smelling sauce

I stripped Rachel's diapers tonight--one of the joys of cloth diapering. The funny (not really) thing is that it's my most expensive diapers that smell sooo bad. The cheapest ones, the ones I started out using exclusively, are made of several layers of cotton--and that's all. The pocket diapers have a waterproof layer on the outside and a fleece or microsuede layer on the inside, and you stuff something absorbent in between, usually a microfiber insert (microfiber can absorb ten times its weight in liquid). All the layers in the pocket diapers are made of synthetic fiber. The waterproof part does not smell, but the fleece and the microfiber inserts reek of ammonia. My cheapO, bulky, not-so-cute cotton diapers smell FINE. Go figure. Anyway, what causes the odor is usually detergent build-up. I knew it was there, I was just in denial. My friend Christina left a comment on yesterday's blog that made me admit I had a problem, which is the first step. Tonight, I soaked and scrubbed the dipes in Dawn dishwashing liquid (which supposedly cuts through the detergent buildup much like it does grease buildup on dishes), and I'll be running them through hot wash cycles until there are no bubbles in the final rinse. As much of a pain as this all sounds like it is, it's also kind of an adventure. Sure, I'd rather go to bed early tonight, but it is fun to problem-solve.

Rachel took terrible naps again today, and she was up in wee hours of the morning again. I decided to put her to bed early, in hopes of fixing what is probably over-exhaustion at this point. Unfortunately, she talked to herself for several minutes before falling asleep, so she really only ended up about 10 or 15 minutes early. Oh, well!

Right after Rachel's morning "nap" (should 45 minutes even count as a nap??), Rachel and I went to visit Aunt KiKi and Cousin Tyler. Tyler is 7 months older than Rachel, and the gap in their development is getting smaller and smaller. They are beginning to interact a lot, and they even both had cheese (and Cheerios, since Tyler stole some of Rachel's) at lunch! Aunt KiKi let Rachel bring home Tyler's walk-behind toy. She looks so proud to be independently walking!

Progress Report

	potty	diaper
peepee	5	2
poop	0	0	I hope this doesn't mean we might have a midnight diaper to change!

cute moment

Tyler has a new habit of backing up to people and sitting in their laps. It's fun for his mommy and daddy, although sometimes he does have ulterior motives (like today when he gave me his sweet face and sat in my lap because I was holding the camera and he wanted it). Today, as 17-pound Rachel sat innocently on the floor playing, 30-pound Tyler tried numerous times to back up to her and sit on her lap. As obvious as it seems to us, he didn't understand--that will never work!

non-toy toy of the day

I tried my best to get a good video of these two kiddos playing. The window of time they were able to play together was small, since we were there close to lunchtime, and Tyler only takes one early-afternoon nap right after lunch these days. This is the funniest video I took. I told Kim I think it's a glimpse into our future. As you can see in the pictures and video, it seemed whatever one was playing with at any given time, the other wanted. And, since they were both ready for a nap, it was a funny exchange to watch. Rachel took it all in (and took notes, I'm sure). In the video, Rachel and Tyler are fighting over a water bottle, and I'm behind the camera laughing silently. It was so much fun to see them play together!