I tend to get stalled out when there is a decision to be made. Like the whole reason our house is a mess is that the things that are lying around don't have an obvious home yet (you'd like they would after a year and a half of living in The Parsonage, but they don't) and that means I have to make a decision before I can do anything productive with them. In actuality what it means is that I stack things in piles of things I need to make decisions about. Lots of little piles of decisions lying around waiting, hoping that maybe someday they will find a home.
This would annoy the crap out of some people (like my husband). It bothers me, but not enough to drive actual decision making most of the time. I really like to get things right and he likes to hold me to decisions once I make them (why exactly do the plates need to continue to belong in the same place just because I thought that's where they went last month?).
In addition to object placement/home organization issues this is a bit of a problem since parenthood involves lots of decisions. As usual I'm good with the big ones. It's the little things that get me. I've been trying to come to some sort of conclusion about diapers for months and its go time on this one since our shower is coming up and I want to make sure we're registered for what we really want (I say we, but Austin has put me in charge of this decision).
I HATE the idea of using regular disposables since I really prefer not to leave a mass of waste that will be roughly the size of a small iceberg and last for the next 600 years as a result of my child's need to poo and my need to contain it. I just can't handle it. And I'm not judging you if you do. I continually keep things I really should throw away because I feel bad about throwing them away. That and there is a crap-ton of money to be saved by using cloth. Like $4000 for two kids even when you include the water and energy to wash those cloth diapers. One decision down. No big deal.
But that's also where it gets all decision-y. If you just use disposable diapers like normal people you go to the store, you buy whatever is cheap, or your friends recommend, or you try different brands until you pick a favorite. You throw them away continuously so one little decision really doesn't matter. If you pick an alternative you're a little more constrained. Especially if it's a cloth type which generally involves a significant up-front investment and you plan on keeping it for the long haul. And then there are issues around whether or not you can find a child care provider willing to go with your hippy dippy, non-dispoable diapers. Some just won't and I get that. That's the other decision I need to work on and maybe I should get on it first since the result influences this one, but I feel pretty strongly on this one and I think I'm just going to have to find someone who will at least work with cloth.
Well maybe I'll call the suggestions I've gotten and ask them something like the questions thebump recommends for interviewing caregivers, but lets just focus on the diapers for now.
I have a friend with an entire gDiaper set up she offered to sell me months ago when she first found out I was pregnant. I wasn't sure about it based on the aforementioned child care provider-cloth diaper conundrum. But the impending shower has pushed me to make an actual decision. I did some internet searching and found an awesome series on gDiapers call gWhiz - gDiapers 101 written by Emily at Joyful Abode. The very first post on why she chose gDiapers sealed the deal for me.
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I'm getting them.
My friend has a ton of each size so I'll just get the pants and liners from her, but Emily is helping me figure out what other stuff I need to add to the registry. Hopefully I'll finish that up by the end of the week since the shower is only two weeks from Saturday and I figure people might start checking that out soon. At least the ones who aren't like me and take their first look at the registry in Target 2 hours before the party. Tell me you procrastinate on gifts too.
I also need to pick out a sling so if any of you are baby wearers I would love to get some opinions.
