Weekend Update

Austin, Jonny, and I (and Patrick) did our first 5k Saturday. It was an amazing turnout. The Dan River Autism Awareness 5k raised over $12,000 its first year. We all had a great time, especially Austin. You know it's a fun time when there are balloon animals. Next year, we'll start earlier and get in on all the festivities. Here's Team Austin, minus Jonny who was in the bathroom at the time.

I've never seen a baby eat so much or go through as many diapers as Patrick. It's a good thing we use cloth diapers. Otherwise, we'd still be buying diapers every other day. Yes, every other day. That's like $7 a day in diapers. I guess a lot of babies probably need diaper changes that often, but Patrick refuses to sit in a wet or dirty diaper, whether it's disposable or cloth. If he starts crying, the first thing we do now is check to see if he needs a diaper change as it's the most likely. He eats every two hours-some times less-and we change his diaper about every thirty minutes unless he's asleep. It's a good thing he sleeps through the night because his daytime schedule wears me out. 

I joined Bing Rewards today. I can't believe how easy it is. It's not going to make me rich, probably $5 per month, at most, but it couldn't be much easier. You get a reward limit each day and you earn 1 point for every two searches up to that limit. My limit was ten today so I searched twenty times. It took me about two minutes. They have a variety of rewards to choose from: Amazon gift cards, Xbox Live subscription, Redbox codes, Hulu Plus subscription, along with others. The $5 Amazon gift card (my go-to reward) is 525 points. If my limit is ten every day, it'll take me less than two months to earn that. I've heard that eight is the lowest limit. If you'd like to give Bing Rewards a try, click HERE. You don't lose anything by giving it a test drive.

Jingit has started a new campaign. In addition to watching video ads on their website and doing check-ins at places like Walmart, they now have ads placed around Walmart.com (with other websites to follow, I hope). You go to Walmart.com, look around their site some, find an ad with the Jingit curl, and click. You'll get a pop-up window with the Jingit homepage and a video ad will appear momentarily. Once the video is finished, money will be added to your balance. Also, if you'll notice, the weekly limits have increased. If you originally had a limit of $5, it has been increased to $10. Through the month of April, there will be three ads available each day. If you're getting $0.50 per ad, you'll meet that limit easily. That's an easy $40 per month. I'm already at $3.00 for the week and my Jingit week starts today. That's $3.00 just today. Not too shabby.

Diapers, Races, and Money! Oh, My!

Overview of Diapering Systems

POCKETS-First, I'll start with my family's personal favorite, the pocket. This is a shell with an attached lining. There is an opening (usually in the back) for a liner. You stuff the pocket and you're ready to go. They're a little more time-consuming than an AIO, but dries faster and is more absorbent. Right now, we use Swaddlebees and Blueberry pockets. We prefer the Swaddlebees. While the Blueberry diapers are softer, it's often more difficult to tell if it's wet. Pockets are our preference for nighttime because of their absorbency and there is room to add more liners if needed.

PREFOLDS W/COVER-Our second favorite is a prefold (PF) with a cover. We use Gerber PFs with Baby Beehinds covers. The best thing about this system is that it is the most economical system. You can fold the PF into the cover or secure the PF to the baby with a Snappi then put the cover on (we typically use the latter method). With wet diapers, you can wipe down the cover and replace the PF. With dirty diapers, you should replace the cover as well. We have about ten PFs and three covers. This system is a little time-consuming and I prefer not to use PFs at night. PF are my preference for taking out in public. It seems odd since they're more work, but they also take up less room. I can take one cover and a few PFs for a few hours.

AIOs/AI2s-The AIO/AI2 is our least favorite. They're easy to use-just pull them out of the dryer and they're ready to go-but they are less absorbent and take longer to dry. We use the AIOs during the day when we change Patrick as soon as he soils his diaper. At night, he may go twelve hours between diapers changes and the AIOs simply will not last that long without leaking. We use Grovia AIOs and while I'm happy with the engineering, they're just not as versatile as pockets or prefolds.

FITTEDS W/COVER-As a disclaimer, I have not actually used fitted diapers. I think it's silly since I'm capable of pinning a Snappi on a PF myself. A fitted diaper is basically a PF that has been assembled and has snaps or applix. They are not one size and one fitted diaper is about the same cost as a pack of PFs. With this system, you secure the fitted diaper onto the baby and secure the cover over the fitted diaper.

HYBRID-Hybrid diapers are diapers that are both reusable and disposable. Confused? Basically, imagine a reusable AIO with a disposable liner. These can also be used with reusable liners. I haven't used these because I'm not entirely sure it's not a waste. If you only use the disposable liners it will take you longer to recoup the initial costs. These are ideal for vacations as it reduces the amount of diapers you would need to carry. I haven't used this system due to the fact that my son uses all of his diaper. I've tried adding a liner to his diapers turning them into AI2s, but he just ends up soiling the diaper and the liner. I've ordered a diaper in this system to try out.

If you have the time and ability, I suggest trying your hand at assembling your own cloth diapers. I have absolutely no abilities in the sewing department, but my aunt was able to help me out. Our prototype left much to be desired, but it was a learning experience. I've used the prototype for about a month now. I know what needs to be changed and how to make the diaper better. I was able to get all the material for six diapers for $40. I can use the materials to make pockets, covers, fitteds, PF, or AIOs. The first diaper was a pocket. I'm thinking the other five will be pockets and covers. I may attempt to make one AIO and a fitted. I found everything I needed to make the diaper below at our local Hobby Lobby and inside my house (the lining is one of Jonny's old 100% cotton t-shirts).

I ordered Econobum PFs and a cover and gDiapers from Walmart online earlier this week. The Econobums arrived yesterday. I've already washed them and they're ready to go. He's been wearing them since he got up at 9:15am. We've done one change already. I'm a little skeptical since the leg openings don't seem to be tight enough (and Patrick has chunky thighs). No leaks this time, but I'm not sure how it will hold up with poop. I love the unbleached cotton PFs that came in the pack, though. So much better than than bleached Gerber diapers I'm using. I'm reserving judgment of Econobums until we use them overnight and they undergo the ultimate test-a potential blowout. Hopefully, the gDiapers will arrive today and I'll get to try them out this weekend.

Don't forget, the Dan River Autism Awareness 5k is Saturday at Dan Daniel Park. The race begins at 10am. Jonny, Austin, Patrick, and I will be there. Heather and Tammy will be there as well! Go Team Austin! Proceeds will be donated to Autism Speaks. For more information about Autism Speaks, click HERE. Also, in honor of Autism Awareness Month, I will be donating to Autism Speaks 100% of the Swagbucks earned from the SBTV mobile app in April.

I won a $20 Amazon gift card today from Social Moms, one of the GPT sites I use. It's always excited to win stuff. That's my second win on a GPT site this week!

Here's my cashout from my main sites so far this month:
Swagbucks: $25.00
Irazoo: $20.00
InstaGC: $7.00
Social Moms: $10.00
Calyp: $37.45
Jingit: $6.00
Superpoints: $10.00

That's $115.45 cashed out so far this month.

The Fish King

This is my attempt at blogging while Patrick is asleep. Let's see how it goes, shall we? It's been a pretty eventful day. First off, my mom called at 7:30 this morning and woke Jonny up. Normally, calling and waking someone up isn't appreciated. However, Jonny has to be at work at 8am and Austin has to be at school by 8:05am, and it's a 15-minute drive. They managed to get ready and out the door by 7:45am, which would have given them time to get to their respective destinations in time. If the battery in Jonny's car hadn't been dead. And that would have been manageable if the trunk (where the jumper cables are stored) hadn't refused to open. My jumper cables were still at the old house. It just so happens that I accepted that Patrick wasn't going to go back to sleep this morning and went ahead and got us ready for the day. I took Jonny to work and dropped off Austin. All of this happened before 8:07am. Wow. Patrick and I hung around town for awhile-he pooped, ate, and pooped. Then, I read Good Housekeeping while he took a nap. He woke up and pooped again. I had a meeting with the peer lactation couselor where he was showered with isn't he cute' and 'look how much he's grown' and 'what beautiful eyes'. All very true, of course. The women comment on the cute diaper/onesie combo (Elmo and a red Baby Beehinds cover). I gushed over my pediatrician, Dr. Cates.

It's blurry (Patrick likes to move it, move it), but you get the idea. And, if you'll notice, he's also rocking a Team Austin button in preparation for the Dan River Autism Awareness 5K on Saturday. If you want to come show your support, the race is at Dan Daniel Park in Danville, VA and starts at 10am. Continuing on, after we left the counselor, we grabbed some lunch and picked up Jonny to take him home to get his car. After another nap, it was off to pick up his big brother from school. It's been a long day, especially since Patrick was up most of the night wanting to play.

And if you're interested, no I didn't manage this entire post while Patrick was asleep. Did you really think I would? Now, off I go to check Austin's homework and entertain the Fish King-one of Austin's many nicknames for his little brother.

Real Diaper Week

Today kicks off Real Diaper Week. This is the week when cloth diaper fanatics come out of the woodwork to promote cloth diaper awareness. As an aforementioned cloth diaper fanatic, I want to take this time to say how much I love cloth diapering. I've saved money, it's better for the environment, they're so cute, and Patrick hasn't had a diaper rash since we switched. And it allows me to indulge in shameless shopping. And really, how cute is this bum?

On to some information concerning the exact opposite of parenting. I had the Essure procedure done after Patrick was born. We're done having kids (especially after all the complications while I was pregnant with Patrick) and we wanted permanent birth control. I can't stress enough how much better Essure is than other long-term birth control options. Permanent, no hormones, no surgery, local anesthesia, 24-hour recovery, in-office, minimal pain. If you're considering permanent birth control, I highly suggest you look into this procedure.

I was the hourly winner at 4Loot yesterday and won 150 coins. I wish I had thought to take a screenshot, but I didn't think about it. I was pretty psyched about it. And then today, I managed to get 40 coins from videos. If you do 4Loot, don't forget about the videos. Those things can be pretty lucrative at times.

The buttons for the Dan River Autism Awareness 5k arrived today. Austin was very excited about the 'Team Austin' buttons. I think Patrick and I are going to do the 1-mile instead of the 5k. 3.1 miles is a bit much for a 3-month old that eats, on average, every two hours. If I'm lucky he'll sleep through the 1-mile.

Don't forget, tomorrow is Tax Day! If you haven't filed your taxes yet, make sure you get them in by midnight.