As a minister's wife, I am very blessed to be able to stay home with my children. For now, at least, we are financially able to live this way. We pay our bills and we enjoy a few little extras, but nothing fancy. We have one car and clearance rack clothes. And we're fine with that. The ultimate plan is to eventually go back to work once the kids are in school. Regardless, every little penny counts. I don't coupon shop as much as I used to because I've found that shopping at Aldi is the better option for us. Sure, I still have to pick a few things up at another store, but it saves us in the long run. I can't tell you the last time I paid full price for anything other than diapers. I use a cheaper brand of diapers, but it still adds up significantly. What's the cheaper alternative? Cloth diapering.
I considered CDs when I was pregnant with Kate, but I didn't look too far. We got so many diapers at showers and on sale before she was born, that she was five months old before we had to buy more. Thirteen months later, I feel like that was the lazy choice. How much money have we wasted on diapers that we could have been putting towards Kate's college fund? I'd hate to do the math!
Being pregnant with our second child, I've been doing tons of research on cloth diapering. It's not what it used to be, that's for sure! I was a cloth diapered baby, and I always thought my mom was crazy for spending her time washing poopy diapers when she could just buy disposables and, well, dispose of them. Fortunately, I have several college friends who cloth diaper, and they've made me realize that it's really not that bad. In fact, they love it! One of them even started making her own cloth diapers, which has now turned into a business that she's able to run out of her home. I can't wait to try out some of her designs. You can check out her website and blog here. There is a multitude of information on her site about the types of diapers out there, cleaning methods and other tricks and tips.
For me, I'm hoping to try a few different types, but I'm guessing when we're at home I'll use prefolds with covers. Every once in a while you'll find diapers for sale on craigslist and there are tons listed on eBay, so I'm hoping we can slowly buy up what we need before the baby comes. Right now, I'm waiting until we can find out the gender so I can purchase gender-appropriate covers. I can't wait! We'll still probably use disposables at church and with babysitters, but the savings will add up--not to mention the lack of diapers in the landfill!
And for some reason, I find it all very exciting!
How I'm feeling today...exhausted! Kraig decided to move out of our bed for the time being because my tossing and turning is keeping him up at night. I had no idea I was tossing and turning, but it could explain why I don't feel like I've slept well in a while. Having the bed to myself didn't make me sleep any better, unfortunately. I've been able to sneak a nap most days, though, and that helps tremendously!
What's next? A tip on finding great maternity clothes!
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