The Simplistic Mom

I started cloth diapering about a year and a half ago when my second son was 4 months old.  Seeing how he was young and "normal size" I went with a variety of one-size pocket and AIO diapers for my stash.  Now looking at my stash there is no way many of these diapers are going to fit a newborn! We don't have the luxury of being able to afford $12-18 newborn diapers so I'm either gonna have to buy some good prefolds and covers (maybe second hand?) or I'm gonna have to get handy and make some of my own.

I have plenty of diaper fabric just sitting around, so the obvious choice would be to make my own.  My worry is that I'll make myself a whole newborn stash only to find that the don't fit or don't work well.  I had tried making my own AI2 diapers and had the fit down but leak issues through the stitching at the legs.  What is your opinion? Should I start trolling sites like Diaper Swappers for cheap used diapers or start making my own AIO or fitteds & covers?

I am hoping to start posting on here again in a regular fashion.  I will still be posting on green living topics though soon they will have a newborn slant as I am pregnant with my third child.  I started cloth diapering my second child when he was about 4 months old so the newborn diapering will be new for me.  I will share my pregnancy and newborn journey with you as much as I am able with two little ones running around and my pregnancy exhaustion.  Thankfully, I am mostly over the terrible morning sickness that plagued my first trimester.  I hope you are all still interested in hearing my story as it unfolds.

I understand that some of you might still be having issues with my blog, I'm not seeing any issues on my end so if you could send me a detailed message or comment (including what browser version, symptoms, etc.), I'd be happy to try and figure out what's going on!

Well, it seems that the technical difficulties I was experiencing have been fixed.  I think there was a bug in one of the plug-ins that seems to be fixed now (through none of my doing)!  Anyway, if you are still experiencing errors please send me a message or leave a comment so I can try and fix it.  Now, I just have to deal with my ancient crappy computer acting up. :-p 

I have many irons in the fire right now so I can't guarantee that I will have any more posts up this week.  I hope I can squeeze out one or two next week! Hang tight and hopefully soon I'll be back to normal (or at least as normal as I get.)

I am experiencing technical difficulties with my site and posting today...I hope to have my Eco-friendly Friday post up this evening but you may have to wait a few days until I have things sorted out.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

I know I'll a little behind the 8 ball by posting this today, but my computer was not being agreeable yesterday.  I will be so happy when I have saved enough to buy a new one!!!!

The American Academy of Pediatrics released new recommendations for the use of car seats and boosters that are going to be an adjustment to those of us who have small children.  We saw recently the change to older children using boosters longer, and these new standards now are designed to keep the youngest members of our family safe in our vehicles.

I know some (including my husband) think that keeping an older child in a booster while in middle school if they aren't the proper height is humiliating.  I think that as this generation in our car seats now will think it's normal and expected, just as wearing a seat belt is now.  Just because we weren't required to do something as a child does not mean that it was the safest thing that we could have been doing. 

I highly recommend you checking out this article on the new guidelines which also addresses some of the common questions/concerns parents have.  It would also be a good idea to look at some of the other resources available on the AAP's site.

I would also suggest that you go to get your seats checked at a safety seat check location and re-read your seat manual.  I have seen many seats installed or used incorrectly and it's worth the 15 minutes.  The biggest things I suggest you check are: that the latch tether strap is flat and tight, that you apply pressure when installing (I kneel full weight into the seat as I tighten the tethers), the chest strap needs to be aligned over the nipples or the armpits on infants, and remember to attach the top tether to an anchor point (not a cargo loop.)