Four months!

Well, Annabelle is officially four months old today and she is changing and growing so much every day! She has very grabby hands lately, touching our faces, grabbing her rings, pulling my hair!  Just about anything she can get her hands on!  She absolutely loves grabbing both of her feet at the same time - it works in our favor for diaper changes, as long as she can hold them steady.  She is also very vocal, laughing and babbling about everything.  She lets us know how she feels, especially if we're not paying attention!  It has been a delight to watch her learn and grow, I only hope it slows down just a bit!

Rings!

We made some time today for a family photo shoot.  It was a bit sunny for my liking (for photos, not in general!), but overall we got some great pictures and Annabelle was semi-cooperative.  She decided that she would much rather stand than lay down (which seems to be the trend lately), so the best four month pics are of her standing.  Hope you enjoy!

Beautiful and tall baby girl!

Love this dress from YoBaby

My beautiful family!

Cloth Diapering...a journey!

Today I was a bit put off by one of my favorite blogs because she posted for the first time about her cloth diapering experience and it was the opposite of what I thought it would be.  I was excited for the post because I thought it would help those moms that follow her blog to understand cloth diapering a little better and to think of it as an easier and healthier option (the blog author is very health conscious).  Well, the post was a huge disappointment and she basically came out saying she decided not to continue cloth diapering because "I was starting to feel that the extra weight around her tushy was preventing her from moving they way she’d normally do."  I'll be totally honest, I have read lots of reasons not to cloth diaper, but this was never one of them.  Cloth diapering delays developmental milestones???  You have to be kidding me.  And to top it off her other reason was "I didn’t just spend hundreds of dollars in clothes only to have the cloth diapers prevent her from wearing them."  Well, I thought I would post the other side (granted my readership is significantly less than hers...but the premise is still the same.)

I started getting interested in cloth diapers mainly due to the experience of a few of my sorority sisters.  I'll admit, I was excited about the cute patterns and materials (and potential money savings) and as I began to research, I dove head first into the idea of cloth diapering my soon-to-be little girl.  We bought two varieties of diapers before Annabelle was born - prefolds and AIO's (all-in-ones).  I soon realized when I brought her home that the Grovia Newborn AIO's were going to fit her for maybe a week tops.  They didn't impress me in the absorbency department either, so those were used once or twice and put into storage.  Every other diaper we bought is currently being used, some more than others. 

Prefold & Thirsties cover

We began the journey with prefolds and although they were a great option in the beginning, I really didn't like using them much.  I have a heavy wetter and she would last maybe an hour and a half at most and we were going through as many outfits as we were diapers.  I enjoy laundry, but not that much.  The covers we used with our prefolds were Thirsties.  I like the covers, just not the prefolds.  So I made the investment into a few different types of pocket diapers (I learned that this is the option for a lot of cloth diapering moms) and love the current brands we are using.


Thirsties Cover with prefold

My personal favorite are Charlie Banana, we have both the perfect size option and the OS (one size) option.  I really enjoy the perfect size option because they fit like a glove, but as Annabelle grows I know OS will be the way to go (she grows FAST!)  The OS option has adjustable thigh elastic (which I just adjusted up to the medium option) and it works great for her "strong" thighs.  Overall, I love the colors of Charlie Banana and the absorbancy is pretty good.  This is our go-to diaper most days.

Charlie Banana Perfect Size Diaper

My husband love the KaWaii brand.  We originally tried these because we needed an overnight solution and had heard good things about this brand (and the price tag helped).  The goodnight version has been a lifesaver for us - we used to change Annabelle twice a night because she would pee so much, but now we can go from bedtime to wakeup in the same diaper.  We bought a few of the regular version to test as well and those have become my husband's favorite (mostly because of the velcro).  I enjoy this brand simply for the money savings and would recommend them to any new cloth users - as they are very user friendly.

KaWaii Goodnight Pocket Diaper

KaWaii Regular Pocket Diaper

So, overall we have had a great experience with cloth diapers.  I know it will change when she starts solids, but poop doesn't really scare me (which is more than I can say for my husband), so I'm not too worried.  We ordered two new brands of pocket diapers from Zulily, so look for the Lotus Bumz and Bumkins reviews to come soon!

Babywearing!

So, I follow a lot of parenting blogs and one mom in particular always reviews great products for her followers and posts where to find the products.  The problem is most of the time they are way out of my price range.  So, I've committed myself to locating the cheaper more inexpensive versions of the ones I like and then waiting for them to go on sale!  My shopping prowess comes from my mother :)  Anyways, I thought I would take the time to review one of my favorite finds and hopefully help any budget minded folks get their hands on some great products!

Babywearing is one of my favorite things to do, both around the house and on walks.  Annabelle usually loves it, as long as I keep moving - she is not the sit still type.  We were gifted a hand-me-down carrier from my husband's cousin, which worked pretty well, but it was generic, not very soft and had to be adjusted to fit well every time I used it.  So, I started looking through reviews for a carrier that could be used between the three adults in our household, was soft enough for Annabelle to sleep in and was light enough to wear in the coming summer months.  The carrier I kept coming back to was the Boba Carrier 3G.  Its versatile, soft and lightweight.  The only problem is the $125 price tag.  Seriously, who pays that much for a cloth carrier?  So more research ensued and I found the ultimate compromise - the Infantino Sash Mei Tai Carrier.  It has a $34.99 price tag, which rocks, but also has all the features I want in a carrier - soft, lightweight and every time my husband, brother or I put it on we adjust it to fit our specific body type.  (You can find the amazon version of the product here, which has free shipping with Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom).

Annie on a walk!

Annabelle loves the carrier and has successfully begun to use it as her teether when we go for walks.  The carrier does come with a "hood" which snaps onto the top for sunny days, but I haven't tried it yet and I'm not sure if Annabelle would be a fan of something that blocks her view.  We use hats and baby sunglasses instead and luckily she loves her sunglasses.

Hope you enjoyed the review!  A cloth diaper review is in the works, just waiting on a zulily order to arrive!

Success!

So, in the Hammer household we use cloth diapers.  I love it and Brandon...deals with it (he doesn't change many diapers or do diaper laundry, so his opinion doesn't count as much).  In the past week we have had a disasterous breakdown of our washing machine.  Not so great when you're doing diaper laundry at least every other day.  So, since we currently rent...the timeline falls on our landlord to fix the washer.  We're hoping for a quick fix (cross your fingers).  Anyways, we are currently using disposables during the week so we don't have to worry about going to the laundromat. 

Diposables suck.  They smell weird and don't look cute at all and Annabelle's sensitive bottom does not like them either.  The success I have in my diapering journey is the fact that my brother (currently Annabelle's daytime caretaker) thinks so too!  I enjoyed hearing him say "I hate disposables" this morning and I feel as though I have at least converted one person to cloth diapering.  Now to convince everyone else :)

My three month old!