Birth and Babies

Just a little blurb to let you know that Motherhood Naturally is now offering cloth diapering classes for free.  The classes will be in my home, in a relaxed atmosphere. By all means bring your child/ren and let me show you the world of cloth diapers and how easy (and economical) they can be!  I have a large selection of cloth diapers available for demonstration purposes that businesses have kindly donated, so you have a great chance to see the many features available today.

When you have a baby, either at home or a hospital, a peri-bottle is usually included after birth.  This is a squeeze bottle with a top that clamps down/is pulled up and has three holes in it.  Its purpose is to help cleanse your perineum after using the bathroom so you don’t have to wipe.  Simply squeeze warm water to cleanse and pat dry.  After having a baby, those first few trips to the bathroom might make you cringe but a peri-bottle can help add an extra level of comfort.  Some moms will also add herbs to the water for an additional comfort measure.

Many moms, myself included, find this to be incredibly helpful to transport home made diaper wipe solution in the diaper bag while out (using washclothes as a wipe).  Because the lid clamps down, it’s a leak proof way to carry your solution around.

My favorite recipe? 2c water, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 drops lavendar oil and 4 drops tea tree oil.  Mix and pour over wipes.  I contain mine (thin baby washcloths and home made wipes using 8×8 flannel and terry, sew, turn, topstitch) in an old plastic Huggies wipe container.

Just a note to anyone interested, you can get a downloadable cloth diapering business directory in e-book format for FREE. visit www.clothdiaper101.com and click on the business directory.  If you are considering cloth diapers, this directory will help you find what you want and the best place to get it.

Cloth diapers can save a lot of money. The main downside to them is the fact that up front, it can cost about $100 or so to get started.  Of course, over time you re-use the diapers and it saves you money after the first months of using them, but just getting started can be rough. 

Visit http://miraclediapers.org/ and get started using donated diapers! 

If you have used cloth diapers and no longer need them, consider donating them to Miracle Diapers.  I have donated diapers to them in the past and am so glad knowing my diapers are getting another life!

While I’m at it, I’d like to introduce to you a free resource online for cloth diapering called www.clothdiapering101.info It is new and undergoing lots of change - but you will find tons of articles from many different sources linked from this site.  Great resource!  bookmark it and check back often!

In a recent cloth diapering demonstration, a mom asked me how much money we spend on energy to dry cloth diapers.  I didn’t have an answer for her - I honestly have no idea.  I know we do use more energy drying diapers than before we had children (although the extra cost still doesn’t come close to what we would be spending in disposable diapers - I do know that much!).

 She got me thinking though… I cloth diaper because it’s a money saver, it’s better for my babies skin, and it helps preserve our environment.  Drying diapers in my dryer is easy and fast, but there are other ways I can go about it.  I’m ok with going out of my way if it means saving money or helping our environment. That’s why I recycle, compost, breastfeed, etc. and live a natural lifestyle to the best of my ability.  So I can improve my diaper drying!

Hanging diapers outside to dry isn’t exactly an option right now, but hanging them in my bathroom is.  I collected all of the hangers in our home that are for hanging pants - with the clips on the end - and a few regular plastic hangers.  I clipped a diaper to each of the diaper clips, and velcro’d or snapped my remaining diapers/covers on the regular hangers.

They may dry stiff because I didn’t add vinegar to the wash cycle (it acts as fabric softener).  So I may put them in the dryer for a few minutes to fluff.  This has motivated me to do the same thing with our regular clothing… Why didn’t I think of this sooner?  We use an environmentally friendly detergent, have done away with fabric softener and dryer sheets (Though I hear Shaklee has a nontoxic and biodegradable option I’m dying to try!) and now we’ll save some energy by hanging most items to dry.

I would like to offer one word of caution: if you have a very thick diaper, it may be helpful to dry it so it does dry completely and not develop mold within the inner layers if it stays moist.

If you use cloth (or heck, avoid using your dryer for everyday clothes), I’d love to hear your ‘alternative’ drying ideas!

So you’re having a baby… Have you given thought to what kind of diapers you want to use?  Most moms think disposables are the only option out there.  But there are a few - yes, your typical disposable diapers are ever present.  But you can also find cloth diapers, environmentally-friendly disposable diapers, even diapering systems that include a reusable cover and a disposable inner pad. 

My only option with my kids are cloth diapers.  Why?  They save us a ton of money (I haven’t had to buy any diapers for my second, nor my next baby!  You can re-use cloth diapers through several children), they are environmentally friendly, healthier for my baby’s skin, and make great cleaning rags when they no longer have a purpose as a diaper.  Cloth diapers of today are not what they were years ago.  Today they come in many different styles including all in ones (diaper and cover combined), diapers in which you can adjust the absorption to suit your needs, you can still find the original cloth diapers (flatfold and then prefold) in which you will need to fold, pin, and use a cover.  The options are about endless.  Want color?  GREAT!  Cloth diapers come in many colors, patterns and prints to suit your desires.

So where can you go to learn more about cloth diapers?  You can visit www.diaperpin.com or read some articles Here.  To save yourself some time you can also purchase The Do It Yourself Cloth Diapering Handbook which has all of the information you’ll need to get started in one spot. 

I use prefolded diapers on my kids during the day (speaking generally, as my daughter is potty trained, but we have another on the way and my son is still in diapers), and pocket diapers at night. The pocket diapers are great for customizing the amount of absorbency you need, especially for night or nap time.  I have bought and even made some fitted diapers (and in fact, any style of cloth diaper can be made at home - is anyone interested in how-to links and patterns?  There are some great free patterns online!).  I use a Snappi diaper fastener instead of pins, and like to use velcro-closing diaper covers, but we have also have had good luck using the pull up vinyl pants from most any store that carries baby products.

One word of warning: If you do buy cloth diapers from a baby store chain or megastore, only buy the diapers described as “DIAPER SERVICE QUALITY”, or “DQ”.  These are the best variety - the birdseye and gauze diapers are better off used as burp rags (and almost led to the demise of my childrens cloth diapering experience). To get the best quality diapers, you’ll have to buy online. 

Anyone want some great stores to buy from??  Let me know!  I also know how you can have cloth diapering products demonstrated in your own home, and you can also order from there, and there are cloth diapering classes locally in the Monroe area to help you get started.