There were some of you who were asking about how I felt about the gDiapers, so I thought I would share my thoughts on the matter:

1.  Do NOT switch over to gDiapers if cleanliness and ease are important to you.  It is messier AND dirtier than disposable diapers! 

Because the gdiapers do not contain any plastic, the material is breathable, and so the lining and outer undies may feel a little damp.  Micah is past the liquid poo stage, so I’m not sure if poo would seep into the lining as well – maybe.  It doesn’t for us.  Anyway, after you clean your baby, you have to carry the disposable lining to the toilet.  It is usually very damp.  If the lining got wet/soiled, you’d have to bring that along to wash off too.  Well, you have to rip open the side of the disposable lining with your hands (-remember that it is soiled with pee and maybe poo) and the shake it until the inner fluff comes out (which is also soaked with pee), get the swish stick, shake it around, then flush everything.  Then you rinse off the stick and  hang it back up by the toilet.  Sometimes the wet fluff gets on the seat of the toilet so you’d have to wipe that.  Then you wash your hands – thoroughly.  You cannot flush baby wipes unless you purchase flushable kinds (like for toddlers).  If try flushing the wipes, you eventually WILL clog your toilet!  So you would still need to toss the soiled wipes in the trash. 

2.  Do NOT switch over to gDiapers if your toilet doesn’t have a strong flush!

You’ll need a strong toilet flush to make sure all of the lining gets sucked in.  Once I didn’t swish enough and the outer lining caused my toilet to clog.  Now, my toilet has a decent flush, but I don’t take any chances anymore.  I even hold down the flusher until it goes down to maximize momentum.  If your toilet flush is questionable, gDiapers may not be for you.  Oh, and I don’t trust any other people’s/church’s toilets unless they are the industrial strength, especially because you don’t carry the swish stick around.

3.  Do NOT switch over to gDiapers if you want to save money.  It is more expensive than cloth AND disposables!

From Amazon, I purchased the starter kit (medium size) – comes with 2 outer undies, 4 liners, 10 disposable liners, and 1 swish stick – for $25 and I also purchased refill liners – a total of 128 – for $52.  Through Amazon, shipping was free.  If you have a Whole Foods or other natural food stores, they usually carry them so you wouldn’t need to worry about shipping anyway.  In comparison to Huggies, a size 4 box of 150 costs ~$40.  The Walmart brand of diapers that I’ve always bought (White Cloud) costs $15 for 92.   
After a week, I feel that the number of undies and liners are all that I’ll need, so I’ll just keep having to purchase the disposable liners when they run out.  Like I said before though, I just started now and Micah is 9 months.  He only needs a diaper change about 4 times a day, as opposed to younger babies and newborns who could use up to 10 and maybe need more liners/undies! 

4.  Do NOT switch over to gDiapers because they look cute and it’ll make you feel cool. 

Unless it is really hot and your baby hangs in his/her diaper only all day, no one even sees them except for you!  And while I did feel pretty cool the first couple of days, after all of the stinky flushes, the coolness factor wears off.

5.  Then WHY switch over to gDiapers??

I would strongly suggest that you switch over because you really want to help reduce waste in landfills (bc disposable diapers never go away!), you don’t want diaper chemicals to constantly be exposed/rubbing against your baby’s body, you want baby’s skin to breathe, you don’t want a stinky house (or trash can), you’re willing to go through the extra hassle of the flush system, but you’re not willing to go all the way to cloth diapering, and you are willilng to support a good cause. 

Feel free to check out the videos and tutorials on how the system works on their website:
www.gdiapers.com

Hope this was helpful to you!  Maybe after Israel comes home (- tonight at midnight!!) and he gets acquainted with gDiapering, he can share his thoughts too…

You know, you typically wouldn’t expect having a second child to be as impactful on your spiritual experience as having your first.  However, as Micah Christian is growing into a toddler (-I can’t believe it!) and his personality is starting to come out, I’m learning so much more about God’s love and who He is.  I wanted to share some of those thoughts while they are so fresh in my mind:

1.  God loves each one of us as if we were the only person in the world. 
Now with marriage, you learn that your spouse loves you and only you.  That is to teach us how to love God only before all others.  After having a child, you learn to love (in a different way) the child that you created.  It shows a glimpse of how much God must love us, as we too were created after His own image.  Having my second child, I’ve learned that it is indeed possible to love another being just as much as your first creation.  It was difficult to imagine this was possible, until we had Micah!  As I now understand that God considers each one of us his sons and daughters, I realize how deep that love is.  It doesn’t matter how naughty, disobedient, or down-right evil we are!  He knows us so deeply (as a parent knows his/her children – but magnified) and He loves each of us unconditionally.  How humbling and amazing!

2.  God wants us to love one another.
Imanuel has had a few disagreements with other kids and some of them even resulted in a few pushes and shoves here and there.  It hurt me, yes, to see that other kids didn’t want to play with Imanuel or that they were bullying.  It hurt even more to see that Imanuel was being the bully.  But nothing could compare with the first time I saw that Imanuel get upset with Micah.  There is something about seeing your own children fighting.  In the parent’s mind, you always envision that your kids will be the best of friends, sharing fun times together, encouraging each other, understanding one another…after all, they have the same parents and share the same blood!  But in this early stage of the kids’ lives, seeing them unhappy with one another is a very fearful, painful experience.  (I don’t know if this will change once they are older…as I assume this would happen quite frequently! – Do you see why I wanted to share these powerful thoughts now?  🙂 
And so I think of God, and how sad He must feel when His own children don’t get along with one another!  It’s one thing to not get along with the “heathen” because they don’t understand us.  However, to fight or get upset with our brothers and sisters in Christ – those who should be our best friends and closest companions – that must be sad for Jesus.  Unity was one of His sincerest prayers.  It makes me want to avoid hurting other church members at all cost!  To stop the back-stabbing, gossiping, and insults!  If my two sons were to grow up and this is how they treated each other, how sad I would be!

3.  Differences in us makes us special.
In our mind’s eye, we can envision the perfect Christian person.   Obviously Jesus.  But many times we feel the need to change our personalities so we could be like Jesus.  However, seeing my two boys and how different their personalities are, yet how “perfect” they are, I’m realizing how God created us with such diversity and that we are to embrace it.  As I train and develop my two kids, I’ve come to realize that I should compare their characters to Jesus but allow their unique personalities to also shine for the glory of God.            
If we only look and contemplate our lives, we can often see how the Lord is trying so desperately to save our souls.  Each aspect of our lives, the major and insignificant, are given to point us to the One who so willingly gave His life so we, His children, can be reunited with our Father eternally.  And after several thousand years of being separated, what a joyful, blessed reunion that will be! 

I want to be there to finally meet my Father who gave/allowed experiences in my life, just to try to communicate how much He loves me.  How about you?

For the past several months now, the greatest challenges of mothering has shifted from juggling the physical duties a wife/mother faces, (diapers, baby scheduling, nursing, cleaning, meals, shopping etc.), to character training, as Imanuel has begun to exert his will. The physical, check-list duties are still there, but you come to a point of realization that if these are neglected, there no major damage. You can always clean later. Shopping can wait. You can always ask your husband to cook. 🙂 In disciplining your child, every opportunity that arises will impact the child’s character for good or for evil.

I have always appreciated Ellen White’s writings. However, it wasn’t until I read (and am reading again and again…) Child Guidance that I am impressed with how inspired and balanced she was. The section and chapters on discipline have been my meat for quite a while now and it always leaves me with the feeling that I CAN DO NOTHING apart from Christ, but at the same time that I CAN DO ANYTHING through Christ. A perfect balance of fear and confidence. Humility and encouragement. Challenge and victory. Her counsel warns against the extremes and gives biblical principles for success. This is what every mother needs!

Here are some profound principles that I am striving to implement as a mother:
1. “The object of discipline is the training of the child for self-government.” -223
The main purpose is NOT to teach the child to obey the parent. It isn’t to make them behave. It is to teach them to have self-reliance and self-control. To reason within himself to do what is right. She makes it very clear of the dangers that will come if parents exert total control or on the flip-side to over-indulge and give too much freedom. Both extremes will only result in bitterness, hurt, and unhappiness. Decided training and discipline is needed, but with this principle in mind!

2. “Let not one word of fretfulness, harshness, or passion escape your lips….Harsh, angry words are not of heavenly origin. Scolding and fretting never help.” – 219, 246
As a child, I always imagined that Mrs. White would be one to advocate “iron-rod” parenting, but it is quite the contrary. While she emphasizes authority and training, she urges us to do so in a loving, Christian-manner. Her counsel is to be firm, but free from all passion, having complete self-control. I am so grateful that at any moment, God is on His throne, ready to hear our petitions to Him. And He is always willing to teach us what to do.

3. “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Gal. 6:9
Mothers are often weary. We get worn out by all of the daily duties. However, I never want it to get to the point where I am too weary that I neglect my God-given duty as a mother. It takes extra will-power and discipline to loving correct a child for the 20th time when you’d rather just finish making dinner or you’re dead-tired and don’t want to get up from the couch. But this promise is sure! I want to reap!

4. “Let the mother study with care the experience of others, note the difference between their methods and her own, and carefully test those that may appear to be of real value….Mothers, above all others, should accustom themselves to thought and investigation.” – 238
In addition to studying God’s Word, she counsels us to learn from others in order to implement practical parenting methods. We should study and reflect and think of ways we can be better parents. Read books, search the Internet, observe others, and hold fast to that which is good. Because people are all different and children are all different, it is impossible for there to be one way to raise any child. I hope to never get to a point where I feel like I don’t owe my boys and God the time and energy to become a better mother.

Mothering is a life-long task and I’m finding that different stages of a child’s growth require different care and training. And I thought the majority of my studies were done while I was pregnant! But I know that somehow through God’s divine plan, while I am taking my children through various stages of life, those lessons are in fact training me, also, to make me who God wants me to be. There’s nothing to lose!