Cloth Diapers

When my son was first born, I remember buying that first jumbo box of disposable diapers and thinking "What's this going to cost me?"  When I had two children in diapers, I figured I should just invest in the companies that made diapers.  Hopefully, it would help me break even!  With our last child Sylvia, my husband and I decided to change things up.  I was about 4 months pregnant and just researching everything Baby.  We were starting new since our youngest children were both 6.  We wanted to try and be as eco-conscious as possible with Sylvia.  We decided to cloth diaper. 

We came to this decision based on many hours of research on my part and a visit from his ex-wife.  The Hubs' ex-wife brought Von to visit us for the summer and that's when I noticed her daughter was wearing a cloth diaper.  I couldn't believe it!  I love reading reviews on items, but when you are researching something, sometimes another person's opinion is the best, especially another mother.  We spent a few minutes talking about it and I began to really think that this was doable!  I was in awe of this woman who had traveled to Florida with an infant wearing cloth diapers the entire time.  Thank you ex-wife!

After all of my research, we decided on gDiapers.  It's a totally hybrid diapering system with a cloth and disposable liner.  We went through diapers.com.  They had a large selection of colors and offered the best deals(at least in my opinion).  The majority of their gDiapers sell for around $18.00 and the shipping is extremely quick.  They also sell the extra snap inserts, cloth liners, and the disposable liners.  The disposable liners are great for travelling.  They are flushable and 100% biodegradable.  We used them on a family road trip from Florida to California and back.  They made changes a little more convenient and we didn't have to carry a full, dirty, wet bag the whole way.  Once we were in California, we converted back to using the cloth liners.  Easy Peasy!

Sylvia goes to daycare at the Child Development Center on the base here in Pensacola, so unfortunately we cannot cloth diaper her all day.  We have to buy disposable diapers, which I don't really like, but rules are rules.  I hope that if people research and realize that you can work and cloth diaper your child, maybe change can happen at the CDC.  For now, Sylvia wears cloth at home and disposable at daycare.  We spend about $25.00 for every 180 diapers, Target brand.  Those last her about a month and a half at daycare.

On another note,  we love our gDiapers, but we love CustomG's by Jessica even more!  Her team of ladies make some of the most awesome, 100% customizable gDiapers, tutus, and hairbows.  They also have items for little boys as well.  They have made Sylvia many custom diapers.  We love dealing with Jessica!

Please keep in mind that cloth diapering isn't for everyone.  We have a very busy schedule due to work, sports, and all of the kids' extra-curricular activities and we still manage to cloth diaper.  I suggest you research and see what works for you.  Cloth diapers have a high cost in the beginning, but it averages out and is cheaper in the end.

My Life So Far

I enlisted in the United States Navy straight out of high school, Fall of 1999.  After completion of boot camp, I was sent to Pensacola, FL so that I could complete my "A" school at the Air Traffic Control School House.  Upon graduation in May of 2000, I was sent on orders to NAS Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, WA.  I married my first husband there and was transferred to USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, CA.  I became pregnant with my first child, Maguire, and was transferred to FACSFAC San Diego.  I subsequently divorced my husband and became pregnant with my second child, Kennedy.  For many years I was a single mother.  I was able to maintain my personal and professional life with ease due to my mother helping me out.  She provided my childcare for my children.  After completing my tour at FACSFAC, I was transferred to TACRON Twelve, also in San Diego.  I completed 4 separate deployments while stationed there.  After completing that tour, I accepted orders to NATTC Pensacola and came back to where I had started my career.  My husband and I had our youngest child, Reagan, and were married earlier this summer.  

The Hubs and Von.  The Hubs had been previously married as well and had a child with his ex-wife.  Von lives with his mother and sees us mostly in the summer, since it seems to be less intrusive on his school and home life.  We love having him with us and he seems to enjoy the time that he spends with us.  We normally try to make sure that we do all the new things when we have him so that he's with us when we are making those profound family memories, ie: Disney World, Lego Land Carlsbad, and Sea World.  The Hubs is also active duty military.

Maguire.  Maguire is my oldest, my prince, the most handsome little boy in the world....I could go on, but it just gets repetitive!  He was born via C-Section after some of the worst labor ever!  He loves sports, video games, and just being a boy.  I wish that he would read more, but he's not perfect. 

Kennedy.  Kennedy was a gift.  She was a child of my choosing.  She is our Cheerleader!  She's the nicest, sweetest, and smartest little girl that you'll ever meet.  She loves Cheer, gymnastics, reading, and everything girly.  The saying about girls being made of "sugar and spice and everything nice" applies to our daughter.

Von.  Von is "The Brain".  He's a very smart, energetic, inquisitive, and cute little guy.  He is the top AR reader in his grade at school.  He's a vegetarian, which makes his visits a little interesting, but nothing we can't handle.  He also has the best imagination that I have ever seen a child have. 

Sylvia.  Sylvia is our "love child".  The Hubs and I wanted one more child and she was it.  At 9 months, she has one of the most entertaining personalities!  She loves to be cuddled, especially by her father.  Everyone enjoys having Sylvia around.  

We also have two furry family members, Duchess and Dexter.  Duchess is a Great Dane, she's still a puppy though,  so she's not quite as big as she'll eventually be.  Dexter aka "King of the House" is a miniature pinscher.  They are quite the pair!  He's 10 years old this year and still as bossy as ever, she is just about 11 months.  Duchess and Dexter are two very spoiled dogs.  They are both bed hogs and they don't love to travel, but they love being with the family and not staying in a kennel.

My family is my life and my life is my family.  We are a unit and all work together to get everything done.  I wouldn't want it any other way.