Breast Milk Lotion

OK- so I can hear the ewwwww's now but really this stuff is a miracle in a jar. We know that the benefits of feeding babies breast milk are innumerable. The milk is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and has anti-bodies. These benefits can also be utilized topically as well. When my daughter was a few months old she broke out in eczema all over her body. We tried everything: coconut oil, homeopathy, organic eczema cream, pro-biotics- as well as me not eating any dairy for a while (not fun). Nothing was working. Even a trip to the pediatrician didn't yield any results because all they wanted to do was slather her in steroids (umm, no).

Desperate at this point to try anything, I came across a thread on Baby Center talking about breast milk lotion. Bingo! Since I make my own lotion all of the time, I had to give it a go. Within a week the eczema was gone. Diaper rash? Gone. Baby acne? Gone. My fine lines? Still here… but how awesome would that be. Fine lines aside, if your baby or toddler is dealing with any of these issues, you have to try this lotion. The most important ingredient of the lotion... you supply yourself. Everything else can be bought at Whole Foods or a local health store. This lotion will still work out to be much cheaper than the $20 per jar I was dropping on the creams that we previously tried.

Breast Milk Lotion By: Living Life Granola Printable recipe here.

1/4 cup breast milk (fresh or thawed is fine) 1/4 cup grape seed oil 1 tbsp beeswax 1/2 capsule vitamin E or 4 drops vitamin E oil 20 drops calendula extract Fill a skillet with 2 inches of water and put on the stove. In a glass measuring cup, pour in the oil and beeswax. In a separate glass measuring cup, pour in the breast milk. Place the oil/wax measuring cup in the skillet and turn the burner on low/med. You do not want high heat because that can damage the oil- if it is too hot it will kill the beneficial properties of the breast milk once it is mixed together. Occasionally stir the oil/wax mixture until all the wax has melted. This can take up to 10 minutes. During the last couple of minutes, place the measuring cup with the breast milk in the skillet. If the milk and oil mixture are around the same temperature, it will mix better. Take both measuring cups out of the skillet once the wax has melted. While vigorously whisking the oil mixture, slowly pour in the breast milk. You will start to see a white emulsion. Keep whisking for one minute. Let cool for 5 minutes and then add the vitamin E and calendula extract. Whisk for another minute. Pour into a glass jar and keep the cap off until completely cool. Store in the fridge and use within 3 months. Makes 4 oz.

Breast milk lotion truly is a magic bullet for all skin ailments. Give it a try and be amazed!


Linked with the Homemade Mondays and Simply Natural Saturday blog series.

Bugger Off Natural Bug Spray

Summer break has officially started in my household and that means it is time to make up a batch of my Bugger Off Bug Spray. (This post has a great bug bite balm if the 'squitos were out before you were protected) This spray is just as effective as its store-bought counterparts, without all of the dangerous chemicals and a lot more affordable than the safer natural brands.

I purchase all of my essential oils from either Mountain Rose Herbs or Swanson's Vitamins. If you are new to essential oils then there might be a sticker shock- but there are typically 600 drops in one ounce. Each bottle lasts a long time. A quick note on the essential oils being used: omit the peppermint oil for children under 6 years of age as it can effect their breathing if inhaled. Just up the lavender and citronella essential oils another 15 drops each. As with any bug spray, be very careful not to get into the eyes.

Bugger Off Bug Spray By: Living Life Granola Printable recipe here.

4 oz glass spray bottle 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup distilled water 40 drops lavender essential oil 40 drops citronella essential oil 30 drops peppermint essential oil* Combine all ingredients in the glass spray bottle. If possible, let sit for four days to synergize. Shake before use and store out of direct sunlight. *Omit if using on children under 6 years of age. Add additional 15 drops each of the lavender and citronella essential oils.

Wishing everyone a safe, fun and bug-free summer break!


Linked with the Simply Natural Saturdays blog series.
*This post was their featured article of the week.

Homemade Sun Soother Spray

This past weekend was gorgeous. Flip-flops, bare shoulders and shade-of-Casper-leg-baring gorgeous. So of course I got a sunburn. Red hair and more than 15 minutes in the sun do not mix so now I'm mixing up a batch of my sun soother spray to make life tolerable again.

This soothing spray combines ingredients that help heal and treat skin damage from the sun. The main ingredient is natural aloe vera gel (not the neon green goo at the stores) that accelerates healing and hydrates the skin. Apple cider vinegar helps to draw the heat out of the sun burn and lessen the pain. Vitamin E and green tea extract are used for their anti-oxidant benefits to help curtail any free radical damage from the sun. The blend also has a healthy dose of lavender essential oil that is anti-inflammatory as well as an analgesic (pain reliever).

Obviously, prevention is key but when you do slip up this spray is a life saver.

Sun Soother Spray By Living Life Granola Printable recipe here.

1/2 cup natural aloe vera gel 2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp vitamin E oil 20 drops lavender essential oil 15 drops green tea extract Place all the ingredients in a 4oz glass spray bottle. Shake before use. Store in the fridge and use within 6 months.

Linked with the Simply Natural Saturday blog series.

How to Have a Plastic-Free Kitchen with Kids

In a continuation of my resolution to reduce plastic usage this year, here are some tips to having a plastic-free kitchen... even with kids. Yes, this is completely possible and, No, we haven't had a little one go the the hospital (yet... knock on wood!) due to a laceration from broken glass. One-hundred years ago they didn't have plastic in the kitchen, and yet, I can't recall my grandparents, or parents for that matter, relaying any horrifying stories about child maiming due to glass dinnerware. Now, I'm not saying to serve your toddler lunch on Great Aunt Alice's china but there a couple of ways to go about this in a kid-friendly fashion. It's important to note that using less plastic is not only fantastic for this planet but it also greatly reduces the amount of BPA, phthalates and PVC that leaches into your childrens' food and drinks. (You can find out why plastic sucks here.)


Dining

Glass jelly jars (upper right hand corner of the photo): When I was growing up, whenever we went to either one of my grandparents house, we kids drank out of glass jelly jars. They are the perfect size for little hands and made of thick glass- so unless you are whipping these at a brick wall, they are pretty sturdy even when dropped. When my son was graduating to big kid cups, I found six of these at the local GoodWill store for forty-nine cents each. We haven't had one break in all the years we have been using them, but even if one did- who cares, it was forty-nine cents!

Ikea glass bowls and plates: At a dollar a piece, again, it is not going to be heart breaking if a kid drops and breaks one. Coincidentally, after years of using these dishes only one bowl and one plate have been broken. The plate because I decided to reheat my lunch on it in the toaster oven (not one of my more intelligent moments) and the bowl because it accidentally slipped out of my 14 year-old's hands as she was rinsing it in the sink. The 8 and 2 year old haven't broken one yet- go figure. On a important side note: because these are clear glass and do not have a protective glaze, you do not have to worry about lead or cadmium leaching into the food which is a possibility with ceramic and porcelain dinnerware.

Oneida Toddler Flatware:  At about $25 per six piece set this is more of an investment. This is a great item to put on the baby registry. We have one set for Poppy and I still have a couple of pieces from my set when I was little, so it makes great heirloom pieces as well. Plastic toddler forks, especially, are useless. They simply are not made to pierce food. The stainless steel flatware (in my humble opinion) is more efficient in teaching children the skills needed to eat with utensils. Though we haven't used these ourselves, Ikea has a stainless steel children set that includes a spoon, fork and knife for a bargain at $5.

Thrift store saucers (in between the clear glass bowl and plate in the above photo): Up until Poppy was two we just put her food right on the wood highchair tray. Now that she is using utensils, we serve her meals on little saucer plates from an old tea set of mine. Thrift stores are a gold mine for these plates. With firm but kind direction, she knows that the plate stays on her highchair tray while she is eating. When she is finished eating, she lifts the plate with both hands, says "no" and passes the plate to me. No thrown plates...yet!


Lunch

Thermos brand food jars: These can be found at any Target store and are indispensable for a warm packed lunch. My older kids use the food jars for soup and keeping reheated leftovers warm for school lunches. If you work in an office this is a great way for a hot lunch without having to use the health-zapping microwave.

Norpor Silicone Ice Pop Mold: From smoothies to applesauce, these molds are a lunchtime favorite with my kids. I love them because they cut down on the countless individual packing of single serve lunch items ubiquitous in today's school lunches.

Stainless Steel Water bottles: It is great to see just as many stainless steel water bottles on the store shelves as plastic nowadays. You may have to pay a little bit more for the stainless steel but even if you purchase a BPA-free plastic bottle, you are still dealing with phthalates and PVC that can and will leach into the water being stored in it.

Reusable sandwich and snack bags: At $14 for a set of three, this is a slow-to-build collection for us but well worth the wait! The amount of plastic sandwich bags getting thrown out everyday in school lunch rooms is staggering.


Baby

Gerber glass baby bottles (pictured below): These can be found at any chain box store and go for $9 for a set of three, which for glass baby bottles are a steal! We used these for Poppy's first year and loved them- never had one break either!

Ikea coffee spoons: Once baby starts solids, you can go through a lot of baby spoons. The Oneida baby spoons were too expensive to stock up on so we used Ikea's coffee spoons (pictured crossing in the bottom right-hand side of the photo above). At $5 for a six pack, it was an economic way to have plenty of baby spoons on hand without breaking the bank. It looks like Ikea changed their design (from the link above) from two years ago but any stainless steel coffee or espresso spoons make great baby spoons.

Small ceramic bowls: These can be found anywhere and are great for baby's first cereal and other soft foods. Since you are the one holding the bowl to feed baby there are no safety issues from dropped dishes or from chemicals leaching from plastic bowls.

Stainless steel sippy cup: We bought the Thermos brand sippy cup from Meijer for $10 but they are at any big box store. Since Poppy only drinks water in this sippy cup, it just gets rinsed out well every night and washed out every few days. The screw on lid is plastic but the straw and spout are made from silicone.

Big brother, Kaleb, helping to feed Poppy out of her Gerber glass baby bottle.

With just a few changes and some thrift store finds, your kitchen can be child-friendly and plastic-free. Not only is this healthier for your child and planet, it is teaching your children valuable lessons and setting up habits that will last a life time. You might find going plastic-free is a whole new freedom in itself.


Linked with the Simply Natural Saturdays blog series.

Homemade Filled Chocolates

In a follow up post to Why Fair-Trade Chocolate is so Important, I'm going to show you how fun and easy it is to make your very own filled chocolates. All you will need is a silicone mold, chocolate chips and your favorite filling. Below are two recipes that are reminiscent of Cadbury's egg creme and Reece's peanut butter fillings as they are a favorite in my house. The chocolate bunnies (in the photo above) were a huge hit with my family. The homemade chocolates totally tasted like the real deal but with out all the artificials, GMO's or slave-labor cocoa!

The bunny shaped silicone mold I found on sale at Michael's for $7. The silicone is pliable so you can easily pop-out the chocolates once they have hardened.

Start by making a double-boiler with a saucepan filled with 2 inches of water and a heat-proof mixing bowl. Once the water in the saucepan has started boiling, turn off the heat and pour a bag of chocolate chips (Whole Foods 365 brand has fair-trade chocolate chips!) into the mixing bowl that is on top of the saucepan. The mixing bowl should not be touching the water. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Move the mixing bowl with the melted chocolate to a clean working area. Place one spoonful of chocolate into each mold cavity, using your finger to "paint" the entire cavity with chocolate. Don't worry so much over how even the chocolate is but in making sure all the sides are covered. Place in the fridge to help speed the hardening process.

As the chocolate hardens in the fridge, start making the fillings. The peanut butter filling is from Cooks.com. I have just scaled it down a bit to fit into twelve small molds. I'm finding it very dangerous that I now have this recipe in my repertoire- it is so unbelievably good!!

Peanut Butter Filling

1/3 cup organic smooth peanut butter
1/3 cup organic powder sugar
1/2 tbsp pastured butter, melted
1 tsp organic vanilla extract

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and use a fork to mix thoroughly.


The Cadbury creme was inspired from this recipe but I just made a healthier swap with agave syrup over corn syrup.

Cadbury Creme

1/4 cup organic agave syrup
2 tbsp pastured butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups organic powder sugar
1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract
1 - 2 tbsp pastured, organic whole milk or dairy-free milk

Using a fork, mix all the ingredients until the powder sugar is all wet. Finish whipping the creme with a hand-held electric mixer.

Take the chocolate-lined mold out of the fridge and fill the cavities with your filling of choice, making sure to leave enough room for a top layer of chocolate. Place the almost-filled molds into the fridge for about five minutes. This is important for softer fillings like the creme or caramel to harden. This allows the last layer of chocolate to stay on top and not mix in with the filling.  Meanwhile, melt about a half bag of chocolate chips for the finishing layer.

Using a spoon, fill the cavities the rest of the way with the melted chocolate and place the mold back in the fridge to harden for ten minutes. Pop the finished chocolates out of the mold when ready.

Using a sandwich bag with a corner snipped and melted white chocolate helped make these bunnies' faces.

Now step back and thoroughly enjoy your feelings of bad-assness for making safe* and humane filled-chocolates that are out-of-this-world delicious!

*Key word being safe. These are still loaded with sugar and should be viewed as a special treat... but being naughty does taste so wonderfully good.

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy and warm spring break!

Artificial Dye-Free Valentine Gummy Hearts

With Valentine's Day less than a week away, these super quick and easy gummy hearts make the perfect treat for your little Valentine(s). Better yet, they are made with grass-fed gelatin (you can read the benefits here and here), local honey and with no artificial colors. On occasion, I do let my kids have the rare clear soda and conventional treats when we are away from home because I don't want to be that mom. However, I am always and unapologetically that mom when it comes to artificial dyes.

The FDA states that the artificial dyes used in our foods are perfectly safe and take issue with the multiple studies that claim otherwise. Due to these same studies, countries like Norway, Austria and Britain have banned artificial colors in their foods. In addition, the European Union requires warning labels on foods containing any artificial dyes. So what, exactly, was found in these studies? In lab tests done on animals, damage to DNA and genotoxicity occurred along with birth defects. In studies done on human children with or without ADHD, increases in hyperactivity were shown in both groups. Some scientists also state that artificial dyes are contaminated with known carcinogens. Anyway you slice it, artificial dyes are bad news. I urge you to start checking labels of the foods that you buy. You will be surprised where artificial colors like Yellow #6 are hiding. (They're everywhere!)

The Valentine gummy hearts are colored with a splash of tart cherry juice... but an organic cranberry or pomegranate juice would work just as well. Let's keep our treats safe and sweet- just like our Valentines!

Artificial Dye-Free Valentine Gummy Hearts Living Life Granola Printable recipe here

1/3 cup Izze sparkling apple (or other juice-sweetened soda) 3 tbsp grass-fed gelatin 3 tbsp local raw honey 1 tbsp organic tart cherry juice (or other organic, red fruit juice) In a small sauce pan, whisk the honey, cherry juice, and Izze together until the honey is fully incorporated.  Working one teaspoon at a time, otherwise the mixture will be clumpy, sprinkle the gelatin over the honey juice and whisk until all the gelatin powder is wet. Continue until all the gelatin is in the pan (9 tsp total). It should turn into a thick paste. Heat the pan over low-heat until the gelatin/juice mixture is liquid and runny again. Pour into an ungreased 8 x 8 x 2 glass baking dish if using a small cookie cutter or carefully pour into candy molds. Place the baking dish or molds in the freezer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the gummies or pop the gummies out of the molds. Can be stored in the fridge, in an air-tight container, for up to 2 weeks.

Linked with the Homemade Mondays blog series.

Sources:


http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2012/08/27/living-in-color-the-potential-dangers-of-artificial-dyes/

http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/11944-banned-foods.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/457555-the-side-effects-of-artificial-colors/

A Green Christmas, Part 1: Family Crafts

**This is going to be a four-part series on creating less waste during the holidays.

According to the the EPA, Americans generate 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That equals about a million extra tons of trash each year. (If there was an emoticon with eyeballs popping out if its head, I'd use it right now.) All that trash is going to be broken down into a toxic sludge that will eventually contaminate our fresh water and air. In addition to the ridiculous amount of trash that is produced, there are also three hundred thousand trees cut down to make the 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S.  For every pound of virgin paper made from tree pulp, another one pound of carbon dioxide is emitted. (E-cards allow you to send a photo and save some trees!)

I'm no Grinch (listening to Christmas music right now, actually, and don't care a fig that it's only November) and I love decorating for the holidays. For my new home, however, I wanted to decorate it being as green as possible. The next month will highlight my green Christmas journey.

Devin and Kaleb busy cutting their pinwheels.

This past weekend we had a family craft night which I hope will become a new tradition. We made three pinwheel wreaths from old moving boxes and the comics, paper snowflakes from old school papers and glass snow jars. The snow jars were made with sugar and thrift store mini Christmas trees that I found at Goodwill for $3. Tack on another $3 for the Sunday newspaper and the night cost a total of $6. Better yet, everything we made can either be reused or recycled after we are through with it.

Pinwheel Comic Wreath

Start by cutting a full comic page in half, like in the photo above.

Fold in half twice, each time cutting along the folded seam. When you are done you should have four separate small squares of comic paper. Repeat with the remaining full comic sheets.

Taking a small square, make a cut at each corner to the middle of the square, being careful not to cut all the way through. Once all four corners have been cut, you should have four triangles still attached in the middle. This is a great job for the kiddos to do.

Using a hot glue-gun on the low-setting, take a corner from each triangle and glue to the center of the square. (I glued while the kids cut.)

Once one pinwheel was assembled I used it to help gauge how many would need to be made all together.

Using large and small mixing bowls for the outlines, Dino traced and cut out the cardboard wreath forms. We needed eleven pinwheels to complete one wreath. Place a dab of hot glue on the back of each pinwheel and press onto the cardboard wreath, continue until no cardboard is showing.

The kids now have a festive and fun wreath to adorn their bedroom doors and its completely recyclable at the end of the season. (Although I'm hoping we can get a couple seasons out of these!)

Paper Snowflakes

This is such an obvious decoration but by using the endless stream of school papers that come home instead of new, you are not wasting virgin paper. I even like the whimsy look of the sentences shining through the snowflakes. Light blue handouts make really neat colored snowflakes, too.

Glass Snow Jars

These glass snow jars were so easy and fun to make. Just grab any empty glass jars with a lid around your house and fill with white sugar. Add little animals, trees, Santas or whatever for your own homemade version of snow globes.

Don't throw out the sugar after the holidays- turn it into a body scrub! Waste not, want not: 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup oil (almond, grape, apricot, etc.), 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger and 1 tsp nutmeg. Mix all together and store in an airtight jar. Watch the shower floor after use as it can get slippery!

Eco-friendly holiday decorations can be fun, cute and rather inexpensive. Maybe family craft night can be a tradition in your house this year. Don't forget the popcorn and hot cocoa!

Upcycled Loot Bags

This past summer I read The Zero Waste Lifestyle by Amy Korst. I love to read but for those of you that don't- this is a quick, short read and a complete eye-opener to what our waste-habits are doing to this world. She also had some really neat ideas to help cut back on your trash output. Since reading this book, I have been trying to reuse and even upcycle what would normally be trash and/or recycling. I even created a way to reuse the endless forest of empty toilet paper rolls that are forever sprouting on the top of my toilet tanks (because no one in my family seems to know where the recycling bin is).

It turns out empty toilet paper rolls make a perfect shell for a loot bag container. Just add some paint, sparkly tissue paper and curled ribbon and you have what looks like a large piece of candy that houses the real deal inside.

1. Start off with the empty toilet paper rolls, two colors of paint of your choosing, a straight edge paint brush, craft paper or newspaper to cover your workspace and masking tape.
2. Wrap a piece of masking tape around the very middle of the roll so the ends overlap.
   
3. Make two more masking tape rings on either side of the first one, leaving the width of masking tape of space between each ring.
4. Paint the exposed roll in the color of your choice. Take off the tape as soon as either side of the tape has been painted. If you wait until the whole roll has been painted then the paint will come off when the tape does. Found that out the hard way (a few times) then it finally sunk in to take the tape off before starting the next level.
   
5. Once all the masking tape has been removed do any touch ups to your first paint color and let dry completely. You could use painters tape but I didn't have any narrow enough for this project and I wanted to make these from items already on hand. For the second color use a straight edge brush and carefully paint along the first color on the roll. A steady hand is a plus but the straight edge brush will help keep you straight... enough. Again, let dry completely before going to the next step.

   

   The suckers are from Glee Gum and are just like blow pops but without the artificial colors! Whole Foods has them.

6. Stack the candy on the tissue paper so that it will be able to fit into the toilet paper roll. Tightly roll the tissue paper up and gently push it into the toilet paper roll so that you have even amounts of extra tissue paper coming out both ends of the toilet paper roll. I had to give a couple of hard wiggles and shoves but it all ended up fitting. Tightly tie the ends of the tissue paper with ribbon, close to the toilet paper roll. Curl the ribbon and cut off any excess tissue paper. You want the end result looking like a wrapped piece of candy.
   
7. Using lettered stamps and an ink pad, stamp each child's name onto the roll.

And now you have a cute, unique and upcycled loot bag! Reducing and reusing is rewarding on so many different levels: environmental, personal and economical. Before you throw out- think about what else it could be. You might just amaze yourself.

Baby Cloth Wipes with Spray Recipe

Last week I had written about the splendors of cloth diapering but now I am going to broaden that awesomeness to cloth wipes. Honestly, I was more concerned switching to cloth wipes than the diapers. I was one of those 3 wipes-per-poop gal (if not more) and dreaded the mess and amount of laundry that cloth wipes would generate. Those worries soon proved unfounded.

Really, if you think on it, disposable wipes are not all that grand. The nice, thick, plush ones that separate perfectly are so filled with toxic ingredients that they are not even an option in my book. On the other side of the coin are the wipes that are safe for baby but a major pain in your rear. My experience has been that I either can't get a wipe out of the container or seven of them come out at a time. Fun times- but not really. Then you have the wipes that are either too dry or sopping wet… there didn't seem to be a happy medium. And yet, I still went month to month trying brand after brand and hoping that eventually I would hit disposable-wipe gold.

I did hit gold but it was in the form of cloth. It seemed prudent at the time of us switching to cloth diapers to also switch to cloth wipes as well. My reasoning: I didn't want to deal with two forms of disposal. Why deal with trash and laundry? My laziness paid off (for once) and this 3-wipe gal turned into a 1-wipe gal no matter how messy the diaper. Cloth wipes are a-maz-ing. They are thick and soft and separate perfectly AND not filled with toxic junk because I make my own wipe spray using the recipe below. Since I am writing this post we are of course saving a butt load (really bad pun but I can't help it) of money using them and saving our poor overloaded garbage dumps as well.

The last brand of disposable wipes we used was DermaH20 Water Wipes that cost $14.09 for 240 wipes. That would be a little under a month supply for us with a total cost of $338.16 for two years of diapering. We are currently using thirty OsoCozy flannel wipes that cost us $9.99 for a pack of fifteen so $20 total. The spray solution costs pennies to make so you are looking at a savings of over $300 using cloth wipes. Like I said: Amazing!

Making this diaper spray solution is super fast and easy.  You don't have to measure anything out and saying it only takes a minute to make is generous. I will put measurements here, though, because I know how annoying it is to find a new recipe and not have exact measurements given. In time when you are comfortable with the recipe just eyeball it- it goes a lot quicker. You can spray a corner of the cloth wipe to clean and then use the rest of the wipe to pat away any excess moisture. The wipe then gets thrown into the wet bag with the dirty diaper. Keeping the wipe solution in a spray bottle really lets you control how wet you want the wipes to be and it makes a perfect travel container as well.

***Edited Recipe due to research on olive oil that was brought to my attention on one of my forums. Almond or jojoba oil can replace the olive oil.

Easy Peasy Diaper Wipe Spray From Living Life Granola Printable Recipe Here

1 4oz spray bottle 1 tbsp castile soap (or 1 pump/squirt) 1 tsp organic almond or jojoba oil (or pour directly into bottle counting 1-one-thousand, 2-one-thousand) 2 drops tea tree or lavender essential oil, optional (I personally would not use essential oils on an infant younger than 1 month.) Filtered water to fill spray bottle Pour the castile soap and olive oil in spray bottle. Add essential oil if using and then fill the rest of the way with filtered water. Shake before each use.

The New and Improved Cloth Diaper

It's no secret that cloth diapers are better for the planet and your wallet, however, the time and gross factor are enough for most people to say "no freakin' way." I hear you- really, I do. That was my exact sentiment for two of my children. To assuage my guilty conscience we used diapers labeled biodegradable, so while my conscience was clear so, too, was my bank account. Then during my 3rd child's third month I stumbled across an article that put things into a new perspective. Now I'm saying ewww to disposable diapers.

The days of our grandmother's and mother's cloth diapering are over. (Thank God.) No public toilet rinsing- no home toilet rinsing for that matter, no pins, leaks, blow-outs, and ugly plastic covers. Ba-bye. Hello to adorable diaper covers that grow with your child and an ingenious little rubber piece called a snappi. The snappi has little plastic teeth that grip the cloth and hold the diaper together without the aggravation and safety issues of pins. Putting on a cloth diaper is as easy as:

1. Folding the diaper.

2. Fastening the ends with a snappi.

3. Putting the cover on over the diaper.

I love cloth diapering- love it! Yes, there is some extra time involved but we are talking minutes here. Minutes, in my humble opinion, well served.

But let's talk the nitty gritty- disposal. This is how I do it: When my daughter was exclusively breast fed the soiled diapers went right into the wet bag to be laundered. Now that she is on solids, her "reconstituted" solids do have to be plopped in the toilet. (If you read the fine print on disposables- you should be doing this with them, too!) I do this by taking the soiled diaper, turning it over the bowl and literally plopping it in the john.  I never touch poop- ever. When the wet bag is full I unzip it and empty it into the washing machine. My hands do not touch the dirty diapers. When the bag is empty I turn it inside out and it also goes in with the diapers. I do a cold rinse first to help loosen up any bits and pieces and then do a regular load with hot water using a mild detergent. The diapers come out clean and fresh every time.

Now, poop diapers will end up staining unless you rinse them right after you change them. Since its not a sanitation issue and the diapers get just as clean with the extra rinse in the washer, I choose to skip this step. If the stains will be an issue for you there are spray attachments that can be attached to the toilet's clean water valve to clean the diapers, again without having to touch anything gross. Or you can dry the clean diapers in the sun for a natural bleaching action. A step we should be taking anyway, if the weather is acceptable, since it saves money and is better for the environment.

And speaking of money, exactly how much is all this going to cost? If you are new to the world of cloth diapering it can be a little overwhelming to realize the quantity and variety of differing cloth diaper systems. The most economic is using a diaper cover with prefolds.

My own cloth diapering inventory includes: 6 covers, 24 prefolds, 2 snappis, 4 hemp inserts (extra absorbency for naps and night time), 2 wet bags for storage of dirty diapers, and 1 travel wet bag.  Everything is stored in the bottom drawer of my daughter's dresser for easy access for diaper changes. There is a jelly jar with holes punched in the top that is filled with baking soda to help with any odor issues. Due to the smelliest portion of the dirty diaper going down the toilet, the smell factor is usually not a problem. I decided to use the Thirsties brand for the diaper covers because the company employs stay-at-home moms to sew their covers. Their covers cost $12.75 each and come in a ton of cute designs. The prefolds I use are OsoCozy unbleached Indian cotton and they run at $28.88 for a dozen at the infant size.

While researching current prices for cloth diapers I came across the Econobum line. They have 2 different kits: the Trial Pack that includes 1 cover and 3 prefolds for $11.95 and the Full Kit with 3 covers, 12 prefolds and 1 wet bag for $49.95. Where the heck was this a year ago! Econobum also grows with your child so you can use the same covers and prefolds from birth to potty-training. The covers and prefolds are all unbleached which is a must. So the cost to diaper your baby for 2 years using the Econobum system is:

2  Econobum Full Kit $49.95		$99.99
1  2pk Snappi infant size $5.75		$5.75
1 2pk Snappi toddler size $7.15		$7.15
2  2pk Thirsties Hemp Inserts $9		$18

                                                          Total:          $130.89

(All above prices are from comfybummy.com. It’s a great website and company that will really help you get started in cloth diapering.)

We were using the Nature Baby Care line while we were using disposables due to their claim of being biodegradable- and they most likely are but not in our garbage dumps. My calculations are under the assumption that newborns get changed about every 2 hours and babies and toddlers get changed about 6 times during the day. I also figured in the rising prices of disposables as baby gets bigger. So with this criteria, using the Nature Baby Care line we would have spent $1,743.99 to diaper my daughter for 2 years. (Prices for Nature Baby Care is from diapers.com).

Cloth: $130.89         Disposables: $1,743.99

Your savings using cloth: $1,613.10

Savings to our planet and your baby's health: priceless

 A few pointers on cloth diapers:

-make sure to wash and completely dry the diapers 6 - 7 times on the hot cycle before use. Sounds like a lot, I know, but the oils need to be stripped from the cloth to make them more absorbent. They will leak if this is not done and the water used for this priming still does not even come close to the damage that disposables cause to this planet.

-babies usually don't get diaper rash with cloth but if it happens regular diaper ointment cannot be used as it will make the diapers repel instead of absorb fluids.  The ointment does not wash out of the cloth. We use straight up coconut oil for everyday protection and breast milk lotion (look for it in a future post) for any diaper rash that might crop up.

-Youtube has some great videos on how to put a cloth diaper on a baby. I'll admit the first day was awkward but by day two I was a pro.

Today's cloth diapers are not the chore they used to be and, with their innovative design and thrifty price tag, are a great alternative for parents on a tight budget and for anyone who wishes to lessen their eco footprint. I urge you to give them a try!