Cloth Diapering at 14 months...Sayonara Diaper Pins!

I recently read a very interesting article about cloth diapering in an old issue of Mothering magazine.  This fact shocked me: it takes SEVEN BILLION GALLONS OF OIL every year to make disposable diapers!

Well, we are still cloth diapering, and I'm still very satisfied with cloth. However, diapering a newborn and diapering newtoddler have been very different experiences.

In my previous post about cloth, I was using pins, pre-folds, and different sizes water proof covers.  If you are wanting to do cloth and have a small budget, this is by far the cheapest option that I've found.  It was a great system that lasted until Ada was about 10 or 11 months, in which diaper changes turned into a battle.  For the last 3-4 months, Ada has been very resistant during diaper changes.  To overcome this, I use a combination of discipline to make her be still while I change her, and have invested in some different diaper covers to make diaper changing faster and easier.

So, I've done away with pins (impossible to pin a squirming, kicking toddler), and invested in some one-size diaper covers (you can adjust the size to your growing baby), in which I am able to place the pre-folds into and snap onto Ada.  The brands I have are Sweet Pea and Flip.  I wish I had known about these and bought these at the beginning of diapering.  Oh well!  The future kiddos will use them!  I prefer the Flip slightly more because it's less bulky and fits Ada better.

Here's what they look like:

Flip diaper cover (left) and SweetPea Diaper cover (right)

Though I paid more than I wanted to (about $10 each), I'm really satisfied with them and they've made cloth diapering easier on us.  I fold the prefold diaper into thirds, lay it in the cover (Flip has flaps you can tuck it into), and snap it on Ada.  EASY!

SweetPea cover has gussets to contain blowouts

diaper in the Flip diaper cover

And the dirty diaper?  I remove soiled prefold diaper and throw it in the diaper bucket (unless poop needs to be sprayed off first).  I use a diaper wipe to wipe out the inside of the cover, and then use it at the next changing.  At the end of the night, I soak all the covers we used during the day in the sink with some hot water and about a teaspoon of detergent for about an hour, then hang them up to dry overnight.

And, though I was using cloth wipes from when Ada was about 6 months to 12 months, I've gone back to using disposable diaper wipes again, until I find something that's as convenient and reusable. They were much easier to use when Ada wasn't so squirmy and mobile.  I don't like forking the money out for them, but I dislike diaper changes (about 4-5 times per day) turning into battle zones more. Now, I can even change Ada's diaper while she's standing up!

Ada is almost walking!  SOOO close!  She makes me laugh so much! :)  Also, she does the sign language for "milk" and calls her Bunny "Bubba."  She has also started praying with us (by holding our hands) at dinner time.  We are SO proud of her!

I love both my jobs!

This picture was taken when Ada was about 4 months old or so.  Here I am breastfeeding, but you probably couldn't tell.  Do you spot Ada?? Her foot is sticking out in the bottom right corner!

About 3 months ago I began a part-time (6 hours or less per week), at-home job as a breastfeeding peer counselor for the WIC program.  With this job, I basically build relationships with women in the community and help them get a good start in breastfeeding.  Many days when Chris comes home from work I say, "I just love BOTH my jobs!"

Here are my favorite things about my job:

1. As I continue to learn about pregnancy and breastfeeding, I am constantly amazed at how truly incredible a woman's body is.  Women, have you ever stopped to think about this??  I can't believe all of the changes my body has undergone within the last 2 years! I have a much deeper appreciation for how God created my body, that I want to honor and take care of it more.  I love that a woman's body is beautiful, life-giving, and accommodating to the many changes it goes through..  I am so glad I'm a woman!

2. I love connecting with other moms, especially since it's harder to socialize with other adults after having kids. When you become a mom, you instantly are able to connect with any other mom, regardless of class, race, language, religion, etc.

3. I love holistically helping women and children and making a difference in their lives.

The hardest thing about my job:

The actions of many hospitals (not all) and OBs can make it very difficult for women to breastfeed.   It makes me feel sad because breastfeeding is probably one of the healthiest things for a woman and baby to do, yet  I've discovered that many medical professionals don't make it a priority to be educated about breastfeeding or committed to helping women get started.  Almost weekly, I hear from my clients of truly wrong advice or actions given/done by medical professionals which has prevented women from breastfeeding at all, or made it extremely difficult to get a good start. To be a well-informed patient is to be in charge of you and your children's health.

I hope to include more posts about breastfeeding in the future to help you (men and women) to be more informed and excited about breastfeeding!