A Man of the Cloth

I have done it! I am successfully cloth diapering a baby. I feel as if I have attained the frugal and most gentle mother of the year award. It is so much easier and so much better than what I had expected. It took a few days of trail and error to get the hang of it and I suffered through a few leaks on just some pee diapers but that was about the worst of it. I did learn that you need to change the diapers a little more frequently throughout the day and that with overnight insert soakers you have to place the soaker up higher than what I had been doing. I was growing frustrated with it since he would wake up and be soaked along with the bed. So, for a few nights I would cloth diaper during the day and normal diaper at night. But I was determined to figure it out so I just played around with it and asked some questions to fellow friends and experienced cloth diapering moms and they told me to simply move the soaker up so that it begins at his tummy and not down where you would think it does. It has worked wonders and I haven't had a problem since. I wasn't sure how washing would go either but each night I just stick a load in. It's been so easy that even Evye is now washing them. I just toss the cloth bag in too that holds them all throughout the day as they get used. The cloth diapering bag even holds in the smells perfectly and you can't tell a diaper "pail" is even in the room. I'm still just amazed. And I have yet to use all 18 diapers that I ordered....which insured that I will definitely have more than enough to have Gavin remain in cloth while I also cloth diaper the new baby. I haven't put Garrett in any since I figured it was much easier mentally grow with the poop instead of just blasting my way into 25 month old poop. Besides he is very near being potty trained so we don't have too much longer left of his diapering days.

But here we are. I ordered the diapers from a fellow homeschooling mom and this is she and her husband's family business. These are the ones I ended up getting due to massive amounts of recommendations from many different experienced cloth diaperers. They are just 1 size gits all which was of critical importance to me since I have no desire to have 3 or 4 different sizes stashed everywhere for the in-between stages and especially worrying that I would have to order a different size when they start outgrowing the ones they were in. I did experiment a little and the one size truly does fit both Gavin and Garrett. And then I tired them on a life size newborn baby doll and they fit perfectly on it too. I was surprised by how soft they are despite the fact that you cannot use fabric softener with cloth. Here's a few of the up close and personal pics of the diaper itself.

This is what it looks like all laid out before I diaper him up

This is the small little soaker that can be unsnapped for washing.

This is both soaker flaps laid open. The large one is sewn to the diaper to allow it to flap open in the wash to make for excellent washing and fast drying.

And this is it folded up and how I store them. It is velcroed to the wide strip that allow it to fit older babies but the little 2 square velcro tabs are the secret that allows it to fit the newborns.

I still can't believe I'm doing this......not to mention actually liking it. I would even go so far as to say I am thoroughly enjoying it. Brad still refuses to even touch the area of changing him while he's in cloth so he's mandated that if I leave Gavin with him he has to be in normal diapers. I figured I"ll keep working on him and by the end of this and 7 more kids he'll be good to go and quite the cloth diapering expert himself.

OH.........lest I forget!!!! The poop that so scared the crap out of me in every sense of the word......it just falls right off into the commode! It does! You just take it and turn the diaper over above the commode and it just falls right into it and you just flush away! It still leaves a few hash marks but it's NOT like just hanging baby over and taking a poop in the washing machine....as Thomas so lovingly teased about and we are still laughing over. There has only been one diaper that left a little more than I would've liked to have seen go in the washer but it came out just fine and as white as snow...with no damaging effects to the washer. All I do is put 1 1/2 tsp of Charlie's Soap in (it calls for 1 T in a regular washer but with the front loaders you only have to use 1/2 of the recommended amount, which comes out to 1 1/2 tsp. I use the powder in order to save more money and found that I love it and it works just as well as any liquid. Cutting the 1 T in 1/2 also extended the number of loads per small 2. 64 pound bag from 80 loads to 160 loads). Then I put 1 1/2 tsp of straight vinegar in the fabric softener cup for the rinse cycle (this disinfects and kills all bacteria, though the sanitary cycle does any and all germ killing - I just put the vinegar in for good measure). Then, if needed, I do a pre wash cycle or if none is needed I just hit the sanitary or baby wash cycle and we have perfectly laundered diapers in a little over an hour and a half's time. I dry them on high heat and they are done about 20 minutes after they are started.

I thought these were too funny. He was trying to get around me and the camera to see Baby Einstein. After having never taken even the slightest interest in it before suddenly, within the past week or so since we've been home, he is mesmerized by it. I didn't think he'd ever like it. He's just way too interested in sibling ongoings rather than what's on a stationary screen. But he's loving it now.

I just love the feelings of wholeness and fulfillment as a mother that it brings as I gradually transition to wholeness in parenting in every way. I love the homemade baby food, the homemade bread, raw milk, whole foods and The Maker's Diet life changes and now moving on to cloth diapering. There is an indescribable sense of wholeness about it that I never imagined. And there is an extraordinary health that we have experienced because of it. I cannot help but think that it is directly due to some of these major changes in our life. Not that cloth diapers are going to make healthier children but in all it will save us tons within the budget and just seem a gentler way of doing things....and I suppose makes for a healthier environment if you're one of those that take the environment into consideration.