Wednesday, September 1, 2010
McDonald's
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
We Have Cloth Diapers!
Monday, August 9, 2010
So My Child Shoudn't Play With a Bag Full of Beans?
For example, a favorite "toy" lately has been a pot and a ladle - I put different things in the pot and Abby "stirs" them around. I repurposed an empty formula can into a sort of large rattle simply by keeping the measuring spoon (that comes with every can of formula - talk about a gross misuse of plastic!) in the can and snapping the lid on! Abby likes to roll it around on the floor and gets a kick out of the noise it makes!
I also poured a generous measure of dried black beans into a Ziploc bag (Ziploc = the devil, so I try to reuse them whenever I can) for her to shake around, but my mother isn't too thrilled with that. She's convinced that Abby is going to gnaw through the plastic and choke on the beans. Yes, Mom, because I often leave my 7 month-old alone with bags for extended periods of time. ::rolls eyes and laughs:: I have a helicopter mother, can you tell?
As a kid, I spent a lot, and I mean a LOT, of time playing in cardboard boxes. My brother and I each had a GIANT one that we "carved" into houses using steak knives (Mom was NOT too pleased about that!). We pulled each other around in the laundry basket, tied things in our rooms together with leftover (and otherwise useless) bits of yarn, and spent a rather insane amount of our childhood literally entranced by a pair of ancient intercoms we'd unearthed in the basement one day.
We also played outside - a LOT. It makes me really sad to think of how SO many kids today spend all of their time inside, on the computer or watching TV or playing video games. No wonder so many children are obese! At 7 months, I cannot see ANY reason why Abby needs to watch any TV whatsoever.
I'm trying to decide whether or not I'm a hypocrite. With our cable bundle, we get a channel that plays only kid-friendly music (we also have a ton of other music channels, which I love!) - not music videos, but there is always a non-moving picture on the screen when a song plays (as well as the name of the song, the group, the album, etc.). Would any of you actually count this as watching TV? I find it a really helpful child-raising tool, because I want Abby to listen to music, and having a channel entirely dedicated to appropriate music is a million times easier than dragging out my stash of CDs every day and constantly changing the disc. I COULD use iTunes, but we don't really have much kid-friendly music on there, so I feel this is the best idea.
Anyway, my husband and I have no plan to introduce her to TV anytime soon. We'll have to figure out what to do about movies when she's...oh, I don't know, 3, maybe? When I was a child, we had a family movie night (with pizza and OJ!) every Friday night, and I REALLY loved it, and looked forward to it all week. But it didn't start when we were super young - I think I was about 6 when we started it. Help me out, Mom?
So leaving the TV off and avoiding buying new plastic toys (I have purchased a few used plastic toys at rummage sales, and I'm okay with THAT - just as long as we don't get too many or buy them new) leaves things up to my husband and me to entertain and teach and stimulate our child's mind. She's just beginning to get to the age where she really wants to play with THINGS, but she's not yet old enough for some toys. At some point, I'd like her to have a nice set of U.S.-made, eco-friendly wooden blocks and maybe some nice wooden cars/trucks/vehicles to push around. I will admit that I have no problem with having a girlie girl, but I think boys and girls should both with dolls AND cars - if they want. I'm sure some girls have no interest in cars and some boys have no interest in dolls!
Right now, I need to find ideas of things to make for her - things that are safe and recycled and have a purpose. I'd read something somewhere about filling a small glass jar with water, cooking oil, and food coloring to make a kind of mini-lava lamp, but I don't know about the glass, keeping the lid tightly attached, and what I'd do if it DID open up or break.
So I'm open to suggestions - and my research will begin NOW! :)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Short and sweet
Monday, August 2, 2010
Happy Heinys!
The Happy Heinys is a Velcro diaper, and, as I suspected, she immediately began to fiddle with the tabs! Although, as my sister-in-law's sister-in-law (six degrees of Kevin Bacon, anyone?) pointed out, once her kids got to a certain age, they were also able to get out of the snap diapers! So, really, there WILL come a time when Abby will be able to take off any diaper I put on her - that's just what's going to happen and we'll deal with it when it happens! And hopefully it will happen with a WET diaper, not a DIRTY diaper! ::prays::
I had no trouble adjusting the diaper - using the snaps on the front (which don't hold the diaper on, they're purely used to make the diaper a one-size diaper) was easy, and there were four different sizes I could have made the diaper. I chose #3 of 4 (although I think I could have used #2 and still had enough room for her in the diaper - I just didn't want it to be too loose!), then velcroed (is that a word?) it in place - presto diaper change-o!
The only thing I had trouble with was putting the insert (I used the larger one - the way Abby pees, I KNEW the newborn one wasn't going to cut it!) into the pocket in the diaper. I mean, it sounds easy? It's basically put A into B, but...it was a little tricky. It was kind of like trying to rethread a drawstring when it comes out of a pair of shorts or pants or something. Know what I mean? It was just a little awkward. But once it was in, it was fine!
She wore it for almost 4 hours before she started to look a little bottom heavy, so off it came, and on went a disposable diaper (one of the few in my dwindling stock - I need to decide on a cloth diaper soon or my baby will be running around naked! Or I'll simply have to buy a few more plastic ones...). Abby had no marks on her bottom (with the disposables, I often find she has the criss-cross marks from the inside of the diaper (does that make sense?) on her tush), and there was really no odor from the diaper - both pluses! For now, since I don't have a cloth diaper "disposal" setup (as in, I don't have a station set up to contain the dirty diapers and inserts until they get washed), I simply tossed both the diaper and the insert into the washer with a few inches of water - I'll get to it in a bit.
Now, this particular diaper presented something that I'm finding I don't really like - because Abby is actually touching the DIAPER and not the INSERT, I have to completely wash both parts. I can't just wash the insert, and wipe out the diaper (since it was just a wet diaper). In my book, this takes points away from Happy Heinys. I wouldn't call this a PROBLEM, persay, it's just not something I want to deal with in a cloth diaper. I want to wash the least amount of material possible - inserts/prefolds ONLY!
But, overall, it's a nice diaper. Here's a recap:
PROS
- Made completely in the U.S.!
- Super soft to the touch, and very absorbant (I washed the insert 3 times before using it)
- Easy to adjust and fasten
- Not crinkly!
- Not super bulky - it would fit nicely under clothes
- It was a bit tricky to put the insert into the pocket of the diaper
- Both the diaper and the insert need to be washed, not just the insert
- This was the most expensive diaper of the 3 I ordered (but is NOT the most expensive cloth diaper around - it falls kind of in the middle)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
The Diapers Are Here!
BumGenius 4.0 Stay-Dry Cloth Diaper
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I'm a Bit Of a Skeptic, But I'll Cross My Fingers On This One!
So today, while the Abbigator is napping (her dad gave her that nickname - 2 guesses what she's going to be for Halloween this year! You only get 2 guesses instead of 3, because, c'mon, it's SUPER obvious!), I'm spending some time looking for ways to try out a bunch of different cloth diapers without having to take out a second mortgage on our house. I'm starting with your basic Google search, and we'll see where it takes me!
Diaper Junction
This website was the first result that showed up after I typed "cloth diaper samples" into the Google search box. There is then an actual category on the site entitled "Try Cloth Diapers" - well, heck, I know what link I'm clicking on! Now, this isn't a free sample like you'd get at the grocery store or at Sam's Club (my husband and I often go there on Sundays (prime freebie day) and can almost eat a complete meal by going around to the different old ladies at their tables!) - it's a little more complicated than that. What Diaper Junction offers is a risk-free 30 day money back guarantee on these diapers. Here is their return policy:
30 DAY TEST DRIVELook for the seal on qualifying product pages or visit our Try Cloth Diapers page for the full list.
Buy these products, TRY these products, WASH these products. You may return these products within 30 days of receipt if you are not completely satisfied!
To return, simply obtain a return authorization either by logging into your account and completing a return authorization request or by Contacting Us.
GET A FULL 30 DAYS TO TRY CLOTH DIAPERING!
Return packages on these products must postmarked within 30 days from the day you received it NOT the day we shipped it. Please Contact Us if you do not know this date. Because we use delivery confirmation/tracking on all packages, we know when you received it. Any packages that are not postmarked within this time frame will be refused and returned to you.
Returns on orders received with free shipping are subject to initial shipping charges.
Diaper Packages must be returned complete. If package is not complete then full retail charges as if purchased individually will apply.
Any free gift or promotion that may have been received with your order must be returned in new/unused condition.
Diapers must be washed clean and free of any odors including detergent and/or smoke, residues including diaper creams, lint, pet hair, in order to be accepted. If the diapers are not within this standard, they will be refused and returned to you.
Please allow up to 10 days for processing.
I read that whole thing over a few times, looking carefully for asterisks and loopholes - I'm not a lawyer or anything, but I'm fairly intelligent, so I can say with a fair amount of certainty that this seems legit and fairly straightforward. You buy the diapers, get your child to poop and pee in them (that should be the easiest part of this whole deal!), wash them, and if you hate 'em, you send them back and you get your money refunded (minus shipping charges - c'mon, did you really think this would be TOTALLY free?!).
Not every diaper on the website is available for this offer. Diaper Junction gives you 14 options for this 30 day diaper test drive - the diaper(s) that qualify have this badge somewhere in the description:
There are 6 different brands available: bumGenius!, GroVia, Happy Heinys, FuzziBuns, Flip, and Econobum. I'm sad to see that gDiapers aren't on this website for the test drive, but I'll look around more.
There are pocket diapers, one size diapers, an AIO, and bumGenius! even offers an organic option. You have the option to get just a single diaper, or to get an entire package (which can have anywhere from 3 to 24 diapers). I'm going to stick with just the single diaper for now - even with the risk-free return, the idea of buying more than one is just a little too scary!
So let's start at the top and figure out which one to get!
Brand #1: bumGenius!
- Type: One Size Pocket Diaper
- Price for 1 Diaper: $17.95 (organic option is $24.95)
- Weight: 7 - 35 lbs.
- Fastening Options: Snaps or Hook and Loop
- Colors: Blossom, Bubble, Butternut, Grasshopper, Noodle, Sweet, Twilight, and White
- Comes With: 1 shell (the diaper itself), 2 microfiber inserts (1 newborn size, 1 regular)
- Type: One Size "Pocket" Diaper (this is not a true pocket diaper - instead of putting an insert into the pocket, there is instead a detachable "soaker layer" that snaps in and out of the shell of the diaper - this type of diaper does NOT need a separate cover)
- Price for 1 Diaper: $24.95
- Weight: no weight given, but the description says the diaper will take your child from "infancy to toddlerhood"
- Fastening Options: Velcro
- Colors: Vanilla, Mandarin, Kiwi, Blackberry, Ice, Cosmos, Wildflowers, Blue Birds, Seaside Stripe, and Sunset Stripe
- Comes With: 1 shell, 1 "soaker layer" (made of organic cotton)
- Type: One Size Pocket Diaper
- Price for 1 Diaper: $18.95 (all the colors listed after Orange cost $1.00 more)
- Weight: 7.5 - 35 lbs.
- Fastening Options: Velcro
- Colors: White, Red, Pink, Blue, Periwinkle, Baby Blue, Aqua Blue, Spring Green, Sage, Yellow, Butter Yellow, Orange, Bright Flowers, Cheetah Spots, Butterflies, Peace Bears, Silly Monkeys, Groovy Squares, Cows, Blue Hibiscus, Pink Hibiscus
- Comes With: 1 shell and 2 inserts
- Type: One Size Pocket Diaper
- Price for 1 Diaper: $19.95
- Weight: 7 - 35 lbs.
- Fastening Options: Snaps
- Colors: White, Buttercream, Mac 'n' Cheese (cute name!), Cotton Candy, Crushed Berries, Grape, Tootie Frootie, Big Sky, Blueberry, Cocoa Truffle, Kumquat, Watermelon, Mint, Apple Green
- Comes With: 1 shell and 2 4-layer microfiber inserts (1 large and 1 small)
- Type: Insert/Prefold and Cover
- Price for 1 Diaper: $16.96 ($19.95 for the organic cotton insert)
- Weight: 7 - 35 lbs.
- Fastening Options: Snaps
- Colors: Blossom, Butternut, Grasshopper, Moonbeam, Ribbit, Twilight, and Zinnia
- Comes With: 1 cover and 1 insert
- Type: Insert/Prefold and Cover
- Price for 1 Diaper: $9.95
- Weight: 8 - 35 lbs.
- Fastening Options: Snaps
- Colors: White
- Comes With: 1 cover and 1 prefold
Things To Keep In Mind:
- Many of these diapers cost less per diaper when you order several at a time - once you've chosen the diaper of your dreams (there's a thought, huh, ladies?), keep that in mind when figuring out the cost. Also, this is just one website - you can always shop around for a better deal!
- If you are looking for a 100% organic option, your choices will definitely be limited - and more expensive. But you already knew this, didn't you? ::smiles::
- Velcro may be a messy option once your baby figures out how to open her diaper by herself! I personally think snaps are the best option, but velcro seems to be the more prevalent option, so, in the interest of fairness, I will try one diaper with snaps and one with velcro - just for the heck of it!
- All of these options (except for the GroVia) can be purchased "certified pre-owned" on this website - look around for other places to do this! You can save a significant amount of money this way. I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable buying pre-owned inserts/prefolds, but I'd have no problem getting a gently used cover!
- #1 w/ snaps, in Blossom
- #3 w/ velcro, in Periwinkle
- #5 w/ velcro, in Blossom, with the Stay Dry Insert
I searched more on the world wide interwebz since the Abbigator is down for the night, and, as I keep saying, there are TONS more options out there. This blog isn't meant to be a cloth diaper blog - that's my focus at the moment, but it won't be the only thing I write about. So there's no way I can research and write about and try every single freakin' cloth diaper out there - this is just meant as a rough guide.
I can't wait for my diapers to arrive (THERE'S a sentence I never thought I'd write!) - I'll try them out (and have Abby model them for you!) when they arrive!
-Jen