Family Update for December

I know it's been a while since I have posted an update. I think I have done pretty well with snippets here and there on facebook but I figured it was time to sit down and write in the ole' blog.

As far as baby news, Elijah is doing pretty well. We got a call from our doctor just before Thanksgiving saying that the results of our ultrasound showed him to be very small and they wanted to do a followup ultrasound. Since then we have had two followups and he has gone from being in the 27th percentile to the 31st percentile. His head is still really tiny, like in the 5th percentile, which is dragging down his over-all average. But that is also a bit of genetics since unfortunately both Jeff and I have small heads. I think it is helping that I'm done working now and Elijah doesn't have to compete with work for my energy and nutrients though. We would still very much appreciate your prayers that he would continue to grow healthy and strong. He doesn't have to be big (in fact I would prefer he wasn't since I have to give birth to him) but I do want him to be healthy. And so far he is healthy and seems to be developing just fine. The picture to the side is my most recent belly pic and I'm at 27 weeks.


I shared this story with a lot of people already but I have to put it here as well because this is one of our family highlights for this month. Jeff and I were snuggling on the couch facing each other when Jeff says to me "You must be hungry. I feel your belly rumbling." He then gets a horrified look on his face as he feels Elijah kicking again and realizes what he was feeling. He then backed as far into the couch as possible and begged me to let him up. Apparently he is still a bit freaked out by the thought of another being living inside my belly. 


I think that is about it as far as baby news goes. I'm making a blanket that I may keep for our baby or might just give away. I can't decide how I feel about the color. Some days I love it and other days it just is too intense a green. It's kind of, for lack of a better term, a Grinch green and it is really pretty in certain lights but in other lights or against certain colors it is pretty...intense. I will post a pic once I get it finished.


Since it is the holiday season I would like to share what I have been up to in getting ready for Christmas. First, I finally finished my Advent Calendar and I have it hanging up across our windows. I didn't get the chance to fill it with candy and other little tokens this year so it is really more of a mitten garland than Advent Calendar at this point. But I love how it turned out and I'm so happy with it! The pattern can be found here for free if you want to try making one for yourself. I think I started working on this in the spring and just finished it in time. But it took me longer because I wanted to make each one a little different. Here are some pics of the finished product. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! I particularly like this first picture with Brie sleeping peacefully on the footstool.

That is really most of my Christmas decor that is worth seeing. I did also put up some nutcrackers from Jeff's childhood collection. (He has a lot!) The advent mittens are probably my favorite decoration this year but I'm also really happy with my nativity. I decided to put it on our dining table so that we would be reminded of the real reason we celebrate Christmas every time we sit down to eat. Christmas isn't about the busyness and stress of traveling or presents. It is about remembering that Jesus came to save us and he came in such a way that we would be able to identify with him, as a human baby. Anyway, that is something that I wanted to be as the centerpiece of my Christmas and what better way than displaying the nativity as my table centerpiece!

I have also been baking some cookies to get ready for Christmas. And just as an aside, it is tricky to work with mixing bowls and tricky to get close to the counter/oven when you have a big pregnant belly getting in the way! But I have made thumbprint cookies, sugar cookies, fudge and no bake cookies. I decided that was all we needed since there are so many other goodies around the holidays. Here are some pics of the ones I remembered to take pictures of:

As far as my other knitting projects go... I can share the kindle cover I made for my mom because she is never online. But most others will have to wait until after Christmas. I actually made two covers: one in cream and another in purple. I made a cream one first before I realized that her kindle is charcoal gray and would probably show through the cream one. So I then made another one in a darker color and I really think she is going to like it! The pattern is so easy and it didn't take long to whip up at all. If you want the pattern it is also free and can be found here. Brie decided she wanted my attention right when I was taking this picture and thought it was to cute not to share :)

I think that is all the news I have to share for now. I will share more once the holidays are over.

Cloth Diapering Two-In-One Diapers: The Flip, BumGenius 4.0 and Oh Katy One Size Pocket

The concept of a two-in-one diaper is basically that the diaper has two parts to it. In the case of the Flip or pocket diapers there is the insert (the thing that makes the diaper absorbent) and the cover (the thing that makes the diaper waterproof.

The Filp is one of the diapers I have decided to have in my diaper stash. You can get it in many different colors and it comes with either velcro or snap closures, It is like a hybrid from traditional diaper covers and pocket diapers. A pocket or all-in-one (AIO) are one and done kind of products that require both the insert and cover to be washed every time a mess is made in it. The big perk of the Flip is that the insert can be removed and the cover reused if the cover isn't very soiled. Just wipe the inside with a wet wipe, set aside to dry and use with a fresh insert later. Another reason I really like the Flip is that it is a one size diaper which means it should fit Eli from 7-35 lbs which makes it cost effective. It also has great reviews: aka very few leaks. (I will have to find out for myself if this is true for my baby since all kids come in different shapes). Another perk is that the cover is made of a waterproof material that is also breathable. It doesn't have the super leg gussets that Thirsties covers have but the elastic around the legs does seem to get the job done.

The Flip is like a cover in many ways, however, because the waist is so narrow and trim I don't think it would work very well with a pre-fold diaper unless it were trifolded. This isn't a problem for me since I plan to use the inserts that are specifically made for the Flip but it is something to keep in mind if you are looking to use it as a basic diaper cover.

The Flip insert (pictured here) has 3 layers of microfiber and then a layer of "stay-dry" suede that wicks away moisture from baby's bottom. This differs slightly from microfiber inserts made for pocket diapers. The pocket diaper inserts are fully microfiber which makes them just as absorbent- but you wouldn't want to put it directly against baby's skin since microfiber can be really rough. The liner in a pocket diaper is meant to wick away moisture and protects a baby's bottom from any chafing that would occur from a microfiber insert. I originally planned to just buy BumGenius pocket inserts to use with both my pocket diapers and my Flips because they are a little cheaper. But in my research I found there is a difference between the two and thought you might want to know that as well. One nice thing about the inserts is that it is one-size-fits-all and folds to fit the small, medium and large settings of the cover. Here are two pics; one of what the insert looks like placed in the diaper and the other of the diaper all snapped up.

I'm now going to touch briefly on the pocket diapers I have in my stash. I purchased two different brands of pocket diapers: Bumgenius 4.0 and the Oh Katy one size pocket. These both are one-size diapers which means they should fit from birth to potty-training. The reason I chose these two brands is because they have gotten the best reviews I've seen so far. The Bumgenius seem to fit better once babies are bigger and the Oh Katy have a more versatile snap system for babies that have narrow waists. Here is a pic showing the waist snaps of the Bumbenius 4.0 (yellow) and Oh Katy (red):

Both brands came with a full size insert that can snap down to fit each size option, they also included a very small insert to be used for newborns or to be used as a doubler for nap time/long car trips for bigger babies. Here is a pic of what the Bumgenius 4.0 package included:

The Oh Katy Package looked pretty much the same. Just in case you aren't familiar with pocket daipers the way you use one is by stuffing the pocket section with an insert. It's pretty simple, but I know I will have to explain it to my husband so I thought I would say it here too. Some stuffing tips: If you have a boy place the folded portion of the insert at the front of the diaper where he will need the extra absorbency, if you have a girl place the folded part of the insert at the back. For cleaning convenience try to have the tag at the pocket opening. This way you can just grab the tag when removing the insert which will make it a little less messy for you at wash time.

Now, the Oh Katy inserts don't have tags so this isn't an option for them. But the pocket opening for the insert is at the front of the diaper instead of the back like the Bumgenius's is so, insert removal may not be as messy.

There aren't very many differences in the two types of pocket diaper that I chose aside from what I mentioned. Both received great reviews so I will just have to wait and see what works best. I plan to use the pocket diapers especially for bed and nap time since they are so absorbent and have the ability to be extra stuffed for extra absorbency if needed. I do like that the washing instructions for the Oh Katy allow for machine drying where the Bumgenius require line drying. I also really like how soft the Oh Katy lining is. But i'm a little concerned that the snaps in the Oh Katy will leave marks on Eli's skin but that is something I will just have to wait and see about. One thing to note is that the pocket diapers are more bulky than the Flip is so you may need to size up for clothing to fit over them. I will leave you with a pic of each. (Sorry the Oh Katy is so blurry I had a little trouble with exposure since the fabric is more satiny than the Bumgenius)