We “did” our registry a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t have an idea what we were planing on doing for diapers.  We’ve leaned towards cloth, but really needed some help to figure everything out.  When we went to Sprout Soup in Clintonville to shop for a friends shower, it didn’t make a lick of sense, even with a list in our hands!  We bought a sprayer and a gift certificate, figuring that mommy and daddy could make the calls on all-in-one, prefold, PUL covers and whatever else they need.  One of the owners pointed out that there was a class coming up next week, so we signed up.  Tori and I returned to Sprout Soup for the Cloth Diaper 101 class last week, and it may be the best decision we’ve made yet.  Our options are a lot clearer now, and we feel like we have a handle on it.  I still think it’s overwhelming for the average, non-diapering people, so I don’t think we’ll actually set up a registry there.  

When you get down to it, we think cloth is a better option for baby’s well being, and our pocketbook.  There’s a link here for anyone who cares to look into this more, but it seems like cloth provides a substantial savings over the first few years.  To get going, we’ll just need about 40 unbleached prefolds, some water”proof” wool or fleece pants, some snappis, a diaper pail and some good clean soap.  Hell, if that jerkass Dave Matthews can do it, so can we… 

Here are some links if you’re interested…

• Consumer Reports article on cloth diapers
• Diaperpin.com, a fantastic resource for questions, answers and reviews.
• Another nice long article, this time from mothering.com.

• Investigate and Research Doula.  I posted about the search before, but it’s time to get down to work and start interviewing.  We’re still on the fence about pre/labor/post doulas.  I’d like to find someone we like in Clintonville that does all three.  
• Budget.  We’re going to be spending some serious money on lots of stuff we know we need, but what concerns me more are items I don’t/won’t know about until they come.  I despise MS Excel, but it’s my secret best friend for finances.
• Look Into Furniture.  What the hell do we need?  I have no idea and I’ve yet to see a definitive list in any of the myriad books I’ve thumbed through.  A crib, a changing table and a dresser are all must haves, and I’m thinking a nice comfy adult chair for nursing and the like.  Ikea, here we come!  I’m sure I’m missing something, but what?
• Ready the nursery.  This will be an actionable item in a few months, but the second trimester should be good for plotting and planning.  Again, we have a good idea what we want to do, but I’d like to be able to start gathering items now for the baby’s room.  There are a few handyman type things I’d like to get done in there before we begin decorating, too.
• Investigate Baby Gear.  I’ve always said that if I had a kid, gear would be my favorite part.  Turns out that I enjoy the love and anticipation more, but any time you get a geek in gear-buying mode, a happy geek you will have.  Strollers, car seats (but it seems that most strollers are car seats? WTF?), bassinets, boobie pumps, pack and plays…. this is going to be fun.  And expensive. And confusing.
• Register For Classes.  Should we take classes at the hospital we will deliver at?  This would ensure a very thorough understanding of how they do things, but we’re thinking classes at CHOICE might be re educational and give us more…umm…CHOICEs.  I’m also hearing some rumbling about how Catholic hospitals have certain “rules” about some of our birthing choices.  We’re looking into this and you can probably look forward to a long post about it.

What am I forgetting about?  Do you have any insight into getting a shopping list together?  We’re really not sure if we will be having a shower or not, so most of this stuff will be out of pocket.  If you have any tips or tricks, let us know in the comments, K?