Thanks again!

@ J – Alternative Housewife – Yay! So glad you liked it!

@ theresa – Love the sweatshirt idea! I’m totally doing that next time I make wipes!

@ April – You can do it! Diaper service is a good idea to ease you into it. Bt once your body is a bit healed up and your household is used to having the wee one in the mix, I bet you’l be able to take care of the laundering without any trouble. It’s more just always thinking ahead and remembering to do it – the actual time it takes s not so bad at all. Luck! Let me know if you need any help!

@ Callie – Haha, I’ve never had bird poo issues but I have found the occasional bug. =) No biggie, I just brush it off. After a day on the line the clothes can get a bit . . . *crispy*. But 5 minutes in the dryer will soften them right up, and wastes a LOT less energy than doing the full load!

@ Heather – Awesome, that’s very promising about the solid poops! Also, changing station in bathroom = brilliant!

@ Sarah – Ohmigod spatula! Love it! I’m totally doing that, thanks for the tip. And please, bring on the nesting talk. We love it!

@ farmingtheburbs – I’m jealous of all you ladies with your utility sinks! Also, I know what you mean about the gs. I’ve been sticking with mine and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. So maybe it’s just got a much steeper learning curve than the others!

@ Heidi – Floor changing makes so much sense, I totally do that too sometimes. =) And you’re welcome, so glad you liked the post!

@ Cedar – Well, my only experience is with the midwife team at OHSU. I LOVED them, all of them. THe great thing about that route is that the midwives are extremely qualified and you have the awesome blend of cutting edge, state-of-the-art technology, with the philosophy and practice of traditional, holistic, non-intervention care. The down side is that the midwives work as a team and so whoever happens to be on call when you go into labor is the one who will deliver you. So you may not actually deliver with the woman who you have the closest relationship with. But still, I’d recommend that program to anyone in a heart beat. I had such a great experience there.

Feel free to email me if you want to chat about it more! info@bonzaiaphrodite.com

@ Emily – I think the plan is to take his cues. Supposedly children raised under ‘attachment parenting’ will naturally exert their independence, and it’s healthier for them to do it on their own schedule, when they are ready. Of course we can gently urge him, but right now we plan to follow his lead. But we’ll see how it goes – who knows what will happen!

@ Melissa – 20,000 diapers! Ahhhh! That’s amazing, I love hearing about your big brood. Maybe some day I’ll catch up to you, ha!

I really like the idea of co-sleeping, especially with nighttime feedings, but I’m curiouse as to when the transition will be made if at all? and how? or am i jumping ahead?

I have a non-diaper but baby related question. I live in Portland and am looking for a good midwife that offers water-birth and accepts major insurance. I read your birth story and it inspired me so much to go through a midwife but I’m finding it a little bit difficult to find one that I’m comfortable with. Don’t get me wrong, my current midwife is very nice but she’s not exactly what I had in mind and I figured word of mouth is one of the best ways to find someone I like. I’d ask friends but they all just went through Dr.’s at major hospitals. I’d *greatly* appreciate any references/information you have.

Much love to you and yours!

I use Country Save detergent, and I love it for all my laundering.

I don’t use a sprayer in my toilet but bought a “pet” sprayer for my faucet in my utility sink. I drop the poop in the toilet and spray the mess into the sink and drop the diaper into the pail.

A note about G’s. I totally hear what you are saying about them leaking. Every diaper leaked when I bought them for my oldest and I used them for 9 months with the disposable inserts. I gave up. Then I was prego with number 2 and I wanted to use cloth but I had lots of g’s. I couldn’t justify not using them (especially when I realized I could use cloth-g’s weren’t selling cloth yet). I had to commit again to using the g’s, it wasn’t an option. Well, now I am a pro, give me any newborn to toddler and give me a g and I can get it on them and not have it leak. I just needed experience and as per my child, change them frequently enough. Now, I have no leaks, on either child at any age.

Also, julliandrawers.com will give you a sampling of all different kinds of diapers and let you keep them for 21 days to use and you can keep all or just the ones you like. At that time you can ship the others back and order more of the ones you like, of course they are new but alas, it makes cloth a little less intimidating and more convenient.

Our changing ‘table’ is on the dryer We used a pad like the one in the picture and all of our diapers/wipes/oil is on the shelves about it. We don’t use the dryer for much really, though sometimes I’ll run a load in there in the winter to warm the room up.
It’s especially handy for us because our washer/dryer are in the bathroom. So, I can wet a wipe at the sink, toss poo in the toilet, drop diapers in the washer on laundry day. When our son was little, I’d just wet the wipes before laying him down so I didn’t worry about him rolling. I also keep a bit of almond oil on the shelf for sticky poos.

I use Charlie’s soap, and we really like it! I’ve heard it depends on your water, but we use it for all our laundry. We bought the 100$ 5 gallon pail when our guy was 3months old, and we’re only halfway through it (22 months later…). I also use a oxygen cleaner (now that his poo is more serious business) and vinegar in the final rinse. I found that if I used vinegar before the diapers were mostly clean, it interacted with the acids in his pee/poo and they got smelly. Hydrogen peroxide soaking cleared the smells up, though. Despite all this, the laundry part has never seemed like that big of a deal. We do a little under a load a day since we only use cloth napkins/wipes/rags in our house, so it’s just part of the morning/evening routine. Toss whatever load in at night, hang it up in the morning.

@Callie-My drying line is under trees (here in shady central FL), and I’ve only ever had bird poop 1 time. There’s not much surface area for it to land on, I think. Most people suggest avoiding trees, though. Also, the diapers are stiff, but they soften up once they’re snapped when you take them down, folded, and stacked. I imagine other people have other suggestions on that too.

A word of caution about tea tree oil-a couple of drops is fine, I’m sure (and I used it too), but I’ve heard recently that tea tree oil can interfere with male sexual development (http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2007/niehs-31.htm) But, I haven’t read what the usage rates were in the study.

Oh, man-I really need to get an outlet for all my nesting talk. Excuse my logorrhoea! <3