Hello, My name is Amber and I'm addicted ....

to cloth diapers. Now I know that I am not spending as much on cloth as I would on disposables. But I am still spending more money than I am comfortable with. I was just using covers which I like because, well because I have everything I need to CD for 2 days without the necessity to do laundry. J has decided that he LOVES AIOs and as you might know those get expensive and I do not have enough AIO that I like to get through more than a day. Ok even using the ones I don't really like I don't have enough to go through a day. Well, my mom sews, not just oh my mom can do a straight stitch, my mom can actually sew. She made all of my clothes when I was a baby and makes pajamas for everybody every year. so she is going to figure out how to sew a cloth diaper. After some research I have found the fabrics, snaps and velcro that she needs. She is going to design a pattern taking into consideration the quality of my favorite diapers and combining them into one. I am super excited!

Product Review : Lil' Bit Customs

Company: Lil' Bit Customs

Product: Diaper Cover, All In One (AIO) diapers

Price: Varies depending on type/fabric

In the past few months I have ordered several diapers from Lil' Bit Customs. So far I have 4 OS diaper covers and 3 OS AIO diapers (Groovy Guitars is one of the AIO) 2 of the AIO diapers have been made from T-shirts that I sent her (KISS Army).

I was virtually introduced to the mom behind Lil' Bit Customs in mid March. It took me all of a minute to decide to order a diaper cover from her. At that time I was really only using diaper covers; I had a few pockets and AIO,most of which I did not really like using, and a few covers that I loved using. the first cover that I ordered was a Mickey Mouse print. I only ordered one to begin with just so I could make sure that the diaper cover would work for Spiky. Needless to say it fit him better than any other cover I had purchased previous to this so I ordered 3 more covers; Sponge Bob print, an Airplane Print, and Green Argyle (you can find Lil' Bit Customs fabric options here)
I use econobum pre-folds with all of my covers and they fit wonderfully with the Lil' Bit Customs' covers. I also use unbleached Chines pre-folds that are slightly different from the econobum pre-folds but work just as well.

My husband is a huge KISS fan; if you don't know it is super hard to find KISS diapers (I don't know why). I had never mentioned to him that I had tried to find KISS fabric, but one afternoon when I woke up for work he asked me to find someone to make Spiky a KISS diaper. So of course I contacted Lil' Bit Customs. Thankfully it was as easy as finding a KISS shirt with a logo that would work for diapers, a few emails to Lil' Bit Customs, shipping the shirt to her (ebay/paypal) and then she made the diaper. My husband is in love with AIO diapers so of course he wanted HIS diapers to be AIO that is how I got 3 AIO diapers, The KISS diaper, an AC/DC diaper and Groovy Guitars. As I stated previously I am not huge fan of AIO diapers. Lil' Bit Customs has changed my mind on AIOs; while I still LOVE covers, I don't have a problem using the AIOs that she made us. The fit is better than any OS AIO that I have tried.

So if you ever find yourself in the need for a custom made diaper you should contact her. She is super to work with and the quality of the diapers is amazing. She has both a facebook fan page and a website, I think the facebook page would probably be the easiest way to ask her questions and set up custom orders. Also tell her Spiky sent you, I don't know if it will do anything but never hurts to try :)

Product Review- The Green Panda Wipe Solution Soap Bits

Company: The Green Panda

Product: Organic Wipe Solution Soap Bits - Several scents available. Scent purchased Cucumber Melon

Price: $9.00 + $3.00 shipping

Directions for use: Dissolve one Soap bit (baby pin) in 1 to 2 cups of hot water

When I first got the soap bits in the mail I opened the package and was slightly overwhelmed by the perfume smell. This made mer nervous about trying the product. However upon further inspection there were 2 additional soap bits in the package of a different scent (Irish Tweed) . The free scent was either just not what I was expecting or a little to strong for my liking. The cucumber melon soap bits had a very slight and pleasant  cucumber melon scent.

In the directions for preparing the wipe solution it says to dissolve the soap bit in 1 to 2 cups of hot water. Initially I used 2 cups of hot tap water. I swirled the water around in a stainless steal bowl (plastic absorbs some smells) until the water was room temperature and the soap bit was still not dissolved. I think placed my stack of wipes in the bowl and absorbed all of the water. This generally requires flipping the wipes so the top gets solution. The 2 cups of water was not enough and since the soap bit was still not dissolved I added another cup of hot water and stirred until the soap bit was dissolved. This was enough solution for all of the wipes to become damp.

When I prepare my cloth wipes I fold my wipes (from Pretty Printed Diapers) in half and stack them in a disposable wipe case. I just put wipes in the case until it is full I have no idea how many wipes are actually in the case. The next time I stack wipes I will try to remember to note the total number of wipes.


Overview:
Overall I am very pleased with the soap bits from The Green Panda. It was more convenient than mixing my own solution;even though technically still mixing my own solution, but I didn't have to measure out anything but the water. I think the reason the soap bit didn't dissolve in the 2 cups of water is that my tap water does not get very hot, even at its hottest I can still keep my hand under the water. So next time I am going to heat the water on the stove or in the microwave prior to trying to dissolve the soap bit. Everyone might not need to use 3 cups of water the scent was a lot less noticeable with 3 cups of water than it was with 2 cups of water. But I don't really want my son smelling like overwhelming like cucumber melon so to me that is a plus.

This product is going in my list of products to suggest to new cloth diapering moms.

Spiky- the amazing standing baby!

Mid last week Spiky decided that he was going to start pulling up on stuff and standing
  *as pictured here*
This has made me a super nervous mama. I thought that he would only do it when on the floor; by pulling up on the laundry basket, the couch, his bouncy seat etc but nooooo, this morning he did it in his crib and almost fell out! So after the Easter festivities there will probably be pictures later and I got my school work done I lowered the mattress on his crib. I lowered it to the next level which I hope is enough. If he wasn't napping on his daddy right now I would put him in there to check. I guess Ill find out later and have to go through lowering it again if I'm wrong. I still plan to do another CD'ing post soon. I am currently doing some research on wipe solution and where to buy cloth wipes at a reasonable price. Hopefully I am able to get this done in the next couple of weeks! 

Spring break and ...

I have been told I need to do another cloth diapering post. I think that I want to discuss in more detail: cloth wipes, cloth wipe solution, and remedies for diaper pail funk. Its Spring Break *woohoo* right now so Its been pretty crazy at work. Plus I started a new class on the 6th so I haven't had tons of time to research for anything extracaricular. But I am hoping to get a new post done this weekend. No promises though.

This is how I see it….

If you are “cheap” , maybe frugal is a better word, like me cloth diapering could be a very viable option for you. If you look, back in my blog or click the cloth diaper tag on the right side of the page or just click the hyperlink. Whatever works. For this post, I’m going to do something I don’t like and Im going to steal information from Wikipedia. 1. Because I am not an expert and 2. It’s easier :)

So here goes the stolen information. In general it’s a detailed description of the different types of cloth diapers.

Prefolds – Prefold diapers are a rectangle of layered cloth, sewn together in the center third to create a thicker layer. They come in several sizes to correspond with a baby’s weight range. Prefolds are fastened with pins or a Snappi, or folded in thirds and laid inside a cover. They require a cover to be waterproof. Prefolds must be washed after each diaper change but the cover can be reused several times if it is not soiled with feces.

Flats – Flat diapers are a single large layer of cloth that must be folded into the correct size to fit a baby. Flats must be pinned or Snappi’d to stay on the baby. Flats require a cover to be waterproof. Flat diapers must be washed after each diaper change but the cover can be reused several times if it is not soiled with feces.

Fitteds – Fitted diapers look similar to a disposable diaper and are made of a few layers of absorbent cloth material. Fitteds are fastened shut in three ways: pins, snaps, or hook and loop tape (velcro). Fitted diapers come in several sizes to fit a baby’s weight range. They require a separate cover to be waterproof. Fitted diapers must be washed after each diaper change but the cover can be reused several times if it is not soiled with feces.
Covers- For the above mentioned options you need covers. Covers are made from waterproof material and hold the prefold, flat or fitted. 

Pocket diapers – Pocket diapers consist of a waterproof outer layer and a moisture-wicking inner layer that are sewn together on three sides to create a stuffable pocket. Pocket diapers look similar to disposable diapers. The pocket is stuffed with absorbent material to customize an absorbency level for each baby. Typically microfiber cloth is used to absorb the moisture away from the babies skin to prevent diaper rash. Pocket diapers dry more quickly than all-in-one diapers because they have less material in them. A pocket diaper must be washed after each diaper change. Pocket diapers often come in one size that can be adjusted with snaps and hook and loop tape (velcro) to fit a baby over a wide variety of weight ranges.

All-in-one diaper – An all in one (AIO) diaper consists of a waterproof outer layer, sewn together with a moisture wicking inner layer and an attached absorbent flap. AIO diapers are the most convenient diapers to use since there is only one item to put on the baby; however, they take longer to dry since they are thicker than other options. AIOs can be sized for a particular weight range or one-sized to adjust to a wider weight range. AIOs must be washed after each diaper change.

All-in-two diaper – An all-in-two- diaper (AI2) is a diaper that can function as an all-in-one diaper or as a diaper cover, thus the name all-in-two. An all-in-two diaper has a snap in, or lay in insert that can be removed and replaced with a clean insert after it has been wet. The cover of an all-in-two only needs to be laundered if the diaper is soiled and the cover needs cleaning. With the insert removed the diaper can be used as a cover over a prefold or fitted cloth diaper.

And now for my opinion.. yep that’s the fun part…

Personally I love the cute design diapers but I think they are crazy expensive. Since I started CDing to save money I don’t have many cutesy diapers but If I find them on a diaper swap or on clearance or as factory seconds for the right price I buy them. In a previous post I mentioned buying Spiky 2 cow print diapers. They were on clearance that’s the only reason he got them. For the most part I think simple is best. Also I prefer prefolds and covers over pocket diapers, all in ones or all in twos. To me it just doesn’t make sense to have to buy 2-3 days worth of diapers that can get expensive. When you have a cover you don’t have to change the cover with every diaper change, really only if it gets pooped on. I go through about 4 covers a day. Not because of poop but because of dampness. I’ve read you can just lay them out to dry and they are good to go but I am kind of weird about that, it’s a personal choice though.

Here are some things that I didn’t know about when I started, there are individual posts for some of these but to save you time I’ll retype.

1.      You really need a free and clear laundry detergent for your diapers. And even if it is all natural and scented with essential oils your baby can get a rash. I learned this today. After a lot of research I found a free and clear detergent called ECOS it was rated highly on a site that ranked detergents for diapers. It was about $9 at walmart and enough for 250+ loads of diapers. Just FYI when you wash diapers you only use a ¼ of the amount of soap you would use with a regular load of clothes but you (at least I do) do 2 washes. One is cold one is hot.

2.      Prepping is important. I use prefolds and with most prefolds you have to “prep” them which is a non descriptive way to say wash and dry them at least 3 times before first use. This insures their absorbency and will save you, your couch, the bed from getting peed on… yep it happened to me … not only did it happen to me it happened twice before I realized what was going on.

3.      Wool Dryer balls are the bomb. My first time washing and drying the prefolds it took FOREVER to dry the prefolds and I couldn’t figure out why because we had just bought a brand new dryer. After some searching I found that because of the weight and whatnot of the prefolds they basically stick to the side of the dryer when its spinning and they don’t get dry. To remedy this you need to use dryer balls. Now you can buy the plastic ones at walmart and at other places online which at first I did and then I found out that wool worked better. So after a few days of using the plastic ones and my drying time being cut down from 2 hours to 40 minutes I bought a few skeins of fisherman’s wool and made my own wool dryer balls and the dry time cut down to around 30 minutes. If you want to make your own dryer balls, I used the instructions found here. And if you make your own and you screw up some they look irregular or you just aren’t happy with them they are baby safe. Just make sure there are no loose threads or small enough to be a choking hazard basically use common sense.

4.      Cloth wipes are pretty nice. I think we used cloth diapers for a few weeks before I had the realization that I could use cloth wipes. It started with the first poopy diaper and I had no idea where to put the disposable wipes while I was trying to get the diaper changed because you can’t just wrap them up in the cloth and throw it away that is not economical. I searched on etsy for cloth wipes and found quite a few people that sell cloth wipes for reasonable prices and you just make your own wipe solution. I use aloe water and a few drops of teatree oil. I also use a disposable wipe case. If you live in a cold environment or you just like wipe warmers I recommend getting one. I don’t have one but I keep the wipes on top of the dryer and since we have 4 kids and my nephew living in our house we are always doing laundry so the wipes are pretty much always warm.

5.      One size diapers rock. I have a few sized diapers. And I don’t like the way they fit. One size diapers have buttons along the front so that you can adjust the rise of the diaper most fit from 10lbs to potty training.

Sticker Shock

Buying cloth carries a bit of a sticker shock for a lot of people (mom’s and dad’s) but there is something that you must keep in mind. First it is basically a one time purchase, until you get addicted (Hi My name is Amber and I’m addicted to Cloth diapers). Here is what you need to keep in mind.

Disposable diapers cost approximately 30 cents apiece. I don’t know about you but I have a kid who pees a lot we go through at least 13 diapers a day. So if you take the average amount of diapers you use a day and multiply that by 30 cents and that amount by 30 you will know about how much you spend on disposables a month. For us that was:

.30x13= $3.90 a day

3.90x30=$117 a month.

My advice is to spend an equal or lesser amount on cloth that you would spend in one month on disposables. That way if you only use cloth one month you really aren’t out any money. Plus cloth keeps its value as long as you take care of it correctly and you should have no problems selling your stash on a swap board and even some sites will buy back your used diapers. After your first month is over and you are going to stick with cloth just make sure you spend less than what you would spend on disposables and you will save money. 

This is a video I found on how to use a prefold in econobums it works in all of the cover brands that I have tried.

PS. I am NOT an expert in Cloth diapers, I don't have all the answers and there is always the option that I am wrong about something mentioned above. If you know differently please let me know because I am all about new knowledge. Thank you :)

new diaper covers!

Last week I ordered diaper covers from Little Bee Creations They came in yesterday and I LOVE them! If I have seriously considered buying the AIO diapers that they make. Which I might do at some point. I don't have a great picture of the diapers that I ordered but I do have a picture *if you don't got pictures you don't got nothin'* What I ordered was a part of the remment sale so I did not get to choose my own fabric, I did however make a request for diapers with blue and green if possible and the diaper covers are even better than I expected! here is a link to the Little Bee Creations ebay store. I definitly recommend checking them out! I have used one of the covers today and so far no leaks or other problems.



I'm hoping to get some better pictures Monday.

Wool dryer balls

To anyone new to cloth diapering (like me) you might not know that you NEED dryer balls to dry your prefolds, or you are going to spend hours drying them. I have a dryer that dries a full load of towels in under 30 minutes; and it still takes a good 2 hours to dry 13 prefolds. After the first time of washing and drying the prefolds to prep them for use I became aware of this problem and began searching for the reason and remedy. What I found where dryer balls. You can get them in plastic or in wool. Since there were no wool ones at Wal-mart I bought 4 plastic ones. They cut the drying time from 2 hours to a mere 40 minutes. I have read that wool works even better but instead of buying them I made my own and saved some money.
On Thursday I went to Hobby Lobby and bough Fisherman's wool (Lion Brand) that said it was perfect for felting. This seemed to be the most economical option. It was 10.99 for a skein, I bought 3 skeins just to be safe. Since I had never done the project I was unsure as to how much wool it would take. I then followed the directions found here and ended up with 17 wool dryer balls. most of them are 8 inches but some of them I didnt wrap tight enough or I wrapped too tight, I'm not really sure what caused it but they shrank and are considerably smaller. But in the midst of all of my searching I found that felted wool balls are great baby toys so the smaller / irregular ones will not go to waste because Spiky will get to enjoy them.

So Far…

I am in LOVE with cloth diapers! Even though I was the one who wanted to try it I was a still a bit skeptical about what it would actually be like. But so far so good; I’ll admit that “dirty” diapers are worse than wet diapers. The plus side Spiky is a breast man and only poops every few days. I did not order enough prefolds. My initial order was for 20, and I guess I underestimated how much the boy really does pee because just today he went through 13 dipes so I had to do laundry tonight. But you know it was still totally worth it! My only real complaint is that it takes forever to dry the prefolds in my dryer, its not the dryer because it is brand new and has no problems drying clothes, I really think that it has something to do with the size and density of prefolds. I’m open to suggestions other than hanging them outside, I have trees in my small back yard and I think the pollen would be counterproductive. I did see online where you can buy wool dryer balls and that is supposed to cut drying time, but I can’t see myself spending $8 for one ball of yarn. I think tomorrow (or later today) I might go to a craft store, buy some felting wool, and make my own just to try it out.

Spiky in his econobum and baby legs!! 

Wool Dryer balls

The cloth diaper experiment

I have wanted to cloth diaper since Spiky was born, but we had a craptastic washer and dryer. Finally got a new washer and dryer a few days ago and they work spectacular. After much debate, research and such I have convinced my husband to let me give it a try. This morning I went on cottonbabies.com and ordered some ‘seconds’ econobums , prefolds,diaper totes, and diaper detergent and a few other odds and ends. What is amazing is I placed my order at 7am on January 26^th and got the email saying that it had shipped 6:30pm the SAME DAY!! According to UPS my order should be in Friday afternoon. I am defiantly recommending cottonbabies.com to anybody who wants to cloth diaper. I also went on ebay and bought a diaper sprayer. I also got the confirmation tonight that it has shipped as well. So it seems in a few days I can go into cloth diaper mode and give this a fair shot. My husband is still disturbed by the whole concept. But I am hoping that after a week he will be used to the idea. I spent $120 this morning on all of this diaper stuff and it should be the majority of what we need to last the whole time Spiky is in diapers. The $120 one time investment totally beats the $100 we spend on diapers a month. Well that is a rough estimate, Spiky goes through at LEAST 10 diapers a day, and if you figure diapers cost between .20 and.30 cents a piece that is $60-$90 dollars a month at a minimum. Either way even if we only use cloth for 2 months it will be the same as diapers for 2 months. If all goes well I will have the same diapers for my next child. Unfortunately the only ‘seconds’ they had were blue so if the next child is a girl I will have to buy new covers but other than that we will be set. I did only buy the minimum for what we will ultimately need so I figure I will spend maybe another $100 but still it will be cheaper than disposables in the long run.