearing?

7.  Probably an addendum to #5... I think the dried formula grains that I get all over are probably useful for exfoliation.  Don't you think so?  I mean, didn't royalty used to bathe in milk or something?  So... this isn't a far cry for that, is it? 

8.  You never realize how much you don't really need to run to the store to pick up a few things when you also know you have to drag the baby with you.  Don't have one essential ingredient for dinner that would take a max of five minutes to grab at the store?  Frozen pizza for dinner for all!

9.  I bounce and rock so much for the baby, I find myself bouncing and rocking without her.  It's weird.  I look like I have a problem.  I'm hoping to tame this before I go back to work.

10.  And... sleeping to the sounds of a vacuum and hair dryer are soothing to babies.  You can download these tracks of it and have it play all night.  And surprisingly, it helps the dogs and us sleep better!  I don't know how I never noticed this before.  When I was a college and a neighboring apartment would start up their vacuum I'd be so angry.  Now I can't hardly sleep without it!

I've learned plenty more... but these were just fun things that I think of and discuss with Claire all day (we have pretty sophisticated conversations, actually).  In all seriousness, I enjoy being a parent, never thought I'd say that or see the day.  Actually, I never thought I'd see the day I had to wash laundry just to get clean sweat pants... or the day (week) I wouldn't bother with make up or other "essentials" from my pre-baby days.  I wouldn't trade it for the world!  Well... maybe a little eyeliner and mascara wouldn't be out of line to ask for!

The Furry Brothers and Sister

I haven't said much about the dogs through all of this; trust me, they aren't forgotten. They've definitely had to adjust to their new living arrangement though. I never thought I'd have to sacrifice time with the dogs being a new parent, but it's hard to juggle a pug, plus two normal dogs, plus a baby (and winter weather doesn't help, because that shuts down our outside outlets anyway... the hairy dogs don't mind, but Wally gets cold... and somehow this year it seems an even bigger hassle to bundle HIM up for the weather too before we go out).

So, the dogs' reactions:

Wally seems the most amiss. I am his people, so my time being consumed in baby land has cut his attention (but not the love, which is what I try to tell him). He does notice the baby, and he appreciates her about as much as he appreciated when my belly was huge and got in his way. Lots of snorts and grunts... he's a pug, pugs make noises all the time. At night he gets cranky and will snuggle with Matt instead of me if I have to keep checking on Claire. He has given her a few kisses, and he'll look at her... but mostly he's just interested in ME and ME time. He will sit nice around her though (posing for pictures is still a far way off). Tomorrow if the baby disappeared he wouldn't be concerned, as long as I was still here and had kibbles. I'm hoping when she gets a little more aware and can show him attention, it will melt his heart. Right now we call him the Grinch (since we're reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas a lot). Wally stole the Who-Hash! (You should hear this in HIS voice... laugh riot).

Dang! Are you freakin' kidding me? All this fuss over this thing? She can't even eat kibbles! Wally is way better! Now get me some Who-Hash already!

Mogwai, who we thought wouldn't even be aware the baby came has been the most doting and sweetest dog. He loves to be close to Claire and loves to look at her. He always comes over by me to just see her and check on her. Since we are rooming in (lots of people/dogs sleeping in my room all of a sudden) Mogwai will pop up (not as much now that he realizes I have things under control) and check when she cries. It's almost like he's looking from me to the baby telling me I need to get on this... the baby needs something! He's such a sweet and docile dog anyway... I'm almost worried Wally will have a run for his money as Claire's favorite. He's not much of a snuggler, but it's so cute when he's on the couch and will lay his head right on her boppy (she's always in her boppy it seems, for the elevation) and sleep. Cute cute.

I can has baby?

Muriel is acting pretty much like I called it. Granted, she's been a lot nicer than I thought she would be, but she's pretty melodramatic. Of course, since the earth hasn't opened up and swallowed her, she's starting now to be a bit more calm. She does sleep downstairs now, instead of upstairs with us. She likes to look at the baby and check on her (and I've never seen any ill will from her part, but I also KNOW my dog... she can be very mean for no reason, so for now she's not really getting any baby action). We've tried (TRIED) to make it not seem like the baby caused these changes. We'd been cutting back on activities and time with the dogs, and even sleeping arrangements, prior to her arrival. So I'm hoping Muriel won't just blame the baby.

Muriel doing what she does best... sleep on the couch where she's not technically allowed. Oblivious to all things baby, but waiting any moment for us to tell her to get down, when she will dramatically leap to the floor and pace around because there is no place to sleep or sit other than the couch, as the floor is secretly coated in some kind of dog killing poison and as soon as she lays down, it'll kill her.

Overall everyone is doing well. I like being a parent and having a baby, but sometimes I miss the whole lifestyle before when my "kids" could be locked up for a night and I could go get a nice glass of wine. I'm hoping eventually (that I'll get another glass of wine? no...) that the dynamic will be more adjusted and now Claire can be their biggest playmate and we can sit back and enjoy the frolicking. For now I think we'll be fine though... Grinch and all.

The whole happy family... most nights (if you could come over and not send the dogs into panic mode to greet you, this is what you'd find.)

Postpartum Momma Work-Out Notes

I love working out. I won't lie. I don't usually enjoy it at the time, but I always feel better. I stopped going to the gym during my third trimester because I was simply too exhausted to continue working and working out. So I've been hankering to go back post-baby, with the realistic expectation that I'd be starting off at square one again.
Only, I didn't realize there was a whole NEW square one--as in, square one with a bullet--the new post-baby body.
I've got some weight to lose, yes. And I've got skin, extra skin for days. I'm just now four weeks out from being pregnant (and no, I've not received the "official release" from my doctor... but I was told I could reasonably do whatever I felt like doing... stress on "reasonable").
So this is the plan: squeeze eyes shut tight, buy all bigger pants, throw away scale.
No seriously. My plan is to slowly start back on the things I most enjoyed pre-baby: spinning, jogging, weight lifting (won't start this until after my "official release"). But the more I try, the more I realize someone needs to give a few guidelines to us new moms on what the hell NOT to do. For instance:
1. Jumping jacks. No seriously. I've always hated them. But I was trying to do the Jillian Michaels Shred work out or whatever... it's OnDemand. And she wants me to do jumping jacks. So I say to myself, "Self--you're doing this, your ass needs it" only to find out, no. Jumping jacks are a big fat no. I felt like an adult diaper commercial. No.
2. Running fast. You just can't. I had flashbacks to my waddling ways during the last few weeks of being pregnant. My legs felt like they were going to split off my body Barbie style. So I stopped trying to "run" and jogged. I felt less athletic, but my hips (which still hurt) thank me. Start slow on things that involve balance and impact.
3. Back Exercises. I've always had a bad back. Yes. So I know the importance of what a good back and core exercise can do for you. Unfortunately your spine is out of whack after a baby. So the ol' back doesn't want to participate. I actually had been having backaches just to get an email from one of those parenting websites asking if I had a backache (why yes, I do, why do you ask?) and it explained the sad truth. So, I've been wearing this thing to help contain my sad deflated belly and it also helps support the back. Do NOT do back or lifting (or squats, or jumping jacks) without this thing. Miracle band. That's what I call it.
4. Sitting and Exercising. Did you have a baby the "natural" way? Just remember, you're putting that all up on a hard bicycle seat. Spinning will be back, oh yes, but I'm not even trying until my release. I "sat" on a seat to see. I was still optimistic. But after my soreness from jogging, I realize that would probably be like having a second baby a month after having my first baby. (You'd think my generous behind would help cushion that or something... wasn't that the point in getting so big in the first place? The comfortable seating?)

So... there you have it. That's what I've learned this week trying to work out. Oh yeah... those big baby books and big pregnancy books work great for starter weights. Truth. I got quite the work out at home with just a few of those suckers to lift in lieu of actual weights.

Working out will be fun again. Some how. But I have this great baby to show for it... and if I keep using my moby wrap, no one will be able to see my belly. :)

One for All the Nay-Sayers--Cloth Diapers Rock!

Well, thanks to the education of our friend, we decided that cloth diapering would actually be a feasible choice for our family long before Baby Claire made her entrance to the world. I personally hate the idea of disposable diapers (and trust, after having a baby, the mama care has sealed this deal as I feel sometimes I'm wearing the adult version, and I can't stand that either). Cloth diapers have come a long way, as I've tried to encourage my family and friends to get on board, I keep pointing this out.
We built our stash on bumGenius 3.0s and 4.0s, FuzziBunz, and a few odds and ends diapers that we picked up free through all this shipping. I didn't plan ahead for what to do for a newborn, knowing full well she wouldn't fit in these right away although we'd been assured otherwise by other cloth mammas. I'd actually came up with a wish list of some covers and inserts just for newborns, which would have cost right at $100, but could be used from birth through at least a few months... but I decided not to invest in them, hoping we'd fit in these a little early:
A shot of the inside--note how it just looks like a regular diaper for the most part--no weird folding, folks! Rest assured!

Well, when Claire was born (at a whole 6 lbs, 13 oz) I started to worry because most guides say these one-sizes (which is short for one size fits all--these diapers go from birth to potty training) start right around 8 lbs. And at the rate we were zipping through disposables, I saw that I'd have broke about even with my purchase of newborn cloth if we didn't do something. So after her belly button fell off, almost immediately, we wet through a couple of our disposables and had a mini-blow out situation. I was getting quite frustrated--disposables are supposed to be BETTER, right? Isn't that what I keep being told? So I threw a bumGenius 3.0 shell (no insert) over her disposable just to contain the mess and low and behold, it worked. So that got me thinking. I decided that even though she was barely back to her birthweight (we had some issues, see older posts) and no where near 8 lbs, we'd give it a go. I used the newborn inserts, and dug through some of my inserts from our "well-loved" sale adventure to find some thinner ones and we got started.
Since some of my 40 diaper stash are actually "well-loved" (used, if you will) diapers, I've had to do some work to make sure that the diapers had a tight fit for her little booty. Our new diapers have been the best, but since we don't have a ton of newborn inserts, it's silly to just keep trying out diapers once we have about 20 that work for us already in rotation. I've not had any trouble with blow outs since, nor have I had any leaking to report (although a few times we've had the diapers on wrong, so that's kind of our fault, not the diapers).
What I can report is that I love cloth!! I used disposables for almost 3 weeks, and she's one month old Friday, so I'd say I gave it a fair shot for both kinds, and although disposables might be easier (not that much easier, seriously), the cloth has not been the hassle that everyone has promised. I wash diapers about every other day (since really, you shouldn't let them sit longer than that). We've had some issues with changing formula that I've gone back for some disposables just because I knew the kind of poo I was in for and I did NOT care to look at it longer than I had to, but her poos in the cloth diapers are really easy to deal with. We DO have the diaper sprayer (which has a learning curve... we've sprayed about everything thing in the bathroom including the dirty diaper) and disposable liners which have made clean up a breeze. Smell is not an issue. We use Country Save laundry detergent and I have some Rockin' Green which I plan to use about once a month once we really get going just as a good deep clean, since it also removes any detergent build up.
Claire got a diaper rash (almost immediately, I might add) from disposables, which I spent a lot of time and extra diapers trying to clear up. However, I've not had any of those issues with the cloth. I'm still really evil-eyeing the Pampers Dry-Max, since when we switched to Huggies, and then cloth, the diaper rash cleared right up.

So there is happy Claire in her bumGenius 3.0. It's actually not on all that well, since I was mostly concerned with her crying at the moment and trying to get the picture, instead of worrying about fit (see? Parent failure, not diaper failure!) We've started using regular inserts instead of newborn inserts for overnights, but the fit is actually pretty good. We are appreciating the hook and loop (fancy for velcro) instead of the snaps right now, simply because we can get them a little tighter and it's pretty hard for new diapering parents to master snaps in a timely manner at 2 am.
I just wish more parents could try these diapers out! Once you realize how easy it is to do and keep up with, I don't see why more parents don't take this route. Besides, her big fluffy bottom is so cute!