The Cloth Diaper Whisperer

Super Saturday Coupon

2012-02-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

Fluff Friday 168

2012-02-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

Fluff Friday:
1 itti bitti tutto in carnivale
1 itti bitti red wet bag

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fluff Friday 167 WINNER

2012-02-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

This week's Fluff Friday winner is Missy Konig!

She will receive:
1 bag Rockin' Green Femme Rock
1 pack(3) Pink Daisy feminine pads

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Please, contact us ASAP so we can get your winnings out to you!!!

A Father's Infatuation

2012-02-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

I enjoy the many benefits of cloth diapering, but my husband is the one who is truly addicted. He tells me he loves them about as frequently as he tells me he loves me (which is quite often). A couple of friends at church got us started on cloth diapers and it cracks me up to see him having cloth diaper talks with these ladies at church. His reasons for loving cloth diapers are numerous.

As the sole provider for our family of 5, he is constantly trying to think of ways to save money. Each time we try a new cloth diapering product, he calculates how much we’re saving by using it. He knew I would be changing most of the diapers, so to help keep me motivated on those really difficult days, he told me I should get a jar to put near the changing table and put a quarter inside each time I change a diaper. I can spend the money however I choose, which will of course be more cloth diaper supplies. We have two children in cloth diapers—one being a newborn—so my jar is filling up fast!

As a father, he says he feels comfortable taking our kids out in public places or to friends’ houses and changing their cloth diapers the same way we did with disposables. Having a small wet bag and disposable liners makes things so easy. And that’s another plus for him. We have all of the gear that makes cloth diapering easy, not just inexpensive.

When we first received our cloth diapers, I wanted to be methodical and do everything correctly. I wanted to sit down and read all the material I could find about the new way of cloth diapering, since it seemed so different from the cloth diapers my mother used. I only wanted to be prepared. But my husband just said, “I don’t think it’s as complex as you are making it out to be.” With that he slapped a new cloth diaper on our 2 year old son (even before washing it, I’m afraid), and took him to church. My mouth hung wide open as he did so. (I have to mention he was even flying solo that day, since I was staying home with our newborn daughter still!) With visions of a leaky, stinky mess, I tried to convince him to at least take extra clothes for our son. He didn’t, and when he came home and I asked how it went, he casually said, “Everything was just fine.” That was the end of the conversation and we’ve been cloth diapering ever since.

Once a friend of my husband’s pointed out to him that my husband is putting a lot less diapers in the garbage, his addiction deepened. Why? Because he’s a staunch supporter of keeping the environment healthy and garbage out of landfills? Not really. He does care about the environment, but mostly he is happy about less garbage because taking the trash out is usually his chore at our house. Less diapers in the diaper pail equals less trips to the garbage can outside!

Jennifer Peine is a stay-at-home mom to two boys ages 4 and 2 and a sweet little newborn daughter. She enjoys reading, researching parenting topics, and making her house into a home for her family.

The In’s and Out’s of Cloth Diaper Maintenance and Storage

2012-02-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

The way we store and launder our cloth diapers has morphed a bit since starting to cloth diaper our daughter almost a year ago, but it has mostly stayed the same. It is convenient, easy, and makes the most sense for the set up of our laundry room and our daughter’s bedroom. The saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and I tend to agree. Our routine has not changed much in the last year, although I have fiddled with a few things as there is always room for improvement.

While I was pregnant, and for the first few months of cloth diapering our daughter, I searched several mommy blogs and YouTube vlogs to see how other mamas stored and laundered their cloth diapers. I took tips and tricks from many sources to come up with what would work for us. Here is how we maintain and store our diapers. Hopefully there are a few things you can take from it that may work for you.

My in-laws were able to repaint the changing table that my husband used when he was a baby. We liked the idea of having some hand me down furniture and some new furniture in my daughter’s room, and the changing table was a perfect piece to update as a hand me down. The changing pad I received fits perfectly on top and there are two full shelves of storage underneath. Next to the changing pad there is about three inches of extra space where I keep miscellaneous diaper rash remedies, lotions, etc. I got four short storage boxes from Target and put two on each shelf. On the middle shelf, one of the boxes holds our Flip covers, fleece liners, and cloth wipes. The other box holds two rows of diapers (pockets and AIO’s). There is space in between the two boxes where I keep a container of disposable wipes as well. One box on the bottom shelf holds Flip inserts and birds eye cotton flats. The other box holds a third row of diapers and extra microfiber and hemp inserts. So far, this set up has worked perfectly and holds all of the cloth diapers we have with no problem.

I have a 3M hook attached to the side of the changing table where we hang our large Fuzzibunz wet bag that we actually use as a laundry hamper for my daughter’s clothes. On the other side of the changing table is a small trash can with a lid for any disposable wipes we may use.

Once my daughter’s diaper is changed, the dirty diaper (both wet and poopy) gets brought to the bathroom. Wet diapers get rinsed out in the bathtub and then stored in the large Planetwise wet bag hanging from the towel rack. Poopy diapers get sprayed with our bumGenius diaper sprayer and then stored in the large wet bag. We have two large Planetwise wet bags so that when one is being laundered, the other is ready to use.

Every other day, or when the wet bag is full (whichever comes first), I take the wet bag from the bathroom to the laundry room (conveniently all on the same floor) and empty the contents of the bag into our non-HE top loader. Although this style of washing machine is not as environmentally friendly as its HE counterparts, it works very well for cloth diaper laundry because I can set it to use a lot of water during each cycle.

When we started cloth diapering, I used Rockin’Green Bare Naked Babies powder detergent. After about 6 months, I started to experience some stink issues. I read that many people experienced this with Rockin’Green for one reason or another, so I decided to try Ruby Moon detergent. It worked, but not as well as I had hoped. I was originally cautious about trying Charlie’s soap after reading about negative reactions some babies had to it, but my friend was using it and loving it, so I decided to give it a try. We have been using Charlie’s soap for about 3 months and I couldn’t be happier with how clean my diapers come out. (I even used it one day on our towels, and for the first time they did not smell musty when they came out of the dryer!)

To launder our diapers, I follow the “normal” routine:

1. Normal wash cycle on cold with no detergent to get any extra particles off of the diapers.
2. Heavy wash cycle on hot/cold with 1 scoop Charlie’s soap to clean the diapers.
3. Normal wash cycle on warm with no detergent to make sure all soap is rinsed completely from the diapers.
4. Hang up covers and shells on a drying rack. Throw inserts and AIO’s in the dryer on medium heat.

Aside from a few tweaks to detergent and water temperature, our cloth diaper maintenance and storage has gone smoothly for almost a year. I don’t foresee us changing anything major about our routine in the near future. I’m sure I will read about a wonderful detergent and give it a try at some point, and I know I will buy more diapers to add to our stash soon. This routine works for us, and we couldn’t be happier with cloth diapering our beautiful daughter!

Bio: Michelle is a part-time stay at home mom to a beautiful 11 month old girl. When she isn’t day dreaming about cloth diapers, she can be found playing with her daughter and wonderful husband.

Cloth-Wiping Bottoms

2012-02-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

When we started using cloth, we purchased a number of cloth diapers. Yet, we did not buy any cloth wipes. The very first time I changed a poopy cloth diaper I realized that it made no sense to use disposable wipes. Since disposable wipes and disposable diapers are thrown out together, it appeared logical that cloth diapers and cloth wipes should be washed together. Further, it was inconvenient to keep a trash receptacle exclusively for wipes. The practical and environmentally friendly solution was to use cloth wipes.

The idea of buying more stuff was not appealing. As you know the initial cloth diaper expense can be a little overwhelming if you get carried away. But what to use as cloth wipes? I looked around and found newborn washcloths we rarely use. They are about the size of your palm and very soft. It was worth a try to use them in lieu of buying cloth wipes. What could be simpler? Wipe the baby and toss the washcloth into the dry pail with everything else. Yet a dry washcloth did not appear to clean my son well. An Internet search provided many different recipes for cloth wipes solutions.

The basic recipe includes water, soap and oil. Some people will tell you exactly how much to mix for each component. Just like trying to find cloth diapers that work for you, you may need to try different recipes before finding “the one” for you and baby. I am a simple kind of person and would rather not buy an expensive essential oil or a specialty wipes soap. Just like with the washcloths, I ended up using what I had on hand: baby soap, baby oil and water. An old used disposable wipes container currently holds the “solution”. I do not measure anything! Just add water, a squirt or two of your baby soap, a few drops of baby oil and mix. Then, place your clean washcloths in the box. Experiment! Add more or less soap. Use almond oil instead of baby oil. Or don’t use any oil at all.

Washcloths do not have to be folded, but you can do it if you have the time. Some people will even tell you how to fold them so that they come out of the box just like disposable wipes. I may try that sometime. For now, our routine for changing baby is to open the box, and with clean hands squeeze the solution out of one or two washcloths. Wipe baby. If needed, use washcloth to push poop into toilet. I keep some dry washcloths near by in case baby’s bottom is too wet. That is all there is to it. In fact, I believe my baby’s bottom is cleaner since I started using cloth wipes. When the washcloths get stained, I put them out in the sun. Sunning takes care of most poop stains and since sunlight has a lot of UV rays, it acts as an antibacterial.

Be wary of bacteria. Few things are grosser than to grow an experiment on your child’s cloth wipe container. Bacteria, mold and yeast can grow anywhere. In particular, they like dark, moist and warm places. Some bacteria can replicate in 20 minutes! That means that if a single poopy microbe gets into your diaper box, the next day you could have a stinky, gooey mess. To prevent this, have as many wipes as needed for about two days inside the box. When the box has no more wipes, wash it with soapy water. After rinsing, make a new solution and place clean cloths inside. If a mess was to occur due to an explosive baby poop and you accidentally put a dirty hand in the box… Well, wash everything.

Some people prefer a squirt bottle. But if your solution is home made, you still need to change it often to prevent bacterial growth. Other people prefer a wipe warmer. So far, my little reusable plastic box is working just fine. In fact, I may eventually try a few commercial cloth wipes. If you are starting out like me, I suggest you try cloth wipes. You may like them more than you think.

Bio: Sofia M. is currently a SAHM to a toddler and is expecting her second child.

Why Cloth Works for Us

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

When many of my friends catch wind of our diapering system they aren’t always the most understanding. I never give unsolicited advice to others but will gladly fill them in if they ask questions. As I try my hardest to not completely overwhelm them, I reference a list of why cloth works for our family.

We keep it simple. Pocket diapers work for best for us and make up 90% of our stash with a majority of those being bumGenius 4.0. There are a few random brands from Kelly’s Closet coupons & I also have picked up a couple of fitteds for night time. The same goes with a washing routine. Once I figured out something that would work, I just went with it.
Supportive helpers. After experimenting at home, I took a diaper & a wet bag to daycare and explained everything to our provider. She has jumped right in & has had no issues. Nothing has changed for her other than putting the dirty diaper in a different bag. My husband has also been very supportive as I told him from the start my expectations of him would remain the same, to change the diaper (he does spray the dirty ones too). All laundry responsibility falls on me, but he will run a rinse or hang them if I ask.
It saves money. This was one of the major reasons I wanted to switch to cloth—I hated literally throwing money away. I learned you can easily spend big money quickly on adorable prints & fancy diapers. Pockets aren’t the cheapest system out there but I have also taken advantage of sales, coupons & swap groups. I have saved money by making my own wet bags, pail liners, wipes, and upcycled wool soakers. We also put up a clothes line and use our drier a lot less. A DIY diaper sprayer was also cheaper than buying new & makes dealing with a day’s worth of daycare diapers much easier.
The floor plan. The 2nd bathroom in our house is directly across from the baby’s room and is also conveniently where our washer and drier are located. I love being able to take the dirty diapers directly from the changing table, to the bathroom & have the washer right there. The bathtub is also handy for easily adding water into my pesky HE front-loader or a good thorough diaper soaking if needed.
I am an extremely stubborn person. I feel like most who knew I was attempting to make the switch to cloth when my little guy turned one thought I would never stick with it. I love proving people wrong & am extremely dedicated. I don’t mind the extra laundry & have come to somewhat enjoy stuffing diapers while relaxing and catching up on some trashy tv.

To me it doesn’t matter if you chose to cloth diaper exclusively, part-time, do it for the environment, cost savings, health of your baby, etc. what really matters is that you are doing it because you feel it is the best decision for your family. What is the #1 key point you try to get across when sharing the message about cloth diapering?

Megan is a full-time working mama of a handsome & busy almost 2-year old. She looks forward to using cloth diapers from the start with their next baby, due the end of February & not wasting any more money on disposable diapers!

February Spotlight Mom

2012-02-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Liz B a Very Laid Back Mama!

I'm Liz. I've been married to my DH, Joe for 6 years. We have 2 girls, Chloe almost 4, and Lily 15 months. We started CDing when Chloe was 1.

What is the #1 reason you cloth diaper your baby? My #1 reason is for the comfort of my children. I wouldn't want to wear disposable underwear every day.

Who has been your biggest cloth diapering supporter/cheerleader? My husband has supported me through it, even when he thinks I'm kind of crazy. He never refused to cooperate and agreed to go along with what I wanted.

What is your favorite diaper and why? We have used some of almost everything. Right now our absolute favorites are flats with Grovia shells.

If you had one superhero power, what would it be and why? To be able to snap my fingers and have my house clean itself.

Describe your parenting style using three words. Very laid back!

What is one product you absolutely can't live without! My diaper sprayer.

How do you think being a mother has changed you? Parenting has taught me that not everything goes exactly to plan. I used to be an extreme planner, down to the minute, but now I've learned that having kids means letting go of that perfectionism sometimes.

Super Saturday Coupon

2012-02-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Fluff Friday 167

2012-02-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

Fluff Friday:
1 bag Rockin' Green Femme Rock
1 pack(3) Pink Daisy feminine pads a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fluff Friday 166 WINNER

2012-02-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

This week's Fluff Friday winner is diane p.!

She will receive:
2 Thirsties AIO Cloth Diapers

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Please, contact us ASAP so we can get your winnings out to you!!!

An Eco-Friendly Dryer Option

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

One thing most of cloth diapering parents have in common is the ability to make decisions not based on convenience but yet life decisions that are more environmentally friendly options. We choose to use cloth diapers for a variety of reasons…environmental, financial, clearing diaper rash, and just because they are so stinking cute on their bums! Well, in our attempt to be “environmentally friendly” we find ourselves also becoming “financially conscious.” We look into other options that will allow this spiral of changes in our lives.

My spiral went this way, cloth diapers, cloth wipes, “un-paper” towels from a work-at-home-mom (WAHM), and now wool dryer balls. I have enjoyed using the adorable cloth diapers on my son’s bottom cloth wipes just make sense! As for the “un-paper” towels, these are simply flannel and terry cloth rectangular towels that snap together and roll up to replace your disposable paper towels. They are a great addition, however we do still keep a few rolls of paper towels around for those really bad messy that you don’t want to relive in washing. Wool dryer balls are 100% wool yarn that is wrapped and felted into balls that are placed into your dryer to reduce dry time, saving energy. These balls are also attributed to serving as a softener, eliminating the need for chemical softeners. Finally, the balls are known for reducing static cling, similar to dryer sheets. I was very excited to integrate them into our lives and apprehensive at the same time.

First of all, I must say that they have their advantages and disadvantages, like anything. I started off purchasing my first four dryer balls from a WAHM to “test drive” them and see if it was even worth the investment. You can choose to purchase the balls in unscented or choose from a huge variety of scents made from essential oils by the seller. I was most afraid of this part, because you have to choose something that will give fragrance to your clothing and can’t smell it prior to purchase, wow! I chose Vanilla & Pomegranate….it was heavenly! I love it and my husband loves it too, SCORE! Well, when you purchase the balls they are manufactured unscented and injected with scent at the time of order. This brings me to my first point about the balls, the scenting doesn’t last long. In our house we do A LOT of laundry maybe 10 loads a week or more…between diapers, toddler clothing, mommy and daddy’s uniforms and gym clothes, and bedding washes. So, obviously the more wash/drying you do the faster the scent dissipates. Well, in about 3 weeks it was gone and I was sad. By this point I realized that 4 balls wasn’t enough to see any changes in anything, so I purchased another set of 6, totaling 10 balls in my dryer. I needed a re-scenting option, so the WAHM I purchased them from sells small vials of the oil to place drops on yourself, PERFECT!! You may also use basic essential oils from your local health food stores to scent, applying only a few drops to the ball and allowing drying before use.

I see a small difference in dry times for our regular clothing loads, but it has worked miracles for cloth diapers! You can toss your load of CD in with the wool balls and it will take half the time to dry and the hemp will be completely dry. I was most impressed by this factor. And some may say, what about the oils in the balls with your CD? After consulting with some experts, it is ok as long as you don’t go overboard with application of the oils. After using the ten balls, I feel that they don’t help at all with the static cling to our clothing. We have a bad static charge issue and chemical softeners are the only thing we have ever been able to use to subdue the problem. But it isn’t horrible for now, so I continue to eliminate the chemicals in our wash. So, in conclusion I think they are a great addition to your laundry loads!

By Tabby a mother and wife, that works full-time and finds ways to make life a lot easier and economical!

Super-Food Muffins

2012-02-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

My 2 year old son LOVES any type of bread, especially muffins. Store bought muffins are so unhealthy and several homemade recipes call for loads of sugar and processed flours. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me and we love it so much, I wanted to share it. The quinoa adds so much to this recipe. Not only is it healthy and full of nutrients, it gives the muffins great texture. This recipe is vegan as long as you use canola oil, agave syrup and soymilk.

I’d also like to add that if you are serving this to a child under the age of 5, make sure that you chop the walnuts small enough (to an almost fine powder) so that they are not a choking hazard.

Super-food muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

½ cup vital wheat gluten*

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries

½ cup chopped walnuts

2 cups cooked quinoa

¼ cup canola oil (or butter)

½ agave syrup (or honey)

¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed (optional)

¼ cup plain soymilk (or cow’s milk)

½ cup apple cider (or orange juice)

Preheat your oven 375 degrees and lightly grease 12 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking powder, salt and flaxseed meal. Add in the blueberries or raspberries and walnuts; toss them to coat.

Separately, combine the cooked quinoa, oil, agave, brown sugar (optional), milk and apple cider (or orange juice). Once the mixture is well-mixed, pour these wet ingredients into the bowl of dry, and use a wide spatula to combine. Stir only enough to bring the batter together, leaving any small lumps that form in favor of mixing it as little as possible. Distribute the mixture evenly between your prepared tins.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

*Vital wheat gluten will help make the muffins less dense. However, if you do not have vital wheat gluten, use a full 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Adding an egg can also help make the muffins less dense.

Contributed by Mindy Hill

Wasting Time Worrying

2012-01-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

I don’t remember what initially attracted my interest in cloth diapers, but there were three reasons that my husband and I eventually decided to use them: to save money, to be environmentally friendly, and to avoid the chemicals in disposable diapers. We certainly didn’t choose cloth diapers because we thought they would be easy. In fact, in the last weeks and months of my pregnancy, as I purchased and prepped our cloth diapers, I was simultaneously preparing myself mentally for the difficulties I would encounter: the relentless laundry, the leaky diapers, the messy, multi-step diaper changes (we decided to use prefolds and fitted diapers with diaper covers). I constantly had to remind myself that the benefits of cloth diapers would outweigh these difficulties.

I was so worried about the complexity of using cloth diapers that we used disposables for the first week after our daughter was born; I was convinced that I wouldn’t be able to handle cloth diapering while recovering from childbirth. I also didn’t think my husband would be able to figure out cloth diapering without me there to guide him through the first several diaper changes. I chose to use prefold diapers with covers because they seemed to be the most cost effective option, however, they seemed the most difficult to use. I had also bought a few fitted diapers as well, and I planned to save those for the evening when my husband would help me with diaper changes. Because it was my decision to cloth diaper, I didn’t want to saddle my husband with the extra work and difficulty.

Imagine my surprise when, after one week of disposable diapers, we switched to cloth diapers and found them to be just as easy. Instead of pinning the prefolds on, we just folded them, placed them in the cover, and put it on the baby. It only took seconds longer than a disposable diaper. Sure, there was more laundry, but cloth diaper laundry was much more low maintenance than I expected. We quickly developed a routine: my husband would throw the full diaper pail liner in the laundry in the morning before work and put it on a prewash cycle and when I woke up, I would put it on a wash cycled, then into the dryer or on the drying rack. With the increase in laundry from a baby we barely noticed an extra load.

When our daughter was not yet three weeks (and we were less than two weeks into cloth diapering), we went out of state for a 16-day vacation to take her to see our families for the holidays. Although we found using cloth diapers at home to be simple, I was worried about the difficulties of traveling with cloth diapers. Once again, I let my fears get the best of me and we left the cloth diapers at home. We regretted it almost instantly. The disposable diapers leaked much more that the cloth diapers we were used to. Our daughter developed diaper rash for the first time while wearing them. And, of course, we were unhappy to have to pay for products that we were almost immediately tossing in the trash. My initial fears about my husband not wanting to cloth diaper were more than unfounded; less than a week into our vacation, he was saying how much he missed cloth diapers.

When I initially decided to cloth diaper, I felt like I would be sacrificing my time and energy in order to best care for my daughter, the earth, and my pocketbook. The benefits were worth it of course, yet it turned out that cloth diapering is no sacrifice at all. I feel like it actually saves me time and energy because I don’t have to deal with as many leaky diapers, I don’t have to run to the store to buy more when we run out, and I don’t have to worry about diaper rash. I only wish I had known beforehand how easy cloth diapering can be, and therefore had saved all the time and energy I spent worrying about the “difficulties” of cloth diapering.

Bio: Mandi is a young wife and mother who writes about faith, marriage, and motherhood at CatholicNewlywed.blogspot.com. She and her husband are enjoying life as new parents to their two-month-old daughter, Lucia Rose.

There's More To Cloth Than Diapers

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

My first born was a “Gerber Baby”. He had disposable everything. Everything was convenient; everything came in nice little packages and jars off the store shelf. Fast forward to baby number two. This baby, as everyone knows, was destined to be completely different. Due to some health problems and developmental issues I began researching and discovered many things.

Our lifestyle in that next year changed so much. We had already started cloth diapering for economic and environmental reasons, but my “cloth community” opened my eyes to so many things. We discovered things like making our own baby food, better breastfeeding, and helping children with food allergies (which my son has). I don’t know what I would have done without other cloth diapering moms who gave me so much advice and encouragement through some hard months.

I’ve also been able to “convert” a few other friends and family member to be cloth moms. It has been so fun to see other people fall in love with fluffy bums. My sister-in-law is using cloth for my niece and even though we rarely get to see each other I feel this is another connection between us. Picking out and giving her new diapers is almost as fun as getting new ones myself!

Along the way I’ve also discovered the Diva Cup (seriously, give it a try!), cloth wipes, and using rags instead of paper toweling for messes around the house and general cleaning, With my most recent baby (our fourth) I’ve discovered Happy Heinys cloth nursing pads and post-partum pads (both available through Kelly’s Closet). I had cloth nursing pads in the past, but they were pretty ineffective. These, however, are GREAT. I would recommend them to any nursing mom. I wash them with my daughter’s socks in a lingerie bag so they don’t get “lost” in the laundry. The cloth post-partum/menstrual pads were also something completely new to me…but I was pleasantly surprised. They don’t hold odor and I simply wash them with my diapers. I thought they might stain or be gross, but that is totally not the case.

I look forward to learning more through blogs like “The Cloth Diaper Whisperer”, my daily read, and continuing to connect with other cloth moms. What have YOU discovered on your cloth journey?

Jenney is a mother of four and home daycare provider. She blogs about cloth diapering and raising her kids at www.thedraystoday.blogspot.com

7 months into my 12 step program

2012-01-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

I started my cloth diapering 12 step program the day my daughter was born, I stopped buying fluff – amazing huh? She was my first child and as a first time mom, I was so overwhelmed with caring for her, I had no time to look at or research cloth diapers. {If you read my first post “They have a 12 step program for that right?” {(Original Article){scroll down} you will understand.} I got through the first 3 weeks ok, AND THEN I was able to start thinking coherently, I had some routines down and started having some free time during the day when she was sleeping. So, off to the computer I went to catch up on my email and the cloth diapering blogs and boards.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED. I FELL OFF THE WAGON. I had purchased a variety of newborn diapers, and did not like two of the styles because they didn’t fit my daughter’s build and we were getting leaks. So rational dictated that it wouldn’t hurt to replace just those diapers with my favorite bumGenius Newborn AIO because I could resell them and recoup some of my money back.

That was the beginning of the end because a month later she was big enough to fit into her one sized diapers. That is when the ONGOING CHECKLIST started. She was sleeping through the night at seven weeks – yes I know I am very lucky - so I needed hemp doublers, check, bought 6. The hemp was so great, and my daughter is a HEAVY wetter, so double check; I replaced my entire microfiber stash with hemp inserts, a luxury but, wow, the BabyKicks Hemparoo Joey Bunz hemp is amazing.

I then thought I might have to change my wash routine because of the hemp, so check, I bought Tiny Bubbles, bumGenius and Rockin Green detergent to try out along side with my Charlie’s Soap. I read about funky smells - check, I bought some Bac-Out in case I needed it. I worried I may have to strip my diapers - check, I bought a box of calgon and some packets of RLR. Then of course I needed to get a bottle of blue dawn. FINALLY, I figured I was done, complete and I had it all – checklist was completed - I was ready to get back on the wagon.

Then, when trying to climb back up on the wagon - THE WAGON WENT AND ROLLED OVER ME. It happened, the BUMGENIUS FREETIME DIAPER. I.WAS.IN.LOVE. Check, I initially bought 2 just for fun to try them out. They were so easy to rinse with the diaper sprayer – those flaps just hang over the toilet easy peasy and the new colors Dazzle and Einstein were calling my name. I now have 7 more on the way. Truth be told, I’m trying to figure out a way to replace my entire stash with these diapers, however, I doubt my husband will go for it. I guess I’ll have to wait for baby #2 and use the “some diapers are worn out and need to be replaced line” before I can get some more.

What is surprising through all of this is that I am STILL saving money over disposables, even after all this spending. Off of my original stash of diapers we broke even with the cost of disposables when my daughter turned 5 months old. With the additional spending and the extra hemp, it went to approximately 9 months. So, depending upon when my daughter begins to potty train, I figure I should have about a year and a half of free diapering – and that doesn’t even include the savings I’ll have with child #2.

BIO: Brenda is a first time mom. She quit the financial word fast lane to become a full time mom at age 41 – and doesn’t regret the decision for one minute. She has a very understanding fluff loving husband named Mike and a beautiful daughter named Camden who has the cutest fluffy butt in the world.

Super Saturday Coupon

2012-01-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

Fluff Friday 166

2012-01-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fluff Friday 165 WINNER

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

This week's Fluff Friday winner is Theresa Beazley!

She will receive:
2 Pack of the all new ones & twos

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Please, contact us ASAP so we can get your winnings out to you!!!

Cloth Diapering "Irish Twins"

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

A little over a year ago I gave birth to our second son. 9 months after our first one. That’s right, 9 months. My boys are 9 months and one week apart from one another.

At the time I was not cloth diapering. I had looked into it with my first son but was overwhelmed by all the options and the start up costs that would incur. But with the rising costs of diapering two children, I needed to look for other options.

In order to make cloth diapering a success for us, I have had to figure out the best way to maximize our budget while still getting diapers that work for both boys.

First, I had to make a decision about whether or not they were going to share diapers. While I know that some moms find this to be a disgusting idea, and I can completely understand where they are coming from, I was not one of those. I knew that I would be sanitizing them in between each child wearing them, so I was not concerned.

Second, I needed to decide which kind of diaper I was going to spend the most money on. I discovered that I prefer the pocket diapers the most. But I knew, with a bit of research, that having some covers with flats, inserts, and prefolds as another option, would stretch my budget even more, and also allow for some versatility.

Third, I had to decide whether I wanted to go with sized diapers, or one-size diapers. For me, this was a pretty simple decision. It didn’t make much sense to me to buy a bunch of multiple sized diapers. While I do have a few sized diapers in my stash, the majority can be adjusted to fit either boy. At first this was important because they were of very different sizes. Now that they are both bigger they can fit on the same rise, simply with an adjustment of the waist.

Fourth, I thought about how often I wanted to be washing diapers. I knew that I didn’t want to be washing them every single day. But I also knew that we couldn’t afford to buy enough diapers to go too long in between washes. So I had to come up with the perfect number for my kids. Each child is different in the amount of diaper changes are necessary in a day. I kept track of how many changes I was doing on a regular basis and then bought that number of diapers I would need in order to wash every other day. That was then my goal number of diapers to purchase.

Fifth, I looked for sales. This was really important in order to get the most out of our money. I tried out a few different diapers and then watched for the ones I liked the most to go on sale. I was fortunate because Kellys Closet had a marvelous sale on said diapers at the time that I wanted to buy a bunch. I also looked online for creative ways to cloth diaper on the cheap using unconventional items (ie. flour sack towels as flats in covers).

Sixth, have fun! I was excited to receive my “fluffy” mail. And I was proud that I was making an impact on the world, our budget, and most importantly, my little guys’ bums.

Dana G is the proud stay at home mother of 2 handsome baby boys and the wife of a marvelous man who serves our country in the Air Force. You can check out more of her tips and stories on adaynasmile.wordpress.com.

Snaps or Velcro: Which is better?

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

In all my research on cloth diapers, the overwhelming response to the age-old question, “Snaps or Velcro?” was a resounding: snaps. Velcro gets pilly. Velcro wears out. Older babies figure out how to undo Velcro and take their diapers off, etc. All answers pointed to snaps, and I was satisfied. The first diapers in my stash were all snaps and I was pleased. They were easy to put on, they stayed put, and my husband didn’t mind them either.

Then two things happened: 1. I went back to work part-time and would be having a nanny (a wonderful young lady who had never heard of cloth diapers) watch my daughter, and 2. My daughter mastered what we call “the death roll” and diaper changes went from a fun, bonding experience to an Olympic event. My decision to swear off Velcro because of its downsides quickly reversed. All of a sudden Velcro sounded wonderfully easy for an inexperienced nanny and extremely quick and efficient to put on.

We purchased 6 bumGenius pockets with hook and loop closures (i.e. Velcro). They came, I prepped, and we tried them out. I was instantly in love. They are quick, efficient, and they fit like a glove around her thighs and waist every time. Do I still love my snaps? Of course, but my Velcro serve a wonderful purpose in my stash that I never knew I would need.

There are definitely still downfalls to Velcro aside from the common wear and tear. Although I remember to put them back on their laundry tabs each time, it isn’t usually on my husband or nanny’s mind to remember to do so. This typically isn’t a problem unless it’s a poopy diaper. Velcro + poop = a mess! My mother in law also likes to treat them like a disposable, because they are similar to one, and will roll them up and use the Velcro tabs to stick to the outside of the diaper (much like you would roll up a disposable and fasten the tabs around it to create a “ball”). This snags the diapers and makes my skin crawl! With Velcro, there is more reminding of others that you don’t have to do with snaps.

Downfalls aside, I would say I actually prefer Velcro. So if you are researching cloth diapers for a future baby, or if you were swayed in the “only snaps!” direction like I was, take note. Velcro has its place in a cloth diapers stash and serves a wonderful purpose that snaps do not.

Bio: Michelle is a part-time stay at home mom to a beautiful 9 month old baby girl. When she isn’t scouring the Internet for fluff deals, she can be found reading, running, and hanging out with her husband and baby girl.

Ins and Outs of Newborn Diapers

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Diapering a newborn should come easily to me as a mother of four, but when you combine the pure lack of sleep with having three other “littles” in the house (I have four children, my oldest is only five), and having not one but two in diapers-it still is a little hectic. These are my findings and my advice for new moms.

I am currently using cloth diapers on my newborn, but she is the fourth child I’ve used cloth diapers on. I didn’t even realize people still used cloth until my oldest was almost ready to potty train and my second born was three months old. I switched, but naturally I didn’t deal with newborn diapering.

When pregnant with my third I stepped tentatively into using cloth on a newborn. It wasn’t as hard as I thought, but due to budget issues she was using cloth part time. Fast forward to the present and my newest baby…who is at present 90% cloth diapered. I prefer cloth to disposables, but unfortunately I have small babies and newborn diapers are not cheap-or used very long.

Overall cloth diapering will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I know it has our family. However, most newborn cloth diapers cost quite a bit and are not worn very long. We have five different kinds of newborn diapers and I will share the pros and cons we’ve found with each.

We have four Lil’ Joey’s from Rumparooz. They have CUTE written all over them and are an adorable size. However, these diapers are not for everyone. My babies are pretty small by most people’s standards-my smallest was 5 lbs 3 oz and my biggest 7 lbs 1 oz.. My babies are also built thin. Lil’ Joey’s have only fit my (youngest two) children till they hit nine pounds and then they are too small. Considering average babies are born closer to eight pounds and grow often half a pound a week, these aren’t for everyone. We’ve been fortunate to get to use them for about six weeks for each of my daughters.

I have one Happy Heinys Mini one size pocket diaper and it has been my favorite this time around. My daughter couldn’t wear it until she hit about seven pounds without it leaking, but now it is fantastic! The sizing is such that she will be able to wear it quite a bit longer than the Lil Joey’s and it fits her slim figure like a glove. I have another one on order to arrive this week. Can’t say enough good things about it!

I have one Thirsties size one Duo diaper and I also love that it is smaller than our regular one size pockets but started fitting both of my daughters when they hit eight pounds (manufacturer says six pounds, but my girls were both too skinny and it leaked). Thirsties diaper covers with prefolds were how I started cloth diapering, and will always have a special place in my heart.

Rounding out my newborn stash is a Newborn Pro Wrap (the only diaper I didn’t get from Kelly’s Closet) and a Bummis Super Brite Newborn diaper cover. I use a collection of small prefolds with these. I prefer pockets, but when budget matters, this is probably your best bet.

My advice to a first time mom-to-be would be to invest in the Happy Heinys. They are easy to use, will fit (most) newborn babies, and can be used longer than other brands poundage wise. If you are planning on having multiple children, go ahead and invest in a newborn stash as well as one for when your baby gets bigger. If you are only planning on having one or maybe two children it gets tougher…you really don’t know how big your babies will be and often babies don’t wear newborn size anything more than a week or so making a complete newborn stash pretty pricey for the time you’ll use it. However, cloth is always better for the environment and you can always sell or donate any diapers you no longer have any use for.

I probably would not recommend a first time mom to start off with prefolds/snappis/ and covers. Having a newborn has a huge learning curve of its own, let alone a diapering system that isn’t completely easy. Your first few weeks with your baby will be hard enough-getting the hang of nursing, all-nighters, and what her cries mean are challenging enough. Take it easy on yourself. Plus, you want daddy on board with cloth diapers, and trust me, pockets and all-in-ones are the fastest way to a man’s diaper heart.

My final newborn cloth diapering advice would be to get that diaper sprayer and install it while your baby is still small. If you are nursing exclusively there is absolutely no need to use it on your baby’s diapers until they start solids. However, the diaper sprayer also has a learning curve and it is always nicer to learn on a clean diaper than a dirty one that sometimes, when sprayed, the contents of the diaper may hit the wall…or your face…just sayin’.

Jenney is a mother of four and home daycare provider. She blogs about cloth diapering and raising her kids at www.thedraystoday.blogspot.com

Preparing For My Adventure Into Newborn Cloth Diapering

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

When my now 18 month old son was born, I didn’t even consider cloth diapering. The whole idea of it was completely foreign to me and therefore, I never bothered looking into it. What got me into it was hearing friends that did cloth diaper rave about it and about how much money they saved. So, I looked into it, started a diaper trial and was hooked. Now I am pregnant again and due in March with our new little boy and I plan on cloth diapering him from day one.

When I started to look into newborn cloth diapering options I felt like a cloth diapering newbie all over again. I had no idea which brands would fit my new baby better or how many diapers I would need. My older son was a big newborn (9lbs 2 oz and 23 inches long) and I am anticipating our new baby to be about the same size. To get a feel for how big the newborn diapers would be, I went to my local cloth diaper store and took a look at all of them. There are a few things that I realized.

1) There are a few brands that would not fit a baby that big for very long, namely the Lil’ Joeys, BumGenius AIO XS and the GroVia Newborn AIO. So I decided not to get any of them.
2) The brands that do look like they will fit really well are the FuzziBunz XS, BumGenius AIO S, Thirsties Duo Size 1, and the Happy Heinys Mini One Size.
3) There are a few one size diapers that look like they will fit a 9 lb baby just fine and they are the FuzziBunz Elite One Size, Rumparooz One Size Pocket, Itti Bitti Tutto and the Babykicks Bumboo (I’m sure there are others, but these are the ones I looked at. The Happy Heinys One Size MAY fit, but it has a higher rise, so I’ll probably need to wait for the cord stump to fall off.)
4) Buying purely pocket or AIO diapers for a newborn would be pricey, especially with the tight budget that I have, so I needed to start looking into a cheaper option.

I did purchase a few newborn and size small AIOs and pockets (5 BumGenius Small AIOs, 1 FuzziBunz XS and 1 Happy Heiny Mini One Size). I also plan on using the one size FuzziBunz and Itti Bitti Tuttos that I already use with my older son (along with Happy Heiny One Size when they start to fit). However, this only left me with 13 diapers (not including the Happy Heinys)… nowhere near enough to cloth diaper a newborn full time while washing every other day.

I then read an article by Kim at Dirty Diaper Laundry called “Cloth Diapering a Newborn Without Breaking the Bank + Pro Tips”. In this article Kim suggests using prefolds and flats with covers. I decided to start looking into flats as I had been hearing that they are the best low cost cloth diapering option out there. So, I bought a dozen flats and started playing around with all the neat folds out there. My favorite fold is the diaper bag fold (seen here). I love it because it is super customizeable. You can really make the diaper as small or as large as you need it to be with this fold.

So, after doing all of my research and making my purchases, now I have a healthy stash of about 40 (13 pockets and AIOs, the rest are flats and prefolds with covers and a Snappi) newborn diapers and with the use of flats and prefolds, the stash didn’t cost me very much at all! I even bought all of the newborn pockets and AIOs at a gently used sale so I saved money on those as well. I still need a couple more covers, but once I get those, my newborn stash will be complete! Now I just need to wait for the little guy to make his appearance in March!!

About the author: Christina D is a 26 year old wife and stay at home mom. She has an 18 month old son named Alexander and is due with their new little boy, Cooper, on March 20, 2012. She also writes her own cloth diapering/green parenting blog, Geeky Green Mom.

Weaning To Cloth Diapers Completely

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Maybe you are considering using cloth diapers with your baby.
--Build your stash and go for it!!
Maybe you already use cloth at home, but use disposables while on errands around town.
--Get a medium zippered wet bag for your diaper bag and dive into cloth on the go!

But perhaps you find yourself in the situation I recently got out of...

My daughter has been wearing cloth diapers since she was 3 days old, with the occasional *gasp* disposable diapers mixed in. A few months ago, though, I vowed to wean our family onto 100% cloth diapers. Using cloth at home has always been a breeze. When my daughter was about a month old, going on errands with cloth became second nature, too. The trouble spots were long overnight trips.

Labor Day was the first trip that we took cloth on. I was mostly intimidated by using cloth on the 6 hour car ride, so we ended up using a mix of 'pure & natural' disposables, prefolds & pocket diapers on our trip. Using any disposables, no matter the reason, started to really annoy me. I hated spending money to buy diapers and then throwing them away. What's the point of using cloth "almost" all of the time, but not actually all of the time? You spent money to build up your cloth diaper stash, and here you are spending more money to buy disposables! Reusable cloth diapers are just more economical and better for the environment.

After that trip, I decided I would get over any intimidation, and we would only take cloth on our holiday travels (and other future trips).

I never thought we'd really be able to do it, but we did!! We spent a 3 day weekend at my in-laws for Thanksgiving (celebrated actually 2 weeks before the holiday), and took a week long Christmas trip to visit various family members. My daughter was in cloth the whole time, and we even survived a HUGE blow-out on the drive that required 6 wipes and changing all of her clothes. At one point, my husband said, "maybe we should go get some disposables," and I firmly said, "no!"

You may have read my earlier guest post on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer about swirling versus spraying diapers to remove waste...I'm not a fan of having to clean cloth diapers without a diaper sprayer. I prepared us for the challenge by buying some biodegradable liners. While they don't keep all runny messes completely off the diaper, they do a great job at containing the bulk of them. I planned to be on diaper clean-up duty the whole time, but my husband surprised me by pitching-in with a few of the diapers that needed dunking!

Here's what we do, and I hope this inspires you to ditch traveling with disposables:

Ask your host if you can do cloth diaper laundry at their home, or check with your hotel/campsite for facilities
Do laundry right before you leave, so that you have the most amount of clean diapers possible
Take the few dirty diapers you accumulate, between laundry and leaving, with you so that you don't come back to rancid smelling diapers (especially if you'll be gone for more than 5 days)
Pack diapers in a clean duffel bag or zippered suitcase, which will also serve as your diaper storage bin while traveling
Take your normal cloth diaper detergent, if you are flying but use liquid detergent, consider buying some powder cloth diaper safe detergent
Pre-stuff pockets (including doubling up a few for extra absorbency for naps in the car/plane)
Match up prefolds/flats with all covers you take, have extra prefolds/flats waiting
Prepare a few diapers with biodegradable liners laid on top, and keep the rest of the liners in a clean, easily accessible place
Have two zippered medium wet bags to keep dirty diapers in while driving/flying
Take your pail liner to your destination, even if it doesn't have a close-able top, just twist it around itself, and keep dirty diapers where ever your host will let you
If possible, do laundry before heading home...although I have read about some parents who love the reaction TSA agents have when "inspecting" a dirty diaper suitcase

Kaylene Brown blogs at Letters from Momma about her experiences mothering a beautiful little girl who turns 1 in February. She also recently made the switch to cloth wipes, and loves it!

Super Saturday Coupon

2012-01-21T00:01:00.000-05:00