Goodbye, Pampers

For the past few years I have continued to enter one Pampers code a month even though I don't have anyone in diapers any more. Sometimes these codes were ones that I found when we were moving from when the Lambs were in diapers, sometimes I bought baby wipes to use in the car, etc. I did this on the same day each month to make sure that I did it according to their program rules, once a month. I was rewarded by Pampers for this with 2 12x12 Shutterfly albums including shipping. This made it worth it to me to continue to buy wipes (especially with a coupon) and make the effort to enter them once a month. I also always gave Pampers diapers and wipes as a baby shower gifts with a note that new moms will want to take part in this program.

Last week was my day to enter in my monthly code and this message popped up.

Pampers will soon launch a new and improved mobile and web experience. However Grow On will not be part of the new experience. So if you have a Grow On gift waiting for you make sure to claim it by June 7th.  

Don’t worry though, your points balance will transfer automatically and you will still earn points for your Pampers purchases. You will even get bonus points for downloading and trying our new app. Plus, we will be introducing exciting new items to our rewards catalog that many of you have been asking for!

Last week was my 7th month towards earning my next Shutterfly album. Since they are discontinuing the program and I already earned my 6th month prize, the Grow On program is done for me. I am so thankful that I wasn't at my 11th month or closer towards earning the Shutterfly album. I have been really busy lately, but I don't remember receiving an e-mail or seeing this on social media. I did not know this until I went to enter my monthly code. This message did not pop up at my 6th month. I think Pampers should have given much more notice on this, perhaps I wouldn't have started this 6 months ago. I also understand that everyone doing this program is at different months and it would be impossible to notify everyone so they are at the first month. That doesn't change that I am disgusted to being halfway towards a free album. And if I would have earned a prize, (prizes were earned at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months) that was very little notice to redeem it by June 7 or it would expire.

I understand that Pampers has a right to do a rewards program however they want. They are being generous and so far since the program began when my Lambs were little, they have not said that points expire for the rewards program. There is still the chance to use your rewards for other prizes as part of the reward program that is not connected to the Grow On program. But the whole reason why I participated was to get the free Shutterfly albums. So I will not be buying any more Pampers baby wipes for our family's use or buying any Pampers as gifts.

This and that

*Lamb 3 still has a few accidents, but overall he is potty trained. I have been washing only a few cloth diapers.
*Lamb 1 and 2 have been having more dry nights. I haven't bought as many Pullups for them recently.
*We finally used up all the baby vitamins.
*I have been slowly working on cleaning all the baby items and clothes out of the Lamb's closet and room. Next I will really tackle giving away a lot of those items that I removed from their room.
*I'm ready to spend my Christmas money where I was allowed to get whatever I needed-finally settled on some new clothes for myself.
*Lamb 2 will be 5 in May which means he will be done with WIC.
*I haven't nursed any Lambs for almost 1 1/2 years.
*I had the best dentist report in February that I have had in the last 8 years.
*It is time for me to go to the eye doctor for my annual checkup.

Do you know why I posted this list?

New Things

Angie posted here about some new things she is trying. I thought it was a great idea for a blog post. Here's a list of some things we have tried/started doing in the last 6 months. When I list these, it's amazing to me how many of these I took advice of Loopers and/or blogs I read. Most are to save money or be green or eat healthier. If you would have told me just 5 years ago that I would be doing almost anything on this list, I would have thought you were crazy!

*Bought BumGenius diapers for Lamb 3 and began using them at night time for him (I never thought I would cloth diaper at night time too) (I don't want Pampers to get my money!)
*Bought my first bra online that was not for nursing (I never thought I could get the size correct without trying it on)
*Bought my first dress online that was not for nursing
*Drink raw milk (Ram, Ewe, Lamb 2)
*Took RPW's advice and bought my first expensive coconut oil (I'm waiting for it to ship)
*Bought and began using cloth pads after this experience (I don't want Always to get my money each month!)
*Made homemade vanilla (thanks Susan for the "recipe")
*Make and drink kombucha
*Buy eggs from the farm
*Tried curly girl routine (still working on it-my hair is wavy but not curly-this will take me awhile to learn what works for MY hair)
*Lambs all sleep in the same room together and go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time (which makes more time for Ram and Ewe to have together time and alone time)
*Ram and I do neti pot
*We all take vitamin D supplements now
*Ram and Ewe take cod liver oil (Lambs have all started taking it at 18 months)
*Just started to shop and avoid high fructose corn syrup (we have a fully stocked pantry so as we use up items we will buy ones without HFCS or if HFCS can't be avoided, we won't buy it any more-we aren't avoiding all sugar, just starting with HFCS)
*Bought real maple syrup
*Bought dryer balls to put in the clothes dryer to speed the drying time (since it will be months before I can put stuff on the clothesline outside again!)
*Began homeschooling Lamb 1 more formally than preschool homeschool
*Make own baby wipes
*Use vinegar for cleaning instead of Lysol

Washing Cloth Diapers

The first diapers I bought were Mother-ease. The directions say pre-rinse with warm water and detergent. Use the detergent you use for the rest of your laundry (without bleach). Wash diapers in full cycle at highest water level using hot water and household detergent without bleach. Should you have a tough stain you can use a detergent such as Biz with non- chlorine bleach. Use cleaning agents like this only on an as required basis. Add a final cup of vinegar to the final rinse cycle of your wash to prevent diaper rash.
Recently I purchased BumGenius diapers. The directions say to use a specific detergent or it may ruin the diapers. Wash cold with correct detergent. Wash hot with correct detergent. Follow with a second rinse to remove detergent residue. Use only detergent and water. Once per month use up to 1/4 cup bleach in the hot wash cycle. Always use additive free detergent (no perfumes, dyes, whiteners, brighteners, softeners, enzymes, or other fabric enhancers). Do not use laundry additives including vinegar, baking soda, and fabric softeners.
The whole time I have used cloth diapers I have washed on hot and done 2 rinses. The first cycle I used a small amount of fragrance free detergent and baking soda. The second cycle I added vinegar. I have always figured it was better to do too many rinses than not enough.
I want to wash all my diapers together. With only one in diapers now, I don't want to do more than one load of diapers every few days. So which way is correct to wash the diapers if I want to wash them all at once? Using baking soda and vinegar or not? My cousin sent me directions of how she washed her diapers, but that made another way to wash them different than either Mother-ease or BumGenius recommended. If you wash cloth diapers, please leave a comment and let me know how you would recommend I do it. I'm currently planning on keeping my original system of detergent, baking soda, and vinegar because I have mostly Mother-ease and just a few BumGenius-unless you leave comments that recommend that I don't.
Also, the whole reason we are using cloth diapers is because Lamb 3 was allergic to disposables and is very sensitive. I have noticed a difference when I forgot to put vinegar in the last rinse on Lamb 3. I think Lamb 3 needs the vinegar or he will get worse diaper rash and he is too sensitive to not use it.

Weekly report and cloth diapers

The Lambs got healthy much earlier than I did. Lamb 3 seemed to have a runny nose hang on and wasn't eating as well as normal. I finally realized he got 4 molars and skipped the teeth inbetween so I didn't notice he was getting teeth. I finally felt well enough to have school yesterday (Saturday). Ram went the 1 1/2 hours to go shopping without us on Friday. I gave him a list and he did well-even got a turkey for 39 cents/lb. I won't have our weekly school report this week because we only had one day of school last week. We went out to eat for my birthday dinner tonight.
I have been working on an album for each of the Lambs with their photos that we have had taken professionally (usually Sears). I'm happy to report that I got all 3 albums caught up. I'm not sure if we'll be able to fit in photos in December or if we'll wait until January, but then I'll have another set of photos to add. It is so nice to have those albums caught up for now!
This week coming up I rescheduled their haircuts and Lamb 3 is also going to get his first haircut. I plan to clean the house well after we have all been sick and to get ready for Ram's parents to visit for Thanksgiving. I also plan to do some baking to get ready for Thanksgiving. I hope to be able to do a whole full week of school because I know after Thanksgiving life will get busy here until January.
I have a cloth diaper question for you blog readers. I have gone through cycles since Lamb 3 has been born. I use cloth diapers for awhile, then get lazy and use paper, then Lamb 3 gets diaper rash from the disposables, then I'm motivated to go back to cloth. I have nice cloth diapers so I don't want to spend any more money on that. My problem is the diaper covers leak. I don't know if Lamb 3 needs a different size or a different kind, but what I have is not working. What kind of diaper covers do you recommend and where do you buy them? I don't want to get all in ones-the diapers I have are good. When Ram's dad saw that I was using cloth with Lamb 3 he was surprised both that cloth costs so much (compared to what was available when he had children) AND that we would use cloth when we have the convenience of disposable available that he didn't have. I would really like to get better covers-partly to prove to Ram's dad that cloth does work, but mostly because Lamb 3 is allergic to disposables (and yes, I've tried every brand of disposables before I gave up and decided to try cloth). Plus, I would like to get my money's worth out of the cloth diapers I already have. I appreciate any advice you have.

Disgusting!

I couldn't figure out why we had so many flies in the house. Ram has been using the flyswatter like crazy. Ram even hung a plastic baggie with water and coins in the basement from internet advice. They were worst in the basement. I wondered if someone left the door open or what happened.
Tonight I finally got around to washing the dirty diapers that had been sitting there for about a week. There were a bunch of dead flies on the top of the diapers. Then, as I got to the bottom of the pail, I realized why we had so many flies in the house! Gross! Gross!
The fly larvae or maggots or whatever they are, won't flush down the toilet-they are too light or whatever. So now I have a bunch of dead fly larvae in the basement toilet and a bunch of live flies all over my house.
Thankfully the diapers are all in the washer with lots of soap and baking soda. I think I got all the flies off of them before I put them in the washer-hoping to avoid the toilet problem in the washer.
The ironic thing is that I've been cleaning the house a room at a time and I've been so busy on that, that I got behind on laundry including the cloth diapers. When I cleaned the living room I took the diaper pail downstairs planning to wash the diapers and give the diaper pail a good scrub.
I've learned my lesson and I won't procrastinate on washing the diapers again-especially not in the summer.

What I love about being a Mama during the diaper years

My Looper friend Pam, put this list on Loopers today. I think it is a great reminder for those of us that are so busy during the diaper years to take a minute to appreciate what we have. This is her list so there are a few that don't apply for me (at least not yet), but you just can't beat some of these!

Things I enjoy about the Diaper Years
1) Keeps me at the foot of the cross
2) The delicious smell of the freshly bathed newborn
3) Being 'The Mom,' who can kiss owies, give hugs, and make it 'all better'
4) Cute little baby and toddler bums
5) Keeps me humble
6) Soft baby hair at the nape of the neck
7) Wide, sweet eyes looking up at me while nursing contentedly
8) Hearing my kids, including the two year old, sing from memory the liturgy and hymns
9) The hugs of forgiveness that come after repentance
10) It is so humbling
11) The forgiveness my children offer me when I have sinned against them
12) Seeing my 3yo offer to share his toy, cookie, etc with the 2yo with NO prompting from me.
13) Sharing with my older ones a cute antic of the 2yo.
14) Watching my 6yo son hold the 6mo baby in his lap and sing hymns or read a book to her
15) I can't forget that children are indeed a blessing from God
16) When the 2yo brings me 'food' to 'eat' from her little toy dishes, and grins and giggles when I pretend to 'eat' it.
17) The sparkle and excitement in my children's eyes when they run into the house to tell me what they found in the woods *this* time. (snake, lizard, dead bird, saw a deer)
18) The same sparkle and excitement they feel for each other's joys
19) The concern for each other's feelings when one is sad or hurt, especially...
20) When the 2yo approaches the crying 9yo, pats her shoulder and asks 'are you okay?'
21) Seeing the children all vie for who gets to sit on Dad's lap during after-supper devotion time.
22) Watching them sleep
23) The whole family rejoicing together when the potty learning child 'goes' in the toilet!
24) The enthusiastic response when we tell the children we are expecting another baby
25) Knowing I may see all these precious souls in heaven one day, and thanking God daily for the privilege of being their mommy

I would like to add getting to read to toddlers daily as a great joy. I don't know who enjoys the classic children's books more, my boys or me!

I'm not looking forward to #17, but I know it's coming with 3 boy lambs!

I'm hoping that we can take part in #23 soon with Lamb 2, but we'll still be in diaper years for awhile even if that happens.

As my dad always said, changing diapers is a reminder to thank God that the plumbing works for the baby. Thank you God, for blessing me with 3 Lambs to be Mama for during the diaper years!

adorable diaper covers

About a month ago, I was finally ready to try cloth diapers. Here's Lamb #3 in a diaper cover made by www.averysattic.blogspot.com . Isn't he adorable? Much better than a Pampers or Huggies! I was so glad to find averysattic. Her prices are very reasonable. She is having a sale with free shipping until the end of the year. She makes blankets, slings, diaper accessories, etc. Check her out if you have a baby gift to buy!

I'll post more about our adventures with cloth diapers in future posts.