I'm Back! Discussion of Diapers I have used for my Newborn.

     Well it has definitely been awhile since my last post.  Above is a picture of my little guy, Matthew on the day we left the hospital.  He is sporting a newborn cloth diaper cover and a pre-fold.  He will be four months old next week, and my little girl will be 2 and a half years old in three days.
     I apologize for the length of time since my last post.  Becoming a parent of two little ones was a bit more of a shock than I anticipated, but we are all finally settling into a nice routine.   My daughter is still in diapers.  I have been trying to potty train her for six months now, and it has been a nightmare, especially with the added challenge of caring for a new baby.  She will pee on the potty when she feels like it, but I cannot get her to poop on the potty, she seems afraid too, so I have no idea how long this potty training thing will continue.  So now I have two kids in diapers.  I will have so much more of a stash available to me for Matthew once I finally get Anne trained, and I will have to do laundry so much less often, but for now we are washing every other day.  I have about 20 diapers that are just infant sized (10-22 lbs) and a ton of diapers that are one sized...so I am keeping the infant size ones for Matthew and the one size ones for Anne, just for ease of keeping track of who is using what, and it helps keep better track of when I have to wash.
     I had a great stash of diapers when Matthew was born, but not a good stash of newborn stuff, so I had to wash more often to exclusively cloth diaper, but that only lasted a short time and now we are golden.  Matthew was 8lbs 12oz at birth and 8lbs 2 oz when we came home from the hospital four days later.  Initially I was worried about cloth diapers and the umbilical cord stump, it turns out I was right to be concerned, as his stump did not fall off until he was 19 days old!  My diaper of choice is always the pocket, those are my favorites and I use a mix of BumGenius, Pouponds and Kawaii diapers, as well as Kushies all in one diapers (which I absolutely love).  I have 10 infant size Kushies and 10 toddler size Kushies.
     For my newborn I had to take a different approach though.  I found with my daughter that even the one size pockets were just too big initially.  They didn't comfortably fit her until she was about 10 lbs.  I never had enough newborn size diapers to fit her when she was small and alternated between cloth and disposables for the first couple of months.  I vowed I would not do this with Matthew.  For him I used a mix of fitted diapers, pre-folds and covers.  I had four Bummis Super Whisper Wrap newborn covers.  Those I absolutely loved.  They are curved across the front to protect the umbilical stump.  I also had three other borrowed, no name newborn covers that also had a curve in the front for the stump.  Inside the covers I used Kissaluvs Size 0 fitted diapers.  I love these.  They fasten by snap and have an extra snap that you can snap down, also to protect the umbilical stump.  I only had six of them but borrowed 18 more from a friend and had a great newborn stash because of this.  This is a great solution to the problem of not having enough diapers for the tiny newborn stage.   If you have friends that also cloth diaper borrow diapers back and forth.  It takes forever for newborn diapers to wear out because you only use them for a couple of months anyway.  I also just tri-folded newborn size pre-folds inside the covers as well.
    My biggest issue with diapering the newborn was not having enough covers.  The additional three covers that I borrowed my son outgrew pretty quickly, and they leaked almost every time so I was only getting one use out of them.  So I mostly just had the four newborn covers and a baby with a stump until he was 19 days old.  I have 6 Size Small Bummis Whisper Wrap Covers too.  These fit him pretty well even when he was tiny, but would go up over his stump.  So I ended up only using these as emergency back ups until his stump fell off.  I just folded the cover down across the front and put the newborn covers in the wash.  Once his stump fell off I was able to use both the newborn covers and the size small covers, so I was in much better shape.  He was also big enough at that time to add my six Fuzzi Bunz size smalls into the mix.  Once he hit about 12 lbs I was able to add my Kawaii and Kushies infant size diapers into the mix as well.  So right now he has outgrown the newborn size covers, but we are still using the Bummis Small Size Covers with the Kissaluvs, as well as the Fuzzibunz and the Kawaii and Kushies diapers.
   In summary I have to say that I love the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap covers...they absolutely never leak, unless you don't have the fitted or pre-fold tucked in all the way under the cover.  If I was to do the newborn thing again (which I am not planning on doing) I would definitely buy at least four more newborn size Bummis Covers.  I had 8 pound babies, but they wore the newborn covers for over two months.  People with smaller babes will be able to use them much longer.  They are really a great inexpensive option for the newborn phase because the one size diapers really don't fit right until the babies are at least 10-12 pounds.  Most of them say that they are for babies 10-35 pounds and I would say that is pretty accurate.  My daughter is 27 lbs now and is still doing fine with the one size diapers.  I am really going to try to get back on track with more diaper reviews and more regular blog posts on other topics that I am passionate about now that I am settling into a good routine with my two babes.  Merry Christmas everyone :o)

What about the cost?

She really was laughing in this picture!  This is my daughter thoroughly enjoying her organic Stonyfield YoBaby Yogurt!

I have been having a lot of thoughts lately about what I wanted to say in this post.  My intention is never to offend anyone when I share my thoughts about food and what I feed my family.  When I try to explain things, I always try to remember that a year ago, I was clueless about what was in the food I eat, and about how the animals and workers that produce much of this food are treated, and about what lots of this food does to our bodies.  I chose to educate myself, and made radical changes to our diets.  There are many people in my life, that are very close to me, who think that I am nuts.   That can be hard for me because when I share with them things that I have learned, I am doing so out of concern for their health.  I don't expect to convert them to my way of thinking, but there are sometimes simple things that they can do that would help specific health issues.  For example, cutting back on processed foods (which are full of sodium usually) can have a big impact on someone with high blood pressure.  But that isn't really the point of what I am trying to say here today, it is just part of the thoughts that are in my head.

Today I want to talk about the cost of food, because, let's face it, food is really expensive, whether you are buying it in the grocery store or out at a restaurant.  I feel this cost very keenly every time I go to the grocery store, because I never have enough to shop the way I would really like to, so every shopping trip is full of choices, but the important choices are always made before I even leave the house.  My choices are never based on how much food costs, but about what is in or more importantly, not in the food itself. 

Meat is one of the most expensive products that many families buy.  This is the purchase that scares me the most.  If someone tells me that the meat they paid 99 cents a pound for the chicken they had for dinner, it makes me cringe a bit.  That kind of news used to excite me, but now that I know the truth, it doesn't excite me anymore.  There are more costs in life than what the food actually costs to buy.  What about the cost of what the food can do to when you eat it?  What about the cost to the animals and people that produce the food?

The vast majority of meats sold in this country are factory farmed meats.  Not only are the animals raised in horrible, inhumane conditions, but what they are fed is pretty atrocious too.  Cows, pigs and chickens are vegetarians.  Yet in factory farms they are fed byproducts from other animals that have been slaughtered.  They get to eat the parts of the animals that aren't edible for humans...but we end up eating them anyway, because we eat the animals that have consumed them. These animals are given antibiotics to keep them from getting sick in the horrible conditions that they are raised in, they are given hormones to increase their growth rates, and at least the chickens have been genetically modified to grow faster and produce more breast meat.  The conditions these animals are raised in are so disgusting that the animals are led to slaughter covered in feces, and at least the beef meat is washed in an ammonia solution to help kill the bacteria that is left in the meat after the animals are killed. Then there is the cruelty that is endured by these poor creatures.  I can't even really talk about that, it brings me to tears every time I think about it.  That is what 99 cents a pound really costs.

Meat costs a lot, especially the meat I buy.  So we eat less of it now.  We go meatless three or four dinners a week.  The last time I bought chicken breast it cost me $5.99 a pound.  It was Nature's Place brand from Hannaford.  This chicken is vegetarian fed, antibiotic and hormone free, and most importantly Humane Certified by the Humane Society.  Factory Farms do not let the Humane Society have access to the conditions that their animals are raised in.  The meat that I buy is not organic, organic meat is really hard to find in the choices of places that I have to shop.  The only thing that would make it organic would be if the animals were fed an organic, vegetarian diet.  But the choice that I make in my meat purchases definitely eliminates much of the not good stuff that is in most of the meat that is purchased in supermarkets.  Most of the meat that I buy is chicken, occasionally I will buy pork or ground turkey.  Ground beef is a really rare purchase for us, I usually substitute ground turkey, which is just as good if not better in most recipes.  Hannaford does carry Nature's Place meats in all of these categories.  Buying a whole Nature's Place Chicken is usually considerably cheaper than buying parts of the chicken, so I try to do that whenever I can.  I can usually get 2-3 meals out of a whole 4-5 pound chicken.

I have also struggled with choices of dairy products.  I will only buy eggs that are Free Range and Humane Certified.  Egg laying hens are often kept in horrible, inhumane conditions just like meat producing chickens.  I usually buy Nellie's Eggs from Hannaford.  That leaves me with milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream...all staples in my diet.  Initially I did not realize how horribly dairy cows are treated.  I feel that if I am too lazy about what dairy products I buy, I can be contributing to the inhumane treatment of dairy cows.  I love milk, cheese and ice cream, and therefore really appreciate the cows that produce the milk to make these products.  One of the huge issues with dairy products are the antibiotics and hormones given to the cows to make them produce more milk.  I do not want my family ingesting these antibiotics and hormones, so I buy dairy products that state on the label that they do not contain antibiotics or artificial growth hormones.  I also want the animals to be treated well.  I like cows!  So many dairy farms are gigantic, the animals cannot possible be treated in the way that they should be.  And I have been horrified by videos I have seen of overcrowded conditions, and most especially the treatment of the calves.  I have done a lot of research and only buy the majority of my dairy from companies that get their milk from small farmers that have less cows that they respect and treat like family.  Stonyfield and Organic Valley are my favorites.  They are larger companies made up of co-ops of small farmers from all over the country.  My daughter loves her Stonyfield Yogurt.  And for someone on a tight budget like me, Stonyfield is one of the few companies that produce organic dairy products and a constant supply of coupons.  Even though the products cost more, I am able to save money with the coupons that I can use for nearly every purchase.

Cheese and Ice Cream have been a little more difficult for me to make choices on.  I can't always be as sure where the milk is coming from, but I try to find cheeses that say that they are hormone and antibiotic free.  Hannaford does carry some organic cheeses and also some block cheeses that state on the label that they are hormone and antibiotic free.  I do like to buy American cheese occasionally as well as shredded cheeses (much easier for some recipes).  These types of cheeses are never labelled hormone or antibiotic free.  I have tried researching online to find brands that say that they are, but with not much luck.  This frustrated me for months.  Organic Valley does make some shredded cheeses, but they are really expensive and Hannaford does not carry them, so I would have to make a separate trip to another store to get some.  Then one day when I was at Target, (which I go to at least once a week), I realized that I had finally found a brand of cheese labelled antibiotic and hormone free, Target's own Market Pantry brand.  For a very reasonable cost I am now able to get shredded and American cheese at a price I can afford.  It isn't organic, but what is most important to me is that we are not ingesting the antibiotics and hormones.  I have had the same struggle with ice cream, it is difficult to find brands that are hormone and antibiotic free...but now I have at least two choices, Ben and Jerry's (check out their website, they are doing lots of stuff for sustainability) and Hannaford's Nature's place brand. 

We don't eat organic and natural or humane certified all the time.  We still eat at other peoples' houses and we do go out to eat, and sometimes I don't always feel good about it, but I know that the changes that I have made will and are having an impact on our overall health.   Grocery shopping is expensive.  I have to make a menu for the week and a careful list before I go shopping to make sure that we have enough healthy food to get us through the week without breaking the bank.  Some weeks are more challenging than others, but I have come to the conclusion that the money that we spend on food is certainly not the highest cost that we could be paying.  The choices that we make in the food and other products that we buy have a direct effect on our health, on the environment, and on people and animals all over the world.  I have changed my food choices yes, but I feel that I have a long way to go with other products that I buy for my family and energy that we use.  It is important to remember that monetary cost is never the only cost to consider.

Ready for Number Two!

Changing Table all Prepped with my Newborn Diapers on the Top shelf and Toddler Diapers on the bottom shelf, with a few backups tucked underneath....just in case!

So things have been a bit crazy lately.  I have had every intention of posting more reviews on the diapers that I use every day, but frankly, I am pretty tired, and have spent most of my time trying to get things ready for the arrival of our son.  I am 35 weeks pregnant today, and thought that in celebration, I should write a blog entry, because who knows if I will be able to get another one in before Matthew arrives.

This pregnancy has been an easy one, just like my first, so I can't really complain, I have just been really tired lately and never feel like I get enough sleep.  Between the several trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and the waking up and not being able to go back to sleep, I start the day feeling pretty exhausted.  The biggest difference between this pregnancy and my last, is that I never seem to be able to get a long enough nap in during the day.  I am lucky if I get 20 minutes while my two year old is sleeping.  You get much longer naps when you don't have another kid to chase around :o)

I would like to do more blog posts, but have been mostly focused on getting through the days and getting everything ready for baby.  I have also been really trying to enjoy one on one time with my daughter while I can.  We have also been doing lots of play dates to help the days go by faster.  We have also been working a bit on a relaxed version of potty training.  I started out determined to completely train her, but it was too stressful for both of us.  I wanted to have her trained before the baby came, but realized that wasn't as important as I originally thought.  She has the general idea...and goes a few times a day.  I will try another full throttle approach this fall, after the baby comes and has been here for a while.

We have also spent lots of time talking about Baby Matthew and getting all his things ready.  All the baby stuff is out now, all his clothes are washed and in the dresser.  The hospital bags are mostly packed, I just have to add a few more things.  And of course...all of his cloth diapers are prepped and ready to go...as you can see from the picture.  I have plenty of one size diapers and 10-22 lb size diapers...but I didn't really have enough newborn diapers.  With my daughter I didn't start exclusively using cloth until she was about 10-12 lbs.  I just didn't have enough small diapers, and the one size ones didn't fit her teeny waist.  I am determined to only use cloth with Matthew, so I purchased some more pre-folds and a couple of covers, and have borrowed some covers and a ton of Kissaluvs Size 0 from a friend.  So we are in good shape.   One criticism that I have heard from people regarding cloth is that they cost too much.  I spent probably about $400 on diapers for my daughter, mostly because I tried different kinds out, and I didn't really know what to buy at first.  If I had known more I probably would have purchased more one size diapers.  But still, $400 is nothing compared to the $1600-$2000 that most people spend on diapering one child...and what the criticizers fail to mention or realize...is that cloth diapers can be reused for child after child.  I might have spent $400 for diapers for my daughter...but for my son I spent $13 on some used newborn size diapers, borrowed some from a friend...and will not have to spend another penny from birth to potty training on diapers for him.  In fact some people asked me if I wanted to have a baby shower for my son, and I said no, because I really don't need anything.  We bought a couple of things that we needed that were pretty minor, and that was it.  Several people have given us like new boy clothes and all the general stuff that we used for our daughter was gender neutral.  To me it is silly to spend tons of money on baby clothes, when you can get stuff used...babies hardly ever wear their clothes out.  

So I am basically enjoying time with my little girl, trying to get enough rest, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of my little boy.   Life is surely about to change :o)

Bum Genius 3.0 Review

The most important thing to remember when you are cloth diapering your baby is to try more than one kind of diaper until you find the fit that works best for your baby.  A diaper that works great for a friend’s baby might not be the one that works best for you.  Babies come in all shapes and sizes and that definitely affects how different diapers fit.  For example, my daughter from the very start has had a very skinny waist and bottom, and I had leaking issues with different kinds of diapers, I believe, because of her shape.  Keep this in mind as you read my reviews.  I did some troubleshooting and modifications with certain brands of diapers to make them work for my daughter.  I also find that I prefer certain diapers for different uses…nighttime, naptime, around the house, going out etc.  I am anticipating that I will have a different experience with some of the same diapers when cloth diapering my son, due to arrive in a few short weeks.

Okay, I love these diapers.  Bum Genius really is the top of the line for cloth diapers.  I also have so much respect for Jennifer Labit, the owner of Cotton Babies and the creator of Bum Genius diapers.  I love the work that she does to try to educate people about cloth, and she is so generous about giving cloth diapers to families that really need them.  You can find out more about Jennifer and Cotton Babies on Facebook.  There are links there to the retail site for Cotton Babies and to Jennifer’s blog, which is very informative for people who are just starting out with cloth.

BUM GENIUS 3.0

Bum Genius One Size 3.0s

Now on to the diapers…  The Bum Genius 3.0’s are now an outdated model of Bum Genius.  Bum Genius are also among the most expensive of the diaper brands.  They retail for about $17.95.  I actually did not purchase any of my own Bum Geniuses.  When I was starting out with Cloth Diapering I simply could not afford them and have sought out less expensive options to build my stash.  I own 7 Bum Genius diapers and they were all given to me as gifts at my baby shower.  I have cherished these diapers and would recommend them to anyone who wants to use cloth, or wants to give a nice gift to someone who wants to use cloth.

Bum Genius 3.0 with the two inserts it comes with.

The 3.0 version of Bum Genius are all aplix.  The ones I have are all One Size Pocket diapers.  This means that the diaper has three rows of snaps that can be adjusted as your baby grows.  They are designed to fit babies 10-35 pounds.  They each come with two micro fiber inserts that go into the pocket of the diaper.  The larger of the two inserts also has snaps which adjust along with the diaper to give your baby the best fit.  The smaller insert can be used as a newborn insert or as a doubler along with the larger insert.  The PUL of the 3.0 is made very well.  I have been using my Bum Geniuses for nearly two years now and have had no damage to the PUL at all.    I am at the point where my aplix is starting to show some wear and tear, and plan on having it converted to snaps before I start using these diapers on Baby #2. 

A look at the PUL of the Bum Genius close up, also the fabric that lines the diaper does an excellent job of wicking moisture away from baby's skin.

When I first started using cloth diapers, I was a little nervous and alternated between them and disposables.  This will not be the case with my son.  Because my daughter was so teeny around the waist though, I did not start using the Bum Geniuses on her until she was about 12 pounds.  Then they worked great.

Initially these diapers were the only aplix diapers that I had, so I used them as my out and about diapers, and my babysitter diapers.  With the aplix all I had to do was make sure that the diapers were set to the right size and tell the sitter that they go on just like disposables.  I never had an issue with anyone trying to figure out how to use one…although my Mom did manage to put one on backwards once…but it didn’t leak so…no big deal :o)

Bum Genius 3.0 on my 33 1/2 inch tall, and almost 25 lb 2 yr old

These diapers quickly evolved into being my overnight diapers.  I love the way that they wick away from the skin.  A lot of people who use cloth diapers use disposables at night.  I have found this unnecessary with the Bum Genius.  In the beginning I just used both microfiber inserts that the diapers came with.  When my daughter was around a year old, she started wetting much heavier at night and would often leak through to her clothes.  At that point I started using the larger of the two microfiber inserts plus a really thick cotton insert that I happened to have in my stash.  I only have a few of these inserts, so I will occasionally use a pre-fold tri-folded and stuffed in the pocket if I don’t have an insert available.  Now that my daughter is two we still do have leaks some mornings…I find it to be more likely if she is sleeping on her side, but I still find the Bum Genius diapers to be the best solution for overnights.  I have tried some of my other diaper brands and none have compared for the 12-13 hours that my daughter sleeps at night.

My cranky 2 year old modeling her Bum Genius 3.0

I have not had the privilege of trying the new and improved Bum Genius 4.0’s but I hear they are fabulous.  They are available in fun prints as well as solid colors, and along with other new features you can choose between aplix or snaps for fasteners. Check on the Cotton Babies website for more information, www.cottonbabies.com.

It's not just about the diapers anymore!

While I fully intend to get back to talking more about cloth diapers soon, I felt that I had to discuss another important topic that has been on my mind pretty much constantly lately.  As parents there are so many choices that we make on a daily basis that can affect the health and growth of our children.  In this day and age of quickly growing technology and convenience foods, it has become too simple to live a life of blissful ignorance to the reality that is killing us and our planet.

Seriously, those of you who know me, know that I am not a crazy "Go Green" kind of person.  You won't see me out protesting in the streets or harassing my neighbors to recycle, but something changed in me when I became a parent.  I started to feel this obligation to make sure that I wasn't leaving a mess for my kids to clean up someday.  Initially my choice to cloth diaper was a financial one, but it soon became more than that.  I started to realize that with each cloth diaper I changed, I was keeping trash out of the landfill for Anne's future.  I actually started to feel a bit guilty about the disposables that I used on and off for the first few months of her life.  I am determined to never put a disposable diaper on my son after he arrives in August...except for in the hospital, unless I can figure out a way to get them to let me use cloth there...

So my rambling thoughts lead me to today's topic of the food we eat.  I used to live my life on a processed food, fast food, very few fruits and veggies kind of diet.  I paid no attention to what was in my food as long as it tasted good.  Then the day came for me to feed Anne her first solid food.  My perspective slowly started to change...suddenly I started to care about what was actually in the food that I fed her.  I didn't start buying organic food then because I didn't think that we could really afford it, but I did start reading labels, and being more careful about what I bought.   Eventually I started making my own baby food from frozen veggies.  But I was still blissfully ignorant about what was in my food, even though things were changing in me more everyday.  This journey has lasted a year and a half now.  I cannot believe how much I have learned and how much I didn't know.  It has only been about six months since I started to learn about the Bovine Growth Hormone and antibiotics being in our dairy and meat products.  I shudder to think about how much of Anne has consumed before I really knew. 

I also lived my life blissfully unaware of what happens to the animals that produce our food.  Then I saw Food Inc, and several  Humane Society Videos.  I have no desire to become vegetarian, but knowing what happens the poor factory farmed animals in this country really threw me.  I was and still am sick about it.  And I am sad that so many people don't know what is happening.  The animals that give us life deserve a life where they are treated with respect and allowed to be cows or pigs or chickens.  There is no reason for baby animals to be brutally murdered because they are the wrong gender.  There is no reason that living creatures should be subject to overcrowded and filthy conditions and never allowed to see sunlight or breath fresh air...but this is the food that most of us eat.

Then there is the whole issue of GMO's and GEI's.  These are Genetically Modified Organisms or Genetically Engineered Ingredients.  I had no idea that this was happening at all until I saw Food Inc.  Now I am making a point to learn as much as I can.  I read every label and realize that I, like most Americans, have no idea what half of the ingredients are in our food.  Our food is full of additives, preservatives, pesticides, chemicals and dyes...and stuff that has been scientifically created to make food cheaper to produce.  Chickens have been modified to grow much faster than a normal rate, and to produce more breast meat, so the poor creatures grow so fast and so big that they can barely even stand.  A huge company called Monsanto has genetically engineered corn and soy and other crops so they can are immune to pesticides, so that they can be repeatedly sprayed with pesticides to keep the weeds out of the crops, and they will still survive.  Those pesticides are in the food you eat and they also run off into the soil and the water and are destroying the farmland that grow the crops.  And since High Fructose Corn Syrup is made from this corn, it is in virtually everything that we eat.  Try to find a loaf of bread in your local supermarket that does not have High Fructose Corn Syrup in it.

What I also find frustrating is how the people who work for these huge food corporations are treated.  A farmer who works for Tyson or Purdue will go a quarter of a million dollars in debt to build a chicken barn to raise chickens and will make around $18,000 a year to support their families.  The working conditions in some of meat packing plants are so outrageous that workers have been seriously injured by stampeding animals or falling carcasses.  Cheap labor is always good, so hiring illegal immigrants or migrant workers is beneficial to these companies because the workers won't unionize to demand better conditions for fear of deportation.  So we are getting our food from companies that not only have no respect for the life of the animals, but they don't care about the human beings who work for them either.

There is more and more research showing that the food that we eat is causing the obesity and diabetes outbreak in America.  The food is causing cancer and I believe contributing to the skyrocketing cases of ADHD and Autism in this country.  Food Inc states that 1-3 people born after 2000 will get diabetes. Well, Diabetes runs in my husband's family and I am going to make darn sure that my kids, who are already genetically pre-disposed to diabetes will not become diabetic.

I just keep thinking about all this stuff and I get so angry.  But all I can do is what I can do about it.  I have taken these steps over the past year and a half.  I no longer eat fast food.  I have switched to eating only Humane Certified Meats and Eggs.  They are definitely more expensive, and can be hard to swing financially sometimes, but for me knowing how the animals are treated is too important, if I eat non humane certified meat all I can picture is those videos I have seen and I feel horrible.  We also are eating much less meat, and go meatless at least 3 days a week now.  Dairy was a little harder for me, because initially I did not realize that the dairy industry can be just as cruel as the meat industry.  A video I have watched this week caused me to switch to only organic milk from companies that I know get their milk from small dairy farmers who treat their cows with respect.  I have been doing research to find out where my cheese and ice cream are coming from as well, as I am finding out that some of the big companies, such as Breyers, still buy milk from cows treated with the Bovine Growth Hormone.  Now I am determined to make sure I know where my milk and cheese come from too!  And I am switching us over to a nearly completely organic diet.  My children will not eat fruit and veggies that have been covered in pesticides, and they will not eat processed foods.  This has been difficult for me because I am not a fruit and veggie eater.  I want brownies and ice cream.  I also hate to cook.  And eating this way is more expensive, and my food budget is extremely limited.  But I have made a commitment.  I very carefully create a menu each week and I buy only what I need to complete this menu.  This keeps me from spending too much money.  If we have a little extra cash I will stock up on organic beans and pastas and humane certified meats that I can freeze, to make my menu planning a little easier.  We still do buy some non organic items, but only after carefully reading labels, no high fructose corn syrup for us!  I look for minimal ingredients, and if I don't know what one of the ingredients is, I don't buy it.  My one vice remains sweets, particularly chocolate and particularly brownies.  My next step is to search for a yummy homemade brownie recipe that is quick and easy to make, but I can control the ingredients that go into them.  I am pregnant and need my brownies and right now admit that I am still buying the boxed mixes.

When I started this journey when I first started feeding Anne solid food, my question to myself was "how can I afford to go organic?".  But we have done it, and I feel great about it, I actually feel better physically and much better emotionally about the choices that I am making for myself and my family.  I am starting to feel more confident that I can teach my kids good habits so they will want to eat the better food.  The question that I ask myself now that I know more is "How can I afford not to go organic". The organic lifestyle respects the earth, promotes sustainability,  respects the animals that give us life, and gives my children a brighter future to look forward to.

Washing my Cloth Diapers...

I am back again after not posting in almost a month!  We found out in early December that we are expecting Baby #2.  I have found my first trimester to be a little challenging while chasing a busy toddler all day.  I have been pretty exhausted and nauseous with very low energy...but I am 12 weeks now and finally starting to feel more like myself again.

I am very excited at the prospect of Baby #2, as this one will give me the opportunity to cloth diaper from the very beginning, and give me the opportunity to share newborn cloth diapering options with all of you.  I did use disposables for the first two months with my daughter, I used cloth too, but not for the first few weeks, because I was intimidated by the care and maintenance of the diapers.  Now I know that caring for cloth diapers is very easy, and nothing to be afraid of, which brings me to today's topic, Washing Cloth Diapers:

First, check the washing instructions on each type of diaper that you own-most can be washed in hot water, but there are a few kinds that need to be washed in cold.  The diapers I use consist of the following types and brands-Kushies, BumGenius, FuzziBuns, Kawaii, PouPond, Greenbaby, Babyland, Bummis Whisper Wraps, Kissaluvs and various pre-folds and doublers.  The only ones I have had issues with in washing in hot water are the Babyland and the Greenbaby, which I will discuss more when I review each type of diaper individually.

All cloth diapers need to be pre-washed before use.  This is a very simple, but necessary process.  It is necessary to maximize the absorbency of your diapers, and the waterproofing of the covers or outer layer of your diapers.   Each type of diaper comes with pre-wash instructions.  Some require a cold wash, some a hot, sometimes a cold wash first, and usually will need to be washed two or three times before use.  Just follow the individual instructions.  On acquiring each set of new diapers, I always followed the washing instructions and washed each brand individually.

Now that all my diapers have been washed individually and put to good use, I wash them all together.  I wash a full load every two to three days.
1.  Fill up the diaper pail with dirty diapers (just a reminder, I use my diaper sprayer to rinse out all poopey diapers and wipes in the toilet before putting them in the diaper pail-this cuts down on diaper pail odor and staining on the diapers).
2. The detergent used to wash cloth diaper is very important.  Most regular detergents have chemicals in them that will break down the absorbency of cloth diapers.  Some detergents that I know of that others use are Charlie's Laundry Soap and Rock N Green.  I personally use Original Powder Tide.  I bought a huge box at BJ's before my daughter was born (180 loads).  I only use my Tide for diapers.  My daughter is nearly 20 months now, and I have yet to buy more detergent.  I still have about a fifth of the box left.  This is because when washing diapers you only use about a quarter to a half of the amount of detergent that you would use to wash a regular load of clothes.  This makes washing cloth diapers very inexpensive :o)
3.  I start my machine filling with water and add my detergent.  I usually wash about 16-24 diapers per load.  If there are more diapers, I use a little more detergent, but what I use only fills up the bottom of the scoop, well below the line for a full load of clothes.  I don't add diapers to the machine until the detergent has dissolved in the water.
4.  Then I add my diapers.  I use mostly pocket diapers, so I unstuff my pockets and throw the inserts into the machine separately from the covers.  Any covers that use hook and loop (velcro) need to have the hook and loop secured either with the laundry tabs or on the waistband so the diapers don't end up all stuck together.  Any all in one diapers that I have are simply thrown in the washer as is.  I also throw my Planet Wise Diaper Pail Liner and all of my cloth wipes  in with the diapers.  Then I close the washer lid, and go.
5.  The cycle I use to wash my diapers consists of a hot soak cycle, followed by a hot wash, followed by a cold rinse.
6.  When the diapers are finished, I hang all of my Diapers on a drying rack to dry.  The inserts, doublers, pre-folds and wipes all go into the dryer.  It is important to air dry your diapers and covers because they will last much longer.  In a pinch if I need them right away I will toss them into the dryer on the low setting, but I only do that if I have to.  Never dry your diapers on high heat.
7.  When my diapers are all dry and ready to go I stuff all the pockets and put them all on my changing table so they are ready to go the next time I need them.  It really is that easy, and only is a few extra loads of laundry a week.

Cloth Diapering Accessories...

So now that the holidays are over, I thought I would take some time to post, since it has been awhile.  Things have been kind of crazy around here lately. 

I am preparing to review the different kinds of diapers that I use, including posting photos and links so you can do further research on your own to figure out what kind of diapers will work best for you.  But I am sure that there are many other questions that you have about what exactly do you need to cloth diaper.  Some supplies are necessary and some are just nice to have:

1.  A diaper pail.  This was a major dilemma for me in the beginning.  I started off with a Diaper Genie II.  It worked okay when I was just using pre-folds and covers, but when I started using pockets they got caught in the mechanism.  I also found that the genie did not hold very many diapers and my pail would be full well before I was ready to do a load of wash.  I also did not like having to change the plastic lining so often, and pay for refills....so I abandoned the Diaper Genie and moved on to the Diaper Champ.  This also did not work, for the same major issues, the diapers got caught in the mechanism and it did not hold enough diapers.  Finally...I went to Target and bought a 43 quart, slim profile, pedal, plastic wastebasket with a top.  I step on the pedal, toss the diaper in and go.  And this one holds 2-3 days worth of diapers, which is exactly when I need to wash so it works out perfect, and because it is a slim profile wastebasket, it fits nicely in a corner.

2.  Diaper Pail Liners-I also bought two Planet Wise Diaper Pail liners.  These are great.  They fit perfectly inside my diaper pail, and I alternate them, so one is washed with the dirty diapers while the other one is in the pail.  They have the same washing instructions as my diapers.  I have also used these pail liners when traveling to collect all the dirty diapers.  These pail liners inside the pail, hold the odor very well, but when I am traveling I do put the stinky diapers in ziploc bags, so we don't have to smell them the whole vacation :o)

3.  Wipes.  To me it doesn't make sense to use disposable wipes, because you have to throw them out in the trash, and sometimes they smell.  I only use disposable wipes when I am out and about, because I need something accessible and wet for cleaning up messes, and we all know that wipes come in handy for lots of things.  At home I use baby washclothes.  I know some people that make a solution out of water and baby soap and keep it in a bottle by their wipes and spray it on the wipe during changing.  This is also a good solution if you want to use cloth wipes when you are on the go, instead of using disposables.  I just wanted my wipes to be warm, wet and accessible.  I purchased a Wipes Warmer.  I saturate a pile of washclothes in water and put them in the wipes warmer.  I always have plenty of wipes ready to go when I need them, and I refill the warmer about every other day.  I then tossed the used wipes right into my diaper pail and wash them with the diapers.  (If you don't have a lot of washclothes and you are crafty, a friend of mine made her own wipes from flannel receiving blankets).

4.  Diaper Sprayer:  This is one of my favorite accessories!  The diaper sprayer looks very much like the sprayer in your sink, but you attach it to the toilet.  I have mine attached to my upstairs toilet just a few feet from my changing station.  Poopey diapers and wipes are sprayed down right into the toilet and put right into the pail.  Solids can usually be shook out into the toilet, but I have sprayed out wet and mushy poop from the beginning.  It cuts down on the amount of feces being washed out with the diapers and definitely cuts down on the smell of poop in the diaper pail between washings.  It just makes cleaning up so much easier.

5.  Wet Bag:  This is a useful accessory for traveling and they make them in all different sizes.  I have one wet bag that holds 4-6 dirty diapers in my diaper bag.  For changes on the go, you just zip up the dirty diapers in the wet bag and toss them in your diaper pail when you get home.  I only have one wet bag, so if I know I am going to be out for more than 5 diaper changes, I also toss in a few Gallon Size Ziploc bags which work well for back up, and I only use them if I have to.

One of my favorite websites is a store website called jilliansdrawers.com.  It has many different kinds of diapers and accessories and is very easy to navigate.  It is a great place to go to research cloth diapers and see what things look like.  And if you decide to go with cloth, you can register on the site for everything you need.  I used it for my baby shower and it worked great.  I didn't have to explain to people what I needed and why, they could just go to the site and order exactly what I wanted.

I hope that you have found this posting helpful.  Next time I will talk about washing your diapers.  Happy New Year!!