Inexpensive Cloth Diaper Liners

(l-r: dollar store dry wipe, Imse Vimse liner (washed a couple times), and Up & Up wipe)

Recently, someone left a comment on my previous cloth diaper liner post, asking about the dollar store dry (washable) wipes that I have used for diaper liners.  My mother-in-law purchased these for me.  While I have a good stash left, I am no longer able to find them at our store.  I need to check a few more places.

Along with those dollar store dry wipe liners, I am also continuing to use the Imse Vimse flushable liners.  They can usually handle making it through a wash cycle to be reused if not soiled.  I still use the infant size on my almost 20 month old.

By chance, I happened to stumble upon a third option that is working well for us, too.  Up & Up wipes, washed and dried.  While my favorite disposable wipes to use straight out of the box are Huggies, I have found that the Target Up & Up brand baby wipes are great to use, and then wash and reuse as diaper liners.  The don't shrink in the laundry cycle, but come out soft and durable.  (Note: All other wipes I have tried this with shrink like crazy.  Let me know if you find another brand besides the Target ones that work well, too.)

With the wipes as liners, the super messy ones that aren't worth the trouble of rinsing in the toilet go straight into our garage trashcan with the dog stuff.  Since they are uber cheap, I don't mind tossing them into the abyss.  I realize that it might be better ecologically to rinse them and flush the waste down the toilet to be properly treated at the sewage plant and then launder the liner, but sometimes something's gotta give.  At about 2 cents or less per liner (for the Up & Up wipes), it is a lot cheaper than throwing away a disposable diaper!  The Imse Vimse liners get flushed of course, waste and all, since that is what they were created for.

Now that we are well into the toddler phase of diapering (past the breastfeeding infant phase), I am no longer making my own cloth wipes.  Why?  Because I guess I am lazy and some used wipes are so nasty that I just want to toss them in the trash with the liners.  So, buying the Up & Up brand wipes to use for faces, hands, and bottoms, and then laundering (when not too nasty) and reusing them again as diaper liners makes me feel a little better.  It is a second use for something I was going to buy anyway and throw away.  It feels like getting diaper liners for free!

I hope this is helpful to some of you out there... feel free to share any other diapering tips or suggestions you have!

Tuesday Brain Dump

I am the meanest mom.  I just put all my daughter's toys on top of the fridge indefinitely.  Long story short - she was NOT a "big girl" today.

I made this gourmet garlic chicken pizza (a Papa Murphy's copycat recipe) on Sunday night because we had already eaten everything on the menu plan and I didn't want regular pizza.  Fortunately, I had the makings for ranch dressing (double the spices) as well as sundried tomatoes (subbed for fresh) in the fridge, and the cooked chicken, chopped green onion, and mozzarella were in the freezer.  It hit the spot.  I loved it and am already looking forward to making it again.  I used up all our jarred garlic on the potatoes last night, though, so I need to get some more.  I don't know if garlic powder would cut it.

I am trying not to make desserts that hang around the house.  Like right now, I have the munchies, but I am going to go get a glass of real milk instead... We'll see how well that goes.

I have not tried these, but this seems like an AWESOME price for new cloth diapers.  Amanda likes them.  I kind of wish I needed to order some more cloth diapers... makes me a little sad :(

I just realized that all these "paragraphs" start with "I".  Oh well, it is my brain dump session after all.  And I guess I didn't have as much to say as I thought... So... so long for now.

(Healthy?) 1st Birthday Cake

Cupcakes, rather.

I made 2 types of cupcakes for my son's 1 year old birthday party... We kept the party pretty low-key with just some family over.  Actually, we will celebrate more with other family later this month, so the party isn't over yet.  What a lucky guy :)  Anyways, back to the cupcakes.  Please excuse the drinking glasses in the way.  This is not a fancy photo.

Just like I had for my daughter's 1 year old birthday, I made a batch of Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting.  (I used unsweetened applesauce, not cauliflower puree.  I used multi-grain flour and sucanat.)  My baby boy devoured his!  He tried to eat his plate when he was done.

I also made some Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes.  However, I only used the filling recipe from that recipe.  For the cake part, I used the Green Baby Guide's Chocolate Beet Cake.  There are lots of Chocolate Beet Cake recipes out there, but this is the one I have found that uses the most beets and the least sugar.  I occasionally get a pound of beets in our produce box, and I always just puree and save them for this.  It is the perfect amount.  Note: I use 1/2 teaspoon salt (not listed in the recipe).  And I almost always use coconut oil in place of vegetable or canola oil.  Another note: I don't sprinkle any chocolate chips on top since I am adding the cream cheese and chocolate chip filling.  I have made these twice now, and the filling doesn't sink into this cake batter, so I try to layer it in the middle of some batter.  But the first time, I just put the filling on top, and it was fine that way, too.  I think I baked them for 25 to 30 minutes in a silicone cupcake pan.  Made 18 cupcakes.

As you can see, we also had cantelope and peaches, as well as iced tea, water, and homemade lemonade made with the ratio of 1 cup organic lemon juice, 6 cups water, 3/4 cup white sugar.

Super Savings

I think I scored some good deals at a consignment sale last week. That was the first time I’ve bought anything at one. I had the kids with me – so the little one went in my mei tai carrier (in front) and the bigger one went in the stroller. We went late in the day when it wasn’t crowded, so it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be. I had an awesome gift certificate from a blog giveaway to spend. I was looking for winter boots for the kids but didn’t find any. I did find them 3 winter coats (two in different sizes for my daughter and one for my son), snow pants for my daughter, and a cute purple Addidas track suit for my daughter. The total was $24.99 and I had a $25 gift certificate!

A Review and Giveaway: The Eco-nomical Baby Guide

This review and giveaway is overdue.  I was hoping to do it the end of March... I actually skimmed the book cover to cover when I first received it at the end of February, and have been waiting around to get to read it thoroughly and well, you know how things go...

Here's my short, honest, and a bit scatterbrained review of The Eco-nomical Baby Guide by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelley.

• I liked that it is written by 2 real life moms who practice what they preach (and most of the advice they dole out was self-taught in the first place).
• Very tasteful layout and presentation.  Made me eager to delve into it.
• Advises toward a thrifty, green parenting lifestyle (hence the title), which is "attainable" for just about any income level.
• Shares lists of specific product recommedationsat the end of each chapter, much like Baby Bargains, only with an emphasis on environmentally-friendly and baby-healthy.
• Covers the bases: sleeping, baby gear, food, diapering...
• As a parent of 2 children, who has researched a LOT on the internet, I didn't find any groundbreaking new information.  BUT, I would have studied this book extensively had it been given to me 3 years ago, before my first child.  And, while compared to some mothers, my practices may already be considered quite crunchy, while to others, I may be very mainstream, I did find myself encouraged to stretch even further towards a green family lifestyle.  So, all that is to say that I feels this book has something beneficial/thought provoking for you no matter where you stand on the spectrum.
• Some of my favorite green items were left out of the product recommendations... just goes to show that everybody has different preferences.
• Respectfully leaves room for making your own judgement calls in regard to family priorities (financial, time, etc.)
• This would be a great book for an expecting parent who is interested in penny pinching OR raising baby in a environmentally friendly manner.  I really appreciated how Joy and Rebecca explain that it is possible for these two to go hand in hand.  Thanks, ladies!

I've never hosted a giveaway before. But, in the spririt of being eco-friendly as well as passing on the graciousness that Joy and Rebecca shared by sending me this book to review, here we go!

The prize: The Eco-nomical Baby Guide by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelley

Leave a comment to enter.  If you leave an anonymous comment - which I have opened just for this special occasion so my lurker family and friends can also enter :) - be sure to leave your name, too.  One entry per person. Share the love and tell your friends to come enter, too.

You can win this for yourself, to give as a gift, or simply to read, review, and pass along, just as I did.

Winner will be drawn and announced Monday, April 19th.  Good luck!

If you don't win, look for it in a bookstore or request it at your local library...

In the meantime, you can visit Joy and Rebecca over at their blog, The Green Baby Guide.

Cloth Diapering: Works For Me

I've shared several posts related to cloth diapers over the past 2 years of this blog.  Here are some of them...

Washing and Detergent Instructions
(Antifungal) Baby Wipes Recipe
Diaper Liners
Nighttime Diaper for Toddlers

These are my latest observations on cloth diapering the second child...

The whole cloth diapering process has been less experimental this time around with my second child.  At least, so far.  I imagine there are at least more 2 years of diapering my boy, so there's still time.  But I feel like I know what I like and am just trying to utilize what we already have from my daughter's diapering days.  Therefore, I haven't researched or tried many new things (and it seems there are a lot of new items that have been introduced in the past year!)

For the first 7 weeks after he was born, we borrowed homemade newborn fitteds and covers.  Since then, we have been using prefolds (first the infant size, and now the premiums) with a snappi and covers with him.  I still really like the Imse Vimse covers, but the Thirsties cover and Thirsties Duo wraps are my new favorites for his chunky build.  I am a believer that the build of your baby can affect what fits them best.  If you are new to the game, don't completely commit to one kind before your baby arrives.  When the prefolds and covers aren't cutting it anymore, I plan to switch to our BumGeniuses.  For nights, we are using FuzziBunz One Size. Although, he has started to leak through with the newborn and regular inserts, so I should get some large inserts to replace the newborn sized ones.  This combo still works for my daughter at night, so I am hoping it will work for him.  He also has one of the Thirsties Duo pocket diapers that works great for long outings.  I really like it, so maybe I should try that one at nighttime...Hmm...

When we have diposables on hand (which is almost always, as backup, because I tend to get behind on laundry), we use those for in the diaper bag and/or when someone else might be changing him.

I still enjoy cloth diapering and am glad I chose to do it.  What about you?

Handmade Highlights

My children were blessed with a variety of fun stuff from family and friends this past Chistmas... I am thankful for it all, both storebought and homemade, because they are enjoying every bit of it with smiles on their faces.

Here are a couple pics of the unique, handmade items that I thought you might enjoy seeing.

Apron for my 2 year old, made by her grandma, with mini oven mitts to match (not shown).

Decorated onesie and matching soft, cloth shoes for my 5 month old from So Sweet Baby.

Adorable!

Homemade BabyLegs

I love babylegs (leg warmers), especially now that my daughter is working on using the potty by herself. Much easier than tights! We have a cute printed pair, but I wanted some more that she could wear with her patterned dresses.

When I found socks for $1 at Target, I decided to make some, and bought 2 pairs of solid gray women's ankle socks. (That was all that was left that would go with the dresses I had in mind.) Now, if I'd used knee socks, this would have been much easier - just cut off the foot, hem that end, and you're done. But I decided to make do with the ankle socks.


There are some crooked seams and unfinished edges, but I think it will be fine because they won't really show too much when she wears them with dresses and her suede boots.

A semi fun project on a snowy day inside.

As usual, I didn't follow a pattern. Here's a brief rundown of what I did if you are interested. Took 2 socks. Turned them inside out - maybe not necessary. Cut off the toes. Cut a triangle out of each heel so that the cuff (at the top of each sock) was partially loose and could be reattached in a straight line. Did that to each sock. Then sewed the open toe end of one sock to the open toe end of the other sock to form a long tube. There's one leg warmer. Repeat with 2 more socks for the second leg warmer. Use 4 socks total. Not glamorous, but does the job.

FuzziBunz!

Look what came in the mail today!

These are for my son for nighttime. He has been wearing a disposable at night until now because the prefolds that he wears during the day do not hold out all night.

Hooded Baby Bath Towel

I did it!

This was my inspiration, but for the directions, I actually just winged it.

I used a wash cloth instead of 1/2 a hand towel for the hood.

After examining a hooded towel that someone made for my daughter, I just copied how it was sewn it together.

I loved adding the fleece embellishments. So easy to work with - no fraying!

Tiny Trike

I enjoyed perusing this list of quality retro toys. Believe me, I bookmarked it! (Guess what, I actually have a Jenny doll somewhere at my parents' house.)

Then I thought about this:

The Radio Flyer Classic Tiny Trike

We don't have a lot of cool toys yet. Our oldest is only 2. But this is one of my favorites that I really like, so I thought I'd share about it.

We purchased it new for our daughter's first birthday. At the time, she wasn't yet walking and didn't do much with it unless we sat her on it and pushed her around the house. Over the next year, she grew into it, and just this past summer, when she was turning 2, starting playing with it on a regular basis.

Why I love it:

• It is really quite small, small enough to be used indoors in our house. (She rides all through the kitchen, living room, dining room, bedrooms.) In fact, we've decided to keep it an "indoor toy" to keep the wheels and our floors from getting scratched up.


• Steerable. Maybe that's why is is easy to ride through the house?


• Quiet, except for the bell, of course.


• Fast. Easy for a child to make it go. = Fun.


• Looks classy.

We don't buy a lot of toys for our children. They have been blessed with many as gifts, and some as hand-me-downs. I don't think an excess of toys is necessary nor beneficial. But this is one toy on which I am glad we spent the money!

I welcome more recommendations for unique and worthwhile future purchases...

Toddler Tip

Maybe I'm the last one to figure this out.

If you have a toddler who is a messy eater and you

1. don't want them to ruin their clothes
2. don't have a long-sleeve, all-covering bib
3. don't want them 1/2 naked (for modestly or warmth reasons)

Just take off their shirt, turn in inside-out, and put it back on them while they eat. It greatly minimizes the risk of damaging stains on the right side of their clothing.

(Still use a bib over top if possible. See my tip for keeping a bib on if needed.)

The Newborn Diapers

My little Scottsman!

I just had to show a picture of these diapers. The photo is not the greatest, but these plaid, flannel newborn diapers are just adorable. My sister-in-law got them off of craigslist. (12 diapers for $18.) She is expecting her first in February*. They are homemade and work wonderfully on my almost 7 week old son with snappi and a Thirsties cover. I am preferring to use these rather than my newborn prefold/BG infant insert combo. Thanks for letting us use them, Steph. We will return them soon since he is growing like a weed!

Sharing cloth diapers is definitely a finer thing!

*Steph is going totally frugal and green by sewing the rest of her diapers using this one-size pocket diaper pattern. I told her she better post about it sometime on her blog!

This post is linked to Finer Things Friday.

Laboring

I’m a little slow, but here are some of MY labor facts, considering it was just Labor Day. Ha ha.

Daughter: 9 hours.
Son: 4 hours, a much easier and less worrisome labor.

How did you know you were in labor?

Both were planned inductions. Daughter was for medical reasons, son was… just because. Both ended up here safe and sound! (For both, we kept the scheduled delivery a surprise from everyone, even our parents. It was more fun that way!)

Daughter: The pitocin kicked in; I felt like a sword was slicing through my lower back.
Son: The pitocin kicked in, but I got my epidural before I felt any real pain.

Where did you deliver?

At the hospital. I am fascinated by people who do homebirth, but it is just not for me.

Drugs?

Yes, with both. I tried to wait it out with the first one, but then not knowing how long it would be, gave in and was SOOOO glad I did. With the second, I didn’t hesitate.

(Prior to knowing that labor was going to be induced, I was all for the "all natural" route... but needless to say, both of those plans changed. And I have no regrets.)

C-section?

Neither.

Who delivered?

My own doctor – one of the benefits of scheduled inductions. I love her. She once referred to my first daughter as our miracle baby and I credit her so much for her safe arrival (there were many bumps along the way during that pregnancy). And our second, just as much a miracle, too!

A Nighttime Diaper for Toddlers

Problem:
Over the past two months, I have had issues with my daughter leaking at night. The triple stuffed Happy Heiny's and Mommy's Touch just don't fit her right anymore, and she leaks out the legholes. I've tried less stuffage, but she needs the absorbency. (We still love BumGenius for daytime, but they've unfortunately never cut it at night for us.)

Solution?:
I am not for sure what is going to work best yet, but my friend Morgan is letting us try out one of her FuzziBunz One Size diapers. (I read Nicki's advice which promted me to ask Morgan how she liked her FuzziBunz and she offered to let us test one out...) So far, after 2 nights, no leaks! We've been using 2 FuzziBunz inserts inside. I can definitely tell it fits my daughter better around the legs. That might be due to the fact that the elastic around the legholes is adjustable. Brilliant! If the FuzziBunz continues to do the trick after a few more nights of testing it out (*crossing our fingers*), I will be investing in at least 3 for ourselves.

I always shied away from FuzziBunz because they were pricier than the alternatives. But if I had to do it all over again, now that they have the One Size adjustable diaper, I might've gone for a complete set of those. Just my thoughts - for if you are just getting started into cloth diapering.

Diaper Good Buy

Just a simple bargain tip I came across while looking at store ads online. I am just sharing this because it is pertinent to me and perhaps a handful of you.

If you live in the Midwest and have a HyVee close by (love that store) AND could use some disposable diapers... Their store brand diapers should be on sale through Tuesday for $6 a regular sized package. That's like 15 cents a diaper. And no messing with any coupons, ECB's, or other reward programs. As far as disposables go, I like HyVee's brand very much (better than Target's, Walgreen's, and Walmart's).

This is listed in their online exclusive ad (p. 11), not in the flyer I received in the mail. Check the ad for your specific store to be sure.

And the Pamper's wipes are $1.99. I wish I had some coupons to make them a real steal. (I don't get the Sunday paper, but if you do, check it!)

I am contemplating getting some diapers for gifts or for travels this fall... I don't know if I will want to pack cloth diapers for 2...

Other Baby Gear We Like...

My husband does not like this stuff sitting around the house. I agree that the space they take up is not ideal, but I think the benefits outweigh the inconveniences of the space we lose to them. And it is only for a short time, so why not just enjoy it?

Here are some products we either registered for and recieved as gifts when our daughter was born, or had loaned to us. I also listed the reasons why we liked each item.

• Boppy swing - portable, neutral colors, small for a swing, less annoying music than other swings, long battery life, good price

• Baby Bjorn Bouncer - folds flat for storage or travel, adjustable (3 positions), large weight limit, no batteries required...we have this older discontinued model, the most recent model was just recalled.

• Exersaucer - allows the child to explore various toys in a "safe" area if you are making dinner, taking a shower, etc., lets them bounce, jump, and strengthen their legs while upright (we put away the swing when it is time to start using this - when they start sitting up). We have one that is a hand-me-down and doesn't require batteries. It's great.

• Primo EuroBath Tub - not at all necessary, but we are still using it with our two year old as well and she loves it so it has definitely been a good buy. Check out the reviews. Saves water, too.

For those of you that have/have had young ones, what are some of your favorite baby pieces?

Helpful Baby Products

Baby is on the brain since I am now full term (37 weeks). Here are links to some of my posts from last year regarding baby products I really like:


Breastfeeding aids- what worked for me

Baby bottles

Nursing cover

Compact stroller

Jogging stroller/Infant carseat

Baby carrier

Sippy cup

Baby bib

Baby shoes


I am not a fan of lots of stuff, but I will also share this week on a couple other additional pieces of gear that while might not be necessary, have also been good buys for us and have gotten a lot of use!

Sewing Cloth Baby Wipes

I wish I had a serger. Not that I know how to use one. But it probably would have made my finished product a little nicer.

But this is about being thrifty... This was proabably my thriftiest project yet. One that my husband would question whether it was worth my time - as in could I have earned the money to purchase these new in less time than it took me to make them? Maybe, but I actually had the time (for once!) to try making these, so I did.

Last Sunday afternoon I set up shop at the kitchen table.

A newly cut stack of 7x7 inch flannel remnants from my stash.

An hour and a half later, the same stack, each piece now zig-zag stitched around the edge to discourage fraying. Time will tell.

If you are interested: my favorite baby wipes solution recipe that has been in use for nearly a year now with our daughter.

Nursery Picture and Pregnant Me

Here's a quick peek into the nursery we've set up in our old guest room. It is pretty basic, but we like it, and I guess that's what matters. The crib and chest of drawers were mine when I was little. We refinished them before our daughter was born and used them with her, too. To the right of the doorway (you can't see it) is the changing table my husband built with willow baskets underneath to hold the diapering supplies.

One of my pet peeves is when people hang things too high on the walls. Well, we are guilty of it now: I think the wall art needs to be a little lower, but oh well. Try to ignore that fact, please. Thanks.

And because I haven't posted any pictures of myself here in a long while, here is a pregnancy picture of me at 36 weeks. I feel huge, like the baby is going to fall out sometimes. My belly button has been popped out for probably 5 months now, and there's no hiding it, even with a bandaid.

I am self conscious to post this picture, but Katie did it, and encouraged me to as well. So I'm giving in to peer pressure. I haven't done a lot of pregnant belly shots. I'd appreciate it if you'd ignore the end-of-a-sweaty-summer-day-weird-hairdo in this one :)