Dipes & Wipes on the Go...

...Again!

Asher and I are about to make another long haul. I'd attempt to explain our crazy travel plans for the next couple of months, but they're so complicated that not even Thane and I have it all figured out yet. So lets just say that we'll bouncing between states like a ping-pong ball gone haywire. And I have to admit that at the thought of all of this car seat time with our four and a half month old baby is scary. Very, very scary.


This next trip will be our fourth big road trip with Asher and his cloth diapers + accessories. So since this is becoming quite the "routine" I thought I'd share a few simple tips for cloth diapering on the go.




It's simple. All you need is the following:


-Your clean diapers
-A wet bag and/or plastic bags from the store to hold dirtied diapers.
-A wipes case- large or small/travel size, depending on the length of your trip.
-Your wet cloth wipes stored in the wipes case, or dry wipes + your spray bottle filled with solution (depending on which method you use).
-A changing pad.

These are the methods that work well for us:

For Long Road Trips:

-Make sure that as many of your cloth diapers and wipes as possible are clean before hitting the road. Store the recently-dirtied ones in a wet bag that you plan on taking with you. We own two medium sized wet bags, one is Planet Wise's "Meadow Tweets", and it's a C.D. must have!

-If your diapers need to be prepped (inserts snapped in, pre-folds folded, etc), do this before leaving and put them all into a diaper bag or backpack- wherever they can be conveniently stored and easily accessed during your trip.

-Fill a large empty disposable wipes case with your cloth wipes. If you use a spray bottle solution to spray your wipes individually, pack your spray bottle in a plastic bag or wherever it won't possibly leak onto other things. If you dampen all of your wipes at the same time (like we do), prep them before leaving and store them in an empty disposable wipes case. Worried about mold and mildew while traveling with damp wipes? Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion Concentrate prevents this (more info here)- even up to a month, as I "accidentally" learned by leaving a damp wipe in a disposable case for that long. You can imagine my surprise when I opened it up expecting a green fuzzy wipe, but instead found no mold whatsoever. It even smelled good! (But don't worry, I washed it before using it all the same).

-At each stop we make along the road, I use a changing pad to change our baby on the seat of the car, (it seems to be easier than using the gas station bathrooms). It's as simple as this- off with the dirty one, and on with the clean one. The dirty diaper and the dirty wipes go into your wet bag or a plastic bag that can be tied shut. You don't want those smells wafting in your car!

For Short Outings

-Put a clean cloth diaper (or two) into a plastic grocery/store bag.

-Put a couple of clean cloth wipes into a small travel size wipe case.

-When you're out and it's time for a diaper change, take your clean diaper out of the plastic bag and then use the same bag to hold the soiled one. Tie the bag shut with the dirty diaper and dirty wipes inside, and store it in your diaper bag or vehicle until you're back home.

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We haven't traveled by plane with our baby and cloth diapers yet, but I assume the same system would work. And we might find out! We're considering a flight at the end of the month, depending on how the rest of our plans pan out. And in that case, since we'll be staying in a hotel for just a couple of days, we may only use disposables. Which (to me) is a scary thought after getting so used to using cloth...but we'll see what happens!

Cleaning Your Cloth Diapers Away from Home

Asher used his GG's port-a-crib during our visit in Virginia. It doubled as a really great changing station!

He also fell in love with his Grandma's toy when she was a baby.

How you clean your diapers away from home depends on a couple of factors. Will you have access to a washer and dryer? And will you be staying in a house or in a hotel?

We've done both. We are currently living in a hotel (on a temporary army assignment that's almost over), where we use a shared laundry room to wash our diapers. We brought our BumGenius diaper sprayer with us and hooked it right up to our hotel-room toilet. If you're going away on a shorter vacation where you wouldn't bring your diaper sprayer, the sink works just fine (if necessary) for rinsing out those messy diapers before throwing them into the washer.

Likewise, when we visited family for a week, I used a utility/mud-room sink to rinse out our messy diapers before washing them.

As a new mom and a newbie to cloth diapering, I've been pleasantly surprised to see how easy it's been. I believe the key is having a good system, which means not being afraid to go through a little trial and error to get a good system down. It doesn't take long to figure out which methods will work best for you, so just jump in and don't be afraid to "get your hands dirty" (because you will, ha!)

*As much I don't like to use them, (they give Asher terrible diaper rash) having a few disposable diapers and wipes on hand is always a good idea. As well as an extra outfit in the event of an explosion! We've learned that one the hard way...twice.

What about my fellow cloth diapering moms? Have any tried and true tips to share? Have you ever C.D.'ed in a hotel for a weekend trip? What do you think, should I try it?

Like it? Share it!

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The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psalm 121:8

Put the "Kick" Back into Your Cloth

Ever suspected your cloth diapers of losing their absorbency? Have they ever seemed to leak a little more than usual? I came across this issue a while back. I wasn't sure what the problem was. Was the baby wetting more than usual? Was I not putting his diapers on tight enough? Were cloth diapers just not going to work for us?

Then I realized that I was using the wrong detergent. I never got around to ordering the good stuff (Country Save, Rockin' Green, etc) from Nicki's Diapers, so a couple of weeks after Asher was born I picked up Seventh Generation's "Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender" scented liquid detergent. Which was not additive free. Duh, what was I thinking? I knew I wasn't supposed to be using the standard chocked-full-of-unnecessary-chemicals-that-linger-in-your-laundry kind of detergent, didn't I? We'll blame it on infant-imposed lack of sleep at two weeks post-partum. I also remember having the silly thought that because lavender is anti-bacterial as an essential oil (an ingredient in my diaper wipes solution), it would likewise fight bacteria as a detergent scent.

NOT additive-free=Cloth Diaper no-no.

So after realizing my big spoof and immediately worrying that I'd "ruined the diapers forever!", I came across Just Simply Baby, a great C.D. site that rates every detergent on the market based on it's suitability for cloth diapers. The less additives, the better. Surprisingly, certain household brands like Arm & Hammer Free & Clear and Woolite get pretty good ratings. (See the full rating list here- it's got everything.) I felt like I didn't have time to order one of the fancy brands online, so back to the store I went. I picked up Arm & Hammer's "Sensitive Skin- Free of all Perfumes and Dyes" liquid detergent, and it was only about $5 for a huge gallon of it.

Free & Clear

I was still curious about the more expensive detergents that are made especially for cloth diapers, and I was still worried that I'd compromised the absorbency of my cloth inserts because of the Seventh Generation I'd been using. (Whether I did or not, I can't be totally sure...but either way it was worth switching to a better detergent). So, I looked into Rockin' Green, which seems to get raving reviews from the C.D. pros, including the owner of Just Simply Baby, a stay at home mom that's developed her own line of diapers.



So when I saw a small sample at Supper Mommy's (a natural parenting store in Elizabethtown, KY) that was meant to clean unwanted additives out of your cloth, I had to try it. The sample size was only about a dollar or two.

I don't have a personal washer and dryer to use for soaking here at Motel K, so I filled up our bathtub with hot water, mixed in the detergent, and let my diapers soak in it for a while before washing. (We have a shared laundry room in the basement of the building). And voila! Leak issue solved! As far as I could tell, at least. And now that it's been a couple of months I'm thinking about giving the ol' cloths another cleansing. Maybe I'll even get the big bag of Rockin' Green since our Arm & Hammer is getting low.

Again, I can't say for sure whether it really was the 7th Gen. that was causing extra leaks, and I can't say for sure that it was the Rockin' G. that fixed it. Maybe it was just the "placebo" affect of giving the dipes a special cleaning. But it might be worth a try if you're experiencing the same problems. After all, a sample of the Green stuff is just a buck or two!

So, fellow C.D. moms, what detergents do you use? Have any special washing tricks to share?

---P.S. Did you notice the three latest additions to our stash of Best Bottom shells? Eeeee I'm thrilled! Just picked up Mint-Chocolate-Chip, Blue Moon, and Orange Sherbet through an auction on Under My Crib. They're second hand, but I saved about $21 bucks that way. And why not re-use instead of buy new all the time? Great site by the way, I've both bought and sold on it now.

---P.S.S. See my favorite C.D. products here!

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The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
-Psalm 24:1

Turn Clutter into Cash

This is just a quick recommendation for parents wanting to sell any unused baby items- Under My Crib. (Or, "stuffed in a drawer", in our case, ha!) I found the site through Nicki's Diapers, my favorite resource for cloth diapers and accessories.

Under My Crib is a natural parenting site that's purely for buying, selling, and/or trading, very similar to Ebay. When I listed a few Thirsties Duo Wrap diaper covers that no longer fit Asher, I was skeptical about getting any bids. Mine was the only listing, so I doubted anybody would see it since it seemed like there was no traffic on the site. But lo and behold, I got two bids within a couple of hours! And it's totally free, there are no listing or selling charges. Now I'm wishing I would have tried this sooner! I'm already racking my brain for other baby things that I no longer use or want to hang onto.

My auction hasn't closed out yet, (so I haven't quite had the full experience), but so far, so good! The bids have already raised to the price I wanted, so if I get anything higher, it'll be a bonus. And now that I'm finally recouping a little bit of cash on the Thirsties, I'm thinking I'll pick up another Best Bottom shell... Mint-Chocolate-Chip sounds yummy. And then there's Orange Sherbet.... I might just have to get two :)

Happy Monday, hope you all have a wonderful week!

Cloth Wipes Made Easy

Hello fellow cloth enthusiasts! Just thought I would share a step-by-step look at my system for managing cloth wipes. If you're not currently an enthusiast, you might consider becoming one! You can't go wrong. It's an easy way to save a little money, cut back on waste, and grace your little one's bum with super soft 100% cotton.

A little background- at first, I tried putting my wipe solution into a spray bottle and spraying each one individually as I needed them during diaper changes, but my furniture was getting wetter than my wipes. (A better spray bottle probably would have remedied that, but I never got around to trying another one.) Anyway, after some trial and error, this is the quickest and easiest system I've been able to come up with.

It may look like a lot of steps because of all of the photos in this very detailed play-by-play, but it's not! Once your wipes are folded, it takes about 60 seconds from start to finish. Here we go...

Gather your clean wipes, your diaper wipe solution (more on this here and below), and an empty wipes case.

I use Diaper Lotion Potion Concentrate, by Kissaluvs.

(Your empty wipe case.)

Fold your cloth wipes in half so that they fit perfectly into your standard wipes case and/or wipes warmer. These GroVia wipes shown here are the standard size, 8x8 (more on these here).

Add a very small drop of your Concentrate.

Hop over to the faucet and fill your empty case about halfway.

Once filled, swish it around a little to mix the Concentrate and water. You've got your solution!

Now get ready to submerge your folded wipes into your newly made solution.

Dunk!

And press down so that the water absorbs into all of the wipes as evenly as possible.

Close your lid and make sure it snaps shut (otherwise you'll get an untimely bath).

Take it in hand, get ready to flip it upside down and "shake it all about".

"Yeah ya do the hokey pokey and ya swish it all around..."

".....And that's what it's all about", ha!

If your top few wipes didn't get as moist as you'd like, add a little more water. If they're too moist, wring them out by applying some pressure with your hand and then pour out the excess water.

Either keep the moist wipes in your old disposable wipes case, or put them directly into your wipes warmer.

And they're ready to go!

Now, back to the diaper wipe solution. Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion Concentrate has worked well for us. (This and more of our favorite CD products here). It's all natural, and get this- it's made in America. It's so rare to see that these days! It's made up of essential oils- jojoba, chamomile, lavender, and tea tree- they work together to moisturize, heal, soothe, and protect against bacteria. And of course they smell great.

Click image for more information on Amazon

                                                            

At first I looked into making my own concentrate. Health food stores carry the individual oils, but they're pricey and there would have been some guesswork in mixing them myself. So, I decided to go with the Kissaluvs since it was the easiest and the most cost-effective. If you really want to go the simple route, I've read that some people use plain water.

Anybody have a different system for cloth wipes? Or recommendations for other wipe solutions? I love to hear any and all ideas and experiences in regards to the great world of cloth diapering, so don't hold back! :)

Best Cloth Diapering Products

For all of you who've asked for recommendations on cloth diapering products, here's a quick list of our personal favorites.

Best Bottom Cloth Diapers & Inserts- Buy these American made diapers online at Nicki's Diapers. (That's right, these don't come from China.) Any of you who've known us for long know that we're crazy about this line of hyrbrid diapers (outer shell + snap-in insert). They rarely leak, and when they do it's usually my fault for not getting Asher changed on time. We own five outer snap-shells and 18 snap-in inserts. We started with the "medium" sized inserts when Asher was about three to four weeks old. I bought one "small" insert to test it, and found that the medium worked better.

 www.nickisdiapers.com

GroVia Cloth Wipes- These are 100% Cotton and oh so soft! They're much more absorbent than our flannel wipes, and they don't encourage diaper rash like disposable wipes do (at least on Asher). They work especially well for big messes, I never have to use more than one per change. We own a total of 24 wipes, they come in packs of 12.

 Click image for more info...

Planet Wise Wet Bag- I own the medium size "Meadow Tweets" PW Wet bag- it's great! It holds about 12 dirty diaper inserts + dirty wipes and keeps smells in very well. Just throw the bag into the wash with your dirty diapers and it comes out fresh and clean! I've owned this wet bag for about a month now and have washed it several times. It's still looking good and holding up very well. Also, I tested it for color-fastness when I first got it. I was afraid of the color running and absorbing into my cloth inserts, so I threw the bag into a HOT wash with a white flannel wipe to see what would happen. The wipe came out totally white and un-tinged, so no need to worry!

 Click image for more info...

BumGenius Diaper Sprayer- This is a must-have tool for cloth diapering, in my opinion. Unless you own a large utility sink or have another convenient way to remove the solids from your diapers, this has to be the easiest way to go about it. Installing it onto your toilet  is very simple. Thane initially installed it in our Georgia home, but I was able to un-install it all by me onesie before our move. (See our hook-up here.)

 Click image for more info...

Mesh laundry bag- We have one of these hanging in our bathroom for diaper shell drying purposes. We're still dealing with runny infant #2s, so whenever we have a little bit work its way to the outer shell of the diaper, I simply rinse it out in the sink and then throw it into this mesh bag to dry. The bag has convenient little snap loop-hooks, so you can hang it just about anywhere.

 Click image for more info...

Gerber Pre-folds- We don't use these as diapers, but as convenient cloths to lay under Asher's bottom during his changes. They prevent his changing cover from getting soiled, and they're also convenient for covering him up to prevent the fountain-effect. (Ha! Oh boys...) And since he loves his changing table so much, we let him "air out" on it from time to time by using an old-school diaper pin to loosely fasten one of these pre-folds around him.

 Click image for more info...

Kissaluv's Diaper Lotion Potion, Concentrate- This is what we use to make our cloth wipe solution. It's very simple, just mix a drop with some water, mix it up a little, and voila, your solution is made! You can either put it into a spray bottle and spray each wipe right before use, or, you can submerge your wipes into the mix and then store them in a wipe case or wipe warmer. (A more detailed "How-to" is coming soon!)

Click image for more info...

Boudreaux's Butt Paste- This is great for those inevitable diaper rashes.

 Click image for more info...

We'll continue to update this list as we go. What about you guys? Know of any excellent products that we have yet to discover? If so, do tell!

Cloth Diapering; I'm in Love!

 

 

We are loving cloth diapering! I would definitely recommend it for anyone who's interested in trying it out. As long as you can establish a good system, I think they're just as convenient as disposables. Now, getting a good system down has taken a little trial and error, but all in all I've had a great experience with cloth from the start.

I use the one-size BestBottom brand. It's considered a "hybrid" diaper- a shell + an absorbent insert that snaps into the shell. The cute colors and prints make it so much fun, and there's something really satisfying knowing that we're saving money and being eco-friendly all at the same time.

We have five shells (update, now we have eight!) At least eight to ten are recommended, and those extra three sure do make a difference. I'd love to have more since they're so darned cute, but five- and now eight- are plenty.

Our current stash!

Generally they stay clean, but if they get a little messy on the inside I just rinse them with some soap and they're good to go again. Otherwise, they get washed every two or three days. We have sixteen (we're up to 20 now) medium sized inserts that snap into the shells (18 to 24 are recommended). I skipped the small size since we weren't planning on using them right away (we weren't sure if he would fit into the shells until he was older). But surprisingly, the shells fit him well pretty early on! I tried one on one day when he was about three weeks old not expecting it to work, but it did! They seemed a little bulky at first when compared to newborn size disposables, but we've gotten used to them and he's growing every day.

During a routine diaper change, I unsnap the dirty insert and throw it into a wetbag to wait for washing. The wetbag is great for storing them and for keeping the smells away. I just ordered another one so that I'll have one for dirty diapers only and a separate one for wet diapers only. That way, the dirty diaper bag can get thrown straight into the wash with the rest of the load, while the bag for the wet ones can just be wiped down from time to time. (I don't want my hand made Joel Dewberry bag to fade and/or leak color in the hot washes). The shells go into a mesh bag so that they're always airing out and able to dry if I've had to rinse a little leak out of them.

Surprisingly, I don't even mind this whole laundering process. Maybe it's the diaper sprayer that makes it so easy and convenient. It only takes about 10 or 15 minutes every two days, and will be less once he gets older and has solid #2s. Being at Knox and not having a personal washer and dryer might make it a little more challenging. But after all, it's only four months, and I just can't see myself switching to disposables after seeing how much I love cloth. (Especially for the fact that disposables seem to give Asher really bad diaper rash...maybe he has extra sensitive skin.)

I also use cloth wipes, GroVia's 100% cotton version, which work just as great as the diapers. I make my own wipe solution with a lavender essential oil concentrate and water, soak the wipes in it, then put them into the wipes warmer just like you would with regular wipes. See the whole cloth wipe process here. They stay nice and moist and are very gentle, since they're chemical-free. Also, lavender is naturally anti-bacterial and smells great.

The only downside I've found with our cloth diapers so far is the fact that Thane's brain automatically shuts down when he attempts to handle one. (Sorry Thane, but it's true.) So, because I don't want him slapping a disposable on him all the time (we always keep a few around), I end up doing the vast majority of the changing. But I don't mind it in the least, I actually enjoy it- never thought I'd say that! And besides, Thane is quite handy at other things, like putting food on our table (which is kind of important). So I'm more than happy to take care of all the baby duties. Just for the record, I should mention that during Asher's first two weeks Thane was a diaper changing machine. We were using disposables at that point and he was extremely helpful.

Asher says "go BestBottoms!" :)

P.S. See my full list of cloth diapering posts here.