Lovin' the gDiapers!

We have been using cloth diapers since our little guy arrived home... and we have to say it's been a great investment!  They're easy to use and we feel good about the fact that we leave less waste behind.  Plus, they're super cute!  Friends of ours gave us our first pair of gDiapers to try... and after doing some research we decided we were going to give cloth diapers the best shot possible.

We ordered a shipment from gdiapers (at the time they only had a US distribution warehouse), so the shipping was a bit expensive... but we ordered everything we needed.  There is now a Canadian distribution warehouse, so Canadians can order from gdiapers.ca.  We've also found some gdiapers at London Drugs too!  If you're just starting out and want to cloth diaper from the beginning, this is what I suggest you will need:

• 6 gpants in each size (small, medium, and large) - 18 total 
• 24 gCloth inserts in each size (small and med/large) - 48 total (The small gCloth fit the tiny and small gpants, and the med/large gCloth fit the medium and large gpants).  This will give you enough inserts so you're not doing laundry everyday.  We usually do a load every 3 days or so.
• 10 tiny gpants (the newborn size) - since our little one was so small, we actually got a lot of use out of this size.  This size goes up to 10lbs.

We found the most economical way to purchase all that we needed (brand new) was to buy a gBaby Bundle, a sweet Bundle (size medium), a sweet Bundle (size large), and 4 extra packs of gCloths (size small).  This will also give you 2 packages of the biodegradable flushable liners to try as well.  Many people are also selling gently used gpants online if you wanted to hunt those down.  Gdiapers has a facebook page which has a re-sale forum where you can buy and sell used g's as well.

If you love gdiapers as much as we do, you'll also want to sign up to be a gmum or gdad so you can receive goodies, info and coupons in the mail to share with your friends.

We've learned getting the right fit is the most important thing you can do to guard against leaks.  As long as baby is in the right size gPant... we really haven't had many issues with leaks.  We've also adapted to doubling up on gCloth at nighttime (using a small liner underneath our medium liner - hemp sides together) to last through the night.

You can also enter to win some free g's at Oh Baby! Magazine.  They are doing a giveaway for Canadians.  Contest closes February 10, 2012.  Good luck!

To learn more, go to gdiapers.com.

Super Big Swaddling Blanket

From the time Affam was born, he has loved being swaddled when he goes to sleep.  However, the receiving blankets are too small to do this anymore.  So, I bought some flannel fabric and made him an extra large one.  I of course had to add a cute print to the blanket to make it our own!

Affam trying out his new swaddler

 I cut the flannel to roughly a meter squared, and added a 4" strip of scrap printed fabric about a third of the way across the blanket.  I top stitched the printed fabric with a half inch hem folded underneath and pressed.  Then I did an overcasting stitch along the edge of the whole blanket to prevent the flannel from fraying.  Since I got the flannel fabric on sale for $4 a meter, and used scrap fabric for the rest, this project works out to about $4!

examining the finished product

I think Affam loves it!

The last 8 months... BABY and life as a mom!

It has been so long since I've blogged, I'd better update you on the last 8 months!  My last blog was a few days before our baby was born, and I don't know where the time has gone.

Our little boy, Affam Kai, joined us on May 13, 2011 at 6 lbs 3 oz.  Affam was born at 37 weeks (3 weeks early), so it was a bit of a surprise when I went into labor in the wee hours of the morning and delivered at 8:41am.  We are so in love with our little Affam, and I don't think I'll ever forget the moment I became a mom!

A few hours after delivery I experienced some life threatening trauma but we are grateful to say I made it through this close call.  If I left this part out of Affam's birth story, it would be difficult to describe how thankful we are to be together as a family today.  God has truly been good to us!

We are so excited witnessing every change in Affam, and watching him grow.  He is so much fun, very easy going, and such a happy boy!

 

What a life change we have had this year... but one we wouldn't give up for anything!  We are so blessed!