Just some inlanders wishing they were locals again....
check out that crystal clear pool..haha
hang loose!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Diapers
Ok mom's I'm just dropping in real quick to ask you about diapers. I have been thinking of switching to cloth diapers. I know, it's my 5th baby and I am just now switching! I have just about tried every diaper out there except cloth. Any suggestions??? Do you use cloth? Why or why not? What brand do you use? I am hearing they are easy...yes easy! Share please!!! I'll be back on to post some recipes (don't laugh) I know I'm the worst cook but these recipes I'm about to share got 14thumbs up from my family (is that right) yea 7 in fam 2 thumbs each... haha jk...(and you wonder why my kids have a math tutor) Thanks Karissa!!! (can you tell it's been a long day) I'll also be back on to show off the cutest pictures I took of my kids over the weekend...but I'll leave you with this.
Just some inlanders wishing they were locals again....
check out that crystal clear pool..haha
hang loose!
Just some inlanders wishing they were locals again....
check out that crystal clear pool..haha
hang loose!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
23 comments:
WOW!!! We must share a brain... :) I have recently been thinking about switching to cloth diapers as well!!! I was going to post on my blog for advice!!! Would you share your findings with me? I am very interested in learning more about this!!!
PS. Your school bags are complete and drying. I should send them out within the next few days!!! YAYYY!!! Be sure to take pics of the kids with them!!!
I have enjoyed reading your blog tonight. Hope you will visit me...The posts from our most recent "grandparent Disney trip" are beginning, with a look into the eyes of my little guys from this "Grammy"! Also every comment counts as an entry for the May giveaway. (See Monthly Card Box Giveaway"!
I kind of disagree with the above comment from EveryGoodGift, but I think it depends on what kind of diapers you use. If you have a few minutes, I write a blog entirely devoted to cloth diapering, so there are a LOT of questions that I've answered there. Just go to my family blog (this profile, Whatsoever Things are True), and scroll down a bit. On the left side of the blog I have a button for my cloth blog, The Diaper Diaries.
Just a quick overview: although you can, you don't HAVE to use prefolds, pins, and the "rubber" (that aren't rubber anymore) pants/covers. Depending on how much you want to spend to get into it, you can get stuff as easy as an all-in-one, which goes on and off just like a disposable, but you toss it in the wash instead of in the trash. Cloth diapering has come a looong way, and can you tell that I'm crazy about it?!?! ;o) I do cloth demos for friends all the time, because we've so enjoyed the switch.
It's really not that much extra work - I'd guess an extra hour or 2 TOTAL of hands-on time per week. And after we purchased the diapers, even when we had 2 in diapers, our utilities bills increased a total of only about $13/month. Had they been in disposables, we would have been spending over $100/month on diapers, so it's definitely worth it economically.
Also, check out my post on "why" to use cloth - some of the facts might surprise you! :o)
Please feel free to ask me any questions!! :o)
Oh how much money you would have saved if you'd switched 4 kids ago! lol!! I waited til Ryder to make the switch too :D I was so nervous to switch, but so glad I did. I use Bum Genius 3.0 One Size pockets. They are one size meaning that I can make them bigger the older he gets and use them on the next baby also :D Helps save money :D They are super easy to wash and easy to put on just like a disposable. No pins or plastic pants! Even Chris will sit and stuff the diapers while we watch tv, super easy even Dad's can do it! Let me know if you have questions or want to know more, Nina uses them too so you can call either of us to find out more :D Good luck!
I used Fuzzy Buns...they have a website, check it out. It's extra work, but if you you're determined it works great (just like everything else in motherhood!)
I have been thinking of switching to cloth too.... my neighbor friend has done cloth ALWAYS with both of her girls. I will ask for the website of diapers she uses. She RAVES over them.
I used Fuzzi bunz and it is not hard or time consuming at all. It may be a little expensive to get started but once youhave a good supply its a breeze. I huge money saver especially if you ever have another baby. Fuzzi bunz make the cuteset little diapers and they are very helpful. I am curious to know what you decide.
Hi! I found your blog when I was doing a search on cloth diapers. Absolutely right that it all goes by too fast!
On to diaper - like Lauren posted, things are much easier with the cloth diapers that are out there. For people switching from disposables, I tend to recommend to start out with a few all-in-one cloth diapers. That way, they go on and off like a disposable, but you just toss them in the wash instead of the garbage. There are pocket style diapers as well where you can customize the absorbancy and that is really great for heavy wetters and for night time.
If you'd like more help choosing a style that will fit with your family lifestyle or would like a sampler pack that includes some different brands for you to try, please contact me at info (at) simplewondersdiapers.com. Or you can visit my site at www.simplewondersdiapers.com. I've been helping families make the switch over to cloth diapers for 4 years now and LOVE it!
Cute pics! Where did you get those swim trunks at, they are adorable! My son is all into pirates.
As for the cloth diapers...I was to scared to try them. Better for the earth, cheaper on your pocket, but it seemes like more work in the long run, at least for me. Good luck if you switch!
I just bought a few for Kiah because the swaddlers are making her skin dry out soo bad, but i've been too chicken to start! It would save SO MUCH MONEY!! and IF you plan to use them on your next kids then it's a lot of $$ you can save! :) but yes, more work and kinda groww to think of poop in your washer all the time-- but then again i would run a hot bleach cycle after... :) hehe
http://www.nosugaraddedshop.com/
here is summers store, she can answer lots of ??'s for you... and she just opened up a store in downtowne claremont with all the clothe diapers there so you can look at the ones you'd like best. . .it's right in the village a few stores down from starbucks *where 3 french hens used to be...or some store like that! :)
I tried cloth with my last 2 babies. Personally, I think that it is easier to cloth diaper newborns, because you can just put all diapers straight into the washer. I read somewhere that the breastfeed baby poop washed off like yogurt. Once they start eating solids I can't do it anymore, I don't like scraping the poo out of the diaper. I tried using liners so that you can just flush the liner with the poo, but it never stayed in place. Both times I quit by a year because I just couldn't deal with so much poo and the extra laundry. To simplify things I went back to disposables, one less chore to do. (Maybe before making the investment, you should try dumping the poopy out of the disposable diapers for a week and see how much you can deal with)
I did sooo much research on cloth i am the type of person who researches til i cant research anymore. i bought a few different kinds and used them for a few months before i bought a whole stash of them. SO i was using half cloth half disposables. I decided to buy a whole bunch of the bum genius all ones. I loved how they are very similar to disposables. I seriously spent like 300 dollars or more on all the diapers and stuff that goes with it. After a about a couple months of using ALL cloth bum genius. My son had a rash that got worse and worse. When i started putting him in disposables it imediately went away. The problem with cloth is that the moisture is not pulled away from the skin like disposables do so the babies have pee on their skin all the time. At night is the worst because the diapers gets sooo soaked you have to add fillers in the diaper at night too so it doesnt leak. I was so bummed that it didnt work out and i warn everyone to just buy the orefolds with some covers to try fully first before you waste a bunch of money like i did. Hope this helps!
I removed my first comment because I realized that it may sound negative...but it wasn't meant to. I know that both cloth and disposables have their pro's and con's. I was simply trying to speak from the point of view of a mom with a lot of kids....and a heavy work load already, that I already do 3-4 loads of laundry every day. I am the type that would be compelled to do diapers every day...that would be an extra load of laundry every day...so ON TOP OF my load of towels, whites, colors and jeans that I do...30 more loads of laundry would add to every aspect of my life, Electricity, water, chemicals, time. I would have loved to have made the switch to cloth, several children ago, but, not knowing that we would get another addition to the family, it was just a hard decision to make. Because the initial investment is a large one. I was very blessed to have recieved a year's worth of dispoables from our church...which made it even easier to stick with them. (I already had everything for baby, so diapers ware the best present that they could give me);o) I am very supportive of cloth diapering. I think it is a great thing...Had I known that I would have had 6 children...I would have made that investment from the beginning. That is really the only way to save $$$ at it, from my families perspective. (to have several using the diapers)
Like my sister said, I also use Bum Genius, but I'm only a "part-time" user. I use disposables at night & when we go out to run errands. Since I work-at-home, most of the time Rachel is in cloth, but it certainly has cut costs for us.
Bridget go to gdiapers.com. seriously. the diapers are biodegradeable, soft like cloth and you can flush them down the toilet with no issue. I do it all the time. Check it out
Aimie
Okay, I know you all seem to like the cloth and I have started thinking about switching myself; however, it took one article I read in a magazine about the pros and cons and I decided to stick with the disposables. I want to know that I am really going to help the world by switching to cloth. I just don't see how dunking diapers in the toilet and flushing (water usage plus gross), bleaching the diaper and everything it touches (chemical usage, more water usage for rinsing), and me sitting around folding them is highly beneficial. You may be able to convince me because I am open-minded, so go ahead and try. I just don't see the REAL environmental difference with all the washing, sanitizing, bleaching, etc. Cloth has to be produced, also. I think people forget that we don't just walk out and pick cloth off a tree or something. Do people really forget about the process that produces the cotton, dyes it, etc.? You never hear anything about how that affects the environment.
The next thing.. the money. We live on a tight budget (SAHM and husband is a teacher), but the diapers are the least of my worries. With all four of my children we have been given gifts that offset the diaper expense in my eyes. I would be willing to spend my money on disposables rather than spend the money on other things. Time is money for me. If I had to buy all my kid's clothes secondhand that would be worth it to me not to deal with the poopy cloth diaper. That is not the case, but I am just saying. You choose what is "worth your money and your time". I am spending mine on the disposables and instead of flying we will drive for vacations. Instead of brand name items we will use store brands. I will try to shop clearance racks for clothing, rather than pay full price. I also, check out the gdiapers and they seem cool, but pricey.
I also have a question about stains. My kid's infant poops (breastfed) have always been severely staining. I think it would bother me to see yellow stains in $300 worth of diapers. Would this bother you?
I don't like the idea of a massive landfill of diapers, but that can be said about all plastic things we use, right? Ketchup bottles to plastic party plates, plastic pools, plastic toys, ziploc bags... etc. Again, remember there is "usage" of some kind in the production of all things... cloth included. Sorry to ramble... half trying to help and half trying decide if it is something that would be worth it to me. Follow your convictions!!!
EveryGoodGift and Shannon both make a great point - even good things reach a point where they're no longer the best thing for a family. :o) I have 2 friends who've tried cloth diapering and just decided that for them, it was not worth the extra laundry, time, stress, etc. We moms have enough going on that we don't need to make ourselves crazy over something that's not essential! Fortunately, if you decide to try cloth diapering and decide, likewise, that it's not for you, cloth diapers retain their resale value excellently.
Also, as EveryGoodGift points out, if you don't start a baby out in cloth from the day they're born and are switching an older baby...and you're not sure if you will have any more, economically it may not be worth the upfront investment, when it comes down to the numbers. We knew (with prayerful hope) that we would be having more babies when we switched my son at 18 months and I was pg with our daughter. It's nice to know that no matter how many more babies come along, I have all the diapers I will ever need! (Unless I decide that I simply have to have a cute print or gender specific things.)
Shannon, please go to my diaper blog (there's a button-link on my family blog) and read my post about why to choose cloth diapering. It may not change your mind about the practice of cloth diapering, but it might open your eyes to things you hadn't known before. :o) And as far as poop stains...well, they're diapers. That's what they're for. And I'd rather spend $300 on something that gets stained but I can use over and over again, than to spend $300 on a 3-month supply of what basically amounts to trash.
Michelle, I'm so sorry your son had a hard time with cloth diapers. My daughter tends to start popping out in a rash when the diapers need to be "stripped," which is just a super deep cleaning. But some children are more reactive to the cloth experience than others. I'm so grateful that even though both my kids have sensitive skin, we haven't had any major issues with the cloth dipeys. :o)
Bridget, I second (and third, etc) the suggestions to try out different styles before buying a whole huge stash. Jillians Drawers has a package where you can try cloth diapers for 21 days, and you get prefolds, fitteds, a pocket, and an all-in-one. If you decide to keep it, then you just keep it! If you decide not to stick with it, then you send your diapers back and get all your money, less shipping and a $10 "deposit" refunded. Can't beat that! :o)
SunshineDiapers.com has a test run package. I really like Bum Genius 3.0 a lot like fuzzi bunz but they grow with the child. Haute Pockets are good too
Sorry we are hijacking yor blog Bridget! I find this really interesting, but I think in all things I am one to look DEEPLY at both the pros and cons. I still am not convinced to make a switch even with Lauren's blog entries. I am not against cloth AT ALL. I do think you have to realize there is more to consider. Consider yeast infections, for example. All FOUR of my kids have had a diaper rash before as a result of yeast. How am I going to properly sterilize cloth diapers during a yeast infection? 1. Throw them away to prevent from spreading the yeast... too expensive! 2. Boil them to sterilize... doesn't appeal to me. ;D 3. Use bleach or other sanitizers... what about the dioxins, etc left behind in that scenario. 4. Included in the other three, using regular laundry soap.... what is left behind that might also irritate the skin or include toxins.
Okay, I am purposely being dramatic to make you look deeper at the reasons for "which ever".... I mean it seems to just be the "fad" thing of the moment.
Consider this ... IF disposables cause cancer, then of course, I would switch in a heartbeat.... but where is the evidence. And what about all the other plastics in your life... are you gonna give them up? I have heard of baby powder (talcum) causing testicular cancer, so I do not use it. Instead, I use corn starch (during a rash or for schaffing ?SP?). And on the subject of potty training as an argument I think that if you are serious about potty training in MOST CASES your child will be trained early no matter what type of diaper you use. My girls trained by 20 months and 22 months. My son breaks the "most cases" rule and is 2y 6m and doesn't care. Obviously, the baby is untrained (9m). I started introducing all of mine to the potty by 14 months. And yes, if you caught that then you realize I have TWO IN DIAPERS. I do not spend as much on diapers, I guess. Probably, $40 (9m) + $30 (2y) for a total of $70. Not cheap, but worth it to me. I do NOT have a maid or a drop-by grandparent/sister/etc to help me out and I am very frugal in other ways. I don't use paper plates and only use approx. one roll of paper towels a month. I am saving the environment in other ways... I'll hug a tree right with you all, but my disposable diapers save my sanity. How much is your sanity worth?
So, Bridget, just out of curiosity.. What are YOUR reasons for wanting to make the switch? I mean, here we all are going on and on about OUR reasons, but it is your blog... what are YOUR reasons?
We have been seriously thinking about cloth diapering too... Especially with having more than one baby in diapers at once :o)
Here are 2 sites you should check out:
http://www.cding101.blogspot.com/
http://jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryclothfor10/tryclothfor10
I stumbled on this site that gives the options for cloth along with the options for "green" disposables. This may have been mentioned above somewhere... not sure.
cottonbabies.com has free shipping this weekend with coupon code Watermelon
Post a Comment