Lets Talk About Cloth Diapers! :)

Recently I've talked to several different people about cloth diapers, so I thought I'd turn those thoughts and explanations about how I cloth diaper into a post. :)

Now, here is a disclaimer to start off with- I'm not a diehard.  I don't cloth diaper at night, because I *hate* waking up snuggled next to my baby... in a puddle.  I also generally don't cloth diaper on Sundays because we're away from home for most of the day, and because that makes it more of a day of rest for me.

However, I do usually cloth diaper at home, and this is how I do it...

My Fuzzi Bunz are what I grab first out of the diaper drawer.  I have 6 smalls (which Nathan outgrew before 6 months, but Miriam is still fitting into at 9 months), 12 sage mediums (which fit both my 9 month old and my 22 month old), and 6-10 large sized Fuzzi Bunz.

I think this is a pretty nice stash, but I only had to purchase the mediums, and we got a pretty good deal on Ebay.  The others were handmedowns from another mom (a huge blessing! Thanks Mrs. B!) and had already been through several kiddos.  I do not think that some of the larges will make it through another little one without having new elastic put in, but I may decide that is worth the investment as that would be less expensive than purchasing new.  On the other hand, Fuzzi Bunz now come in one size that has adjustable elastic so it can grow with the baby.  That would be nice so I may try out a few of those when these large ones finally kick the bucket.

Sometimes I run out of Fuzzi Bunz that fit Miriam before the dirty diapers are washed and dry again.  When that happens, I use prefolds with a Snappi , which I love.  So much easier than pins, and faster, too.   I started out using pins and plastic pants, and honestly I don't like either.  I much prefer the Snappi and my two Thirsties covers.  Thirsties are much easier when you have a dirty diaper, since plastic pants have to be pulled off, and Thirsties are really adjustable, which I like. Also, they have leg gussets, which REALLY cuts down on leaks! I have the medium size, and I think it will last Miriam for several more months.  They are a lot cheaper than Fuzzi Bunz, for sure, and if I had known how easy to use they were, especially with the Snappi, I might have just purchased them instead.  Plus, they're cute! :)  I have the sky blue pictured here, and a lovely aqua as well (decided against girly colors so whenever #3 comes along I won't need to purchase more, either way)...

As far as washing, it is really simple.  I'll shake dirty toddler diapers out into the toilet, but baby diapers and wet diapers just go straight into a dry pail.  When I'm ready to wash, I shake the liners out of the diapers, and fold the velcro over on the Thirsties.  Then I run a cold rinse, and a warm or hot wash with either soap nuts (not the best deal on them, but if you want to try them out the little starter pack is a low investment way to do it) or laundry detergent (usually this or this) if I'm out of soap nuts, as I am right now.  Sometimes if some of the diapers have been sitting a little too long, or were especially dirty, I'll run two cold rinses and then a warm wash, or a cold rinse/cold wash/warm wash.  Then I hang the outside part of the Fuzzi Bunz, and the Thirsties covers, either outside on the clothesline, or inside on a line I strung across our utility room.  I throw the prefolds and the inserts in the dryer, usually, unless it is a very sunshiny day in which case they do dry fairly quickly on the line.

Nathan, being adorable in the medium sage Fuzzibunz, last summer :)

So... any questions?  If you cloth diaper, what are your favorite diapers?  Did you start out using them or did you change to them?

Monday stickies...

And...
drink tea,
dance with toddler,
sew a podeagi,
have a cozy, catch-up-and-breathe type Monday?

I hope so! :)  Happy Monday!

Yesterday

 At 8.30 AM, we kicked things off by breaking the lid to the butter dish.  Butter is a theme in Nathan's life, so he did the honors. 

Shortly after, I shut the oven and the outer part of the oven door fell right off onto the floor. I kid you not.

Then I changed two poopy diapers.  Breakfast happened at some point. And it wasn't very healthy.

And then my favorite hair clip broke.  And the guard gate.

Thankfully by that time it was time for lunch and then naps, so the crazy level went down considerably.  :)  

And stayed mostly down for the rest of the day.  

Micah got home earlier than usual, fixed the oven door, then blessed me and made dinner (!) and then hung out with Nathan so I could do some writing.  Very relaxing, especially since it challenges me in a very different way than broken butter dishes do! :)

Routines...

We have been discovering that by changing our nap routine (one midday nap, and no napping past 4pm) the toddler goes to bed earlier and more easily.

On the other hand, this discovery went hand in hand with the discovery that if he goes to bed earlier, he doesn't need two daytime naps.  This I was horrified at not thrilled about.  I know I'm totally spoiled having an almost two year old who has been taking at least two (1 hour +) naps a day for the past six months, and three a day before that, but still!

Naptimes are times when I don't have to pop into the living room every five minutes just to check that the toddler isn't climbing the piano, make sure nobody is unrolling/eating/strangling their sibling in a ball of yarn, the baby isn't eating the toddler's snack, the toddler isn't trying to pick up the baby, the baby isn't eating a magazine, the toddler isn't unzipping the baby's outfit, etc.  Y'know.  I can power through laundry without interruptions, go to the bathroom without wondering what they're up to, or sit down with a cup of tea and concentrate on some reading.  So naptime is of course precious, and losing one?  Well, I'm going to have to get a lot more organized and incorporate the toddler into more of my housework while the baby is napping, I think!

So we've been pulling out puzzles and blocks and generally having fun figuring out a new normal, which has fit in nicely with the fact that he is ready for more "preschool" looking activities.  I'm planning on making him some playdough for his birthday, which I am really excited about.  We gave him eight pieces out of the giant bag of Duplo blocks I have stashed away for his birthday (shhhhh!) as an Epiphany gift, and he has been playing with them and really understanding how to pull them apart and put them back together.  Seeing him enjoy them so much is making it really hard to wait until his birthday to give him the rest of them! :)

Now that I've been thinking about this, and reading this post and  this post... I'm actually excited about this new opportunity for finding a new rhythm for our days! :)

Also, I'm wanting to start getting up earlier and working out while they're asleep... even if it is just a few minutes!  I think that will help me hit the day running... well, that and having a cuppa tea in my system before they wake up... ;-)

What do your days look like?

Here is the recipe I use to make liquid laundry soap. I was going through so much that I decided that it would be worth the effort to make my own. Also if I run out I just make more instead of it being an emergency shopping trip! The friends who gave me this recipe thought it worked better than store-bought, and I completely agree. The load of Micah's work clothes that I tested it on came out cleaner than usual! The people who gave me the recipe calculated that it was about 2 cents per load of laundry. My washing soda was three dollars cheaper than theirs was, but I'm not motivated enough to do the math. ;-)

Liquid Laundry Soap
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup washing soda (or sodium carbonate)
1 cup soap flakes or a grated bar soap
2 gallons water
20 drops essential oil (optional- I didn't have any)

Combine Borax, washing soda, and most of the water. Boil soap flakes in remaining water, and add to first mixture. The soap will help gel the mixture. If your water is hard, add more washing soda. This recipe makes about 2 gallons, so have some jugs ready before you start!

Use about 1/2 cup of laundry soap per load.

If you have trouble finding the washing soda/sodium carbonate, as I did, check the pool section, where you might find it intended for use as a pH balancer. This is fine as long as it is only sodium carbonate. (I couldn't find washing soda at my Walmart, but my small local grocery had some.)

An alternate recipe I make just for our cloth diapers is 1C Borax, 1C Washing soda, and 1C Oxyclean (4 tablespoons for a medium load). I use this instead because I was told that the bar soap in the other recipe could make my diapers retain odor and repel water! This recipe has been working very well, and I like the fact that there aren't any scents or unknown ingredients going on a tender baby bottom!

My friend Anna also posted today about making laundry soap! She makes her own powdered version, which is very similar to my liquid recipe. She points out that it takes up less storage space, so if you're interested in making your own and that is a factor, you should definitely head over there!