It has been raining quite a bit here lately which means my journey into the backyard entails a slosh through a mudbog. Something I'm trying to avoid at all costs.
Even so, LBG has 4 dipes that are desperately in need of Mother Earth's stain removal services. Since I wasn't about to give myself a mudbath just to lay them out on the platform above our slide, I had to deploy plan Expose-LBG's-Skidmarks-to-the-World. I pulled my bright yellow porch table out into the driveway and percariously arranged the dipes so the sun would hit the stains.
I had hoped LBG and I could sit outside and play in the sun for a little while, but it was a bit chilly and he's outgrown most of his warmer clothing, so we played inside with all the blinds pulled up and the front door open (the storm door was closed.) We all know time flies when you are having fun- and raising a child- so I have no idea how long they were out there, but it was long enough for me to get my sweet little boy down for a nap and fold up a few items of laundry.
I walked outside to check on the status of the stains. I was very much focused on my final destination and when I got there I almost had a heart attack! Someone ran off with two of my diapers!!!!!!!! I find it really hard to believe that someone on my street in the middle of a small town in the mid-south would actually be interested in fluffing their kid's bum. I only know of 4 people cloth diapering people in my area, a mommy friend, two mom's who sold me their stashes, and myself. It's a fair bet to say we are the only 4.
As I slowly come out of my state of shock and see the highschools, just got off the bus, come waltzing down the street- I look around and see on off to the far side of the front yard, mere inches from the street A DIAPER!!!! PHEW, not all is lost in the world. But where in the world is Wonderoo #2? I knew I should get those silly Wonderoos sold. They don't even enjoy living in LBG's diaper pail!
There she was-"she" becuase it's pink and really male babies wear pink diapers occasionally- slowly creeping her way into the neighbor's yard! Thankfully, not the one across the street. Just the one next door, who moved in less than a month ago, under the cover of darkness.
I'm pretty sure Neighbor saw the diaper nearing her property when she was getting her mail. I'm also pretty sure she is now giving me the major side-eye but I don't care becuase I love cloth diapers and I love sharing the love... in a very, very strange sort of way!
Showing posts with label Cloth Diapers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cloth Diapers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
We're Down to a System!
Who would have thought that in just two weeks (one week for The Father,) we'd have our diaper routine down pat?!
First I should speak about our preferences. I love, love, love prefolds. Please don't ask me why, because I have no idea. The Father likes pockets, AIOs, and fitteds. I try to save the AIOs and pockets for use when we are out of the house. When we are out and about for the whole day, disposables are used. I don't have a wet bag nor do I have a diaper bag large enough to carry bottles, formula, a change of clothing or two, 2 pacifiers, a toy or two, my wallet and cell phone, etc... along with 5 fairly bulky diapers. Ain't gunna happen! We also use disposables at night because they last a bit longer and the last thing we want while bleary eyed at 2am is to change a diaper.
So here's how it works. When LBG wakes up for the day, I strap a prefold on him with a snappi along with a cover. When it's time to change, that prefold goes into our trusty Ace Hardware bucket and the cover is laid out to dry (usually they aren't wet at all!) We then use a second cover and will continue to rotate covers for the entire day. Lather, rinse, repeat!
When The Father returns from work and offers to do a diaper change, he usually goes for his favorites. I have no issue with this because he is using cloth and that's all that matters!
As bedtime rolls around, the disposable diaper goes on and the rest of the cloth diapers go to bed for the evening. The two covers are placed in the pail so two fresh ones can be used for the next day. Very rarely do we end up using three covers a day, but occassionally it happens.
I do diaper laundry every other day. I could probably go an extra day, but choose not to. The process is super simple! Everything is dumped into the washer and given a quick rinse with cold water. Then I run a regular wash and rinse cycle *hot/cold* with my cloth diaper detergent- recipe below. Finally, I add a 1/4 cup of vinegar as a softener and give everything one more quick rinse, just in case.
During the warm month, drying will be a bit more fun. I'll be able to hang everything outside! For now, prefolds, inserts, and liners go in the dryer for a little while to get the bulk of the water out. All covers, pockets, and AIOs go straight to our little drying rack. Once the dryer finishes, I add the mostly damp contents to the drying rack!
Morning rolls around and we start the cycle over again! I find a few minutes to stuff the pockets and put away all the cloth. I want to ensure that everything LBG fits is used so I have a system of stacks. All the clean items go to the bottom. That way everything gets used!
Ok, breathe! Did you get all that? Don't worry, neither does The Father. It's ok, we have a mutual agreement that I'm the only one allowed to use our washing machine!
So here is my cloth diaper detergent recipe! I also use it for my towels!
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Oxyclean
Does this remind you of anything?? Hmmmm? It's just like regular laundry detergent minus the soap! Soap can cause build up and then I'd be stuck doing that grueling stripping process all over again! I'm considering add some regular baking soda to the mix but I'm not sure. I haven't had any stink issues as of yet, but if I do, I'm sure some baking soda will help!
First I should speak about our preferences. I love, love, love prefolds. Please don't ask me why, because I have no idea. The Father likes pockets, AIOs, and fitteds. I try to save the AIOs and pockets for use when we are out of the house. When we are out and about for the whole day, disposables are used. I don't have a wet bag nor do I have a diaper bag large enough to carry bottles, formula, a change of clothing or two, 2 pacifiers, a toy or two, my wallet and cell phone, etc... along with 5 fairly bulky diapers. Ain't gunna happen! We also use disposables at night because they last a bit longer and the last thing we want while bleary eyed at 2am is to change a diaper.
So here's how it works. When LBG wakes up for the day, I strap a prefold on him with a snappi along with a cover. When it's time to change, that prefold goes into our trusty Ace Hardware bucket and the cover is laid out to dry (usually they aren't wet at all!) We then use a second cover and will continue to rotate covers for the entire day. Lather, rinse, repeat!
When The Father returns from work and offers to do a diaper change, he usually goes for his favorites. I have no issue with this because he is using cloth and that's all that matters!
As bedtime rolls around, the disposable diaper goes on and the rest of the cloth diapers go to bed for the evening. The two covers are placed in the pail so two fresh ones can be used for the next day. Very rarely do we end up using three covers a day, but occassionally it happens.
I do diaper laundry every other day. I could probably go an extra day, but choose not to. The process is super simple! Everything is dumped into the washer and given a quick rinse with cold water. Then I run a regular wash and rinse cycle *hot/cold* with my cloth diaper detergent- recipe below. Finally, I add a 1/4 cup of vinegar as a softener and give everything one more quick rinse, just in case.
During the warm month, drying will be a bit more fun. I'll be able to hang everything outside! For now, prefolds, inserts, and liners go in the dryer for a little while to get the bulk of the water out. All covers, pockets, and AIOs go straight to our little drying rack. Once the dryer finishes, I add the mostly damp contents to the drying rack!
Morning rolls around and we start the cycle over again! I find a few minutes to stuff the pockets and put away all the cloth. I want to ensure that everything LBG fits is used so I have a system of stacks. All the clean items go to the bottom. That way everything gets used!
Ok, breathe! Did you get all that? Don't worry, neither does The Father. It's ok, we have a mutual agreement that I'm the only one allowed to use our washing machine!
So here is my cloth diaper detergent recipe! I also use it for my towels!
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Oxyclean
Does this remind you of anything?? Hmmmm? It's just like regular laundry detergent minus the soap! Soap can cause build up and then I'd be stuck doing that grueling stripping process all over again! I'm considering add some regular baking soda to the mix but I'm not sure. I haven't had any stink issues as of yet, but if I do, I'm sure some baking soda will help!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
...and you thought stripping was fun!
Today I met with a lady from Craigslist who was selling her cloth diapers. I won't get into all the crazy deets, but long story short:
I went thinking I'd spend $70 and walk away with 4 or so diapers and her Snappis. Yeah after a bit of haggling, I bought her ENTIRE... yes, you hear me right, ENTIRE stash of diapers. I have some Chinese prefolds, some Bum Genius All in Ones, a few Imse Vimse covers, a couple of Bumkins, Wonderoos, a million doublers, some adorable Work at Home Mom diapers, and 2 snappis. Included are 2 diapers with My Little Pony on them. We don't discriminate (we have a pink bottle, too) and the price was right! I think I walked away with 75 items!!!
::stops and catches breath::
All for the amazing $100! The Father and I'd estimated that we'd have to spend $800 on CDs to have enough to last LBGs entire diapering career. I think we may have enough to last us the entire time with our bare bones stash.
Yes, disposables will still be in the drawer for long outings during the day, nighttime, and road trips. They will also be the backups for those times that I just can't get the laundry done.
On to the "fun" project of stripping all the diapers. Stripping is a process in which you remove all the nasty buildup and stink from dingy diapers. You add boiling water to your hot water wash cycle with just a dab of Dawn. Then you do a rinse cycle. Another wash with something amazing called RLR (go buy some now... it's the bee's knees!) and then rinse and rinse and rinse until the water is clear.
Easy.
Yeah, no. 24 rinse cycles later... the inserts, doublers, and prefolds are complete. Now I have to do all the covers, AIOs, Pockets, and WAHMs!!!! Let's hope this isn't the same number. I can see my water bill climbing by the rinse.
I went thinking I'd spend $70 and walk away with 4 or so diapers and her Snappis. Yeah after a bit of haggling, I bought her ENTIRE... yes, you hear me right, ENTIRE stash of diapers. I have some Chinese prefolds, some Bum Genius All in Ones, a few Imse Vimse covers, a couple of Bumkins, Wonderoos, a million doublers, some adorable Work at Home Mom diapers, and 2 snappis. Included are 2 diapers with My Little Pony on them. We don't discriminate (we have a pink bottle, too) and the price was right! I think I walked away with 75 items!!!
::stops and catches breath::
All for the amazing $100! The Father and I'd estimated that we'd have to spend $800 on CDs to have enough to last LBGs entire diapering career. I think we may have enough to last us the entire time with our bare bones stash.
Yes, disposables will still be in the drawer for long outings during the day, nighttime, and road trips. They will also be the backups for those times that I just can't get the laundry done.
On to the "fun" project of stripping all the diapers. Stripping is a process in which you remove all the nasty buildup and stink from dingy diapers. You add boiling water to your hot water wash cycle with just a dab of Dawn. Then you do a rinse cycle. Another wash with something amazing called RLR (go buy some now... it's the bee's knees!) and then rinse and rinse and rinse until the water is clear.
Easy.
Yeah, no. 24 rinse cycles later... the inserts, doublers, and prefolds are complete. Now I have to do all the covers, AIOs, Pockets, and WAHMs!!!! Let's hope this isn't the same number. I can see my water bill climbing by the rinse.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
More Fluff on the Way!
As I've previously mentioned, we are beginning to use cloth diapers. It will be quite a while before we are able to fully switch over, but I'm certain it will happen. LBG might be pushing a year old before we are able to accomplish our feat, but we are trying.
As I said in a previous post, we ordered 4 diapers to start off. We have 3 Thirsties Duo Diapers and 1 Kushies Ultrasomethingorother. We very much like the Thirsties and seriously dislike the Kushies.
The Thirsties are pockets that come with two inserts. One is microfiber and the other a hemp/cotton blend. The two inserts snap together if you'd like to use them that way. You can access the pocket from the front or the back which is cool! They should fit him until he roughly 9 months old!
The Kushies is an All in 2. The attached liner is long enough that you can fold it over if you want to concentrate the coverage. We bought a medium which in theory should fit LBG but in actuality, it goes all the way up to the poor guy's nips! It isn't very absorbent. He soaked through it in about an hour. That is only 15 minutes longer than it took him to soak the Gerber Prefolds!
We now have 4 Bum Genius 3.0s on the way. They are All in 1 so they should be pretty cool. I've seen lots of people recommend them. They should fit him for a good long while since they are fully adjustable! Tuesday, I'm meeting with a mom from Craigslist who's decided to discontinue cloth diapering. I'm sure I'll walk away with some awesome items.
Next on our list is a package of flushable inserts. The Father has requested them in order to attempt to avoid playing in the toilet when LBG decides to "make waste." Once we are in our new home in Nashville, we'll be installing a diaper sprayer as well.
Now, I'm off to stuff the Thirsties and then dream of Sugar Plums dancing in my head.
Good night, my friends!
As I said in a previous post, we ordered 4 diapers to start off. We have 3 Thirsties Duo Diapers and 1 Kushies Ultrasomethingorother. We very much like the Thirsties and seriously dislike the Kushies.
The Thirsties are pockets that come with two inserts. One is microfiber and the other a hemp/cotton blend. The two inserts snap together if you'd like to use them that way. You can access the pocket from the front or the back which is cool! They should fit him until he roughly 9 months old!
The Kushies is an All in 2. The attached liner is long enough that you can fold it over if you want to concentrate the coverage. We bought a medium which in theory should fit LBG but in actuality, it goes all the way up to the poor guy's nips! It isn't very absorbent. He soaked through it in about an hour. That is only 15 minutes longer than it took him to soak the Gerber Prefolds!
We now have 4 Bum Genius 3.0s on the way. They are All in 1 so they should be pretty cool. I've seen lots of people recommend them. They should fit him for a good long while since they are fully adjustable! Tuesday, I'm meeting with a mom from Craigslist who's decided to discontinue cloth diapering. I'm sure I'll walk away with some awesome items.
Next on our list is a package of flushable inserts. The Father has requested them in order to attempt to avoid playing in the toilet when LBG decides to "make waste." Once we are in our new home in Nashville, we'll be installing a diaper sprayer as well.
Now, I'm off to stuff the Thirsties and then dream of Sugar Plums dancing in my head.
Good night, my friends!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
We are taking the plunge...
Into the land of cloth diapering, that is! Yesterday we decided that maybe we should give it a shot. I've been wanting to try but part of convincing myself that we should do it is also convincing The Father. If I could get him to say yes, I'd give it a go.
So, with out further ado, we are off to learn the Good, the Bad, and the Stinky of CDing!!
Yesterday and today we've been using the cheapy Gerber diapers that usually spend their days as our burp cloths. We haven't been disappointed in them which means having good quality ones will be awesome! LBG is now learning what a wet diaper feels like. I'm also learning that he can't go for hours wearing the same one. We've found that he needs a new diaper just about every hour or so right now. I'm sure he might be able to go a little longer when the good ones arrive.
We are doing this project on a budget so I've only ordered 4 diapers. When they are wet/dirty we will use disposables until they are clean. If it works well for a week or so, we will purchase a whole stash and only use our overnight 'sposies at bedtime. I don't want to use the "sink or swim" mentality because it might set us up for failure.
I've read great reviews about Thirsties' new diaper "Duo Diaper." I've ordered 3 of those. They should fit for quite a few months and then we can move up to the second size. I also ordered a Kushies diaper to try. The Father will only go for the Pocket or AIO variety. He doesn't enjoy folding the prefolds we are currently using. I don't' really enjoy folding them either. Like I said before... I HATE folding laundry and this is no exception!
<< Thirsties Duo Diaper
<<Kushies
The Father just uttered words I never in my life thought I'd hear, "I actually like cloth diapering!"
I can't believe my sweet little boy might actually end up with a fluffy bum! I shall keep you posted!
So, with out further ado, we are off to learn the Good, the Bad, and the Stinky of CDing!!
Yesterday and today we've been using the cheapy Gerber diapers that usually spend their days as our burp cloths. We haven't been disappointed in them which means having good quality ones will be awesome! LBG is now learning what a wet diaper feels like. I'm also learning that he can't go for hours wearing the same one. We've found that he needs a new diaper just about every hour or so right now. I'm sure he might be able to go a little longer when the good ones arrive.
We are doing this project on a budget so I've only ordered 4 diapers. When they are wet/dirty we will use disposables until they are clean. If it works well for a week or so, we will purchase a whole stash and only use our overnight 'sposies at bedtime. I don't want to use the "sink or swim" mentality because it might set us up for failure.
I've read great reviews about Thirsties' new diaper "Duo Diaper." I've ordered 3 of those. They should fit for quite a few months and then we can move up to the second size. I also ordered a Kushies diaper to try. The Father will only go for the Pocket or AIO variety. He doesn't enjoy folding the prefolds we are currently using. I don't' really enjoy folding them either. Like I said before... I HATE folding laundry and this is no exception!
<< Thirsties Duo Diaper<<KushiesThe Father just uttered words I never in my life thought I'd hear, "I actually like cloth diapering!"
I can't believe my sweet little boy might actually end up with a fluffy bum! I shall keep you posted!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Oh Man!!! What a day?!
OK, first I'll tell you about Christmas... then you get to hear about today!
Christmas Eve, LBG didn't want to go to sleep. Too bad he isn't old enough to understand that Santa Claus can't come if he isn't asleep. We fought for 2 hours *sigh* until he finally decided it was ok to sleep. The Father and I had already set out our gifts and many had already been opened while the Grandparents were visiting last weekend.
In the morning we opened gifts. I won't list everything... just some highlights:
Now, for today! The Father totally shocked me when he said "Ok, let's give cloth diapers a shot!" I just about fell off the couch! We are buying a few from someone on craigslist and then we will order the rest in January. Right now we are "practicing" with our Gerber burp cloths. So far, no complaints from either party. It can only get better when we buy our better quality stash.
We ran a bunch of errands which included buying the rails for LBG's crib. Now, he will have a full size bed when he is all grown up. We then drove across town to my favorite farm store and purchased a pressure canner! We are making apple butter in the crockpot as we speak and will can it in the morning. This is our practice round for the spring, summer, and fall. Lastly, we continued on to an outdoors store where I purchased 3 containers of redworms. They are now living in our homemade worm bin in the downstairs bathroom. Hope any future guests don't mind climbing the stairs.
In other news, we are still waiting to hear if the bank accepted our offer on the house in Nashville.
All in all, we were busy, but I had a blast.
Christmas Eve, LBG didn't want to go to sleep. Too bad he isn't old enough to understand that Santa Claus can't come if he isn't asleep. We fought for 2 hours *sigh* until he finally decided it was ok to sleep. The Father and I had already set out our gifts and many had already been opened while the Grandparents were visiting last weekend.
In the morning we opened gifts. I won't list everything... just some highlights:
- I recieved 3 stainless steel canteens, a fleece coat, some gift cards, tons of yummy bath supplies, and some coffee.
- The Father recieved 2 books about Nashville, coffee, some gift cards, and some coffee.
- LBG cleaned Santa out recieving some wooden bead toys, unfinished wood car and train waiting for me to paint with milk paint, some wooden puzzles waiting to be painted, new bottles, a jumperoo, some cds, a dvd, and some books.
Now, for today! The Father totally shocked me when he said "Ok, let's give cloth diapers a shot!" I just about fell off the couch! We are buying a few from someone on craigslist and then we will order the rest in January. Right now we are "practicing" with our Gerber burp cloths. So far, no complaints from either party. It can only get better when we buy our better quality stash.
We ran a bunch of errands which included buying the rails for LBG's crib. Now, he will have a full size bed when he is all grown up. We then drove across town to my favorite farm store and purchased a pressure canner! We are making apple butter in the crockpot as we speak and will can it in the morning. This is our practice round for the spring, summer, and fall. Lastly, we continued on to an outdoors store where I purchased 3 containers of redworms. They are now living in our homemade worm bin in the downstairs bathroom. Hope any future guests don't mind climbing the stairs.
In other news, we are still waiting to hear if the bank accepted our offer on the house in Nashville.
All in all, we were busy, but I had a blast.
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