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| Sunny Yellow | Snowy White | Happy Red | Eco Green | Smiley Blue | Giggly Orange |
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| Happy Red | Snowy White | Giggly Orange | Fluffy Green | Sunny Yellow |
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| Smiley Blue | Funky Purple | Eco Green | Bubbly Pink | Browny Brown |
1. Not creating a realistic budget or Not budgeting at all. When you use disposables, it´s fairly easy to select a brand, estimate the quantity you´ll need as baby grows, and budget for your diaper use each month. Cloth diapers, on the other hand, require an up-front investment. Stretching your budget to get the best cloth diaper stash for your budget is possible when you are patient, watch for sales, and plan ahead.
If you are currently pregnant and planning for a new baby, you have an advantage over moms like me who started cloth diapering an older baby. Plan a budget now, register for cloth diapers, and recommend stores that carry cloth and gift cards to gift-givers. Remember that it will feel like quite a bit of money for diapers now, but you will definitely save money in the coming months and years, especially if you use cloth diapers for multiple babies or resell your diapers.
If you are planning on switching to cloth diapers, don´t fret about not being able to afford your dream stash of diapers right now. Create a realistic budget for yourself and slowly build your stash. You might need to use your remaining disposables in the meantime and wash more frequently. You might need to go with affordable prefolds for awhile until you can purchase additional styles. If you set aside the money you would have spent on disposables, however, you´ll quickly find yourself cloth diapering full time!
2. Assuming the priciest diapers are the best. A number of factors go into the cost of a cloth diaper, including fabric, workmanship, production costs, and availability. You could cloth diaper your baby in a single brand of cloth diapers by purchasing a package ranging from $300 to $800. Just like disposables, what works for each family in cloth diapers depends on individual preferences and needs. While I love some of the pricier brands, the economy diapers are popular for a reason and are an important part of my stash. If you want to purchase some of the higher-end diapers, simply budget for them and supplement your stash with more affordable brands.
3. Trying and Purchasing only one style of diaper. The cloth diapering world is full of multiple styles of diapers, including fitteds, pockets, all-in-ones, all-in-twos, sized, one-sized, two-sized, prefolds, covers. You need to read a glossary of terms to understand the differences. Add to that fabric choices, the decision to go with snaps or aplix, and color choices and you are faced with a wide array of options. To truly find your cloth diapering niche, you need to touch, feel, and try different styles.
I highly recommend that anyone thinking of cloth diapering do one or all of the following before investing in cloth:
1. Find a local cloth diaper retailer and take some time to get to know your options. Ask questions and get a feel for what´s out there. Be sure to look at cloth diapers accessories as well.
2. Locate a cloth diaper trial. Several online retailers offer trials for as little as $10 and a deposit. A cloth diaper trial was a lifesaver for me because I was so overwhelmed by the wealth of information and options I discovered in cloth, I didn´t know how to begin selecting a style or brand of diaper. I created my own cloth diaper trial and felt much more confident in my options after trying the diapers and asking the retailer a multitude of questions.
3. Find a local friend who cloth diapers and ask to take a look at their stash. Watch them diaper their baby, launder their cloth diapers, and ask them about their experience using cloth diapers.
4. Not properly laundering cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are a big investment and you want to care for them properly. A well cared for cloth diaper can last through multiple babies and/or be resold in the future. There´s a small learning curve with laundering cloth diapers, but most diapers come with easy to follow directions. Be sure to use a cloth diaper safe detergent to avoid repelling and leaking issues.
Charts detailing the best and worst detergents for cloth diapers can be found at:
http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html and http://www.zany-zebra.com/diaper-detergent-chart.shtml
My personal cloth diapering laundering routine goes like this:
5. Forgetting to budget for cloth diapering accessories or assuming you need every accessory available. When considering the cost of cloth, it´s easy to forget that you will need cloth wipes, a place to store soiled diapers until laundry day, cloth diaper safe detergent, a traveling wet bag, and cloth diaper safe diaper rash cream. These can all be very affordable, especially if you make your own wipes, but you don´t want to spend your entire budget and then realize that you neglected to purchase these essential items.
It´s also easy to get caught up in the extras, including diaper sprayers, cloth warmers, and diaper bags made to accommodate the bulk of cloth. Don´t get me wrong, these are awesome additions to any cloth diapering mama´s world. But you don´t need them to begin cloth diapering and can always purchase them later.
6. Going at it alone. There is an amazing community of parents who cloth diaper, including local groups, bloggers, facebook sites, and twitter mamas. You can even join a weekly twitter chat where new and experienced moms get together to talk cloth by using the hashtag #clothdiapers. I highly recommend finding a few bloggers you trust - including a mix of retailers and independent bloggers - to answer your questions and keep you up to date about cloth diapering innovations and trends.
Cloth diapering can be frustrating at times for a number of reasons such as doubting or unsupportive friends and family and leaking or repelling issues, When you connect with other parents who are committed to cloth diapering - because they want to save money, protect the environment, or avoid the chemicals in disposables, or for all of these reasons - it´s easy to find the answers and support you need to stay committed to cloth diapering.
7. Believe that you won´t want more. It might sound silly, but cloth diapers are addicting. There are so many adorable patterns and styles to choose from. Plus, retailers are constantly coming out with new, innovative styles and improvements. As you become more experienced with cloth diapers, you´ll also find yourself interested in trying things that were beyond your comfort zone initially, such as wool or snaps. Be sure to set aside money for future cloth purchases because you will want more. There´s a reason cloth diaper giveaways are so popular - there´s something special about fluffy mail!
Top Seven Common Mistakes Cloth Diapering Beginners Make: by Mindy F.
Thank you, cute Molly 
Like it… write about it!
Just wanted to let you know that I received the diaper and am LOVING it!!
I just had to write to tell you that I LOOVE the Super Doopsy inside my gdiapers!! Fits pefectly! I just put a piece of fleece over the top to prevent a rash. I love how the extra layer of PUL protects. I was just reading on the gdiaper website that their protective layer(not sure what it’s made of, it’s not PUL) is only meant to last 6 months!!!! Sooo, by using the Doopsy, it doesn’t matter
Just received my free diaper in the mail and can’t wait to try it out. I love the color, my girls will look great in it. I didn’t realize you were so close, I have family that lives in Jupiter.
I am really loving it! The insert is so absorbent, I can not believe it!
Just wanted to tell you that I LOVE my Doopsy I got from Dibs! We were in the car longer than expected today, without being able to change him, and it didn’t leak in the 3 hours it’s been on!!! Normally, he’d be soaked through his shorts (as happened with his Rumparooz he had on this AM), but they’re still dry as can be. THANK YOU!!!
Good morning! We had another dry morning, thanks to our Super Doopsy Insert!
Tried our first doopsy today and we love it! The fit is great and the insert is like no other. Very soft and absorbant!
I’ve been so busy, I’ve been neglecting to tell you that I got my Eco Green diaper (love it!!!) and the FB changing pad. THANK YOU!
Some women love being pregnant, enjoy and cherish this phase in their life and look great throughout the entire 9 months. Ok, fine, maybe the last month is not that glorious but still, the overall experience, is good. Let’s call this the “lucky bunch”. I have to include in this group those ladies that don’t even look pregnant when you see them from behind. These are the active, eat right, live right and do everything right kind of pregnant women. I totally admire them and I wish I was like them. Unfortunately, when I was pregnant, I did belong to a totally different group. Maybe I was entirely a separate “group” on my own. I sure looked like a “group” and not an individual by the time I was just a few months into pregnancy.
The moment I found out that I was pregnant some weird button got pushed and that was my appetite button. Morning sickness ? No way, never heard off, never experienced it. For me the race for gaining weight started. I was hungry day, night and in between. All I could think of was food, food and more food.
The fact that I got stuck with bed rest for 5 months didn’t help a bit.
I stepped into pregnancy as a decent looking athletic individual and by the time I was done with this experience I was looking like a mammoth.
I started this article about losing weight because I wanted to share some of my experience with you and maybe help other women that are on the same kind of “weight gain roller coaster” that I was on.
The bottom line is this. I like eating, I always ate as much as I wanted and I never kept a diet. After giving birth, I looked like I was still pregnant in the third trimester. My baby was more than 8 pounds, healthy big and happy. Me, I was big and unhappy.
In order to restore my happiness I had to do something and I started running/ jogging like Forest Gump.
It took a year to get back in shape. The metamorphosis from mammoth to human can’t happen overnight, just like it didn’t happen the other way around, while pregnant.
The “running” business, unfortunately, couldn’t be operated all the time because I had to take care of the baby. So I came up with a solution that entertained us both.
This was an addition to the original jogging plan and it happened a little later, when the “bambino” was older. I bought one of those fancy backpacks that you can use for carrying your child. In the living room we used to have a large mirror. I was facing the mirror and with an astonished baby on my back I started to dance in front of the mirror. Now let’s not think that I was some sort of hip hop dancer. It was more like a slower motion aerobic type of dance.
She could see over my shoulders, right into the mirror. When I was moving my hands a certain way, I would make her do the same. We would sing along, make silly faces, and other funny moves.
Anyway, it was some crazy invention but it helped me lose weight and keep it off. The baby was happy and entertained. She liked it so much that for a long time I had to schedule this activity every other day.
There are many things that I gave away after my daughter didn’t use them anymore but the backpack never left our garage. It is still there and I am not allowed to give it away or sell it, per her request.
How your baby can help you lose weight or keep it off: by Joana Weber
I saw an interesting article idea on our recent giveaway list with suggestions on blog topics.
I am going to tell you my own opinion on this and please bear with me while I am tying hard to present my ideas in an intelligent manner.
There are different approaches to the Potty training concept and I respect both. Some people say it is better to let your child decide when he or she is ready to dump the diapers and become diaper free and the second category which believes that potty training can be started early, with Mom´s or Dad´s help.
Ok, here I am, a cloth diaper manufacturer, trying to sell my product and promote it as much as possible. From this perspective I would like to see babies in diapers until the age of 3 or 4 and be able to sell as many diapers as I can. As a mother though, I would consider myself a hypocrite if I wouldn’t tell you my true opinion, even though I might loose customers earlier because their babies will not need my diapers anymore.
I know shopping for cloth diapers is something totally fun and with the wide selection out there it´s actually a fashion trend, not only a necessity.
I know that our babies are growing way to fast and having diapers around still gives us the felling that we have more time ahead of us until the baby becomes a college student and takes off. But I also know that potty training at an early age can be something quite educational and totally fun.
Ok, let´s cut to the chase. Here´s what I did. First, I loaded myself with strength and patience and I stuck in my head the idea that a certain amount of time will be spent in the bathroom with my daughter, daily. No excuses, no skipping, no way I was going to give this up, once started.
Second, I grabbed her favorite toys and made sure that those are handy and readily available to catch her attention. She was on the potty, I was on the floor, next to her.
What was the trick? Stories and a crazy imagination - this is how I accomplished my goal. I was talking to her, making faces, keeping her busy, inventing games. She was one year old when mission un-impossible was over.
I didn’t yell at her, I didn´t force her to do anything. I just kept her mind busy. She was happy that I was around and busy trying to figure out why crazy mama is acting the way she was. I was a dog, a bear or dinosaur. I was a rabbit and all other animals you can think of. I was the story teller and the actor. I simply made potty training fun and it worked.
Was it easy? Not really but I was a woman with a mission and I used all possible tricks to accomplish my goal. I knew that the sooner I finish this job, the better and easier it is for everybody.
The truth is that I never stopped my stories. I used them for a long time and still do. We have a special dinosaur character named Tessy. Tessy always does the right thing. I don´t tell my daughter that she is obligated to do something a certain way. All I do is come up with a story about Tessy and Tessy obviously does the things the way I want her to do them. Sure enough, so does my daughter after I am done with the story.
Tessy stories are the commodity used for bribing. My daughter is a skier. How did she learn how to do this? With Tessy stories. One Tessy story per lift ride. One more run, one more story.
It all started at the potty training phase. Now Tessy is part of our life and she always will be.
On our last ski trip, the Tessy approach has been modified. Now we both tell the story together. It´s fun, challenging and it makes us use our imagination. The crazier the story the better it is. We just hope not to fall off the lift one day because of too much laughing.
Cloth Diapers and Potty Training with Tessy: by Joana Weber
P.S. I still have fun creating Tessy stories. The original ones don´t work on my daughter anymore. The older she gets, the more I need to upgrade the stories and apply them at her age level. Pretty soon she will start telling me Tessy stories LOL. However, I still have an entire collection of Tessy stories in my head so if any of you need help "adjusting" something in your toddler´s attitude, let me know. I can "produce" a customized Tessy story and this way I will get motivated to extract the stories from my over loaded brain and place them on this blog.
We recently went on a vacation for 6 days. We had been planning the trip for several months, and had been trying to figure out if we should use cloth diapers while we were gone. We were staying with my husband’s family, so we would have access to a washer. We were unsure of whether or not they would let us use it and we were kind of scared to ask. We went back and forth for a few weeks.
Do we just get it over with, spend the money, and use disposables? Or should we just bring our cloth, and schedule a few hours mid vacation to find a laundromat to wash the diapers? I was all for taking our cloth, and just finding a laundromat. It would have only taken a few hours, and we could have brought the diapers back to our room to hang them to dry. My husband didn’t want to lose valuable vacation time! About a week before we left, I caught him on the phone with his aunt! He called her all by himself to ask if we could use her washer! She said yes, and we were both kind of excited!
We love our cloth diapers, and we had been joking that it would be so weird to have our baby in disposable diapers for almost a whole week! I brought our whole stash. I’m guessing we had about 30 with us and some other random diapers for back up. I also brought 2 medium wetbags that hold 8-10 diapers each. I brought all of our cloth wipes and our little spray bottle of wipe solution. We use a simple trash can with a flip lid as a dry diaper pail at home, so we just brought that too. I put it all in a big tub and threw it in the van! I also brought our wooden flip-up drying rack.
During the day, when we were out and about, I just carried a wetbag along with us. When we would go back to their house at night, we would just dump the wetbag into our pail! Just like at home! We only had to wash our diapers once in that 6 days! Sometimes I think cloth is easier when you are out, because you don’t have to find a trash can for your dirty diaper! All of our family thought that our diapers were so nice, and my baby’s bum was nice and happy!
A few of my husband’s cousins even commented about wanting to try cloth when they have more babies!
Since this trip, we have also gone camping for 3 days, and 2 nights with cloth diapers. We brought almost all of our stash, the wipes, and the diaper pail. That was super simple too! I would totally do it again!
It may seem scary to you, but I promise, it’s not! It is just like cloth diapering at home, except you aren’t home!
Traveling with Cloth Diapers: by Katie
Lost in the cloth diapering maze? Here is some useful information!
» AIO - All in One - A diaper that is literally all in one! There is no stuffing, and no cover required. It is all right there! They are nice because you don’t have to stuff them, or fold them. They work well when you are out and about. Also, very easy for daddies, grandparents, babysitters, daycare, etc! I personally don’t like AIO’s because of how long they take to dry. For some, the convenience of not having to assemble them might be worth the extra drying time! It is all about what works for your family!
Brands:
• BumGenius • Rumparooz • Kissaluvs • Mother-ease Bamboo Baby • GroVia
» AI2 - All in Two - These are sometimes called Hybrids. A cover with a snap in or lay in insert. Many times you can just switch out the inside part, and use the cover over again. It’s nice to be able to have a few covers, and lots of inserts. If the cover gets soiled, you usually have to wash it, unless you have a wipe able cover.
Brands:
• Softbums • Bottom Bumpers • GroVia
» Pocket - Pocket Diapers have a waterproof outer layer, a suede cloth/fleece inner layer, and a pocket between these layers. You put inserts into the pocket for customizable absorbency. Inserts can be made of many fabrics. Microfiber, Hemp, and Bamboo are common.
Brands:
• Doopsy Pocket Diapers • FuzziBunz® Pocket Cloth Diapers • bumGenius One Size Pocket Diapers • Happy Heinys Pocket Diapers • Thirsties Pocket Diapers • BabyKicks One-Size Pocket Diapers • AMP One-Size Pocket Diapers • Tots Bots Easy Fit Pocket Diapers • Knickernappies One-Size Pocket Diapers • Rumparooz One-Size Pocket Diapers • Kawaii Pocket Diapers • Tweedle Bugs One-Size Pocket Diapers • Katydid Pocket Diapers.
» OS - One Size Diapers have adjustable snap settings, or adjustable elastic settings. Most are designed to fit newborn-potty learning. They are great, because you only have to buy one set of diapers, instead of lots of different sizes!
Many pocket diapers are One Size. Some people find that they aren’t quite small enough for a newborn, but it all depends on how big your baby is.
Brands:
• Doopsy One-Size Diapers • FuzziBunz® One-Size Diapers • bumGenius One-Size Diapers • Rumparooz One-Size Diapers • Flip One-Size Diapers • Econobum One-Size Diapers • Happy Heinys One-Size Diapers • Kissaluvs One-Size Diapers • Kiwi Pie One-Size Diapers • Little Beetle One-Size Diapers • BabyKicks One-Size Diapers • Knickernappies OneSize Side-Snapping Diapers • Mother-ease One-Size Fitted Diapers • Bamboo Baby One-Size Diapers • Tots Bots One-Size Diapers • CuteyBaby One-Size Diapers • Bum Essentials One Size Diapers • GroVia One-Size Diapers • Kawaii One-Size Diapers • Tweedle Bugs One-Size Diapers • Katydid One-Size Diapers • Tiny Tush One-Size Diapers
» Fitted - An absorbent diaper that needs a cover. They require no folding, and usually either have snaps or velcro.
Brands:
• Kissaluvs Fitted Diapers • Kiwi Pie Fitted Diapers • Mother-ease Fitted Diapers • BabyKicks Fitted Diapers • Tiny Tush Fitted Diapers • Sustainable Babyish Fitted Magic Diapers • Sustainablebabyish One Size Snapless Bamboo Fitted
» Contour - Like a fitted, but without snaps or velcro. These need a cover.
Brands:
• Kissaluvs Contour Diapers • Imse Vimse Flannelette Contour Diaper • Imse Vimse Newborn Terry Contour Diapers • Imse Vimse One Size Terry Contour Diapers • iPlay’s Organic Cotton Flannel Contour • Kissaluvs Hybrid One Size Contour Diapers.
» PF - Prefold - A flat, multi layered diaper. There are several ways of folding prefolds. They need pins or a snappi to hold them on, and they also need a cover. You can also fold them in 3, and lay them in a cover. They are usually the cheapest option, and are virtually indestructible.
Brands:
• Econobum • Bummis Organic Cotton Unbleached Pre-fold Diapers • OsoCozy Indian Prefolds Unbleached • Chinese Prefold Diapers.
» Flats - Large squares of fabric. This is mostly what they used in the "olden" days, before disposables were mainstream. You fold them, and use pins or a snappi. Flats need a cover.
Brands:
• Birdseye Cotton Flat Cloth Diapers • Hemp Babies Flat Cloth Diapers • Hemp Babies Little Weeds Cloth Diaper • Hemp Babies Bigger Weeds Cloth Diaper • Thirsties Duo Hemp Prefold
» Cover - The water resistant cover that is needed for a Prefold, Flat, or Fitted diaper. These can be made of PUL (polyurethane laminate), Fleece, or Wool.
ONE Size Covers
Brands:
• Kissaluvs Marvels One size Diaper Cover • Flip: One-Size Diaper Cover • Little-to-Big Beetle Organic Wool Diaper Cover • Gro Baby Shell • Happy Heiny’s One-Size Diaper Cover • Tweedle Bugs One-Size Diaper Cover • GroVia™ Single Shell SNAP • GroVia™ Single Shell Hook and Loop
Pull on covers
Brands:
• Bummis Whisper Pull-On Pant • Aristocrats Wool Longies • Kissaluvs Wool LOVER Diaper Cover
Rinse and Wipe Clean Covers • Mother-Ease Air Flow Diaper Cover • Thirsties Duo Wrap Diaper Cover • Tweedle Bugs One-Size Diaper Cover • Kissaluvs Marvels One size Diaper Cover • Bummis Super Whisper Wrap • Thirsties Diaper Cover
Wool Covers and Soakers
Brands:
• Kissaluvs Wool LOVER Diaper Cover • Little-to-Big Beetle Organic Wool Diaper Cover • Aristocrats Wool Longies Fleece Covers • Happy Heiny’s Fleece Covers
» Longies, shorties, skirties, soakers - These are all diaper covers. They are made of wool or fleece. Fleece is already water resistant, and it makes a great, cost effective diaper cover. Wool can absorb up to 1/3 of its weight without feeling wet. It is also naturally anti bacterial. Wool needs to be lanolinized before it is fully water resistant.
Longies = fleece/wool pants.
Shorties = fleece/wool shorts.
Skirties = fleece/wool skirts with a soaker attached.
Soakers = fleece/wool covers that are the size and shape of a diaper.
Lost in the cloth diapering maze: by Katie
The Doopsy™ Cloth Diapering Blog is now officially open.
Have a happy doopsy day!
The Doopsy Team
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Thank you so much for my “SD” Doopsy Diaper giveaway I won last week!!! I got it in the mail on Friday and I got the chance to finally use it yesterday for the first time and it was so thin, soft, beautiful color (yellow), wonderfully made and easy to use! Oh, and 20 minutes after I put it on my little doopsy made a huge poopsy in it and it did a wonderful job of holding it in!!!!!!!! I can’t thank you enough!!!!!!!!!!! 10 stars! Now am off to buy me some more for my stash!!!!!!!!