My Big Fat Cloth Diapering Post III (Pictures)

Flip Diapering System

FLIP- this side faces skin and wicks urine away from body. This is why the Flip inserts can lay right against the skin as opposed to the inserts that you use to stuff pocket diapers- because the inserts have a wicking side and an absorbing side.

This side faces the FLIP cover and absorbs the urine. Notice the stitched "Large, medium, small" and the folds to help you know where to fold your insert to match the size of the outer cover (Depending on where you've set the snaps)

Here is a FLIP insert laying inside the FLIP cover. Charlie is wearing the covers set at  Medium, so notice I have folded the insert at the "medium" fold. 
Note: I put the folded side at the front of the diaper because Charlie is a BOY - if you have a girl then you would put it at the back in order to best catch where the urine flows-- basic anatomy folks.

Here it is, ready to go.


AIO Pocket Diapers

Here is my AIO pocket diaper (made by Happy Heinys) without any inserts in it yet. 

Here is the diaper next to the inserts I am going to stuff inside. I have a large insert, a regular insert and a hemp insert on top. Notice I have the large one folded down a bit to fit better into the diaper shell since Charlie isn't wearing them at the largest size yet. I then laid the medium one on next and then the hemp on top. (Note again that I have the hemp and the extra fold all towards the front of the diaper since Charlie is a boy that is where he needs the most absorbency). 

Stuffing the inserts into the diaper.

Pulling them all the way to the top.

AIO diaper ready to go!

My Big Fat Cloth Diapering Post II

How Do I Wash Them?

If you read the last post, I shared my diaper routine from "out of the dryer to back in the washer".  Here is where I pick up to tell you how I wash them.

I want you to know first off that I spent HOURS researching which detergent I should use to wash my cloth diapers. I was TERRIFIED of messing them up and ruining them forever-- please listen to me when I say that you can RELAX!! I read a blog post once that a bunch of moms had commented on and it was their confessions of all the "NoNo's" they do with their cloth diapers, and guess what they DIDN'T ruin them! Ha!

If you are like me you are going to read this, and then continue to research MANY more opinions for yourself, but I hope this post does save you some time.

Danny and I decided to go with Country Save -- a detergent that is cloth diaper safe, super economical and good for the environment. It is dye/fragrance free/100% phosphate free/100% biodegradable- YAY! I read great things about it, and we have LOVED it. No complaints, my diapers come out white and smelling fresh every time. We bought it in bulk off Amazon. One tub lasted us 3 months (we used it for all of our laundering, not just our diapers). 

1. I empty my diapers and diaper pail liner into the washer. We have a front loader (but I have washed them in both my mom's and mother in law's upright washers too). 

2. I set the washer to do a rinse only.

3. When it's finished I go back and set it to do an extra heavy load wash in hot water.

4. I pull everything out and into the dryer except for my FLIP diaper covers. I line dry them on a hanger. (This is based on each of my diaper's manufacturing instructions- everything I own can be dried in the dryer except for my FLIP covers).

The only thing you will want to be sure of is that no velcro/hookandloop/aplix (all are different names of velcro) are left open-- they will attach to other diapers, and can damage your diapers. All cloth diapers have a tab or method of folding them down before you wash them. I do this as soon as I put the dirty diaper in the bin, because there is NO WAY I am sorting through all the dirty diapers and doing it as I put them into the washer, YUCK!!

Also-- The sun is a natural bleacher-- seriously. I do not have a clothes line in my back yard, but Danny did hook up a rope on our front porch that I can put up and take down each time I want to use it (...slightly tacky to leave it up all the time!) and I periodically will hang my diapers out (after I take them out of the dryer) if it is a particularly sunny day-- and any lingering tinge of a stain on my nappies is GONE  EVERY TIME after a day in the sun. True story.

Later I will edit this post to include how to prep your diapers for their first use-- but not tonight, I am going to watch an episode of Dawson's Creek and go to bed-- Ha!!

My Big Fat Cloth Diapering Post I

Okay-- So I have had so many friends asking all of those questions about cloth diapering-- and there are alot-- which brands do you use, how expensive, what is your wash routine?... etc. I hope that this post is super useful to you all and hope that it will save you some time/effort as you wade through the internet trying to find out whether or not to embark on this journey.

Let me start by saying I LOVE CLOTH diapering... and I am not lying.  I am not "Super Mommy" and I am not trying to put on an act that I have it all together and on top of that I love cloth diapering... I DO NOT have it all together but I really truly do love it. If you are thinking about doing it DO IT! You can do it, and hopefully this post will ease some of those fears.

Brands I Use and Why I Love Them: (Click the brand to take you to a link where they are sold)

• Happy Heinys AIO (All in One): These are AIO's-- which means you can change the size by adjusting the snaps (they range from 8-35lbs) and will take you from birth (unless you have a small baby) until potty training. You stuff these with inserts (that come with the diaper) and you can buy extra's. I registered for (and got) a pack of hemp* inserts (hemp is ULTRA absorbant and holds a ton of urine)--- I add a hemp insert when stuffing a diaper to use at night-- when you need the extra absorbancy. The owner of Happy Heinys recently sold their store-- you can still buy these on Amazon but I don't know if the same product will be available for much longer. If they stop making them Danny and I plan to buy Rumparooz AIO's if we need more pocket diapers. They are pretty expensive (around $20/apiece) BUT again, this is an upfront cost and cloth diapering saves so much in the long run (consumer reports says $1500 through the diapering life of your child, and up to $4000 if you use the same cloth diapers for 2 children). 

• Cotton Babies Flip Diapering System or FLIP: These are a MUST. They are simply GENIUS. You can buy enough diapers to get you through 2-3 days for around $150. AMAZING. You could get by with just these diapers if you had to-- I enjoy having some AIO's because I can stuff them to make them more absorbant for car rides and nighttime, etc. BUT if you want to cloth diaper and only have a couple hundred dollars to get started THIS is the way to go. Basically you buy a few "One Size Diaper Covers" (we have 4) and then buy a TON of "stay dry inserts" (We have 25 I think). Here is the BEAUTY of Flip Diapers:
• 1. You lay an insert in the Flip Cover- put on Baby.
• 2. Baby pees.
• 3. You take diaper off, throw insert into diaper bin and lay cover out to dry.
• 4. Take a new cover with new insert- put on baby.
• 5. Baby pees.
• 6. You take diaper off, throw insert into diaper  bin and lay cover out to dry THEN grab OLD diaper cover and put NEW insert in it and put on baby.
• You can use the same 2 covers ALL day long (unless your baby poops in one-- because usually -- at least as far as Charlie is concerned-- it will go everywhere and underneath the insert too). But Charlie is pooping about once every 36 hours now and so we use a lot of flip inserts before the flip cover gets destroyed and has to go into the diaper bin too. :) I would say 4 covers and 25 inserts are equivalent to having 15-20 AIO's (and 15-20 AIO's at $20 a pop would be $300-$400). So they are VERY economical and we LOVE them.

*Hemp has to be prepped differently than your other cloth diapers. I will talk about this later when I discuss prepping/washing cloth diapers.

My Routine: 

From start to finish here you go.

1. Pull diapers out of dryer.
2. Sort inserts. Then stuff AIO's with inserts.
3. Put in baskets located on changing table in the nursery.
4. Charlie need's a diaper change!!
5. Take his diaper off -- OH NO IT's POOPY!!
6. Take it off and lay it on top of the diaper bin to get it out of the way.
7. Clean Charlie up (currently using disposable wipes- getting ready to transition to cloth wipes THIS WEEK- will update later).
8. Put new diaper on Charlie.
9. When time permits (i.e. Daddy has Charlie, Charlie's content in his swing, etc. I go back to deal with poopy diaper)-- and I will give credit where credit is due-- if Danny get's home from work I often haven't cleaned the poopy diaper yet, and he does it for me) :)
10. I take the diaper to the bathroom- I use toilet paper to scrape off as much poop out as I can and throw the toilet paper into the toilet. When breastfeeding I then tossed the diaper into the diaper bin because breastmilk poops are water soluble. Now that Charlie is on formula I rinse them in the bathtub and use my bare hands (sorry if that grosses you out) to rub the poop off. Then I put the diaper/inserts etc. into the diaper bin and WASH MY HANDS! Ha!
11. When diaper bin (we use a cheap step open trash can from Target) is full I take the the diaper pail liner out (we bought two so that we could put a new one in while the other was being washed) this one by KangaCare and this one by PlanetWise-- we love both of them equally.
12. I take the diaper pail liner full of dirty diapers to the washer and put the open end of the liner into our machine (we have a front loader) and push all the diapers into it without actually touching them because I am using the bottom of the liner to push them all in. Then I put the liner in the washer to be washed with the diapers.
13. I then wash the diapers... but that is a different post altogether :).

Will continue to update later! Charlie's hungry!!

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Update Coming Soon--

So I want to apologize for not updating my blog sooner. In fact... I think that it has taken almost this entire time (9 months!) for it to sink in that God has given us this incredible gift. I haven't blogged for so long, because honestly I have just been processing -- after 2 years of TTC (trying to conceive)-- the blessing and reality of this incredible treasure... and often I have been at a loss for words.

Within the next few days I will post about the last several months, and all that we are doing to prepare for this little man that God has entrusted us with. We are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, and I am excited to share more of my heart with you soon. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Nic

The Natural Way?

Hey everyone I wanted to update you all, I don't have a lot of time and so it will not be as detailed as my normal entries, but here is the latest:

As you can read in my previous post, we found out in October that I am apparently not ovulating, thus I started Clomid. My last entry was written during our TWW (two week wait) of that cycle (the two weeks of waiting to find out if we're pregnant after ovulation). On November 11 we had a positive HPT (home pregnancy test)-- first one EVER-- the test line was very faint, so we were still unsure- my doctor ordered a blood test to confirm, and we found out later that day that we were both pregnant and miscarrying. It was terribly sad. The next several weeks held a lot of emotional processing for the both of us. The Lord was very near.

Prior to the miscarriage I had begun to think and wonder if there were alternative methods to helping my body do what it "should" be doing naturally on it's own, rather than forcing it (through Clomid). After the miscarriage I felt even more confirmed. People would say things to me like "This is a good thing, it shows that you can get pregnant!" But to me, all it showed was that we had sperm and eggs that worked, but not a uterus that would or could carry a pregnancy (they think my embryo never implanted into the uterus). So all the more I began to ask the Lord "if there is something I can be doing naturally, whether a change in diet or otherwise to help my body do this on its own, will you lead me to it". A few weeks later I received the book "The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies" from a dear friend. I am not going to lie, at first I took one look at it and threw it onto my bookshelf. I was skeptical. Over Christmas break I decided to take it with me and begin reading it... 1 page in and I couldn't put it down. I am not going to go into huge detail here, but what this book talked about made sense, and as Danny and I talked about it, we could not come up with one reason not to try it. I am 26 years old, I am healthy, my body should be doing this on its own, and it's not... and maybe, just maybe we can help it along. Per my OB the next step for us is seeing a fertility specialist, and the beginning of (what I consider) a grueling process of drugs, pokes, prodding, $$$, etc... Why not try this first? It is definitely cheaper, natural and we don't have to drive 3 hours to do any of it (Did I mention that there are NO fertility specialists in Springfield, MO-- you have to go to St. Louis or KC-grrrrrrreat...)

So that's what we're doing, I am taking a break from Clomid and other med's for now-- I am seeing an acupuncturist, taking herbs, changing my diet --all the while learning what it means to trust Jesus (not trust Him to give us what we want-- but just trust Him regardless), and hoping.

Keep praying for us.

God & Gyno's

 There are three things that are never satisfied—

      no, four that never say, “Enough!”: 

the grave,

 the barren womb,

the thirsty desert,

the blazing fire.

Proverbs 30:15b-16.

Do you mean to tell me, that our God saw fit to put in His Word, that barrenness is never satisfied? My God understands this ache, this longing, .....(desperate at times!!)... for something I've never tasted before. How can I crave so badly something I've never experienced? It doesn't make sense! Think about it! I did not crave Sonic's Vanilla Diet Coke with extra vanilla, before I ever tasted one!! .. but God being SO COMPASSIONATE put this verse in there, to comfort us-- (those who struggle with the 'I' word).

And some of you out there may think "Is that really comforting?... Knowing you'll never be satisfied?" .. and the truth is, I don't need some one (or something) to tell me I won't ever be satisfied with this fate, I ALREADY am well aware of that... what it does say to me, is my God understands my plight. 

So where does that leave me? 

Here are 3 things the Lord is teaching me in this season.

1. Contentedness does not mean being Desire-less. 

      

     I am realizing that many of us believe that if we have great desires for our life  it means we are not content with our current life situation. That is just simply... crap (sorry for lack of a better term). Why on earth would God say in Psalm 37:4 "Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."... if having desires for something were sin? Contentedness to me, means this... I find my joy in the Lord, my happiness and worth in this temporary  life are not dependent upon the fulfillment of my desire (children)... which free's me to be able to run to Him and say "Abba, Father (Daddy!) I want a baby!! ...with no worries that I am sinning in my request. (Oh and it helps to know that He wrote {see above} that a barren womb is never satisfied- He knows I want to run to Him with this request).

2. Faith is not what I thought it was.

    "If we are not careful, we will never have had faith in God at all, we will only have had faith in what He could give us. (Beth Moore,- re-quoted from a friend)

Scary isn't it. From the very beginning (of Danny and I starting to try to conceive - March 2010), I realized that I do not understand faith. I read ALL over scripture evidences of people "believing" or "having faith" and then God moving in their circumstance. So I would ask myself, "Is God's sovereignty dependent upon my level of faith"? Will I really go to heaven only to hear the words... "You were almost there! If only you had had a tad more faith, I would have given you a baby."? The answer is no. It is not via my works, my good deeds (i.e. my "good enough faith" that gets me anything)... and to think so, or to try so- is to attempt to manipulate God (to give me what I want)... rather than trusting that His plan for me is good and for His glory (Philippians 1:6, Jeremiah 29:11-12).

So the Lord said to me. "These people did not trust that I would give them what they wanted, they just had faith in Me, regardless of the outcome. Read this and tell me that isn't true...

Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Daniel 3:13-18

I believe my God is good, and true... just like they did. So we say boldy "The God who we serve is able to save me, and make me able to conceive. He will give us a baby. But even if He doesn't, we will still serve, love and follow Him."

3. The Greater Reward is Him.

     So for the 2nd time in the last few weeks God has brought a friend to me, bringing the Scripture that speaks exactly what the Holy Spirit has been placing on my heart. (This thanks goes out to Annie Z whom while in India prays for me and the Holy Spirit put this on her heart to share with me... The same week that the Holy Spirit had prompted me to think about this.

Okay so here it is. God basically said to me (not verbally, but you know... to my heart)... 

"If you could chose to be given exactly what you are longing for (pregnancy) right now, and forego the blessing and treasures, secret riches that I have hidden for you in this dark time... (Isaiah 45:3 "And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name." ) OR continue to walk through this season knowing I have purpose and blessing in it BUT you don't get to know the outcome, which would you chose?... My love for you stays the same no matter which choice you make.

So which would I chose...? Which would you choose? Seriously.. insert the thing in which you desire most here and what would you chose? To be honest somedays I say "screw the blessing, I can't handle one more friend calling and telling me they're pregnant" and other days, I know deep down I want the latter- I want more of Him.

Which leads me to an email from my beloved friend Annie, it said this....

"I don't know whether this will be encouraging to you, really, but it's truth and it spoke to me today.  My friend shared in our morning office devotions from Exodus33:1-3 and 12-18.  God tells Moses that he will give the Israelites everything they want, the promised land, and all their enemies will be defeated, but that He will not go with them.  But Moses says, "No, God- If you're not coming, I don't want to go." (paraphrase!).  And so we were reflecting on what we would take if God offered, even if he said he wasn't going to come with us.  These are our idols.  Then, when I was praying for you after that during our 'stillness time'-- I found myself praying for you to conceive, but that if you don't conceive this month, at least give you something of himself to comfort you. And I realized that was exactly what Moses didn't want.  He didn't want the blessing, itself, but God, himself.  He didn't want the thing for which he'd been praying, he wanted to know God and God to know him.  And in the end, God agrees to go with them to the Promised Land and tells Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name".  So, I was praying that even through your attempts to get pregnant, you would value God, himself, even more than you value having a baby in your womb....easier said than done, i think."

.. and it is true. I do want the Greater Reward, to know Him and treasure Him above all. 

So thankful for all of the beloved people and prayer warriors God has blessed me with during this season. Thank you for all you do, and how you love me and carry this burden with me.

Nic

Update on the details:


Diagnosed with Endometriosis (Only Stage 1 -Praise!!)
October Progesterone Level Drawn on CD 23= 5.2 (this meant I am not ovulating)
1st round Clomid (50mg) CD's 3-7 
November Progesterone Level Drawn TODAY CD 21= 18.5 (This is GOOD indicates ovulation)- Hopeful and Praying... now we wait.


Sorry if you don't understand the lingo.