Cloth diapering adventures have officially begun!

Our cloth diapers arrived Saturday!

I know in my previous post about our cloth diaper trial period we were quite decided on the hybrid style of diaper.  After much research on the different styles and brands we thought we really had it boiled down.

I was about to make the call to the store in Colorado to place our order when a friend told me to check out a Wyoming cloth diaper company.  I had no idea one even existed!

Out of curiosity, I looked up Baby Beduga in Pinedale, Wyo.  The company is owned by Crystal, a stay-at-home mom who believes strongly in cloth diapering and wants to make it affordable for other families to do so too.

Hers are a pocket style diaper and are one of the styles we had initially decided against.  The absorbent pad slides down the pocket in the back of the diaper.  We had opted against this style for no other reason, really, than we ultimately thought hybrids would be easier and cheaper.

We thought that until we saw her prices.  They are crazy low!  And by that I mean they are half the price of other popular brands.  Example: Rumparooz, a mainstream pocket diaper, sells for about $25/diaper and includes one insert.  Baby Beduga? Plain colored diapers are $7.99 and printed ones are $9.10!  They also include an insert.

My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw those numbers!

The low price automatically made me think they must be of lesser quality, so I did some Googling.  They have been reviewed on several "mommy blogs" and the consensus is nothing short of rave.

We ordered one to see for ourselves and discovered we really liked it! The snaps seem to be spaced appropriately for easy adjustment as Rosie grows.

The material is good quality as is the stitching.

Rosie christened the trial diaper with a big poo right off the bat, so we got to see right away how they clean up.  The diaper rinsed easily and didn't stain.  A good sign.

While it wasn't the style we wanted we were willing to go a different direction for the price.  Not to mention she is a Wyoming company and I like to patronize local small businesses.

We bought an assortment of solid colored and printed diapers.  Crystal has some diapers made of a minky material, which I was on the fence about, leaning toward not wanting them.  After talking about it on the phone she surprised us by nicely throwing in the cow print minky diaper for us to try.  It's really, really soft and I see Rosie wearing it mostly during days around the house where she won't have something on over a diaper.

I did buy one white solid colored one, which seems daring for a cloth diaper, right?  The thought was, it would be nice to have for under dresses when we might not want a bright diaper showing.

Here are the cute printed diapers we ordered.  Aren't they ADORABLE??

We got all of this - 19 diapers (we already had the one trial), 20 additional inserts, one wet bag for the nursery (the orange-y yellow bag), and one wet bag for the diaper bag (the pink bag) - all for slightly less than half of what we would have paid for the hybrid brand we were going to order.

Amazing.

To be fair, all of my initial assessments are based on a couple wears and washes.  I'll update a little later on how things are going and holding up.  I have confidence, though, that we made a great and economical decision and so far would recommend Baby Beduga to others!

Guess who rolled over today?

It was so unexpected.  I laid her down for a nap and put her paci in the crib with her.  She saw it and started reaching for it.  

I was just impressed at first that she actually grabbed it and brought it to her mouth with such purpose and focus.  I watched her drop it close to her chest and she fished around until she found it again.  

I ran outside to get Todd so he could watch all her new tricks.  When we came back in we found her on her tummy!  

She's been able to get herself about 98 percent over, but keeps getting hung up on her arm.

Looks like we've had a break through!

In this photo, I had moved her around so she wouldn't get her feet caught up in the crib.  She's got that paci in her sights!

Yay, Rosie!

Ticket to freedom

A stroller.  

That is my ticket to freedom.

Having a baby in winter is hard.  You're even more confined to the indoors than "normal" after giving birth.  We/I took Rosie on several walks, bundled up in her car seat that fit nicely in her other stroller, but that wasn't good enough.

The other stroller meant I still, somehow, needed to try to find a separate time to work out.  That was getting really compromised with all the other daily duties and I was getting increasingly frustrated.  I was tired of being a prisoner of our house and the baby weight wasn't coming off as quickly as I hoped.

Then our BOB arrived.  When it showed up on our front porch I felt like it may as well have been a giant Publisher's Clearing House check sitting there.  Suddenly, I could do whatever I wanted!  I could get out WITH Rosie and incorporate her into my workouts.  I wouldn't have to give them up because of Todd's schedule or her nap time.  

We took it on an inaugural outing over the weekend and I could barely contain my excitement.  

This weekend, with the weather finally warming up, Rosie and I will definitely be hitting the open road!  

Good egg

I desperately want chickens.  I want to get up in the morning and gather fresh eggs for breakfast and baking.  I want eggs laid by chickens that are raised more naturally. However, I can't have chickens yet.  Our yard is so small it can barely support us and two large, active dogs.  In spite of this, I can't help but pick up magazines like Hobby Farm and Mother Earth News when they feature articles on "the right kind of chicken for you," or, "the best coop for your needs."

One day, when we move out of town, I will have chickens.  Until then, I need a supplier.  I have been searching for someone in the Casper area to fill this role, but surprisingly, this "egg hunt" hasn't been easy!

Right before we moved from Cheyenne I had an egg dealer all lined up.  For some reason, finding a dealer in Casper hasn't been as easy.  I've read the classifieds of the small local and ag papers, have gone to Murdoch's to see if anyone posted about eggs on their bulletin board, and have asked friends who have ranching connections...all with dead ends.

At Todd's office Christmas party last year I got a lead.  A former agent used to have eggs.  She was no longer raising chickens but she knew someone who was!

I called ol' Rob on Thursday last week and in five minutes he had me lined up for a Friday delivery.  He told me he had green and brown eggs, which would I like?  I had never heard of green eggs except in Dr. Seuss' book!  Rob thought this was funny and said that's what he'd deliver.  Apparently, Americana chickens lay green, blue, yellow and brown eggs.  Who knew?

We sampled the eggs this morning and they are just...better than store bought.  Look at those bright yellow yolks!

At $3 a dozen I think Rob might be a tiny bit steep, but I'll take what I can get for now.  Since getting my eggs on Friday I have discovered that another person I know has a dealer too.  I need to find out their price and compare.

It appears I just might have "cracked" the seemingly secret world of fresh eggs in Casper!

Once upon a child

In looking at the piles of clothes we had for Rosie before she was born we thought for sure we wouldn't have to buy a stitch until her 1st birthday.

Now that I've organized the clothes by age and have them in storage boxes and her dresser, I can see there are several holes we need to fill.

Enter the secondhand baby story Once Upon a Child.  

It's an awesome concept: people sell them their gently used baby items and they sell them to others at deeply cut prices.  There are some things I want brand new, sure, but for the most part, baby clothes don't fall into that category.  It's really hard to justify buying all brand new clothes that will be worn for only about a month.  

Rosie is in desperate need of 3-6 month-old footed sleepers, some tights, and a few long sleeved onesies.  I also have wanted to find her an Easter dress; some plain, colored onesies and a few hoodies.  

Apparently, most stores have started turning over to spring/summer wear, so I struck out on footed sleepers and long sleeved onesies.  

But I did get an Easter dress...

And some hoodies...

At Rosie's age, I really want easy zip or snap-up sleepers, but I couldn't resist these pj's with the frolicking unicorns!

A close up of those cute unicorns...

Even though it won't fit her now, I found this super cute 6-mo dress.  About that time we will be in D.C., for a friend's wedding and I just imagined Rosie romping around the nation's capitol in this (it comes with matching bloomers!)...