Not Your Grandma's Cloth Diapers!

When I was pregnant with Lil Miss, I decided I wanted to give cloth diapering a try. I knew it would save us a LOT of money, not to mention would be better for her skin, AND keep a ton of waste out of landfills! Something about mommyhood just makes me want to do whatever I can to make the world a better place for her to grow up in!

I had a very old fashioned book from the used book store day to day baby care. It showed how to fold diapers and pin them. However, the diapers in the book were large and square. Mine, which were given to me, were rectangular. I had no idea how to put them on, which led me to the story that unfolds in a previous post. In that post, I told you I would share my adventures of the newer kinds of diapers...so as promised, here it is!

After giving up on good ol' Gerber plastic pants, I ventured into the local baby boutique one day in search of ONE new diaper to try. The plastic pants had become hard to find. The prefolds are available at Wal-Mart but I guess most people buy them for burp clothes and don't need the covers.

Here are the THREE diapers I left the boutique with that day:

This is a fleece cover. It works like magic! It goes great over the pre-folds or the flannel pocket diapers I made for her. I stuff a pre-fold into the pocket and then wrap it up with this fleece cover and everyone stays dry! It's a little on the bulky side by the time you get all of that on her, but it's worth it in the end. She looks super cute, toddling around with her fluffy butt!

I'm in the process of making one out of a pink camo looking fleece I bought at Joann's. One will be a pull on and I'm going to try a wrap style like this one too.

I also have aspirations of repurposing a fleece blanket that wasn't made quite right into a skirty. It's basically a skort. Stay tuned!






This is a Happy Heiney One Size Pocket diaper. I had told the boutique owner I was looking for an All In One (AIO), for their daddy and daycare friendliness. She pointed out that pockets can be just as daddy/daycare friendly if you just pre-stuff the dipes for them. The one size feature also means they will last longer because we won't need to keep buying new sizes. See the snaps in the front? It's kind of hard to tell but there are three columns of them. The right and left column are hidden by the fullness of the diaper. You can snap those up to make the diaper smaller. The waist is also very adjustable. Pocket diapers give the flexiility to add more inserts for more absorption such as nap and night time. This diaper is a great investment, but I still look for similar, less expensive types on eBay!



This is my absolute favorite diaper so far! It's called a JamTots Berry Plush. The outer part of the cover is made of minkee, the softest, cuddliest fabric in the WORLD! The inside of the cover is PUL, which has become the gold standard of waterproof liners in cloth diapers. It's flexible/soft and breathable. The soaker has a layer of minkee that goes against baby's skin, and seven layers of organic hemp fleece. The soaker is incredibly absorbent. Plus, it snaps in and out. You just change the soaker and reuse the cuddly-soft cover unless it gets soiled.

This diaper has been great for night time. We haven't had any leaks or blow outs. Plus, I love snuggling with her (well I love snuggling with her anyway) when she wakes up in the wee hours to nurse.

You can find great cloth diapers and more online at Kelly's Closet. Right now you can get free shipping (those words are music to my ears!) on orders over $49!

My Diaper Stash Part II

Here are some pics of the first set of 5 or 6 diapers I made for Miss M before her arrival. I got the awesome, easy, FREE (one of my FAVORITE words!) pattern, called Rita's Rump Pocket. I will be using this pattern to make some waterproof dipes soon. I got some nylon (like windbreaker jacket material) that I'm going to sandwich between the flannel layers so I don't need a cover, thereby reducing the bulkiness! Stay tuned for more on THAT adventure.

For now, here's some pics. Remember, she wasn't here yet so I used my Army Teddy Bear to model some of them!



Oopsie! I guess I only have one pic! Sorry about that! I'll take some more and add them later. Til then, Happy Crafting!

Tiny Tush Elite Diape Giveaway!

I have been getting back to cloth diapering Miss M...mainly when we are home. I have not gotten brave enough to push it on her day care provider yet, though I'm sure she wouldn't mind, or to use them when we are out. I guess I'm still looking for "the one" what I feel confident enough to do that with!

I love trying different types of cloth dipes. I have gotten some good ones on eBay. There is a cover I especially like. It has a purple print on the outside and PUL on the inside so it just wipes clean if needed. It fits over the dipes I made her OK. I love seeing her bubble butt when she is wearing cloth! Her walk is also especially adorable in cloth!

Well, in my quest to find THE perfect cloth diaper, I found that Tiny Tush is giving away a Tiny Tush Elite diaper to each of THREE winners! I love the fact that it is an "AIO" (all in one). To me, that makes it more like a 'sposie, which would make converting day care and daddy a little bit easier! It's also a one size, which means it will fit Miss M and her brother or sister (should she have one someday) for most of her diapering days!

If you have considered cloth diapering, why not head over to Tiny Tush and enter the giveway! What a great way to give them a test drive!

My Intro to Cloth Dipes!

I find this story quite amusing so I thought I'd share.

I knew when I got pregnant that I wanted to at least give cloth diapers a try. I knew it would save a lot of money. Plus, the environmental impact of the estimated number of diapers one kid goes through makes me cringe. I knew I probably wouldn't be a full time cloth diaperin' mama, but I wanted to at least use cloth the majority of the time at home.

I soon became dizzy with all of the options available. A few people gave us some good old fashioned Gerber Birdseye pre-folds. I figured I could figure this out! So, being well versed in the ways of the web, I proceeded to search out videos on how to put a cloth diaper on a baby. I figured I could practice on my Cabbage Patch Kids til the real thing got here.

I found a video on YouTube. The gal had a pre-school teacher look about her. I opened her website in a separate tab. I then got interrupted or side tracked and left it for the night. The next morning, I sat down at my computer, anxious to learn all I needed to know about putting on old fashioned (and wayyy cheaper) cloth diapers. I was surpised that the preschool teacher's website had an "Adult Content" warning! Upon closer inspection, this fact was due to the content related to...are you ready for this? Adult Diaper Fettish!

I had no idea such a thing really existed. I mean I think I saw it on CSI once...

I had to laugh! I ended up seeing what the gal's video was all about and it turned out to be quite informative and beneficial. The benefit to her demo of ADULT diapers is that they were large so they showed up good on the video and I could see what she was doing. No, there wasn't an actual "adult baby" in the video. She just showed varios ways of folding and pinning the dipes.

Anyway, it was a real eye opener!

As it has turned out, we have had pretty good luck with the basic, dozen dipes for like $10 at Wal-Mart Gerbers and plastic covers. I am venturing into some other options and will share those in upcoming posts.

I had alluded to this experience to someone on Twitter and wanted to get the full story down.