Proof

Sometimes people don't believe me when I tell them that my babies can stand on their own. 

Here is proof. 

I shot these with my kit lens on auto (Can't you tell? Check out those killer shadows!) It's hard to get pictures of it though with my 50mm lens because by the time I stand them up, scoot back and focus the camera, they're down. They can stand longer, but they're usually too busy to want to pose for a picture. Crawling is so much more efficient than taking steps, so they'll take 2-3 at a time and then graciously squat down. 

Either way, they can stand and they can even walk a little bit.

One of these days they'll realize how much cooler it is to walk. I can't decide if I want them to or not, but it will happen eventually. Sometimes I think it would be so much easier if I could set them down, especially when I'm by myself. Other times I think how crazy it will be chasing around toddler twins. 

Goooood heck. What am I in for?

And I'm on a blogging roll! I love scheduling posts out. It makes blogging soooo much easier. :)

Wherein where I almost threw my cloth diapers away.

Yep. You read that right. Me, the crazy person who's cloth diapering twins almost gave up. Why? Ammonia. Nasty, nasty, nasty ammonia. Here's what happened....

As you know, we just moved. We moved only 20 minutes away from our apartment, but that was enough to make our water much, much harder. Harder as in more minerals and junk in it. I've lived in Utah my entire life and have never had this hard of water and had no idea how much it would murder my diapers. 

Our move was also around the time that I started making my own detergent. I had heard RAVE reviews about it and it was super cheap, so I thought I'd give it a try. Apparently, the equal parts borax/washing soda/oxyclean recipe is fantastic if you have soft water, but if you have hard water, it doesn't do so great at getting all the minerals out. Well, those minerals mixed with pee equals an ammonia nightmare that I never wish to revisit. 

Have you guys smelled ammonia? It makes your eyes water, your nose hairs singe and your eardrums burst. Ok, that's dramatic, but you get the picture... it's horrid. It doesn't smell like pee, it smells like someone bottles all the acidic, rancid, fowl smelling smells and bottled them up for 10 years and then released in your face. (Again, dramatic, but... not really). It also gives wicked burns. Yes, burns. Not rashes, burns. Open wounds that BLEED. Poor Sophie got the worst of it and had SIX bleeding wounds on her behind. It was awful, awful, awful. She was in disposables (or sposies as some call them) and her butt was caked with every diaper cream under the sun. We did lots of "naked time" through out the day and I was constantly cleaning up puddles of pee. She cried and cried and cried. I cried too. Oddly enough, Lillian (the kid with suuuuper sensitive skin) wasn't fazed by anything. I still put her in disposables because I knew the problem was the diapers, but I didn't know what that deathly smell was and I didn't know why Sophie's butt was bleeding. 

I then figured out that it was ammonia and I tried a few tips on how to get rid of it. Rinsing, rinsing, rinsing, and more rinsing. I boiled my inserts, used a little bit of dawn dish soap, laid everything out in the sun aaaaaaand they still smelled like ammonia the second they were peed in. 

I then found a thread on babycenter (their cloth diaper board is where I've gained ALL my knowledge from) and they said to bleach the inserts and then use Tide. Remember when I shared my doubts in the Tide's new formula, so I decided to make my own detergent? Well, I shouldn't have. I mean, I love Tide. It works great for diapers especially if you have hard water. You just have to be very, very careful with how much you use. So, did a load with just my inserts and let them soak in bleachy hot water for about a half hour. I then added the rest of my diapers (and I washed everything, so 20 or so prefolds, 18ish pockets, 3 covers, and a random number of other inserts) and did my regular routine of cold rinse, hot wash, cold rinse with 2 TBS of Tide Ultra. 

It worked. 

The diapers now smell like pee when they're peed in, not ammonia nastiness. I don't think I've ever been happier to smell pee in my entire life! In fact, I know I've never been happier about smelling pee. By the time I got this all figured out, Sophie's bum was back to normal and now they're sportin' cloth again. 

So, what did I learn? 

If you have hard water, DON'T use vinegar. Apparently that just adds to the problem. If you have soft water (which most of the country doesn't) then it actually helps the problem. For me? Not so much. 

If you have a routine that works, don't mess with it. I guess I tweaked mine because I ran out of Original Tide and was too scared to try the new stuff. Tide works great. I don't think I'm ever going to use anything else, but with the new ultra formula, you have to use less. Like a lot less. Like only a TBS or so. Not much at all, but I promise they will still get clean!

Rotate between synthetic and natural fibers. Synthetic fibers (microfiber) tend to hold in ammonia more. If you're dealing with fabric that's been peed on, you WILL get ammonia. Most of the time, it successfully comes out in the wash and you don't have a problem. This is especially true if you use natural fibers (like cotton, bamboo or hemp) because they don't hold in the ammonia as easily. The longer I cloth diaper, the less and less I like microfiber. It just stinks that it comes with virtually every diaper...

Bleach is your friend. There are many people who pride themselves in never using bleach on their diapers. I haven't had to use it to get out stains, but ammonia stinks? It's part of what saved us. 

If you're frustrated with you diapers, know there's always a solution. I've read some craaaaazy stuff that's happened to diapers and most issues are resolvable. 

Even if you're a seasoned cloth diaperer (which I'm not sure if I am since I've only been doing it since my girls were about a month old) you can still run into problems, but once again, there will always be a solution. 

It is STILL worth it! Josh was getting really frustrated (understandably so) over Sophie's bum. I'll admit, you don't deal with ammonia in disposables. BUT we burned through them pretty quickly those few days we were using them. As I was throwing them away, I thought to myself  "this could buy me another Bumgenius." The cost savings was brought to life when the girls went back into cloth.

My homemade detergent isn't going to go to waste. It will still work great on regular clothes since our clothes don't have pee on them. Actually though, I know moms who use that detergent on their diapers with hard water and it works great. I guess I just never got the hang of it....

When I do a normal load with the new Tide, I think I'll only use 1 TBS. I haven't tried it with my normal load of 20ish diapers, but I realize that I might have to play with the amount before I find something that works for us. 

And I guess it's good to let your dirty diaper "air" out every once and a while since oxygen combats ammonia, but I think that would get stinky so I don't want to do that. I'll stick with my wet bag and Tide. :)

So there you have it. A post about a negative of cloth diapering. I fully admit that I was irritated beyond belief and felt really bad for Sophie. It was awful and I get mad just thinking about it. Stupid hard water...

Oh and if you haven't smelled ammonia and want to, just go buy this Afterbite bug stuff (which really does work, by the way). The main ingredient? Ammonia. I should have just wiped my dirty diapers on the bajillion mosquito bites I have (insert grumpy face). 

Aaaaand since I get asked for diaper recommendations a lot, here's my newest suggestion. 

Flip covers and their organic inserts.

That link will take you to cottonbabies' clearance page, but they're there on a really good sale. The covers are usually $14 each and the inserts are usually $8! Don't tell Josh, but I may have just ordered the 3 pack for $15. I need more natural fibers in my stash since microfiber has proved to fail me with Lillian and now even Sophie. The covers are 'one size' so they are supposed to fit from birth to potty training, but in reality, they fit babies once they hit 10 lbs or so. So, if you have a 10 lb newborn, you're set! If not, you may have to wait a little while. 

I love Flips and would recommend them to anyone because they "grow" with your baby, the quality is great and you can stuff them with almost anything. They even have disposable/biodegradable inserts that would still make it cheaper than buying Pampers. :)

Anyway, it's a super good sale. Don't be alarmed that they're 'seconds'. That's the condition I buy all my diapers in. They're not used, they're just the "TJ Maxx" quality diapers. Ya know, the ones that have a crooked seam or the ones that are slightly faded. Honestly though, I have11 diapers that are seconds and I can't find a single thing wrong with any of them. 

OH! And did I tell you that we got a sprayer? I think I did, but I'm too lazy to go check through old posts. It works great! It gets off way more than I thought it would and the diapers don't have any brown stuff on them by the time they hit the washing machine. Plus, the water rinses out some of the pee, so I feel like overall my diapers are getting cleaner. 

Ok, this post is long enough. Congratulations if you made it through it all. 

Problem Solvers

It first happened a few weeks ago. I was tickling Lillian under her chin and she decided she wanted me to stop. She grabbed my finger and pushed it away. Later, she wanted a toy that was wedged under a hamper. What did she do? She knocked over the hamper in order to get the toy. This morning, Sophie wanted to get to the coiled door stopper, so she closed the door and crawled over to it. She then wanted to get to her bottle, but it was behind a path of toys. She pushed everything aside and started to drink her well earned milk. 

These girls are officially problem solvers and its so fun to watch them figure it all out.

And just because you know I love a good bath photo... 

What pretty little goofs.

Wordless Wednesday

I still haven't learned that I need to hold my phone sideways in order to get the video upright. Oops.

The tricky thing about having twins.

*This post was written for moms of twins. Not saying others can't read this, but it's pretty twin specific and kind of long. It's also borderline offensive. Not offensive in a bad way, but some might see it as being offensive to motherhood or a 'poor me, I'm stuck with two babies post'. That's not what I intended at all. I'm am not trying to complain here. I'm just getting out 11 months worth of thoughts. So, read if you wish, but know that I warned you for potentially boring read. :)

Ok, there are a lot of things that are tricky about having two babies at once. Everyone knows about the sleepless nights, the constant crying, the diapers, bottles, etc, etc. There's something else that's hard about it that nobody talks about. People don't talk about it out of fear. Fear that others will judge you for being a horrible parent. Fear that you will make your children upset. Fear of admitting how you really feel deep down. I've been wanting to write about it for months now, but I've been too scared. In fact, I haven't really even talked to Josh about it too much, out of fear. What is this deep dark secret or burden twin moms are carrying? Well, I hinted at it back on this post, but in case you didn't catch it....

The lack of bonding with twins. 

Yep. Bonding. 

It's actually a lot more difficult than I would have ever imagined when you're given two babies at once. Now, I have talked to a few (ok, like 2) people about it and they both mentioned postpartum depression. Let me make something very clear, you do not necessarily have postpartum depression if you can't connect with your twins instantly. It's completely normal. You instantly go from no babies to two babies. It's hard. It's taken me months to really feel bonded with the girls. Months for what most moms feel in the first few seconds of their child's life. See why I've been scared to write about this? 

I know moms who have been scared for bonding with their second child when they already have one. This is also completely normal.  However, they already know what it's like to bond with one baby. Maybe I'm assuming things, but it would seem like that bonding would come more naturally the second time around too. Yes, there's an adjustment phase, but I feel like since they know of the bond between mother and child, they're able to sense it easier with the second child. When you have two at once (especially if they're you're first) you have NO idea what your in for. Your hormones are all over the place, you probably didn't get to hold your babies right away and you are sent home with these two little people to take care of. 

Now, if this post offends you already, stop reading. I'm mostly writing it for moms of twins because it directly relates to them and like I said, hardly anyone talks about it. If you follow Multiples and More you may have seen today's post. I cried as I read it because I can relate 100%. Sometimes I have a hard time not seeing my girls as "the girls" or "the twins". When they were really little, it was almost impossible. Yes, we've always had to walk on eggshells around Sophie and Lillian has always been more laid back, but it was still hard not seeing them as a unit. I had an extremely hard time bonding with them like a 'normal' mother/daughter relationship. Yes, I loved them. No, I wasn't depressed. There were just two of them. I hardly ever got the chance to just soak up a newborn because the other newborn was constantly on my mind. Even if she was sleeping, I worried if she was warm enough, could breathe easily, wanted her binkie, etc, etc. When you have one child, your first born, you can forget about the laundry, dinner, sweeping, scrubbing the toilet and just focus on your baby. Moms that have two at once, never get that like a mom of a singleton. Truthfully, there have been times that I've been pretty bitter over that fact. 

I want to know what it's like to become a mother for the first time and being able to have your baby attached to you every second of your day and attached to you seconds after they're born. I want to have a successful breastfeeding experience (not saying I blame having twins on it, but I think it really, really did contribute to my failure). I want to be physically able to carry by kids long distances. I mean, have you tried carrying two 20 lbs babies up 3 flights of stairs in 90 degree heat? I just tried that the other day and almost died. I don't recommend it. I want to know what it's like to go out in public and NOT talk to anyone. I'm sick of answering questions. The excitement of the extra attention is gone. I'm over being a circus show. I want to know what it's like to only change 7-10 diapers a day, not 15-20. I want to know what its like to not constantly compare my girls against each other and worrying because Lillian figured something out and Sophie has no interest in it yet. Or I want to not worry about comparing their poops because I know they're eating the exact same thing, so why aren't their poops the same?

I'm rambling here, but basically, sometimes I look at Lillian and think, "why did you decide to come on board with Sophie?" Not that Sophie was 'made' first, but she's baby a, so I pretend Lillian's the one who decided to come with her sister. But then, after all of my wishing that I had them one at a time, I remember how freaking awesome it is to have twins. How everyone should want twins and how everyone should be jealous of those of us who have twins.

It's amazing to see two polar opposite personalities budding at once. It's amazing to see my daughters become friends. It's even amazing to see them fight (which they now do... a LOT) because I know that they are aware of each other. The attention is even amazing because it reminds me how blessed I am. I can't even wrap my mind around the odds of me having these two fantastic little babies. They came healthy. They came perfect. They are mine. When I meet people and they comment on their gorgeous eyes or their adorable little smiles, I am reminded of that.So while I think I'll always mourn the fact that I don't know what it's like to mother one, I need to remember that I am a part of a club that nobody can request to join. It's pure chance. And it's through this experience that I've met some amazing women and created some incredible bonds. These girls have been the greatest blessings in my life.

And in a little over two weeks, these girls will be a year old. An entire year of sleepless nights (well, maybe 200 sleepless nights...). An entire year of diapers (which has thankfully been super cheap thanks to cloth diapering). An entire year of formula. An entire year of falling in love with these girls as individuals. My quirky little Sophie and my shy little Lillian are completely different people. Completely different. And you know what else? Now that they're a little older, I'm oddly able to bond with them as if they were newborn. Lillian has gotten super, super clingy to me and wants to be at arms reach of me every second. Sophie, has become a little more independent, which is great because I've been able to spend a lot of time getting to know Lillian better. I'm sure Sophie will go through her clingy phase and I can really focus on her then. 

I'm still rambling, but don't worry, I'm almost done. :) This is one of the reasons I don't dress them alike very often. Sure we have several matching or coordinating outfits, but I've made a pretty good effort to dress them differently most of the time. Why? Because they're different people and for some stupid reason, it helps me (and the entire human population) realize it more when they are wearing different clothes. Maybe that's why I've defended their fraternal status so much. Anything I can do to not think of them as a unit, I do. That's really helped.

Ok, I'm done. This post was kind of all over the place and I don't really know if I said what I intended to say. Basically, if you're struggling with this at all, know that you're not alone. I have a feeling that this post is going to get a lot of reassuring comments and I know I'm looking forward to them. :) 

Aaaaand just because....

My babies are the best.

It's moments like these...

...that I realize how great it is to have twins. They were chasing each other around our bed and giggling hysterically. 

They love each other so, so much.

The great car seat debate.

 If you've got a child under two, I'm sure you've thought about switching your kids to a forward facing car seat. The plan for us (like most) was to make the switch at a year old. But, after learning about the AAP's new (or not so new) recommendations, a little deliberation between the husband and myself, and watching a few youtube videos, we decided that we're going to be keeping the girls rear facing until they're at least two.

Not the greatest picture, but this is the best one I have with them in their seats. Sophie's on the verge of sleep and Lillian's chuggin' down on a sippy cup that they will actually drink from!

Like most of my parenting decisions, I did a lot of research here. Actually, choosing a car seat was really, really stressful for me and I spent months trying to figure it all out. We finally went with these seats and plan on getting these when the girls hit 40 lbs.

Carseats (like everything else relating to children) can be a hot topic for people. I debated it for months, but I kept coming back to the fact that I knew keeping them backwards was safer and since I knew that, I wasn't  sure I could forgive myself if I switched them and something bad happened. Right before we purchased the new seats, I found this youtube video and it helped solidify my decision. 

That did it for me and we got the new seats just a few days later.

Here's another good one that addresses some of the arguments for forward facing.

Oh! And on a completely unrelated note, we got a diaper sprayer last night! We went to Lowes, got the supplies for a little under $30 and Josh had it put together in minutes. It beats paying $50ish for one and then having to wait for it to get shipped to you! I haven't had a need to use it yet, which is annoying, but the poop will come when it comes. I just really want to see how good it works!

Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday!

Sunbaby update

I keep forgetting to update on my Sunbaby/prefold experiment. I got the prefolds super, super quick. I ordered them on a Saturday and got them on Tuesday! That's pretty good for free, standard shipping. I prepped them by washing them once (I think I just threw them in with the load of towels I needed to do) and immediately stuffed them into the diapers. They are awesome! They lasted the girls a couple of hours and didn't leak at all. They were a teeny bit on the bulky side, but they still worked really well. I think I'll use these for when we're at home and the girls hang out in just a diaper and a t-shirt and save my more trim diapers for when we're out and about. I'm really glad I tried this though because now I have 10 more diapers that are good to use!

I know she looks super grumpy, but here's Lillian in a Sunbaby stuffed with a prefold

So, if you're going to go this route (which is super, super, super cheap) I'd just plan on getting some infant size prefolds to use with them as soon as your baby starts eating more. Like I mentioned in the previous post, they worked great until my girls hit about 5 months, but then the inserts weren't absorbent enough. I spent $50 on the diapers and another $15 (or was it $6?) on the prefolds and that provided me with a full days supply for one baby. Pretty cheap if you ask me!

Little Buddies

These babies really are becoming little buddies. You just have to ignore the times (such as 10 seconds ago) when Sophie deliberately knocked over Lillian and then she bit Sophie back in retaliation. Luckily, Josh is here right now and intervened further attacks. 

I still think they like each other. I think anyway...

That was a pretty Wordless Wednesday. Well, it was for me at least. :)

2.5

*** Sometimes, I'm really dumb. I wrote this entire post thinking it was our 2 1/2 year anniversary (that counts as an anniversary, right?). Guess what? It's July, not June. Duh! Our 2 1/2 mark was June 19th. Today is July 19th. I guess that's what happens when you throw kids and buying a house into the mix. Oh well, I guess I just love Josh an extra months worth.***

WARNING! Super sappy post. Read at your own risk. 

It's been 2 1/2 years since Josh and I got married. This August, will be 4 years since we met and a year since we welcomed children into our home. It sounds so cliche, but I vividly remember the moment I decided that I liked him. We were in his room, (and no, we didn't go to BYU...) he was playing the This Side on his mandolin and I was talking to his roommate. As much as that mandolin (and all his other musical instruments) drive me batty sometimes, I love it. 

I've loved almost every second of these past 4 years. I've loved the leaps of faith we've taken together. I've loved being super, super poor with him. I love our inside jokes. I love our conversations. I love how we're not afraid to disagree with each other. I love how I get swallowed in his hugs. I love how much he cares about me and his baby girls. I love watching him be a father. I love how hard he works for us. 

 

 

 

 

The last two photographs taken by Sharon Johnson.

Yep, I love him. I'm so glad his extremely tall stature and mandolin caught my eye 4 years ago.

And just in case you don't know about Nickel Creek...

This will always be one of my very favorite songs. :)

Cloth Diaper Myths Debunked

* I meant to post this tomorrow (Monday) but accidentally posted it tonight. 
Oops.

When I tell people I cloth diaper (or when they ask, since I usually don't come out and tell people) they always have questions. Most of the questions I get could be chalked up as 'myths' of cloth diapering. People usually don't have any idea what its all about. I had no idea either until I started looking into it. I had to convince myself, Josh and everyone around me that it was something we were capable of doing. There are a lot of misconceptions and misinformation out there, so if you're curious, here is my attempt to debunk some of the myths.

1. Cloth diapering is gross.

I don't think anyone in their right mind would call diapering a baby glamorous. Whether you're changing a disposable diaper or a cloth one, it's gross. You're dealing with the same stuff. One thing about cloth diapering that I didn't realize is how little I would have to touch. With pocket diapers, all you have to do is pull out the insert. Bumgenius inserts have a tag on them that I make sure is at the back of the diaper and that makes it super, super easy to pull the whole thing out without touching anything. 90% of the time, the tag isn't even wet. From there, I throw everything into my wet bag. I don't roll it like I would a disposable and I don't have to secure any velcro because I mostly use snaps. When there's solid waste (can I just say poop? Does that gross you people out?) I jiggle it over the toilet for 3 seconds and then flush it all down. No scraping, no swishing, just a little jiggle and the poop is flushed away. On the rare occasion that it doesn't jiggle so nicely, I just grab toilet paper, give it a little wipe and then flush. Wiping isn't a big deal. Remember the book Everyone Poops? Well, I'm pretty sure everyone wipes too, so I don't mind doing it. BUT we're going to buy the supplies to make a diaper sprayer soon. It should cost around $20 and then I wont have to wipe any poop off anymore!

2. Cloth diapers must be so stinky.

This one kind of goes along with the gross myth, but it's worth putting in its own category. You know what is stinky? Disposables. I'll admit, we don't have a diaper genie, so that problem is probably adverted with one of those, but fill a regular old trash can with disposables and you'll know what I mean. They are awful. They don't have a 'normal' poop smell either. It this weird fragrance/chemical/poop smell that I absolutely cannot stand. If you leave a cloth diaper out, of course they're going to smell. Pee mixed with microfiber creates this nose and eye piercing stench that makes me want to pass out BUT I never smell it. The diapers go directly into the bag and I swear its got some magical smell retaining force field. It took us about a week to get a washer and dryer in our new place and I had diapers sitting in the wet bag for 4 days or so. Guess what? The bag didn't stink at all. Granted, when I opened the bag and did that first load, I got a quick whiff of it, but once again, diapers are diaper and they stink no matter what. If it would have been a bag full of disposables, it would have been stinky too. The difference is one smells like poop infused chemicals and one just smells like poop.

3. With all the extra water you use, it isn't good for the environment and probably doesn't save you money.

This one is the biggest comeback for the disposable diaper companies to use. Did you guys know there's an ongoing feud between companies? They're fighting over poo. Kinda funny, right? Anyway... Yes. I do 3 more small loads of laundry a week, BUT water is a renewable resource. I know that it takes a hefty process for man to collect the water, clean/process the water and have it ready for us to use, but I don't think its a fair argument considering that disposable diapers are dumped into the earth and don't compose. Plus, you have to take into consideration the chemicals used in the diapers and the packaging and process that it took to get them and yaddy yaddy ya...  Basically, any human life is going to have an impact on the environment. We can't stop that, but cloth diapering is a way to lessen that impact because you're not dumping thousands of diapers into the ground. Plus, I have a dirty little secret... I don't shower every day. Nope, I don't. It's an every other day event for me.  Somehow, I still manage to have friends and find a husband. Because of my unconventional hygiene, I justify the extra loads of laundry every week even more. :)

Now, because taking care of the environment has turned into a political hot topic, please know that I don't care if you use disposable diapers. I do some things that are horrible for the environment, so I don't think any less of someone for not using cloth. I really, really don't. I think its funny because some people have assumed that I assume mothering superiority because I cloth diaper. Well guess what? I hated breastfeeding. There I said it. I hated it. I wasn't just frustrated with my supply, I genuinely hated the act of nursing a baby. *Awaits the fiery darts that will surely come my way for that comment* Formula production does a doozey on the environment compared to breastfeeding, so I really have no right to preach about the environment. Ok, moving on....

Our water bill really hasn't increased since the babies were born. I mean, maybe it has by a couple bucks a month, but do you think we'd be spending a couple bucks on diapers? When we use disposables, we use Luvs. At 16 diaper changes a day, and $40ish a box, we'd be spending $70-$80 a month on diapers. There's noooo way our water bill has spiked that high. Plus, if you really want to get technical, think of all the plastic trash bags (or diaper genie refills) we'd go through each month. More $$$ thrown away. We do use disposable wipes, but don't spend more that $20 or so on those. I just could never hop on the cloth wipe bandwagon. I like that disposable wipes can double as face/hand wipes and I like how continent they are. I know we could be saving more, but can't bring myself to try it.

4. Cloth diapering is so complicated and so much work.

No it's not, but it sorta is. I wont lie and say that it isn't any more work. Obviously, doing a 2-3 extra loads of laundry is more work. However, they're little loads and the washing machine does 98% of the work for you. I usually fold my diaper laundry during morning nap time or after everyone has gone to bed at night. It takes at most 15 minutes, but that's usually just because I get distracted by other things. If I sit down and do nothing but fold, it takes no than 7 minutes. I know that because I timed it once. To me, and extra 30-60 minutes a week is worth the thousands of dollars we're saving over the next 2 years. If we continued on the 16 diapers a day, $80 a week pattern, we'd spend over $8,000 over the next two years. I admit, that's a high estimate since the number of diapers will probably decrease and I hope to have them potty trained before or right when they turn  3, but I don't think it's a stretch to say we'll be saving at least $,4000 between the twins. So yes, it's worth the extra work to me.

As for it being complicated... I was trying to think of a good analogy for this and came up with baking a chocolate cake. Some recipes call for oil and some don't. Some call for white flour, some call for wheat. Some call for butter, some don't. Some call for condensed milk and caramel. Some call for egg whites, some call for the entire egg. Some have you bake it for 20 minutes, others need to cook for 40. You see? Baking a cake can be complicated. I know it's a stupid comparison, but I do think its valid. You talk to one person and they'll claim their cake is better than their neighbor's cake. They think they have the perfect or easiest or tastiest recipe. The same thing goes for diapers. There are a gazillion options out there. Different brands, types, fabrics, washing routines, detergents to use, etc, etc. It can be complicated if you try to mix a lot of kinds like I have, but for me our 'recipe of diapers' is perfect for us. Kinda like how a cook can make up their own recipe that's perfect for them. Does that make any sense? Did you follow that moronic analogy? I'm a bit shocked that I just compared diapers to chocolate cake. I guess that's what happens when you become a mom... Honestly though, cloth diapering doesn't have to be complicated. You can pick one brand or style of diaper and use it the entire time your child is in diapers. You can use the same detergent and washing routine and never change a thing and never have any issues.

So see? Cloth diapering really isn't that bad. I promise I wouldn't be diapering twins this way if it wasn't. I fully understand that it isn't for everyone (just like breastfeeding, because again, I hated it) but if you're thinking about giving it a try, know that it isn't as scary, stinky or gross as some people make it sound.

Plus, it's super, super cute. 

Cute, right? 

I think so.

Obligatory HP post

Harry Potter is over. It's really, really over. I can't claim to be a Harry Potter fanatic, like my little sister is, but I do consider myself to be a pretty big fan. I've only re-read some of the books and only re-watched some of the movies, but I grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione. I remember jumping on my friend's trampoline in 5th grade and hearing her and her sister talk about this magical book they were reading. I wasn't too impressed with their description. I was more of a Boxcar Children/Nancy Drew type of reader. Mystical fantasy wasn't my thing. The next year, in 6th grade, our teacher read Harry Potter to us after afternoon recess. I instantly fell in love. This was before the average Jo spent hours on the internet, so nobody thought to look up how to pronounce "Hermione". I'm pretty sure my teacher chose to pronounce it as "Hermy-own" and had a hard time switching it once he heard Rowling say the name on a television interview.

Since then, I've fallen more and more in love with Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Hagrid, Sirius, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and the rest of the crew. Because of this, I jumped for joy when my best friend score tickets to an advance showing at 7pm on Thursday night.

It was AMAZING. Even though I didn't want to admit it the night of, I cried quite a bit. Maybe it's because my emotions are constantly on a tightrope since becoming a mother, or the fact that Fred dies, leaving his twin without his best friend/partner in crime (seriously, I lost it at that point)  but I was really emotionally involved with this movie. I fist pumped when Bellatrix died, I laughed when Voldemort cockily claimed that Harry was dead, I teared up when Lupin, Sirius and Harry's parents sent him off and again teared up when Harry gave Albus Severus off to Hogwarts. Yes, I know it didn't play out exactly like the book, but it was close enough and equally amazing. And now its all over. No more anticipation for the next book. No more anticipation for the next movie. It's finished. I was the same age as Harry when I started reading the books, so I really did grow up with the story. And now its over. I look forward to sharing the magic of Harry Potter with my own kids. Hopefully, they love it as much as I have.

 

Me and my little sister, Kelsey, waiting in line for the midnight showing of the 5th movie. At least we thought we were waiting in line. The ticket taker sent us to the wrong spot and instead of being first and second in line, we were more like 20th and 21st. 

I really do <3 Harry.

p.s. I have another cloth diaper post ready to go. This one debunks some of the 'myths' I've heard about it. Sorry I keep talking about diapers, but this is my blog and you can't stop me. :)

I still can't believe it.

I found this gem last night and I sat in disbelief as I watched. We had two newborns at once. What. The. Heck. ? When we were in the midst of it all, I was in complete denial. Those first few months are a complete blur. In fact, I have a hard time remembering the babies living in Logan at all. That makes me sad. It's crazy to think how much life has changed in the past 11 months. We went from no babies, living in an apartment in Logan, to having two babies, a move to another apartment and then to a house. We've got girls that are on the verge of walking and who are about to turn a year. A whole year old. Crazy. Too bad I still haven't lost the baby weight. Actually, I did and then got fat again living in our depressing apartment in Salt Lake. However, that's a story for a different day... 

I still can't believe this is my life. It's absolutely insane, but yet, I wouldn't change it for anything. 

Wordless{ish} Wednesday

This is what the girls are looking like lately. Scowling faces with their fists shoved in their mouth. We're teething up in these parts and we are all a little miserable. We've got cold, hard veggies, vibrating teethers and all sorts of drugs. I don't think they're in too much pain, but they are grumpy. Pretty sure they've cried 70% of the time over the past 3 days. Not a pained cry, but a ticked off cry. Because of this, the number of graham crackers they've consumed and the number of crazy songs/dances I've performed have doubled.

We'll get through it. I hope. 

Happy Wednesday!

Sorry it wasn't so wordless. Then again, is it ever?

;)

Oh! And I've almost used up my first roll of film. I'm slightly terrified to develop it. I might be too ashamed to post them. We'll see.

Camp. Out.

My family went on a little camp out this past weekend. We didn't want to torture them with the girls' inevitable middle of the night screams, so we only went for dinner. Although they're finally sleeping through the most nights, I knew there's no way they'd share a pack 'n play and sleep in a tent. No way, no how. Josh had to be at work at 3:30 the next morning, so it was a pretty quick trip, but we still had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures to prove it. 

 

Josh whistling with grass (I think that's what he was doing...) and Jason tickling Lillian with some leaves.

Brooke making a tinfoil dinner and Lillian clapping on Grandma's lap.

Sophie eyed Kelsey's orange soda

Lillian however, really wanted to try some. So much so, that she stole an unopened can right out of uncle Jason's hands and tried to bite through it. 

Sorta reminded me of this

Anyone else have a flood of memories come back to them?

It was good to get out into fresh air and spend some time with family. Maybe some day we'll actually camp overnight. Maybe....

Cloth diaper post #5,832

Ok, that's an exaggeration, but I do feel like I talk about cloth diapers a lot. Like I've said, I've learned so much in the 9ish months I've been cloth diapering, and I'm actually surprised by the interest that others have in it. So, here it goes...

If you recall my very first post about cloth, I was using Sunbaby diapers. They worked great once the girls reached 8 lbs. No leaks, cute, bright colors, easy to use... I really like them and at $5 a diaper, I didn't have a thing to complain about. The more they ate (drank) though, the less awesome those diapers became. Then, when we started solid foods around 7 months, the diapers were virtually useless. I'd have them on for 40 minutes and they'd be leaking all over the place. The insert was soaked and so was everything else. I tried doubling up the inserts, but that just made it more bulky and only a tiny bit more absorbent. By the time I did my second cloth diaper post, I was hardly using them at all. I didn't feel too bad for it either because they were only $5 a diaper and I really did use them a lot until the girls were about 5 months or so. 

Just to give you a visual on the Sunbaby inserts, here's one compared to a Bumgenius insert. 

Both diapers claim to be a one-size-fits-all-diaper that grows with your baby from 8lbs to potty training. I'm pretty sure it doesn't take a genius (or Bumgenius...stupid, stupid joke...) to guess which one holds more.

I then discovered my love for prefolds. Guys, I really do love them. I love that they don't get the microfiber stink or give the microfiber rash that Lillian is prone to. Don't get me wrong, I still love Bumgenius and their microfiber inserts, but most of the time, I use prefolds with Lillian. Her skin is pretty sensitive and prefolds are made of cotton, a natural fiber, whereas microfiber is synthetic and for one reason or another, is a little too harsh on her skin. 

I'm not sure why it took so long for me to get the idea of stuffing prefolds into Sunbabies, but I got an email from a fellow cloth diaperer asking if I had tried using prefolds with them. DUH! Here I am claiming that you can stuff virtually any fabric into your diapers, while complaining that mine don't absorb much, but yet I do nothing about it? Stupid, stupid Brittany. So I put the combination on Sophie (or was it Lillian...) and she went 2 hours without a drop of a leak! She would have been able to go longer since the prefold wasn't completely soaked, but I'm pretty firm on changing them every 2 hours. Sitting in waste kinda freaks me out and I'm sure if feels much better to have a fresh diaper on. Plus, they recommend changing diapers every 2 hours no matter what kind of diaper you use, and that's the schedule we were on at work, so I'm pretty consistent with it. Anyway, to make a long story short...it was awesome besides for one little thing... it was a little too bulky for my taste. Sunbaby diapers are definitely smaller than Bumgenius (which is another reason I doubt their clam to fit until potty training a little bit) so it makes sense that they would need a smaller prefold. I ordered a dozen of them in the infant size this weekend and I can't wait for them to arrive so I can try them out. I'll let you know how it goes! 

Now let's talk detergent. I've been using regular old Original Tide this whole time. About a week before we moved into our new apartment, I ran out. I had heard rumors that Tide revamped their formula and wasn't sure if it was still cloth diaper safe. You see, when you're washing a fabric that needs to absorb a lot, you don't want it to repel the water (well duh....) A lot of mainstream detergents are filled with additives that build up on all laundry. You don't really notice however, because you usually don't need your socks and shirts to absorb water. Trust me though, you notice it after a week or two with cloth diapers. They start to leak a LOT and that's when you have to strip them (ie. use a drop of dawn dish soap in a HOT wash and rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, and rinse some morcee). I've only had to do that once and it wasn't very much fun. It turns out that you can still use the new Ultra Tide, but you have to use even less because it's more concentrated. I was only using half way up to the first line of the scoop. I think if you use the new Tide, you're only supposed to use a couple of teaspoons, but I'm not sure. Either way, I don't think my diapers would get very clean with just a dab of detergent. It's probably just a mental thing with me, but I don't feel like they would. So, I decided to make my own detergent. 

There are all sorts of recipes online for great homemade detergent like this one. This works great for regular laundry, but the grated soap would cause the diapers to repel, so instead replace the soap with OxiClean Free. Just the regular, unscented powder. I used equal parts of Borax, Washing Soda (NOT baking soda) and OxiClean. I bought all of it at Walmart (yes, I went to Walmart...) and spent about $11. The OxiClean was the most expensive thing, but it should last forever. I used 2 cups of each ingredient, mixed it in a bowl and dumped it all in an old formula can. It's been a slight trial and error to figure out an amount that works for us, but I know I need to use at least 2 Tbs in order for them to get clean. Most of the time I throw in an extra Tbs just in case. I do large loads though...at least 25 diapers (although some are prefolds/covers so it isn't as much as if I only used pockets). From what I've read, if you're diapering one baby and washing every other day (so you have 15is diapers) your probably only need 1-2 Tbs.  

 

It's a super crappy picture, but here's the Borax, Washing Soda, OxiClean and the formula can that I put it all in.

The last thing I've changed is using coconut oil. As mentioned, Lillian has really sensitive skin. If I use microfiber too much with her, she breaks out in a killer rash. I've been using California Baby and Mother Love but I'm running low on both of them. They're a little more on the expensive side, so I thought I'd give coconut oil a try. It works great, smells great and I got a giant thing of it for $7. Plus, we can use it for cooking as another alternative to shortening. I scooped some into an empty California Baby eczema cream container and it works great! I'd recommend it for a cheap, amazing rash cream (even if you use disposables, which if you're still reading this, you probably don't....)

So there you have it. I probably made it sound way more complicated than it needed to be. Basically, I'm going to stuff my Sunbabies with prefolds, I made my own detergent and I'm using coconut oil to prevent and treat any rashes. Hopefully, you didn't mind the long drawn out explanations, but I felt that it would make more sense if I told you why I do what I do. I still love cloth diapering and I love how much I've learned about it. I fully admit that it's a strange thing to get excited about, but I love saving money, I love having diapers that are chemical free and I love not having oodles of trash to take out. The trash factor has been especially nice since we still don't have a city trash can at our new house. I'm {im}patiently awaiting the day they deliver it...

I'm sure this wont be the last time I write about diapers. As you can probably tell, I'm a little obsessed.

11

A lot has happened this month. The girls got their own home, were separated into different rooms, have practically weaned themselves off of formula, seen fireworks, climbed up stairs, played outside more than in their entire life, met new friends at church, and have made a noticeable difference in regards of becoming legitimate people. One month until they are a whole year old. I can't say that I'm sad about that. Unlike most parents, I didn't enjoy the newborn phase so much. Ok, maybe that was bad of me to say, but I'm enjoying these stages so much more. When they were tiny tiny, I had no idea what I was doing. I was overwhelmed, under-confident, sleep deprived, stressing over my milk, and the list goes on and on. I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but 'fun' was not a word I would use to describe those first few months. Now, when people ask me how it is to have twins, one of the only words I can think of to describe it is 'fun'. It truly, truly is and it's getting more and more fun every day. 

Sophie

She's still our little drama queen. She's also a little ham. She is fully aware of her emotions and is constantly playing them up. Sometimes I wonder if we have a future Oscar winner in our house because the little acts she plays are that good.

Sophie has really taken 'talking' on lately. She's quite a chatterbox. Yesterday, she crawled up to Lillian, getting a inch and a half away, and yelled, "Badobabedadabooda!". Lillian blank little stare turned into an adorable smile. It was such a special moment between twins. I loved it. 

I'm just waiting for Sophie to get the guts up to take steps on her own. She walks everywhere she can while holding onto your hands, she uses the high chairs as walkers in the kitchen and she continues to stand up without holding onto anything. I'm 99% sure she'll be the first out of the pair to take those first steps. 

Actually, I guess she's sorta taken a few steps on her own. If you sit in front of her and let her go, sometimes she'll take a step or two, get a HUGE smile on her face and then plop down. She's close. I can feel it. 

Sophie has recently turned into a scaredy-cat. She's now over her fear of the turkey, but has since moved to being startled by just about everything. She's also really apprehensive toward strangers. And not even just people she's never met. If she's in an iffy mood, and you're not her mom or dad, she will let you know. So don't feel bad if she screams in your face. I promise it's not just you. 

Lillian

The last few weeks in our apartment were really hard with her. She was grumpy all the time, she was really fussy and was walking up at least twice during the night. A few days after we got into the house, I took a peak inside her mouth and say THREE new teeth! A new bottom tooth and two top teeth instantly appeared over night. I'm pretty confident that these teeth are the explanation of her rough couple of weeks. It's crazy though, because I felt her mouth (so did the pediatrician) and we couldn't feel anything. Now that they've popped through, she's much happier, sleeping through the night and we have our sweet little baby back. Mama is very happy about it.

Lillian is now getting brave enough to stand on her own. She used to be really scared whenever we would let go of her, but now she gets a huge smile on her face and is so proud when she's able to stand for a few seconds. 

This girl can eat. Anything and everything we put in front of her, she will consume. I've even found several pieces of carpet in her diapers lately... Oops....

Lillian is starting to love stuffed animals. We have a little pink bear and a pink pig that one of my mom's coworkers gave the girls, and those are her favorite. She's become quite attached to them and one of them is usually in the crib with her at night. 

Lillian is stunningly cute. Sometimes Josh and I will just sit and stare at her wondering how she got to be so adorable. Sophie is pretty adorable too, but she's usually too grumpy for us to fully appreciate it. ;)

As I mentioned, the girls have stopped drinking so much. They actually drink better if we give them whole milk. I know, I know, they're 11 months old, but we haven't fully switched them over, they're getting half and half. They LOVE eating and would rather eat what we're eating over drinking a bottle. I like this a lot because it's not only really easy, but if forces us to eat things that I want them to eat. Fruits, veggies, whole grains (and not fake whole grains. Legitimate bread and other things that only has 5 ingredients), etc. 

These girls love their dad. He's their favorite person in the entire world. It's super, super cute seeing their faces light up and their little feet start to kick whenever he comes home.

I know I say this every month, but the girls continue to become friends. It's now to the point where I can put a baby gate across their bedroom doorway, throw in some toys and cheese sticks and they'll play for an hour or so without any issues. I love it.

Yep, we still love them. We've almost survived the 'twinfant' stage and I must say that I'm pretty proud of ourselves. Josh and I were just talking about how crazy it is that we have two babies and how different our lives would be if we just had one. I'm truly grateful for these little ladies and am continually humbled by the thought of being their mother. 

We love them so, so much.

Fluffy Butt

An advantage of cloth diapers and having a twin? 

You always have a nice, fluffy spot to rest your head. And yes, Lillian does look drunk in this picture. Super funny. 

I'm getting ready to do another cloth diaper post. I hope there are at least a few people out there who are interested (and I'm fairly confident that there are). Like I've said, when you change and wash as many diapers as I do, you learn a LOT on the way and my life has turned into getting excited about talking about prefolds, inserts, build up, stripping (diapers that is), and nice, fluffy, adorable diapers. It should be up on Monday!

One more thing. I borrowed my Dad's old Nikon. Ya know, a camera that requires film. One that has no auto setting. All the pressure is me to not only get the focus, exposure and composition right, but I also can't look at the picture instantly and think, "Nah...I need to take another one". I'm super excited and a little bit nervous. Legit photography, people.  Although, the guy at Target was clueless when I said I was looking for film. He thought I meant movies. When I said it was for a camera, he insisted I meant to say SD card. Umm...no. 35mm film. Actual film that produces prints and gives you negatives. Actual photography. Not saying digital isn't actual photography, but there's something about film that's purely authentic. I can't wait to dip my toes into it! It might be a rough start, but I'm super, super excited.