August 29 & "Stripping"

Today is August 29, the day that I first became an aunt!
On this day in 1990 at 2:46pm my nephew was born. He taught me almost everything that I know about babies. He's always been a lot more like a little brother than a nephew. He is considerate, caring and funny. Today, The Muffin and I will be making Funfetti cupcakes with Funfetti icing and sprinkles for him. And if you're wondering, that's the kind of cake that he asked for after he decided that he wanted my mom to make chocolate pies fo him.

And on this day in 2005, Big Daddy and I got our first look at The Muffin. It was on a Monday morning after I was sure that we'd lost our baby over the weekend. I couldn't believe when I saw the little wiggling blip on the ultrasound screen. Hearing her heartbeat was like listening to the most beautiful music ever! We met with my midwife Rita and had our first prenatal appointment. After that day, the fact that we had a baby on the way seemed real to Big Daddy and we started to get excited. Maggie wasn't The Muffin yet. She earned the name of "Peanut" from my family the next weekend.

Now, about stripping cloth diapers. I noticed my diapers had a strange smell. They didn't really stink or smell like anything, they just smelled funny. When you strip them, you remove all of the detergent build up (that normally accumulates over numerous washings) so that they absorb well and smell better. I always hang them out to dry, so that helps to keep them naturally white without any use of chemicals. Bumgenius, recommends using a combination of original, blue D.awn and bleach.

Doesn't that sound like an exciting Saturday to you? Making cupcakes and stripping cloth diapers.