camping and cloth... a love story

It's hard to believe that just over a year ago I was excitedly and anxiously opening a package of brand-new cloth diapers.  I had no idea what to expect: Would I have the will power to dunk my hands into a toilet bowl to pre-wash a soiled diaper?

Now here we are, camping with cloth diapers.  Yes.  It can be done.

I will admit, I was hesitant; in fact, last year on our annual, week-long, family camping trip we took along disposables.  This year, money concerns pushed us into the budget zone we were all afraid of and yet, serendipitously, now found ourselves in.  Convincing my husband was the easy part - figuring out what our process would be was another story.

I spent the days leading up to our big adventure doing as much research as I could.  Googling "cloth diaper camping", "camping with cloth diapers", "boiling and line-drying cloth diapers", etc.  After a few helpful tidbits from fellow nature-enthusiasts, I began the trip with an apprehensive confidence (that is, apprehensive on the inside, confident on the outside).

1. Bring on the flats.  We already use flat cloth diapers, but our reusable wipes are double-layered.  It was near impossible to get the wipes completely clean and stain-free because you can't scrub the inside layer.  The flats, however, have never had it so good.

2. Soaking tub, folded tarp, prepping tub, boiling tub.  Yes, we needed all four for the process to work seemlessly.  After removing the soiled diaper we removed any solids, as usual, then put the flat in a wet pail (soaking tub) with just water.  The next morning, once there were enough to wash, I emptied the soaking tub and put the flats into the prepping tub to wash.  Cool water, flats, and a little bit of Earth-friendly-water-soluble detergent.  Scrub like the old days (pretend you're the barefoot old lady in a black-and-white picture with a washboard and a song... song optional). Rinse, wring-out and toss on the tarp.  Once they've all been washed and rinsed, put them in the boiling tub with (obviously) boiling water for around 15 minutes.  Wring-out and line-dry.

3. Enjoy.  There is nothing I've found as meditative as hand-washing and line-drying, especially out in the sunshine with a cup of coffee.  Perhaps the only match is taking them off, pin by pin, and folding them into tightly-bundled rectangles of love.

The process does take almost two hours and then a wait while they dry, but, hey, you're camping so what else do you have to do?  It seemed to always work out that my wash-rinse-boil-hang time landed right in Neila's morning nap so I was free to take my time and relax.  I also noticed the last day that there was a particularly strange (and aggressive) flying insect (about two inches in length) that really loved to land on the dry diapers when they were warm on the line so I'm going to remember to remove them promptly next time... it creeped me out.

Thank you: Google research, Jila and Joel's boiling pot, and my amazingly easy-going and supportive husband.  I like to think that much more than Mother Earth was saved this camping trip... I also saved twenty bucks in disposable diapers.

I like to move it, move it...

It's summer! It's raining! I'm unemployed! But, believe it or not, this has so far been the best summer of our lives! Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize you only intended to go down a road for a little while, but suddenly more time had passed and you weren't quite sure how to get back on track? We had one of those moments this year; this particular moment led to some pretty frantic get-out-of-here-immediately planning, and that very planning happily led us to this very moment.

Moving with a toddler (yes, she's a toddler now!). Whew. Well, once you get passed the twenty-hour drive, it's really not so bad. Here is the job-aid for moving a routine-oriented, my-way-or-the-highway, get-me-out-of-this-carseat, toddler:

1. Pack the bed. Neila's floor bed is the best thing that ever happened to our nighttime parenting; I can't imagine a single night without it which is why it comes with us everywhere we go. I don't think of the word "overnight" without thinking of the question "Will her bed fit there?". We turned our trip into a two-day event with an overnight campout in an Oregon campground (that happened to be flooded - good times). Yes, our daughter sleeps on a mattress when we camp, I'm not ashamed to admit it... okay, I'm a little ashamed... but since we've been in our new apartment, she has slept soundly without hiccup thanks to the consistency of her bed.

2. Two-boxes: one toys, one books. You know the old standbys that she can listen to and play with over and over and over (and over) again. They'll be reliable, comforting, and reassuring when nothing else looks familiar. Then when you unpack the rest of the goods, it'll be like Christmas!

3. Be calm, enjoy the ride... it's gonna suck. When we arrived in our new home everything went wrong: the apartment was not cleaned or move-in ready from the old tenants, the moving company we hired doubled their estimate and the ETA on our stuff, and we were completely broke and unemployed. What I wanted to do most in the world is sit down, cry, and then punch somebody. But when you have a toddler looking to you for reassurance and guidance, you have to be reassuring and guiding. Force yourself to roll with the punches (even if you don't get to throw any). Give it up to the moving gods and let go of the fact that you can't control any of those things - what's done is done. You can complain to each other and freak out after she goes to sleep. During those waking hours though, we're all smiles, playing at the park, walking through neighborhoods, and spending hours climbing up and down stairs -- life is good and all is right with the world.

First impressions of Seattle: beautiful, friendly, exciting! Every morning I've had I've thought to myself "I can't believe we live here!" it's that gorgeous. Yes, it has rained twice and it's summer, but without the rain, it wouldn't be so pretty. I'll remind myself of that in the winter when it rains every day (and the fall and the spring). Until then we have three months to soak in the summer (even if it does rain a little) and explore our new community.

What's gonna work?

Lucky lady that I am, I have the luxury of summers free of my job. Before Neila: sleeping in, watching The View, eating a big breakfast with coffee, and generally doing whatever it was I felt like. Granted, I only had two summers like this and the last one I was sleeping and eating and feeling overall unwell (newly pregnant and all). This summer rolled around and I have to say that it was the best summer I can remember. The advantage of Jordan starting his SAHD career this month is that we have been working together with Neila all month. I got up during the night with her while he slept, he took her in the morning so I could sleep in until 8 (or 9!), I'd play with her poolside while he got in his workouts, he'd take her on walks while I chatted over coffee with my friends, I'd take her to baby story time at the library while he was out wakeboarding... the list goes on and on. Point being, we were a team and you could always count on one person to pick up the slack while the other indulged (which may be too generous a word for sleeping, exercising, and socializing).

Going back to work, for me, means going back to guilt. Guilt that I'm away from our precious little one at such a young age, guilt that I am ENJOYING my job, and guilt that my partner no longer has a partner for 9 to 10 hours a day. I guess the task at hand is to figure out how to turn those guilty feelings into something productive... I'll get back to you on that one :)

work weight... or is it "work, wait"?

I've been ignoring for quite some time the fact that I will be returning to work next week. Once we returned from camping I started getting my mind prepared. Yesterday I put in a solid four hours (during Neila's naps) on the computer prepping lessons and clearing inboxes. Today, however, I realized the true weight of my profession. I heading onto campus to start putting my room together.

Before I started teaching first grade I thought it would be a great position to hold while you raise a family -- summers and holidays off, weekends always free, and hey you're home before the sun goes down. Little did I know that the life of a teacher is seldom that sunny during the school months. I LOVE my job. It is strange to say it, I absolutely LOVE the late nights, bringing work home on the weekends, scouring the internet for new lesson ideas - all of it. There is something so satisfying about nailing a lesson you've created and watching as all twenty little faces looking at you smile with excitement that they got it!

My first year I easily worked 60 hours per week - and a happy 60 hours at that. Now that I'm also a mom, I want to have both: an amazing classroom and an amazing home. How can I figure out a way to balance the weight of both?

camp champ

Every year my extended family gets together for some wilderness adventure for a week(ish) in August. Throughout my childhood we would go to a family cabin in Twin Lakes, but the "family" is so far extended that we eventually found ourselves in need of a new spot. Last year we went out to China Flat campground; Jordan and I announced our pregnancy there so that trip was really special for us. This year is even more exciting because we were bringing our new little lovey to share with everyone.

This year we all decided to try a new spot called Wolf Creek. It's a cute little campground with lots of trees, a bike trail, and a lake (well, technically, a reservoir). Neila took the drive well and was so excited when we got there! She spent the first day just looking around at all the trees and loving all the new sounds. I was so excited that she was sooooo content in nature; a girl after my own heart, I decided. Day one, amazing, day two, great, day three, good, but by day four we had one whiny, sad baby. Her dry skin got all kinds of little rashes and started peeling; also, she couldn't nap more than 20 minutes in a busy and bustling campground. At night the temperature would drop super low so breastfeeding was torture! (sigh) It was rough.

On day five we decided we would leave (one day early) and it was feeling like a smart decision because she was just so out of character. This is our baby who hardly ever cries or fusses - it felt like she cried more on that camping trip than in her whole five months prior! So we packed it up and got in the car to come home and I saw something I've never seen from her before: a happy baby in a car seat! Seriously, this is the kid who hates her car seat and complains for hours in there, but here she was happy as can be. She was asleep before we left the campground and was passed out for about half of the drive. She woke up and complained for the last 20 minutes until we arrived home, but then something wonderful happened: we walked in the door, she sighed, and gave us a smile :) I didn't think a baby could be homesick, but Jordan called it right -- sometimes people just want to be home. (even baby people)


Lessons learned:
1. Bringing books from home was a great idea. She would go from crying to relaxing as soon as we cuddled in the tent and busted out the familiar stories we'd read a million times.
2. Bringing crappy blankets was super smart. She didn't spend too much time out of our arms because of her mood, but when she did I was glad I had those gross-feeling, cheap, fleece blankets great aunt so-and-so got us to toss over the dirt for her to play.
3. Three onesies and three jammies are not enough clothing for five days. Sure, she can wear the same outfit two days in a row at home, but camping is a whole other story. Two outfits per day is a closer estimate than two days per outfit!
4. Don't try new foods when you're not at home. I made the mistake of chowing on my dad's famous clam dip on day one... not realizing that I had never eaten shell fish while pregnant or breastfeeding Neila. She (and her digestive system) did not approve. And kept reminding us of that fact - for several days, thus, adding to our clothing-shortage problem.
5. Listen to your baby. If there is one thing Jordan and I always try to remember, it's to listen to our dear Neila. She has it harder than any of us because she needs the most and can do the least. After we started seeing her melt down we began discussing whether or not it was best to cut our trip back a few days, even though we didn't want to. As people, we wanted to stay, but as parents, we knew we had to go home early to respond to her feelings. I'm glad we did; after all, we're most importantly a family of three before we are a group of individuals.

Overall, the camping trip was great. I love our family cabin/camping tradition and am so glad that Neila will grow up like I did with it. Even if it does take a little extra convincing :)

skin troubles and sound bubbles

Jordan and I decided we would go find some kind of machine to make a soft white noise for Neila to sleep to. We had been using the one that came with the pack-n-play, but the sound turns off after 30 minutes and occasionally that change would wake her up. On a side note, Neila's baby eczema has been acting up lately so I've been doing some online reading about how to help that.

Two birds... one cool mist humidifier.
It's fabulous! I did some research within the budget brands and styles and decided we would purchase the Safety First humidifier from Target. I searched Target's website and found a store near me that had it in stock. Just in case, I thought, I'll pick a second choice, not that I'll need it of course. Well. I packed Neila up and we went to Target only to find that the humidifier I wanted was not, in fact, in stock. (sigh) So I did end up with our second choice (some lame-looking Vicks brand).

Neila's skin is slowly getting better, but the best part of the humidifier is the sound. There are two speeds, but we really can't use the high speed or we would be battling San Francisco for fog visibility records. The only thing that's somewhat annoying is the air that bubbles up randomly in the tank while it's on. Neila still hasn't gotten over the novelty of this new sound in her room; she will turn into a contortionist to see it mid-feed, mid-story, mid-almost-asleep... I keep reminding myself, let her look at it, she's learning, don't be bothered, she'll have to eat/sleep sometime. :)

Today has actually been a really nice day (aside from a clogged duct - ugh). The sun is shining and the air is comfortably warm. Neila and I went out for a picnic lunch today on our walk. Grass has become very exciting, as have dandelions! Although neither taste good, we've decided.

five months... really?!

Today is Neila's five-month birthday. I am excited, happy, and amazed all at once! I can happily accept that she has grown so much and learned so many new things; the part that shocks me is that I gave birth five months ago! It seems like it happened both forever ago and just yesterday. Some things I can hardly remember feeling (like the physical pain) and others are still as vivid as on that day.

In preparation for Neila's homebirth, we chose not to take any birthing classes and instead opted to read several birthing method books (The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within) and read a trillion birth stories. This turned out to be the best preparation for us because I went into the birth knowing that I had to let my body do its thing. I gave in to every whim and made every sound my body wanted me to make. It was liberating! Gone were the ideas that I would look cute and refreshed when my baby first saw my face; instead was the reality that we both looked messy, scattered, alert, and, ultimately... in love. This truly was a rite of passage for both of us.

The best moment of that day was lying in our bed, all three of us, in awe of what had just happened. We were overcome with joy and elation and surprise. Something for which we had been waiting so long, had taken just one day to arrive. And there we laid, transformed from a married couple into a family.