Kingston's Closet: Ugly Christmas Sweater

Southeast high school (where Kingston goes to daycare) is having a winter spirit week this week and today is 'Ugly Christmas Sweater' day. Kingston doesn't have an ugly sweater so we had to come up with an alternative festive outfit. 

Thermal Bodysuit // Carters 

Pants // BabyGap (similar)

White Suspenders // Facebook group - Yoo Hooo Co-Op

Moccasins // King Hoo on Instagram

Bandana Bib // made by me

I don't think it gets any more festive than this! 

How We Cloth Diaper at Daycare

So y'all probably know by now that we have decided to cloth diaper about 80% of the time. Primarily this is when we are at home/daycare and we use disposables at night and when we are out and about for a long period of time. 

One of our top criteria when deciding on a daycare provider for Kingston was if they were open to trying cloth for us. Thankfully, we only came across one lady and one center that didn't want to do it and everyone else was super receptive to it. 

I have tried my hardest to make everything as simple as possible for daycare because Kingston is their first in cloth and I didn't want to scare them away from it. His head teacher is actually pregnant right now so fingers crossed that she's considering it now that she see's how little extra work it actually is! 

Our set up:

Each day I send CT to daycare with a Kanga Care wet bag filled with pre-stuffed pocket diapers (alva/jc trade pocket diapers stuffed with 2 inserts: top insert - charcoal bamboo and bottom insert - hemp). Kingston is at daycare from about 730-300 each day and goes through about 4 diapers. I sent 8 diapers in the beginning but after seeing how many he actually goes through, now I try and keep a total of 6 diapers at daycare each day. So if he comes home with 3 soiled diapers I send 3 to daycare the next day. Every other Friday I have CT double check how many he has in his drawer just in case we get off track somewhere. 

I love these wet bags because they can hold up to 12 stuffed diapers. So I send CT with this bag filled with the clean diapers for the day, the small cooler filled with 3 bottles, sometimes a few bibs and a change of clothes if it's needed. They literally hold so much! 

When CT drops him off - he hands over the bag, they put the clean diapers in his drawer and hang the wet bag by the changing table. 

(Note: There have been a few days that I've sent Kingston in disposables because he has a few pairs of pants that won't fit if he's in cloth. My daycare is so good about just going with it.) 

Also attached to the wet bag is diaper 'instructions'. I hired someone to create these because I'm totally TypeA and I wanted to make things easy for anyone changing him.  Since many people aren't familiar with cloth and Kingston's daycare has high school students that work in there at different hours during the day - I figured instructions would be helpful. I know if I was new to cloth diapers I would want all the help I could get.

On these instructions cards you can find how to get the proper fit, what tips and trick help in doing so, the proper snaps they should be on, how to dispose of the diapers and what diaper creams are acceptable for cloth. 

 

I love that these are laminated so I can mark all over them with permanent marker and then easily remove the markings with an alcohol pad. 

As Kingston starts eating more solids and his poo's start to change - I will add liners to his diapers so those can be thrown away or flushed. At that time, I will update the soiled section of these cards to incorporate that extra step. 

Right now when he gets changed, the wet diapers go in the bag as is and I have them snap closed the poo diapers. This just helps me know which ones to be more careful with when I go to remove the inserts from them and put them in our bigger wet bag at home.

 

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My biggest fear when choosing to cloth diaper at daycare was them not getting the proper fit and then get discouraged because of him leaking. I've got to tell you, his head teacher is awesome at putting them on. There was a week in the beginning when Kingston came home in a different outfit than what he started the day in. We figured out this was because the students who help change him weren't familiar with them and they were having leaking issues. Now a few weeks in, everyone is catching on and there hasn't seemed to be problems.

All in all, cloth diapers have worked out extremely well for us. I'm glad that I had extra time at home before he went to daycare to find the proper fit and what inserts worked well. It really is a learning curve in the beginning but once you get it figured out - it is SO worth it. 

I've probably spent about $400 total on cloth diapers: diapers, inserts, wet bags, wipes and creams and I've only bought 1 thing of disposable diapers for nights and daycare backup. (Thankfully I was gifted a few diaper cakes, the hospital diapers, and 2 boxes of diapers to get us through those first few months before I got confident enough to try cloth. When number 2 comes along - we will start right away after the meconium and umbilical cord fall off.)

What's nice is that these cloth diapers should last him all the way through potty training and possibly onto the next kid if the elastic are still good in them. Think of all that money I have saved and will continue to save! Doing an extra 2 loads of laundry a week is nothing compared to all the extra dollars staying in my bank account. Like I've said before, diaper laundry is my favorite kind of laundry. 

Stay tuned  . . . I plan on writing more about our wash routine, which types of diapers we use and where I purchase them from! 

Kingston's Closet

Shirt // Baby Gap

Leggings // Dream Elephant

Socks // Nike

Moccasins // Feather & Filly

Lovin' the pop of color the moccasins give and the leggings make this outfit super easy for my cloth diaper wearing baby! 

Kingston: 4 months

As of 12.2.14

15lb 6 oz - 50%

26.5" - 95% 

Eyes are still primarily blue - sometimes with some honey and sometimes with some green. He's our little chameleon baby - changing color with his outfit.
His strawberry birthmark on the crown of his head and back of his neck are both still there but are lighter than they were at birth. 
His hair continues to grow on the top of his head. He has a bald spot on the back of his head - but thankfully he's a bald baby so you can't really tell.
He still has the biggest jowls West of the Mississippi.
He still looks a lot like his daddy but I think he for sure has my forehead, shape of eyes, tip of nose and chin. He is perfectly 50% me 50% CT. 

Clothes: 6 month pieces fit the best. There are a few 3 month onesies that are long enough to still work but only when he is in a regular diaper.  

Diapers: He is still in size 2 disposable diapers. I purchased a box of Up&Up brand - split between at home and daycare and we are still working on that same box at night time and out of the house. Cloth diapering is working out really well at daycare - and I'm so thankful that they were open minded with them. I would say 2/5 days he comes home in a different outfit from leaking - but that's because they have students change him and they don't get the fit correct. His main teacher is awesome though with them and they are working out better than I imagined! 

Shoes: Kingston is still wearing the heck out of his 4.5'' moccs. He has a two toned grey pair and a black pair that go with almost every outfit.  

Eating

Little man is still eating like a champ - if you can't tell by his chubbiness. He is super active while he eats - pulling off, looking around, scratching, grabbing and hitting. Soon enough we will be working on manners. He is down to nursing 5-6 times a day: 600a, 1000a, 200p, 500p, 800p.  According to Babywise - this past month he should've merged the mid morning and lunch time feed to a late morning feed which he did without me prompting anything. Crazy how that happened on its own just like the book said it would! 

At his 4 month check up - his Dr. said we can start introducing solids if we would like. Grains first and then veggies, fruit and meats - making sure he has one food for three days before trying something new. I think we are going to hold off on foods until the end of this month. I want him to be able to sit up better on his own and plus he's suppose to be getting a high chair from Santa. I think we will skip the rice cereal, start out on oatmeal cereal and then when he learns how to swallow and is really interested in it - we will start veggies!

 Thankfully I'm able to pump at work in our mothers rooms. I have it booked 3 times a day - the same times Kingston would usually eat. I've been able to pump fresh milk for him to have at daycare the following day and I'm also able to add about 20 ounces a week to my freezer stash. At this point I'm not really sure what the point is of continuing to add milk to my freezer - but it's nice to have it for back up! 

Sleeping 

I've said it before and I'll say it again - thank goodness for the principles of BabyWise and a good routine! Kingston is still sleeping 9.5-10.5 hours consistently. It's so loud at daycare that he averages about 2 30-45 min naps these days. I'm sure soon enough he will get on their schedule and take his 'long nap' from 11:30-1:00 like all the other kiddos do. Until then, his bedtime is earlier in the evening because he just can't hang. I've also found that if I wake him up (or he wakes on his own) around 515-530 eats and then goes back to bed till about 715 - he has a better day at daycare for them. I love finding things that work for my boy. 

His night time routine: 

 Bath time, about twice or three times a week he plays in his otteroo during bath for about 10 min, we lather him up with lavender lotion and change him into pjs, nurses, we pray for him and then put down in his crib. Lately he hasn't been nursing to sleep so we have just been laying him in his crib and he goes to bed on his own. Sometimes we have to put in his paci a few times before he falls asleep. Because of this - I think I'm going to start incorporating a bedtime story each night.

In the last week we have stopped swaddling Kingston because he is so close to rolling over. It was making me nervous to keep him in his straight jacket with the possibly of him rolling over and not having his arms free to help lift his head up. He loves being free and he is such the little mover. We will start him at the bottom of the bed and by morning time he has traveled all the way up to the top. We noticed this past weekend while we shared a room with him at my parents, that he kicks and tosses and turns quite frequently throughout the night making so much noise. We've also found that he is a side sleeper like his mama.

Milestones

95% of the way there of rolling from back to tummy. He has one arm that he just can't get unstuck. 

Reaching for things. (This is the best thing so far to witness. You can tell his mind is trying so hard but his body doesn't fully cooperate. Slowly but surely he is gaining better control of his arms. His favorite thing to grab for is his paci. He takes it out of his mouth and just holds it and looks at it.)

He found his feet. 

Constantly crunching when he is laying down. He likes to sit up and see. 

Likes

All sports - in person or on tv. 

Bath time and the otteroo. 

Standing - in his exersaucer or jumper. 

His toes. 

People watching. He loves to watch the world and hates missing out on stuff. 

Being naked.

Mama & daddies bed.

Dislikes

Getting put in or taken out of his car seat.

Being held in the cradle position unless he is nursing. He likes to see the world.  
When I'm not fast enough to feed him.

Water in his eyes. 

Words
ah-goo

grr

He gargles his spit in the back of his throat and blows spit bubbles by vibrating his lips. 

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No new sounds but he is blabbing non-stop these days. 

Activities

Bringing his feet to his mouth.

Standing up and playing in his exersaucer or jumper.

Kicking.

Misc.
Kingston has finally started to really notice Bentley. He will sit and watch Bentley play with his toys and then giggle at him. Bentley still isn't a fan of Kingston and at this point I'm not sure he ever will be. 

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I'm continuing to LOVE my role as a mother. My little boy brings so much happiness to my heart and I know God created me to do this. As much as I love being with Kingston, being back to work isn't as bad as I thought. I love the idea of 'providing' for him - especially since purchasing a house has become a very real possibility lately. I've realized I want the best life possible for Kingston and I'm going to do everything in my power to give him that. The best feeling in the world is getting off work and holding my son while he attacks my face with open mouth kisses. That's one thing I hope never ends.