Me vs. Rut...

"talk" is cheap and pictures are worth a thousand words

i am late getting the information, but better late than never.  for the the "babytalk" readers, for kateri, for the revolution...

     

dignity

i got the call on thursday night, as the clock neared midnight.  she was having mild contractions, and she didnt want to be alone.  i made the 80+ mile trip, tired from the festivities, and sat in the dark as she tried to sleep.  we breathed, we rocked, i rubbed her hips with almond oil as she raised and lowered her fingers in time with the chants.  i held her in the shower as she swayed, i brushed the hair from her brow as she cried.

she was a wild animal in her "sacred" habitat... there was incense burning - sandalwood - and a rubber pool.  there were grapes and nasty brown rice crackers that we laughed at and i refused to try.  we sat on her bed, piled with pillows, and talked about how powerful being a woman can be.   

the phone went out because of the rain, and we kept the lights off.  she shouted the title of the next cd that should be put on the stereo.  "decency" was not a thought at all as we stood near the windows - one nude, one clothed but still soaked from the shower - and moaned the word "ooooooOOOOOPEN!" we went to 7-11 for slurpees.

and it took hours upon hours upon hours.  but the opening gave way to pulsing, screaming, thoroughly electric energy. 

and he was there.  and we sat in awe. 

so beautiful.

welcome to the world, adonai.

attention all yall knitters!!!

while doing my daily stroll through blog land, i came across this site:

mother bear project

now, it is basically the knitting of bears to send to children who need a little love in their lives:

(this is a copyrighted photo of a bear recipient in swaziland,  taken by nelda villines, and i hope it was okay to post it to support the site! i dont know the rules for things like that)

unfortunately, i cant knit  - though i did do the "send a bear in my name" thing for 10 bucks -  or else muppet would be getting one, too!  oooh! buttercream yellow and soft pink and aqua cotton stripes, or something like that! okay, let me not wallow in my lack of skill. 

but for yall who do have the talent and some free time, this seems like a beautiful, beautiful cause.

check it out, spread the word.

chapter 4 - which is actually just a continuation of chapter three

DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ CHAPTER 3!!!

this is the 3rd time i am having to retype this particular post, and i am getting very profane.  i  just deleted some choice words i typed.  okay... 

back to the covers.

-prorap continued...  they also do not completely cover the fitted diapers so they can only be used with the prefolds.

-the stacinator covers are made of fleece and have snap closures.  i have the two deluxe ones (2 layers of fleece) and one standard one (1 layer of fleece.)  the deluxe ones are supposed to be water resistant, but are pretty much waterproof.  not a leak to be had.  they cover all of the diapers well but are super bulky

which is not a problem most of the time.  remember, she doesnt really leave the house that much and thus pretty much only wears pjs.  they are super soft and puffy, and have very gentle elastic encased in the leg openings, which appear to be very comfortable for her.  the standard ones, which cover all the diapers as well, are just as good with the waterproofness, but are much trimmer and go under clothing pretty well. 

the problem with the standards is that the company has discontinued them and they are super hard to find.  of the ones i could find, i could only locate the color "buff."  ah, well.  there are still plenty of varieties to be found in the delux style.  they both can also be thrown in the dryer without repercussion, unlike most other covers.  or, since we have just a few, in a pinch i can hand wash the standard one and it will be dry in less than an hour.

-the bumkins are a thin, one layer PUL cover, and they are invisible under most clothing.  they dont fit over the fitted diapers either, but are great for using the prefolds and can be wiped down between changings (i spray it with my california baby calming diaper spray to which i add tea tree for antibacterial properties.  after all, i am spraying it on her bits anyway.)   or can be given a quick hand wash, and again, they dry really quickly.  they have velcro closings, but have tabs to stick them to so they dont snag everything in the wash.  there is a mesh vent in the back, and a fold over in the front/inside in which to tuck the prefold.  they dont give her the super puff butt, which is good

   

and i am thinking of getting one more of these for outings.  i am also digging the prints.  one problem, though, after wearing it for about 30 minutes, it begins to gape in the front -

which i assume is from all her movement loosening the velcro.

overall, the stacinators are my favorite, the bumkins are good for outings, and the proraps just dont work for us.

accessories:

   

the first pic is of

a) my wet bag (yes, same print as the cover!  it is by bumkins too.)  in which we keep the dirty diapers - it is great and can be thrown right into the load with the diapers but is a bit too small to be truly practical.  i need another one... right now, we are using a plain old grocery store plastic bag for the overflow...

b) my snappi in pink which we use to close the contour diaper, and

c) two hemparoo joey bunz doublers.  these are phenomenal... we put one into her diaper before bedtime and it gives lots of extra absorbency.  plus, it is a hemp/cotton blend and hemp is naturally chemical free and antibacterial.  since she sleeps for about 10-12 hours straight, i feel comfortable with this against her skin. 

the second pic is just a close up of the teeth on the snappi.  they dig into the diaper and hold very well.

as for washing them, remember that i am both very busy and very simple.  here is my routine:

when i take off a diaper with only pee, i give it a quick rinse and wring in the bathroom sink (its only baby pee!) and throw it in the wet bag.  for poop ones, i take a piece of toilet paper, take the poop off, flush it, rinse off the chunks (i have an old baby wipe container - see the shape in the above photos?  the white box?  i put some cold water in that, give the poopy residue a quick dip and swish, and flush the water.  3o seconds, tops.) wring out and throw them into the wet bag. (for the squeamish, poop rarely if ever touches my hands, and if it does, i am going to wash them anyway. )

covers get thrown into a plastic grocery bag till i get another wet bag (polyester holds funk, yall.  i learned the hard way.  never store with diapers!  if they do get funky, though, hand washing in regular dish washing liquid will take the smell away)

i wash them all every other day...  i dump everything into the washer with half a cap of detergent (i use sun&earth brand), half a cup of plain old baking soda (arm and hammer- the kind you bake with and put in the fridge, NOT the laundry detergent.  i get the super big box in the baking aisle for like $4), and a few drops of tea tree oil and lavender (aura cacia brand). 

wash on hot.  dry on hot (not the PUL covers, those get thrown over the door frame to dry. hey, small apartment.) bam.  done.

so thats that!  the whole diaper thing.  i think i covered everything, and if anyone who comes by this blog has any questions, feel free to ask in the comment section or email me.  i love sharing what i know/experience!

also...

i would like to thank my model/"set designer" for all of her help.  yall, please give her a round of applause...

chapter 3 - the diaper saga ends

so it is done, the diaper event 2005 is complete!  we tried combo after combo, daytime and night time, and finally figured out what works on our muppet.  well, let me not put too much emphasis on the word "our" as johnny basically told me that it was all up to me.  hee hee.

so withour further ado, here is what we have:

diapers:

       

first picture - from top left, there is our stack of unbleached chinese prefolds in infant size, a kissaluvs fitted diaper size 2 (kf2) in lime, kf2 in sky, kf2 unbleached, kf2 in lemon, kf2 limited edition - lemon with pastel serging, kf2 limited edition - terry outside/sky inside, an unbleached prefitted with varegated purple serging from "grow me a rainbow",  and a pink "absorb-it-all" organic fitted size toddler.

second picture - there is the kissaluvs contour size med/large in lime

third picture - the same contour diaper with a close up of the detail (take note of the liner)

now to critique:

-the kissaluvs fitteds are wonderful, as they were when she was a newborn.  the elasticized legs are perfect for her chunky thighs with plenty of room and no red marks on her thighs.  there are two snaps, allowing me to customize the leg fit and the waist fit seperately.  the material is beautiful! butter soft and stretchy... i am thinking i am going to be able to use these as a "pull up" type thing once we go into potty training.  they have a "bikini cut" and the size is for roughly 20-40 lbs. 

the wings can be crossed over the tummy for a good fit while she is younger, but extended out once she gets bigger.  johnny also liked the ease of them (they go on like disposables) and the snaps are great as she cant undo them and there is no sticking in the washing machine. 

-the kissaluvs contour didnt work for us for several reasons.  the biggest problem was the fact that it was so thick in the middle and didnt seem to come clean as well as the other diapers and did not dry as well as the others.  plus, that fold down the middle?  it held onto poop in the crease and that retained poop did not come out in the wash.  after the first (and last!) time she pooped in it, and i couldnt get the crease clean, i had to scrub it with a toothbrush.  um, nah.  i didnt sign up for that.  so if she wears that one again, she has to wear it with a liner (more on those later.)  as for johnny, he didnt like the fact that it had to be manually closed (we didnt use pins, we used a snappy - that pink thing sitting on it in the picture)

-the prefitted was nice, but thin so it didnt absorb as well as the others.  also, the snap alignment was a little off, and it had no stretch to the fabric.  i will say, though, it was a nice diaper and the wahm who made it is very skilled.  it just was a wrong fit for muppet. 

-the absorb-it-all is organic, and that is a strong point for it.  but it had no stretch and was not as soft.  it was very thick and took a while to dry, but it was very absorbant.  a sturdy diaper that was just a little too stiff, even out of the dryer.  beautifully made, though.

-prefolds... they are the basic.  by folding them in thirds inside a cover:

   

they were wonderful.  nice, thick absorbancy where needed, and it all unfolds in the wash to come clean.  also, they dry really quickly and are cheap and easy to use.

so all in all, we love the kissaluvs fitteds and have one more on the way.  we also have a nice stack of prefolds and those are going to carry us through to potty training (hopefully!!)

now for the covers:

from the top left, there is the stacinator double layer fleece in lucky charms, stacinator double layer fleece in leopard, stacinator single layer fleece in buff, the prorap in pink with a buckle, and a bumkins cover in pink supernova.  all of the covers are size large.

critique :

-the prorap is a wrap style velco closing cover with a buckle to hold it more securely and keep toddlers from taking the diaper off.  it has a white inside liner that gives it a bit of thickness.  however, that liner is very easily stained, and got a poop stain on its first use (we used a prefold inside).  it is snug enough to hold a prefold well, though, and has a nice, trim overall fit. 

the buckle is akward and only works well if the diaper cover is too small (we learned that little fact because we had a prorap in medium, but it was cutting into muppets thighs.  we donated it.)   its biggest problem?  muppet could open it and did often!....

and this caused huge puddles of baby pee all over the place um... leaks.  yeah. 

MORE COMING BUT I HAVE TO STOP AND SAVE AT THIS POINT BECAUSE IF THIS COMPUTER SPAZES OUT AGAIN, AND I LOSE THIS POST, I WILL THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW!

diaper duty

i absolutely love being a cloth diapering mom.  not to mention... i love shopping for the diapers.  when my mom used to buy diapers, she was limited to the white, plain, rectangular diapers with the white, plain plastic pants:

but moi?  well, lets say that it has taken me forever to decide what i want to use for muppet.  in the beginning, we had

  organic prefolds

   kissaluvs fitted (blue outer, green inner)

   absorb-it-all (pink)

and    the pink, ingenious, snappi!! 

then, muppet grew.  and grew.  and grew.  and the diapers, well... they didnt.  so, we did disposables.  tushies and then 7th generation.  i would find pics of them, but really, they arent as fun to look at the cloth ones.

so i am in the process of finding a new slew of diapers, and to do this, i am going through the trial and error method.  i am buying one each of a few different diapers and covers, and once i see what works now, i will place a sizable order of that. 

the decision was not easy - though all-in-ones seemed super convenient, i learned that they werent as durable since you are putting hardcore stress on the cover portion and it is not designed to be as durable as the diaper portion.  prefolds are difficult for me because i dont fold them very well. (although i have learned of a "girl fold" in which you fold them short-ways and can use them that way down the middle of a wrap style cover regardless of how big the child gets.  ooh! i found an example!

we will be doing that with our small organic prefolds)

some of the diapers are lovely and seem very good, but are more expensive than we can deal with right now (some as high as $30 per diaper)... although i love the idea of supporting wahms (work at home moms) and do plan to get several (less expensive, but just as wonderful in quality)diapers from businesses like that.  as for the covers, we are trying several, but as excited as i was about the stacinator stretch wool (both for its natural-ness and the reviews) i cannot fathom not washing my diaper cover in hot water.  thats just me. 

so i am getting:

another kissaluvs fitted diaper (blue outer, natural inner)... note that kissaluvs are made by wahms

a kissaluvs contour (lime outer, natural inner)

  a color fold pre-fitted diaper made by a wahm from here (i love these!! we will be getting the unbleached, and the variety of stitching colors is wonderful!)

and we are also trying out several diaper doublers and liners in hemp, as hemp is naturally antimicrobial/antibacterial and has greater absorbancy than cotton, not to mention that it is naturally grown without pesticides.

now for the covers:

the prorap cover in mint

a bumkins cover in this print, which is called supernova

a stacinator fleece cover in this print, which is called lucky charms (these covers are supposed to be very breathable and can be washed in any way with great success)

now, if i had an extra few hundred bucks, i would get these, because i am in awe of their beauty and creativity - and all of these are made from wahms:

(<-- with this set, i want the cover on the bottom right, not the diaper on the top left.) 

so that is that.  once we receive everything and try it all out, i will share my results.

hot cloth buns!

i remember when the first kissaluvs diaper came in the mail.  it was teeny tiny - it fit in the palm of one hand.  i carried it arond with me all day... i think that in some respect, it was a tangible reminder that i was having a baby.  i felt like it represented the mother i was going to be.  johnny smiled along with me in all of my excitement, going so far as to take pictures of it.  (i cant find the pics, though.)  i lovingly washed it, hung it up to dry, and imagined the sweetness of putting it on my newborn baby in the hospital as her first garmet, any oppossers be damned. 

thus began my love affair with cloth diapers.  i also ordered an absorb-it-all and about 12 organic prefolds.  i figured that that was enough to get us started.  i also got a few packs of tushies, as to fully explore the world of diapering without preconceived notions.  here were the results:

kissaluvs- lovely!  fit beautifully! nice umbilical fold down part!  washed wonderfully and they didnt stain from poop.  they were super soft and i was very happy about putting them on her.  the snaps/poppers gave me lots of options in regards to the fit.  they also fit well in regards to rise.  they covered her butt, but werent too high.  they also werent so low as to give her that super-low-rise-puffy-butt-damn-near-showing-all-the-bits look that happens with alot of fitted diapers (that i have seen online.) my only complaint is that they arent 100% cotton.  they are 10% polyester, but only in the outsider layer.  the inside layer is, indeed, all cotton.  i give it 9 out of 10.

absorb it all - okay.  not a good fit, and i am not really sure what size my diaper was because my orderform said infant, my diaper said toddler, and... i dont know.  i didnt particularly like the feel or the fit.  it had the snaps/poppers but it was an awkward shape and had the texture of that felt that kids play with and stick to boards in kindergarten.  it did, however, absorb really well.  i give it 5 out of 10.

the prefolds - they were good and basic.  absorbed well, worked well.  the biggest problem? i suck at folding. there was some leakage...  possibly human error?  i also used them in a more "non-traditional" way. i would place one in her bouncy chair and sit her on them with a bare butt.  that way, she could air her bits, but the diaper was still "working."  i give them 7 out of 10.

-  those little thinks rocked!  i did wind up losing all but one.  i think they wanted to escape their lot in life.  find greener pastures. 

tushies - are very good, as far as disposables go.  they have wood and cotton pulp, which i love, love, love instead of that gel stuff. but muppet has thick thighs, and they were ill fitting around the legs, causing the tape edge to rub her, and making little scratches on her skin. also, the tabs were the sticky kind and they wouldnt re-stick well if you had to adjust the diaper. 6 out of 10.

so we got 7th generation disposables... - they are cute and unbleached.  they do have the gel in them, but with those rice paper liners, there is an extra layer between the baby and the diaper.  thats my rationale.  they are gentler as far as disposables go, the tabs are the aplix kind and there was no problem with repositioning. 

muppet had an overnight growth spurt or something, because none of her diapers fit anymore.  i have to place an order for more, but i want to get some opinions first, because i want to try something new.  here is what i think i will order:

5 kissaluvs

10 hemp doublers

1 indian prefold

1 chinese prefold

1 color folds pre-fitteds (since i cant fold pre-folds well, this seemed like a GREAT solutioon)

1 celtic cloths fitted diaper

1 celtic cloths fleece cover

1 celtic cloths pul cover

1 stacinator stretch wool cover

that will allow me to try some new stuff and see what works best for us.  then i will place a full order.  i am also thinking, if i like the way the prefitteds work, i might order some tye dye prefolds from tiny heiny and have them converted into pre-fitteds (jeanette, the owner of the "grow me a rainbow" site, offers to do that for you.  i love it!)

so why do i love cloth? 

-because her butt is clammy after i change a disposable, but not after changing a cloth diaper. as she has eczema, even around her butt/labia, it is important for her to stay clean and dry

-because i like the idea of simple cloth against her bits instead of paper

-because i know the diapers i wash are super clean (washed with natural soap, tea tree oil, lavender and love!) against her bits, lessening my "diaper rash" paranoia (no, she has never had one, and hopefully never will)

-because it just seems more simple, like my mom and her mom, etc used

-because it just makes me feel good and it works for us.  simply.

so thats the deal. 

i cant live, if living is without you...

brooke sent out a query in regards to "must have" baby items.  i figured that i would post about it, as to not clog up her site with my ramblings!    also, there is a question at the end, so please offer assistance if you can!!

here's what i can't live without:

toiletries and such:

-dr. bronners castille soap – baby mild  or  lavender bar (to wash her hair and body)

-aloe vera gel (to mix with her liquid soap)

-california baby calming cream (every day moisture - lightweight)

-california baby non-burning and calming diaper area wash (for diaper changes)

-autumn harp's unpetroleum jelly (for her butt after diaper changes)

-sun and earth laundry liquid (for her laundry)

-sun and earth dish liquid (for her bottles and my breast pump parts)

-badger balm– baby balm (for her skin when her eczema flares up)

-carol's daughter shea butter skim smoothie (everyday moisture – heavier, and for her hair)

-lavender and tea tree essential oil (for first aid or bad eczema patches, to put in the laundry with cloth diapers)

-bi-o-kleen bac-out (for disenfecting cloth diapers or stained/nasty baby laundry)

since we breastfeed and give expressed milk in a bottle, we use:

-medela pump in style double pump (especially great since she was in nicu for a week at birth, and then was hospitalized for a few days @ 3 months old)

-avent magic cups with the regular bottle teats (their actual baby bottles are bicarbonate, we choose not to use those)... it's cool because we are all set for sippy cups now! besides, they are so chubby and colorful... so cute!

-earth's best organic baby food

-hemp breast pads (don't remember where i got them)

clothes:

- kissaluvs fitted diapers

-(as a newborn) organic basics from ecobaby organics

-two piece all cotton long sleeved pyjamas from old navy (day wear, we have phenomenal central air!)

-the footie pyjamas from the childrens place (muppet looks like a wee bean in them! i love it!)

-zutano baby basics – the colors are phenomenal, the prints are uncommon and the fabric is simple cotton

-tea collection – very ethnic inspired, beautiful, well made clothing (they now have the russian inspired collection)

-focoloco (cool tshirts, thanks karen!)

-shoes from robeez and lil' jo's- the construction is excellent for little ones learning how to walk as they encourage toe gripping and the natural movement of the foot

-100% bamboo towels (amazing fabric, super soft and strong)

on the go:

-bib clips (you can make a bib out of anything, and they can be used with toddlers without making them look like "babies," according to my niece)

-we currently use the graco qratro tour travel system, but muppet is getting to be too long for the infant carseat so we need to get a new one

entertainment:

-happily ever after fairy tales for every child (AMAZING multicultural and much more feminst-positive remakes of various fairytales)

-baby einstein stuff

-real kidz dolls (biracially designed dolls that are a wonderful concept! I love toys like this!)

-bla bla pillow chum (muppet is getting "coco" for her birthday)

-the only "real toys" we have bought her are those link-type things and a sassy toy bar as we feel it is wonderfully creative to play with things like toilet paper rolls, small boxes, and playsilks and she LOVES big plastic cups.  We do have a hand-me down exersaucer, though. 

-millions and millions of books

-multicultural lullabies and misc. jazz albums (love louie armstrong!)

I wish i knew how to knit those little gnomes.  I found a wonderful site for them, but alas, i can't do it... and i know that you can buy them, but i would want them in all cotton, not wool, since chewed up wool seems unappetizing.  Ah, well.  Maybe one day i can find a knitting class and then magically insert another 2 hours into the day so that i can attend!!  Haha!

Question:

-does anyone else cloth diaper?  What kinds do you use (diapers and covers) and why?  I am looking to get some new ones since she is transitioning in size;  i have purchased the kissaluvs fitteds, the ecobaby absorb it all, and some regular organic prefolds with basic pul covers.  any suggestions?

muppet vs. pluot...

whoo, boy, let me tell you.  i nearly lost a finger.