I think my gDiaper obsession is finally starting to fizzle a little. Wow! It took long enough. I never get this wrapped up in anything for this long. I usually lose interest pretty quickly but not with these. I think part of it is that my mind is not as occupied as it was when I was working.
I still love these diapers and would still highly recommend them. But I find that nowadays I check the forums more out of habit than out of interest. There isn’t too much going on; the chatter has definitely died down and I’m finding that too many of the moms who participate bring with them a bit of crazy and I don’t want to be THAT mom. I don’t know. I know that there are some really fab ladies in these groups but there are enough people in them that ruin it. The ones I find most annoying are the ones who post what they’re in search of EVERY FLIPPIN’ DAY. Yes, gMum #1, I know you want a large gcycle and you’re willing to pay up to $75 for it. And yes, gMum #2 I know you too wanted a gcycle and now you want lavender or gumdrop g’s. How do I know? Because you post over and over again on EVERY group site, pleading and nagging. Then you say things like “sorry, I know we’re not supposed to…” but then do it anyway. The lack of self control is a little disturbing (and annoying).
This helped me realize that maybe I, too, (to a lesser degree) have had a lack of control with this stuff. I check the facebook pages, the yahoo group, and baby center groups with my phone, my laptop and my ipad, which means I’m checking multiple times a day instead of thinking about productive stuff. I love the company but they don’t have new stuff everyday. I post often enough (not all the time) but usually I’m trying to be helpful or funny. It’s nice being a part of a community and honestly, it’s fun having a target to collect as many of something as possible. “The hunt” is kinda fun too. What’s not fun is feeling disappointment when I don’t get the diaper I wanted. Or feeling foolish when someone takes advantage of me.
Luckily I haven’t spent so much time on this that my baby has had to suffer. I think my husband has a little, though. If I’m online, I’m distracted if he’s talking to me. Not cool. And seriously, I’ve always had my limits on how much I’m willing to spend on this stuff. I’m lucky to have enough money to be able to afford all the diapers that I want to buy but I’ve been shocked at the number of times I’ve seen these women say “I have to wait til I get paid” to buy these diapers. If your money is THAT tight, you should not be buying the rare, hard to find, EXPENSIVE diapers. You should be trying to figure out how to save the most money. And really, I don’t understand why so many of these gals buy these diapers (used) for $17 when I’ve bought the same diapers new for closer to $10 (although I do have retailers near by who carry these diapers, whereas maybe not everyone does?). It’s all a little crazy to me. Hell, the fact that I’m writing yet another gdiaper post is a little crazy.
I’ve also been frustrated with an ammonia smell that my cloth inserts have been giving off. I don’t know if it’s the hard water in our city or the detergent I use or if I’m doing something wrong but I’ve been battling the smell for a long time. I’m most concerned that whatever is giving off that smell within the cloth will irritate my baby’s skin. But I’m working on it. I want to cloth diaper my baby. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’ll figure it out. It has just helped me get over my obsession a bit.
Reality is that I’ll still probably check in on the forums frequently and I’ll probably still buy some more gdiapers (I already know I want the gStyle that’s coming out in November…ya, the boy one too and no, I don’t have a son. I didn’t say I was letting go of the crazy completely). But I think I want to break the habit of checking all the time and the mind space that is taken up by considering buying more gdiapers from gmoms. I need to stop looking – there are only maybe three or four designs/colors that I would love to have and those are really rare, so chances are I’m not going to get them. And when someone does post them, the gmoms are nuts and jump all over them.
Damn you, gDiapers, for being so gosh darn cute and for having such phenomenal social media pull. It’s been a fun relationship but I think we need a break. I still want my baby to be in one of your ads, though. Don’t worry. I’ll still call you and hang up and occasionally drive by your house.
Too far? I was trying to be funny. Did I step into creepy? Damn it.
You replied to my questions (First Time Mom-To Be) on the Yahoo Forum and I really appreciate the advice you gave in your linked posts about gDiapering.
I thought I might be able to help with your ammonia issue. Try running them through with a little baking soda into the load of laundry. It helps to remove smells in laundry just like it does in the frig or your diaper pail. I’ve used it when my sick cat peed on things and it took that ammonia smell out. Cat pee is notoriously tricky so it took two or three washings but it worked. It doesn’t leave a residue or interfere with absorbancy (I’ve used it on microfiber towels) and it helps remove stains and other types of buildup. It also took awful sweat buildup, smell and stains out of my husband’s work shirts this summer (he’s a contractor). Even better it’s relatively earth friendly and non-toxic to your little one.
You know, I do sprinkle baking soda on top of my cloths in between washes to tone down the smellies so the cloths usually do have some baking soda on them when I throw them into the wash. But I’ve never added fresh baking soda directly to the washer, so I’ll give it a try. At this point, I’m open to any suggestions! Thank you!