Reason 19: Because it really it one big community working together for the cause! Meet the Real Diaper Industry Association (RDIA) - a trade association for manufacturers, retailers, diaper services, and info sources. This past week I had my first experience with the cloth diapering community from the inside. As part of my new employment I journeyed to Texas to participate in the All Baby & Child (ABC) Spring Educational Conference and Trade Show. While we were setting up our booth we were welcomed by a member of the RDIA and a fellow cloth diapering manufacturer. I was looking forward to meeting some of the other brands I've heard so much about (and those that I've used personally) but I didn't know how strong the community really was. Not only were we welcomed so warmly we were invited to get to know the rest of the RDIA. Now normally the ABC Show is held in September and is 10 times as large as their spring show but the spring show is more educational. Retailers are ... [ Read More ]
30 Reasons to Love Cloth Diapers – Guest Post
Day 18: Five things I would do differently the second time around. For today's post I'm actually going to send you to a friends blog. I met Jenny of the Conscientious Confusion blog at BlogHer last year and she remains one of my special friends. Jenny just had her second baby and asked if I would do a guest post for her while she took a brief maternity break. While she's enjoying her newest cloth diaper baby - a sweet little girl - my gift for her is my lessons learned. Here's a teaser of my 5 Things I Would Do Differently the Second Time Around... 1. Our initial investment in cloth diapers would include more of a variety in brand and styles. We purchased a bulk of one type and style of cloth diapers with the intention that we would use them and sell them and have no need to buy any more along the way. While this CAN be done and many people can only afford the one time investment I wish we had tried more brands and styles at the beginning. I would have bought a trial ... [ Read More ]
30 Reasons to Love Cloth Diapers – Diaper Covers, Pre-folds, Flats, and Snappis!
Day 17: Diaper Covers, Pre-folds, Flats, and More - back to basics cloth diapering! I normally write about one-sized and pocket cloth diapers because the majority of my stash is made up of these systems. Since that is what I use most frequently I often forget about the other systems. I'm surprised to see that a number of families I talk with on Twitter use (and swear by) old fashioned pre-fold diapers. Yes, many parents still use the simple diapering systems that our parents and grandparents used on us over the new modern systems. Families prefer pre-folds and flats for their economical benefits, ease of use, and absorbency. Many parents will travel with pre-folds and flats since they are easier to hand wash when laundry services are unavailable. What is a pre-fold diaper? Many people are familiar with pre-folds because they use them as burp cloths or to dust around the house. Or am I the only one who was raised using pre-folds around that my mom reused after we grew out of ... [ Read More ]
Cloth Diaper Laundry Do’s and Don’ts – Part 2: Whitener’s
Day 16: What about alternate whiteners? Lemon juice, baking soda, Borax, hydrogen peroxide, and all those other more natural alternates. Are they safe to use on cloth diapers? For starters let's ask ourselves why we want to use whiteners. Is it for stains, stinkies, or to kill germs? Germs: Hot water can kill all of the germs and bacteria that may be present in your diapers. Most hot water heaters are set at 120 degrees (F) and that temperature will kill anything that may be living including yeast. So essentially bleach and bleach alternatives aren't necessary for killing germs are they? Stains: Why are you having stains I wonder. I'm going to give you my one tip that has kept our stash (almost) stain free - I rinse all my poopy diapers in the sink as soon as I can after they happen. I have a diaper sprayer, I use flushable inserts (almost all the time), and I still rinse as much of the poop off the diaper as soon as I can. This isn't something that I did in the ... [ Read More ]
Cloth Diaper Laundry Do’s and Don’ts – Part 1: Picking a Detergent
Day 15: Picking the right cloth diaper detergent for you! Today I’m starting a series of posts that will talk about some of your most frequently asked laundry questions. These tips are perfect for the newbie cloth diaper user as well as the cloth diapering expert. Warning though – you may not agree with all of my advice but hopefully I will give you something to think about when you start complaining about dirty diapers, stinkies, and stains. Part One: My cloth diaper manufacturer recommends that I only use detergents that are free of dyes, enzymes, perfumes, essential oils, whiteners and brighteners. What does that mean really? Let’s break each one of those ingredients down and explain a little more about them in detail. Dyes – this one should be obvious. If you use a detergent that has a color or tint to it there is a chance that the dyes could stain your diapers. Not only that but the dyes that are used probably aren’t natural and we don’t want them touching our ... [ Read More ]
Going All the Way With Cloth Wipes
Once you've made the leap to cloth diapers it isn't long before you start thinking about using cloth wipes. After tonight's Twitter #clothdiapers chat I realized that some people make this much harder than it has to be. Stay simple friends and your life will be...well...simple! Here are the most frequently asked questions (and answers) about cloth wipes, accessories, and solutions: Do I need special wipes? No, you can use anything from baby wash cloths to re-purposed t-shirts to make cloth wipes. However if you want the softest material to touch your babies behind hemp/bamboo wipes are luxury!! My favorite are the Thirties Fab wipes and the new (coming to the US in March) Itti Bitti wipes. A 2 ply wipe is a nice quality too so there is less chance for the solids to sneak through to your hands (for those squeamish of the poo). Our wipes collection includes one set of Thirsties, one set from Itti Bitti, a few bumGenius, and a ton of baby wash cloths. Do I need a ... [ Read More ]
Disposable Diapers VS Hybrid Diapering Systems
Remember Day 9 of 30 Reasons to Love Cloth Diapers when I told you how we took a cruise and packed disposable diapers? I had a package of hybrid diapers (both Flip & GroVia) sent to me from Kelly's Closet but they arrived a few hours AFTER we left. When I returned home I sampled the products and analysed how they would have worked for us on the cruise. Do you want to know what I'll be packing next time we cruise or travel where cloth isn't the best option for us? Go check out my guest post on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer today to find out. Leave your comments on this interesting discussion. If you're interested in trying the hybrid diapering system or cloth diapers use coupon code FREENEW on your next order of $29 or more and receive a free one-size diaper. Details available at Kelly's Closet. *May expire at anytime. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Kelly's Closet and earn a small percentage from any sales that originate using the links above. I recieved sample ... [ Read More ]
Cloth Diapers Go to Day Care
Day 13 - Cloth Diapers Go to Day Care! Today marks quite an important day for us - Lil' B turns TWO! Not only does she turn two but she's also 1) having a bye-bye boobie party AND 2) starting day care for the first time. Think this mama can handle it all? I work full time from the home and she had a nanny part time until about 6 months old. Then she transitioned into an in-home child care provider. She's been with "Nani" for over a year and really enjoys going and playing with her friends. We've always had the plan of moving her to day care when she turned two. Why? The in-home provider is great - don't get me wrong. She got lots of love and attention and that was important for the first 2 years. Over the past 6 months we've noticed some minor things that we weren't happy with. For starters Nani still puts the kids in high chairs everyday to eat - yes even the 2 and 3 yr olds sit in high chairs. The funny thing about that is that she also has a plastic picnic table (kid ... [ Read More ]
Cloth Diapers for Baby Dolls
Day 12 - Baby dolls need cloth diapers too! Starting last December (2009) I've been slowly growing confidence behind my sewing machine and sewing up some cute projects around the home. Lil' B has recently fallen in love with baby dolls and now has three of them. All of which have bare bums - no diapers included. I decided last night to look around online and see what I could find for doll cloth diapers. Thanks to @taprilcrosier and @mrsob1 for leading me to Etsy where I actually bought a few items that I'll share with you once they arrive. However, I'm very impatient and my super mom complex kicked in tonight so I decided to make my own baby doll cloth diapers. I actually started out making a baby doll sling so Lil' B could wear her baby doll just like I once wore her. That project took an entire 5 minutes to make (seriously it was that easy) so I found a pattern for doll cloth diapers on Skip to my Lou - a fabulous craft blog that I read almost daily. Here is how my ... [ Read More ]
Cloth Diapers and Early Potty Training
Day 11 - Early Potty Learning! That's right - cloth diapering can lead to early potty learning compared to babies in disposable diapers. It's hard for me to grasp that my little baby girl will be turning two on January 4th (2011). My baby is no longer a little baby; she is a full blown toddler. We've had the potty seat out for quite some time now so she is comfortable with it when the time comes. For a few months now she's let me know that she's peed or pooped but hasn't really been able to tell me before it happened. It's not usually hard to tell when a toddler is in the process of pooping - sneaking away to be alone, standing completely still, making strange faces, holding their breath, and just a few other obvious signs. The last few days we've made some great progress though - mostly on the poop front. About once a day she asks to go to the potty where she will mostly just sit there and read her books and wait for someone to give her a mini-marshmallow (her little prize ... [ Read More ]