Real Food, Cloth Diapering and Weaning – Sunday Surf

Image by Chiot's Run via Flickr

Here is what I read this week that I found interesting! I think you will, too.

My Children are People – “Seeing my children as people helped me look at every interaction and think hard about how I would want to be treated in that situation.”

How to Freeze Food in Glass Jars – “The world is yours, of course – anything you can freeze can go in a glass jar…”

“I Can’t Afford the Start Up Costs of Cloth Diapering” – “I have a few issues with the “start up costs of cloth diapering” argument for not using cloth though, I have to tell you. It doesn’t make sense. Are we Americans so short sighted that we can’t see past a few months into the future?”

The Weaning Party – “At first it was mostly about nourishment, and later mostly about comfort and closeness. Nursing gave us ample opportunities for physical closeness, and I think it brought us very close together emotionally too. It meant that even when we were apart, we were never far from each other’s thoughts.”

15-15 for Marriages with Young Children – “This 15 minutes of intentionally restorative time will have a cumulative effect in the week for both of you.”

Talking Real Food with Robyn O’Brien – “We need to demand that companies take out dyes, high fructose corn syrup and the like, by voting with our dollars. If we buy foods that do not contain unhealthy ingredients, O’Brien said, the industry will provide more of those options and the accessibility of healthy options for everyone will increase.”

Why I UCed – “Unassisted birth is not everyone’s choice, but I do feel it is a viable option for women who want it.”

Best Natural and Organic Face Soap? – “Besides the cosmetic benefits, it makes me feel really good to know that when Baby plants his frequent open mouth kisses all over my face, he’s not ingesting toxins.”

The Slippery Slope of Soap – “Unfortunately, many of the things we use as ‘soap’ are actually harsh detergents or chemical cocktails.”

I am Not Raising Obedient Children – “I don’t want children who obey without hesitation.  I want children who can think for themselves, recognize and listen to their feelings and instincts and respond appropriately.”

Check out Adventures in Mommyhood, Authentic Parenting, Becoming Crunchy, Karen’s Healthy Lifestyle,The New Mommy Files: Memories, Milestones and Missteps, Hobo Mama, I Thought I Knew Mama, Mama Eve, Momma Jorje, One Rich Mother, Greener Cleaning Moms, and The Parent Vortex for more Sunday Surfing!

Great Stuff I Read for Week of March 13

Here’s a quick list of the great stuff I read this week!

Inquisition Monday: Attachment

Guest Post: Tex-Mex Enchiladas

Buying a Pram or Pushchair

Change, Growth, Loss and the Transformation of Babies

Disposables, Wet Wipes and Baby Food: Who Needs Them 

Breakfast Bentos and Green Smoothies

Cloth Diapering Papa

Bake Your Own Bread

Judging a Mama by Her Kid’s Behavior

Little Things That Help with HG Survival

Check out Authentic Parenting, Baby Dust Diaries, ChildOrganics, Hobo Mama, I Thought I Knew Mama, Mama and Baby Love, Mama Eve, Maman A Droit, Momma Jorje, Monkey Butt Junction, Motherhood Moments, My Inspired Baby, Navelgazing, and The Parent Vortex for more Sunday Surfing!

Related Articles

• Around the Internet: Links for February 6 (wifemomandmore.wordpress.com)
• Link Love for week of February 13 (wifemomandmore.wordpress.com)
• Sunday Links for week of January 30 (wifemomandmore.wordpress.com)
• Super Sunday Surf for week of March 6 (wifemomandmore.wordpress.com)

Imse Vimse Flushable Cloth Diaper Liners: Product Review

When it comes to toilets, I’m a scaredy cat so I knew when I made the decision to cloth diaper my baby I wasn’t going to want to swish away the waste in the toilet. That’s when I made the decision to try out flushable cloth diaper liners. I started out with another brand but a friend recommended the Imse Vimse liners so I decided to try them out.

via http://www.imsevimse.us

If you are unsure of what exactly a flushable liner is, it’s pretty simple really. Here’s the description from the Imse Vimse site:

“Flushable liners can be used between the diaper and the baby’s skin, letting moisture pass through to the diaper while preventing solids to soak into the diaper, which will take the mess out of washing your cloth diapers.  Just flush away the mess, and spend more time with your baby instead of dunking diapers.  These bio-degradable flushable liners are an all natural paper product; they are unbleached and biodegradable. “

They are super easy to use. They come in a roll which I just keep stored with my wipes. Then when I change a diaper I just put one of these on top of the diaper. That’s it. If I’m going to be out and about, I just take a couple and put them in with the diaper. (My husband sticks the whole roll in the bag.)

If they are soiled, I take the diaper to the toilet, dump it and flush. I don’t have to touch the liner at all which I like. If it is not soiled, I just throw it in the wet bag with the diaper. It washes up nicely and will last 3 or 4 (maybe more!) times before it starts getting little holes in it. I throw it away once it has holes obviously. :) I dry them on my rack with the diaper covers but I have accidentally dried them and they were still usable after that even.

I have a toddler but prefer the baby size (which comes in a pack of 2 rolls, 100 liners to a roll.) The toddler size would be ideal if you primarily use pre-folds but I just find them too big for my pocket diapers. (The toddler size comes with 1 roll of 100 liners).

I purchase mine either from the Natural Baby store here in town or online.

Do you use Imse Vimse liners or do you have another favorite?

How I Cloth Diaper (Part 1)

bumGenius in action

I get asked from time to time how I cloth diaper so I thought I’d create a post detailing what I do. My disclaimer is there are SO many different ways to cloth diaper that may be cheaper/easier/better for you and your family. This is what I decided on and what works great for us! We love our cloth diapers and have never looked back once we started.

My main reason for cloth diapering was honestly the economic factor. I remember the first time I bought a pack of disposable diapers for a baby shower gift I was appalled at how much they cost. I probably made my decision then and there that I would at least investigate cloth diapers. I just couldn’t imagine shelling out that much money on a regular basis once I had a baby. I also had some friends online that used them and that made it not seem so completely foreign to me. I was intimidated by the learning curve, but, since I had never changed a diaper period, I was going to have a learning curve no matter what.

Cloth diapers, of course, have many other benefits besides just saving you tons of money. Many of these benefits I wasn’t even aware of until I started using them myself. We started out with disposables just because I was nervous about all of the new things I was already going to be learning being a new mom. The diapers I chose also started at 8 lbs or so and I knew my little one was most likely going to be under that. Because of this, I did have a very brief experience with disposables so I was able to compare using each type. Cloth was just a MUCH better experience for me personally than disposables. I have to admit, this really shocked me. I had no idea how much better using cloth would be.

I felt for us the best choice was to go with one-size pocket diapers. The brands we registered for and purchased were bumGenius One Size Pocket Diapers, FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diapers and Blueberry One Size Pocket Diapers. (The actual diapers we bought have now been replaced by these companies with improved versions.) Having a one-size diaper basically means you only have to buy, you guessed it, one size and it grows with your baby. These diapers have a pocket where you stuff an insert. The insert is very absorbent while the part that comes in contact with your child’s skin wicks away moisture and is soft. I liked the pockets because you can add more absorbent inserts or double up if you have a heavy wetter or for night time. The FuzziBunz diapers came with a small and large liner for each diaper and the bumGenius diapers came with a doubler (which just means it is a thinner liner you can double up with the regular liner) and an adjustable liner. The Blueberry diapers came with one liner that was half hemp and is also adjustable. (Hemp is fantastic because it is very absorbent but very thin at the same time.) The FuzziBunz diapers have snaps while the bumGenius has velcro. (Now you can order the bumGenius in snaps though.) The Blueberry diapers come in both snaps and velcro; we have some of each.

FuzziBunz

The next thing to consider is what you are wiping your baby with. Using disposable wipes with cloth diapers is a big pain because you have to dispose of them in 2 different places. Besides, if you are doing cloth diapers, it makes sense that you probably want to do cloth wipes, too. These you can totally make yourself with minimal effort. However, apparently I’m lazy because I didn’t. :) I registered for and purchased some from online. I know lots of WAHM’s out there make these to purchase as well. I reviewed the brands I have here on the blog so you can check that out if you’re interested.

There are lots of ways to use these wipes. Some families just use them dry, others use just plain old water and some parents make their own wipe solution. For me, I buy Baby Bits. They last a really long time. (For reference, I am just now going to be purchased my 3rd bag and my daughter is almost 2.) They smell delightful, too! I plan on doing a review of these soon here on the blog so I’ll link this post to that once I do. I store mine in an old disposables container from my earlier days and it works well. Some people store theirs in a wipe warmer.

That’s it for Part 1. Part 2 will discuss what to do with the poop, how to store and launder your diapers, cloth diapering on the go and night time cloth diapering. I’ll also give you a list of everything you need and approximate pricing.