Showing posts with label Cloth Diapering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cloth Diapering. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Cloth Diaper Recap!


Hello Everyone!

Today I decided to re-post some cloth diaper resources and experiences with you. I hope you find some of the links helpful and useful. I will follow up to this post with even more information, but I thought this was a good, but simple post to get us started! You can find the original post here.

So, once I fell in love with the cuteness of cloth diapers, I knew that I had to get my husband on board.
Source

I started by emailing him an article at work similar to this or this. The article breaks down the toxins that are often found in disposable diapers. It's hard to think about!

source

The next seed I planted was about the cost of diapers. If I used disposables full time I could spend up to $2400!! That's an awful lot of money that gets thrown in a dump somewhere and takes forever to decompose. This is a great article that discusses the cost of disposable vs. cloth diapers.
source

It's sorta neat that I am still using the first cloth diaper that I ever bought and Liza is almost 2 years old. I should take a picture of her in it and do a comparison!

Together we decided to give it a try. If we hated using cloth diapers then we would sell them (there is a very big used cloth diaper market!). I felt like since I gave up my job to become a stay at home mama then I should be able to try something that could help save us money and treat my baby's bum better.
Liza is wearing a pocket diaper....Bum Genius 4.0
Liza has never, ever had a diaper rash. I'm not sure if it's her cloth diapers or luck, but I'll take it!

Liza in a Bum Genius AIO 

 When you first start considering cloth, it seems a little overwhelming. There are so many different types of diapers and different brands. Then you have to think about your detergent and wash routine. My favorite resource for this kind of thing is Pinstripes and Polka Dots. You can find the answers to all your questions there!

You might be interested now, but I know you're wondering if it's too hard or gross. Check out my quick post The Scoop on the Poop for a little more on the dirty side of cloth diapering!

Please comment or email or Facebook if there you have any questions and I will be sure to answer them in my next diaper post!!


XO Sarah

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Photography Talk: 2 lenses and 3 Pinteresting Tutorials


Hi there!

I am getting ready for our road trip to New England. We will be there for two weeks visiting family, friends, attending weddings and birthday parties. Phew it will be busy, but fun!

I found some great websites/tutorials for those who want to learn how to use their cameras, especially those who have a DSLR. It took me a while to start using the fabulous features that came with my fancy camera. As a matter of fact, it took me over 2 years to purchase a lens besides the one that came with the camera. My first lens purchase was a 50mm 1.8. I personally thinks it's Canon's best kept secret. It is inexpensive but takes great pictures! A great budget lens for those that love photography as a hobby.

Here are two pictures I have taken with this lens.





I just bought another new lens for my camera. The Tamron 28-75mm.2.8 is a good walk around lens, meaning you can use it for almost all situations that may arise and it will take a nice picture. It compares to the pricer canon version 24-70mm. I like the lens, but I am still getting used to it. I have taken hundreds of pictures already, but I am still trying to get a feel for it. It is much heavier than the 50mm 1.8.

Here are a few pictures I have taken with it. Keep in mind I am still trying to get a feel for it.







I still have so much to learn! I have been looking at a few websites I found on pinterest

Here are three of my favorites. Check them out! 
Click Here

Click here


 The below mini tutorial is an easy way to remember what to do in different situations.  It serves as an excellent help especially when you just start out in Manuel mode. I am going to print it out and put it in my camera bag as a reminder. 



Do you have any tips or tricks about photography to share?

 I challenge you to take your camera off auto and learn all the wonderful functions that come with your Digital SLR cameras. 

Hugs,
Katey

Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Scoop on the Poop

Hey there!

This particular post is more for those babies/toddlers who are formula fed and/or are eating solids. We are going to do another post about cloth diapers and the exclusively breastfed baby.


I know what you are all thinking. Why would you want to scrape poop? 

It's really not as bad as you're thinking. I promise.

In fact, it is way less gross than the diaper blowouts I had to deal with when Liza was a newborn in pampers! Omigosh, I actually have the best picture of this, but I cannot find it! My poor mom was a victim of a blowout while we were out to breakfast one time!

I can honestly say that I've never had to touch the poop to get it into the toliet. There's never been a huge mess. Even during the dreaded stomach bug that we had a few weeks ago. It takes us a few extra seconds, but then it's gone. There's no poop sitting in the garbage or in your Diaper Genie.

Here's how I do things. I always have a clean diaper and some cloth wipes ready...
GroVia AI2 & Target cheapy washcloths for wipes (I'll tell you about that later)

before I wrangle the wiggly toddler and try to distract her long enough to get her clean.




Open diaper. Try not to inhale through your nose while distracting the kiddo.




Wipe up the mess. Sometimes I even use the diaper to wipe a little. You will probably do the same thing.

Use your imagination for this step :)


Put it to the side while I put on the clean diaper. Usually while chasing her little bum around the house.
I know I'm not the only mom who can put on a diaper while their kid runs around. Talent.


Once the kiddo is all dressed, I grab the dirty diaper and instead of throwing it in the trash, I walk into the bathroom. It takes about five steps from any room in my house to get there.

Next, I open up the good old toliet and plop the poopy in. If the poop isn't too plopable I grab my handy-dandy homemade diaper sprayer and spray away anything that is left before chucking everything into the diaper pail.

Now, if you're fancy, you can buy this.  Or your husband can make you this-
I swear, my gorgeous blue tile is not dirty...I have no idea why it looks like that! yuck!

and you can pretend to be so, so, so happy, but secretly wish you had a prettier one (which is stupid. don't be like that). Don't be jealous of my awesome diaper sprayer. This thing could knock you over it has so much power!

Once I spray and/or dump, I throw the dirty diaper into my diaper pail. I bought a cheap trash can (from Target, of course!) and put a pail liner in it.

I took the cover off so you could see it better.

I have two like this. I also have a wet bag, like this one which zippers, but I find the pail to be easier. I know that Katey prefers a wet bag. She has a 3m hook you can mount by sticking it to the wall and the  bag hangs on it in her laundry room. Katey also finds the wet bags handy for wet clothes, especially during potty learning!  It really just depends on what you like best. There is no right or wrong  way. I have even heard of people who have top loader washing machines just soaking them throughout the day and washing every night. So there is no wet bag or pail liner.

When its wash day you just take your pail liner/wet bag and empty the diapers in the wash....you don't have to touch those dirty diapers again!!!!


And that's it! Super easy! Really, it is. Even the hubby can manage it :)
.


 I left out some stuff, like how I do my wipes and how I wash my diapers, but I think this is enough information for one day. Really, there are SO many different ways to do all this stuff. My sister inlaw actually has a diaper service and doesn't have to do any washing :)

Bottom line, don't be scared of changing poopy cloth diapers!!!

XOXO Sarah


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Deciding Factors

So, once I fell in love with the cuteness of cloth diapers, I knew that I had to get my husband on board.
Source


I started by emailing him an article at work similar to this or this. The article breaks down the toxins that are often found in disposable diapers. It's hard to think about!
source

The next seed I planted was about the cost of diapers. If I used disposables full time I could spend up to $2400!! That's an awful lot of money that gets thrown in a dump somewhere and takes forever to decompose. This is a great article that discusses the cost of disposable vs. cloth diapers.
source

It's sorta neat that I am still using the first cloth diaper that I ever bought and Liza is almost 2 years old. I should take a picture of her in it and do a comparison!

Together we decided to give it a try. If we hated using cloth diapers then we would sell them (there is a very big used cloth diaper market!). I felt like since I gave up my job to become a stay at home mama then I should be able to try something that could help save us money and treat my baby's bum better.
Liza is wearing a pocket diaper....Bum Genius 4.0
Liza has never, ever had a diaper rash. I'm not sure if it's her cloth diapers or luck, but I'll take it!

Liza in a Bum Genius AIO 

 When you first start considering cloth, it seems a little overwhelming. There are so many different types of diapers and different brands. Then you have to think about your detergent and wash routine. My favorite resource for this kind of thing is Pinstripes and Polka Dots. You can find the answers to all your questions there!

There is SO much more we could talk about, but it won't happen today. My boss is fussy today since she took a really crappy nap. I must go read stories, watch Dora (hey, it's a rainy day!), and get her to eat something!

XOXO Sarah



Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Why I started Cloth Diapering with baby # 3

Cloth diapering is a loaded topic both literally and figuratively! Haha! I would like to share little bit of my experience. On future Wednesdays, we will go into more detail.

I had never come across anyone who cloth diapered until my sister, Melissa, started doing it when my nephew was a year old. My nephew Caleb and my middle daughter Madisyn are only three weeks apart. So when she began to talk to me about  cloth all I could think about were the old fashioned diapers with the safety pins that my Mom used on my brother and sister and it sounded like a lot of hard work and aggravation. Disposable diapers were easier to use, all you had to do when you were done is throw it in the trash. Melissa showed me the pocket diapers she used and explained how modern cloth was a lot easier now than it was 20 plus years ago when Mom did it.


Caleb in a fuzzibunz one size pocket diaper




Not too long after Sarah started cloth diapering Liza. Hmm.. another person I know using modern cloth. Then I found out I was pregnant with baby # 3 and I would have two kids in diapers. Which meant we would be shelling out about $80 or more a month just on diapers,This does not include wipes! Throughout my pregnancy I silently began to contemplate whether or not to use cloth. I asked questions,and did research but it all seemed so overwhelming. There are so many different types all in ones, pockets, all in twos and the list goes on.  Where do I begin?

My husband wasn't completely on board, but when I told him he wouldn't have to change many diapers he was all for it! LOL I decided the best time to start was on Earth day 2011, a few weeks after my son Jacob was born, I decided to place my first cloth diaper order.  I developed a small obsession with them for a while because there are so many different types. I wanted to try them ALL!!

I have found my favorites to be Grovia All in Ones for quick changes
Jacob in a Grovia All in One Nature


and Baby Kicks pocket diaper which are a bit more abosorbant for naps and taking trips


Super cute eh? ( Like my Canadian flare? lol) 



 At night my system is a Bumgenius Pocket stuffed with a hemp babies little weeds and a prefold.

This diaper 's pocket is fabulous for stuffing!


That is my story in a nutshell. Although I didn't know the greatness of cloth prior to my third child, it is certainly never too late to get started!



Hugs,
Katey











Liza's first time in cloth


I'm with Katey on this one. I never in a million years thought that I would use cloth diapers. I didn't think that anyone did it anymore. When Liza was a newborn, I spent quite a bit of time nursing and had some time to play around on the internet. I started seeing all kinds of references to cloth diapering and I was totally intrigued. They were SO cute! I wanted some. I really wanted some. I just couldn't figure out how I could get the hubs on board with the idea. I knew he'd be be worried about money and that he would be a bit intimidated by the whole scooping poop into the toliet thing. Luckily, I found some wonderful resources that I shared with my hubs. Then I sorta let him think the whole "let's try cloth diapers" thing was his idea :) I'm bad like that.
I'll share my favorite cloth diapers and resources next Cloth Diaper Wednesday!

xoxo Sarah

So tell us, what are your thoughts on cloth diapers? Leave a comment!!!