If you haven’t heard much about the Second Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge, it is exactly what it sounds like: families around the world are challenging themselves to use flat cloth diapers and exclusively handwash them for an entire week! It’s hosted by Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry  and one of it’s goals is to show that cloth diapering is accessible and affordable to all families. To find out more about why this challenge was started, please visit here.

The Challenge kicked off on Monday, May 21st, so we are in Day 4 of the challenge and for us, it’s been going great! I actually have been using flats for the past month now due to some major ammonia stink issues, and it has been wonderful. I am LOVING flats!!! They are super easy to use, easy to clean and dry fairly fast. And because I’m handwashing (and am very particular about things being spic and span), my flat cloth diapers have been saving my son’s bum from any rashes and possible ammonia burns. (Previously, there were mornings where I awoke to find an ammonia-reeking diaper, that not only smelled heinously, but also burned my own eyes!!! I can only imagine how much it “burned” my son’s bottom. Poor baby! And I feel completely and utterly responsible and guilty. Thank goodness for flats!!! ) So if you haven’t tried flats out yet, you should definitely give them a shot. And no, it’s not hard. You don’t need to do all those fancy folds, like the origami fold or kite fold. (Trust me, I’ve been there and thought that.)

When I participated last year in the challenge (you can read about it here), I was convinced that I had to do a fancy fold every.single.time. Thus, I always did an origami fold and had it laid out in advance. It was ready to go and made it easy for my husband because he didn’t have to learn how to fold flat diapers. But this time around, I’ve gotten smarter (and lazier, hehe). I discovered the Pad Fold and it has been my fold of choice. It’s super easy. All I do is fold the diaper into a narrow rectangle that will fit inside a diaper cover. And that’s it! Easy peasy!!!

And the best part is that you can fold your flats into the pad fold ahead of time and just switch them out during diaper changes. But of course, I haven’t forgotten about my beloved origami fold. My son gets to be in one about two times a day, when I think he’s going to make a “mess.” And again, I find myself folding the diaper in advance (notice the flats pad folded as well).

And here’s what it looks like on the bum, all snappi’d up!

(And yessss, it is extremely difficult to put on his diaper because he’s so squiggly and wants to run away, but it’s also just as hard to take a photo of him! LOL. Love my little guy.

See how flats are easy to use????

Anyhow, I am off. More to come on my experience handwashing flat diapers as well as my first attempt at EC (Elimination Communication). Fun stuff!

What are you looking at James?

James is so big now. He’s taking steps and when brave enough, he’ll walk on his own instead of falling on his butt and crawling. He’s been eating solids for quite some time and can hand-feed himself now. He is soooo adorable and knows how to ask for “mum mum,” wave goodbye and clap. He also has two little teeth, and will be excited to bite you at times! He’s my big little boy.

We’ve transitioned him to sleeping in his own room and he’s doing great! He sleeps through the night and it is so wonderful to have uninterrupted sleep for about 6-8 hours. I LOVE all the rest I’m getting as I have another bun cooking in the oven!!! Yessss, mamas, I am expecting baby #2!

Jeremy and I are very excited about our new arrival coming in August. We’ve recently reorganized, no, we are in the middle of reorganizing our home to fit the needs of our little munchkin that’s roaming our home and the new little love that will join us soon. So, our house is a mess and it’s going to take a lot of time to put it all together, but it’ll happen. We mamas, somehow, manage to do it all sometimes. I don’t know how we do it, but we sure make things happen!

Soooo, anyhow, I really look forward to blogging more. Not too sure how I’ll pull it off when baby #2 arrives, but I know I can do it (a ton of other mamas do). But my journey of motherhood has been a HUGE learning experience. It’s changing me…for the better I hope. And although it honestly is a lot of work (it will drive you crazy sometimes), it definitely gets better. YOU get better.

Sending you all warm fuzzies.

When most people think of new moms, one of the first things that comes to mind is being over protective and crazy, along with paranoid trips to the doctors. We all kind of chuckle at the notion. But what happens when everyone thinks you have a case of that new mom paranoia, but something really is wrong with your baby? That was my experience with my first son. Along with the normal sleepless nights and teething, we had to navigate some health issues and trying to get a diagnosis.

After a normal, full term pregnancy my husband and I had a beautiful, healthy 8lb 3 ounce baby boy – Cole.

Of course he comes out with his little foot bent up, something a new mom doesn’t want to see. But everyone assured us, it was just from being positioned funny and that it would return to normal with time, which it did.

Then, not so uncommon to other new moms, we had some nursing difficulties. Cole only wanted to nurse on one side. We were told it was normal and were taught the football hold and how to nurse laying down, and we seemed to be going strong again! A few months later I noticed he still avoided turning his head in that direction. We were given some stretches to help him loosen up the muscles and over time it seemed to get better. And to add to my crazy mom fears, I noticed that his head was flatter on one side then the other. We started trying to get him to sleep on the other side to help it even out, which never really happened. But with hair you can’t tell, so I tried to relax. Over a year later, we would learn these were all subtle, early signs of a much larger problem to come.

Things seemed to calm down a bit and we settled into a nice routine. He started smiling, and laughing. At 6 months he sat up. 6.5 months he started to do this adorable bum scoot to get around, another thing that would later be recognized as a symptom of his scoliosis. 10 months he was off and running! We were completely in love! That’s right around the time when we started noticing his back looking a bit off, though we couldn’t quite put our finger on the problem. Then he started to develop a hump on one side of his back, and we were given some exercises to help strengthen the other side and even it out. Despite being nervous, we had reassurance in that he had met all his milestones early.

But over the next 3 or 4 months, he started developing an increasingly noticeable curve in his back and the hump was becoming more pronounced. Then he started to stumble and trip a lot when he walked. The slight crooked look in his back became more and more obvious. Friends and family stopped trying to politely reassure me he was fine, and started agreeing something wasn’t quite right. With the doctor still not being overly concerned, we turned to the internet for help.

What we found were pictures of kids just like our son, and a rare, scary diagnosis of Progressive Infantile Scoliosis. We saw and read stories of respirators, disfigurement, chronic pain and even death. There was NO cure, just delaying inevitable series of painful surgeries to try to prevent the spine from getting too dangerously curved. This was when our life started to move in slow motion. Doctors couldn’t give us info fast enough, we were terrified all the time, and I even started to prepare myself for the fact that I could loose my beautiful child.

Thankfully the internet also led us to a VERY small group of parents throughout the country that were talking about a treatment available in only a few hospitals in the country that could actually CURE our child. Terrified we were chasing a dream projected by a bunch of nuts or that it was real and our baby somehow wouldn’t be eligible, we went back to the doctors and demanded x-rays and this treatment. Reluctantly, but sportingly, our family doctor sent us for diagnostic x-rays, which confirmed our fear.

After consulting with a local doctor, who gave us no hope for a cure, though assured us he wouldn’t die, we went back to this small group, The Infantile Scoliosis Outreach Program [infantilescoliosis.org], and were connected to a doctor within 5 hours of us who was going to treat our son. He felt that he could CURE our baby with Mehta Casting, which in no way would make him ineligible for other conventional treatments later on. So with nothing to lose, we gave it a shot! Over the next year our son lived in a torso cast which was used to slowly straighten our son’s spine.

Despite the initial overwhelming thoughts that a child in a body cast brings to mind, we lived a rather normal life over the next year, and the results were a happy, healthy baby boy with a straightened spine. 18 months later, at 3.5 years old, his back is still straight and looking great!

If you had told me 5 years ago that I could have a child born with this condition, it would have been permanent birth control! However, today I have two beautiful boys, despite knowing it could happen again. I have grown so much having Cole, and have a new sense of inner strength and a new perspective on what is important in life. I will always look back on becoming a new mom, as the most difficult and terrifying journey of my life, but I wouldn’t change it for the world because of who my family has grown to be because of it.

HELP SPREAD AWARENESS OF PROGRESSIVE INFANTILE SCOLIOSIS!
Through their journey, Jenn and her husband wrote a children’s book explaining the condition of Progressive Infantile Scoliosis and the treatment of Mehta Casting. Please join them in spreading the word and raising funds to publish their book Cole and the Crooked Flower. You can find more info about it here.

My first leak was with a Blueberry pocket diaper. The diaper fit perfectly and held up for a few hours, but when I changed James, I noticed that the outside of his diaper was wet (the PUL part of the diaper). I thought it was strange. The leak was in the space between the insert and the edge of the diaper. So, I’m guessing that the leak was caused either by the insert not being wide enough or the insert having no more life in it. Which means I need to replace it. But I’m not too sure what the problem is. Is there a way to “test” the absorbency of an insert? If there is, please leave me a comment. I would really appreciate it!

The second leak came right after the first one. I changed James into a BumGenuis 4.0. and it lasted a twenty minute car ride. All I know is that when we got home, urine was all over the place. Again, I was totally clueless. A little frustrated because I didn’t understand (I still don’t). Maybe the diaper was a little too big on him?

And the last leak of the night was the one that James went to bed in. For some reason, I decided to put him in a size small organic cotton fitted diaper from Lil Honu. It was a big mistake on my part. As I was putting the diaper on him, I noticed that it was a little big. I have the xs size as well, which is a better fit on James, but because I was able to “stuff” the diaper and put a cover over it, I thought it would be fine. I was completely wrong!!! Our bed totally got wet!

I was extremely frustrated. What a leaky evening!!! (And I’ve never had leaks before this!)

So lesson learned: don’t put a diaper on your little one if you think it’s not a good fit (whether big or small) and yes, inserts need to be replaced from time to time!

The “Chief Executive Mama” of Earthy Crunchy Mama is Jenn Leggett. She is a wife and a mother of two. Her journey of becoming an earthy crunchy mama, “a person who is environmentally, health, and socially conscious,” began after her son Cole was born with a rare spinal deformity. Since then, she has made healthier and greener choices, and is passionate about raising her family in a more natural lifestyle.

Her store offers an awesome newborn diaper rental that I participated in and I loved it.

The Newborn Diaper Rental includes everything you need to cloth diaper a newborn. For a deposit of $125, your diaper rental will include:

• 24 cloth diapers (choice of modern cloth diapers including GroVia, bumGenius, FuzziBunz, Bummis, and/or Thirsties)
• A Pail liner
• A Wet bag
• Cloth diaper safe detergent
• Cloth wipes
• Diaper liners
• And one rash cream stick

And what’s awesome is that the detergent, wipes, liners, and rash cream stick are YOURS TO KEEP!

I was so excited when I received my diaper rental in the mail. (Jenn did a great job at packaging it!)
Along with the package were instructions on how to use the cloth diapers and how to care for them (much needed for us first-timers).

My rental stash consisted of bumGenius AIO, GroVia AIO, FuzziBunz Pocket Diapers, Indian Cotton Prefolds, Thirsties Hemp Prefolds, a Thirsties Duo Snap Cover, a Bummis Velcro Wrap, and a Bummis Snap Wrap, along with accessories including a Snappi, FuzziBunz Wet Bag, GroVia Pail Liner, GroVia Wipes, Reusable Micro-fleece Liners, Baby’s Butt Balm and a bag of Rockin’ Green Detergent. (When you decide to do the diaper rental, you get to pick the diapers you want! )

And let me tell you, the newborn diaper rental was a lifesaver!!! (You definitely will NOT regret it!) My husband and I were so thankful we signed up: it made life EASIER for us. With a newborn, you just don’t have extra time on your hands. So not having to do laundry every day and having all-in-ones made cloth diapering extremely easy. Everyday, my husband changed diapers and it was a piece of cake. And it was such a relief that I didn’t have to worry about washing a load of cloth diapers at the end of the day. And if we were to purchase the same exact diapers that made life easy for us, it would cost well over $300. Definitely an amount that doesn’t fit our bill.

And that’s not the only positive thing I have to say about the diaper rental. Simply, Earthy Crunchy Mama’s newborn diaper rental is just exceptional. I did some shopping around and compared diaper rental programs and I have to say that Earthy Crunchy Mama’s diaper rental is the best of the best. Jenn offers her customers more at an extremely affordable rate.

A few perks that I love about the diaper rental that other diaper rentals don’t offer (or few do) include:

• FREE shipping to and from your home. (Not only was shipping free, but Jenn made it extremely easy for me. To ship the diapers back, all I did was package them in the same box they came in. Jenn emailed me the shipping label and had USPS pick up the package from my home. I loved that I didn’t have to go to the post office. Extremely convenient, especially with a newborn!)
• The opportunity to exchange any of the diapers you rent for a different one, just because you feel like it or if the diaper isn’t working for you.
• The chance to rent mainstream MODERN cloth diapers (Most diaper rentals only offer prefold diapers.)
• And the choice to receive either store credit or cash back at the end of the rental program.

And another bonus of the newborn diaper rental is cost. It is EXTREMELY AFFORDABLE!

There’s the initial deposit of $125. When you return the diapers, your deposit will be refunded minus a $25 starter kit fee and a monthly rental fee of $15/month (if receiving the deposit back in store credit) or $35/month (if receiving the deposit back in cash).

Here’s a sample breakdown for a TWO MONTH rental:

Sooooo, if you decide to rent newborn cloth diapers for two months from Earthy Crunchy Mama, the cost is $55 or $95. That’s sooooo affordable! Definitely cheaper than buying disposable diapers for two months!

But the icing on the cake of Earthy Crunchy Mama’s Newborn Diaper Rental is doing business with Jenn. Jenn is AWESOME to work with. On a short notice, a week before my son was born, Jenn prepped my diapers and shipped them to me just in time! Jenn knows how to take care of her customers and meet your needs. She quickly replied to all of my emails, was available for phone support, and gave helpful advice. She also did a wonderful job of touching base with me to see how the diapers were working out. Jenn is not the kind of owner that you do business with and never hear from again. Instead, she really cares about her customers. THANKS Jenn for being an amazing “chief executive mama!!!” You’ve taken excellent care of me and it’s been a pleasure.

So to sum it up, I’ve had a WONDERFUL experience with Earthy Crunchy Mama’s Newborn Diaper Rental and I know you will too! And Jenn is so generous that she’s offering all of my readers $5 OFF the newborn diaper rental for the first month!!! (Which is extremely nice of her since the rental is already affordable.) THANKS Jenn. To receive the $5 discount, there’s a question that asks “Who referred you?” when you sign up. Just mention me: Linda Hawes/New Mommy.

Happy Renting!! And let me know how it goes.

When my husband and I decided to cloth diaper, I did my best to learn all that I could. I read lots of blogs, reviews, and looked at thousands of pictures. And when I started to build a stash of used cloth diapers, I favored one-size diapers over sized diapers because it was more economical and would last my baby from infancy to toddler years. But through my research, I found that one-size diapers aren’t really “one size.” Unfortunately, they don’t fit newborns until they’re roughly ten pounds. And even with the size small cloth diapers, you wouldn’t be in the clear because just like the one-size diapers, most smalls start fitting around ten pounds as well.

So in building my cloth diaper stash, I mostly got one-size diapers but figured that having some smalls would cover the first few weeks of my son’s life. But in being hopeful that size small would fit, I sure was dreaming!

So what are your options when you want to avoid using disposables for the first two months of your little one’s life, but you don’t want to buy two more dozen cloth diapers in newborn size? (which can be VERY expensive)

There are two options: sign up for a newborn diaper rental or pay for a local diaper service (if one’s available in your area). Let’s take a look at these two options.

Before my son arrived, I decided to sign up for a newborn diaper rental with Earthy Crunchy Mama. And boy am I glad I did! (It saved my life! You can read about my experience here.) The diaper rental came with twenty-four newborn diapers, a wet bag, pail liner, detergent, cloth wipes, liners, and a rash cream stick. This included everything I needed to cloth diaper! Costwise, there was a deposit of $125 and after renting the diapers for two months, you can receive $70 store credit or $30 cash back after the diapers are returned. End cost: $55 or $95.

As for a diaper service, Sacramento’ans are fortunate to find one here in the area. The local diaper service has many options and the plan that appeals to me most includes 80 prefold diapers a week (about eleven prefolds a day), a diaper hamper, three covers, and two deodorizer discs. The cost of this service for two months would be $219.50+tax. Quite a bit more expensive than the newborn diaper rental.

So what’s the better option? For me, it was the newborn diaper rental!

Well, we aren’t big celebrators, so we’ve taken the day pretty easy. It’s really nice taking it easy since James keeps us up. He wakes up every two to three hours throughout the night to feed, and I’ll usually change his diaper too. And with all the grunts and cries he makes, Jeremy gets woken up. So unfortunately, we don’t get the best of sleep, but we’re surviving.

But man, having a newborn is tough!!! Mamas, you know what I’m talking about!!! I am extremely lucky though that Jeremy works from home because he ends up helping me out with baby James. But even with the both of us taking care of James, it still isn’t easy. I don’t know how moms do it by themselves when their husbands work away from home. If Jeremy weren’t here, I would probably go nuts! Moms, get ready for those days where your baby’s cries become a little much…you’ll end up finding yourself extremely frustrated, maybe a little upset and angry. Just remember to take a time out and breathe. You love them to death, but sometimes they are too much to handle. It’s during these times that I really appreciate Jeremy rescuing me!

So far, Jeremy’s done a wonderful job taking care of James. He helps out with changing diapers (yes, Jeremy changes cloth diapers and he’s really good at it!), feedings, taking baby on walks, and just calming/carrying James around. Jeremy has also been great at helping around the house: doing dishes, making meals (yes, mamas, it’s REALLY HARD to find time to eat), and anything else that needs to get done. He’s been a wonderful father and husband and I am so blessed!!!

So sweetie, cheers to you this Father’s Day. Thank you so much for being a supportive husband and taking care of baby and me. I’m so thankful for you!

My two little cuties!

WINNER CHOSEN: Congratulations Heidi K!

I have to admit that I love winning items in giveaways. Whenever I win something, it’s as if I’m receiving a gift and I LOOOOVE receiving gifts. It’s a way I feel loved. Some would say it’s one of my “love languages.” It definitely makes me feel special. This is probably the reason I love to check the mail too. I love receiving mail, especially when it’s a letter from a friend or a package of “fluff.”

Recently, I won a package of detergent from Miss Lily’s Washing Powder and when I received it in the mail, boy, was I happy! Jill Petersen, the inventor and owner, sent me her washing powder scented with lavender and tea tree essential oils. And let me tell you, it smells really good!!

I love Jill’s story: she “started making laundry detergent after being disappointed with other ‘green’ detergents out there, and after reading about the cancer-causing agents found in popular detergents.” It’s amazing how unaware we are of the toxic ingredients that exist in everyday products we use. I have tried my best to purge my home of those products and am proud to add Miss Lily’s Washing Powder to my collection of “green” items. With her washing powder, you can be reassured that it is a “natural, soap-free, enzyme-free, brightener-free, clean-rinsing laundry detergent that is perfect for all of your laundry, including cloth diapers!”

So does this all-natural detergent really work? Does it get out all the stink and clean your laundry and cloth diapers as good or better than any other detergent? Let me tell you that the answer is YESSSS!

I had the chance to use Miss Lily’s during the last day of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. When I first used the detergent to handwash my cloth diapers, I seriously thought that it didn’t work. There were no suds, and of course, I’ve been taught that suds is a good thing. It tells me that the soap or detergent is working. I was very puzzled by the fact that there weren’t any suds but I soon figured out that Miss Lily’s Washing Powder just doesn’t create suds. Why? Because suds equals build up! And no one wants build up on their laundry, especially their cloth diapers. This is what Jill says about the suds:

I’ve been asked by a few people, “Where are the suds?” First of all, suds are not necessary to get things clean. In fact, suds = build up on your laundry, and are usually the result of sudsing agents. One such sudsing agent is SLES or Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which can cause skin irritation and is a direct link to 1,4-dioxane, the carcinogen found in many detergents.

(Now that’s another reason to use Miss Lily’s Washing Powder! No carcinogens!)

Anyhow, once I figured out that there weren’t any suds, I wrung my flats and hung them. The following day, I found them to be just as fresh and clean as the previous day when I used a different detergent. This made me very happy!

It’s been wonderful using Miss Lily’s Washing Powder and I am thrilled to announce that Jill has generously offered to give away a full bag of Miss Lily’s Washing Powder in the winner’s choice of scent OR if you’re having a hard time deciding what scent to choose (because there’s so many), you can opt for Miss Lily’s Washing Powder Sample Pack, where you have the opportunity to try five different scents!

To enter this giveaway, you must first be subscribed to NewMommy.org by email.

Three ways to enter (please leave a comment for each one):

• Follow NewMommy.org via Google Friend Connect
• Like New Mommy on Facebook
• Like Miss Lily’s Washing Powder on Facebook

Winner will be selected June 15th.

I was shocked and in disgust. I have to confess that I didn’t believe that babies got diaper rashes from disposable diapers. I have been around babies in disposables my entire life and never have I seen one get a diaper rash. But now, there’s no denying it!

After seeing James’ bottom and figuring out what it was, I immediately grabbed a Thirsties Duo Hemp Prefold (I love prefolds) along with some Baby’s Butt Balm and voila, James was in his first cloth diaper!

 
I was happy to have cloth diapered James for the first time, but it wasn’t a huge success. The prefold and balm came from Earthy Crunchy Mama’s store, along with some wonderful instructions…which I read again AFTERwards and discovered that I made a couple mistakes. Actually, I just did it all wrong! The hemp prefold was not suppose to be used with a Snappi and the prefold needed a diaper cover, which I didn’t use at all! *sigh* The world of cloth diapering…I am learning quick.

Anyhow, my mom was with me that night and I am so glad she was there: she figured out how to put the prefold on, not me! But moreso, I’m glad she got to experience cloth diapering with me. My mom and family have always used disposables and they currently use them today. But was it was reassuring when my mom saw the potential “dangers” of disposables and told me that using cloth diapers was the better thing to do.

End result: After being in cloth diapers for ONE day, Jame’s rash cleared up. HUGE KUDDOS to cloth diapers!!!

I was in a lot of pain my first week home. My neck and upper back ached the most. It was probably caused by how fast and intense my labor went. But my oh my was I in pain. It hurt to look down at my son when I held him and I couldn’t go to bed without taking some prescribed meds. Heck, I even took them during the day! I also had all the normal post-pregnancy situations to deal with such as uterine contractions, vaginal bleeding (that’s suppose to last four weeks!!!), and “skid marks” on my labia (I’m so thankful my perineum didn’t tear). And it’s funny how all of this has left me waddling around as if I were still pregnant! Oh, and I can’t forget about the massive migraines. They were extremely debilitating.

And with being a new mom with a newborn, it was hard to find rest, the one thing I needed most. The first few days I only slept about two to three hours. And I’m guilty for not sleeping when the baby sleeps. Instead, I found myself cooking or cleaning or getting things done around the house.

But I’m glad that everything is much better now. My neck and back is almost healed, thanks to my mom and sister, Lucy, for their healing hands. I got smart and figured that my neck and back weren’t going to get any better if all I did was take meds. I realized that the meds didn’t heal me, it only took the pain away. So for an entire week, my mom and sister visited me everyday and massaged my neck and back for at least an hour. Sometimes, I even got a full body massage. But wow, has all their massaging returned me back to health. I am extremely thankful for them.

I am also getting more sleep now. I have learned to take naps with baby James and not be concerned about all the things on my to-do list.