26 weeks & 98 days left

i'm officially 26 weeks along with baby O. our estimated due date for baby O's arrival is June 18th, which is really just 98 days away from today! we've been preparing by reading books on natural deliveries, breast-feeding, and a book on raising baby from birth to age two. i try to tag what is important in each book for andy so he doesn't have to read about the intricacies of breastfeeding or whatnot. however, he is reading about how a husband can help with the birthing process. of course, everything that is written in books aren't 100 percent accurate or useful when the time comes around to actually use those techniques, it'll at least give us an idea of what will be facing in the months and years to come. we have so much to learn from our friends with children, many with multiple children now. we are so far behind.

i've been reading all about baby carriers this week. although we've already purchased our stroller, i want to be able to wear baby O from birth until he doesn't want to be worn anymore (which could be any time from birth until he's 5!). my brother and i were worn as children, and so were my parents. i find that La Leche League International has a ton of great information about baby wearing, and this site has a breakdown of the different types of baby wraps available. i've decided on the vatanai wrap. unfortunately there are only a couple of distributors in the us so i've had a hell of a time looking for the correct size in the print i want. i did find a distributor in canada that has a better stock than the american one, so looks like i'll be ordering from them. i can't wait to receive our woven wrap. here's a picture of the gorgeous wrap i'm ordering. it's the one on the top. 

oh yeah, and baby O kicked me in the ribs for the first time today! ouch.

crunchy mom

i guess with all the decisions A and i have been making regarding baby O, we will be considered "crunchy" parents. although we don't fall perfectly into the definition of one, we do plan on cloth diapering, baby wearing, co-sleeping, and making our own baby food. 

we received our first order of cloth diapers today! aren't they the cutest little things you've ever seen? although it's more expensive up front to pay for all the diapers we need from newborn to potty training, we will save money in the long run especially if we have multiple children (which we plan on having!). 

the average cost of disposable diapers for one child from newborn to potty training is about $2400. multiple that number with the number of children you plan on having. so if we plan on having two kids, we'd end up spending $4800 to diaper them!

whereas, the average cost of cloth diapers is approximately $800, which includes the cloth diapers itself, the inserts and the cost of washing the diapers. the cost of cloth diapering a second child is whatever the cost of washing the diapers would be, about $300 or so a year because you'll have all the cloth diapers you need already! the other bonus to this is that we'll be saving the environment at the same time. we won't be adding non-compostable disposable diapers to the landfill that will probably sit for thousands of years!