Wondering where to start with cloth diapers?

I'm still a newbie in the CD world, but have been turned on to a really cool resource by my good friend, Camille. Diapershops.com offers all you'll ever need to diaper your little one forever! They offer a huge variety of products, packages and accessories and the best prices around. And the best part: the corresponding blog, The cloth diaper whisperer, has been one of the best information sources I've come across so far. The contributing writers are so knowledgable and they cover every possible thing you'd ever need or want to know about cloth diapers. Oh, and my favorite feature is Fluff Friday! Every Friday, diapershops.com gives away a super cool cloth diaper prize!

Catch up

So, I realize it's been a while since I wrote an update on our family. A whole summer has gone by without me writing about Emma's growth and progress. Well, as you can imagine a lot has happened.
She went swimming for the first time:


She started sitting up:


taught mom why using blankets as crib bumpers is not a good idea:



started eating solid foods and drinking from a sippy:



met her baby cousin, Alex:


had her first airplane ride:


met nana's chickens:


met cousin Hailey:


met aunt Cari:


met her great-grandma Yancy:


attended her first wedding:


started crawling:


and then prompty pulled herself up in the crib, good thing we had lowered it the day before :)


got to sit in daddy's boat:


Emma is now 8 months old, crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything, eating crackers and pasta along with all the pureed veggies and fruit. She has enought hair to actually justify using shampoo and brushing. She's a happy, healthy little girl. And we couldn't be happier with her!!

a learning experience

So, we've been cloth diapering for a couple months now and I must say that it is going well. Not great, not terrible, but well. My for-now stash contains 3 Smartipants, 2 Bum Genius (thanks to my awesome friend, Camille) 4 diaper wraps and a TON of prefolds (thanks to my MIL). I LOVE the Smartis and BG, but since prefolds make up the bulk of my stash, that is what Emma's in most of the time. They actually work great, are simple to use and don't leak as long as they are changed frequently. And the wraps are a HUGE improvement over the old school plastic pants. If the diaper is just wet, you just wipe the wrap and put in a new prefold, easy, right! I reserve the BGs for night time because with the two inserts we haven't had any leaks. Using disposables at night, I'd say they leak about 1 in 3 times, so the BGs are awesome! I also like the Smartis because you don't have to touch the inserts, they come out in the wash on their own. So, that's why I say it's going well. I certainly have enough diapers to get the job done, but they are not my preferred ones. One day I'll have my dream stash! Just look how cute she is in her Smartis:

New adventures in cloth diapering

I must first give a HUGE shout out to my college/post college roommate and friend, Camille! She's been so supportive, informative and encouraging. I consider her my go-to girl for all things cloth!

Even before I got pregnant I thought I wanted to use cloth diapers. I really like the thought of being kinder to the environment and my child's behind, not to mention the cost-effectiveness of using cloth. But, actually getting started was a whole other thing. I started doing research and asking around only to discover that cloth diapering is like it's own world. The users are fiercely loyal, there are networks, blogs and websites totally devoted to cloth diapering and all it's accompaniments and, the most confusing of all is the language: there are all kinds of acronyms, terms and slang. AIO's, prefolds, fitteds, CD, ahhhhh, I must confess: it was a little intimidating and almost caused me to throw in the towel.

This past week, I finally put thoughts into action and ordered my first cloth diapers, a three pack of Smartipants. I was so excited and anxiously trekked to the mailbox each day until, at last, the diapers arrived. They were so cute! I washed them immediately and put one on Emma for nap time. I guess I'm brave, but I really wanted to give 'em a good try. I'm glad to report that she woke up happy and DRY! We weren't so lucky with the overnight try, but I wasn't able to double stuff (something that knowledgeable cloth diapering mamas do) and her disposables leak most of the time anyway. So, for now I'll use the cloth only during the day until I'm able to build up a better "stash".

So, I'm really glad that I've finally gotten started and wish I would have sooner! I would definitely recommend cloth diapers, they've come a LONG way since the old, scary pin/plastic pants combo that I grew up in! There's such a huge variety that anyone who wants to, can find something to fit their lifestyle. I'm now a CD mama and can't wait to try some BG's, FB's and get rid of those nasty sposies!

Cloth Diapers!

Yes, that's right, I'm about to begin the new adventure of cloth diapering for little miss Emma. I've been doing research, following blogs and cruising websites looking at all different brands and varieties. Thanks to my good friend, Camille, I've also gotten some real-life, mama-tested advice. I'm really excited to be making a choice that benefits the earth and my little girl and I'll let you all know how it goes. Two of my favorite websites I've found so far are diaper discussions and the cloth diaper whisperer. They have great advice, cool moms and awesome giveaways!!

Camano Island

Emma had her first view of the ocean this past Memorial Day weekend. It was a lot of fun, we drove up to Camano Island and spent a relaxing day. We met my mom (she was camping with Patricia), hung out on the beach and barbequed. Grandma even put Emma's feet in the water, she was not impressed and began crying.

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Wow! I've been slacking, or more accurately, I've been busy taking care of an infant. Anyway, we took a couple trips up to see the tulip fields in La Connor this year, they were so beautiful and Emma had a great time!

Gas works park

Cirt thought there would be some good photo ops at gasworks, turns out he was right.

Emma is 2 months old!

Where does the time go? Emma turned 2 months old on Monday, which also happened to be my birthday. What a great present! She is getting so big. We have "conversations", she can almost hold her head up all by herself, she laughs and smiles and she sleeps through the night! She is such a good baby!

Our new addition!

Well, I've never really seen the need for a blog before, but now that Emma is here and we are a real family, I can use this forum to keep everyone updated easily. So, for those who haven't heard: Emma Lynne Yancy was born on February 6th. Cirt and I are so happy to be parents and couldn't be more enchanted with our baby girl. She is growing and developing so fast already! She is very strong and can lift her head well, track objects with her eyes and has started to "talk" to us. I've really enjoyed being home with her and it will be very difficult to go back to work. We still don't know exactly what we're going to do for childcare, so if you have any ideas for us, we'd love to know.