Hard water & a Dr's visit

Part of cloth diapering, is knowing how to correctly wash the diapers, the other part is knowing how to put them on which is I think is simpler than the washing part.  I posted my wash routine back in December (read that post here). When I got this routine last month I didn't know my water hardness level so today we went out and bought a water testing kit.  Besides the hardness level we needed to check the pH and if there was any iron in the water.  Iron in the water doesn't sound like a big deal.  But if you use bleach to disinfect the inserts and covers it can/will turn whites a shade of orange when if you have iron in the water.  Which is not what bleach is supposed to do...whites whiter and all..

Water test

Looks like the total hardness is between 100-250, but closer to 250.  The pH is right around 7, and the iron test was separate, but there was no trace of iron in the water!  I of course turned to the gals at Fluff Love & CD Science to confirm my findings.  With semi-hard water I should add a softener to the wash cycle, I just need to confirm how much.  And I was right, I need to add some to both the pre wash, and the main wash.  Amounts depends on the brand of softener I decide to use, Calgon or Borax. I will have to visit the laundry section and see what is available locally...

We also went to our monthly appointment today, it was time for the lovely glucose test (ick).  My day started with chugging about 28 ounces of water, then sipping on a cup and a half of coffee till it was time to chug the glucose drink.  Took me two minutes to get it down because I was so full of liquid already.  I did fast overnight, and it didn't help that I was dreaming about food all night, during the short bits of sleep I did get...needless to say the drive to the Dr was not as pleasant but it was nice to have that 30 minute drive to distract me because I really really needed to go!!!  By the time we got there I was burping orange burps...and was more than ready to leave my sample...they stuck me right at 10:12.  It will be a few days before we get the results of the test.  The phlebotomist said the results could be back as early as tomorrow, as long as they don't get lost in the computer.  I felt faint while waiting to be seen after the blood draw, and I was sick at my stomach.  We had to wait what seemed like forever and didn't help my irritation level, my bad for forgetting to bring a snack.  I was told during the appointment that if I didn't hear from them by Friday assume I passed the test....so I'll be logging into the patient portal starting tomorrow to see if they post the results.   Anything 134 and under is passing.  However I was told that if I "scored" a 135 I would have to do the 3 hour test...um, thanks but no way.  The "standard" for the 1 hour test is :

• 50-gram (one-hour test): equal or less than 140 mg/dL

I need to call back tomorrow to schedule my next appointment, because computers are evil, and their system was slow, and or unresponsive...we go back in 2 to 3 weeks for the next appointment, and then it's every two weeks until my final month!

Tomorrow night we get to go to our last childbirth class!  Stay tuned for an update then!