Confessions of a Shopaholic

Yes!  I have been seriously shopping this past week!  And it's all in the name of little Baby Love.  I'm beginning to think the UPS guy is going to recommend that I go to some sort of 12 step meeting.  I have done most of my shopping on-line, as it is not only super convenient (no waddling around the retail stores looking for the restroom!), but in some cases cheaper and I can read lots of reviews about the products before I make a big purchase.  So we have had lots of deliveries this week and still have several more on the way.  I've started washing all of Baby Love's clothes and blankets and am slowly starting to get her closet nice and organized.  (If my own closet is any indication then I'm sure her closet won't be organized for more than 24 hrs after we bring her home but at least it looks nice now.)  And so I think that we have just about all the "essentials" either in the house or currently being shipped our way.  One of the biggest time suckers was deciding on one very important, teeny, weeny,  minor, little detail.  Diapers!

Cloth or disposables?  That has been the question on my brain that has been keeping me up at 3 in the morning.  (Sad, I know.)  And yes, I probably should have gotten on top of this much earlier but I took one look at all the cloth diaper options out there and I literally freaked out!  (I would like to thank my dear friend and cloth diapering guru CK for shedding some light on the whole subject.)  Let's just say that cloth diapering has come a loooooooong way in the past 50 years.  There are dozens of different options out there and you practically have to learn a new language in order to start understanding what all these websites are talking about.  Seriously.  AIO's?  DSQ prefolds?  Pockets?  AI2's?  Doublers?  Snappis?  Say what!?!?!  Just a couple weeks ago that was all Greek to me.  But now I am well versed in the hip cloth diaper lingo.

So I think from the beginning we both thought we would like to try cloth diapering for a variety of reasons.  Obviously there is the environmental impact of throwing thousands of  non-biodegrable plastic diapers into the land fill.  That's the American way right?  Use it and throw it out!  And I really don't like all the nasty chemicals they use to make disposable diapers and have reservations about using them on such a tiny, sensitive little being.   But also I think (only now after a lot of research) that it will most likely be financially savvy in the long run, especially if we have another baby in the future.  (Don't get too excited yet....let's wait and see if we can manage not to screw this one up first!)  Oh, and did I mention that babies that wear cloth diapers tend to potty train earlier too!?!?!  If that's not a reason to jump on the bandwagon then I don't know what is! 

So now that I have researched it and worked out some of the logistics, we have taken the plunge into the CDing world.  Let the dirty work begin.  Literally.  I'm actually okay with the idea of washing my own diapers, now that I have learned that it is not as totally disgusting as one might think.  (Not pleasant by any means, but I guess diaper changes aren't really pleasant to begin with now are they?)  I've learned that there are a whole lot of diaper washing rules out there that I was totally unaware of.  First, you have to buy special laundry detergent that you have to use for ALL your laundry, not just the dirty dipes.  And you must say good bye to fabric softener (which we don't use anyway) and dryer sheets (Phil is quite upset about this one!) until diaper washing is no longer a part of your life.  All these things will build up in your machine and cause the diapers to start repelling liquids.  Not exactly what one is striving for when trying to contain the mess.  So in the end it will require me to do an extra load of laundry about every other day.   Yes, I think I might just be insane!  Hopefully it won't be too bad.  There are a lot of women out there that do this so I know it's totally doable.   And there is no turning back now anyway, as I spent the day purchasing several different types of cute little diapers to try out on Baby Love.  They really are, seriously cute.

But enough potty talk for now.  (Gee....I haven't even had my baby yet and I'm already turning into one of those mothers that can't stop talking about her kid's bodily functions.)  So I had another appointment yesterday and I am 36 weeks today!  One more week and I'll be considered full term.  So far all is still going well.  No problems to speak of.  Just the normal aches and pains and nine million trips to the restroom in the middle of the night.  I am already well trained to not sleep for more than two hours at a time.  Mother nature's lovely little way of easing you into total sleep deprivation.  Baby Love is still head down, quite low and I am one centimeter dilated.  Which is no indication that I will go into labor anytime soon but it's nice to know that things are progressing.  I went to the hospital yesterday and pre-registered so that when the big day comes I can by-pass the front desk.  I'm planning on having the birth at the Women's Hospital in town and more specifically at their newly opened birthing center on the first floor.  You can check it out here if you want.  Looks lovely, no?

So here are a few pics from Baby Love's room.  It's coming along pretty well.  Just waiting for a couple more pieces of furniture and we need to get something up on the walls at some point.

 Me and my HUUUUUUUUUUGE belly!