lo-wren

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A Dash of Dawn: Seasoning Cloth Diapers

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In the cloth diapering world, I’m somewhat of a semi-purist with my preference for prefolds.  (I consider people who use flats to be purists)  Whenever you purchase cloth prefolds, they must be seasoned before use to have effective absorbency.  This is especially true if you use unbleached, natural fibers, as there are still oils left in the cloth that need to be removed in order for the diaper to absorb liquids properly.  Most manufacturers will recommend an intense washing & drying regimen of usually about 5 or 6 complete wash and dry cycles.  That seems a bit excessive; I’m impatient, hate to waste water (even w/ an HE washing machine), and want to use the most economical approach.

I boil my diapers for at least 30 minutes.  While pregnant and building my stash, I had quite a few diaper-cooking sessions (I have over 75 prefolds in newborn to toddler sizes).  All of my prefolds, excepting a dozen that were thrown in with a bulk pocket diaper lot I purchased, are natural fibers, so they needed to be stripped of their natural oils.  What I do is throw a max of 6 diapers in a lobster pot, squirt a dash of Dawn dish detergent (Original formula), bring to a boil, and let boil for at least 30 minutes.  At the end of the boiling time, I use tongs to remove my diapers (CAUTION: they are extremely hot and will stay hot for a while – I’ve burned myself several times) and set in a colander in the sink to drain and cool off.

Don’t be alarmed by the sight or smell of the water left in your pot; the water will be a greenish-yellow and might have a pungent odor.  The discolored water and stinky smell is a good sign, it means that you’ve successfully stripped oils from the fiber.
Once my diapers have cooled, I wring them out and transfer to the washer for a full wash cycle on hot, with diaper detergent, and dry in the dryer as usual.  That, my friends, will get you off to a great start; your diapers will continue to season and become more absorbent as you wash and dry them after use.  Oh!  And don’t be alarmed when your prefolds come out of the dryer at a third of the size there were when they went in, they’re meant to shrink up after washing and drying.
Always keep a bottle of Dawn Original handy in your laundry area, as this will be your go to product for stripping diapers, if you should ever need to.  Because I use prefolds, I’ve not had a need to strip them in their 8 1/2 months of use, but you can never be too prepared…
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We Have a Cheerios Problem

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Before I had D, I used to see parents with babies out and about, with baggies or snack containers full of CHEERIOS.  They. were. everywhere.  And I vowed not to be one of those parents.  I don’t know what it was, I just found Cheerios annoying.

Somehow, some way, Cheerios have snuck their way into my home and into my son’s breakfast routine.  However, that’s not what this is about.  This is about how I’m now finding Cheerios EVERYWHERE in my house.  Those little buggers are popping up in the least likely of places…in all parts of the house.  Cheerios are akin to a bug infestation in my home.  One appears on the bathroom floor, downstairs, then upstairs, then in the nursery, the living room couch and so on and so forth.

Since the ‘infestation’, I’ve been more mindful of what D’s doing at breakfast (waving hands around seems to be one of the culprits).  The other thing I’ve noticed is that, paired with a banana and sticky baby hands, Cheerios fall into the high chair seat and become affixed to D’s little behind.  I wasn’t aware of this, and I’d pick him up and carry him all over the house, dropping Cheerios like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumb trail.  I suppose this is one of those things that makes having a dog come in handy (but it’s definitely not enough to convince me to get one).

I’m more mindful about our ‘Cheerios problem’, and more understanding about those little containers of Cheerios that parents carry around with them everywhere.  While I’ve not given in to having the traveling Cheerio snack container, I have made them a part of Declan’s daily breakfast — it’s just easy, now that he insists on feeding himself.

Anyone have any suggestions for other baby-friendly whole grain, sugar-free breakfast cereals that are easy on babies’ gums?

A Look at a Few Cloth Diapering Accessories

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ac·ces·so·ry

/akˈses(ə)rē/

 

Noun
A thing that can be added to something else in order to make it more useful, versatile, or attractive.

Cloth diapering (CDing) is a simple thing, but can become complicated really quickly if you let it.  I’m going to cover some CDing accessories in this post and mean for them only to be suggestions.  I posted the definition of “accessory” above to emphasize that you do not need any of these items to successfully cloth diaper your child.  In reality, all you really need is some sort of cloth, some sort of water repellent cover, and something to put soiled diapers in.  Here are some things I use to make my cloth diapering life a little easier:

As you can see, we spared no expense with our diaper pail.  Seriously, if I had paid retail for my pail liner (seen in red), I would have paid more for the liner than our $15 step trash can.  One of my motivations to use cloth was to save money, so I have two pail liners, lavender and red, neither of which match my nursery. I happened to come across a woman who was liquidating her cloth diaper business inventory, so I got a great deal on my pail liners (I think I paid $9 each).  While they don’t match the nursery, they do the job (and you can’t see them with the lid closed anyway).  As you can see, it’s time for me to do diaper laundry.  I simply pull the liner out of the can, use it like a sack to carry over to the washing machine, dump everything in, set to wash, and then go over my can with disinfectant and replace with clean liner.  Easy peasy.

L-R: Snappi & cloth wipes

Because I almost exclusively use prefolds, Snappis are a staple for me.  I prefer to use something to hold diapers in place on my son, so I use a Snappi to keep everything together; you can see an example of how the Snappi works here.  There are other alternatives, such as the classic diaper pin, or another item called a Boingo.  I’ve not had the opportunity to try Boingo fasteners, but would love to (feel free to send me a set to try out, Boingo!).  You can, of course, completely bypass using any type of fastener by simply laying a folded diaper in the cover, or placing a cover over the diaper after it’s on your baby.

Cloth wipes, for me, go hand-in-hand with CDing.  It only seems natural to use a cloth wipe and fold it into your soiled diaper once you’re finished using it (just as one would do with disposable diapers and wipes).  I think it would be weird not to use cloth wipes.  I’m already doing diaper laundry, so why not toss wipes in there too?  One of the greatest things about cloth wipes is that, in my experience, one wipe does the trick.  In my 8 1/2 months of cloth diapering, I’ve dealt with some pretty messy poos, and one wipe has been all I needed to ‘take care of business’.  There are a ton of different cloth wipes to choose from on the market, but I’ve only tried two brands:  Charlie Banana (seen above w/ the blue emblem) and OsoCozy (above on the right).  I’ve also added some Circo brand baby washcloths that were on clearance; almost anything can be used as a cloth wipe, and many people make their own out of flannel or recycled receiving blankets (I’m not that handy with the sewing maching).  My favorite?  Definitely the Charlie Bananas; they’re heavy duty, but wonderfully soft with fleece on one side and a cotton jersey-type material on the other side.  I would love to add more CB wipes to my collection — they’re really that great!

Prince Lionheart cloth wipe warmer

Speaking of cloth wipes, I use a cloth wipe warmer.  My son loves his wipes warmed, and actually has a startled reaction when we travel and use ‘cold’ pre-moistened wipes.  My warning with a wipe warmer: put your wipe solution on your wipes right before you’re gong to use them.  The discoloration you see on the above wipes is actually not from cleaning nasty messes, it’s from scorching due to me applying my solution before putting wipes in the warmer.

I love wet bags.  I think I could go crazy buying wet bags with all of the great designs out there!  I was able to pick up the above pictured Wahmies wet bags from the woman I mentioned previously (the pail liners I have are also Wahmies brand).  Above, you see two different sizes.  On the bottom, is a larger wet bag with loop, perfect for when we travel; you can use the loop to hang on a doorknob or handle.  Some people use this larger size wet bag in lieu of a diaper pail.  Because we use prefolds, the larger wet bag will hold an entire weekend’s worth of diapers and wipes.  The smaller wet bag is one that I use in my diaper bag.  I can easily fit 4-6 prefolds in the smaller bag.  We recently joined our local YMCA, so the wet bags come in extremely handy with wet bathing suits as well.

Again, while I use some of these items in my daily CDing routine, none of these items are necessary to successfully cloth diaper.  It seems the longer I cloth diaper, the more related items I discover and want to try.  What are some of your favorite cloth diapering [essentials] accessories?


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Recycled Reading

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I am an avid reader; books have always been in my blood.  I began collecting antique books in second grade (the older the inscription the better), spent my primary days reading Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers series, and of course, L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series.  I ended up getting both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in literature, worked in several bookstores, and finally spent a few years as a children’s publishing sales rep before starting a family.  I love books for their content, their entertainment value and their aesthetic.  Whenever I used to move, my books were the first things unpacked and placed on my custom 4’x8′ bookshelf; my books made wherever I lived ‘home’.

Obviously, I wish to encourage a love of reading with my children, so we started integrating books into D’s bedtime routine when he was just a couple of months old.

Declan is an incredibly visual baby, so we often change what we’re reading, sometimes on a nightly basis.  I recently noticed that he was especially drawn to photos of animals and books with different textures.  I decided to try a great used book outlet nearby, where we often go on rainy weekends to peruse the shelves and pick up books at noncommittal prices.

Harvest Book Company is a large online retailer of used and rare books, but they set up a small ‘storefront’ retail space in their warehouse where people can buy right from the shelf.  I suppose I should mention that I scoped this place out even before we moved here, as the hotel we stayed in (when looking at potential houses before moving) was located in the same industrial park.  Used book outlet minutes from where we live?  Score!

We also scored the last time we went, as we were able to find a great book with pictures of animals, and we found this amazing gem (did I mention that they carry a large selection of children’s books too?):

This is a pristine 1963 edition of a book that resonates with both my husband and myself from childhood, and it’s the perfect read as we head into spring.  What a find for $1!  There are several great things about this a.) we get to share a favorite childhood story of ours with our son, b.) it’s one of my favorite forms of recycling (used books), c.) it’s illustrated by Richard Scarry, d.) the book is in pristine condition and is a board book, without the chunkiness of today’s board books,

e.) the book was formally owned by a little boy named Boris (doesn’t get much cooler than that):

f.) the illustrations are so wonderfully 60s:

and, g.) Declan really seems to be enjoying it:

9 Tips for Consignment Sale Shopping

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I’ve shared how much I like children’s consignment sales, so here are a few tips for those of you who are new to consignment sale shopping:

  • Take advantage of first time parent/grandparent presale passes.
  • Volunteer or consign to get presale privileges (especially if you are looking for highly sought after items).
  • If you don’t have a presale pass, get to the sale early on the first day.  Without being too crazy, I recommend arriving at least 30 minutes early.  Lines form fast and things can get a little crazy – you’re not the only one looking for great buys!
  • Bring someone to help: your spouse/partner, a relative, a friend – anyone.  At our first sale, my husband and I were able to get our big ticket items because a.) we showed up early on the sale day (we didn’t know to get a presale pass) and b.) we divided the list and headed in opposite directions to get highly sought after items.  We were able to get a pack-n-play and swing, barely ever used, for under $50.  Because the previous owner was volunteering, we learned that the swing had been used fewer than 5 times because her son would not tolerate the swing.  Score! 
  • Be Organized.  I keep a running list of items we’ll need for certain ages D hits so that it’s timed with being able to purchase at consignment sales.  For example, for this round I had baby gates on the list, even though D’s not yet mobile.  He will be within the next month or so, so the timing is perfect.  For the next sale season, I have a training potty on my list, as he will be 1 1/2 between that sale and the next (and I’m using wishful thinking).       
  • Prioritize your list.  It never hurts to be really organized.  I put highly sought after items on top and then the less important items follow.  This way, you head right to the items you really need/want first, and then make your way to other sections.  This past sale, I had an Ergo/Boba carrier at the top of the list, and then a jogger.  I made my way there first, found my two most sought after items (at amazing prices – got both for less than the price of a new organic Ergo carrier) and then made my way to other areas.  The next two sales I attend, I will have my Radio Flyer Wagon at the top of the list.
  • Bring a large bag, if you’re able.  IKEA bags are great for this.  Some sales even allow laundry baskets to be brought in and people attach a rope or a belt to it to drag it (I’m definitely not in this league yet!).  Not only can you fit a ton of clothing, but you can also fit bulky items (large toys, small equipment) in there as well.
  • Take advantage of the 1/2 off sale time.  I’ve yet to do this, but will be doing it with my local sale, just to see what it’s like.  You never know, I might get lucky…
  • Save your hangers…so that you can consign when you are ready.  I’m on my first of, hopefully, several children (if we’re blessed) and I’m already saving hangers from store purchases and consignments.  I won’t be consigning any time soon, but I’m prepared for when I’m ready.  It’s a great way to recycle too, as that’s the bin I would be throwing them in anyway.

Get started by finding a sale near you.  A friend of mine recently sent me this site, which lists sales across the country (thanks, Nate): www.kidsconsignmentsales.com

Happy shopping…and be sure to stop back and share your great finds with me!

Recycle, Reuse: Children’s Consignment Sales

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clothes-hangers-582212_640

I love finding new ways to recycle, especially when they benefit my family, and children’s consignment sales are one of my favorite ways to recycle.  For those of you not in the ‘know’, children’s consignment sales are typically semi-annual sales, held in the spring and fall, where parents can either a.) sell gently used children’s items (clothing, toys, equipment), b.) purchase gently used children’s items at a fraction of the retail price, or c.) do both.

I stumbled upon my first consignment sale last year when I was expecting my first child.  Thankfully, my best friend had two boys and handed-down a TON of clothing and equipment for us (thanks again, Carrie!).  However, we still had quite a few gaps to fill.  I had heard about a sale in our little town and we decided to check it out.  We arrived 30 minutes early for the beginning of the first sale day, along with at least 30+ other early birds.  When our shopping whirlwind was complete, my husband and I were in disbelief: a pack-n-play in mint condition, a swing, a designer diaper bag never used, a bunch of clothing and more…for under $200!  Needless to say, I was hooked

Shocked that many of my parent friends are unaware of consignment sales, I feel obligated to share this information with everyone.  A friend recommended a great site with listings of family-friendly activities in my area, Playground Buzz, (thanks, Jen) and I find my consignment sale listings through their dedicated list.  I’ve also done an internet search to find sales in the area where my family lives – a great excuse for a visit.  

I’ve been to two sales this season, and have managed to procure an Easter outfit, shoes in D’s next size, pajamas, a baby gate, crib sheets, a ton of board books, a jogging stroller, and my absolute favorite find: an Ergobaby Organic carrier with rain hood and infant insert (mint condition)…all for under $200.  I have two more sales that I’d like to check out, in hopes of finding a Radio Flyer Wagon with all-terrain wheels.  We’ll see how it goes…Happy Shopping!

Spring is in the Air

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We are fortunate to live within walking distance of a great little trail (Wissahickon Watershed Green Ribbon Trail).  So, when the weather hit a balmy 54 degrees, we set out for our first hike of the season.  Declan was overjoyed to be out of the house, after having convalesced for the past five days, as were my husband and myself.  The best part was watching D take part and explore his surroundings in nature.  So glad we’re going to have an outdoorsy kiddo!  I’m looking forward to the coming of spring AND investing in a Boba carrier (the sling just doesn’t cut it).

Declan’s view

A Break in the Clouds

Hammin’ for the Camera

More Exploring

Love These Curious Hands!

Almost Got It!

Like Father, Like…

Happy Family 🙂

Put a Little Breast Milk On It…

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…and another dose for good measure.  I’d heard about the healing powers of breast milk, but had not had the occasion to try it out…until D was diagnosed with the beginnings of conjunctivitis.  I’d seen snippets about women using their milk on everything from cradle cap to eczema, and we’re instructed, from the very start, to rub excess milk into our nipples to  help with sore/cracked nipples.  I’m all about using natural, organic remedies to help manage symptoms and possibly cure illness, and wish to limit D’s (and my) exposure to unnecessary chemicals; I do, however, go to the doctor if the condition warrants it.  I used natural remedies when I was pregnant, took placenta pills immediately postpartum, and used both breast milk and organic ointment to help relieve my sore nipples in the early days of breastfeeding.  In my experience, these have all worked, why not give my milk a ‘shot’ at D’s conjunctivitis?
This is Declan at the onset (swollen, puffy eye producing discharge):

I pumped what I could (I don’t produce much more than what D eats, and we don’t bottle feed) and ‘flushed’ his eye three times to begin with.  The interesting thing is that the breast milk didn’t bother him a bit – he had no reaction to it being poured into his eye, yet he reacts when he gets water in his eyes during bathtime.  Immediately, I saw results – the gunk was cleared out and this was the immediate result:

I flushed his eyes two more times before bed.  When he woke this morning – there was no gunk or eye crust to be found.  In just over 12 hours, this is the result (after a morning flush with BM):

And just 17 hours and 4 flushing ‘sessions’ later, this handsome fella:

While he’s still a little puffy in the face, the result is much improved.  I think I’m a believer.  For more resources on breast milk’s uses, or breastfeeding in general, I recommend KellyMom – an amazing collection for everything natural parenting.

When Cloth Diapering Goes Awry

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My dad does not do diapers, no matter the contents. He happened to be visiting for the weekend and was leaving for home on Monday. I needed to run a couple of errands, so I asked my dad if he would be willing to watch D for about 1 1/2 hours. No problem. As I’m leaving the grocery store, I check my phone and see a missed call. Uh oh. I return the call and hear a flustered grandpa on the other end: “Declan pooped.”  Double uh oh.
“I didn’t know your setup, but I patched him up until you get home.”
The entire drive home, I wonder what D’s diapering situation is going to look like. This is what I found when I got home:

While I had a good laugh, I was actually impressed.  Not bad for a grandpa that doesn’t do diapers, disposable or cloth.  Bonus points for even attempting the Snappi.  Now that he’s overcome the hurdle, maybe it’s time to show Pop-pop how cloth diapering is really done…