Using Cloth Wipes

When I started using cloth diapers I never thought I'd get to the point where I would be ok with using cloth wipes. As it turns out, it took me almost a year into my cloth diapering journey to start using them but once I gave them a try I kicked myself for not trying them sooner!

What I would clean up with 5 disposable wipes I could usually do with one or occasionally two cloth wipes. They work so much better than I ever thought they would!

I used to try to make up a fancy concoction to soak the wipes in before using them, but I quickly discovered that was too much work which usually ended in me not even bothering to make up a batch of wipes.

I had read a lot of moms just put water on their wipes. After all, we don't wash our butts with soap and fancy things... Just a dry piece of toilet paper! So this became my new routine. Run some warm water at the sink. Get the rags wet, squeeze them out, and throw them in their container.

Now, while I really like the simplicity of just water, we occasionally need something a little more which is when I boil some water on the stove, let it cool a good bit and then put in a spoon of organic coconut oil and let it melt. I've found this to be very helpful when we are dealing with diaper rash. My little one has sensitive skin so when a rash breaks out I make up a batch of thesr CO wipes.

In the beginning I just used an old wipes box container to store the wipes in. Then I got into the eliminating plastics thing and decided to come up with a non-plastic alternative. That's where the mason jar stepped in. Of course the lid on this container is still plastic since I haven't run across a place to buy non-plastic lids that fit mason jars, but over all I'm quite impressed with the alternative I've come up with. Oh, I also had hubby poke some holes in the lid so that there would be air flow and mildew wouldn't happen.

Dry wipes storage is the wipes folded and set in a spare basket on the changing table. I think we have 30-40 wipes but we almost never use all of them since I wash diapers several times a week and then I just reuse the wipes from those loads once they've been cleaned.

I have several different edges on my wipes. My favorite by far are the ones I took to the sewing machine and did a zigzag edge on twice around each wipe. I tried regular straight edge scissors and those wipes made a mess with threads coming off them. I've also tried pinking shears but those also had issues with threads. All my wipes are cut from flannel fabric so they're nice and soft. They're single layer. I think most are 8x8 size and that's really just about perfect too.

I have to say I really do like using cloth wipes and am glad I took the plunge and tried them out. :)

Local, Raw Cows Milk

Raw cows milk in my fridge may seem weird to some, but not to me! I grew up with neighbors who had dairy cows. When they had extra milk we would sometimes be given a gallon. I loved it! My mom never really bought milk from the store because she always felt it wasn't good to drink a lot of milk or consume a lot of dairy products I general.

Living with hubby, we've bought a LOT of store bought milk. Milk is one of his favorite things to drink. During some time I spent researching, I really felt we needed to make the switch to raw milk. This particular article from Dr. Mercola's website really helped make this decision easier. So began my hunt for a local dairy farm.

After a little looking around, I came across the Real Milk website. Here I was able to find a famer that offered hormone and antibiotic free, raw cows milk for a price I could justify.

One of the most fun parts of real milk is you get the cream on top too. I've decided to use it to make homemade butter for now but would eventually like to try other things with it too such as cream cheese or whipped cream. Here I am seperating buttermilk from the butter I just ran through the food processor. As a kid, I remember one time where we all passed around a jar of cream and took turns shaking it. Thats too much work for my taste so I pulled up The Prairie Homestead tutorial and followed that instead. Much easier to gain results!

Here we have it: buttermilk on the left and fresh, sweet cream butter on the right. I've been storing the butter in the fridge for now, but may attempt leaving some out on the counter so its soft and ready to use since it gets pretty hard in there.

I like knowing our source of milk because then I know that what we are drinking or using for cooking is not riddled with hormones or antibiotics. There is peace in knowing I'm giving my family the best I can find.

Random Thoughts On My Cloth Diapering Experience Thus Far

Diaper laundry. Seriously something I never saw myself doing before I got pregnant with my first born. Honestly I think I remember only one person using cloth diapers on their kids when I was growing up. This was just not a normal thing to me pre-kids.

I'm not sure at what point I decided to look into using cloth diapers, but I know it was because of the money it would save our family. My cousin had been using cloth diapers for her little one and sent me several videos on how to use the style she had. It was much easier to see this working through her videos than it was through pics of how to put together diapers that I had come across on several blogs. I originally thought I would just use them here and there. In fact, it wasn't til my first was almost 2 months old that I tried them at all... And then I was sold.

Cloth diapering is certainly not the easy route to take, but I knew that from the beginning. Finding a routine that worked for me took some time and eventually I found that washing diapers every 2 days worked perfect. I stared by air drying on hangers in our doorways. It wasn't the most practical, but it got the job done. Somewhere along the way my cousin sent me another video of things she had been working on around her house and I happened to notice she had her diapers air drying on a rack similar to the one I have picture here. I thought, "how easy is that!" So I got one and man has it made life smoother on diaper day. No longer do I lug out hangers and clothes pins to dry diapers. Now I give a quick shake and lay the diapers over the rack and we are good to go.

When I first started out I only had 10 covers and 30 prefolds. How I managed a young baby pooping frequently with ten covers? I don't have a clue. Somehow it all worked. But eventually I found myself wanting more covers and that's when I discovered cloth diaper buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook. New covers for the brand I was using had gone up considerably in the first year of using cloth diapers. I wasn't about to pay $11 for a single cover... I know its not *that* bad, but I'm doing cloth to save on cash... So the hunt began. I would occasionally stumble across covers for $7 shipped to me and usually they had two or three so I could get them for $10 or $15 shipped depending on how many I bought. I bulked up my covers to where I had 24. I dont think I'm completely happy with not every prefold having a new cover to use, buta Im sure I'll go on the hunt again soon for a few more covers. Another thing I eventually added was a few packages of flour sack towels to make a thicker "overnight" diaper once little one was starting to sleep 8 hour stretches consistently. And, after unsuccessfully trying to get hubby to change diapers when I had to go somewhere and he was left to babysit, I bought him some all-in-one diapers which have been worth every penny to not have to buy disposables just for those rare occasions.

I think one of the biggest mistakes I made was trying to "strip" my covers before I fully understood the process. Several had been stained a faint yellow with that awful breastmilk poo and they always looked dirty. A bleach bath did nothing, sunning for several days did nothing... I decided to "strip" them. Unfortunately I did something wrong and ended up practically ruining the PUL. Thank god they did not leak after that... But their quality was not longer great. Fortunately I hadn't stripped my entire cover stash so only a handful were half ruined by this mistke. After that I decided stains really didn't bother me that much, after all these are POOP catchers we are talking about here!

I've been one of the rare few who used homemade detergent on diapers and *not* suffered major consequences. (This is based on things I've read on threads in cloth diapering groups I've followed.) At one point I attempted to switch to Tide laundry powder because, on one such group i was following, they swore that homemade laundry soap would ruin your diapers. Dont know why I didn't just leave well enough alone and keep doing what was working for me. My little one ended up with a red bum right away and I swore I'd never do that again. (He does have sensitive skin which is sort of one reason we use homemade laundry soap in the first place). In recent months I've experimented with a more natural laundry soap recipe. Its taken a few months to work the kinks out in the recipe ingredients itself and all that, but one thing I do know is I dont like it for diaper laundry. So back to my original homemade recipe it is, tho I may hang onto the new recipe for clothes, towels, blankets and such.

When we discovered we were expecting a second child I knew right away I would need to add to my diaper stash. This time I want to start out with cloth as soon as possible. I really think I may give myself a week or two to recover from birth before I expect to be back to some of my normal routines. Buying newborn diaper covers is quite fun because they are SO small! I'm thinking I may have two in diapers, at least for a little while, so I've added another 10 diapers to my stash and some that are more hubby friendly. I may add a few more if I feel we need it once the new baby arrives.

I must say I sort of feel like a pro at using cloth diapers now. Its been quite an interesting experience and I've learned a lot by using cloth. Any time I've used a disposable on my son they just frustrate me to no end and I can hardly wait to get back to our cloth bums. (We use disposable while away visiting family because it makes the whole vacation go smoother, plus before we leave I have all the diapers washed and air drying so they are ready to use the second we get back home).

When my grandma saw my son in a cloth bum for the first time, not long after I had first started using them, she remarked at how fancy mine were compared to what she had used on her babies. Even my mom, who I found out used cloth diapers too, was impressed with the snaps on the covers because she had to use pins to keep diapers on me when I was a baby and she thought they were just awful. I know what I have is pretty basic compared to what is available out there today, but I thought it was interesting they both wished they had then what I have now. Makes me grateful to be a cloth diapering mama in this time period.

I find it encouraging that several friends and my sister have shown interest in cloth diapering their children because of their exposure to cloth diapers through me. I do cloth diapers because of my little one's sensitivity to many of the disposable brands and because it saves us money. I'm always glad to answer friends questions and help them find something that will work well for them because I love cloth diapers and want everyone else to love them too.

Banana Bread Recipe

This is a family recipe that has been around for quite some time. I personally love it because its not too sweet, it has a good texture even a few days after you bake it, and is an easy way to use up bananas on our "off" weeks where we don't eat every single one I buy. Another bonus is this is a completely dairy free recipe!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

4-5 ripe, mashed bananas

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, and nuts.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, water, and mashed bananas.
4. Add wet mix to dry mix and combine.
5. Place in a greased loaf pan (or, as pictured, in a greased bundt pan).
6. Bake in oven for 60 minutes.
7. Eat when ready or turn out on a cooling rack to cool completely before storing. It can be kept out on the counter in a food storage container for several days.