New frontiers in cloth diapering?

As many of you may know, I have been cloth diapering since 2003, when my oldest was born. Well, seeing as I am due with baby #3 in just under 5 months, I have diapering on the brain again. I still have my diapers from back when I began motherhood six years ago, but I have since heard so much from so many of my friends about how much the cloth diaper scene has changed in the last six years. See, I have only ever used the old school Gerber prefolds, with the plastic pants and pins and all of that (I know, talk about archaic! :). Yes, they have served me well (they have lasted through two babies!), but we have never been able to use them at night, because they don't absorb enough, and the baby always wakes up soaking, wringing out wet and freezing cold. We resigned ourselves to using cloth diapers during the day and disposables at night. I hated to have to use both, but I didn't really see any alternative.
Well, I have heard so much talk about all of the new options out there for cloth-diapering moms, that I started to get curious. One of the brands that I have heard very good things about is called Gro baby . A friend of mine recently recommended these, and since then, through a bit of research, I have heard wonderful things about these diapers. I checked out the website (see hyperlink above) and they seem so cool! The covers are adjustable to any size baby (meaning you don't have to buy small, medium and large - it's one size fits all!), they use snaps instead of pins (no more stabbing myself) and come in really cute bright colors. More importantly, I have heard that they are super-absorbant, which means no more leaking at night, so I could ditch the disposables altogether! I'm thinking about trying them out this time around, at least for the nighttime use. If we really like them, I might just upgrade my whole supply!
So my question is, have any of you tried this or other new brands of cloth diapers? What have your experiences been?

One of the coolest things I have ever done!

So Sunday morning @ 7am I got a call from a friend of mine in our ward. She was about 37 1/2 weeks pregnant, her husband was out of town on a job interview (due back later that day) and...her water had just broken. I figured she was calling me so that I could watch her son while she was at the hospital. I was absolutely floored when she asked me to help her through labor and be there when the baby was born. It was one of the few moments in my life that actually qualify as "surreal". Me? Be someone's labor coach? Wow, never done that one before. Without any hesitation whatsoever, I said yes, and that I would be there as soon as I could. I then proceeded to run around my house like a chicken with it's head cut off for the next 10 minutes as the reality of what just had happened just sunk in. I was going to be someone's labor coach - one of the biggest jobs EVER, in my mind. I inhaled some breakfast, packed a backpack with some random stuff and headed off the the hospital to do something I had never done before - watch someone ELSE go through labor and delivery.

Now granted, I have, of course, done the labor thing twice myself, but let me tell you - NOT the same thing when you are watching someone else do it!! Well, the labor and delivery went great. It was a short labor (only a little over 4 hours, from start to finish), with only 15 minutes of pushing time. My friend did fantastic, and I felt absolutely in awe of the fact that I got to be the witness to something so intimate, life-altering and magical as bringing a child into the world. She gave birth to a little baby girl who reminded me so much of my own girls at birth - a head full of beautiful dark hair, and a sweet, delicate little face. She was perfect.

It's kind of funny, because just a few weeks prior to this, I had watched a couple of live birth videos online, and I distinctly remember being soooo grossed out by them. I know it's immature, but I kept thinking - "Eww, that looks really nasty - I can't believe Lou has watched me do this TWICE!" Strangely enough, I did not feel that way at all on Sunday. I was so swept up in the magic and intensity of the moment, it never occurred to me once that anything about it was "nasty". I actually teared up when they put the baby on her chest. I just felt so honored that she would trust me enough to want me there, and all I could even think of the entire time was helping her get through the whole process. It's kind of like when you're in labor youself - the whole experience is like you step outside the world, and you're in "the labor zone", where naked parts and bodily fluids aren't personal anymore - just all part of the process. :) All in all, it was an absolutely incredible experience, and being on the other end of things gave me a whole new layer of appreciation for what women go through to bring Heavenly Father's special spirits here. I got to see the birth process from a totally different perspective, and was reminded what a beautiful and miraculous thing it is.

Of course I wish that her husband could have been there (although he did get to hear the birth on the speakerphone setting on her cell phone, which is better than nothing, I suppose), but since he couldn't, I am so glad that I was able to help her and be blessed enough to witness one of the most beautiful moments in life - when one of our brothers and/or sisters comes here to join us on earth and a Mommy and her baby meet for the first time - it doesn't get much better than that, folks.

Happy Mother's Day!

I forgot to get a picture of us all looking cute in our Sunday dresses, but oh well, pajamas work well, too! To all of us mothers out there who put our bodies through hell to bring our children into this world, who have been covered in every body fluid imagineable, who kiss boo-boos, wipe snotty noses, do 1,000's of diapers, read the same story 100,000 times to a child who loves it, who lose our tempers and vow to do better the next day, who are never perfect and yet keep striving to be - to all of us - Happy Mother's Day! :)

Change comes to the Syracuse Ward

Well, we knew this day would come, and it finally did yesterday in church. My Dad, Bishop Riddel was released from his calling. It was definitely a bittersweet event - I know that a huge burden will be taken off of him, and I know that being a Bishop (especially in a ward like ours, with it's various challenges) makes a man weary in many ways. But, I know that he will be sad to leave this post behind. Most of you know how spiritually and emotionally (not to mention physically!) invested you get in your callings, and it can be very difficult to let that burden go. It kind of starts to feel like that's all you were meant to do, and it's hard to give it up to someone else when you become so attached to those you serve. It's also weird for us (his family) and for him because he has been on that stand in some form for almost 10 years (he was a Bishop for five, and served as a counselor in a couple of Bishoprics for five years before that) - it's weird to think of him sitting in the pews with us! But, I know that he will soon have a new calling that will challenge him in a different way, and that the change will be good for him.

Anyhow, for all of you ex-Syracuse ward members, here is the new Bishopric:

Bishop: James Fairbank (former first counselor to Bishop Riddel)
1st counselor: James Gage
2nd counselor: Matt Bush (former second counselor to Bishop Riddel)

I have seen Bishop Fairbank (wow, that is still weird for me to say!) change so much from the man he was when his family arrrived in Syracuse 15 years ago, and I am excited to see him grow in his new calling - I know he will be great. It was so neat to be there to see this change and to feel the spirit witness that this was right.

Anyhow, so that's the news for the Syracuse Ward, besides all the pregnant women right now! There are so many right now - it's kind of cute. So far for 2009 we have Angie T. - due in the end of June, and having a girl, Christina D. (I don't know how many of you would know her) - due in a month and having a girl, Txeli R. - due in the end of June and having a girl, Connie S. - due in September and having a boy, Kristi H. - due in Septemer (not finding out the gender), Bonnie K. and I are due in October, and Cortnie J. is due in late November (they are not finding out their gender, either). So - 8 new babies this year, the tradition of the Syracuse ward doubling as maternity ward continues!! :)