Wool is Nothing to Fear

I have to admit I was one of those people who is afraid of wool. Even though I read about it and how everyone loves it, I wasn’t sure if I could handle the gentle care it requires. Being a working mom with two babes under 15 months calls for full days and a lot of laundry. Plus, I also noticed the price… it can get expensive! Sure I love the look of a hand knit “monster butt” longie set. But $65 and up is a little steep for something my little one is going to fit in for a couple months, maybe. So I decided wool needed to be bypassed so I could keep things simple and within my budget.
Then one day while browsing one of my favorite sites, Etsy.com, I came across some WAHM items that included upcycled wool diaper covers. There were soakers, shorties, longies, and wraps. As I read about the covers I found that “upcycled” means items that have been repurposed. For example, a long forgotten wool sweater that has been shoved in the farthest corner of your closet is cut and sewn into a completely different item, wool diaper covers. Depending on the size of the sweater and the size of the soaker, multiple covers can be made. The average price for each cover was around $10 and came with care instructions.  I thought to myself, “Well, for $10 I think I can give wool a shot!”. So I made my first wool purchase of three upcycled soakers for my little man. All three were a little different in style because I didn’t know which would work best for us. When they arrived in the mail I followed the included instructions for initial lanolizing, which is very important. I still had my sampler tube of Lansinoh from the hospital so I didn’t have to purchase any; which was a definite plus! I mixed it with a little baby wash, and wahlah! I was always under the impression that I needed to have “special” wool cleaner, and that lanolizing was a technique that required some getting used to. After my covers were dry I tried them out on little man. And, as soon as I saw him running around in this soft, breathable, unrestricting “underwear” I was converted. I immediately went on a hunt to find more upcycled wool for my new addition  that was on the way. I went back to Etsy and found more in newborn size for $10 each again. The price can’t be beat and the moms who make the covers could not be sweeter. One shop I bought from, Snuggle Pants, even included a handwritten thank you card in my package. Now THAT is dedication to customer service!
I’ve been using wool pretty regularly now for the past 4 months, and I am so pleased with it that I can’t believe I was actually intimidated by it. Never any leak issues, because of the lanolin, and I love that my little men’s special parts can breath. I have my washing routine down now, and it’s nice that I only have to wash my woolies every two weeks, unless they get poo on them which doesn’t happen very often. It only takes about 10 min of actually doing anything. The rest is all soaking and waiting. It really is very simple. I recommend wool to everyone now. Whether it’s upcycled or hand knit, wool is natural, biodegradable, breathable, and better for baby. So, here’s to not being afraid of wool!

Tags: covers, diaper cover, wool

Our Organic Fitted Really is “One Size”!

When I was pregnant with my first child and made the decision to use cloth, I originally invested in one size diapers. I didn’t want the hassle of having to buy bigger sizes later on, especially since I had no idea how fast my baby would grow. Plus, in the end it is more economical to buy one diaper that will fit throughout the entire diapering period, rather than two or three different sizes. But, after my baby was born I ran into a problem: all the one size diapers I had in my stash were HUGE on my 7lb newborn. They either came up too far and irritated his cord, or were so bulky through the legs that there were gaps. I had purchased some small prefolds as well,  just in case, and those are what I used for the first 2 months until my son was big enough to start fitting the one size diapers. Now, a year later, I see (and know) that it is common for one size diapers to fit after baby has grown some. But, I still love cloth either way.

I was fortunate to test one of our new BabyKicks Organic Fitted diapers on my son starting when he was 11 months old. It fits great! No gaps in the legs and no red marks from the gussets. He is a heavy wetter, so I always double stuff the diaper with 2 JoeyBunz. I noticed after the first time he wore the diaper that the outside wasn’t even damp, so I didn’t need to use a cover. So, this is how he always wears the fitted now, 2 JoeyBunz and no cover. Overnight I use our trifolded Hemparoo prefold with 1 JoeyBunz and a cover. We haven’t had a leak yet, and we use the fitted regularly in our stash. He still has room to grow, and I love that we can use this diaper as a trainer when potty learning time comes. Little Man is 13 months and 20lbs in these pics. Second one shows how the gussets fit around his legs.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been nestling back into being a new mother, again. Getting used to overnight diaper changes and feedings, as well as helping Little Man learn what it means to be a big brother. It’s been an adventure so far, but I think we are starting to fall into a routine and the family love is radiating from all of us. But, in between all the ‘love’ there are loads of laundry to be washed, meals to prepare, and diapers to be changed. I am appreciating how much Little Man likes to help with the household chores, and how much Mini Man (new baby) is content to be carried around in Mama’s wrap.I now alternate the Organic Fitteds I have on both kids. It’s nice to be able to just grab a diaper and not have to worry about it being the right size. Every time I can’t believe how great it fits! Mini is 1 week old and 7lbs in these pics.

I can’t enough of this diaper! It fits our lifestyle and is a great investment. It really is the only diaper needed from birth through potty learning!

I’m Getting Rid of All of My Bottles

(cross posted from www.civil3drocks.com)

While I try to be sensitive to chemicals and such in my house by using natural cleaners and buying organic food when it makes sense, I haven’t been panicked about the whole BPA in Baby Bottles thing yet. Until a few weeks ago when Canada took action. When babies are small, I don’t use too many bottles at my house, but lately he’s been drinking four or more 6 oz bottles per day, and he starts daycare next month.

I’ve read up. I’ve done my thinking, and I’ve decided to clean house and buy a small quantity of BPA free bottles BPA-free Bottles, Sippy Cups and Otherwise.

For all of you geeky parents out there, there is a fun photo pool on Flickr for reuse ideas for all of these BPA bottles. It’s been mentioned on a few of my favorite geek parent sites including Baby Toolkit and GeekDad. These bottles tend to stack up nicely, are almost unbreakable, take a sharpie well, and are otherwise a great container for all kinds of little things (as long as they don’t wind up in your belly.)

Here are my ideas:

I always try to grab a few crayons for restaurant use, but the ziplock baggy and Rubbermaid containers tend to get crushed. These bottles are the perfect size for a handful.

Most of you who know me know that I travel with a stash of staedtlers, HB, rubberbands, paperclips, staples, binder clips, USB devices, mouse adapters, earbuds, you get the idea.

Other ideas: Change for the vending machine; odd buttons; spare keys; matches; camping odds and ends that usually wind up wet; a mini-first aid kit with band-aids; ointment, etc.; dry dog treats for the park; metal bits in your carry on luggage that you want to keep together and throw in the bin; crushable liquid containers for your carry-on; and so much more.

Rash Decisions

Prospector has had a small “rough spot” on his forehead for a few months now. It was just a flake of dry skin, similar to maybe a patch of cradle cap. It would go away if you put lotion on it, but even when it hung around it wasn’t really noticeable nor ugly. Since I try to be a laid-back parent (Read: Lazy) I was ignoring it and letting it “run its course” like all of those other baby skin conditions.

Over Christmas, there was a parade of Aunts and Uncles and Grannies and Grampies at our house, and each one had something to say, ask or advise about this little rough spot. With each “What’s this?” or “Hmm, it’s changed since I’ve been here”, my dam of confidence weakened and the tide of insecurity rose until the floodgates could no longer hold and I found myself being carried away on a river of doubt all the way to Rite Aid where I purchased something called “Baby Eczema Cream” which seemed like a safe bet. I figured, it is designed for a baby. It says it’s for eczema. That little patch is probably just a little patch of baby eczema… right?

So I apply per the package directions… by bedtime that night this small dry patch had become a large, oozy patch that leaked clear drips. When he woke up the next morning, the whole right side of his face was broken out in rough, waxy little red bumps.

Click below to read more and see some pictures.

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