alexist

Their service alerts have mis-spelt a street name: Route 221 is diverted from Alexandra Grove, not Alexander :-)

(see http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=N12+8NR&ie=UTF8&z=16&om=1 - I used the post code of the Waitrose on the corner)

(it's quite a diversion: instead of going straight down Argyle Road to Alexandra Grove and left on Ballards Lane, it's going left at Chactonbury Way, north through Woodside Park, right on Totteridge Lane, then right down High Road Whetstone and back down to Kingsway--a giant U. There's nowhere else for it to go because there's a width restriction in Nether Street just south of Alexandra Grove and no other through streets north of it that a bus can use.)

This diversion lasts till 28 July 2007. I'm sure everyone in Woodside Park will love it (the 221 is a frequent double decker).

Oh, and Three Valleys Water are digging up part of Totteridge Lane near the station, so one side of the road is closed--it's causing terrific tailbacks.

The daytime diapers were going perfectly, no leaks (except one at the top once) so we've moved on to nighttime. Last night was her first one in cloth full time. I knew from experience that the BGs worked better when she's laying down, and that she'd need more inserts--so I used one standard microterry insert, and one hemp(*) one. She was in it for something like 10 hours and not a leak! The inserts were well and truly wet, but that's fine. It was really bulky though so I might switch to 2 hemp inserts (I only got 3, so I'll have to order a few more).

I've also decided that although I like using prefolds, I hate washing them because they need 2 full cycles and an extra rinse to get everything out. They're also quite slow to dry. It's a good thing I didn't go with them and got advice, otherwise I would have been complaining about being chained to the washing machine! (Prefolds are best done on an every-other-day washing schedule.) If I want real folding fun I can always use flats ;) They can't be Snappi'ed though and I'm terrible with pins. (These are American flats, single layer cotton twill, not terries--the claws on Snappis/Nappi Nippas aren't good for the fabric because it has no layers or loops.)

* - Actually, it's 55% hemp/45% cotton jersey. Hemp is several times more absorbent than cotton by weight, so a blend is much slimmer than a cotton diaper or microterry insert, and a blend is a good combination of softness and absorbency. The main reason it isn't used more is that it's so absorbent that stink problems are more likely, especially in something layered like a pocket insert.