Thanks to our dear friend John for doing this for us, we will treasure them forever.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Belly Shots
So right now Violet's digs are getting more roomy and we thought we'd have some shots taken of the "remodel".
Friday, September 24, 2010
They should give degrees in cloth diapering
OK, maybe not quite a degree but there is certainly quite a lot to know. I always had an idea that cloth diapering would be something I would want to do if granted parenthood, but I won't lie there have been moments in planning for and collecting my diaper stash where I have contemplated "Wtf are you thinking? This is hard, possibly expensive if you do it wrong and we have old, shared washers and dryers" or "When are you even going to have time with your baby? Washing all day long? psshhhh."
There are 394526385075 Cloth Diapering 101 website pages out there, begging the question, is there an advanced course in this? Why yes, yes there is. I love the "first time new mom" page on Green Mountain Diapers "Overwhelmed? Confused?" They begin... Why yes. Yes I am.
And I still have yet to put cloth to butt.
I DO love the idea of of being gentler on the earth. It's something I hold dear to my heart. Also I noticed there is an ever growing force of mamas stepping up to the challenge with vigorous zeal. I'm pretty sure I can totally do this.
I got a lot of help from my freaky internet mama friends Spam, Mo, X, Merv and 1A. Do they sound mysterious? They totally are.
God love it if anyone ever gets any help from reading this, but I am doing it just as much for my own reference. Here is what I have learned:
First of all, it's even if your an hard core eco warrior, it's important to know that cloth diaper can save you money while saving the earth but notice my emphasis on "can" because you won't if you go nuts with all the most high end stuff... Case in point, for a moment I had my eye on this really absurdly cute line of cloth diapers called Good Mama which are just way out my price range, but it's easy to get carried away. A good rule of thumb is to repeat to yourself "poop goes in there" over and over until you navigate away from the page of temptation... Unless of course you can afford it, then go nuts and remember to send me pictures ;)
Next, there are a lot of terms and of course when you have this much choice and variation with terms to go along, you will end up with a lot of abbreviations. Here is a pretty straightforward of the basic terms and here is the advanced course (where I found that wicked good mama site).
To figure out what to go with has been the hard part for me. There are just So. Many. Choices. This guideline (courtesy of X) simplifies it a little and gives you some direction.
"Prefolds" are good and cheap. The name is misleading though, they are not actually pre-folded, they are just really super duper absorbent cloth that you fold into a cover. They are really kind of an industry standard if you think about it, our grandmothers used them (pretty sure they just called them "diapers" back the though) Having at least half of your stash in prefolds is smart and gets the job done. Folding instructions are slightly different for boys and girls.
"Fitteds" are a.freaking.dorable. and look outrageously easy, but a little pricey considering you still need to use a cover. From the first day I ever started looking I fell in love with kissaluvs and now that I actually have a dozen split between size purple 0 and unbleached 1 in my possession, I am sold. If I could afford it, I would get a full 3-4 dozen of these and call it a day.
Covers are for putting over "prefolds" or "fitteds". After a lot of research Bummis and Thirsties seem like good bets for the newborn stage into about 6 months. They seem like solid workhorses.
"Pockets" are where you stick a "prefold" or a "soaker" into a pocket inside a diaper that also works as a protective cover. I have not investigated these yet because it sounds like a little more laundry and I'm not sure we can handle that till we move.
"All in Ones" or "AIOs" are supposedly great for 3-6 months and up. Basically they are the absorbing mechanism and the repelling outer layer "all in one". They sound dreamy but everyone seems to complain they do not work for newborns. I don't really know that much about them to be honest, but am planning to use them more when I have a bigger baby.
Also, you're going to have to rethink detergents. That hardcore stuff you use for your stinky pile isn't going to work for theirs. You must find one super gentle enough to avoid rashes and strong enough get out poop. Sounds impossible to me but apparently it's not. Another rockin' guideline courtesy of X. Or even better you could be like Mo and make your own, she SWEARS by it and it does look really easy to make.
Oh, and you cannot use just any ol' diaper cream because when they get on the cloth they make the repel moisture instead of absorbing. If you should happen to get some desitin on that butt, Dawn original dishwashing liquid (blue bottle) will get it out safely. Here and here are two lists of cloth diaper safe creams (with some redundancies). From what I've heard you have less rashes from cloth diapering... or I could totally be making that up... Or even better you could use Coconut Oil as a diaper ointment which won't stain and washes right out. Apparently it works like a dream on the little cutie's tushies, but until that time I just like cooking with it.
As I have said I have yet to put cloth to butt and so all of this is just the un-vetted ramblings of a soon to be new mother with breastmilk wishes and granola dreams.
There are 394526385075 Cloth Diapering 101 website pages out there, begging the question, is there an advanced course in this? Why yes, yes there is. I love the "first time new mom" page on Green Mountain Diapers "Overwhelmed? Confused?" They begin... Why yes. Yes I am.
And I still have yet to put cloth to butt.
I DO love the idea of of being gentler on the earth. It's something I hold dear to my heart. Also I noticed there is an ever growing force of mamas stepping up to the challenge with vigorous zeal. I'm pretty sure I can totally do this.
Photo Credit: elephant
I got a lot of help from my freaky internet mama friends Spam, Mo, X, Merv and 1A. Do they sound mysterious? They totally are.
God love it if anyone ever gets any help from reading this, but I am doing it just as much for my own reference. Here is what I have learned:
First of all, it's even if your an hard core eco warrior, it's important to know that cloth diaper can save you money while saving the earth but notice my emphasis on "can" because you won't if you go nuts with all the most high end stuff... Case in point, for a moment I had my eye on this really absurdly cute line of cloth diapers called Good Mama which are just way out my price range, but it's easy to get carried away. A good rule of thumb is to repeat to yourself "poop goes in there" over and over until you navigate away from the page of temptation... Unless of course you can afford it, then go nuts and remember to send me pictures ;)
Next, there are a lot of terms and of course when you have this much choice and variation with terms to go along, you will end up with a lot of abbreviations. Here is a pretty straightforward of the basic terms and here is the advanced course (where I found that wicked good mama site).
To figure out what to go with has been the hard part for me. There are just So. Many. Choices. This guideline (courtesy of X) simplifies it a little and gives you some direction.
"Prefolds" are good and cheap. The name is misleading though, they are not actually pre-folded, they are just really super duper absorbent cloth that you fold into a cover. They are really kind of an industry standard if you think about it, our grandmothers used them (pretty sure they just called them "diapers" back the though) Having at least half of your stash in prefolds is smart and gets the job done. Folding instructions are slightly different for boys and girls.
"Fitteds" are a.freaking.dorable. and look outrageously easy, but a little pricey considering you still need to use a cover. From the first day I ever started looking I fell in love with kissaluvs and now that I actually have a dozen split between size purple 0 and unbleached 1 in my possession, I am sold. If I could afford it, I would get a full 3-4 dozen of these and call it a day.
photo credit: our little roo
Covers are for putting over "prefolds" or "fitteds". After a lot of research Bummis and Thirsties seem like good bets for the newborn stage into about 6 months. They seem like solid workhorses.
"Pockets" are where you stick a "prefold" or a "soaker" into a pocket inside a diaper that also works as a protective cover. I have not investigated these yet because it sounds like a little more laundry and I'm not sure we can handle that till we move.
"All in Ones" or "AIOs" are supposedly great for 3-6 months and up. Basically they are the absorbing mechanism and the repelling outer layer "all in one". They sound dreamy but everyone seems to complain they do not work for newborns. I don't really know that much about them to be honest, but am planning to use them more when I have a bigger baby.
Also, you're going to have to rethink detergents. That hardcore stuff you use for your stinky pile isn't going to work for theirs. You must find one super gentle enough to avoid rashes and strong enough get out poop. Sounds impossible to me but apparently it's not. Another rockin' guideline courtesy of X. Or even better you could be like Mo and make your own, she SWEARS by it and it does look really easy to make.
Photo Credit: Mo
Oh, and you cannot use just any ol' diaper cream because when they get on the cloth they make the repel moisture instead of absorbing. If you should happen to get some desitin on that butt, Dawn original dishwashing liquid (blue bottle) will get it out safely. Here and here are two lists of cloth diaper safe creams (with some redundancies). From what I've heard you have less rashes from cloth diapering... or I could totally be making that up... Or even better you could use Coconut Oil as a diaper ointment which won't stain and washes right out. Apparently it works like a dream on the little cutie's tushies, but until that time I just like cooking with it.
As I have said I have yet to put cloth to butt and so all of this is just the un-vetted ramblings of a soon to be new mother with breastmilk wishes and granola dreams.
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