Saving Money With Cloth

Seriously, how cute is he in this Whispers cover?

Even before I got pregnant with Axel I knew that I wanted to give cloth diapers a go.  I don't know HOW I knew, or WHY I knew... no one I know has used cloth in recent years and no one told me it was a good idea. I just knew that I wanted to use them.  I spent HOURS and HOURS online, researching the best brands and the different types.  I found out that a friend of mine on Facebook used cloth, so I asked her some basic questions early on.  She gave me the link for Jillian's Drawers and suggested that I use their cloth diaper trial program.  If nothing else I'd only be out $10 to return them if I hated it.

When I got them in the mail a couple months before Axel's birth I was ecstatic.  So cute they were!  And the novelty of using them was just burning a hole in my brain.  When Axel was 2 weeks old I started cloth diapering and I haven't regretted a moment of it.

Pros:

• Better for the environment.  Did you know that disposable diapers are the third largest consumable in landfills today, and it's estimated that they take hundreds of years to decompose?
• Less expensive. Did you know that the average child can cost around $1600 for two years in disposables, but you can cloth diaper your baby for about $600 (or less!).  AND reuse for the next child?! WINNING!
• Health reasons:  You know that absorbency crap in your disposables just isn't natural, right?  I mean, that's common sense. 
• Cuteness.  Fer reals.  Cute, cute, CUTE!  Pampers has nothin' on these!

Cons: 

• Laundry.  Oh my, the laundry.  I generally wash my diapers every other day.  Actually, it really hasn't been that big of a deal.
• Up-front costs.  I'm not gonna lie - I've spent maybe $400 so far on cloth diapers.  It's a bit of a shock, but in the long-run I'm saving. And, everything that I've purchased that doesn't fit Axel now (newborn fitteds, pre-folds and covers) will fit our future baby!
• Learning curve.  G-Ma still isn't so sure about these pre-folds.  It's been a while since I was in diapers!

Buying all the goodies now, while I'm working, is definitely going to work out for me when I start my SAH journey.  I'll be left to buy wipes (unless I start using the cloth ones I made...), detergent (until I figure out if there is a way to make my own, cloth-safe detergent) and cloth-safe diaper rash cream (which I'm hopeful I won't need often!)

And, of course, I'm learning as I go along!

Under Cover

That's right... I'm an undercover stay-at-home mother.  I say "under cover" because I'm not staying at home.  12 weeks and 1 day from my new baby's birth I will be returning to the workplace...

...and I hate it.

With my first son, I was ready to go back to work.  I was SOOOOOO ready!  But I always said that after I had my second child I wanted the option to stay at home.  Through a series of very unfortunate events - and also VERY fortunate events - my second son was born 10 years after my first.  New husband, new life, but the desire to be a stay-at-home mom stuck.  I've been spending the last 10 weeks enjoying the crap out of staying at home and taking care of my newborn.  Since I'm home my oldest (AJ) has been coming home on the school bus almost every day instead of being picked up by his grandparents.  I'm starting to get into a routine, and I've even managed to make a few nice dinners and pack a few lunches for my husband.  It gets easier every day, but it's all going to be different when I return to the office.

I'm thankful that I found in-home care for Axel while I'm gone.  Not only will I not have to worry about carting a newborn around in the mornings and evenings to and from daycare, but his dad will be able to see him before leaving for work and all of his baby creature comforts will be close by.  His crib, his toys, and I daresay, even his dogs!  Still, I can't help but think that the very best thing for him is to have his mommy take care of him.

Sad, sad panda.

But, UPSIDE!  My husband and I have agreed that with the next baby (hopefully to be conceived this summer) I will be able to take a year off of work so we can see if it's feasible to make it on one income.  Honestly, I can't wait.

My goal for the next year is to slip into an under cover SAHM role - really taking control of the house, organizing our lives, cutting costs and living within a budget and learning what I need to in order to make this new lifestyle work.

But before that I need to find some work clothes that fit!