Mr. GBE

Mr. GBE was not a fan of using cloth diapers. Not a fan at all. In fact, he made it clear that he was not and would not change any cloth diapers. He also informed me that once BW was walking, we would not use cloth diapers any longer. He’ll deny it if he reads this, thankfully my sister was witness to his behavior. I blame Mr. GBE’s misguided thoughts on BW’s incessant crying which in turn made his sleep addled brain woozy and confused. Thankfully, BW has been a good sleeper for many months now, and Mr. GBE’s thinking cleared up as we all got more sleep.   Slowly, Mr. GBE warmed up to the idea of cloth. This is how I wore him down changed his mind:

1.       Our first cloth diaper system was a gift. So we saved $$ to begin with by not having to invest in cloth diapers.

2.       I never complained about laundry. {This was difficult as my stash was very tiny in the beginning with a 1 month old – 12 diapers. And add insult to injury, my washer was broken for a long time, and it took us a while to realize it. It also took the repair man several attempts before it was finally fixed.}

3.       I acted like I knew what I was doing. {Thank goodness for Google and cloth diapering blogs/message boards.}

4.       Mr. GBE was never asked to rinse a diaper.

5.       Mr. GBE was never asked to wash a load of diapers.

6.       Mr. GBE was never asked to hang out diapers to dry.

7.       Mr. GBE was never asked to stuff/fold/put together any diaper.

8.       I proved that using cloth was easy when traveling away from home. {Disneyland + BW @ 5 months + GroVia’s disposable hybrid option = Success}

9.       There was a drastic decrease in our spending due to less frequent trips to Target to buy diapers, which also meant fewer impulse buys. *Cha-Ching!*

10.   When the only option in the house is a cloth diaper, cloth must be used.

So needless to say, Mr. GBE is quite adept at using cloth diapers.  He’s now rinsed, washed {with detailed instructions left on the washer}, dried, and stuffed diapers without nagging supervision. I think he even secretly enjoys using them. Mr. GBE, you’ve come a long way baby! He's’ become my biggest fan and supporter. Without him, I would have never started my own business. Hip, Hip, Hooray to Mr. GBE. I love you!

Practice Safe Sun

Here in Tucson, we are experiencing an incredible heat wave. As I was driving home last night from a fun diaper consultation at 10 pm {too many diapers to look at and so little time!}, it was 100 degrees on my car’s thermometer. So, when I say incredible heat, I really mean intense, awful, searing heat. This time of year not only do we need to protect ourselves, babies, and pets from the heat, but our diapers as well. I do sun my diapers, and I have blogged about the benefits of using the sun to get stains out here. But this time of year, it’s best to sun your diapers for a shorter period of time and early morning is best. I also do not have my covers/shells in direct sunlight. Honestly, I’ve never had a stain on a cover/shell and have never needed to put one in direct sunlight. However, if you do have a stain on a cover/shell, sun it briefly and early in the morning. Look at the care instructions on your diapers. Most of them say to hang dry or to tumble dry on low heat. At this time of the year, a dryer on low heat has to be cooler than the 110+ degree heat we’ve been experiencing here. That’s not a fact, just my wacky, unscientific opinion. I have no idea how hot dryers get, but 100+ degrees is blistering hot here in Tucson. Ack!! {Where are my monsoons?!} And do not underestimate the value of sunning your diapers indoors when it is too hot to have them outside. The UV rays can still work their magic indoors. Finding a sunny window in the afternoon may be a good alternative if you don’t get a chance to wash and dry your stash in the early morning hours. Today I put my diapers out for only 30 minutes at about 9 this morning. {I got a late start on my wash today.} Take care of your diapers and make your investment last!!

My little Wildcat is too cool!

I should mention that I'm sponsoring a giveaway {ends 7/5/11} over at Times for Keeping. Erin's a sweetheart of a gal, and she recently gave birth to her second baby girl. Her precious little doll tested out a GroVia newborn AIO. You can read her review here. And if you are looking to purchase GroVia newborn AIOs, Green Baby Elephant LLC has them in stock!!

Diarrhea Tool Kit

A stomach bug has been messing with BW for most of the month, and yesterday it was full on war. BW had terrible diarrhea. {Why is it that the majority of my posts are all about poo?!?} Poor little guy had 7 poo’s in less than 2 hours. And that was all before the doctor’s office even opened. Ugh! It was quite a day. We spent the majority of the day changing diapers, going to the doctor, and the lab. The lab needed poo samples. So a low point of my journey in mommy-hood was reached yesterday as I was collected poo samples out of his diapers. So gross and at the same time so blasé. You can’t scare me, I’m a mom!

While my day revolved around BW’s bm’s, I figured out a few things. First, don’t make things more difficult than they need be. After about 4 diaper changes I remembered I have GroVia BioSoakers. The disposable inserts were a lifesaver. I was running out of diapers fast yesterday morning. A load of diapers were in the wash before BW even woke, so a good portion of my stash was in the process of getting clean. At the rate BW was going, I would have run out of diapers if it weren’t for the BioSoakers. The second thing I learned was that plain water and cloth wipes made BW scream a little less. His poor biscuits were becoming frighteningly red! And the last thing in my diarrhea tool kit was diaper cream with *gasp* zinc oxide. I had to pull out the big guns and get some major cream on his bum. The BioSoakers again came in handy since creams with zinc oxide shouldn’t be used on cloth.

Today’s been a bit better for BW. Hopefully, the doctor will call by Friday with the test results. Until then, we’re sticking close to home. I highly recommend keeping some BioSoakers on hand for emergencies. Yesterday would have been even more of a disaster without them!

On a side note, CW was a dream yesterday. He helped by being my errand boy around the house. I would have been even more of a wreck without him. Smoochies to my little man!! You’re an amazing big brother, CW.

CW is lovin' on his little Bro

Dang It's Hot Out

We don't have a swimming pool, so we beat the heat with the next best thing...sprinklers & a pirate water table. My boys had a great time splashing around in the water while I raked the grass. Darn pine tree messing up my yard! I decked out BW in a super cute Swimmi. What's a Swimmi you ask? It's a swim diaper! And not just any swim diaper, it's a super duper swim diaper. What's so super duper about it? Man, are you asking a lot of questions! It's so super since it opens in the front with hook & loop tabs. I have used other reusable swim diapers in the past, and they were the pull up kinds. Bad news, people. Think about what swim diapers are meant to hold in...poo. Now think about pulling off a wet swim diaper with poo inside. Close your eyes for the full effect. EEEEEEWWWWWWWWW! A Swimmi will not need to be pulled down your babe's legs thanks to the hook & loop tabs. Now picture taking off a wet Swimmi with a poo inside. Close your eyes if need be. Now wasn't that a better image?!

For the price of a pack of disposable swim diapers you can get a Swimmi instead. And with a disposable pack of swim diapers you are limited to the number of times you can swim by the number of diapers in the pack. With a Swimmi your baby can swim all summer long!! If you're on the fence about cloth, think of a Swimmi as your gateway diaper. Cloth is easy, and a Swimmi will prove it to you!

And for the mama's that are more experienced with using cloth diapers, I do NOT recommend using one of your regular cloth diaper covers as a swim diaper. Once you use a diaper in the pool, it should only be used in the pool. The harsh chemicals aren't good for the PUL/TPU waterproofing part of the diaper. Your covers/shells/pockets are more expensive than the Swimmi.

I hope you all had a pleasantly hot first day of summer! Here in Tucson, I'll probably pack up BW's Swimmi in October!! Summer's only just begun here...

Rockin Green Giveaway {6/17/11}

My lovely friend over at Classy Creations by Kristy is doing some major giveaways to celebrate 1,000 fans on Facebook. I wanted to help her party down by sponsoring a giveaway. By now you know that I love Rockin' Green detergent. I want to be able to share that love with one lucky fan. I'm giving away a bag of Rockin' Green detergent over on Classy Creations by Kristy's blog. It's only open until this afternoon {6/17/11}, so be sure to hurry on up and enter. And while you're over there be sure to look around her store. She makes the cutest headbands and now has a line of little girl dresses! Click here to enter. Good Luck!

P.S. I'm drooling over one of her newest creations....a flower belt. I wonder if I could pull it off! hhmmm......

Poo Nightmares!

Have you ever changed a cloth diaper and had the urge to throw it away because it was so nasty? Come on. Be honest. This morning BW woke up and made one of those “Good Lordy! Throw it out ASAP!” diapers. Blech! You can all breathe a sigh of relief as I will not be posting any pics to go along with this post. HAHA But seriously, I do have thoughts like, “If I can only throw this nasty thing out, my morning will have one less thing to do.” Immediately the voice of reason shouts, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Just rinse the darn thing and get over it.” Yes, my voice of reason has to shout at me. It’s the only way I’ll listen. So as soon as this is up and posted, the diaper from poo-hell will be rinsed and put in the diaper pail. Right now it’s sitting in a trash can in the bathroom. And the door is shut. I can’t bring myself to clean it quite yet.

Let me procrastinate a little longer by sharing another “Good Lordy! Throw it out ASAP” diaper story. This one involves blueberries. I don’t think I need to explain too much more. For those of you that haven’t experienced a blueberry-diaper, you will. I like to think that there are two kinds of parents. Those that have experienced blueberry diapers first hand and those that will experience a blueberry diaper. This one happened to be a nightmare! The Hubs was in such shock that he stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched as I rinsed it in the toilet. He told me to throw it out. His comment only strengthened my resolve to not only rinse and wash it, but to keep it stain free. I was successful thanks to Rockin’ Green. He couldn’t believe it. I knew it would work, and was glad it proved my point. No diaper is unsalvageable. Poo can’t stand a chance against Rockin’ Green!

Many thanks if you made it through reading about two poo stories. Yuck! If you are new to all of this poo talk or on the verge of deciding to use cloth diapers, I hope this didn't discourage you. Cloth diapers are really easy, and the poo nightmares are rare and manageable. Honestly, I experienced way more blow outs and poo nightmares with disposables than the handful of nasty diapers that I have to rinse. These helpful tips will help you keep your diapers looking good! Remember to rinse off poo as soon as possible to prevent staining. Also, the sun helps remove stains and sanitize.  I always wear rubber gloves when using my diaper sprayer. And use a diaper safe detergent, Rockin’ Green or Tiny Bubbles. {I use both, and they both work wonderfully!!} What other tips do you have for battling poopy diapers? Please share them with the rest of us! I know there are a lot of new moms that will appreciate the tips! And feel free to share your poo nightmare stories. :) I’m off to go rinse the diaper that’s waiting for me. Where’s a clothespin for my nose?! HAHA

Cloth Wipes

This week I started to use Thirsties cloth wipes. I never thought that I would be a big fan of them, but I am! I absolutely LOVE them!!! I even made my own wipe solution and have 2 spray bottles full of it. The wipes are so soft, it's amazing! EB's skin seems to be really sensitive and once I made the switch I noticed he didn't cry anymore when I changed his diaper. Two major benefits that I have noticed are the fact that I can just toss them in with the cloth diapers to wash and the other is that the wipes are so large and absorbent that I can spray half of it with the solution and use the other half to dry him off. I normally use 1 wipe per diaper change. This has already been saving us money!  I know that all of this cloth diaper/wipe talk can make a Momma nervous...especially a new Momma, or one that has never considered using cloth until now.  I was a nervous Momma, then I tried it, and I am so glad I did!

~Nina~

One major reason that I made the switch to cloth wipes was that EB and I have had the misfortune of dealing with thrush...yuck! The disposable wipes were seriously irritating to his raw bum, and made his skin super wet. Then I would have to have a towel nearby to dry him off {excess moisture makes yeast grow}. Within 2 diaper changes with using the cloth wipes his bum went from fire red to light pink!!! Such a relief for us both! Also in making my own wipe solution I was able to customize it to his needs. For thrush it is advised to use grapefruit seed extract. So along with Dr. Bonner's soap, grape seed oil and water I added several drops of grapefruit seed extract, as an antifungal. It has worked miracles around here for EB! As for me, not as much, I ended up having to use the medicine prescribed. You win some you lose some. I am just relieved that it has worked for EB. Also, the Dr. advised using disposable diapers for a couple of days during treatment. I now know why I love the cloth. It actually got worse with paper diapers. The day we switched back to cloth it got so much better. For those of you wondering, the cloth diapers did not cause the yeast rash. It is caused by the thrush in the baby's mouth. Apparently during our first week of breastfeeding I got it and passed it onto him, and it got into his poo, causing the rash. Major pain, but we’re getting better every day!

Well, it finally happened, EB has outgrown his adorable little newborn diapers. I was still in denial when I could barely pull the front up far enough and I had to use the last snap. It was only after he peed out of 3 of them that I knew it was time to say goodbye and pass them on to another newborn.  It was a sad day at our house. My son is growing at an incredible rate. He somehow managed to gain 7 ounces in 2 days!!! This is unheard of for most newborns, but mine is apparently the exception. I remember at his 2 week appointment, the Dr. told me that normally it takes 2 weeks for a baby to get back to their birth weight, but somehow EB had gained almost a pound over his birth weight! We call him our chubby lil' duck. : ) Even though we didn't use the newborn diapers for long, I have to say that they were SO worth it!!!! I loved how there was almost no bulk and they fit his tiny little legs so perfectly.

Right now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of BW's old diapers! Until then I have been using the Thirsties Duo Diapers, and love them! Not only are they easy to use, but I have not had a leak yet! They are bulkier than NB diapers, but that’s to be expected with a OS system. I have also been using Thirsties prefolds, fitteds, and wraps. I love using the Thirsties products. While bulky, it’s a diaper that works without leaks, and EB has plenty of room to grow in them. You can read more of my Thirsties review when diapering newborns here. And even though, EB had outgrown his newborn diapers I will still be reviewing the newborn diapers that I used on him. Those blog posts will be coming soon.

Upcycle Masterpiece

When BW was born, my mom passed along to me the prefolds that she used on me as a baby. I tucked them away in BW’s closet and forgot about them. While cleaning out the closet come springtime, I rediscovered them. They are soooooooo soft. Unbelievably soft. And virtually stain free. Then it hit me. I can repurpose these into burp cloths for baby EB!



washed and ready for sewing



I had to do hardly any prep to get the old prefolds ready to transform into stylish burp cloths. My first step was to do a long soak in Rockin’ Green. I did this for two reasons. 1. When held up to the light, the center was slightly yellowed. I wanted to try to get rid of any urine stains. 2. I wanted to remove any detergent residue, and have them washed up in a gentle soap for my nephew. After the soak and washings, they looked great. There was hardly a stain left. And sunning helped clear it up. Rockin’ Green really helped get out those old stains! The next step was to find a fabric to sew down the middle. That was easy. Nina has loved monkeys since she was little. CW had the final say between the two monkey prints, and he picked out the better of the two. And the last step was to sew the flannel down the center of the prefolds. I was able to do that while the boys napped one afternoon. {For some odd reason, I find it relaxing to sew.}



my upcycle masterpiece! Ta-Da



I was able to repurpose and add some pizzazz to my prefolds. So now they’ve become super cute burp cloths. Plus if Nina needs to use them as a diaper for EB, she can do that in a pinch. Yay for upcycling for a baby gift!

~Tonya~