Cloth Diapers ( Part Two )

Now that I got one part out of the way we're off to do the next.... types! We already determined WHY to cloth diaper now we have to decided how. There are so many different kinds out there that it can be very intimidating. Snaps or velcro, all-in-ones or pockets, wool or cover, cotton or bamboo, insert or prefolds, the decisions go on and on. I'm hoping this post will help explain what each one is in an easy to understand way so that you can decide which is best for you and your family.

Inserts
All diapers have some sort of absorbent material in them. Most of the time it is referred to as an insert. Inserts can be made out of many types of fabrics. The most common is microfiber. Microfiber is a think almost scratchy like material that can not be next to babies skin. Some other insert fabrics include cotton, bamboo, and hemp. Bamboo and hemp are very absorbent although they will all do the job- and that is keeping the pee where you want it, in the diaper.

Pocket Diapers
This is the kind of diaper that I mostly use. Pocket diaper have...a pocket that you stuff the insert into. sense the insert is not against babies skin you can use whichever kind you prefer. You MUST change both parts during the diaper change. Both parts are only used for one change and then they need washed, but luckly for you the dry really fast unlike other kinds. Pocket are also more daddy and babysitter friendly because they offer the convience of a disposable. Pocket diapers are probably the most common diaper used in the diapering community. They're can be very cheap, they're not the hardest to use, and they mostly come in one size which means that they will grow with your baby from birth to potty training. Although some brands do offer different sizes.

All-In-One
All- in- one diapers are by far the most convenient out of the cloth diaper choices. Their absorbent material (insert) is sown into the diaper so that you don't have to take it out when you go to wash the diaper and you don't have to stuff the insert back in. Although they have these conveniences they take longer to dry after you was them and all-in-ones don't grow with your child very well. you have to buy different sizes and they are not as adjustable as other kinds.

All-In-Two
All in two diapers are going to be in the middle on convenience scale. With these diapers all you do is change the inside of the diaper and re-use the outside part. you can do this because the insert is directly against the babies skin. usually held in place by a snap on both the insert and the inside of the outer covering (shell). Because the insert is next to babies skin it can not be microfiber. Microfiber will dry out the babies skin in a very bad way and could cause blisters and soars. Most All-in-Two inserts are cotton or bamboo. The nice thing amout all-in-twos is that you can get them in 'one size' which means that they can fit your baby from birth until potty training.

Flats, Prefolds and Fitted
These are also, like inserts, types of absorbant matterials. Flats and prefold are very similer. They both require some type of 'shell' on the outside to make them water proof. A flat you have to fold many times before you put it on baby (making it the most inconvient of all diapers) but unlike a flat a prefold is most of the way pre-folded.Prefolds only require a few folds. They both ,however, require either pins or snappies (snappies are a rubber fastener that keeps the diaper folded) Fitteds on the otherhand require no folding. They are already in the shape of a diaper, but they too need an outside shell or cover. Some fitteds also need snappies or pins but some come with build in  snaps. This style of diapering is similier to the all-in-twos in the fact that you only change the inside of the diaper and reuse the shell.

Types of Covers (Shells)

PUL Covers- (polyurethane laminate) PUL is a type of water proof material. Pockets, all-in-ones, and all-in-twos already have a layer (or two) built in them. But for flats, prefolds, and fitteds you can buy a cover made out of PUL. They come in tons of cute colors and patterns.

Wool Covers- wool can be used as a natural fiber cover. When you wash wool with lanolin it becomes water proof and it only needs to be washed every few weeks. Although the washing process is hard and can be pricey some people love them. Wool cover are also very easy to make if you knit or crochet.

Fleece- Is a material that wicks away mosture and keeps baby feeling dry. Its easy to wash and maintain making it a favorite with moms. HOWEVER fleece is not a natural fiber so if you're wanting to go the natural route fleece is not for you.

Other Things to Think About

Snaps or velcro
Although velcro is easier ( a lot easier), and more dad friendly, it doesnt last as long as snaps. Velcro will eventually wear out and although you can replace velcro its a pretty big task to do. Snaps are harder to get the hang of and harder to get on a wiggly baby they last longer and its harder for baby to undo it themselves aas they get older.

Fitted or One Size
One size diapers are great in the fact that they will grow with your baby and save you money my doing that. However on a smaller baby they can tend to be bulkey and you might not get the best fit at certian ages causeing leaks. Fitted diaper are one size, you cant make them bigger or smaller, which means that you are going to have to buy different sizes through out your diapering days. People tend to not have as many leaks with these though.

Cloth Diapers ( Part One )

 I've been asked to do a post about cloth diapers. Some people wanna know about different kinds, some wanna know all about cleaning and accessories, What kinds fit best with what ages, and some just wanna know about the day-to-day stuff. There is just SO much to talk about with cloth diapers that I have been avoiding the subject, even though its something so near and dear to me. I've decided that it is going to be best to do this in parts. So, here it goes!!

The first thing I am going to tackle is WHY. Why choose cloth diapers? Why would you choose to re-use something that your baby POOPS in? Well for a lot of reasons....

1) It saves TONS of money!
2) It is better for the environment
3) Harmful chemicals in disposables
4) They're cute, easy, and prevent diaper rash

Money
Disposables are really expensive. The average on costs $0.23 cents. Children, on average, go through 12 diapers a day for the first 8 months and then 8 diapers a day from 8 to 24 months. That's 9,600 diapers! The means you will spend $2,208 in diapers! That's a lot of money. But, we're not done. Forget about wipes? On average they cost $ 0.042 cents per wipe. You use about two of them per diaper change which means you go through 19,200 of them. Which is $806.40. For something that wipes your kids butt.... sounds a tad bit ridiculous. That brings your grand total to a whopping $3,014 if you diaper for two years. A lot of kids go longer, and if you're like me you go through a lot more than 2 wipes per change.

So now you're probably wondering how much cloth diapers ON AVERAGE cost. Lets say you buy 36 cloth diapers at $9 each (some are cheaper some are more expensive) that's gonna cost you $324. You're gonna use them 9600+ times which brings the average cost total for each change to $0.03 Add $0.04 cents to each change for the cost of detergent and water to clean them. Now if you buy 40 cloth wipes add $35.00 (you can very easily make your own cloth wipes, I'll do a tutorial soon) Your diapering total comes out to $743.00 .

That means that you save $2,271.40 cloth diapering!! Now just imagine if you use the same diapers for your future children! The saving goes up and up!
(Thanks Bottoms up Diaper Shop for providing these stats)


Environment
Did you know that a diaper put in the landfill today will probably still be there 550 years from now?! All 9,600 of them we were talking about!! That is a lot of diapers sitting in landfills. If that wasn't enough Massive amounts of wood pulp are used each year in the process of making of disposable diaper (outer and inner paper layers). 25,000 trees are used each year, in addition to 3.4 billion gallons of oil used to make the plastic liners in the diapers. Gross.

Chemicals
Did I get you interested about what else is in disposables? This part is by far the worst.

Sodium Polycarlate- This is used as a powder to form the inner pad of the diaper. its what makes it absorbent. Its the jelly stuff that sometimes comes out. It can hold 100x its weight in water, can stick to baby and cause reactions, studies have shown that when rats ingest the chemical it can cause death, band from tampons in 1985 because of TSS, children have died from ingesting just 5 grams of it, and it can cause female organ problems

Dioxin- This is a by-product of when the bleach the diapers to get the nice clean 'white' look. Its a huge CANCER CAUSING chemical. The EPA lists it as the MOST TOXIC of all cancer linked chemicals. It can cause birth defects, skin and liver disease, and many other things. Its banned in most countries...but not the US. How sick is that?

Tributly TIN (TBT)- A highly toxic pollutant that spreads through the skin. It harms the immune system and and hormonal system. And some people believe that it can cause sterility in boys.

Do you still wanna put sposies on your baby??

Cute, Easy, and Prevent Diaper Rash

Cloth diapers come in huge variety of different colors, prints, and fun accessories to go along with them. One of my diapers has space ships and robots on the them!! They are super easy to take care of too. I do an extra load of laundry every two-three days with a cloth diaper safe detergent. Many moms have also noticed that cloth diaper give their child fewer diaper rashes, probably due to the fact that they don't have harmful chemicals in them that irritate baby's skin.

I hope that this post has been helpful in the ''why'' of cloth diapers!! Be ready for the next post of ''types''

Cloth Diaper Giveaway!!

We're ready for our first cloth diaper giveaway!! I have my wonderful employers to thank for giving me the opportunity to be able to do this give away for all of you.

Brenda and Patrick Flanagan are the proud owners of a diaper shop in our local mall called Bottoms Up Diaper Shop. Patrick is on his way to becoming a minister and Brenda is the craftiest person I have ever met. Their main store product is cloth diapers, but they sell tons of other things like cloth diaper safe diaper rash cream, baby leg warmers, and hand crocheted hats. They truly believe in everything they stand for. You can find their Facebook page here.

What they stand for: Being as socially responsible as possible. They believe that going green is whats best for ourselves, our children, and our environment.

Cloth diaper brands they sell: Sunbabies, Kawaii, D-Dipes (local), OsoCozy, Bummis

Other Products: Leg warmers, Head Bands (Local) , Hair Clips (Local), Onzies(Local), Diaper Bags(Local), Cloth Diaper Laundry Detergent, Diaper Pails and Liners, Pacifiers, Cloth Wipes, Cloth Diaper Rash Cream, Socks, Wet bags, Woven Wraps, Mesh Rings Slings,

Products Brenda Makes: Diaper Pail Deodorizer, Breastfeeding safe Deodorant, Crochet Hats

Supporting local work at home moms is really important to Brenda and Patrick. A very large amount of their products are hand made. The Nina Line is one of them. You can find her etsy shop here. She hand makes adorable hair clips, head bands, onzie sets, and a lot more.

If you live in or will ever be in the Northeast Ohio area I highly recommend that you stop by their shop in the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor Ohio. They will go to great lengths to make their customers happy and are very knowledgeable about anything with cloth diapers. They have tought me so much.

Now onto our Giveaway!!! You all will be raffleing to get a Kawaii Minky Cow Print Diaper with matching leg warmers!! This is my first time ever using Rafflecopter so if you notice any problems let me know and I will take care of it.

It will come with cow print leg warmers as well

First Sweater

For the last week I've been working on my first clothing project. Up until now I have only been crocheting small things. Head bands, hats, scarves, baby blankets, and his Easter basket. So when I decided to make a sweater for my son I was really intimidated. I picked a pretty simple pattern for it ( here ) Well, it turned out great! I worked on it for a week and I am very pleased with it! The pattern is for 12 months and the sizing was very accurate. The only thing I would have done different is make the opening for the head bigger. It takes some time to get it over his head.

Crochet Hat Pattern

Upon request I'm going to do a post on my favorite crochet hat pattern. I really like this pattern because of how forgiving it is. You can make a few counting or stitch mistakes and it really wont make a huge difference in the end. Its very easy to modify into a bigger size or to add your own personal touches to it.

Written Pattern Here
Video Tutorial 
Left Handed Video Tutorial  (Upon Request)
( This lady does a great job on all her videos! Her tutorials taught me how to crochet!)

Materials-
Size F crochet hook
3 ply yarn
Tapestry needle (for sewing in ends)

Ch 3, Join
*NOTE: You can start this with the magic circle as an alternative start.

Rnd 1: 10 SC in LP, Do Not Join

Rnd 2: 2 SC in ea SC. (20 Single Crochet)

Add a marker to your beginning stitch.

Rnd 3: 1 SC in ea SC. (20 Single Crochet)

Rnd 4: 1 SC in next ST, 2 SC in next ST. (30 Single Crochet)

Rnd 5: 1 SC in ea SC around. (30 Single Crochet)

Rnd 6: SC INC every 3 Sts. (40 Single Crochet)

Rnd 7: SC in ea SC around. (40 Single Crochet)

Rnd 8: SC INC every 4 Sts. (50 Single Crochet)

Rnd 9: SC in ea ST around. (50 Single Crochet)

Rnd 10: SC INC every 5 Sts. (60 Single Crochet)

Rnd 11-31: SC in EA SC around until you get the length of your cap.

Use a larger size hook and/or yarn to make the cap for a larger size child. 

Heavily Modified

Pom Pom, Ear Flaps, and Braided Tail

Different Hook and Two Yarns at Once

Following Pattern Exactly

 I've made this hat many times but here are a few of them. I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do!!