Cloth diaper rant Part 2: The different kinds of diapers/accesories

All I can think of is yuck!

Anyone who uses cloth diapers will tell you how easy the really are. I am pretty sure that you probably role your eyes and say "yeah right".
***NOTE- ALL PICTURES ARE TAKEN FROM COTTONBABIES.COM (a great CD website!)***

Let me change your mind.
The different kinds of CD's. (This post may get a bit long... so I am splitting this up into different parts)

Prefolds- a prefold is pretty much what you think of when it comes to a cloth diaper. It's a rectangle with a thicker center you can do many folds with it to wrap around the baby's bum. In the old days pins were used to keep the diaper closed, and a plastic pant was put over the diaper. Now a days most people use Snappis and a diaper cover. Prefolds usually need to be prepped, meaning you need to wash and dry them 6 to 8 times before you can use them Pretty much the more you wash and dry them the more absorbent they become. They can come bleached or unbleached.

Prefold diaper














Snappi- Snappi's are used to keep prefolds together.


Snappi fastener 















Diaper covers- Diaper covers are made with a leak proof material (PUL). They can come sized (small, medium, etc) or one size fits all. If they are os then the diaper usually snaps down to a smaller size, then as the child grows you can snap to a medium size, then leave totally unsnapped for a large size. Diaper covers can last from 8 lbs to potty training. They either come with Velcro or snaps. Most people hang dry covers (they dry pretty quickly), but they can be thrown in the dryer for a quick dry. Diaper covers can also be made out of wool, it is simply put over a fitted or prefold diaper. It is breathable and doesn't ever get wet since it chemically reacts with liquid.
 

Diaper cover (Thirsties)















All In One (AIO)- AIO diapers are pretty much no work diaper. The diaper is just like a sposie, one easy step. (very day care friendly diapers!) They can be line dried or put in the dryer, they tend to
 take a long time to dry. Like a diaper cover they can be OS, or come in various sizes. They also come in aplex or snaps.

AIO diaper

Fitted diaper- A fitted diaper is an absorbent material that looks like a diaper but is not water proof. They wrap around the body and are very soft and comfy. However they are NOT water proof and require a diaper cover. They can be snapped or aplexed. They can take a while to dry but not as long as an AIO.

Fitted diaper (kissaluv

Contour diaper- Contour diapers are very similar to fitted's. Except that they usually do not have elastic bands around the waist and legs.


Contour diapers (kissaluvs)
















Pocket Diaper- Pocket diapers are probably the most popular form of CD's right now. The outside is a waterproof fabric, it is then lined with a soft material that wicks moisture down to an insert that is stuffed in side of the diaper. Meaning baby is not really sitting in wet! These diapers can be prestuffed which makes them great for daycares, baby sitters, and lets not forget about dads! They can be hung dry or put in the dryer. They come sized or one size, with snaps or aplex. Also some people prefer to stuff pockets with prefolds.


Pocket diaper (bumgenius)















Hybrid/All in two (AI2) diaper- An AI2 diaper is a diaper cover with an insert that sits (or snaps) inside.) The insert can be cloth or flushable (making it a hybred). So when the diaper is solid you can replace the insert and wipe the cover clean (the wet does not sit on the PUL fabric) and the cover can be used again. Most people replace the cover during changes and let the other one air dry, then they use the cover for the next change. Also the cover is usually put in the pail/wet bag when its pooped on. (These are the diapers I use most, and in my opinion are the best for your buck.)



AI2 diaper (flip)
















Inserts- Inserts are used to either stuff a pocket diaper or lay in an AI2. They can be made from micro fiber, bamboo, or another absorbent fabric. Microfiber should NOT touch baby's skin (it will severely dry the skin out). So if the insert is made for an AI2 then it will have a materiel that is suitable for baby's skin that will wick the moisture down (similar to the top layer of a pocket diaper.) Inserts may also be disposable, most true CD users only use these flushable liners for travel or a diaper rash. Some inserts can either snap or fold down to fit a OS diaper.



pocket insert (Bumgenius)
















Doubler's/soakers- These can be stuffed with an insert for more absorbency, or layed under an insert/fitted/prefold. They look similar to an insert.
Liners- Liner can be layed under baby's skin, they are very soft and wick the moisture down. Liners are made from various material including fleece and raw silk. They can be cloth or disposable, many people use them at night and when diaper rash cream is needed.

Fleece liner (bummis

 














Diaper pales- Some people store dirty diapers in diaper pales. They are usually lined with a pale liner that is made out of PUL. (Old fashioned wet pales use to contain water, this is a HUGE safety hazard and for the most part is no longer practiced.) You can buy a pale from a CD retailer, or use a plastic trash can.

Diaper pale (planet wise)

Wet bags/ pale liners- Wet bags and pale liners are made of waterproof PUL. Some are zippered/draw stringed/ or just left open, Diapers are placed in the bag, then the whole bag is out in the wash. They come in numerous sizes, including small to fit into a diaper bag.


Wet bag (planet wise)
















Cloth wipes- Many people who CD use cloth wipes (including me)! They can be made or bought. I made mine from thin Gerber burp clothes, I cut them into six pieces and had instant wipes. Cloth wipes tend to clean more then a sposie wipe. I use one cloth for every three sposie. They are just thrown into the wet bag, and washed with the diapers.

Cloth wipes (kissaluvs)

Wetting cloth wipes- Some people buy wipe solution, others make them home aid, and some just use water. I have a peri bottle from the hospital that I put water in to wet my wipes, I also have a spray bottle for the diaper bag. Honestly though most of the time I just wet my wipe in the sink before use. Also some people wet a few wipes and keep them in a container, if this is done they need to be used/replaced frequently to keep them from becoming moldy.

Wipe spray (CA baby)

Diaper Sprayer- Many people buy diaper sprayers to clean CD's. You hook them up to the toilet and use it to spray of waste. This does not need to be used until baby starts on solids. Some people dunk the diaper in the toilet rather then spraying. You can also "plop"/scrape the waste in. Many people also just put a liner down and plop the solid in the toilet.

Diaper sprayer (bum Genius)

Cloth Diaper rant part 1: Why we have a fluffy butt!

*Warning* Like all my blog posts these are my personal opinions! This is not meant to judge/hurt/ or make you feel guilty for the choices you have made/ are making for your family. It is just the reasoning behind my choice to cloth diaper. If you disagree with anything I welcome your comments. (In a nice respectful manner of course!)



So lets talk cloth diapers, it has really become a bit of an obsession with me (if you are fb friends with me I am sure you can tell!)

And why???
Because they are so freaken cute! Just kidding...(kind of) Aside from the cute factor is the cheap factor. If a child wears diapers until they are two and a half years old and you are buying a pack of diapers for $10 a week you will spend approximately $1300 on diapers. (these are my rough estimates... math is not my thing just ask my brother :) So that is 1300 on something that my kid will wear for maybe 3 hours. Then I will toss it in the trash and never think of it again. I would much rather spend that money on something like a living room set or a down payment on a car or heck maybe even a college fund for the girls. Lets take this one step further, I have two kids that's $2600!!! At some point Jason and I want to have more kids if we have two more kids we would spend $5200 on poop catchers. That's a pretty big chunk of money. What if your kid doesn't potty train until she is 3??? What if she still wets the bed at 5? Think of the money that is being wasted on diapers/pull ups.
If this doesn't catch your attention think on this.
The *average* diaper package has lets say 30 diapers in it. Modestly that is 3900 in a landfill PER child. If you have two kids that is 7800 diapers! It is estimated that it takes 250 to 500 YEARS for the diapers to decompose. If you believe that God created this earth, that's not really a good way to be taking care of it like we should be. (I could write a whole post on this alone, think on this God created the earth he then created man in his image. If we are supposed to be like him shouldn't we take care of HIS creation?)
DioxaWHAT?
Did you know that disposable diapers contain CHEMICALS? http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php Says this

Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process.  It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals.  It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S..¹

Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.²

Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbency tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome by increasing absorbency and improving the environment for the growth of toxin-producing bacteria.³

In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogeneisis.

Is this really something that you want your child wearing EVERY day for at least two years?

I'll also add this. A wore disposable diapers up until four months away from potty training(something I very much regret.) The kid had rashes ALL the time, I mean all the time. L wore sposies (a cute nick name) until her cord fell off, she was very red for much of that time. Since I put her full time in Cloth diapers she has not had one rash. That alone convinces me that I made the right choice.

And back to my first reason they are just so cute I mean look at this butt!

Love those heels. xoxo

"Would you like to buy some shells?"

When my cousin Alicia and I were young we had great ambition to make money. We didn't set up your typical lemonade stand, no we sold shells. My great grandmothers house was right on the shore of Point Judith in Rhode Island, we spent long hours with our grand-parents collecting shells. Naturally we would them pain them and try and sell them. If you have ever seen my hand writing an automatic assumption can be made that me and painting is out of the questions. So my very artistic cousin would paint the shells, and I would hike up the price (I mean really like $5 for a shell?) and then would stand in the middle of the road to make all cars stop and buy our freshly painted shells. Our top buyer was the mail lady.
Later in grade school (or was is middle?) some friends and I saw an empty food kiosk in the old New London mall (that no longer exists) and we had the grand scheme to open up a "snack shack". (By the way I am pretty sure I was the one who thought up all these business schemes) I had a toy McDonalds set that would make the apple pies and such, we decided that people would love to buy it and we also planned to sell ice cream (it must of been grade school because I am having a hard time remembering). I believe it was my now facebook friend Gloria’s mom who crushed our dreams when she told her that one had to be 18 to legally open a business.
I think that I have always wanted to be a business owner. I have always wanted to present people with things that I have created. My dream jobs at the moment is to open a bridal salon, and or a baby boutique that sells cloth diapers.
However I am a busy stay at home mom, my husband is working on his degree and this really is not the right time in our life to physically open a business. So this led me to open an online etsy store.
This is me standing in the road.I make pretty fab looking burpies, and am working on some other projects (like flower head bands/clips, changing pads, taggies, wet bags, and maybe even diaper covers.) So check out my etsy store! (Ok so I only have one thing listed but I am working on two custom orders right now so that has to count for something... right?)
So here is the shop.
And the facebook page is the same as the blog "motherinheels", make sure you like them both!http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gwyneddlesligrace?ref=seller_info

Changes

For a week now I have thought on what this next post should be. Should I write about Cloth diapering? How about my journey in to attachment parenting? I could write about the new book I am reading "mommy teach me" by Barbra Curtis, or about my new Etsy store
Up until now I really thought I knew who I was as a Jesus lover and who I was as a parent. Two separate entities living in one, yes crossing paths sometimes but really I think that my parenting kind of ignored my Jesus loving side. It's kind of ridicules if you think about it, since we are in a parent/ child relationship with God. Shouldn't we then base our parenting after him?
This really hit home...
Recently one night I had to run down to the gas station at the bottom of our hill. I drove my husbands car since it was blocking mine and he had the local Christian radio on. Something I never listen to because really I think it is super boring and I NEED to listen to music when I drive. Also I find a lot of the stuff incredibly corny and a lot of the methods seriously out dated.
Anyway, Joyce Meyers was on (someone I hardly ever listen to/watch/read) she was talking to the crowed about how she didn't want them to "cheer" and "amen" there only to leave and not apply anything to their lives. (Of course she got a huge applause for that...) She then began to talk about not losing your testimony specifically with your children. How we may fool the person in the grocery store when we are speaking so nicely to our kids, then we get in the car and start barking at them. (So guilty). Our kids know who we are. We can not hide anything from them, they know exactly where they stand with us and they know what is important to us.
I sat in the car for a good ten minutes just crying at the realization that I am so one of those moms. With a mixture of post partum, a new baby, a new church, a new house, a husband that works 60 hours a week, and a two and a half year old my patience with A has just been so worn. I get upset with her for every little thing especially nap time. Oh man do I lose it at nap time. I end up yelling, she ends up in tears and we both are so over tired and frustrated at that point that we can't stand to be around each other. The mom guilt kills me. It kills me that I just can't keep calm, it kills me even more when I see A copying my behavior. Like when she screams at the dog, and she tells him to "COME HERE NOW." This is not who I want to be, this is NOT who I want my daughter to see.
So how do I change this?Baby steps. The first change that I have made is starting my morning with the girls (after breakfast, changing L, and A going potty of course) is by starting it with reading one verse from the Bible (it comes up on my phone hehe) and praying a simple prayer. We ask God to help A learn to be obedient and to listen. Then we pray that Mommy will be patient and that he will help me to show her and L Gods love. Also that I will be able to teach them all that they can learn (that's for a different post :)
My number one goal is to remain calm and to not raise my voice. I have been doing pretty well, I find that when I am getting really frustrated I can have A either paint to do play dough at the table (my chairs are really tall so she doesn't climb down her self), or I have her play in her room with the gate up. She really loves playing in her room. She has the freedom to do what she wants and I think it really encourages her to use her imagination. This time usually can give me ten minutes to an hour to spend time with L, go on facebook or see the deals going on Zulily/totsy/babysteals, take a nap, do laundry. Anything really to calm the house down. Today I even took a shower, that was a HUGE score!

I guess I will sum up tonight with this, I am raising people, not inconveniences. The choices I make as a parent today will affect them for the rest of their lives. I want them to grow into a loving relationship with our beautiful creator, therefore I MUST MUST MUST show them the respect, grace, mercy, love, and passion that he shows us.
I'm pretty sure he made me short, because he knew of my love for heels!
Bethany
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gwyneddlesligrace?ref=seller_info. I guess though that I really want to touch on all of these subjects however I feel like I should start with this, God is doing a total gut and start over on my parenting lifestyle.