The 6 AM Run

A few years back I had a friend with two toddlers. She got up at an ungodly hour everyday to work out and have some time to herself. I remember my reaction as she told me this. It was something like "WHAT!! Why in the world would anyone sacrifice sleep to work out? Why wouldn't you just take your kids to the gym (they have a childcare area)? Or why couldn't your husband watch your kids so you could go?"

Because it doesn't work like that. At the time my first child was only a few months old. I had no idea what I was doing. I mean, I thought I knew. I have much younger siblings so I had previous baby experience and I have a degree in family psychology. Not to mention the dozens of parenting books I've read. Yes, I thought I knew everything. But parenting is one of those things you never will truly understand until your a parent yourself.

Before my baby was born I was accustomed to 9 hours of sleep a night so I was still adjusting to the lack of sleep. There was no way I was going to wake up any earlier than I absolutely had to. My daughter also wasn't at that separation anxiety stage yet. She couldn't have cared less who took care of her as long as she was being held and fed. I had not yet had the opportunity to hear her screaming and crying "Mommy!" I hadn't experienced the heartache and guilt of leaving behind a child that truly needed me. I could just hand her off and go do whatever my heart desired (for the most part) without feeling much guilt.

So, here I am over 2 years and another kid later. I have adjusted to sleep loss. It's one of those things I've come to accept as being a norm for another 10 years or so. Yes, I could take my kids with me to the gym but even the thought getting both of them dressed, in the car, into the gym, and deal with the heartbreaking cry is enough to keep me home. And yes, I could wait until my husband got home from work so he could watch them, but my husband works long hours. We only have a thimble full of time together before we have to get the kids in bed. I just don't want to frequently decrease that already short time. Plus, there is the heartbreaking cry and guilt thing again.

I have realized that my kids will only be kids for a blink in time. With work, preschool, chores and life my time with my family is already limited. I just don't feel like such silly things as time to myself and exercise should further limit that time. But I HAVE to have time to myself. A CRAZY mom isn't going to help out my family much. So what am I willing to sacrifice? Sleep. I drag my tired butt out of bed at an ungodly hour and pull on my running shoes, put ear buds in, and turn my iPod to my favorite playlist. I think my kids will thank me for it later.

ShamWOW Nursing Pads

We all remember this guy and the annoying ShamWOW commercials but little did I know they could make some amazing nursing pads. You can buy a ShamWOW at most dollar stores. I got mine at the Dollar Tree. I had bought a few for another project that I never finished so I had a few lying around. Before my son was born in June I had made 7 sets of nursing pads from PUL, 3 layers of flannel for absorbancy, and a polyester suede for wicking away from the nipple. These worked really well but they were a bit thick (although still thinner than many of the reusable nursing pads you can buy out there). Well, 7 sets was not enough. I was running out of them all the time and there was no way I could go without a nursing pad unless I wanted to sport the wet t-shirt look. My cousin, who also just had a baby, came up with the idea to use the ShamWOW as the absorbent layer in the nursing pads. I thought it couldn't hurt to try. So I used my extra ones that I had lying around as the middle layer. I still used PUL as the outer, waterproof layer and the poly-suede as the inner, wicking layer. They are AMAZING. They are thin enough that they contour around the breast but still super absorbent. More so than even the flannel. And over all it's pretty cheap. One ShamWOW is $1 and can make 2-3 sets of nursing pads depending on the size of the pad. They are machine washable and can be used again and again.

If your currently using nursing pads, reusable or disposable, or you are pregnant and planning to nurse consider making a few of these and let me know what you think. I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I am!

GreenCheeks Changes

After a lot of thought and consideration I have decided not to focus this blog on selling my diaper products anymore. I'm sure that you can tell the differences immediately by my blog template and text changes. With the birth of my second child I barely have a second to go to the bathroom, never mind sewing 24 diapers for a customer. Making most of my diaper products, especially the diapers, is not efficient in the least. Although I enjoy sewing I cannot donate that much of my time.

Just last week a friend called me on Monday and asked if I could get a wet-bag and 10 wipes done by a baby shower on Saturday. Sure, I said.  Friday came around and she came by to pick them up. I had accomplished 5 wipes and that was difficult.

I've decided to focus the blog, instead, on all the parts of being a holistic family. This, of course, will still include cloth diapering. I plan to do a lot of posts on how to make your own cloth diapers and accessories. If I ever get around to it I want to put my pattern on here too so you can simply print it off and use it for yourself.

I also want to blog about the trials of being gluten and dairy free. My whole family is and, at times, it can be very challenging. I'm going to include some of my favorite recipes for other families out there who are facing the same challenges.

I still plan to have my GreenCheeks products and pricing available. It is a page on the right column of the blog. I am still happy to make the products but I need quite a bit of time to complete an order and I can only do small orders. Diaper cakes are out of the question. I've done that twice and I should have learned the first time never to do it again. As I said before, I enjoy doing it but it is too time consuming to attempt to make a profit from it.

For all those out there that have ordered from me in the past and read my blog: Thank You! I hope that you continue to read and learn about cloth diapering as well as many other aspects of my life.

Go With Your Gusset!

With two kids in cloth and a bit of a spending problem, I have tried out TONS of different brands of diapers. Some are not even worth talking about. They are my ran-out-of-clean-diapers-haven't-done-laundry-have no-other-choice diapers. But some are amazing. I love my FuzziBunz diapers because they have great durability but tend to leak pee at the legs a bit. I love my Bum Genius diapers for their snug fit and large pocket for larger inserts but they too have their issues.

But what diapers do I grab for bedtime or for an outing? The ones with double gussets! Double gussets give a second line of elastic around the legs to contain messes. And they do a great job! I feel much more secure when my son is wearing a diaper with double gussets. It is much less likely that poop will start exploding out of the legs of the diaper. There are two types of double gussets: internal, which is made from the inside fabric, and external, which is made from the PUL or outside fabric.

This is Rumperooz diaper,my personal favorite, with an internal double gusset.

This is a thirties pocket diaper with outer, external double gussets.

 Here is a list of other diapers that I know of that have double gussets. Please comment and let me know if there are any that I am missing.

• Thirsties covers and pockets diapers
• Rumparooz covers and diapers
• Organic Caboose One-Size Diaper and Cover In-One
• BestBottoms covers
• Blissful Booty diapers
• Tiny Tush diapers
• Alva diapers (some styles)
• GoGreen Champ 2.0
• Bummis covers - Super Brite only
• Prowraps covers
• Mini Kiwi diapers
• Blueberry covers (not diapers)
• Weehuggers covers
• Capri covers