I've become very disheartened and saddened recently by the mothering community. Every time I turn around some one is bad mouthing some one else for their choices as a mother because what they choose to do is different. Friendships are being dissolved over different opinions on co-sleeping or breast feeding. Mothers at each others throats for the mer fact that one chooses to let a baby cry to sleep while the other choose to not too. It seems that we have all forgotten that we are all in this journey of motherhood together.
There is no set guidelines telling us as mothers that we must parent our children a certain way. When we have our children they don't come with instruction manuals. We as mothers rely on our own instincts to raise our children and not every mother will have the same. For one mom her instinct may be nurse a baby every time it cries while another mothers instinct tells her to sooth the crying in other ways. Some mothers choose to breast feed until their children are toddlers others choose not to. some believe in letting the child wean them selves from breast or bottle while others help the weaning along. We choose different paths as mothers because we are different and what works for one might not work well for the other.
To often we condemn each other for our choices as mothers with out really looking at the situations of others. Just because a mother doesn't breast feed her baby doesn't necessarily mean she didn't want too. In some cases that is what happens but it's her right as that childs parent to make the decisions she feels are best for both the child and for her. In other cases there are underlying issues that have happened to cause breast feeding to be impossible. Either way it is wrong and judgmental of any one to condemn a mother for her choice as a parent. Her choice is not your own and doesn't effect your parenting so why fight over it.
It seems like we become so blinded by trying to do the best thing for our own children that we start becoming snobbish towards women who mother differently. We wonder why people don't want to hear our opinions on cloth diapering, co-sleeping or breast feeding. Would you want to listen to some one talk if all they did was ridicule the way you parent and act as though they are so much better than you? Our intentions maybe right but our means of doing so come across as harsh accusations.
Mothering is hard enough with out the judgments of others. We need each other for support and friendship. Even if we don't agree with differences of opinions doesn't mean that we can't support a mother just for being a mother. We all have at least one common goal and that's to raise the best children that we can and to watch them grow into the adults they are meant to be, disposable using or cloth wearing, crib sleeping or co-sleeping, bottle feeding or breast feeding, we all try to raise our babies the best we know how so they can be the best that they can be.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Super easy homemade deodorant
Seriously it is super easy! I started thinking about going more natural with the products I'm using on my body and my kids as well and be a little more frugal. I was kinda scared that the deodorant would be to hard to make or just wouldn't work then I ran across a super easy recipe that the author swore by! So I thought I'd give it a try!
Todays my first day wearing and I'm fairly impressed! I am a sweater....shhhh don't tell anyone....I mean any kind of hot will make me sweat at some point so I was worried that this stuff would come off and I'd be stinky. Now I'm not saying I didn't sweat cause I did but I didn't get stinky!
So here is what you will need to make it -
5-6 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/4 cup of baking soda
1/4 cup of corn starch
A bowl
A spoon
That's it :) seriously easy!
Add the baking soda and corn starch in the bowl and mix it together. Slowly add the coconut oil into the baking soda and corn starch. I added it one tablespoon at a time mixing it in well. Repeat that and stir and mash it in well. When your done your mixture should be the consistency of store bought deodorant. You can either scoop it into an old deodorant container or use a small rubber maid container. I used a small container.
You don't need a lot of it either. I get a small dab on my finger and rub it on. Now it will be a little grainy feeling but after you get it on you really don't feel it any more. If you have some left on your finger you can use it as lotion...gross, not really lol, I have done it today and my hands actually feel a little smoother. I just rub it in and what grainy stuff is left I wipe off with a towel.
This should last for about 3 months with 2 people using it :)
Todays my first day wearing and I'm fairly impressed! I am a sweater....shhhh don't tell anyone....I mean any kind of hot will make me sweat at some point so I was worried that this stuff would come off and I'd be stinky. Now I'm not saying I didn't sweat cause I did but I didn't get stinky!
So here is what you will need to make it -
5-6 tablespoons of coconut oil
1/4 cup of baking soda
1/4 cup of corn starch
A bowl
A spoon
That's it :) seriously easy!
Add the baking soda and corn starch in the bowl and mix it together. Slowly add the coconut oil into the baking soda and corn starch. I added it one tablespoon at a time mixing it in well. Repeat that and stir and mash it in well. When your done your mixture should be the consistency of store bought deodorant. You can either scoop it into an old deodorant container or use a small rubber maid container. I used a small container.
You don't need a lot of it either. I get a small dab on my finger and rub it on. Now it will be a little grainy feeling but after you get it on you really don't feel it any more. If you have some left on your finger you can use it as lotion...gross, not really lol, I have done it today and my hands actually feel a little smoother. I just rub it in and what grainy stuff is left I wipe off with a towel.
This should last for about 3 months with 2 people using it :)
For Mom's Everywhere :)
"A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?' 'Yes,' was his incredulous reply. She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it."
I read the above passage today and it defiantly put a little smile on my face so I thought I would share! I'm sure most of us would love, and possible even have done the same thing before!
I read the above passage today and it defiantly put a little smile on my face so I thought I would share! I'm sure most of us would love, and possible even have done the same thing before!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Prairie wifing it .... sort of
I've decided to becoming a "prairie" wife of sorts. Now I'm not talking all out, no power, no tv, no air conditioner. I'm not that insane...just slightly nuts ;). I've made this choice to cut back a little more on the power we use and to be a little more green. There's just something about hand washing and line drying that makes you feel good...really good, like you're actually doing something that could save the planet while your taking care of your family.
Today was my first day in my "prairie" wife adventures. It's been an interesting day, I've learned a bit today that I plan to you use as I go along my journey. I plan to do this for at least a month so I can get a good idea of how much we'll actual save and to also see how hard it really is to do with 4 kids running around! I love a good challenge :)
Here's how today went! I got 2 loads of laundry done. Yes that rights only 2 but here is why. It's very important that your clothes and/or diapers get wrung out probably or they will seriously take ALL DAY to dry! Hand wringing is not the best way to get this done and today I was hand wringing! To get enough water our for them to dry fast you either need some super human arm strength, a old school hand wringer or the spin cycle of a washing machine! Now all I have is my hands and the spin cycle on my washer, which has nothing prairie like going on for it but I'm going to use it! If you can afford a wringer then by all means hop on that, but they are very expensive and until I can afford one spin cycle it is.
A wash board would probably be a good idea as well but it's not totally necessary. Either way you're going to be working your arms out. A wash board probably makes it a little easier to get stains off. Hand washing it's slightly more difficult but you can use stain removers and if your doing whites toss in some bleach. Also you can rub the stained spot on another portion of clothing or use a scrub brush.
I washed mine by filling up the bath tub with water (hot or cold depending on what was needed) and added soap to the water. It's important to make sure that you get the soap mixed in well with the water. The I added the clothes and got them all under the water and swirled around a bit then I kneaded then like you do bread dough. On a small load it takes about 5 minutes of kneeding the clothes, a large load takes about 10. Then I drain the water then refill it and swish and kneed again to rinse the clothes off. If there seems to be a lot of soap or even some remaining dirt in the water I would do the "rinse cycle" again. I then hand wrung the clothing out and then hung them out to dry.
It wasn't that bad besides trying to wring and dry the clothes. So there for the spin cycle I'll be using. I know, I know, it's not as green or money saving but it's better than using the washer to do it all!
So if you feel like hoping on the crazy train with me feel free or just keep on eye on this blog to see how the ride is going :)
Today was my first day in my "prairie" wife adventures. It's been an interesting day, I've learned a bit today that I plan to you use as I go along my journey. I plan to do this for at least a month so I can get a good idea of how much we'll actual save and to also see how hard it really is to do with 4 kids running around! I love a good challenge :)
Here's how today went! I got 2 loads of laundry done. Yes that rights only 2 but here is why. It's very important that your clothes and/or diapers get wrung out probably or they will seriously take ALL DAY to dry! Hand wringing is not the best way to get this done and today I was hand wringing! To get enough water our for them to dry fast you either need some super human arm strength, a old school hand wringer or the spin cycle of a washing machine! Now all I have is my hands and the spin cycle on my washer, which has nothing prairie like going on for it but I'm going to use it! If you can afford a wringer then by all means hop on that, but they are very expensive and until I can afford one spin cycle it is.
A wash board would probably be a good idea as well but it's not totally necessary. Either way you're going to be working your arms out. A wash board probably makes it a little easier to get stains off. Hand washing it's slightly more difficult but you can use stain removers and if your doing whites toss in some bleach. Also you can rub the stained spot on another portion of clothing or use a scrub brush.
I washed mine by filling up the bath tub with water (hot or cold depending on what was needed) and added soap to the water. It's important to make sure that you get the soap mixed in well with the water. The I added the clothes and got them all under the water and swirled around a bit then I kneaded then like you do bread dough. On a small load it takes about 5 minutes of kneeding the clothes, a large load takes about 10. Then I drain the water then refill it and swish and kneed again to rinse the clothes off. If there seems to be a lot of soap or even some remaining dirt in the water I would do the "rinse cycle" again. I then hand wrung the clothing out and then hung them out to dry.
It wasn't that bad besides trying to wring and dry the clothes. So there for the spin cycle I'll be using. I know, I know, it's not as green or money saving but it's better than using the washer to do it all!
So if you feel like hoping on the crazy train with me feel free or just keep on eye on this blog to see how the ride is going :)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
washing mama cloth.....it's easy peezy lemon squeezy :)
It's fairly easy to care for your mama pads. I'm sure everyone has a different was of doing it, just like we all have our own way of washing our diapers or even our laundry. So I'm going to tell you how I do it and I'm sure you'll find your own washing groove :)
After I use a mama pad, I take it rinse it out as much as I can. Kinda like you would a poo diaper but your just rinsing off and out blood. I try to make sure there's very little left, which maybe the reason I have no stains on my white minky topped ones.
After I rinse them out I put them in an old wipe container and soak them, might be a little redundant being that I do rinse them out but oh well I soak them too. Every time I change into a new pad and place an old one in the wipe container I change the water and add a drop or 2 of tea tree oil.
I wash my pads every day, I only have 5 at the moment so I kind of have too. I think a decent amount of mama cloth to keep your self from washing every day would be about 15 pads. That would leave you doing pads every 2 days. When it's time to wash my pads I do a quick cold rinse then I do a warm/HOT wash with about a tbs of Eco Sprout(same detergent I use on my diapers) then I do a quick rinse again. If I have diapers that need to be washed at the same time I simply throw the pads in with the diapers and wash them with the diapers.
Super simple and nothing overly complex. You don't have to soak or rinse your out you can simple toss them in a wet bag until wash day. I'm a little anal about the pads I guess lol
Mama cloth seems so scary when you're looking into it, just like cloth diapers when you first start looking into those but they are honestly very easy to use and makes for a much better (and I dare say) enjoyable period!
After I use a mama pad, I take it rinse it out as much as I can. Kinda like you would a poo diaper but your just rinsing off and out blood. I try to make sure there's very little left, which maybe the reason I have no stains on my white minky topped ones.
After I rinse them out I put them in an old wipe container and soak them, might be a little redundant being that I do rinse them out but oh well I soak them too. Every time I change into a new pad and place an old one in the wipe container I change the water and add a drop or 2 of tea tree oil.
I wash my pads every day, I only have 5 at the moment so I kind of have too. I think a decent amount of mama cloth to keep your self from washing every day would be about 15 pads. That would leave you doing pads every 2 days. When it's time to wash my pads I do a quick cold rinse then I do a warm/HOT wash with about a tbs of Eco Sprout(same detergent I use on my diapers) then I do a quick rinse again. If I have diapers that need to be washed at the same time I simply throw the pads in with the diapers and wash them with the diapers.
Super simple and nothing overly complex. You don't have to soak or rinse your out you can simple toss them in a wet bag until wash day. I'm a little anal about the pads I guess lol
Mama cloth seems so scary when you're looking into it, just like cloth diapers when you first start looking into those but they are honestly very easy to use and makes for a much better (and I dare say) enjoyable period!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Mama Cloth.....I am totally converted!
Recently I made my very first purchase of mama cloth and I must say that I was very nervous at first. I was taking something that I had been use to for 15+ years and changing it. I was apprehensive, would it leak? would it stand up to my heaviest flow days? Would I have to get up 2 or 3 times at night just to change my pad? Would my sheets and matters be blood splattered in the morning? These are all question that we have asked our selves when we think about switching to mama cloth. I found my answer and couldn't be happier!!
I made my purchase from Cotton Cheeks and got the best costumer services. Maria was very helpful with every thing! She explained the workings of the pads for me and even gave me very detailed instructions on how to clean them. I was so pleasantly surprised that I would have gone back for another purchase just because of the customer services.
Then my beautiful (yes I did just call a menstrual pad beautiful!) mama cloth arrived! They are topped with minky which makes them so soft......don't tell any one but I actually rubbed one on my face! It was brand new at the time so don't get all grossed out on me =) Shortly after receiving them I got the chance to try them out.....now normally I get all "GREAT *insert eye roll here* my stupid period is here" like I am sure we all have at times. However this time was different! I was actually excited (yes I know.... "cant be" right? Well it's true!) I rushed and grabbed my oh so beautiful minky top pads and snapped one on and WOW it felt like heaven! I could barely feel the pad there! It was so incredibly soft! Ya'll know how the disposable pads feel, all paper like and scratchy....BLAH! Well not Cotton cheeks mama cloth! I could hardly believe that something I was going to use for my period could actually be that enjoyable..... I know another word we don't associate with our periods but again IT'S TRUE!!
My first day was a breeze! So much easier than I thought it would be! The major plus side is there were no leaks!! cotton cheeks gives you the option of adding PUL backing to your mama cloth but I choose not too and even with out the PUL I could go for 2 to 3 hours with out leaks!
My first night came and I slept like a baby, as much as a mother of 4 can sleep like a baby. Woke in the morning and guess what...... NO LEAKS!!! Woot woot!!!! Before mama cloth I would wake up at night and have a very soaked pad and have to change it. Just nasty nasty!
Now I know you all have heard that when you use mama cloth you cramp less and I am pretty sure that most of you are thinking that is a load of crock cause I sure did but ...... my cramps were far less than they have ever been while using disposable pads!! I had very slight cramping and then nothing! It was amazing!! My period after my last baby was all crazy it would come and go and come back and stay around for a week. Not fun!! Well I put my mama cloth on and expected to have the same thing happen and it didn't! My period lasted for 3 days and was gone! It never showed it's self again!
Disposable pads have this gawd awful way off folding over and getting stuck to it's self or your leg or your hair and you have to rip it off. You know it hurts to have to rip that stuff off your leg! Not to mention that they can make you so ITCHY!!! I dont know about ya'll but I would get really itchy and almost sore, kinda like having a bad reaction to the pads ( which now that I think about it probably was......)With mama cloth you do not have those problems! You dont get uber itchy or have you pad stick to your butt crack ( you know it happens lol )
Cotton Cheeks has snapped wings to hold the pad in place, as do most other places. The bottom part that lays on the underwear is a beautiful pattern giving you mama cloth a "personality". You seriously cant go wrong with mama cloth.
Now every one told me not to put all my "eggs in one basket" but I am so pleased with Cotton Cheeks that I will be staying with her and buying more from her. Why mess with a good thing right! I totally recommend that you guys go check her out! If she doesn't have what you are looking for email her and she is more than willing to work with you to get you what patterns and colors you. You will not be displeased with her product or her customer services! Cotton Cheeks is a business that truly is the whole package!
If you would like to check her out you can see her on facebook and also her hyena cart
Homespun Lullabies Grand opening and Giveaway
******* CLOSED******* OUR WINNER IS STACY P!!! CONGRATS! You have 48 hours to contact Homespun Lullabies.
I have the very great honor and pleasure to introduce everyone to the brand new WAHM shop Homespun Lullabies. I've had the pleasure of watching her store be brought to life and I couldn't be happier! She has an amazing talent and is now sharing it with the world! She pours love and care into every product she makes and it defiantly shows!
I have the very great honor and pleasure to introduce everyone to the brand new WAHM shop Homespun Lullabies. I've had the pleasure of watching her store be brought to life and I couldn't be happier! She has an amazing talent and is now sharing it with the world! She pours love and care into every product she makes and it defiantly shows!
Her store has some beautiful baby items that you are not going to want to miss out on! Her current items in stock are
- blankets and swaddling blanket sets
- sets of assorted swaddling blankets
- flannel and bubble velour burp cloths
- 10 packs of flannel wipes (girl or boy)
- custom items upon request
You may purchase any of her beautiful items here! You can also stick around for your chance to win!!
GIVEAWAY
Assorted flannel girl wipes
In honor of the grand opening of Homespun Lullabies we are having a GIVEAWAY!!!!!!! In this giveaway you will have the chance to win a 10 pack of assorted flannel cloth wipes in either boy or girl (as shown above and below) !!!!
assorted flannel boy wipes
.
This giveaway will run from today (5/26) to next Thursday (6/2). The winner will be drawn via random.org and will be responsible for contacting Homespun Lullabies with in 48 hours or another winner will be drawn!
How to enter!!
Mandatory
Go to facebook and "like" Homespun Lullabies (please thank her for the giveaway and congratulate her on her grand opening) then fill out this Entry Form. (note. some of the rules have changed. Please make sure you are aware. All entried to this point will be honored by the previous rules.)
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Wild Mountain Mommies Review and Giveaway!
*******CLOSED******* OUR NEW WINNER IS........NUMBER 3, SUSAN R. !!!! Please email me at clothcrusader(at)gmail(dot)com
The very beautiful diaper you see pictured above is a Wild Mountain Mommies diaper. I have been given the opportunity to review this product and couldn't be more excited about it! I have totally fallen in love with the WMM diapers and I totally believe that you will too!
This particular diaper is a pocket diaper made with a flannel outer, a micro-fleece inner and a hidden layer of PUL. The micro-fleece inner is so super soft and great for wicking away the moister from the baby's bottom. The Flannel outside has to be the cutest pattern I've seen in a while, which makes me fall even more in love with this diaper! I mean look at it how could you not absolutely fall in love with it at first glance!
They are sized a little on the bigger sized but that doesn't bother me at all! This diaper can fit my 1 year old 18 pound daughter and my 2 year old 32 pound son!
The above picture is my son (don't tell daddy, lol) who is 2 years old and weighs 32lbs. As you can see it is on the largest setting but he still has room to grow....if he was to actually wear this diaper. Which after putting it on him he insists that it's his "biaper".
So if you have a itty bitty baby like Olivia the baby will have tons of room to grow and even if you have a chunky monkey, like my son, there is still plenty of room to grow!
*I was not given anything in compensation for this review, These are the thoughts and opinions of myself and have not been influenced in anyway.
GIVEAWAY
Extra entires:
Like Wild Mountain Mommies on Facebook , come back and comment with your facebook name
Like The Cloth Crusader on facebook come back comment with your facebook name
This particular diaper is a pocket diaper made with a flannel outer, a micro-fleece inner and a hidden layer of PUL. The micro-fleece inner is so super soft and great for wicking away the moister from the baby's bottom. The Flannel outside has to be the cutest pattern I've seen in a while, which makes me fall even more in love with this diaper! I mean look at it how could you not absolutely fall in love with it at first glance!
They are sized a little on the bigger sized but that doesn't bother me at all! This diaper can fit my 1 year old 18 pound daughter and my 2 year old 32 pound son!
In the above picture the diaper is set to the smallest setting and the tabs pulled across. This is on my 1 yr old 18lbs daughter Olivia
So if you have a itty bitty baby like Olivia the baby will have tons of room to grow and even if you have a chunky monkey, like my son, there is still plenty of room to grow!
As you can see the diaper isn't huge and bulky either. It has a rather trim fit to it and also fits very nicely around the legs and back to help protect from any leakage.
I even gave this diaper a go for an overnight option and I am very pleased to announce that it worked like a charm! Of course I had to double stuff it cause my little peanut is soaks through just about anything at night if I don't. Olivia sleeps at night from anywhere to 10- 12 hours and the WMM diaper with stood the test of time!
As with most diapers there is a little down side to it and that down side here isn't even a big one. It can be a little a hard to stuff on the smallest setting so daddy gives up on stuffing it pretty quick but I'm not bothered by that at all. I will gladly stuff this diaper any day just so my lady bug can rock a super cute tush!
I am a full support of the WMM diapers and suggest them to any one! Cristina, the creator and owner behind this fantastic product is an amazing woman! She's very helpful and takes the time to make sure that all her products meet her standards. She strives to give great customer services which makes this product even more enjoyable!
*I was not given anything in compensation for this review, These are the thoughts and opinions of myself and have not been influenced in anyway.
GIVEAWAY
Cristina has been gracious enough to allow me to offer a giveaway for all you wonderful fluffy lovers. You will be given the chance to win $5 off any hyenacart purchase.
So here's how you enter:
Mandtory entry:
Check the Wild Mountain Mommies hyenacart come back here and tell me which diaper you love and just must have!
Check the Wild Mountain Mommies hyenacart come back here and tell me which diaper you love and just must have!
Extra entires:
Like Wild Mountain Mommies on Facebook , come back and comment with your facebook name
Like The Cloth Crusader on facebook come back comment with your facebook name
Follow The Cloth Crusaders Blog publicly come back and leave your name
This giveaway will run from Saturday April 30th to Sunday May 8th and the winner will be drawn via random.org
This giveaway will run from Saturday April 30th to Sunday May 8th and the winner will be drawn via random.org
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Great Cloth Diaper Change
Today was The Great Cloth Diaper Change and I'm very proud that my self and Olivia took place in this amazing history making event! For those of you who might not know what this was all about, we gathered today to set a world record for the most cloth diapers changed at one time. Not only were there people where I was all changing diapers, there were people globally doing the same thing!
Now I know some of you might be thinking "so what you changed a bunch of diapers, don't you do that every day?" Yes we do do that everyday but today was a special day for all of us cloth loving mommies. Today we were able to take part in something that will forever be apart of history and will also shed some light on cloth diapers in general. All over the world people have been able to speak about cloth diapers on their local news because of this amazing event! Today was a proud day for all us fluffy mamas and a stride to bring cloth back to the norm instead of the feared scary things most people see them as today.
The diapers we used today were Rumpsacks and Wild Mountain Mommies (both can be found on hyenacart.com and also facebook)
Both are pocket diapers and some of my favorites! These diapers are made with a hidden layer of PUL which is a water proof fabric to save the diaper from leaking with a snap enclosure to keep wee little babies from removing their diapers.
If you would like to see some of the pictures taken today you can go to triangle.com and see the professional ones :)
Now I know some of you might be thinking "so what you changed a bunch of diapers, don't you do that every day?" Yes we do do that everyday but today was a special day for all of us cloth loving mommies. Today we were able to take part in something that will forever be apart of history and will also shed some light on cloth diapers in general. All over the world people have been able to speak about cloth diapers on their local news because of this amazing event! Today was a proud day for all us fluffy mamas and a stride to bring cloth back to the norm instead of the feared scary things most people see them as today.
The diapers we used today were Rumpsacks and Wild Mountain Mommies (both can be found on hyenacart.com and also facebook)
Both are pocket diapers and some of my favorites! These diapers are made with a hidden layer of PUL which is a water proof fabric to save the diaper from leaking with a snap enclosure to keep wee little babies from removing their diapers.
If you would like to see some of the pictures taken today you can go to triangle.com and see the professional ones :)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Doable Diapers and their Earth Day Giveaway!!
In honor of Earth Day Doable Diapers is having a wonderful insert giveaway!! One very lucky Doable Diaper reader will win the following:
- 2 Rumparooz 6R microfiber inserts
- 2 FuzziBunz microfiber inserts (choice of small or medium/large)
- 1 Doopsy bamboo/hemp insert
- 2 gauze diaper doublers
- 1 package (contains 6) Cotton Babies stay-dry liners
- 1 Hemp Babies hemp doubler
My personal favorite inserts are bamboo!! So incredably absorbant!
We all know we could use a little more inserts in our lives =) So head on over to Doable Diapers and get in on the giveaway!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Emergency Diapering!
You know it happens from time to time....you run out of your cloth diapers either because you are soaking them or you are at a friends or families house for the day. When that happens you are faced with the choice of buy those nasty disposables or figure something else out!
About 2 weeks ago I was faced with this problem. I had bought some laundry soap, eco sprout, and was doing the soak on my diapers so that we didn't end up with any rashes or irritations. I was giving my peanut a bottle and just new that she would pee all over the place in a matter of minutes if I didn't do something quick. I was getting a little tired of cleaning up pee since she had been chilling in a onesie and no diaper all day to air out a little.
About 2 weeks ago I was faced with this problem. I had bought some laundry soap, eco sprout, and was doing the soak on my diapers so that we didn't end up with any rashes or irritations. I was giving my peanut a bottle and just new that she would pee all over the place in a matter of minutes if I didn't do something quick. I was getting a little tired of cleaning up pee since she had been chilling in a onesie and no diaper all day to air out a little.
Well a while back we had bought a pack of disposables ( shame on us!) and they are still sitting in her room. I keep looking at them and feel just horrible that I was even considering putting that on my baby ( Yes I am that strongly dedicated to not using disposables) Finally when I could not take it any more and just knew that I could not put her in a disposable and feel right about it I pulled out an old shirt and some hair ties and devised my own "handmade" diaper!
I got my old and very well loved Disney Tigger shirt and WA-LA She had a tigger diaper! lol!
You can kinda see Tigger but he's getting a little worn out being that the shirt is like 14 years old....yes I still have clothes I wore 14 years ago and as you can see they are still good use for something!
So don't worry ladies, if you ever get in a pinch and you just really do not want to put your baby in a disposable go grab an old shirt and some hair ties, or some rubber bands and make your own emergency diaper =)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Working on some cool things
I realize that I have not been blogging much recently but I am working on getting some cool and fun stuff for the next month or 2.
We will have a couple of reviews and some fun and fluffy giveaways happening so spread the word and stick around.
I shouldn't be "missing" for much longer :-)
We will have a couple of reviews and some fun and fluffy giveaways happening so spread the word and stick around.
I shouldn't be "missing" for much longer :-)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Attack of the .....SPIDERS!!!
I'm sure you are all wondering what in the hay this has to with cloth...well it does trust me.
I have a terrible fear of spiders, not much freaks me out or scares me but spiders are a totally different story! They can be tiny too and I'll still FREAK OUT! Well I left my diapers out on the line last night cause they weren't quite dry yet, no big deal, right? Wrong!
I went out there and there was a spider chilling on my diapers! My official spider killer (aka my husband) wasn't home so I had no choice but to swat the thing off. So I flicked it and thankfully it didn't do any of that hanging by a web deal and come back at me cause I would have been running screaming like a banshee!
Now bugs seem to be a thing that just kind of happens when you line dry, I had a few "hitchhikers" hanging out on a couple of the diapers. No big deal to at all, but that spider...omg...can't take it, Ya'll!! Wait it gets "better".
So I've taken all my diapers down and brought them inside and go to stuff them. There's no bugs cause I got them all off except the one lone sneaky spider!!!!! O.M.G. I put I spider in the basket with my diapers and carried a spider in to my house!!! The dang thing was a jumper too!! So this is what happened...I picked the diaper up flipped it around and got ready to stuff it, I had my hand in the pocket and that little 8 legged freak came scurrying out and across the diaper! Holy Moley!!! My heart, I swear, it skipped a beat the started racing and I froze! Freaking out! What if that thing gets on my hand or gets on my face?!?! So I go to toss the diaper and smash the spider and it JUMPS!!!! The dang thing jumps and I can't find it!! Nothing freaks me out more than knowing the spider is there some where and I can't find it!! So I'm grabbing everything tossing it aside trying to find the spider but not get it on me and the thing comes running out from under the couch..thankfully I had on shoes so I could stomp on it, if not there's no way I would have touched it!
So this leaves me with a dilemma, do I suck it up and deal with spiders or stop line drying? How in the world can the one thing that terrifies me show up in my diaper, which I love love love! I really don't want to deal with spiders but dang it I want to line dry the diapers...what do I do now?
I have a terrible fear of spiders, not much freaks me out or scares me but spiders are a totally different story! They can be tiny too and I'll still FREAK OUT! Well I left my diapers out on the line last night cause they weren't quite dry yet, no big deal, right? Wrong!
I went out there and there was a spider chilling on my diapers! My official spider killer (aka my husband) wasn't home so I had no choice but to swat the thing off. So I flicked it and thankfully it didn't do any of that hanging by a web deal and come back at me cause I would have been running screaming like a banshee!
Now bugs seem to be a thing that just kind of happens when you line dry, I had a few "hitchhikers" hanging out on a couple of the diapers. No big deal to at all, but that spider...omg...can't take it, Ya'll!! Wait it gets "better".
So I've taken all my diapers down and brought them inside and go to stuff them. There's no bugs cause I got them all off except the one lone sneaky spider!!!!! O.M.G. I put I spider in the basket with my diapers and carried a spider in to my house!!! The dang thing was a jumper too!! So this is what happened...I picked the diaper up flipped it around and got ready to stuff it, I had my hand in the pocket and that little 8 legged freak came scurrying out and across the diaper! Holy Moley!!! My heart, I swear, it skipped a beat the started racing and I froze! Freaking out! What if that thing gets on my hand or gets on my face?!?! So I go to toss the diaper and smash the spider and it JUMPS!!!! The dang thing jumps and I can't find it!! Nothing freaks me out more than knowing the spider is there some where and I can't find it!! So I'm grabbing everything tossing it aside trying to find the spider but not get it on me and the thing comes running out from under the couch..thankfully I had on shoes so I could stomp on it, if not there's no way I would have touched it!
So this leaves me with a dilemma, do I suck it up and deal with spiders or stop line drying? How in the world can the one thing that terrifies me show up in my diaper, which I love love love! I really don't want to deal with spiders but dang it I want to line dry the diapers...what do I do now?
Friday, March 18, 2011
Why Cloth is better and Disposables aren't
First let me start off by saying that every thing you are about to read is my opinions on cloth vs. disposables and also facts taken from The Real Diaper Associations "why choose cloth diapers?" article. I do not in any way look down on people for their choice in using disposables, that is their right to choose. I do however dislike disposable diapers and am very outspoken about it. I will be quoting things from The Real Diaper Associations article, I will not be writing word for word what they have written. Please note that facts are ever changing as more and more people switch to cloth. If you would like to read the full article written please go to http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
Now that we got that out of the way, lets talk about diapers :-)
I have for many years used disposable diapers. If you have read my "about me " you know that I have 4 children and each of them at one point in time have been in disposable diapers. I made the choice to switch to cloth after our 4th baby was born. At that time we would have 3....yes 3 babies in diapers!! Can you imagine how much money would be spend every 2 weeks alone in diapers!! Craziness! According to The Real Diaper Association ( TRDA) the average child in disposables will cost $66 a month....for one child?! We had 3 in diapers!! That would have equaled out to be $198 a month. That's enough money for a power or cable bill or a week almost 2 weeks worth of grocers! Why spend that much money EVER month when you don't have too!!
I know when you look at the price of cloth diapers that you have to pay up front your jaw drops and your sitting there going "No way am I paying that kind of money for diapers!" Well guess what you are! In fact your spending way more than that $300 for that starter kit from kellyscloset.com when you continue to buy disposable diapers over and over and over. In a total of 6 months you have already spent $594 dollars on those disposables you think are cheaper then cloth. On kellyscloset there is a kit of 12 one size diapers for $235. That 12 pack of diapers you can use from the time your baby is born until the time your baby is potty trained. You wont honestly have to buy diapers again unless you really want one too!
If the money saving aspect isn't enough to make you switch lets talk about what's put into them nasty disposables diapers. Let me tell you I had no idea the kinds of nasty chemicals that are put in disposables. The chemicals in disposables, I believe are the reason that my son kept getting rashes, we have not changed his diet since switching him to cloth yet his nasty rashes have gone away completely.
Now I know that this is not true for some people, babies can get rashes in cloth as well! TRDA even says that there is no significant difference in rashes when it comes to cloth vs. disposables, rashes can come from many things from the food they eat to a change in a breastfeeding mothers diet to a chemical rash(cloth diapers have no chemicals).
Ok back on track here, went off on a rash tan git there! Here is a list of the chemicals that are found in disposable diapers
- Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process....this chemical has been listed as the most toxic of cancer linked chemicals
-Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals
-sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. this is the chemical was found to have a risk of toxic shock syndrome by increasing absorbency and improving the environment for the growth of toxin-producing bacteria.
Disposables have also been found to increase scrotal temperature in boys. Prolonged use will blunt or completely wipe out the cooling mechanism that is important for normal Spermatogenesis
~all of the above are facts listed on TDRA's article.
Lets take a look at the environmental side. Did you know that over 92% of disposable diapers in up in landfills? Well they do! Did you also know that on the back of most diaper packages it advices that all fecal matter be rinsed or removed from the disposable diapers BEFORE throwing them away? It does go check it out, I actually found a pack that advised that fecal matter be taken out of the disposable! Who actually does that any way ? I can tell you, no one. If there are actually people out there who do they are very few and very far between.
Now these poo filled diapers, and there's a lot of them, are estimated to sit in our landfills for 200 - 500 years! Kinda gross if you think about it. Diapers that were on your bottom are most likely still sitting in a landfill even though you have been out of them for years! Heck your moms diapers are still sitting in there!
Back in 1988 it took nearly 300 million dollars to discard disposables ANNUALLY! Can you imagine what that must cost us now to do and how much money can be saved by a simple switch to cloth!
If you do use disposables did you know that 50% of your waste in disposable diapers.....seems like a lot to me! Those nasty disposable diapers are the 3rd largest single consumer items in our landfills! Not only do they sit in landfills for decades each year they use over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstock and 20 pounds of chlorine. That's insane!!
Now I know everybody gets all "I don't have time to use cloth, I'm just so busy" ok I can understand how you can see it that way but I'm to busy to have to pack all 4 of my kids up in a car when I'm down to 2 diapers and run to the grocery store to buy diapers. I am dang sure to busy to go to change a babies diaper at 2 in the morning and go "Oh crap that's what I forgot to get today" and have to go to the store! Cloth diapers are so much easier than people think! You never never never run out of diapers when you use cloth! There's no 2am store stops or crazy rush hour traffic runs to the store.
Yea you have to wash them, so what, you find time to wash your clothes right? It's so easy to care for cloth diapers, you rinse wash 2 times and rinse again. Now every one does there washes differently but that is pretty much how I wash mine. Rinse once, wash twice ( one cold, one warm wash) then 2 warm rinses and your done! Throw them in your dryer or hang them on a line! You don't even have to get the pocket diapers that you stuff, you can get a all in one! Those are already stuffed and ready to go! Blissful booty diapers are an amazing all in one!
So lets look really quick at why I believe cloth rules and sposies drool...........
A. cloth actually costs way less!
B. cloth is natural and NOT stuffed full off nasty cancer linked chemicals that can cause hormonal problems and very possibly leave you will no grandkids!
C. cloth diapers can be used over and over and over until they pretty much fall apart and need to be retired, they don't sit in a landfill for 200 - 500 years seeping poo and urine into the ground.
D. My most favorite reason why .....they are just way too darn CUTE and they can teach our kids things that disposables never could and never will .......but reason D. is a topic for another time :-)
Make sure you spread some fluffy love today!
Now that we got that out of the way, lets talk about diapers :-)
I have for many years used disposable diapers. If you have read my "about me " you know that I have 4 children and each of them at one point in time have been in disposable diapers. I made the choice to switch to cloth after our 4th baby was born. At that time we would have 3....yes 3 babies in diapers!! Can you imagine how much money would be spend every 2 weeks alone in diapers!! Craziness! According to The Real Diaper Association ( TRDA) the average child in disposables will cost $66 a month....for one child?! We had 3 in diapers!! That would have equaled out to be $198 a month. That's enough money for a power or cable bill or a week almost 2 weeks worth of grocers! Why spend that much money EVER month when you don't have too!!
I know when you look at the price of cloth diapers that you have to pay up front your jaw drops and your sitting there going "No way am I paying that kind of money for diapers!" Well guess what you are! In fact your spending way more than that $300 for that starter kit from kellyscloset.com when you continue to buy disposable diapers over and over and over. In a total of 6 months you have already spent $594 dollars on those disposables you think are cheaper then cloth. On kellyscloset there is a kit of 12 one size diapers for $235. That 12 pack of diapers you can use from the time your baby is born until the time your baby is potty trained. You wont honestly have to buy diapers again unless you really want one too!
If the money saving aspect isn't enough to make you switch lets talk about what's put into them nasty disposables diapers. Let me tell you I had no idea the kinds of nasty chemicals that are put in disposables. The chemicals in disposables, I believe are the reason that my son kept getting rashes, we have not changed his diet since switching him to cloth yet his nasty rashes have gone away completely.
Now I know that this is not true for some people, babies can get rashes in cloth as well! TRDA even says that there is no significant difference in rashes when it comes to cloth vs. disposables, rashes can come from many things from the food they eat to a change in a breastfeeding mothers diet to a chemical rash(cloth diapers have no chemicals).
Ok back on track here, went off on a rash tan git there! Here is a list of the chemicals that are found in disposable diapers
- Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process....this chemical has been listed as the most toxic of cancer linked chemicals
-Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals
-sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. this is the chemical was found to have a risk of toxic shock syndrome by increasing absorbency and improving the environment for the growth of toxin-producing bacteria.
Disposables have also been found to increase scrotal temperature in boys. Prolonged use will blunt or completely wipe out the cooling mechanism that is important for normal Spermatogenesis
~all of the above are facts listed on TDRA's article.
Lets take a look at the environmental side. Did you know that over 92% of disposable diapers in up in landfills? Well they do! Did you also know that on the back of most diaper packages it advices that all fecal matter be rinsed or removed from the disposable diapers BEFORE throwing them away? It does go check it out, I actually found a pack that advised that fecal matter be taken out of the disposable! Who actually does that any way ? I can tell you, no one. If there are actually people out there who do they are very few and very far between.
Now these poo filled diapers, and there's a lot of them, are estimated to sit in our landfills for 200 - 500 years! Kinda gross if you think about it. Diapers that were on your bottom are most likely still sitting in a landfill even though you have been out of them for years! Heck your moms diapers are still sitting in there!
Back in 1988 it took nearly 300 million dollars to discard disposables ANNUALLY! Can you imagine what that must cost us now to do and how much money can be saved by a simple switch to cloth!
If you do use disposables did you know that 50% of your waste in disposable diapers.....seems like a lot to me! Those nasty disposable diapers are the 3rd largest single consumer items in our landfills! Not only do they sit in landfills for decades each year they use over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstock and 20 pounds of chlorine. That's insane!!
Now I know everybody gets all "I don't have time to use cloth, I'm just so busy" ok I can understand how you can see it that way but I'm to busy to have to pack all 4 of my kids up in a car when I'm down to 2 diapers and run to the grocery store to buy diapers. I am dang sure to busy to go to change a babies diaper at 2 in the morning and go "Oh crap that's what I forgot to get today" and have to go to the store! Cloth diapers are so much easier than people think! You never never never run out of diapers when you use cloth! There's no 2am store stops or crazy rush hour traffic runs to the store.
Yea you have to wash them, so what, you find time to wash your clothes right? It's so easy to care for cloth diapers, you rinse wash 2 times and rinse again. Now every one does there washes differently but that is pretty much how I wash mine. Rinse once, wash twice ( one cold, one warm wash) then 2 warm rinses and your done! Throw them in your dryer or hang them on a line! You don't even have to get the pocket diapers that you stuff, you can get a all in one! Those are already stuffed and ready to go! Blissful booty diapers are an amazing all in one!
So lets look really quick at why I believe cloth rules and sposies drool...........
A. cloth actually costs way less!
B. cloth is natural and NOT stuffed full off nasty cancer linked chemicals that can cause hormonal problems and very possibly leave you will no grandkids!
C. cloth diapers can be used over and over and over until they pretty much fall apart and need to be retired, they don't sit in a landfill for 200 - 500 years seeping poo and urine into the ground.
D. My most favorite reason why .....they are just way too darn CUTE and they can teach our kids things that disposables never could and never will .......but reason D. is a topic for another time :-)
Make sure you spread some fluffy love today!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Husbands and Fluff
When I first brought up that I was actually considering switch to cloth my husband said " that's fine if you want to but I'm not dealing with that, it's gross" I'm sure I am not the only one who's heard that! It seems to be what happens to almost every one who switches. First we have to convince our significant others that switching to cloth is going to be better all around. Then after that we start convincing them that the very adorable minkee diaper with polka dots is an absolute must!
I've noticed that with every one I've talked into...cause they all switch at some point lol...using cloth I hear the same thing "I can't buy those my husband would never let me". The dreaded "husband card" gets played every time with out a doubt! Every time though, the Fluff prevails and husband card is discarded.
But how do we get the hubbies to love fluff just as much as all us fluff addict mommies? For me it fell into place slowly after the switch! At first he was grossed out by poopy diapers, but poo's always grossed him out! However, he started noticing changes in the rashes our 2 year old use to get. Our 2 year old has extremely sensitive skin and he would get horrible rashes in disposables. They would get so bad he would bleed! As soon as we put him in cloth his rashes went away completely! I believe that's what won my husband completely over to cloth.
Now my husband is cloth crazy, maybe not as much as I am but he's still a fluffy lover! He spreads the love all the time now. He's talked to co-works who have just had babies and even to his single childless friends about cloth! We saw a pampers commercial one night that said something a long the lines of needing a good diaper and out of his mouths comes "what you need is a cloth diaper" I've never been so proud, lol.
My suggestion to anyone who's still trying to convert the hubby is to find a diaper system that is easy for him. Something that he's going to fall in love with. My husbands recent new fluffy love is the Blissful Booty AIO and even agreed that we need more of them :) Also make sure that he knows all the facts, I'm constantly finding new info and sharing it with my husband. A great place to find diaper facts is the real diaper association. They have loads on info that's important to know.
The one thing that I can't promise will happen is him taking care of the poo on a diaper. Even with my husband loving cloth he won't spray poo off. So if anyone figures out how to make that happen PLEASE let me know :)
I've noticed that with every one I've talked into...cause they all switch at some point lol...using cloth I hear the same thing "I can't buy those my husband would never let me". The dreaded "husband card" gets played every time with out a doubt! Every time though, the Fluff prevails and husband card is discarded.
But how do we get the hubbies to love fluff just as much as all us fluff addict mommies? For me it fell into place slowly after the switch! At first he was grossed out by poopy diapers, but poo's always grossed him out! However, he started noticing changes in the rashes our 2 year old use to get. Our 2 year old has extremely sensitive skin and he would get horrible rashes in disposables. They would get so bad he would bleed! As soon as we put him in cloth his rashes went away completely! I believe that's what won my husband completely over to cloth.
Now my husband is cloth crazy, maybe not as much as I am but he's still a fluffy lover! He spreads the love all the time now. He's talked to co-works who have just had babies and even to his single childless friends about cloth! We saw a pampers commercial one night that said something a long the lines of needing a good diaper and out of his mouths comes "what you need is a cloth diaper" I've never been so proud, lol.
My suggestion to anyone who's still trying to convert the hubby is to find a diaper system that is easy for him. Something that he's going to fall in love with. My husbands recent new fluffy love is the Blissful Booty AIO and even agreed that we need more of them :) Also make sure that he knows all the facts, I'm constantly finding new info and sharing it with my husband. A great place to find diaper facts is the real diaper association. They have loads on info that's important to know.
The one thing that I can't promise will happen is him taking care of the poo on a diaper. Even with my husband loving cloth he won't spray poo off. So if anyone figures out how to make that happen PLEASE let me know :)
Friday, March 11, 2011
Blissful Booty Cloth Diapers! Review and Giveaway! ~NOW CLOSED~
The Blissful Booty AIO has many amazing things going for it! The one that I love the most is the fact that my duaghter can sleep for 13 hours in this diaper with one extra insert and not leak at all! My pocket diapers have to be at least triple stuffed to go that long and my wee on is a heavy wetter!
This hook and loop closure is my favortie! You know with other diapers they havethe velcro sticking out and it can rub on the babies skin and leave irritated marks. Not with BB's! They are in the fabric not sticking out! The tabs also crossover every easly giving the baby plenty of room to grow and still making the diaper a snug fit! It's laundry tabs are awesome! I've washed this diaper several times and never once has it gotten caught up in a diaper snake! The velcro stays firmly on the tabs.
The BB is one of the softest diapers I have felt besides a minkee! It's made made of no-pill microfleece and is super soft!
My little peanut is in a a size medium diaper (14-23 lbs) and she still has plenty of room to grow into them. She is built a little on the tiny side but she weighs about 18lbs and is almost one.
As you can see it fits snug but not too tight on the back, I have the hook and loop crossed over in the front. The leg's fit her snug but not to tight with plenty of room left her to grow! Look how cute that little peanut is with her BB diaper on and look how much room she has left to grow into it!! 
The BB is also not a huge bulky fluffy diaper either, not that huge fluff is wrong or any thing I have several big fluffy diaper! The BB however is pretty trim but yet it's very leak restant!
Another great thing about the BB is it's awesome for people who might a little scared of cloth! There is no stuffing involved and it seriously goes on just as easy as a pamper or a huggie! Just pull the hook and loop as tight as you need and your done! This is the kind of diaper I need for my mom when she has the kids! No hard to figure out snaps, no inserts to pull out and no stuffing required. Grab the diaper and put it on, that's all you have too do, maybe hold a child still as well if you have a squirmy butt like I do!
You can purchase Blissful Booty AIO's and many other of her products here or you can keep going to enter for your chance to win one!
Giveaway!!!
I have been given the opputinuty by Cathy, the creator of blissful booty, to give away one of the fabulous MUST have diapers! The giveaway will be up for a weeks time, so next friday the 18th, one lucky person will win a Blissful Booty AIO (xs, sm, m, l or xl) in either celery or buttercream.
It's going to be super easy to enter! All I want you is comment below. That's it, you dont have to follow me unless you want to. So comment below and tell me why you would love to win this Blissful Booty for your little one and leave your email address with it!
According to Random.org the winner is.......
NUMBER 18!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS number 18!! I will send you an email and get you hooked up with Cathy, the creator and sponsor of this giveway!
Thank you to all you wonderful Ladies who took part in this giveway and a very HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who choose to follow my blog! Stick around cause there will be more to come :)
If there are any questions feel free to email me at jess(dot)gumble(at)gmail(dot)com
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Giveaway on Adventures of mommies!!
Check them out Cloth lovers!! They are doing a giveaway of a zookies diaper cover! http://adventuresofmommys.blogspot.com/2011/03/giveaway-review-zookies-cover.html
Check out zookies websit and look at what they have! The have some very cute stuff!!
http://www.zookiescrafts.com/
Right now there are low enteries so get on it Ya'll!! There are several different ways to enter as well!! GOOOOOO
Check out zookies websit and look at what they have! The have some very cute stuff!!
http://www.zookiescrafts.com/
Right now there are low enteries so get on it Ya'll!! There are several different ways to enter as well!! GOOOOOO
Monday, March 7, 2011
Line drying diapers ROCKS!
It was raining on Sunday so....TADA....clothesline in the garage! Even without the beautiful outside background they still look so pretty dont they! LOL!
Every time I walked in to the garage I got the smell of freshly laundered diapers! It was glorious! Plus there was no velcro snake! You know what I am talking about. You pull your diapers out the dryer and 5 of them are all stuck together and some are harder to pull of than others cause they have a different hook and loop closure. It can be disastrous to the diapers and the velcro!
My indoor clothesline full of fluff gave me the ultimate feeling of crunchiness which got me thinking, why not have a clothesline at my house! I see a project for the hubby coming on!
Just think, if we put a clothesline I can save more money, at least on days when it's not raining, and get a little greener in doing so! It'll help keep stains down too, since sun bleachs them out! My PUL wont melt off my diapers either! Thankfully I've not had that happen, but I've read of it happening and would like to avoid that as much as possible! Plus no nasty velcro snake ruining diapers before their time!
I don't know what it is about being a "Prairie" wife but it really does make you feel pretty dang good!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
DIAPER STASH!!!!!!
All you cloth loving mommies know you have one and one of your favorite things to do is........ SHOW IT OFF!! I know I love love love to show mine off! I will get almost all of my, ummm my daughters, diapers washed, dried and stuff then I'll stack them all pretty and take pictures! Lets not forget the modeling pictures that I must have of my daughter in all over her new diapers! Yup I'm crazy about cloth, don't deny it, you've caught fluffy fever too ;-D
So what's in your stash?? I have Bumgenius, Happy Heinys, Ebber Deeber, Rumpsacks, kissa fitteds, Pouponds, Thirsties Duo Wrap , and a blissful booty AIO !
The above are my recent Ebber Deeber buys! I love these diapers! They are so cute! The inside are pink minky, which as you know is super soft!
My newest purchase of beautiful Rumpsacks! These are medium in size and baby O is still snapped in on the smallest setting. She's 11 months old too! They fit great and are super cute! They are saved the day from mass blow outs as well!
This beautiful present, I won on a giveaway. This as you can see is a blissfulbooty AIO! Which I am so in love with!! The inside is uber soft and it has elastic at the front and gusses in the legs for extra leak protection and the coolest thing....it drys just as fast as my pockets!
I could definitely keep going but these here are some of my most favorite out of my stash. So please do share, what's your favorite diaper(s) out of your stash?
So what's in your stash?? I have Bumgenius, Happy Heinys, Ebber Deeber, Rumpsacks, kissa fitteds, Pouponds, Thirsties Duo Wrap , and a blissful booty AIO !
There is about 32 diapers total to my stash so far. I have the need for more. Maybe "need" isn't actual the right word to use since the ones I do have work great and serve the purpose I need them too and I don't have to wash them every day. As I have stated before cloth diapers are ADDICTIVE!!
I could definitely keep going but these here are some of my most favorite out of my stash. So please do share, what's your favorite diaper(s) out of your stash?
An absolute MUST.....
So I've never traveled away from our house for more than a day, leave in the morning come home that night, with our cloth so I've never had the need to use liners. At home I have one of those detachable shower heads so I dump what I can in the toilet and rinse what can't be dumped off with the shower head.
Well I don't have liners and my moms house lacks a detachable shower head! As you can very well imagine last nights poo clean-up detail was a wee bit of a challenge for me. As you all know poos don't always come out solid and yesterday happened to be an un-solid day. So no dump and done going on for me. I tried to scrap, which really didn't do much but smooch it down. So I thought maybe I could use the shower head. Yea that was a big fat NO! It was a mess! I ended up having to clean out the shower when I was done! It was horrible! Detachable shower heads are easy you just rinse the tub too, well not with a standard shower head! I'm pretty sure you get the picture.
I was thinking while I was cleaning up the mess that when traveling it's pretty much a necessity to have liners for your diapers! My problem is I have no liners! However what I do have is...extra inserts! So I decided to make the rest of my stay here a little less challenging and stuck an extra liner in Olivias Ebber Deeber minky diaper today.
Now for some reason, most likely the comfy factor that minky brings, these are O's favorite diapers to poop in! Sure enough right at nap time I changed her and ...... surprise.... she'd poop!
It was so insanely easy to clean up!! I just took the insert out of the diaper, which had all the poo on it, and shock the poo off the insert and into the toilet! The diaper needed no rinsing what so ever!
So if you're in a pinch and you have forgotten your liners or maybe you don't have any yet, like myself, and your looking to make your diaper cleaning a little easier and less messy when your away from home with out your diaper sprayers, take some extra inserts!
Well I don't have liners and my moms house lacks a detachable shower head! As you can very well imagine last nights poo clean-up detail was a wee bit of a challenge for me. As you all know poos don't always come out solid and yesterday happened to be an un-solid day. So no dump and done going on for me. I tried to scrap, which really didn't do much but smooch it down. So I thought maybe I could use the shower head. Yea that was a big fat NO! It was a mess! I ended up having to clean out the shower when I was done! It was horrible! Detachable shower heads are easy you just rinse the tub too, well not with a standard shower head! I'm pretty sure you get the picture.
Now for some reason, most likely the comfy factor that minky brings, these are O's favorite diapers to poop in! Sure enough right at nap time I changed her and ...... surprise.... she'd poop!
It was so insanely easy to clean up!! I just took the insert out of the diaper, which had all the poo on it, and shock the poo off the insert and into the toilet! The diaper needed no rinsing what so ever!
So if you're in a pinch and you have forgotten your liners or maybe you don't have any yet, like myself, and your looking to make your diaper cleaning a little easier and less messy when your away from home with out your diaper sprayers, take some extra inserts!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Traveling with cloth!
This weekend we are house sitting for my mom and have brought our cloth with us. I'm very against using disposables now and refuse to switch just for a weekend. Thankfully for me, I have a very wonderful mother who doesn't mind that I use her washer and is in no way freaked out about me washing the diapers in her washer. I think it might help that she actual had to take over cloth diaper duty for a week for me once. So she knows the in and outs of how cleaning a cloth diaper works.
All 28 of the clean diapers fit! Now I would love to have a dry bag to put all my clean diapers in to travel with but if you dont have one you make due with what you have, right? So we did! I am also pleased to say that even after being set up right in the back of the van and driving down roads, turning sharp corners and what not, every single diaper stayed right where it was! Good job suite case on keeping things is place!!
Anywho, We have traveled with our cloth today using a suite case. We dont have a dry/wet bag so a suite case is the best that we could do and it works great, actually!
That is how we started out packing them. They all went into the actual suite case and as you can see left no room for any clothes!
So out with another suite case? Nope, not on my very smart and inovative 3 year olds watch! He is a very smart little cookie and suggested that daddy put the diapers in the mesh part of the suite case!
All 28 of the clean diapers fit! Now I would love to have a dry bag to put all my clean diapers in to travel with but if you dont have one you make due with what you have, right? So we did! I am also pleased to say that even after being set up right in the back of the van and driving down roads, turning sharp corners and what not, every single diaper stayed right where it was! Good job suite case on keeping things is place!! 
For those of you wondering what I'm doing with all the dirty diapers since I dont have a wet bag..... I have brought my pail and pail liner with me!
Yes I am that strongly dedicated to my cloth diapers!!
So here is my question for you guys, what is your favorite wet/dry bag? Which one would you most recommend for travel to any one? Not even just for travel but for the house as well? I would love to get some and try them out!
Friday, March 4, 2011
How this crazy cloth addiction began!
Every body always wonders what makes a person switch to cloth. Where you cloth diapered a child? What would make you wanna clean dirty diapers? Well for us at first it was the money saving aspect. We had 3 in diapers in a one income based family! Talk about needing to save money! I had heard friends talking about cloth diaper " oh they are great, you save a bunch of money" "no nasty rashes and blow outs don't happen!"
Honestly at first I thought they were all nuts and I told them so! My first reaction to cloth was "That is just gross!" What I pictured cloth diapers as was the old prefold with the pins no leak proof anything, having to hand wash poop off of everything...gross! However cloth has come so far in the past several years! I clearly wasn't very educated about it. I realize this now then I really didn't care.
So I started seeing pictures of all these adorable cute fluffy diapers! Which got me thinking, maybe this isn't that bad, maybe I should at least just try it out and see if I like it. After it would save us tons of money, since we were having to buy diapers every 2 weeks for 3 kids! I started asking questions and getting answers, I have an amazing set of friends who cloth diaper and were more than willing to fill me in on things like washing them and how easy they actually are to use.
After talking to the hubby and debating with my self a bit I decided to jump into the deep and see if I could swim. What I found was I could swim and I dang sure like swimming! Cloth was so easy to me!!! The laundry wasn't bad, which was a major plus! I have 6 people I have to wash clothes for so I was kinda freaking out about adding diaper but it was honestly not bad! Plus my son, who had horrible rashes in disposables stopped getting rashes! I honestly never worried about the diapers leaving my washer gross cause lets face it kids get dirty and boys get really dirty and if my washer is still clean after their messy clothes it's gonna stay clean with diapers too! He would get them so bad in disposables his poor little butt cheeks would bleed. As soon as he got into cloth NO MORE RASHES!! Just like that! I was amazed! Even better than no rashes, yep there's better, all 3 of my kids in diapers could wear the same one! Just adjust the rise setting and BOOM the 12lbs baby can fit into the diaper the 25lbs toddler was wearing 2 days before!!
The one thing I was not banking on was....how ADDICTIVE they are!!!
Unless you use cloth, right now you're thinking I'm totally wacked! Addictive?! How the heck can a diaper you put on a babies butt, that gets peed and pooped in be addictive?! Let me tell you how ;) First you start with you're small stash of diapers, I had 12 to begin. Then you want to get more so you don't have to wash so much, so you start searching. When you start you find that there is a HUGE world of cloth out there and OMG some the dang cutest diapers you will ever see! And ladies and gentlemen that's when it happens. The moment the words "omg that's so cute, I want that" you have been snagged and drug into the addiction of cloth diapers! Now you want every cute diaper you see and you will do just about anything to get it! You don't stop looking either, you will look everyday at first at every site you can find that ha cloth! When you find a new site you get all excited and will comb over and drool about all the cute fluff! When your fluffy mail comes it's like christmas! You can't wait to rip into the package, some times you don't make it down your driveway or you book it running inside so you can open it!
Like I said when I started out I started with 12 and now close to 40! Yes, I want more and I plan on getting more :) And this is how I became the crazy cloth lover I am today..
Honestly at first I thought they were all nuts and I told them so! My first reaction to cloth was "That is just gross!" What I pictured cloth diapers as was the old prefold with the pins no leak proof anything, having to hand wash poop off of everything...gross! However cloth has come so far in the past several years! I clearly wasn't very educated about it. I realize this now then I really didn't care.
So I started seeing pictures of all these adorable cute fluffy diapers! Which got me thinking, maybe this isn't that bad, maybe I should at least just try it out and see if I like it. After it would save us tons of money, since we were having to buy diapers every 2 weeks for 3 kids! I started asking questions and getting answers, I have an amazing set of friends who cloth diaper and were more than willing to fill me in on things like washing them and how easy they actually are to use.
After talking to the hubby and debating with my self a bit I decided to jump into the deep and see if I could swim. What I found was I could swim and I dang sure like swimming! Cloth was so easy to me!!! The laundry wasn't bad, which was a major plus! I have 6 people I have to wash clothes for so I was kinda freaking out about adding diaper but it was honestly not bad! Plus my son, who had horrible rashes in disposables stopped getting rashes! I honestly never worried about the diapers leaving my washer gross cause lets face it kids get dirty and boys get really dirty and if my washer is still clean after their messy clothes it's gonna stay clean with diapers too! He would get them so bad in disposables his poor little butt cheeks would bleed. As soon as he got into cloth NO MORE RASHES!! Just like that! I was amazed! Even better than no rashes, yep there's better, all 3 of my kids in diapers could wear the same one! Just adjust the rise setting and BOOM the 12lbs baby can fit into the diaper the 25lbs toddler was wearing 2 days before!!
The one thing I was not banking on was....how ADDICTIVE they are!!!
Unless you use cloth, right now you're thinking I'm totally wacked! Addictive?! How the heck can a diaper you put on a babies butt, that gets peed and pooped in be addictive?! Let me tell you how ;) First you start with you're small stash of diapers, I had 12 to begin. Then you want to get more so you don't have to wash so much, so you start searching. When you start you find that there is a HUGE world of cloth out there and OMG some the dang cutest diapers you will ever see! And ladies and gentlemen that's when it happens. The moment the words "omg that's so cute, I want that" you have been snagged and drug into the addiction of cloth diapers! Now you want every cute diaper you see and you will do just about anything to get it! You don't stop looking either, you will look everyday at first at every site you can find that ha cloth! When you find a new site you get all excited and will comb over and drool about all the cute fluff! When your fluffy mail comes it's like christmas! You can't wait to rip into the package, some times you don't make it down your driveway or you book it running inside so you can open it!
Like I said when I started out I started with 12 and now close to 40! Yes, I want more and I plan on getting more :) And this is how I became the crazy cloth lover I am today..
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