WinkyDinks and a New "Ennie"

Yet another productive day has passed while I am still pregnant. She is due in just two days, but thankfully, I have been getting so much accomplished here at the end.

After a nice lunch with my son and my brother-in-law, we stopped and got my son a new "Ennie". Previously mentioned, his betta fish died after 3 days, so we are trying a regular fancy goldfish. The day after his fish died, he said he wanted to get a new, yellow Ennie. So, that worked in my favor as I wanted to get him a goldfish instead of another betta. (Which is what I originally went to the pet store for, but hubby felt a betta was cooler.)

Picked up the replacement part for the toilet that we've been needing desperately.

Then we came home and I was excited to have gotten my WinkyDinks fleece cover in the mail. I've been so thrilled about it since I not only LOVE cloth diapers... but I won this in a contest on the Etsy cloth diapers blog. I have won two contests this whole year and I never win anything, so I'm all stoked about it.

On a last note, I've felt... interesting.... all day. I hope this means she's coming into the world this weekend.

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Wipes Solution and Laundry Soap

Today's homemade crafts consisted of an all natural powdered laundry soap and a wipes solution for our cloth diaper wipes. Making your own products can be fun and addicting. It's so nice to know what ingredients are in your products.

The laundry soap came out to be about $4.75 for 30 loads. Which is only a quarter (plus tax) cheaper than the detergent I have been using. However, what we get in return is where we really save money. No harsh chemicals, three simple and natural ingredients, and a fun time spent with my son.

Step 1: find a bar of soap you like. All natural, hard milled is probably the best. I was able to find some good smelling, and surprisingly natural, bars of soap at the 99Cent store. Grate the soap into flakes (or curls :) ) This is where my son had a blast. He enjoyed watching the bar turn into a pile of flakes. He kept telling me I was, "Doing great job, Mama".

Step 2: Assuming you have a large container (like my pickle jar) add 6 cups of soap flakes (this was 2 bars for me) 6 cups of washing soda (or sodium carbonate) [I actually used baking soda because I couldn't find the washing soda] and 3 cups of borax. Shake it up, or let your kids shake it up to mix well.

Step 3: Use 1/2 cup in each large load. This is a great formula for hard water. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to your rise cycle (to freshen and soften) and you have yourself an all natural laundry regimen.

How about that wipe solution? We've been using cloth wipes for the last two years, the same amount of time we have been using cloth diapers. We tried a few brands before I finally found the Kissaluvs brand "Awesome Knit Terry" wipes and fell head over heels in love. They are the perfect size, texture, thickness, and durability. One thing I have never done though, is use a wipe solution. We just stuck to water. With the new baby due any day, I wanted to finally try a solution and see how it goes. A little extra cleaning power isn't a bad thing as we head back to those poopy diapers. Here's the recipe I chose.

Step 1: Find a container big enough to hold your wipes, and place the clean wipes inside. (I found a neat plastic container with a latching lid at Target, and it holds all 24 of our Kissaluvs wipes perfectly, when the solution is added)

Step 2: In a gallon container (with a lid) mix together 8 cups of warm water, 1/2 cup light oil (I used a safflower vitamin e blend), 1/2 cup baby shampoo, 3 TBS aloe vera gel, 32 drops lavender essential oil, 16 drops tea tree essential oil. Put on lid, shake well.

Step 3: Pour in just enough of this solution to saturate your wipes and try not to leave any sitting in the bottom of the container. Store the rest of the solution in the fridge for when you need to soak more wipes (remember to shake first). Keep the tub of wipes in a cool dry place to avoid mold and mildew, and rest easy knowing exactly what you are wiping on your little ones bum. They smell amazing BTW.

With both of these household crafts, and any other you make, slap on a cute label and you're ready to go. You can make fun art out of your label, give your creation a cute name, and add a list of ingredients to look at proudly every time you use the product. I like to do a search for product specific clipart and add the cute graphics to my labels. Print them on regular (or recycled) printer paper and attach with clear packing tape to protect and water proof your label)


Go natural! It's fun for everyone.

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Cloth Diaper Converter

Well, it’s that time again. Time to talk about cloth diapers! But I have great news…. I have converted a friend. Yes, through my faithful dedication and raves of cloth diapering, I have finally inspired someone to give the good ol’ earth savers a try, and she LOVED them, naturally!

As most people are, she was pretty apprehensive about giving the cloth a try. After all, disposables have made life so easy. Unfortunately, not many people take into account how hard they make life in the long run in terms of how they harm the earth. My friend also being one of the people who didn’t pay too much attention to where they ended up after she disposed of them. She also had the idea in her head that cloth diapers would cost just as much as disposables, and so why not just live with the convenience of disposables? My previous blogs, and constant talking about my own experience with cloth has helped to open up her eyes. She has been able to see how we get by with our cloth even on a very tight budget. I explain numbers as well when it comes to saving by using cloth instead of disposable.

Now, there is one thing I have gone through which many people may not. At least, I hope I can help people with my own experience and keep them from spending too much on diapers. I have tried many many brands of diapers, and with that, many many styles as well. Technically speaking, I have spent about as much as I would have with disposables when it comes to diapering my son. But the catch there is 1) I have not added hundreds of plastic diapers to the landfills and 2) I take pride and joy in helping other choose the right diaper for them knowing what works and what doesn’t.

I may have my own faves, no doubt about that, but when someone tells me what they prefer when it comes to diapers I can direct them towards a great one, even if it isn’t one I choose to use. With the arrival of my next child in May, I know exactly which diapers to buy and I won’t waste money “trying” others. Also, I already have leftover stash from my son in various sizes. So, I will certainly save money with the next baby. I do plan for this to be my last, in which case I will spend my days helping people save money, and the earth, with cloth diapers for years to come. Maybe someone will even use our hand me downs and save further.

So, going back to my new cloth buddy, it turns out that just like me she enjoys the old school style of pre-folds. That seems to be one of the top choices of many moms, I hardly hear a bad thing about them. They are so versatile and so cheap in comparison to all the others. Pair them with a multiple size cover, and you have just about the cheapest and easiest way to cloth diaper your baby.

Now, she and I can both share the sad feelings of seeing people buy large boxes of diapers, and knowing where they end up. We can both feel proud together that we are saving our families money for the more important things in life, such as playtime, and that we are also helping to reduce the amount of waste blanketing our beautiful earth. And with enough energy to stay devoted to this lifestyle, hopefully I can influence more moms to convert their ways. Maybe they will convert some too, and so on and so on.

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Cloth Diapers Again, and a giveaway.

I've been watching this blog for a while now, and they do a weekly give away of cloth diapers. Be sure to check out their store http://www.diaperjunction.com for great options and prices on diapers and accessories and more. This week's giveaway is particularly exciting to me.

After about a year and a half of searching for the perfect cloth diaper combo for me, and much wasted money later on diapers that didn't work out, I feel I have finally found the match.

The last fitted diapers I bought were the Bum Genius Bamboo and the Thirsties Fab Fitted. The Bum Genius were small and trim and very soft on the outside. The problem with them is that I think it is just bamboo around one of their basic microfiber inserts, and I do not like their microfiber inserts. If I were to have tried just those diapers, MAYBE I would say Bum Genius is OK. But I have tried many of their products and I have yet to be impressed. Somehow though, they seem to be the most popular and successful of all the diapers out there. I'd like to replace all their stuff with the GroBaby diapers at least. I haven't tried those long enough to know, but I think it is a much better one size diaper.

Now, the Thirsties Fab Fitted, that is a great diaper! It comes in fun colors, it's a decent price, it's very soft, fits wonderfully, dries fast, washes well, and absorbs a lot. After I decided this could finally be my winning fitted, I bought 6 more in different colors and I am loving diapering life. And how awesome is it that this weeks givaway is all about the Thristies company?

I also finally bought some pre-folds. I have read so much about cloth diapers and in my research have found many many moms who say pre-folds are their favorite, so I had to try them. Sure enough I do like them a lot, and not to mention all the other great uses they have if I should ever not use them as diapers. Of course, they do not have a tight, containing, fit like fitteds do, but they absorb very nicely, they wash and dry wonderfully, and I hear they pretty much last forever. The best part about the fitteds I guess would be the price.

As for the cover, I have a few different brands. I just bought the Thirsties duo to try. I know I like the Aristocrats Wool for overnight. My fave is the Stacinator Fleece, which no one seems to carry anymore. But, that diaper cover isn't waterproof, just resistant, still I have never had a leak with it. So I cannot say what the best cover is based on price or function yet.

My search will continue of course, but on the other hand this is a search while my son is almost out of diapers, the perfect match could be different for a newborn, or infant, we will see. My son is doing so well with potty training that I'm scared ha ha. I am so in love with cloth diapering. It fascinates me so much I cannot wait to have another child just so that I cloth diaper it. I might have to seek out Cloth Diapers Anonymous.


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Fancy Fun Fridays

So everyone knows about my obsession with cloth diapers. Here is a chance for anyone to win a pretty awesome One Size all in One diaper along with some great accessories.

Anything that turns people on to trying and hopefully using cloth diapers, is definitely something I want to support. I feel alone in this world having no one is my real world to share this diapering style with. But thank goodness I have my Internet friends to share it with. When I think about how many diapers people use these days and how much money they spend on them I just get so sad and wish they would just give cloth diapers a try.

However, that said, I know the convenience of disposables and how many people will not use cloth if they are any kind of more difficult to use. This is why I am on the mission to find the most PERFECT combo of cloth diapers, so that way my struggles and trials with them will be for the environment in the sense that when I find that great match, we will be able to persuade more moms to try cloth on their babies.


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Cloth Diaper Obsession

I would like to start off by saying that today during lunch my son stuffed a raisin up his nose.

In other news, my son has been going pee pee in the potty every night during naked time right before his nightly bath. He is very proud of himself, as much as we are of him. I set out his potty and strip him down. While I take his clothes off I tell him that is he needs to go pee pee he should go pee pee in the potty. Then when he has to go he does so. After he goes pee pee we go into the kitchen and he gets to place another kitty sticker on his potty chart that we keep on the fridge. He loves kitties and he is thrilled about that. Only twice in the past two weeks he had any accident during his naked time. Once it seemed as if he simply forgot about it all because he started to pee and I said, "Oh, go in the potty baby" and his face lit up like he just remembered about the potty then he ran to it and finished in it. The second time he just didn't make it to the potty quick enough and some got on the carpet right next to the potty seat.

Now, on that note I'd like to talk about diapers. I feel Like I already have, so if this is all repeat news bear with me... I am obsessed.... with cloth diapers. I cannot get enough of them. I love how much money we have saved by not using disposables. I love that we aren't harming the environment. I love that they are more natural and give him less diaper rash. What I haven't done is find the perfect diaper to use and so I have tried quite a few. I still haven't found one and I am hoping to try a few more in the next few months because ideally I would like to find a great diaper before my son gets out of them so that when we have our next child, I will now right away which ones to buy and how many and so on. The trouble with that plan (which is good trouble) is that as with all other things my son is moving along quickly and on his own, so I am worried he might very well be potty trained before my search has ended. But that's OK too, then I wouldn't have to worry about diapers for a while.

We started out with the most popular BumGenius 3.0 One Size. The One size idea is wonderful, however, I learned that after only a few months time (and mostly line drying) that the PUL wore out and they began leaking. I didn't like the idea of the plastic being there to begin with, but then it wasn't even doing it's job so what was really the point? We ended up using some cheapo Gerber plastic pants to hold us over until we bought more cloth diapers. Please do not ever use those. Ew! They were loud, and hard to work with for a toddler, they were plastic obviously, and they made his butt look and feel nasty and huge under all clothing. I will never recommend these.

We finally got in our shipment of new diapers. Kissaluvs unbleached with Bummis Super Snap covers. I quickly threw out the BumGenius pocket diapers (and kept the inserts) and the Gerber pants. Kissaluvs unbleached to require quite a few washing before they reach full absorbency, especially due to the oil in the natural fabric. I like them, one thing to keep in mind with all cloth diapers is that they do not hold as much as a disposable so you HAVE to changed them more often and bring extra clothes in case of leaks. WE are still learning to remember to change them, but I am always carried changes of clothes for our son. The covers work pretty well. They still have plastic, but at this point I cannot afford the natural option of wool. I will soon though. The best part about them is that they snap, and that is a wonderful thing to have around a curious toddler. Almost any mother will tell you about how easily their child can take off a Velcro diaper.

A few weeks later I decided to try gDiapers because I still loved the convenience of disposables for when we went out, and he still needed that extra absorbency for overnight. gDiapers gives you that option without harming the earth. I did fall in love with them right away. I bought a starter kit at Whole Foods and later I found a great gourmet shop on Abbott Kinney that had tried to sell them without much luck and had them all 50% off so I took all they had. That left us with 6 gPants and a lot of inserts plus I bought a case of inserts on eBay. Over the next few weeks and washings I learned what sucked about gDiapers. You can put cloth inserts in them which is wonderful and the cotton babies one size which I had ordered with my Bun Genius fit perfectly in there with the small setting. But, cloth or gDiaper insert, the pad will bunch up in the crotch area and become bunching uncomfortable, plus when they fold like that they are prone to leaks around the legs. My other, and bigger, complaint is that the liners which snap in stretch after only a few washings and they get harder to use. All of this is hard to understand unless you try them and see what I mean. To make that long story short... I fell out of love with them and am looking once more for good cloth diapers. Since we only have 4 Kissaluvs I still use the gDiapers a lot but I really don't like the microfiber inserts we have either.

So..... what I am looking to find is a cloth diaper made of natural materials that absorbs good enough yet isn't too bulky and is fitted with Velcro closure. One Size would be ideal. I want an all natural cover as well, wool is best, that snaps or pulls on and fits very well. I want good absorbency inserts also made of a natural fabric that works with my diaper choice and works overnight as well. What I do not want is PUL. I do not want a pocket diaper. I do not want plastic. I would also prefer a diaper that is all the absorbency in itself and extra pads are only used for longer time periods or overnight. The search continues.....


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