Rebecca's Story

Hello! My name is Rebecca and I am a young mom of a beautiful baby girl named Stella! Yes, I said young, I am 23 years old... even the younger generation of moms cloth diaper :) 

So, when my daughter was born she wore preemie diapers. She was only about 5lbs, but on time. She was a disposable diapered baby from that point on until she was 11 months old. A friend of mine, who is also in the "young generation" converted me! At first I wasn't so sure, nor was I sold. I was stuck on the fact of having poop in my washing machine. Then she reassured me and we made the switch! Why did we switch? I was tired of having leak after leak and a wet bed every night without fail! We even had packages of a popular 'sposie diaper that were just defective and the seams on the sides were torn and the adhesives had been ripped off!! Oh, and the smell! Having these poop and pee diapers in our garbage can was terrible! Our whole house just stunk! So we tried cloth and I was the first one to fall in love with it, the man of the house...still needing convincing. At first we tried strictly pocket diapers and found that to be exhausting, so we tried prefolds and covers. Our first set was the FLIP system. If it weren't for them, we both probably would've given up. Now we have a collection of prefolds, covers such as FLIPS, WeeHuggers and Blueberry's. BUT, we also have a selection of pockets including Bumgenius and Fuzzibunz. We use the pockets at night because its easier if she needs a midnight change and were half asleep. It was just a matter of trying and figuring out how the whole cloth system works! There are so many varieties, it can be overwhelming. We choose FLIP to start with because they are very affordable covers and inserts, either prefolds or stay drys come in starter packs! So we got our first kit from a local store. It had 2 covers and 6 organic prefolds. We chose the prefold over the stay dry inserts because our daughter is a heavy wetter. We also choose snap closure at first because they initially last long than Velcro. We do have some that are velcro closure, just because they had prints and are so darn cute!!

Little Stella rocks some of her cute diaper looks

Cloth diapering can seem so hard, confusing and overwhelming, trust me, I have been there. About a week into trying out our new FLIP system, I was golden and good to go! It was so much easier, and we had NO MORE LEAKS!! What a huge sigh of relief. And, after a month or so, we got our whole stash organized between our pockets, covers, prefolds and reusable wipes...the man even tried it and now likes this much better. Not so hard on his wallet and he thinks they are cuter as well :) For laundering, it is done every other day unless we have a bad day of poop! But, even then we do laundry almost everyday anyway, so a little bit more isn't so rough. We both have found it to be less stressful, cost effective and fun! We are glad we switched and will cloth diaper our next child from birth! Especially now that we know they make diapers small enough for a 5lb baby!

My advice for you, a new mom or dad to cloth, would be simply this..."don't judge a book by its cover, you may miss an exciting adventure". Also, do your research, find local cloth diapering classes and don't be afraid to ask questions! I am now a cloth diaper expert and teach classes at a local cloth retailer; I never thought that would have happened!! Ever!

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Rebecca is a young mother of a 20 month old daughter. She loves photography! She has a small photography business and crafting business making tutus, custom onesies and babylegs. She works part time at a local infant and childrens store and teaches cloth diapering classes. She grew up in New Hartford, NY and lives there still with her family.

Jessica's Story

When my first son was born almost 5 years ago he had really bad eczema around his diaper area. At the time I had no real clue about cloth diapers so all I bought were these thick pre-folds and some slide on wet pant covers I found at target. This was really hard for me. He was only 5 1/2 lbs and the whole folding then sliding on and off of the plastic wet pant just wasn't working out on his tiny body. Luckily, by the time he was 5 mos old his rash was non-existent and we went back to disposables. When my second child was born she had no skin issues, so we stuck to disposables and happily forgot about cloth diapers and all the issues we had with them. Then our 3rd child Eli was born. He has had serious sensitivities to everything. By the time we came home from the hospital his diaper area was so red and raw, I didn't know if I should put bum cream or Neosporin cream on him. Then one day while I was sitting there watching him sleep, diaper free on a towel with his tiny red bum in the air trying to heal, I cried. I felt helpless so I hit the internet and did some research. I found information on cloth diapers and how beneficial they are. I was over joyed when I found a website called Happy Heinys. I ordered a sample set of 5 diapers and they arrived 3 days later.

Little Eli in his new Happy Heinys diaper

By the morning of day 2, Eli's butt was so beautiful- not one red spot ;0) I was over joyed that I decided that I would never again put a disposable diaper on him. Over the past year I have learned some new tricks and have found a routine that works for me. I also think that talking to other moms who use cloth really helps. Not once did my son's doctor/nurse ever mention cloth diapers. My little baby had open cuts that were bleeding and no one offered any information as to how he could be having an allergic reaction to the chemicals in his disposable diapers. I think that it is very important for us moms to help spread the word about the benefits of cloth diapers.

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Jessica is a full time student again at age 30 and has 3 beautiful children who have changed her life. She sees the world differently now and hopes to teach her children how important it is to care for this world and ourselves. 

Mamas of the Cloth

Before Molly was born I had the idea to compile the stories of parents who decided to cloth diaper.

Why? 
1.  I've found that people are very curious about it and want to know why one would choose to do it.
2. I was curious to hear other people's stories.
3. When I started cloth diapering I wanted to hear whatever I could about other people's experiences to learn about what products/routines worked and didn't work.

I put out a request on the TCDC Facebook page and got many responses from readers. The stories are great- some are sad in parts, some happy, most people express a sense of relief when they figured out how cloth could work for them and their family. Some talk about overcoming adversity with health issues, family resistance and local no-where-to-buy-cloth-diaper-stuffedness. All are from wonderful people who wanted to share their stories with others.

I'm happy to share these stories with you now. My hope is that you'll read them and repost them on your own page for friends to read and be encouraged!

If you would like to submit your own Mamas (or Daddys) of the Cloth tale, shoot me an email at amber@theclothdiaperconvert.com. The more the merrier!

Mother Earth Baby Grand Opening Giveaway #2!

As you may remember from my recent post about the Mother Earth Baby grand opening, they have many products to chose from. (Check them out here!) They were nice enough to send me a box of goodies filled with products that they feature in their new Oswego store. Some were for ME and some were for YOU! Every product they sent me to try out, they sent an extra for me to give away! Here is my experience and details about what you can win!

Some pictures of the new store in Oswego

Babee Greens Merino Wool Nursing Pads- My new favorite wool find! I have been through MANY different types of natural nursing pads and these are the only kind I've ever used that actually worked. I must have a lot of milk or something because I leak through all the time with most disposable and cotton nursing pads. I go through them quickly. My girlfriends don't seem to have the issues I've had with leaking. But with the Babee Greens Wool Nursing Pads, I wore one pair for an entire day before I had to change them. I was amazed. They aren't scratchy either. I seriously love these pads.

Babee Greens Organic Cotton Nursing Pads- They are comfy and cover well but were no match for my milk supply. Soft, nice construction, but they weren't a fit for me. Like I said previously though, I'm not a typical case. From what I gather from my friends who nurse, these pads would be a perfect fit for most ladies!

Babee Greens Wool Diaper Liner- I popped this puppy in with a prefold for an afternoon out and it worked like a charm! Wool is seriously amazing stuff. I think a wool soaker like this should be part of everyone's collection!

Earthly Remedies by Erin Baby's Butt Foaming Solution (Travel Size)- This is a foaming cleanser with a pump that can be used directly on the skin, including as a hand wash. I used it when I ran out of wipes and only had dry cloths. I just pumped some on and wiped up the baby's bottom. It is now in the diaper bag for on-the-go cleanups. With a 3 month, 2 and 3 year old, portable cleaner is a must!

Earthly Remedies by Erin Baby's Butt Balm- Safe for cloth diapers, this balm has a faint clove smell. I've actually used this on my son (age 2.5 and potty training/prone to rashes) and on my hands. It isn't greasy at all and leaves the skin soft. It cleared up my 3 month old's rash too!

So now comes the fun part- Mother Earth Baby would like you to try these products as well! There are several ways to enter- check out the form below!

How's Cloth Diapering Going?

People who know me in "real life" often ask me, "How's cloth diapering going"? I get this question quite often. Usually it's from mom friends who find the idea of cloth diapering not so appealing or who don't know much about it. I was also lucky enough to be part of an article in our local paper about cloth diapering so people who know me but don't have kids ask me too.

Well, how IS it going? I thought I'd answer here, since I have a free moment during nap time.

1. I've found that while I don't mind the poop/pee aspect of the routine I do occasionally wish I had someone to fold the laundry. I do 3 extra loads a week. That isn't much but MAN I do a lot of laundry in general. I've gotten a routine down- diapers one day, house laundry the next. I figured out that I do approximately 8 loads of laundry a week. I actually switched my high efficiency washer for a top loader that my dad had in storage. That and a brand new water softener have helped with the smell of the diapers but I am still perfecting it. I'll be honest with you, when I had harder water and the HE machine, I HATED these diapers. I couldn't get them clean for anything. They reeked. When I would run the dryer during the summer with the windows open, I could smell the diaper stink from the dryer vent. Gross. Not now though. I have to stay on top of the smell though with a super wash day with vinegar, etc. on occasion. I'm still learning there.

2. The smell thing actually has dissuaded me from using cloth at night. The baby would wake up for a feeding and she would smell so bad I'd be gagging. Her swaddle blanket and pjs would reek too. Sooo... I'm using disposables at night. *gasp!* I keep hoping I can figure out the smell issue to alleviate this but so far, I haven't. She sleeps in 6-7 hour stretches and that just gets reaaaaaly stinky. So, there's my big confession.

3. I've found out that I hate Planet Wise wetbags. Everyone I have leaks. I do like some of the WAHM wetbags I got though. The cloth diapering in public thing doesn't bother me at all. Except for my wipes bag leaking through. That makes me nuts.

4. The diaper pail smell is under control for the most part. I have these little orange scented disks that really help. I like my pail system. I ended up using an old garbage pail.

5. I've never had a blow out from a cloth diaper. Never! And Molly is breastfed. That stuff goes everywhere. I love that her clothes have never gotten ruined!

6. Cloth diapers make a big booty for the baby and I've had a hard time putting certain clothes on her. That bugs me. I wish that baby clothes weren't just for 'sposies.

7. I've found so many great companies, both national and local. I've really built my stash. I'm getting into wool stuff now! (more to come on that later!)

8. All in all it's not ALL that different from other diapers. You take it off and put it in a pail. I'm really glad I decided to do it!!! It's just that darn smell. I suppose that's to be expected though. Maybe we're just used to the smell of disposables? I mean, what did my grandma do? I'm sure her diapers stunk too! I'm curious to know what you have all done to battle diaper stink. Leave a comment or post on my Facebook wall, I'd love to read them and try out your ideas!

Lotus Bumz Review and Giveaway

I was lucky enough to be contacted by Lotus Bumz to review one of their diapers. I was excited to oblige and am happy to pass my thoughts on to my readers! This is a great product and as the slogan says, they are affordable. 

Lorain Herder is the woman behind Lotus Bumz, a WAHM product based in the USA. When she started cloth diapering her baby, she wanted to do what's best for her baby, the earth AND her wallet but found it challenging to do all three with the cost of many cloth diaper brands. She decided to take matters into her own hands and Lotus Bumz was born. Lorain started Lotus Bumz out of a desire to provide quality, affordable cloth diapers to women who want to "help the environment and save money (not to mention use the best product on their child)".

Before trying Lotus Bumz, I had seen them on Facebook and noticed the cute star diaper pattern on their profile picture. That lured me in. A brief scan on the photo page of their Facebook account revealed some more cute prints including more stars prints and monkeys in addition to solid colors. (There are some other super cute patterns on their website! You can check them out here.) The design of the diaper itself appeared to be standard. It wasn't until I used a Lotus Bumz diaper that I saw the difference in the design compared to other diapers on the market. 

One thing I always notice about a pocket cloth diaper is PUL "stickiness". I have a huge pet peeve about sticky PUL because when you try to stuff the pocket of a diaper with sticky PUL, it's difficult. Many diapers have PUL that is smooth on the interior side, making insert stuffing easier. Lotus Bumz uses PUL with a nice, smooth interior. Not sticky at all. It is very easy to stuff. The insert also seems to be sized well for this diaper. Many diapers I get have either gigantic insert that hangs out the back of the pocket or a tiny insert that leaves inches empty in the back of the pocket. My Lotus Bumz diaper (which is a sweet, girly pink color) came with an appropriately sized insert. 

My favorite stand-out feature of my Lotus Bumz diaper was the pocket opening in the back. Why?

1.) It features elastic on both the PUL AND the fleece interior portion that touches the baby's skin. Anyone who has used brands like Fuzzibunz or Happy Heinys knows that many diapers have a pocket opening it just a big, wide gap. When stuffed with an insert I've found that the fleece portion often has excess fabric that tends to stick out the top of the diaper when fastened. You always have to check to make sure the fleece is tucked in or else the moisture will wick into your child's clothing. Personally, I find this kind of annoying. I liked that Lotus Bumz has an elastic fleece potion to the pocket opening because this prevents the extra fleece-to-have-to-tuck-in problem. 

2.) The pocket opening on a Lotus Bumz diaper is also much smaller than other brands like Fuzzibunz and Happy Heinys. This again alleviates the tucking/checking/moisture issue as well as holds the insert in better. It's big enough for easy stuffing but not so big that you have to worry about the insert sticking out. 

I'm very happy with my Lotus Bumz diaper and hope that you try them. They truly are affordable-considerably less than the diapers that I used to contrast features with in this blog post. Definitely worth it! Lotus Bumz would also like to give my readers a chance to try their great product with a...

GIVEAWAY!

Lotus Bumz is offering my readers 15% off any order on lotusbumz.com till 1/15/12! Use code CDC15 (all caps) at check out. Lotus Bumz is also giving away a pair of adorable diapers- one purple stars and one green stars. You know what to do! Good luck!

Mother Earth Baby Grand Opening & Giveaway

733 South Bay Road, North Syracuse, NY 

New location!!!!

188 Water Street in Oswego, NY

A family owned and operated business, Mother Earth Health Foods, was established in 1969. Lisa, owner of Mother Earth Baby said that she, "grew up in an environment of eating healthy, healing naturally and being kind to the environment." She decided to start Mother Earth Baby in 2008 after the birth of her third child. "We had used cloth diapers on our first two boys back in 2000, but cloth diapers were not nearly what they are today. We fell in love with the modern cloth diaper, however, found it challenging to ask questions, look at the diapers and purchase them as there were no brick and mortar stores local to us in Syracuse and the surrounding areas. We thought at that time that diapers and natural products for babies would be a wonderful supplement to our existing business and a wonderful service for our customers. More recently, I find that I thoroughly enjoy not just educating parents on cloth diapers, but offering advice on breastfeeding, natural remedies for babies and children, baby wearing, and more." Now a mother of 4, Lisa and her husband Nathan have a very natural approach to parenting and their store reflects that. Through Mother Earth Baby, they wish to "provide quality products that support families from pregnancy, birth, and beyond". 

Mother Earth Baby has a presence in Mother Earth Foods in Syracuse, NY but is celebrating a Grand Opening on November 25, 2011 (Black Friday) in Oswego, NY. The new store will offer not only cloth diapering products, but products for the whole family. Mother Earth Baby offers cloth diapers and accessories, baby carriers, breastfeeding accessories and supplies, natural cleaning supplies, homeopathic remedies, feeding accessories, handmade items, organic food, herbal supplements, nutritional supplements, essential oils, teas and beauty products to name a few. 

In addition to the great brands Mother Earth Baby already carries, they will now also be carrying: Lunapads, Teething Bling, Eco-spouts/iPlay, Earth Mama Angela Baby, Moboleeze, Undercover Mama, Udder Covers, Anibows, Dolcino baby carriers. More brands are being added too! Over the next few months, Mother Earth Baby also has plans to expand their baby carrier selection, add some nursing wear and even more eco-friendly products: stainless and glass dishes, baby food making supplies and accessories. 

If you are in the Oswego area, make sure that you stop in and check out the new store and all the natural parenting products they offer. In the mean time, check them out online at motherearthbabyonline.com!

GIVEAWAY!

In honor of their grand opening in Oswego, Mother Earth Baby is giving away an amazing Ergo package! An Ergo Baby Carrier (black with camel lining), Ergo Front Pouch (black) and Ergo Canvas Back Pack (black) could be yours!

There are many ways to enter- check out the Rafflecopter form below! 

Good Luck!