The honeymoon is over...well, sorta.

In the middle of August I posted and said I would not neglect my blog. Well...things didn't exactly go the way I had planned. In late August we traveled to Ohio to visit my husband's grandmother, but had to come home early due to my mother-in-law being hospitalized. She stayed with us for about a week once she was discharged, but then Hank and I were off to Alabama with my mother to visit my grandparents. The trip went well, but Hank started to act funny. I brushed off his fussiness and increased appetite to the stress of traveling, but it kept up once we got home. A quick check of the scales showed he put on two pounds in three weeks! It was just a growth spurt...well, it WAS just a growth spurt. Then came the cold. The horrific cold that had us both up at all hours of the night, sweaty and feverish. I was so excited when the cold passed--we made it through! We kept up with our cloth diapers through the trips, the added company, the growth spurt (more goes in, more comes out), and even being worn out by a cold. I was so proud of myself for keeping up with the laundry.

As most mom's know, though, many colds are followed by ear infections. Hank was diagnosed about 2 weeks after the onset of his cold, and the doctor mentioned it looked like he had a couple teeth that were trying to poke through. I don't know if y'all know what all that means in relation to cloth diapers, but I will clue you in. The germs that cause ear infections can also wreak havoc on little ones' tummies. The antibiotics used to treat ear infections can also cause a change in stool. All that drool from teething tends to soften things up, too. Okay, yes, add that all up...OH MY POOP! I had 2 weeks of the NASTIEST diapers in ALL of creation. I am not even kidding! We are talking 5-8 stinky diapers a day. It was SO SO SO gross--and this coming from somebody with a "eh, it's just poop" mentality. For the first time in 5 months I felt like cloth diapers were work. Every time somebody has told me they are too busy to try cloth I have said "Oh, it's only 3 loads of laundry a week. Hardly any work at all!" I could not believe I was feeling burdened by my son's bum. But have no fear, I remained diligent. I did not give up--not a single sposie was used. I have a package of Gro Via disposable inserts in our stash in case the power goes out, and I was so tempted...SO tempted.

I am really proud of myself, though. I didn't give in. My love affair with cloth diapers is nowhere near over, but I've come to the point in the relationship where things are predictable. Things got tough, and I stuck with it, but now things are ho-hum. So as far as I see it, there is only one thing I can do to spice up my relationship with cloth diapers and take me back to the honeymoon phase...buy more fluff!

Hank & Mema on her porch in Ohio

Hank & Gigi - first carousel ride in Alabama

Sick Hank passed out on the floor in the middle of his toys
(you can see his Flip cover peeking out!)