Diaper update

We have started using cloth diapers with Violet and it is going fabulously well!  We went to a few used kids-clothing stores and bought about 8 pre-folds (that's the fancy name for the soft white cotton towel-like things that you fold to go directly against the baby's bum), and then we bought (for near to nothing compared to what they cost new) two outer diaper wraps (these go over the pre-folds, and are a bit rubbery and water proof;  they protect her pants from getting wet and soiled).  Also, we bought a handy little contraption called a Snappi that you use instead of diaper pins.  You can read about it here  .  She is still wearing a disposable diaper at night, and anytime we have a major event or outing I tend to put her in a disposable simply because I'm still figuring out how long she can go in a cloth diaper before having to be changed, but for the most part we are using all cloth and it is going very well.  The hardest part so far seems to be coming up with a good system for this whole thing---  I think we now have enough cloth diapers where we will only have to do laundry every 3 days or so-- but figuring out what to do with the dirty diapers while they wait to be laundered has taken some thought.  Letting them soak in a bucket of water with mild soap seems to work pretty well, as long as I remember to change the water every night :)

The most amazing part of this whole diaper experiment is realizing how flexible and adaptable Violet really is.  She does seem to know the difference between cloth and disposable diapers, and has put up a protest a few times when we try to put her in a cloth one (I think they do feel a little strange to her; she is  not completely used to them yet)... but basically as long as Tyler and I have everything on our end figured out, she is fine adapting to the situation.
While this concept may seem fairly simple, it is actually, I think, pretty huge.
It's huge because for quite some time now I have been thinking of this India trip as something that is going to be really hard on Violet simply because a lot of things are unknown, and inevitably a lot of things will be different, and that will be a stress on her.  But I am realizing more and more that beside the main difference of not being at home in a familiar place, she probably won't notice or be affected too much by many of these differences.  Most of the stresses will be on Tyler and myself (i.e. we'll have to boil all the water, we'll have to thoroughly cook all of the fruits and vegetables, we'll have to make sure we have mosquito nets, we'll have to make sure she has diapers of some kind that are clean and safe, etc....)  Really, as long as we can figure out some way to create a safe and comfortable daily life for her, she will be fine.
The stress is on us, as the parents.  And I believe in us, as parents.
We may not have much, but we do seem to have an ability to make what we do have work for us, and make the situation appealing and normal for our child.  Violet isn't going to have to be the one to make certain things, (like cloth diapers) work---  it's really up to us as her parents to figure out how to do things so that they work for her.  
And that, my friends, I think.... I hope..... I'm pretty sure.... we can do.

-Rachel