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Potty Trained…March 11th, 2010So I was noticing the other day (my daughter hasn’t worn a diaper in about 5 months or so now) that my normal laundry seems to be piling up! The extra 2-3 loads a week that my diapers created for the 3ish years that Amelia wore cloth diapers never bothered me. She is my only child so I didn’t really know any different since we never used disposables. I don’t dislike laundry like many of my other mom friends – granted, I have one child and not 5-6 like some of them!! I thought that I would *never* be doing laundry once we weren’t using cloth diapers anymore. Wrong….. I guess like anything else, I have slowly gotten used to doing less and less laundry and now that I just have 2-3 loads of clothes a week I have gotten spoiled. I realized last Friday that I had 3 loads piled up in various collection areas around the house, PLUS I needed to do the sheets and blankets on the bed that my parents sleep on when they visit. This seemed crazy to me since it really amounted to over a week of not doing ANY. How did that happen?? Doing a load a day is certainly more work, but it forced me to not get behind. Could *not* washing dirty diapers possibly have become a negative?? I suppose that is how everything stays in balance, one thing positive for a negative – I am sure most people would read this and think I am off my rocker… I might have less laundry, but now that I don’t automatically do a load a day, I am slacking off. I guess my husband will tell me when he reads this that I am never happy….sigh Happy diapering everyone (unless your toddlers are using the potty, that is!) Stripping Recap…March 1st, 2010I know the title sounds a bit suggestive – but here in cloth diaper world it means something completely different!! As a seasoned cloth diaperer will tell you, it’s almost impossible to keep your diapers 100% build-up free no matter what laundry detergent you use. The more additives and chemicals in your detergent, the more you will probably have to strip them, that is the general rule. Ways to know that you might need to strip your diapers -
The best and easiest way is to use a good squirt of the original Dawn dish liquid in your SUPER hot wash. This probably means you might have to turn up your hot water heater’s mixing valve for a little while – depending on the size of your water tank, doing this an hr before you wash should do the trick. After the hot wash (or 2 if you want) make sure to run the rinse cycle until there are no bubbles as it is agitating. The other way that I have found will really kill the nasties especially if you think you might have reoccuring yeast or something else (or you just cannot find the original Dawn liquid) is to boil. It sounds daunting, but trust me it really does the trick. I use my largest lobster pot and a big pair of tongs and do them in batches. Be careful with any diaper with PUL in it, I usually only boil those for a few mins and I stir the whole time (you probably don’t have to bother with your covers if you don’t want to), but other diapers especially my prefolds and inserts, I just boil the crap out of them. Next I take them from the boiling water with the tongs, put them straight into a sink full of cold water and then wring them out well. You can also put them into the washer and run a spin cycle if you don’t want to wring by hand. Follow either of these methods with a good hot dry and voila – clean, build up and nasty-free diapers. They will be like new. If anyone has questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments! Happy stripping everyone! A Great Mom ReviewFebruary 18th, 2010A close friend and cloth diaperer of one (and soon to be two!) called me the other day asking my WHY I hadn’t told her she needed a diaper sprayer a year and a half ago when I helped her choose her newborn stash! I guess my asnwer should have been because I’m crazy, but the fact of the matter is that my daughter just wasn’t the super pooper that her son is. Her husband had actually just recently told her that the poop scraping and the dunking were really getting to him. I told her that she didn’t have to dunk but she insists that this poop is…well….you get the point. Anyway, with their second on the way and the prospect of having two under the age of two in cloth and all that poop was really daunting for him and he was thinking about switching to disposables <<gasp>>. Well diaper sprayer to the rescue. They got one, installed it in a jiffy and presto – one more family saved from disposable diapers. She tells me its her new best friend Just thought I would share, another happy cloth diaperer! Newborn DiaperingFebruary 11th, 2010I get overwhelmed moms-and-dads-to-be in my store every day. I can always tell who they are with their far-off distance stares and bewildered confusion in this new world they have stepped into. The baby world. The diapering world. They are looking for the “best” diapering system for their new baby. I usually recommend starting with some infant prefolds, covers, and a few other styles they may be interested in before “committing” to one style or brand. The truth is if you are a fluff-addict-to-be you will be bored with one style or brand! You will want to try all of the different styles, prints, themes, etc. It gets a little crazy… So my two cents worth is to start slow, but get enough diapers to get you through a cycle to get started. We recommend 30-36 for a newborn, but if you are just trying it out, a dozen will work for trial purposes. You will soon find out what your diapering “style” is when your new bundle arrives! Spring Fever, Anyone else??February 9th, 2010I didn’t even want to say it, since here in New England we still have so much more winter. Most of the snow is gone from here (but is supposed to return tomorrow) and I was looking out my kitchen window this morning while making my coffee and at my gardens thinking….hmm, wonder if i could til that?? Laughable, huh? Speaking of plants though, I did buy some new seed trays and several packs of organic seeds, they went fast in the stores last year so I want to get them while the supplies are good. I was thinking about maybe turning some shelves into a growing area for seedlings and installing some grow lights on the undersides of them, something to keep myself busy until it gets a little warmer – 20’s is just not doing it for me! This is also about the time of year that I get a hankering to hang diapers out on the line! I don’t really have to worry about that this year but the thought did cross my mind earlier. I could picture them hanging there (in the freezing cold, probably frozen!) One of the downsides to having your last or in my case, only child finally start using the potty. Another downside that we discovered the other day while playing at in indoor play area, sliding down a really fast slide!! No padding….poor kid, she just kept rubbing her little bum each time she hit the bottom! Well, here is to hoping that spring comes soon and that we all don’t go stir crazy waiting for it Rash Trouble-shooting…January 20th, 2010 We hear so many Moms and Dads talk about different types of diaper rashes and we give out lots of advice as well as having the unique opportunity to learn lots of great things from our friends and customers as well. We thought we would share some of that insight and hopefully at the same time get our readers to give their advice or ask questions at the same time.First thing is first, figure out what is causing the rash – then you can treat accordingly. Here are the things we usually find are the culprits. 1. It’s yeast. There are lots of ways to treat this – prescription, over the counter and homeopathically. Talk to your health care provider if you suspect your baby has a yeast rash. It’s also important to make sure your diapers aren’t re-infecting your baby with yeast after they are being treated. Usually a couple of really hot washes and a hot dry will do the trick – but some stubborn yeast will take a boiling to be gone for good. 2. It’s an allergy. This could be due to the material of your diaper, your detergent or both (don’t forget about your wipes and/or wipes solution as a culprit too). It also could be that your diapers have a build up. Not all inexpensive detergents that you buy at the grocery store are bad if your baby isn’t very sensitive, but they do tend to build up quicker on the diaper and require boiling or stripping more often. If you suspect that your baby might be allergic to certain materials, start by cutting those diapers out of your rotation that are made of man made fibers – microfiber, suede cloth, non organic fleece, etc. 3. You are leaving the diaper on too long between changes. This happens usually if you are lucky enough to have a baby that sleeps through the night, or takes long naps. If you are lucky enough to have this problem, your baby’s rash could be from prolonged contact with urine or what some people call an “amonia burn”. If you suspect this is the culprit of your baby’s rash, try using a paper, silk or fleece liner between the diaper and your baby’s skin. These liners will often help wick the moisture away from his/her skin well enough to last them through the night or a longer nap before starting to irritate that delicate area. 4. It’s a food allergy. Lots of parents don’t consider this, but it is definitely something to mention to you baby’s practitioner if all else fails and the rash still persists. 5. Baby’s bum needs a little airing out each day! It may sound messy, but its true and works like a charm. It’s amazing what a little air time each day can do for the health of a little one’s diaper area. Try putting down a large beach towel and even a trash bag underneath if you have a heavy wetter! This is also a great opportunity to start learning your child’s elimination cues and perhaps get a head start on potty learning. There are definitely many other types of rash out there, these ideas are just the most popular reasons that we find as the cause for diaper rashes. If you suspect that your baby may have some other problem or a more serious rash, please see your pediatrician or homeopath. We welcome all comments, questions and suggestions – have a great day and Happy Diapering! Some Pictures of the StoreJanuary 11th, 2010
Our Manager’s daughter, Phoebe – just hanging at the store
ResolutionsDecember 30th, 2009I’m sure we have some readers that don’t use cloth diapers – or maybe you use them some of the time, but still find yourself buying a few packs of sposies here and there and using them more than you want to. I was just thinking about some of the things that I am going to try to change as my “resolutions” so-to-speak for 2010…..reading my daughter more books, cutting down on the time I let her watch tv….and those are just my parenting related resolutions As I was talking to another mom friend of mine that always tells me she wants to try cloth diapers but never does – I started thinking, what a great New Year’s Resolution! I think we all could stand to try something new and potentially beneficial for our families. Why not suggest trying cloth for the new year to a close friend? You could even offer to let them try a few of yours, or give them a belated Holiday gift of a gift certificate or a couple of your favorite diapers? You would be helping them to reduce their child’s carbon foot print and helping them save some money in the process! Who knows, maybe we will start a tradition – if all our readers could get just one family to switch to cloth diapers for the new year and the next year that family passes it on to another family. Could we eventually put Pamper’s out of business?? Ok, now I am just dreaming Flip and EconobumDecember 3rd, 2009Yes we have them! They have caused quite a buzz since they came out - from the makers of Bumgenius – giving us parents a couple of lesser expensive alternatives to cloth diapering but still from the brand that so many of us have come to love and depend on. Although most of us will agree that pocket diapers are great, so easy, adjustable and versatile – having to change the entire diaper each and every time the baby wets can add up in both our wallets and our laundry pile. Being able to reuse the covers a couple times can really cut down on both. The Econobumdiaper system is the least expensive and most basic of the 2 new systems – it basically consists of a one size, waterproof, adjustable cover, with a one size prefold that allows you to fold it different ways to get the best fit for the size and shape of your baby. The cover is water tight and has a great set of leg elastics that won’t let anything through if fastened securely enough! After using this system for a few days, you will get better at positioning the prefold so that the least amount of your baby’s excrement gets on the cover, reducing the frequency at which you need to change/wash it. The Econobum system comes in 2 different packages, either a single cover and prefold which is only $9.95 (less expensive than even most covers alone) or their diapering system Full Kit which includes 3 one size covers and 12 one size prefolds for just $49.95 (and for a limited time we are offering this set at 20% off – that’s a $9.99 discount!) These covers come in a basic white only. The new Flip diaper system more resembles the ever popular Bumgenius 3.0in its design and is a step up from the basic Econobum system in my opinion. The covers come in the popular colors ribbit, zinnia and moonbeam and more resemble the Bumgenius style although they do snap (which in my opinion is best anyway….check back a few entries my reasoning on that subject!!) The Flip diaper also offers 3 options for inserts – the basic box set includes a 4 layer stay dry, fold down and snap insert made up of 3 layers of microfiber and their popular suede cloth on the top, or you can purchase an organic cotton version of the insert as well as a disposable insert that they offer for traveling or childcare. The basic Flip set includes a one size cover in your choice of color and one of the stay dry snap-down inserts for $16.95. Additionally, we also have the disposable liners which are on sale for 20% off their regular price of $4.95 for 18 inserts. So much is going on in the cloth diaper world these days, here at Maine Cloth Diaper we are trying to stay up on it all. Let us know if you ever need more information or have seen a product elsewhere that you think we should carry!! Have a great day and Happy Diapering Funny, if it isn’t YOUR toddler!November 11th, 2009Sooo, you put you little cutie in the tub, wash them up nice and clean and give them a little play time. You are sitting on the toilet, reading your magazine when you get this funny feeling….something is wrong. You peer over the side of the bathtub and there it is….a FLOATER! Yep – if you are the parent of a bathtub pooper, you know the feeling. Your nice clean child is now sitting in his/her own soup of feces….lovely! I have to admit that this is not a story of my own experience. I recently saw an acquaintence of mine on Facebook complaining that one if her TWINS does this. As if one child sitting in their own poop soup isn’t bad enough, having to re-wash two toddlers. I tried not to laugh, because I actually hate giving baths and to have to re-wash and all that would seriously push me over the edge! One of her friends suggested a swim diaper and a conversation ensued about them and how expensive they are and for what? The inside of a cheap disposable diaper! I don’t know how many times I have preached to my non-cloth friends about how great cloth swim diapers are and how much money they can save. One swim diaper that can be washed countless times costs about the same (if not less) than a package of swim diapers and can be used for years and on multiple children. So in this colder season where swimming diapers are not really on our minds, I thought I would mention this alternative use and maybe get a chuckle or two in the process! Happy diapering! |
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