Starting Cloth Diapers--Some Help For Some Friends!

I've had several friends ask over the past six months about cloth diapering and I always feel like I'm too overwhelming when I'm trying to "quickly" give them information.  I guess there are a LOT of things I didn't know starting out, so I feel like every bit of info is important to share! 
I wanted to take a stab at creating a few helpful hints for starting out with cloth, so maybe friends can reference this and use it as a tool to start their own research!
1.  Stash
The first thing you need are... cloth diapers!  You guessed it!  There are LOTS of different brands. Kelly's Closet (an online diaper store that features really handy coupons for free diapers a lot of the time, and free shipping on orders overs $49) is my favorite place to go look at the different styles and brands of diapers.  Instead of explaining all the types, I'll just tell you what I use. 
I use a type of diaper called a pocket diaper.  It is your basic waterproof shell with a microfiber/fleece inside.  It looks like a diaper.  The pocket feature is between the two layers where you put your insert for absorbing the tinkles.  I LIKE this style because it's customizable.  I know I heard that a lot and never understood, but this is what I've learned.  Claire now sleeps for 12 hours.  In one diaper.  It WILL sometimes leak.  So I bought special hemp doublers to help absorb even more and we now have very dry nights.  I used "newborn" inserts (sometimes called a doubler, too, usually comes with your pocket diaper as well as a regular insert) when she first started in cloth at three weeks old.  The two brands I think are best are BumGenius 4.0 (snaps or velcro(hook and loop)) and Fuzzibunz (snaps only).  I get the kind that are ONE SIZES, which mean just that.  They have adjustable features to make them tiny or large depending on baby side.  She's wearing the same diapers she wore at three weeks now at six months.  Just resized.  Very simple. 

My stash beginnings.  I did the buy five get one free BGs, and I got a two pack of FBs with a free diaper from Kelly's Closet.  The free diaper is a different brand, Happy Heinys (purple, top corner), it was free, but hey, it works just fine and it is really pretty!

2.  How Many?
Count how many diapers you use in a day.  Times that by 2.  That's what you'd need theoretically if you wanted to do laundry every other day for the diapers.  WE have close to 40 diapers (not all of them are 'in rotation').  We wash diapers on the weekend and on Wednesdays.  Just two loads of laundry a week, so no hassle there.  Great ways to build fast are to buy used.  You heard me.  Used.  That's how we got so many.  Sometimes the store in STL, Cotton Babies (another good place to order online from--free shipping!), has this big one dollar used sale.  Sign up for their mailing list so you can find out when they'll have the next one.  It's been almost a year since the last sale.  You get the cover (inserts, in this case, are extra) for just $1.  We bought 26 this way, plus 25 inserts (I cleared them out) for another dollar apiece.  Watch for good sales--buy five get one free.  Use coupons.

This is a BG 3.0 (same as 4.0 really) with hook and loop in pink.  This is Claire at 5/6 weeks, remember we had a lot of weight trouble in the beginning so she's probably not even 8 lbs in this picture.  They fit just fine!

3.  I Have to Wash Them?
Yup.  We have a diaper sprayer.  We also have a diaper bin (that amazingly doesn't smell).  And wet bags for traveling and day care (they don't leak and don't stink).  We use Country Save detergent instead of the fancy brands they have just for cloth diapers.  It was super cheap to buy on Amazon and we use it for all of our clothes.  We also (disclaimer) have soft water, so if you don't, keep in mind your washing might need extra help.  I also have some Rockin' Green and I 'rock a soak' every month or so (I'm doing that tonight, in fact).  Right now since we're adding new foods I have been doing mostly two washes at a time.  I spray out poopies as they happen, then put the diapers in the wash with this cycling--soak, hot (no soap); prewash, hot (no soap), regular wash hot w/about 1/2 scoop Country Save, then double rinse.  If I repeat I do the same cycle, but all cold. 
Drying is easy.  We separate the inserts from the covers.  The covers (since they're designed to stay dry) are nearly dry out of the wash.  We put them on a drying rack and if it's sunny, we'll put them outside.  Sunning diapers helps with stains (sometimes you get stains, you didn't do anything wrong, they're clean, they'll come out).  Then we dry the inserts in the dryer.  Usually just takes one round, depending on humidity in our basement. 

This is a BG 4.0 with snaps.  It's a sweet cream color (not white).  I'm not the biggest fan of BG's snaps, but they're good and much harder to wiggle out of, in case you get a wiggler!

So that's really it.  Trust me, if I could figure this out, anyone could.  The hard thing is deciding on what style you want and setting up your washing routine.  I went with a lot of BumGenius with velcro (called hook and loop) because those look just like really pretty disposable diapers.  Grandmas, Grandpas, Daddys, Daycare--everyone navigates these diapers just fine.  Now, I have snaps, too, which are usually the other brand and I love their colors.  But I'm usually the only one who knows how to put them on.  No biggie, I'm also the one who likes the pretty colors anyway, so when I diap-ey change, I grab those.  :)

One of my favorite Fuzzibunz--I love the bright colors!

There are other ins and out... what to do with diaper rash, what if you want a newborn stash, what if x,y,z happens because of washing or build up.  We know some of that stuff, too, but that doesn't seem nearly as important to discuss when you're just getting started.  Good luck!  And I'm always available for questions or to show off my diapers.  Because you KNOW I love them!

Taggie Blanket Project

Well, I know I shared pictures of the MU taggie blankie before this point, but I never got around to actually blogging the project.  My original plan was to make two very sporty blankets--one for Claire, one for Matt's second cousin who had a baby shower a few weeks ago.  However, I've never made a formal taggie blanket before.  Crazy, right?  Well, my idea stemmed from this side project I threw together before Claire was born with some scrap pieces from her baby quilts.  I figured it would be cool for her to have when she got older and had dollies or something (she's my kid, who are we kidding, she'll have dinosaurs and stuffed animals, but everyone needs a blankie).  I put ribbons on that and  used quilt batting... it was like a cute mini quilt.  Well, we started using it as our car seat blanket and never looked back (well, except I was quite aware it was never really meant to see the light of day). 

 

My momma makes all my blankies, no big deal.

So I decided, along with renewing our MU football season tickets, that Claire must join the MU heritage and get herself an MU blankie.  I knew the fabric was on sale (yay!) so I set to work getting supplies.  I also planned on getting Cardinals stuff--who knew it would be so hard to find?  Along with red or navy minkie fleece, which I think doesn't exist at all.

So what did I buy for these?  Each top print I bought 1/4 of a yard for.  I bought a half yard of the minkie fleece for both blankets.  I cut the 1/4 yards into 5 inch squares (because, impressively enough, I was able to do enough math to figure out that was the best size for using up the most fabric).  I ended up making it 5x4, if you notice, so it would be a rectangle.

I've never sewn this fleece before so I didn't know if it would pose a problem.  Unfortunately on the MU blankie it really didn't.  I tucked the ribbons in and pinned it and sewed and top stitched and it came out great!  I was on a high--except I didn't know what to do for the other gift quilt.  I settled on the prints after I had half the store (customers and workers) helping me pair fabrics.  I wanted to go with baby chic, since the second cousin I didn't know seemed pretty fancy (in the pictures I stalked off of her facebook page).  As you can see, I tried a different pattern, based on my love of one of the quilts I made Claire.

This is when I discovered the unsurpassed stretchiness of minky fleece.  Holy cow!  That top was harder to sew than a regular quilt!  I paired this one with different color ribbons and I don't mind saying the end result doesn't look half bad.  I don't know that it looks fully good... but it's not half bad. 

 

I've actually tossed around the idea of making these and selling them.  I think it would be fun.  The blankets were easy enough to make and ironically turned out perfect for car seat, nap time, and soon to be perfect for the first MU game Claire goes to!

All and all, a really fun beginner's project, or a really fun project to start taking orders for!

You can't take my blankie!  Go get your own!

Happy Half-Birthday and Mother's Day!

My goodness, it's been six whole months since our worlds changed forever!  First of all, I can't express enough how wonderful Claire's presence has been to us.  Every day we marvel at all her wonders and nothing feels like a chore when it's for Claire (although... to break the seriousness... spraying out poopy diapers has sort of gotten to be a chore-peas make poo stink!).  Right now Claire is up to a lot of new and interesting things.  First of all, she's been sitting.  Not always that well, but I definitely confirm she has the ability, just not always the desire.  Right now she's just interested in crawling.  No, she can't crawl yet, but on her tummy trying is where she wants to be.  Unfortunately, sometimes tummy time wears us out (since that's ALL she wants to do).  So then we have surly Claire:

Mom, I'm not so much mad, just disappointed in  you.

But other times she's very focused and happy.  She raises herself up very high now.  It's cute.  Hard to catch on film, but cute.

This is the telltale teething face... the weird mouth shapes are because her mouth hurts.  It looks like she's smiling trying to show us the ouchy. 

And look at those two cute little teeth on the bottom!  You should see her let me brush them.  Too cute! 

We also made our routine trip to the doctor.  She was so excited by Claire's new babblings.  Apparently her "b" sound is very impressive (who knew?), and the not wanting to sit isn't a big deal.  She's just focused on something else, so it's not something she WANTS to do.  Claire also was normal, normal, normal (50th percentile) for head size, weight, and height.  Well, her height was showing a little taller, but we think we didn't get the best measurement.  We've been doing so well with solids that we've been given the go ahead to try other foods.  She didn't caution us against anything and said basically by the time she comes in for 9 months she should have a pretty delicious diet!  We started with carrots, and since I'm late on the blog post, we've also gotten to peas.

She really seemed to like the carrots.  She ate them "like a boss" is what we decided.  She didn't even blink at something strange.  We did have one rough night since she fell asleep before dinner and did not want to eat when we woke her up.  Peas have been more of a challenge, so I mix them with cereal or cereal and carrots.  But let's just enjoy  more happy carrot eating.

Nom Nom NOM!

Claire has been napping a little more than usual.  She does a lot more playing now during the day at daycare, so she often passes out by 5 o'clock, which is why we've had the unfortunate task of waking her up for baths and dinner.  I'm hoping that she's just going through a growth spurt.  She's definitely teething, so we know that really drains her.  But she still has her happy moments.

A lovely 6-9 outfit.  She still fits in most of her 3-6 month outfits, but I just can't help break out the new cute stuff!

Here she is modeling her new headband.  I made headbands for her and the flower clips for her professional 6 month photo shoot later this month.  However, I couldn't resist getting them out early--I did NOT plan to actually have a matching outfit!  That was sheer luck!

Her faces and gestures are so funny sometimes.  If she could talk, oh what would she say with this face.

Although this is the only headband I took pictures of, I also have a leopard print one and a white one.  She also has the pink flower clip (they're removable), white, and yellow flowers, too.  I'm also making a tutu for her for pictures.  I've been doing research and collecting items.  We shall see how I do.  Hopefully she won't be teething by then, and we'll actually get her to sit without trying to throw herself on her tummy to crawl! (We used the bumbo though because the ground is so wet).

I'm just a cutey!

We also tried for some cute mother/daughter shots.  But unfortunately I'm not nearly as photogenic as Claire, and I squint terribly in the sun.

Claire really likes when I hold her up high and rock her.  It always gets a smile.

 

Claire has started to have eyes for only me and Matt.  She's noticing strangers.  She isn't terribly clingy, but if you're around her, you'll notice the difference in how she treats you.  She even leans around to watch me when Matt is holding her.  Yup, you can't beat me!

She also really likes pulling at my necklace--the lovely Tiffany's "Mom" necklace I got when she was born.  I'm afraid she'll break it.  I need to wear something far less sentimental until she gets over this. 

Knows early what expensive jewelry looks like... That's my girl!

And of course, no Mother's Day weekend is complete without a visit from Grandma!  This time she brought us a new sippy cup!  The doctor encouraged us to try using a sippy cup with water (no juice, don't put formula in it).

Grandma... you realize this isn't my bottle right?

 She said Claire was old enough now where she could have a little water, and it would be something to stimulate her trying to use a cup on her own.  She's actually pretty good with it!  She got quite a bit out today!

Hey, it's got handles!  Much better than my stinky bottle!

I just cannot get over how blessed we are with our little girl.  She is so sweet and wonderful and loving.  Of course the teething part is a challenge, but it mostly just breaks my heart that she's uncomfortable and hurting and nothing I do seems to help.  And trust me, we've done our research.  We've tried everything.  That's the worst part.  But this too shall pass and Claire will be back to our happy, carefree, little girl in no time!  I'm looking forward to spending the summer with her and hopefully getting to see her first crawls!  See you next month!