2013 Great Cloth Diaper Change

This past weekend was the annual Great Cloth Diaper Change. It is an event that takes place internationally to help raise awareness and inform people about cloth diapering. I won't go too deep into just how awesome using cloth is, but know that it is and feel free to ask any questions you may have! I attended last year, and was merely an observer as I was just weeks away from my due date. This year I was so excited to be able to participate and I brought my sister along with me!

I was oh so thankful that my mom and sister made the drive up to go with me. I had 1000 times more fun with them with me than I would have by myself. So to both of you thank you and thank you again for coming! They also brought two little ones along, Daniel and Brooklyn.

We had a little time to kill before the official change, and Logan decided to use that time to practice standing alone. I was very excited as you can tell by my mile high eyebrows. Hello!

During the actual change, only active participants are allowed in the designated changing area. When the whistle is blown everyone changes the diapers at the same time.

After the change all of the little cloth bottoms get raised in the air! It was so sweet to hear all of the mamas (and some daddys!) oooing to their babies, and all of the happy baby sounds as they were being held above our heads. 

There were prizes and drawings and a diaper swap afterward. I snagged a few new (to us) diapers and a new wet bag for the diaper bag!

It was so wonderful to be with so many like minded people. Obviously we all cloth diapered, but there were also so many mamas wearing their babies in all different kinds of carriers. When I go out and about I can pretty much assume that I will get a few second glances if I am wearing Logan. Saturday I was just one of the crowd. Also, when he tugged on my shirt and wanted some "num num," I didn't feel the least bit self conscious about giving him a little snack right then and there. 

Just like last year, our change was part of an Earth Day festival. So when we finished we still had plenty to do and see. 

The Heifer foundation had some of the animals from their local ranch there. 

We saw sheep,

chickens, ducks,

goats, and a very large rabbit.

Here's our crew, minus my mom:

Overall I would call the day a huge success. My mom even scored us some kombucha! We are going today to pick up our scobys. 

My little man couldn't even handle all of the excitement.

I can't wait til next year! I wonder if Logan will still be in diapers... hmm...

Our Cloth Diaper Laundry Routine

I wash a load of diapers every other day. 

When you have a baby, what is one more load of laundry, really?

We do not have a fancy high-efficiency washer, just plain jane. (aka: the cheapest Lowe's had to offer)

I take the pail liner from the pail and dump all of its contents (diapers and wipes) into the washer, and throw the liner in with them.

The diapers run through two cycles:

The first is high, cold-cold, and heavy, no detergent.

The second is high, hot-cold, regular, detergent.

If I am washing any covers that day, I will throw them in with the second cycle.

We use a homemade detergent for our diapers.

It was super easy to make. One bar of Dr. Bronner's soap. One cup of Borax. One cup of washing soda.

I got the recipe here.

I actually put in more than one cup each of Borax and washing soda.

I am also planning on using Ivory soap instead of Dr. Bronner's next time.

As you can see, we are almost out!

I use two tablespoons per load.

After they run through the two wash cycles, I hang them out on the line to dry.

If it is raining, extra humid, or night time, I throw the diapers and wipes into the dryer with a couple of fluffy towels and hang the covers to dry.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. The little bit of extra work is worth it for all of the benefits!

Our Cloth Diapers at One Month

We are one month into cloth diapering, and I have to say that so far I am a fan!

The very first time I tried to put one on Logan I had a panic moment, but after a few more times it wasn't as hard. Matt does plenty of diaper changes, and is a pro.

We use prefolds and covers. I don't have any fitteds or pockets or all-in-ones. I kept it simple. (and cheap)

Every diaper we have came from http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/ If you spend over $50, shipping is free!

We ended up spending $210 total. Disposable diapers average 15 to 25 cents each. 

If you calculate 10 diapers a day at 20 cents each, our cloth diapers will pay for themselves in 3.5 months.

What we got for $210:

24 Infant prefolds (6-16lbs)

6 Baby prefolds (14-30lbs)

10 covers

4 snappis

1 diaper pail liner

We will obviously need more of the next size of prefolds, but I have found a local place that I can buy them for even cheaper than my website!

Prefold with a snappi:

We also use cloth wipes. At first I thought, ok, I can do cloth diapers, but cloth wipes too? Really? I'll just buy wipes. In actuality it is just as easy or easier to use cloth wipes instead of the disposables. 

I made my own from receiving blankets that I bought at garage sales, and spent a maximum of $2. 

All you do is spritz with water then toss them into the diaper pail with the rest of the diapers. If you used disposable you would need a separate trash can for your wipes.

Excuse me while I climb off of my soap box please.

We have four different kinds of covers, 10 total. They all fit from day 1.

Thirsties Duo-Wrap Size 1 (6-18lb)

These are probably my favorite covers. We currently have them on the smallest setting.

Lil' Joey's Newborn cover (4-12lbs)

These will be the first ones he will grow out of. I wouldn't recommend buying any newborn size covers, unless you are expecting an especially small baby, because all of our other covers fit from the beginning and will last much longer. We have these on the medium snap-down setting.

Flip cover (8-35lbs)

We have the Flip set on the smallest setting. I only have one of these, because I thought I wouldn't like it very much. As it turns out it isn't that bad at all. He has worn it some today.

Rumparooz G2 (6-35lbs)

These are our bulkiest cover at this point, but I really think they will grow nicely with him. We have these on the smallest setting also.

I prefer the covers with velcro, but the snaps aren't terrible to deal with. (even at 3a.m.)

Plus, the snaps will be nice when his little hands learn to open velcro!

Of course, when it comes to cloth diapers, everyone wants to know, "But what about washing them!?"
Stay tuned for a separate post that will answer that question!

If you have any other questions feel free to ask! I could talk about cloth diapers all day!

Celebrate the Earth!

There is a wonderful place in Little Rock called Heifer International. They do so many great things in other countries and right here at home. You can read all about them here, on their website.

This Saturday they hosted the Arkansas Earth Day Festival!

I had been looking forward to this day for several months. I can't even remember how I found this event. (Somewhere on the wonderful world wide web.) I actually didn't know that there was an Earth Day festival. I just knew that I was going to attend The Great Cloth Diaper Change!

It was a great event that informed people about the world of cloth diapering. The event took place at 305 changing stations in 16 countries! They broke their own Guinness World Record from last year, and next year I am going to be a part of breaking this years record!

A few facts:

Cost comparison: 

The text above is a little hard to read, here is what it says:

*Reusable diaper costs include diapers, cloth wipes, detergent, and out personal laundry costs, including electricity and water.

Disposable Diaper costs include diapers and wipes. Other products such as diaper pails, trash bags, and diaper creams are not included.

Costs are based on local stores and prices may vary in your area.

The great change occurred at 11:30 am. All of the Mamas (and a few Daddys!) held up their cloth diapers first

and their cloth covered bottoms after!

It was so amazing to see so many cloth diapering parents in my local area! I had no idea there were so many families that used cloth diapers around here. It is hard to describe how excited and emotional I felt at the sight. I may or may not have teared up a little bit, but shh, we don't need to share that information!

As soon as we arrived we discovered that the diapering event was a part of the larger event. So while we were there we joined in on the rest of the fun!

The Mustard Seed Club (I couldn't find a link for them) was giving away patio gardens! Since we live in a small apartment and have only a small patio, this was perfect. I "dug" right in! Now we have chives and basil growing on our patio. 

While we were hanging around the cloth diaper booth, a woman approached me and told me that there was going to be henna belly painting over at the Birth Works tent.

After we saw all of the bottoms get covered in cloth, we found the booth and I was the first to get my belly painted!

Here I am being filmed for the Fox 16 news! You can watch the clip here. 

At first it was a little strange to have my belly exposed in public, but after my Mama told me to "own it," and all of the doulas told me what a beautiful pregnant belly I have, it felt pretty good.

I am so glad that I stepped outside of my comfort zone. It was such a fun experience, and I got to talk to the doulas a little about natural childbirth, my doctor, and my hospital. They were some awesome women.

Now I have a sweet henna tattoo to enjoy while we continue to wait for Logan to make his arrival.

I am so glad my personal photographer was there to take pictures. I was able to enjoy the day and just know that there would be great pictures to remember it by later. Thanks Mama!

Nursery Update: Busy Weekend

My parents came to see us this weekend, and we managed to pack SO much into a weekend visit! The first night I felt a little bad, because we left them about an hour after they got here to go to a going away party for a former co-worker of mine. 

Well, when we walked in the door they all yelled "Surprise!" while holding up cute plates that read "Baby." Those sweethearts threw me a surprise baby shower, complete with food, games, and gifts! AND my parents were able to come also! It worked out so perfectly!

I was so touched that they thought of me, and spent the time and effort to plan out this surprise. 

We did so much over just a few days that I couldn't possibly share it all, so here are a few tidbits.

We made cloth wipes from used receiving blankets!

Cut 7x7 inch squares. Sew two together back to back.

Pink the edges.

Voila! Cloth wipes!

While we were making the wipes, I prepped more prefolds.

My mom made Logan's curtains. They are too too cute!

We hung lots of things, curtains, pictures, his quilt.

I am saving "real" pictures of his nursery for a big final reveal later on. 

I thrifted this wall hanging many months ago. I was just about ready to get rid of it, because I didn't know what to do with it. My mom picked the perfect spot right away, and now it is hanging where I can enjoy it!

While my mom and I were working on organizing Logan's room, Matt and my dad hung these awesome towels hooks! Matt is going to share his with Logan when he gets here. :)

Thanks to my mom, those pesky boxes I kept putting off cleaning out and sorting through in the nursery are now out of there. The curtains are hung, there is a shelf for toys behind the door, pictures are hung, and the room is pretty much done minus a few small touches! 

We also did lots of shopping (mostly for fabric, TOO many choices!), cooking, eating, and even some cleaning! They definitely left our apartment in better shape than how they found it! 

Cloth Diapering: First Order

We have made the decision to cloth diaper our little man when he arrives, for many reasons. After many, many, maaany hours of research, we made our first order last week, and it arrived this weekend! I have been a twinge obsessed with cloth diapers lately, you can ask my husband or my mother. Luckily for me, my husband supports this decision wholeheartedly! 

The cloth diapers today are not the way cloth diapers used to be. There are many different options. We have decided to go with the option that is somewhat similar to the cloth diapers of old. We are starting out with the prefolds and covers option. In our first order we purchased 6 OsoCozy "Better Fit" Unbleached Prefolds. This is how they looked when they came to us:

Prefolds have to prepped before use to maximize their absorbency. I boiled mine in a large stock pot for about 45 minutes. You could also send them through the wash about five times. 

This is how they looked afterward:

They will continue to quilt-up more as they are used and washed.

We also purchased three covers. All three are different brands. I want to try out different styles and brands to find out which works best for us and our baby. The covers I chose have rows of snaps that make them adjust to different sizes. Here they are at their smallest size:

And their largest:

Thirsties Duo Wrap- size 1, fits 6-18 lbs.

Flip- one sized, fits 8-35 lbs.

Rumparooz G2- one sized, fits 8-35 lbs.

We also ordered a Snappi. (forgot to get a pic) These awesome things are the modern answer to diaper pins! No more pins, just a simple easy snappi.

Here is a short (aka: 4 seconds) demo of a snappi in use:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9TjGx0qHz8

I hope to post more about cloth diapers in the future. There is SO much information about them. I am very excited about starting this journey! Saving money and saving the earth!