WDIDTS: ADS pt 3- Love my Softbums!

So here we are 2 months later-
Our journey started with me scared to even think about trying cloth diapers. (See parts 1 and 2 of my "Why didn't I do this sooner: A Diaper Story" series.)
I can't even tell you how many times I've been asked "why are you using cloth?"- sometimes with an inquisitive tone, others with a slightly... well confused bordering not on disgusted, but the "eew" factor is definitely present in their tone of voice. So let me answer that right here and now...

1) Cost! Once I did the figuring and realized we had spent nearly $4,000 to disposable diaper our son through potty training, it was crazy for us to continue to fork out money (that we really don't have) monthly (or more often) on something that you use once and throw away. Honestly- who can afford that? I don't think anyone really can, but people do it our of a sense of necessity and may not realize there's a better way. Now don't get me wrong, there are people who would not want the extra laundry even if it saved a ton of money... but personally, that just wasn't enough of an incentive for me to continue to justify the lost funds.

2) Adorable! How cute is it that you can make a diaper a part of your baby's outfit? I love it!

Now- let me expand on my choice of Softbums (http://www.softbums.com/ - check them out)
To start with- I didn't want to have to mess with stuffing and unstuffing pockets, I didn't want to keep spending a bunch of money by having to have multiple sizes for her growing bottom thus buying a new size up to 2 more times, and I didn't want to have to have a ton of shells because the insert AND the shell had to be washed after only 1 use every time.

My "a-ha" moment came when I found the Echo system on the Softbums website. You simply snap in an insert and adjust the "Slide2Size" toggles to make a perfect fit- THAT'S IT! When baby is ready for a change, you just open it up, unsnap the insert & toss it in your wet bag then lay the shell out to air a bit until the next change. If the mess has happened to get to the shell, well you just toss that into the wet bag too.

Let me tell you- this system is so user friendly that even our babysitter is on board. Now, don't get me wrong- this isn't an "even an idiot can do it" statement- she's a very smart gal! This is a "how many sitters would honestly want to mess with a family using cloth diapers?" statement, and the answer is... not many.

Our daughter is what we call a "super-duper-pooper" and a "wee-wee queen"... so when I tell you that these diapers are "tried and true"- I mean she has put them through the most "strenuous" testing she can offer... which is pretty extreme. I can count on one hand how many "blowouts" she's had in her Softbums- & 80% of those were "operator error" because they weren't adjusted properly; 10% was either how she was sitting in her car seat or the angle she was being held at creating gaps, etc; and the other 10% is explained by the first nickname listed above- enough said. We always try to use a Super pod and a Mini pod for bedtime- which works wonderfully and is a great amount of absorbency for her.

The best part is- we get to reuse the majority of her shells multiple times each day before it needs to be washed. She generally uses 4 shells a day- at the end of the day 1-2 are usually in the wet bag soiled, 1 is airing out and 1 is on her. This is nice because I can wash either every night or every other- but I currently prefer nightly since she only has the 8 shells (GTG pack 24/8/8)- but am hoping to get some more shells to give her more uses and variety and give me more days between washes.

I've seen a few comments about the Softbums customer service on social networking sites... I too have previously experienced a delayed response- but as a small business owner myself, I empathize with them. It can be difficult to get to emails and messages each day and especially so when you have new products that you are trying to get ready to go out. So take my advice- be patient with them... you WILL get a response. I was taught that a little kindness goes a long way- so if you don't feel you're getting a response fast enough, just email them a friendly reminder that you are awaiting their reply... they haven't forgotten you & they will get back to you.

Now that I have some experience under my belt, I remain confident in my purchase of Softbums cloth diapers and would most definitely recommend them to anyone considering or experienced in cloth diapers.

Back to work omen?

Well- my first week back at work has proven to be an interesting one.
Info you should know: 1) All hell ALWAYS breaks loose when the boss is on vacation; 2) Brian "opens" each morning- so he has to be to the branch by a certain time- if he were to drop me off 1st, he'd never make it on time- so I drop him off & pick him up; 3) you know what they say about the best laid plans...

Friday:
The boss calls to double check that I'm returning Monday & to tell me to send pics (oops- had been forgetting to do that). Says she's going to send me an email with "stuff". OK
Send photos to my girls & contemplate blogging about how I feel about returning to work & leaving the kids after 3 mo home- laptop screen dies before blogging had commenced- guess I won't be blogging tonight.

Saturday / Sunday:
Spent the day kicking myself for having to leave my kids. We all have done this, so no big surprise here.
Contemplated trying on my work clothes as I'm not sure what everything will fit like- I'd been wearing maternity clothes into April and been able to wear lounge pants & t-shirts for the past 3 months. Decide it's too hot to play dress up & pick Monday's outfit on a whim.
Write out list of things I need to make sure I have together for Monday, prepare breakfast & lunch, put together & pack diapers & extra inserts for the sitter, get together the baby's bottles & formula (in case she pigs out on the milk I'll be leaving for her) for the sitter.
Take a shower, set the alarm clock and go to bed.

Monday:
Hear on the news that major storms are moving in- GREAT! What a way to start the week! But wait, they are suppose to hit the suburbs around 8:30a- if they don't speed up, I might make it in the building before getting drenched- yea!
Drop of the kids, give extra kisses (especially to the baby) and mentally prepare myself to cry my eyes out all day on the drive in.
Drop Brian off.
Arrive at my branch, go inside (downstairs for those who don't know- this is important, you'll see why in a minute) & am grateful that I got inside before those nasty looking clouds got any closer.
Eat breakfast & halfway though realize I need to ask one of the girls upstairs if there is an extra chair they can put in the back restroom so I can pump in privacy.
Go back upstairs where there are actually windows & it is pitch black outside- dark as night, down pouring rain... restate my relief at entering the building before it hit.
Make arrangements for the chair & head back downstairs (with no windows) to finish breakfast & continue the task at hand. The "stuff" email was letting me know that I'm not going to do my job, I'm going to re-train on ATM stuff & train on the coordinator's other tasks. Although I had the day mapped out in my head on where I would be with my stuff, I like the coordinator & enjoy learning new things, so I'm cool with sitting with her until further notice- we'll have fun (hehehe). Of course, the boss is on vacation, so the ATM gal has to do the boss' stuff first before we can get to refreshing my training, but we'll get it done eventually.
Less than 10 minutes later- we lose power. Of course, our branch has a massive generator outside, so power is restored in a matter of seconds, but having to re-do all of our computer start up procedures makes most of us grumpy.
Brian emails, his branch is without power- that sucks- they are our call center branch- without power they can't help customers... customers will not be happy.
1 hr later Brian calls- no power equals no work getting done- I need to pick him up & bring him to my branch so he can actually work... woo-hoo- road trip! (At this point an estimated 864,000 people were without power.)
Pick up Brian & find Park Ave closed- what? Apparently a water main busted Saturday & they decided not to fix it, so what happens? The road collapsed- DUH!
Return to the branch via alternate route.
Discuss with Brian & my girls how well I was doing for being the 1st day back (or away, depending on how you look at it)- Had a blast with my girls, power flickers a couple more times, wrapped up the day, headed home.
Drop Brian off at home (it was hot & he wanted to check on Sparky since he was in the laundry room all day [with water, food & a fan mind you])... the boy's slide is in the front yard- CRAP! We didn't have a chance to put his mini-playground in the garage- guess Brian will be dragging it back while I pick up the kids... hehehe.
Pick up kids & give lots of hugs & kisses- go home.
Arrive home to the slide in the garage but the rest of the playground no-where to be seen- uh-oh. Yep, sure enough, Brian can't find it & none of the neighbors have seen it... grrr.
Brian takes van to case the neighborhood for the playground while I get the kids settled. Brian returns empty-handed.
Later discuss possibility that playground was stolen & that thief, believing they would be caught, took off before finishing loading the slide. This is one of those large plastic sets- 3 upright sides, a deck (to make it 2 levels), foot supports (to help keep it stable) and slide- you're telling me that the wind was strong enough to blow away 90% of this in 1 piece but the lightest piece didn't go any farther than our front yard- hmmm.... doesn't add up to me.

Tuesday:
On the drive in Brian receives a call- his branch is still without power (it should be restored by noon), he'll be working at my branch again- cool... can go straight from my branch home & don't have to stop off the beaten path to pick him up on the way. Score! (368,000 still without power) Power should be restored by 4:30a Wed.
Sit with ATM gal & train.
Brian finishes out day at our branch & we head home.
Watch Masterchef, get set up for tomorrow, go to bed.

Wednesday:
Try to drop Brian off, but guess what? Still no power! He comes with me to my branch. (199,000 still without power) Manager calls Brian to let him know power should be restored by noon Saturday- uffdah!
In-branch training to be held Thursday, Brian tells mgr he'll take it at our branch since he'll likely be here anyway.
Discuss new dress code with the girls- all are excited to wear open-toe shoes! Lots of dresses now being worn!
Late afternoon- Brian gets a call- power has been restored. grrr, now I'll have to drop him off then go back & pick him up later so he can make his afternoon meeting at my branch.

Thursday:
Arrive at work to learn the person who was going to do the training quit yesterday- training will be rescheduled. How weird... at least I don't have to leave to pick up Brian mid-day.
Main bank program down most of the day resulting in very little work able to be done but lots of complaints. Should have brought something with me to combat the headache.

Friday:
Most of the day was normal- until I realize my phone is not ringing & is just kicking everyone straight to my voice-mail after it rings once on their end. Contact IT to have E troubleshoot & set up for him to pick up my laptop at Brian's branch after work so he can retrieve my files & hard drive.
Spent 20 min talking with E & Brian about the laptop- T tells us "GO HOME!" lol!
Talk Radio says all toll & express roads are bad- suck! Take back roads to Eola Rs then catch I88... late picking up kids, but our sitter is way cool about that, especially since we called to tell her we were running late.

If this week was any sort of sign of things to come, I don't know what to think!

WDIDTS: ADS pt 2- "It made me laugh."

Our poor Moms!
We decided to use disposables for the Friday/Saturday (6/24 & 6/25) portion of our vacation since we would be hitting Galena and then Northfield before finally taking pause in Swea on Sunday. Since we were going to be in the car and wouldn't have much time for laundry, we thought having dirty diapers in a warm car for several days didn't sound very appealing; so before we left Friday we had every cloth diaper washed & packed and baby was wearing a disposable. I didn't realize I had already become so accustomed to using the cloth diapers until Saturday night at the hotel when I told Mom & Brian "I can't wait to get her back in cloth!"
Sunday morning Mom stole the baby into her room with "the boy" in tow while Brian & I loaded the car. While Brian was doing the final check of our room, I went to Mom's & the baby had just spit up- on herself & on the bed. Mom & I agreed that a fresh diaper for the road was a grand idea so I took her & laid her on the bed to change her diaper & noticed that she had gotten Mom as well. Ok, no problem, we'll just wipe them down, right? WRONG! Not only had she spit up but she had unleashed the holy demon of poops onto my Mom which had claimed not only the outfit she was wearing, but my Mom's shirt as well. Yuck! We get to Swea & immediately put her in cloth. (I loved Aunt Renee's interest in my mini CD tutorial.)
Fast forward to Saturday (7/2 for those of you keeping track)- We are all ready to take the kids to the fishing derby & my MIL wants to keep the baby- ok, 1-on-1 with the boy & she gets to have the baby all to herself- win-win! I asked if she had a diaper preference & she chose disposable because that's what she had "more experience" with, so I put her in that & left several extras out for her. After the derby we get back to the house & notice that the baby AND my MIL are both in new outfits- uh-oh! Sure enough, she blessed yet another Grandma with the queen of all poops! We all laughed as my MIL joked that I did it on purpose & I told her "I told you so."
So now I'm thinking "what is it with her & letting it fly on her Grandmas clothes?"
While we have had nearly non-existent numbers of leaks with the cloth (some of the really runny poops start to color the stitching seams after a minute or two, and Brian had a drop on his arm one day- but that was due to holding her at a funny angle, one-handed & the diaper wasn't adjusted fully)- these leaks are nothing compared to the blessings she has bestowed upon her Grandmothers when wearing disposables.
And I have to say... it made me laugh.