The Great Cloth Diaper Change 2011 Part III

Some of you may remember my posts about my experience at the Great Cloth Diaper Change this year. Well, the final tally has come through. Although I'm disappointed to see that they left out the most important part in this change.....the CLOTH part. But, I guess I'll take it.

5,0256!!! Awesome job to my host, Goldie at Butzie Covers and everyone else who participated or hosted!

Meet My New Best Friend, Jillian Michaels

Hello. Have you met my friend Jillian? Oh you don't know her? She yells at me to work out through my TV screen. She's my new best friend forever! NOT! I recently got onto a scale and this has kicked my booty into gear about living healthier. It's not just about weight loss, it's about setting myself up for success. I know I could choose to make healthier choices.....I just choose not to. I've have Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred hanging around my house for a few months. I've done it once or twice, but I give up rather quickly. Not this time. The other teacher I work with and I were talking and I just feel this is something I need to do. I need to exercise. I need to eat healthy. I need to eat my veggies(YUCK). For me and only me. To make a healthy home for a future baby and to be healthier when my children grow up. I want them to be able to learn from my healthy choices and grow from them.

So, I've decided I'm going to take it week by week and not get down on myself if I lax. My one pledge for this week is I will not buy lunch all week and if we go out to eat for dinner, I will choose something healthier than my normal choice. So far so good. Today for lunch I brought a 100-calorie tortilla, some southwest grilled chicken, and some cheese and made my one quesadilla. I also had some broccoli with cheese and a organic strawberry milk. In fact, I only had one soda all day! GO ME! This is HUGE!

Yesterday I also set out on an adventure and made my first set of cloth wipes. I bought 1/2 yard of yellow terry cloth and 1/2 yard of yellow flannel. I already had orange thread and voila. I got myself eight pretty wipes! I used the scalloping stitch for the first time on my machine and I think I'm addicted. It's so pretty. I think next time I'm going to buy a nice towel to use as the terry cloth side that way I have more color options and I can choose some cute prints. By the time we have a baby, I should be stocked and ready!!

Now onto the blog hopping. Please go check out Staci at 7 On A Shoestring!! She is awesome over there so go check her out! She's got great deals and a few giveaways that are coming up. Thanks for loving me as much as I love you, Staci!

And go check out these lovely ladies, too. If you're a new follower, comment and let me know so I can follow you back!

Cloth Diaper Status Update

I'm home sick today. Boo. After my stomach sickness bout on Saturday, I thought I was fine. I even ate (a lot) yesterday! But last night and this morning my crazy sore throat and vomiting came back and I just couldn't bring myself to infect my cute little babies at work. They don't deserve this crazy sickness or whatever this may be! I'm feeling much better after some toast and although I want sushi so very bad right now, I'm going to resist the urge and stick with something better for my tummy. Did I mention I really want sushi though? 

I just completed a HUGE order of cloth diaper things. I'm so so so excited. I have also purchased a few patterns. I got one sized pattern that is XS/Newborn - Large AIO. It's from Very Baby and is the Very Basic All in One Pattern. It got a lot of good reviews and I was informed it was a good idea to have a few XS/S sized diapers because sometimes newborns can't fit in the OS. I'm also okay with having some AIO in my collection because even though they take a longer time to dry, it's nice to have something that resembles a disposable when people are watching the monster one day or if we're out and about. It's also very easily made into a cover, so that if I love the prefold route, I can whip up a bunch of those no problem.

The Very Baby AIO

I also got the NykiBaby One Size pattern. The reviews I read seemed fairly good and I figured I'd give it a shot by making a few. If I fell in love with them that would be fantastic. If I didn't, well the would be there for days I didn't feel like washing or I could donate them. No big deal. I really liked it because of the snaps that I have some weird obsession with. Oops! I'm not sure why but snaps seem fun. Don't worry. I'm making some velcro ones, too.

The Nyki Baby OS

The very last diaper pattern I purchased with recommendation from Goldie at Butzie Covers was the Kayla's Cloth Kit Ones. When I went into Butzie when she so kindly fixed my broken snap on my Kawaii, she said she loved this one! They were trim between the legs but held up good. I'm not so sure how I feel about a OS that does all velcro, but I'm going to try it. If I hate it, there's some tutorials for making them into snaps but a lot of the reviews say they love the OS velco. We will see!

Kayla Cloth Kit OS

 

Okay, here's what I ordered and if you have recommendations for the next order, please let me know. I decided to stick with black on black until I got the hang out things. =)

I ordered black PUL, black cotton veleour, some elastic and touchtape (velcro), some size tags and labels, and birdseye for the soakers. My first few diapers will be made out of cheap velcro, white PUL, and leftover flannels. I know that I will mess up my first few so I'm going cheap! I don't want to waste the good stuff.

I almost forgot! I also went to the local fabric store and bought a bunch of flannel and terrycloth to make some cloth wipes! YAY! I went gender neutral since whenever we are blessed with a little monster, we won't know what it is for a while. I admit, I did grab some pink stuff BUT a wipe is a wipe right?

Oh and here's a little breakdown of cloth diaper "lingo" for my friends who may not know what the hay I'm talking about up here, thanks to The Cloth Diaper Report.

AIO (All In One) - A diaper with a waterproof outer shell/cover, inner lining and soaker all sewn in one. The most similar to the convenience of a disposable diaper, but longer drying time.

Aplix /Touchtape - Hook and Look used for diaper and laundry tab closures (a.k.a. “velcro”, but not the Velcro brand)

Cloth Wipes - Cloth wipes can be made of many different fabrics such as terry, flannel, cotton, fleece, sherpa and velour. They are convenient to use with cloth diapers, because they can be washed together with your diapers.

Diaper Cover - Used with prefolds, contour and fitted diapers these provide a waterproof barrier and can be reused with multiple diaper changes. Made from PUL, fleece or wool.

Liner - Can be either reusable or disposable, a liner helps make clean up easier or should be used when using diaper creams or ointments. In the latter case, it helps keep build up from forming in the main diaper.

OS (One Size) Diaper - A diaper that can be adjusted in the rise (usually with front snaps or adjustable elastic) to grow with you baby. Some brands get small enough to fit a 4 lb. baby and other brands get large enough to fit a 40 lb. child. A typical size range is 7-35 lbs.

Pocket Diaper - A diaper with a waterproof outer and inner lining with a pocket opening at the back of the diaper where an insert may be stuffed. These are available as sized diapers, are the most popular style for one size diapers and are also a feature on some all-in-one diapers.

Prefold - a rectangular diaper available in many sizes and fabrics, cotton being the most popular. These diapers are the “old school” diapers that are the most affordable cloth diapering option.

PUL - Polyurethane laminated fabric or basically laminated fabric. 1mil and 2mil are the most common thicknesses of the lamination with cloth diapers and accessories and both cotton and polyester fabrics may be laminated. The polyurethane (plastic) layer serves as a waterproof barrier, but has some breathability.

Snappi - Plastic closures in a “T” shape that have tooth-like hooks to grab on to the fabric of a prefold or contour diaper. This is a safer alternative to the traditional pins.

Wet bag - A bag made of PUL used to store diapers. Drawstring, zippered and Velcro closures are the most common.

The Great Cloth Diaper Change Part II

What an eventful day. Not only did I change my first cloth diaper butt; I also bought my first two cloth diapers! Hubby and I headed over to Butzie Covers at around 10 am. Now first, I want to brag about my Hubby for a second. He’s always so supportive of me and my decisions. When I first brought up wanting to cloth diaper our future children, he agreed right away, even though the only thing he knew about cloth was that they were made of cloth and cheaper. I was taken aback that I didn’t even have to explain myself, he just agreed! And when I told him about The Great Cloth Diaper Change, he even sounded excited to go! But on the way there he made the comment, “But I don’t even know how to change a cloth diaper! What am I going to do?” This made me smile, but I reassured him I didn’t sign him up. I told him that this event would probably only take about an hour. Well, amazing Hubby stood around for more than two hours and didn’t complain a peep. In fact, he even smiled the whole time. Did I mention how incredibly lucky I am?

 

The main event was exciting.  Since I don’t have my own little baby booty, I got to change a baby booty that belonged to someone else. I was introduced to Carolyn & her son Tyler, my cloth booty! Which might I add; he was the sweetest and cutest little boy. Everyone scrambled around before the actual change, and I made my first cloth diaper purchases. I bought the Charlie Banana Earth Day diaper and a super cute white and green star Kawaii. Then came to actual time to set the world record. Everybody had to leave the room and we entered back inside in number order and instructed to sit in our assigned box on the floor. Tyler saved a good diaper for me too. Yup, you guess it….POOP! But that’s okay because I did it! We had to hold up our cloth butts before the change for pictures and then after the change. Did you know taking picture of naked baby butts is considered child pornography? Me either, but it makes sense! Which is why no pictures were taken during the event.

After the Great Change I spoke with some of the ladies around me about which diapers they liked the best. They were so great and helpful. I also got to chat after when we got to each some yummy cupcakes from The Cupcake Collection about home births. Hubby is very nervous about this subject, but he says it’s just nerves about me giving birth in general. One woman I spoke with had an unassisted home birth. Women who do this are warriors! I would be way too nervous, but it gives me a good feeling knowing that I could do it. I’m hoping once I find a midwife it will calm Hubby and our families nerves.

This was one of the highlights of this year for me. I was nervous I would going to be the odd man out with no baby, but after things started flowing, I don’t think anyone noticed. I loved being able to walk around a bunch of baby wearing mama’s and mama’s nursed their babies right there! It was inspiring. I also meant to take a picture of the sign that said “Please feel free to feed your babies when and how you want!” So comforting to see nursing in public welcome, accepted, and encouraged! I also got one of the sweetest goody bags I’ve even received!

 

 I have to throw this out there – If you live in the Clarksville area, please go visit Butzie Covers. That place is heaven. Goldie the owner was so sweet and helpful, even when things were getting a little intense! I can’t wait to go back and stock up on some more diapers among other things. I’ve been learning towards to prefold with cover option with a little influence from a close friend, but I also wanted to get a few of the different ones out there, just to see what I like! Bring on the babies, now!!

The Great Cloth Diaper Change 2011

Yes you read right. I've decided. Baby or no baby -- I'm going to be a part of this. A lot of my friends and family don't know is that we've made the choice to cloth diaper our baby whenever that little bean wants to decide to be more than just a thought! Not only is it going to save us loads of money, it's also much more "greener." I started my cloth diaper journey by just being envious of my friends who cloth diaper. I mean, how could you not? They're brightly colored, fun patterned pieces of cloth! Way better than yucky plastic that stinks up landfills for years to come. And when I started looking into cloth diapering more, I had an epiphany. I could make those. Why yes, I could make those. I've already started my journey into making my own cloth diapers and covers - But that is for another blog, another time. This blog is for me to share with you this wonderful event and how YOU could even take part in it. There's still time!

What is happening and why is this so important?  Cloth diapers have come a long way in past 10 years, and it’s time to stand up and be noticed. Celebrate Earth Day, by joining the North American and International cloth diaper community on April 23rd, 2011 at 9AM PDT to set the world record for the most cloth diapers changed simultaneously. This world record attempt is a great way to show the world how many people are already choosing and using reusable cloth diapers successfully.

Okay, so what? You crazy cloth diaper people want to do it, just do it! Yes, but why aren't you? Here's some info you might not have known about cloth diapers. Reusable cloth diapers have many benefits, including:

• Environmental: Cloth diapers reduce waste for families with children in diapers by more than 50%.
• Financial: Cloth diapers allow families to save more than $2000 per child.
• Health: Cloth diapers help parents reduce exposure of their babies’ skin and lungs to the chemicals in disposable diapers.
• Cute and comfortable: Parents love putting soft cloth diapers, available in a variety of styles and patterns, on their babies.
• Convenient: Once you’ve purchased your stash, no more weekly trips to the store to purchase more – simply put a load in the laundry!

I'm going to be a part of this wonderful event at Butzie Covers in Clarksville, TN. If you want to find a location close to you visit the location finder. If you want to learn more about how cloth diapers could benefit you, please visit  Real Diaper Association's Fact Sheet.


I'd like to thank http://greatclothdiaperchange.com/ for provided this information to put towards the blog!