Cloth Wipe Challenge Day 3 with Flats Bonus

The challenge is going well so far.  I haven't had to change a really messy diaper while out and about, but I have had a few messy ones at home.

As an added bonus I've decided to try out flats, aka old school cloth diapers.  When I first started cloth diapering, I thought flats where intimidating.  Why would anyone want to use those when there are so many other options out there.  For one thing, flats are cheap and the super fast drying time sounds nice!  First, I saw a friend using them, and they didn't really look so bad.  They just need to be folded ahead of time so they're ready to go at diaper change time.  I learned more about them following the Flats Challenge to hand wash flats.  Dirty Diaper Laundry started the challenge to show that cloth diapering can be done, even without a washer.  Here are a few more bloggers that participated in the challenge: Adventures in Mommyhood, Just Add Cloth, Mistakes in Motherhood.

Hand washing diapers doesn't sound like my cup of tea (but I have thought about it for camping.  What are you supposed to do if you want to camp with a little in diapers.  Even with sposies you still have a big bag of them just sitting there until you deal with them.)  Whether I'm up for a washing challenge of my own is still to be determined.

So I bought 6 flats to try out (they don't count towards the stash right? because they don't look like a diaper...)  I've done a few changes already, using something sort of resembling the kite fold.  Next up is trying different ways of folding the flat.

Cloth Wipes Challenge Day 1

Today is the first day of my cloth wipe challenge and I've changed two poopy diapers so far.  My simple wipe solution works much better than plain water.  I do seem to need a lot of it, but that must just be the nature of cloth wipes and solution.  The disposable wipes are already soaked in their liquid.

I also am using more wipes than before, I think because I can't fold them as much.  I'll need to get some more.  I don't want to be doing laundry more often just because I don't have enough wipes!  So, other than that, so far so good.  :)

Cloth Wipe Solution

The cloth wipe solutions that I've been looking at have different variations of water, soap, oil, and essential oils.  Along those lines I'm trying out this recipe:

1 cup water
1 tea spoon liquid castile soap
1 tea spoon olive oil
1-2 drops essential oil (tea tree)

Add water and then the other ingredients to the spray bottle and shake well.

I went with this recipe because I had all the ingredients here (thanks to my trying to use healthier cleaners and soap making!)

It is ready and waiting at the diaper station!

The Cloth Wipe Challenge

I've been trying to use cloth wipes more during diaper changes but using plain water hasn't been working for us.  I often start with cloth for the poopy messes and finish cleaning things up with a sposie wipe.  While I am using fewer sposie wipes this way, I'd like to use even fewer.  First thing is first, I need a wipe solution to be able to clean better.  I found this post at Zany Zebra Designs with a whole bunch of wipe solution recipes.

I was inspired by Mama on a Green Mission and her Cloth Wipe Challenge to only use cloth wipes June 22 to July 22.  I'm going to do a challenge of my own and test out a few of those wipe solution recipes.  My challenge will start tomorrow June 24th!  I'm using mostly basic cotton wipes.  They are pretty thin.  I have two two layer wipes that were a shower present and one more nice one on the way that I added to an online order to get free shipping.

Wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes.  :)

Baby Must Have: Carrier

There are so many baby gadgets out there and many of them are nice to have, a few of them you really need (like a carseat if you plan to go anywhere in a car).  I don't know what I would have done without a baby carrier.  Well, I would have done a lot less and had a rather unhappy baby more often.  There are so many different kinds out there (stretchy wraps, woven wraps, soft structured, ring slings, mei tais, ...).  I'll start with what I've used and what has worked for me.

My very first wrap/carrier was the Moby wrap, a soft and stretchy piece of cloth that is fat in the middle and narrower on the ends.  I just knew it would be a good choice before I got it and was very happy to receive it as a shower gift.  It does have a bit of a learning curve to learn to tie it on.  Have someone show you or check out youtube.  (While there are lots of great how to videos there, just be careful, I know there are how tos to put your baby on your back with the Moby, but you need a woven wrap for that).  I would tie it on and put the baby in and out as needed.  The Moby works great for keeping a small baby close.  It was perfect for my daughter until she was about 15 pounds and then I needed more support for my back.

That brings us to woven wraps.  They can be tied in many different ways.  You can tie it similar to the Moby but put the baby in with it halfway and then tie the rest of the way (They are not stretchy).  You can do back caries; I really like the rucksack carry.  I have an Ellaroo and really like it.  It is cooler than the Moby, so good for summer.

Another favorite carrier of ours is a soft structured carrier, the Ergo.  If you can, try this on with baby.  The different styles fit differently.  We got the organic original style.  The back of the performance style comes up higher on baby's back.  The baby needs to be taller to fit this one.  Our Ergo carrier works great even for long periods of time.  The weight is supported on the hips and the shoulders.

I'm very happy with all three of these carriers.  It would have been nice if the Moby lasted longer, but it really was great for my not so tiny newborn.  My Little One likes them all too, but really its being held and snuggled up to me more than the carriers.

The Diaper Decision

I wrote a post about the benefits of cloth diapers and it was published on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer.

First Post

Hello world!  Welcome to my brand new blog for all things little ones.  One purpose for this blog is to help me keep track of all the goodies and gadgets for babies and children.  Another is to document some of our adventures.

Enjoy the ride.  :)