My Monkey

I cannot believe that Madeline is 16 months old. Where did the time go? All of the sudden she is an absolute character--copying almost everything we say; "reading" books out loud; dancing and singing; talking on the phone to her grandmas; mothering the babies in the church nursery; running; and thoroughly enjoying "spaash spaash"ing in the pool. I had thought about sharing some of her most used phrases, but there are so many. She speaks in broken sentences now and can really communicate her needs. Like her sister, Madeline is quite bossy-- she loves to point her finger at you when she is telling you what to do. Seriously where do they get this? Quiet Katie, Mom, and Jonathan! Recently Madeline pointed her finger at me during the intro to one of their favorite kid shows and said, "No, no mommy! Top (stop) singing!" She also likes to tell Hannah (in her most bossy voice), "No Hannah, top botty (bossing)!" But, also like her sister, Madeline uses her words to say some of the most precious things to my ears, like, "yud dju mommy" (love you mommy), and when asked, "Who made you Madeline?"-- "Gaaa!" (God).


Madeline definitely makes us laugh. Also like Hannah, she is so silly. Hannah gets cracked up watching Madeline run, because she pants and swings one arm-- quite amusing. Madeline and Hannah LOVE to play (and sometimes fight) together. It has been so much fun to watch their relationship evolve. They make up songs together, brush each other's hair, and get in trouble together. Their most recent favorite "sneaky" thing to do is to climb up on Hannah's bed and "dump dump" (jump).

This past week I weaned Madeline of her morning nap, and just this weekend we took away her "passy." Madeline can proudly say that she is almost 72 hours "passy free"--except we don't use the word "passy" in our house anymore. She asked for it (well, screamed and cried for it) the first morning, but she has gone down for naps and bed time with no problem since then, and the "passy" seems to be a thing of the past. What's next for Madeline?

Drum roll please . . .





That's right folks, potty training!!! This is NOT something mommy is pushing, even slightly. I attribute this in part to cloth diapers, and in part to desperately wanting to do everything her big sister does. Because Madeline has grown up in cloth, she is very aware of her bowel movements and wet diapers. She has been telling me for months when she has to go "poo poo." I will ask her if she wants to go on the potty, and sometimes she says, "djess" and other times, "No, no" and waves her finger at me. Because she has recently wanted to "go potty" every time Hannah does, I decided (today) that it was time for her to pick out her own little potty at the store. Now, she can sit on it whenever she wants to "try" and I don't have to worry about her trying to climb into the big potty when I am not looking. So, long story short-- she could be potty trained in the next few months, or it could be a year from now. Nevertheless, she is very excited about using her own little potty and she sure does look cute sitting there!

Two Thumbs Way Up For Mom's Milk Boutique

Hooray for Mom's Milk Boutique, a Southern Illinois natural parenting store. I recently enjoyed a very pleasant shopping experience via their web site. They offer a nice selection of cloth diaper products, free shipping, have a lovely web site, great customer service, and I received my diaper covers (unexpectedly) within two days. I look forward to shopping with them in the future!!! I will be adding their link to my sidebar.

Diaper Deals

Thought I would share some cloth diaper deals. This week, the Mom's Milk Boutique is offering Thirstie's Diaper Covers for $10.75, plus free shipping. I just ordered my final batch of diaper covers for Madeline in size L (up to 40 pounds). Also, Niki's Diapers is still offering free shipping and a free insert on all pocket diapers and diaper covers. The Haute Pockets One Size Breathable diaper is also still on sale for $13.95--I've had a lot of success with these.

One Year In Cloth

In 2006, we decided to go the cloth diaper route with baby number two (Madeline) and God willing-- subsequent children. The decision to move to cloth diapers was not one I made quickly. I spent hours researching, pondering, and pestering Jonathan with the pros and cons. We eased into the cloth diaper world testing out different styles and manufacturers--purchasing a diaper here and there for Hannah to sleep in . Very pleased with our limited experience (a toddler who rarely wet at night), we set up a cloth diaper registry with Cotton Babies. As they say, the rest is history. I can honestly say I have no regrets and have enjoyed using cloth diapers. Yes, enjoyed. Now, I have used my share of disposables throughout the course of the year-- during family vacations, in the midst of our move, etc., but there is something so very satisfying and even nostalgic about tossing a diaper into a pale, washing it , folding it, and reusing it. Never mind the endless array of cute and user friendly styles of diapers. I wish I had done a better job of tracking money spent on cloth diapers, disposables, and wash cycles, but it is very clear that we have saved money over the course of the year. In addition to the financial and environmental benefits, we later found out that Madeline has some mild eczema issues which were exacerbated by disposables--cloth is the best thing for her.

I would definitely say that cloth diapering requires on the job training. It has taken me a year to perfect my system--washing, figuring out which diapers work best in various scenarios, sizing, shopping for diapers, etc. But one year later, we only use cloth (even Hannah sleeps in a cloth pull up). I am so grateful to my cloth diapering compadres (long distance internet friends and local) who have helped me to trouble shoot, offered tips, and shared their experiences. Gwen--thanks for responding to that e-mail over a year ago!!! You have been a HUGE help!!!

Cloth Diapers: You've Come A Long Way Baby!

Can I just say that I am a HUGE fan of the blog world. In addition to keeping up with family and friends, I have made several acquaintances and friends by reading the blogs of my friends' friends. Hope I haven't lost you. These new women in my life have answered questions about potty training and home schooling, sent me recipes, suggested books on various topics, sent me to "homemaking" links, and offered me encouragement and prayer support. Most recently, I befriended a friend of friend, because I was curious about modern day cloth diapering. I was beginning the research process, and I remembered that my friend Elizabeth's friend Gwen had just started using cloth diapers with her daughter. So, I e-mailed Elizabeth and asked if she could get Gwen to e-mail me back. I am completely unashamed and even brazen at times, when I want to pick some one's brain. Thankfully, Gwen shares a similar craving for answers and "know how," so she e-mailed me back with more information than I could have ever imagined existed about the modern world of cloth diapering. This brings us to the topic at hand . . . cloth diapers have come a VERY long way. Throw all your pre-conceived notions of huge flat fold diapers and even bigger diaper pins out the window, and allow me to catch you up to speed and share why we have decided to use cloth diapers this time around.

There are SO many different kinds of cloth diapers on the market now. You have pocket diapers (as seen in picture on left), A-I-O (all in one diapers), fitted diapers (to be worn with cover), and the traditional flat-fold or pre-fold diapers. These diapers are amazingly easy and practical. They have adjustable snaps or velcro, and are so soft and trim. If you decide to use traditional diapers, you can use a closure called a SNAPPI--no more pins!!! Or, you can just put the traditional diaper inside of a velcro closure diaper cover and voila--diapered baby! Hannah has recently started sleeping in the Aplix and Snap Pocket Diapers by Swaddlebees, and she loves them. We only have two cloth diapers for her right now, because she rarely wets at night or during nap time.

After weeks of research on my part, and I do mean weeks, we have decided to go the cloth diaper route with baby number two and (God willing) subsequent babies. There are a few reasons we arrived at this decision:

1. I am a stay at home mom, so I have time to deal with a little extra laundry.
2. It is a big investment up front, but it is an investment, and you have the diapers for the next baby, to pass on to someone else, or resell on E-bay (these things have CRAZY resale value!).
3. We will be reducing our consumption of throw away products.
4. We will be saving over $1,000 dollars in the long run with this baby, and subsequent children will be diapered at only the cost of laundry, because we will already own the diapers.
5. It is the first step in potty training (this should be higher up on my list). The disposable diaper manufacturers have Americans brainwashed into thinking that your children should move from diapers to pull-ups, and then potty train somewhere around 3 or 4 years of age. Children are potty training later than we did, because they don't recognize the uncomfortable wet sensation. While these modern day cloth diapers are more absorbent than the diapers of old, children who wear cloth diapers will definitely feel uncomfortable after a while in a wet diaper, as opposed to the disposable diapers that can hold an abundance of urine--comfortably at that. Hannah never once complained (in two years) of being uncomfortable in a wet or soiled diaper. The first time she realized being wet was uncomfortable was when I put her in training panties.

Ok, I am not campaigning for cloth diapers . . . just explaining our decision for those who are interested. Anyway, as I mentioned, cloth diapering is a big investment up front. While we do not plan to have any baby showers this time around, I have set up a registry with Cotton Babies in hopes that family and close friends who desire to purchase a gift for baby girl will aid us in getting started on the path to cloth diapering. This is not a request for gifts, but we have every thing else we could possibly need, so this seemed like the most practical request and answer for those who desire to purchase a gift. You can access our registry by going to the Cotton Babies web site, scrolling down to "Registries," and then looking for "Lori and Jonathan Brooks, Clewiston, FL." I have also set up a direct link in my sidebar (under "General Links"). Anyone who purchases something off our registry should type our name in the comment box when checking out, so that the item can be removed from our registry.