Baby Wearing And Cloth Diapering

Now that I'm a professional babywearer (insert laugh) I get a lot of questions about leaks in the cloth while baby wearing.  So far I have not had any leaks.  I tandem wear my twins and do notice on occasion a slight dampness in the front.  My solution is I usually change them right before I wear if its been awhile or throw on a wool cover.  I don't really feel any compression leaks which some say they sometimes get from using wraps.  I use soft structured carriers so maybe that's the difference.  Either way, it's a great way to bond with baby and helps give mommy free arms.

If you do feel you are getting compression leaks while wearing make sure first you are wearing baby property.  They should have knees higher than their bum, almost in an "M" position.  This is the best position for their growing hips/joints.  If you have newborn they would have feet tucked into the carrier or wrap in a froggy position.  I tried wearing the twins when they were newborns and failed miserably.  I gave up.  I finally tried again and this time I got the hang of it.  Once you have the right position make sure that they are not too loose or too tight to you.  I notice if I have my straps pulled too tight on me I can get that dampness.  The best trick is to put them in wool pants/shorts/covers or a PUL cover.  This will block and leakage and should protect you and your wrap/carrier from feeling damp.  Happy Babywearing :)

A New World Record

On April 20th, 2013 over 200 locations worldwide participated in the Great Cloth Diaper Change.  This was an event aimed at bringing awareness to cloth and at the same time set a world record for the most cloth diaper changed babies in a 24 hour period.  We accomplished that goal with a total of 8,301 total changes.  There were a actually over 10,000 changes, but due to Guinness strict guidelines some locations did not qualify.   I'm so proud to have helped and been apart of this great cause.  Many of the moms that came to my local event were brand new to cloth, but wanted to learn.  It was exciting to see all these newbies and experienced cloth diaper mamas in one room sharing the love and support for cloth.  And the babies looked cute too :)
Next year I hope we can break the 9,000 mark.

The Glorious Sun

Now that summer has found us here in California, I can finally retire my dryer for a bit.  Winter made me forget how great it feels to place each clean diaper out on the line and look at all my pretties in a row.  Ok, now I've gone off the deep end :)
Using the sun is so good for your diapers.  It gets rid of stains, saves energy, dries super quick, kills any bacteria or yeast, in other words it does it all!  It's also good to dry any diapers with PUL out on the line than in the dryer.  They will last longer.  I always hang dry my BG's and Kawaii's anyways.  All natural diapers like fitteds are ok for the dryer, but it takes forever to dry.  Hanging outside everything is dried in no time.
The one thing I notice is with fitteds they get crunchy when I line dry.  I started adding some Ecover fabric softener and it seems to have done the trick.  You have to be careful that you use CD safe fabric cleaners.  Another good one is Mrs. Meyers.
So get out there.  Hang those beautiful diapers and give your hardworking dryer a rest :)
Happy Summer!

Stripping...Not That Kind Of Stripping

So you are having stinky diapers and your kid is soaking through everything?  It might be time to strip your diapers.  Most people will need to strip diapers every 3-6 months.  Some can go longer.  Just depends on your wash routine.  Diapers can have buildup for a number of reasons; detergent buildup, water deposit buildup, ammonia buildup.  Here are some recommended supplies you'll need before you strip.

RLR (can be bought mostly online)
Blue Dawn dishsoap
Vinegar (this can be used for soft water)

First full your washing machine or bathtub with hot, hot, hot water.  I used my bathtub since I had a huge amount of diapers to strip.  Add 1 package of RLR or 1-2tbs of Blue Dawn to the water.  Swish around or agitate.  Next add your diapers and let soak for at least 3 hours.  I did a 12 hour overnight soak.  One that's done rinse your diapers in hot water.  It may take several rinses to get all the bubbles out.  Rinse, rinse, rinse til the bubbles are gone.  This should hopefully work and your diapers come out fresh and clean.  If you notice you are needing to strip a lot take a look at your wash routine.  What kind of water do you have?  Do you need to add a water softner?  Are you using too much or not enough detergent?  What kind if washing machine do you have?  Some energy efficient machines don't use enough water therefore are not properly rinsing the diapers.  Good luck and remember to rinse, rinse, rinse.

The Great Cloth Diaper Change

Something very exciting is happening soon in the cloth diapering world.  Dearest Diapers will be hosting The Great Diaper Change on April 20th, 2013.  The GCDC was created to raise awareness of Cloth Diapers. It has become a Guiness Book of World Record event with about 390+ Locations throughout the World participating. We will be attempting to break the World Record of Cloth Diaper changes on this date.  This is how it will work:
On April 20th at exactly 11am PST at the Maidu Community Center in Roseville, CA each parent 18 years or older with one child that is 39in or shorter will change their babies diaper at this exact time.  Kind of like a production chain at a car factory :)
There can be only be one parent to each baby, but there is plenty of room for the whole family to attend so please invite as many as you would like.  The clean diaper must be 100% reusable and commercially available (WAHM Diapers that are sold on Hyena Cart, Big Cartel, or Esty can be used as long as you did not make them yourself).
Register at this link https://gcdcsac.eventbrite.com/.  The event in 100% free to attend.
Please register for each child and parent team so we can have an accurate head count.  Be there by 10:30am sharp so that everyone can be situated.  No exceptions for late arrivals.

As if that wasn't exciting enough there will be vendors attending including the AMAZING creator of CJ's Fluff Kristen Martinez http://hyenacart.com/stores/Cjsfluff/.  These diapers literally sell out within seconds so this is the place to be if you want to grab one of these beauties.  Did I mention goodie bags?!  There are going to be ton of giveaways and freebies.  Brands such as Sustainablebabyish/Sloomb/Sbish, Southern Comfort, Itti Bitti, Applecheeks, Smart Snugs, Swaddlebees, Boba, CJ's Butter, Kelly Wels, and more!  Who's drooling already?

This will be a great event and I hope to see you all there.  Get ready for some fluffy record-breaking fun!

Wooly Mammoth!

And just when I though I had enough of a CD addiction I have discovered wool.  Wool is a natural diaper cover.  Super absorbant, antibacterial, amazingly soft, and squishy too.  I have been using wool pants or longies as they are called on my boys and rarely have leaks.  Just like diapers wool comes in all types of colors and designs.  Shorts (shorties), covers, underwoolies, Basewoolies, & pants (longies).  Also wool can be made of recycled wool.  Old sweaters that people turn into amazing diaper covers, pants, shorts, etc.  Interlock wool has no visible threads and is much easier to care for; you can throw those bad boys in the washer.  Knit wool is very cute on, but takes a little makes care, meaning you have to hand wash it.
How is wool absorbant?  Remember that wool sweater you can wear in the winter and even if a little water gets on the sleeve you won't feel it?  That's magical wool.  Wool is especially great at night since it rarely leaks.  In order to increase absorbancy for diaper related use you can lanolin your wool.  Soak your wool for at least 30 minutes in a big batch of loanolin.  Some come in yummy scents too and the lanolin is great on babies skin who suffer from eczema.  I do extra lano for my overnight covers.  The boys never have leaks in these.
Antibacterial you say?  Yes, you can go 1-2 weeks without washing.  It's naturally antibacterial.  Amaze balls!  I usually wash mine after spaghetti night :)
With wool longies or shorties your kids don't need other pants or shorts.  Just throw on the wool and you're good to go!
Yes, wool is great, but you only wear it in the cold months, right?  Wrong!  Wool is super breathable and can be worn year round, hence the shorties.
Now wool can be pricey, but if you hunt for deals and don't mind buying used you can get some great bargains.  Don't be afraid to experiment.  I promise you won't regret it :)

I Am Not Crafy

Ok, so I see all these WHAM diaper makers making a ton of money.  Granted they work very hard and still have little ones to watch over, but I'm telling you that if I could sew I would make a fortune making custom diapers.  Like I had mentioned in previous posts some of these diapers go for $30+ and I've even seen some go for over $100 in auction.  Yikes!
I recently discovered a great place to buy supplies.  Its called KAMsnaps.com (http://www.kamsnaps.com) and they have some awesome merchandise to help make diapers, blankets, quilts, pretty much anything your heart desires.  They are having a big giveaway for 5000 fans I would love to win a snap press for one of my friends who just started making her own diapers.  I might not be crafty, but I like to support hardworking moms out there whenever I can :)