Cloth Diapers: Traveling with Cloth

Most people I know do not like to take cloth diapers with them when they travel and I understand that as it is can be a total hassle. It is much easier when you are going out of town for the weekend or for a week to just pick up some disposables as you can just throw them away and not have to figure out washing, etc. For me it just depends upon the situation, sometimes I take disposable and sometimes I will take my cloth. In the summer I love to take my cloth diapers with me to camp when we travel as they dry easily, I have access to a washer and its cheaper. So I thought I would just share a few pictures and ideas if you want to travel with cloth.

• When I travel with cloth I just take my diapers, detergent, and a big wet bag. I find a place to wash and hang them to dry.

• You have to take into account if you are flying that you will have that extra weight in your suitcase...when we went to Guyana I decided to take them because they just throw their disposable diapers in the river--yuck. But if you are flying in the US you may have to consider doing disposable.

• If you are thinking about going to a third world country feel free to read my posts on cloth diapering in Guyana: Article  and pictures I had to wash them by hand which was quite the challenge.

Cloth Diapering: Rashes and Wipes

I like to use cloth wipes with my cloth diapers it makes life easier because you can just throw the wipe in the dirty diaper and drop them both in the diaper hamper. However I will admit that I don't have quite enough so sometimes they are all in the wash or I am behind making them  up so sometimes I use disposable wipes.  But all that said I love my cloth wipes.

You can buy wipes or I just made some a long time ago out of flannel, just make them in a square or rectangle and serge around them and you have a wipe. I put mine in an old wipe container and then I make up a little mixture of baby soap, baby oil, a little alcohol and water (don't ask me the exact measurements--it is a little bit of this and a little bit of that) and I poor it on the wipes so they are ready to go. I know other people who leave their wipes dry and put their concoction in a spray bottle or peri bottle and when you are ready you can just put some on the wipe and then wipe their bottom. I haven't tried that method but I might, it's just whatever is your preference. You can also buy your cloth wipes or just use disposable.

Now as for rashes...Tirzah has a very sensitive bottom and so did Gideon so rashes is something I have had to deal with all of my cloth diapering experience...well actually I think the rashes are from teething as they don't get them when I am just breastfeeding or before teeth. Anyway, my kids get bad rashes when they are teething and it always makes me feel bad, here is what I have found:

•  Sometimes I will switch to disposable diapers for a time so I can just lather their bottoms with some type of rash cream but even then it doesn't cure it right away as it just is part of teething. But it can help and so that is what I do sometimes.
• I also find if you take one of your cloth wipes which are flannel and lay them down over the diaper and then put on diaper cream or I use neosporin sometimes it then gets on the flannel not the diaper.
• I hear coconut oil works great on rashes and is fine on cloth diapers, I haven't tried it yet but I plan on trying it. 
• Do not, repeat, do not use diaper creams on your babies bottoms and then put on a cloth diaper (unless it is a cream to use with cloth) as it will stain your diapers, I found that out the hard way as most of my bum genius have diaper cream stains...doesn't effect them just looks bad. 

Don't feel bad if you have to use disposable...sometimes I feel guilty but then I think about all the money I have been saving and there are just times I can't keep up with diapers or the rash is just too bad and I don't want to change my cloth every two hours and it is okay then to take a break and then go back when you are ready. 

Disciplined Life Day 1&2

So I am starting the challenge of having a more disciplined life and using Crystal Paine's new book: 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life. I thought I would keep everyone updated on how I am doing with it by posting my challenges and accomplishments.

For day one I was to pick a small task to accomplish off my to do list and I chose cleaning off our chest at the end of my bed and I got that done! Then I was to take a mega project and plan out how to accomplish it in 21 days. So I chose to clean/organize/declutter/finish our guest room. I have been meaning to do that pretty much since we moved in, I need curtains and it needs to have a lot of stuff gotten rid of...so that is my project! I started yesterday by finishing going through fabric I want to get rid of and setting it aside and listing it on my blog.

Today I have to go through patterns I want to get rid of in my guest room...and I am choosing a habit to start implementing. I am going to try after every meal to at least clear all dishes and wipe trays and table and sweep if needed. So here it goes...

Crystal's book is amazing and so helpful, pick yourself up a copy if you haven't so you can join me in becoming more disciplined!

Moneysaving Mom's New Book

Moneysaving Mom has written a new book called 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life and honestly it is coming out at just the right time! Since having Chloe I am now in the mood to getting more organized and trying to be more disciplined so I appreciate having some help! Her ebook came out on Tuesday and through today it is only $.99 so if you want to get it go here.

The book is quite amazing, it is down to earth and real which is what I need. In fact she even talks about having a new baby which messes up having discipline--right where I am! After every chapter she has assignments to help you start getting disciplined so I am going to take the challenge and try to do the assignments and projects in the book! I think it will be more like a month as I probably won't do it on weekends but I will try to update on here how the journey is going. If you want to join me go out and get Moneysaving Mom's new book while it is only $.99

Cloth Diapers: Laundry Time

So I have to admit that cloth diaper laundry is one of my favorite things besides the cuteness of cloth diapers on babies. So let me tell you what I have learned with my laundering of diapers.

•  The way I do my laundry is I dump all my dirty diapers into the washing machine (I have an upright) and set the cycle on rinse and do it on cold. Then I do a wash cycle on hot/cold and add my laundry soap and water softner. Then I do one more rinse on hot/cold.

Don't they look so beautiful on the line?

• Then I take them out and hang dry them. I like for them to be out in the sun of course and I love spring-fall for them drying but if the weather is not good I will hang them in front of the fire or on door jams.

• The sun is very important as it bleaches diaper inserts and covers and of course the fresh air helps with smell as well.

Hanging on a door during rain!

• I do not like to use the dryer with my diapers that often but sometimes I throw them in there to kill all the bugs during stink bug or lady bug days. I also will put them in there if I am in a crunch and don't have time for them to air dry. But don't put any type of fabric sheets in there as it will build up on the diapers and make them not as absorbent.

• I have used three different types of laundry soap--I started with Charlie's Soap which seemed to do pretty well, then I used Rockin Green which I hoped would make my diapers smell good but it didn't seem to help and it didn't seem as effective for me. I now am using Tiny Bubbles which works well. I also learned recently that I need some Calgon water softner as we have hard water and so that makes soap ineffective in time. So this is what I use now in every load.

When Gideon was a baby helping me fold!

• I have stripped diapers a few times when they start to smell...I've done vinegar...dawn (which helped)...but now I just use Calgon as I think I get build up from my water...also I feel like microfiber inserts just wear out and mine are three years old. So I am moving away from those to cotton!

• This is the clothes rack we use in the winter especially to help dry diapers and clothes. I put them in front of our wood stove.  Diaper laundry is so fun!

Cloth Diaper Series: Things that have helped in cloth diapering

There are a few things that seriously help you to have around when you are cloth diapering.I don't use a whole lot of extra things but here is what I use:

• A place to put your wet/poopy diapers until you can wash them--you need some sort of big wet bag that either zips/draw strings or I put mine in a trash can that has a lid. The wet bag helps contain the odor and helps things not to leak through. I tried a diaper geni at the beginning and that didn't work. I find it would help to have two wet bags, so you can just take the diapers and the bag and throw it into the wash and then put the other in the pail so you always have one in there...I just haven't made my second one yet. I will...

•  It is also nice to have a travel wet bag that you can stick in your diaper bag so that when you are out and you need to change a diaper you have something to put your dirty one in--I also put my wet/dirty clothes from the kids in there and it keeps everything else in my diaper bag from getting wet!

• Having a diaper sprayer is AMAZING! This is a sprayer like a kitchen sink sprayer that you attach to your toilet and then when you need to clean poop off your diaper you just spray it off! How easy is that? You can buy one online or my wonderful husband went to the hardware store and bought the supplies then put it together himself. I love my diaper sprayer--you don't technically need this at the very beginning as baby poop is different than when they start on solids...believe me!

• Baskets to store your cloth diapers, I find that baskets work best for me. I tried a diaper stacker at the beginning and it worked okay but baskets are easier to pull out and see what you have. 
• I also have a small store of liners to put in my cloth diapers in case I need to use some sort of diaper cream and I don't want it on my diaper...usually when a baby has a rash. Just nice to have on hand in case you need it. 

I think that is about all I really use with diapering...next I will talk about laundering cloth diapers--something I love to do!

Check out My Fabric for Sale

This is just a heads up that I am starting to list and price fabric, trim and patterns I have for sale...I"ve got about 1/2 of it done and will update when it is all done but to get to that page go up to the top and click the tab that says fabric for sale!