Archive for October, 2009

Cleaning the Potty Vs. Scraping a Diaper!

Who else thinks cleaning out a potty chair is WORSE than scraping poo off a cloth diaper??  ME, PICK ME!!  Oh my goodness….Ok I will admit I am not an “over” scraper.  I don’t feel then need to scrap all the poop of a diaper before it goes into my pail, that’s what the washing machine is for, kwim?  Now, rather than just needing a scrapper, I have to use either a huge wad of tissue or get a special poop sponge and hope no one uses it for anything else!!!

Now don’t get me wrong, I know I have been complaining about wanting my daughter to use the potty and now that she finally is getting the hang of it I’m complaining.  I am so glad to not have to wash diapers every other day (even though it only frees about about 10 mins), but I will be so glad when she gets over her fear of the real toilet.  I have suggested that she tries sitting on it several times and got a look as if I were asking her to sit on a cactus!  At her preschool they have a real miniature toilet and they tell me that she uses it everyday, no problems.  If only I had a drop of Alice’s shrinking potion!

The other day we went to the park with some friends, Amelia had gone before we left and had had little to drink so I thought I was all set.  I packed our little Ikea potty in the truck just in case though.  Well let me tell you – my cute little tulip proceded to fill that tiny potty to its brim!!!  First she peed and I emptied it in a nearby bush in the parking lot.  Then she freaked out, like it was the end of the world, insisted we go back to the truck and sat down on that potty for over 10 mins.  When she was done it was like nothing I have ever seen in a small red piece of plastic before in my life.  There was no way it was going in a bush!  I had to wrap the whole potty up in a grocery bag and put it in the tailgate of the truck since it was already stinking up the cab. 

Later on as I am getting ready to hop in the truck and head to work, I say to my husband as I’m opening the tailgate, “Oh honey, wait can you bring this in and empty it for me?” …muahahaha

Tags: cloth diapers, ikea potty chair, potty, potty chair, potty learning, potty training, scraping poop from cloth diaper, washing cloth diaper
Posted in cloth diapering, potty chair, potty learing, potty training | 1 Comment »

Come on, we know everyone LOVES Facebook!

Well so do we, and we would LOVE to get some good conversations started over there.  Right now we are pretty much using it to let people know when we update the blog, have a sale, posted some pics, etc but we would love for everyone to feel like its a fun page to visit each time you log into FB to share funny stories, tag us in pics of your kids, whether cloth diapered, extended rear facing, using eco friendly products or toy, anything!  Who doesn’t love to look at cute pictures of kiddies anyway?

It also would be a great place to ask questions or get opinions, as you would not only get the worldly wisedom of MCDC (lol) but of other like minded parents.   Something driving you batty?? Did someone make a comment about your *huge* bulky diaper bag full of fluff, or your sling (poor baby doesn’t have a stroller), or *gasp* ask you why you can’t just use a bottle when you leave the house? I bet lots of us have been in the same boat atleast once as well.  Did you see a new type or brand of diaper and want to know if we have it, have tried it or are planning to carry it? 

We have some great new proucts – hats, boots, adorable Halloween babylegs.  We also now have in the new biodegradable liners for the Gro Baby diapers, so if you use G-diapers or sposies and want to try something new, we have that too.  I personally think these are a much better all around design then the G-diaper inserts.

Have a great day, happy diapering….oh and see you over on Facebook!

Tags: babylegs, biodegradeable diapers, cloth diaper, facebook, gro baby, halloween, like minded parents, no stroller, sling
Posted in Uncategorized, aio, basic cloth diapering, car seat, cloth diapering, cloth vs disposable, environment, extended rear facing, g-diapers, green living, gro baby disposable liners | No Comments »

Cloth Diapering Myths!

I was thinking about all the misconceptions and myths about cloth diapersing and came up with 10 that I think are the most popular ones we have heard.  Maybe some of you all have heard others?

1. In order to Cloth Diaper you must use pins. Yes I do know some parents that use them and wouldn’t do it any differently, but there are so many alternatives for those of us that aren’t that coordinated.  For those that want to secure a flat or prefold with more than a cover, there are snappis- additionally there are so many other types of diaper that velcro and snap closed just as easily as a sposie.

2. Cloth diapers cause diaper rash.  I think if you have a child that is prone to rash then it probably doesn’t matter what type of diaper you use, you have to be sure and change them as often as you can.  Urine and feces both can break down skin and cause irritation…that is a fact.  More often I have heard of babies that are allergic to the things used to make disposable diapers, the chemicals, the gel, the rough paper, the plastics, etc.

3. Once you calculate utilities, there is no cost savings.  This simply is not true.  Most mom’s and dad’s will agree that its only 1-2 extra loads of laundry per week to cloth diaper.  Utility costs vary from region to region but there is just no way this one is true.  I have estimated this myself and it costs me mere cents per load to wash and just a bit more to dry.  Additionally, if this issue bothers you, use a clothes line or a drying rack – that will save over 50% of the utility cost of cloth diapering and also help your diapers last longer.

4. Cloth diapering is so time consuming that in order to be successful you must be a sahm.  Although I personally am a sahm/wahm - I do not agree with this statement and know many, many families of 2 working parents or a single working parent that have successfully cd’ed all of their children.  Like I mentioned above, its generally 1-2 extra loads of laundry a week – so what is that, 5 mins to load, 5 mins to switch over and then 10 to fold or stuff and put on the shelf? Going to the store to buy sposies, taking out extra bags of trash and/or swapping out those diaper genie refills has got to cancel that all out, right?

5. Poopy cloth diapers must be dunked in the toilet before putting in the pail to wash.  EWW – do people really do that?  It is so not necessary, really it isn’t.  Even the nastiest of poops can be scraped or sprayed off and then put into the washing machine.  Our washer never smells like poop or has any residue left in it after washing even the worse load of diapers.  If I ever feel the need to rinse out a really bad diaper, I use the bathroom sink rather than the toilet, then I spray and wipe out the sink…NOT the toilet!

6. You cannot travel or camp with cloth.  We have a previous blog articleabout this and it simply is not the case.  I usually bring 2 large wet bags with me, first half of the trip in one, second half in the other.  Its that simple.  If you are washing dirty diapers that are more than 3-4 days old, do a soak first, then an extra wash or use some biokleen disinfectant if you think you need it.

7. You must have your own washer/dryer.  I can personally attest to this as a myth!  Although it sure makes it easier, cloth diapering while using shared machines or a laundromat it completely do-able.  When I was washing only once a week at the laundromat I used a splash of biokleen disinfectant in the wash just to ward off unwanted bacteria (both from having the diapers sitting around for longer and the fact that other people use the machines) – the only other thing I had to do was strip more often as the shared machines seemed to have more detergent build-up that would end up on my diapers too.

8. Cloth diapers are too bulky and you need to buy larger clothes to fit over them.  I won’t completely disagree with this- I think it all depends on the type of diaper you use and the build of your child.  Some cloth diapers are bulky and if that is what your child is used to then it probably doesn’t bother them at all.  In that case, I would say you probably would need to either size up on bottoms or just buy materials that are stretchy….no big deal.  On the other hand, lots of cloth diapers are known for their trimness, these don’t add anymore bulk than a sposie if they are the correct size and are fastened snugly.

9.  The added bulk between a baby’s legs can damage leg and hip development and it takes longer for a cloth diapered child to learn to walk.  All these things are a definite myth!  Only in the past century have there even been disposable diapers.  Does that mean that humans up until the last 100 years have had messed up legs and hips?  Especially in a time when people were forced to do more physical work to survive?  That is just a silly, made-up misconception.  Also there is no data that supports that cloth diapered children walk later, my daughter certainly didn’t have any issues!

10. Nobody uses cloth anymore.  WRONG!  What a relief that this is so incredibly off too, huh?  Just writing this blog has given me more energy to spread the word about cloth…go on out and do so yourself too!  Pass this blog URL along to your non cloth diapering friends and relatives, lets make it our jobs to help others stop filling the landfills of the world with disposable diaper and dangerous biological waste!

Happy diapering everyone

Tags: camping with cloth diapers, cloth diapering damage hips, cloth diapering is time consuming, cloth diapering misconceptions, cloth diapering myths, cloth diapers and diaper rash, diaper pins, diaper rash, dunking cloth diapers in the toilet, only stay at home mothers cloth diaper, washing and drying cloth diapers, washing cloth diapers
Posted in Uncategorized, basic cloth diapering, cloth diapering, cloth vs disposable, conservation, diaper covers, diaper pins, diaper sprayer, diapers in landfills, environment, frugal, green living, prefold diapers, prefolds, snappies, toddler clothing, traveling with cloth, trim diapers | 1 Comment »