We are entering this mystifying stage of learning to use the potty. My son is now 2. He is learning to identify when he needs to eliminate. We did not use elimination communication so this is all new territory for us.
I must say it has not been that difficult so far. He tells us when he has to pee and poop if he has no diaper on. The worst part I would say is knowing that he does not have to pee but going to the bathroom because he says so. It feels like I am spending my entire day in the potty.
We have had some misses but that is part of the learning right? We had an adventure yesterday when we went to the store to buy toddler underwear. I must say there is not much to choose from that is not commercialized with some cartoon character on it. So we bit the bullet and let our 2yr old have Cars underwear. They are actually very cute and he looks like such a big boy running around in undies and socks. He thoroughly loves his underwear. We have told him not to pee or poop in his underwear and he seems to grasp this concept.
So this is our routine:
Get up and if diaper is dry pee on the potty.
Change out of jammies into underpants. Mommy has coffee and toddler has milk.
Into the potty about 1/2-1hr after getting up and pee again.
Then we put a diaper on to go out and do our thing and if we pass a bathroom we stop in and try for a pee. If he has to have a BM he usually says and we make it to the potty.
We play outside in a diaper and I do not usually push the pottying at this point in the day. He is too busy to remember.
We go to the potty before and after naptime
Then outside again to the park or on some sort of outing for which we use a diaper.
Then Daddy comes home and we take off the diaper for dinner time and on goes the underwear and he usually pees a couple times and one last time before bed.
We were have dry dipes at night but this has stopped since he got sick and we had to keep water by the bed at night. We will try again when all signs of illness are gone. He still wears dipes to daycare on the days I am working. Once we have a high success rate at home even when playing then we will send him to daycare in his "unders" as he calls them. I am trying to take a relaxed approach. I will however do some reading because that is me. I like to research, research, research.
He has been sucessfully potty trained since about 2 weeks after this post. We actually did resort to bribery. He got one tic tac if he went. This helped us tremendously. Also we totally eliminated the diapers at night and naps as they were always dry. We had a few accidents mostly outside. This was fixed by teaching him to pee on a tree. I think the only way to go is to use underwear and get rid of the diapers completely. The switching back and forth is very confusing for the little guys and gals. I believe potty training also improved his sleeping because before he would wake up upset and we wouldn't know why. This stopped when we learned the potty and I think he was waking up having to pee but not knowing it. Now he wakes goes potty and goes back to sleep.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Green Parenting
I am just wondering if it possible to be a truly Green consumer and parent.
There is so much out there to worry about these days as parents. Unfortunately the first child is the guinea pig and the subsequent ones get the benefits of what you learned with your first. With my first I used plastic bottles and food storage containers. With this next child we are switching to all glass because of the BPA. I didn't start cloth diapering my son until 4 months; This child will likely not have a disposable touch it's bottom ever in its lifetime. I used all sorts of name brand soaps and lotions with pthalates and toxins in them on my first son; this child will only have natural or organic soaps and lotions. I used to use a name brand laundry detergent which I recently learned contains arsenic so I will be switching our laundry detergent to 7th generation. I vaccinated my first child ignorantly until he was 4 months until I learned what was in vaccines; this baby will only have selective and delayed vaccines. I still used toxic cleaning products with my son and only switched to vinegar, baking soda and grapefruit seed extract in recent months. I am still learning about off gassing and materials in the home.
There are still many changes to make in every room of our home. I am sure it will take years to completely green my home and lifestyle. I still drive a gas car and non eco friendly furniture. I still use name brand shampoo and mascara with mercury in it. I still eat imported and nonorganic foods.
The biggest deterent to green living is cost. Some changes are cheaper but organic food, clothing and linens still cost a fortune. I am wondering if it is possible for a middle income family to truly live green. Do the little changes we are making really make a difference in the environment and the health of my family?
What our family currently does:
Uses non toxic cleaning products
Composts
Shops at a local farmers market for local organic veggies and fruit
Buys organic milk
Buys wooden toys instead of plastic
Buys used if possible
Buys high quality to hopefully prevent replacement of furniture.
Drives one car
Uses cloth diapers and wipes
Gets bills online with no paper version
Recycles
Uses cloth shopping bags
Wraps in reusable materials
Changes in the works:
Growing our own food
Repainting with milk paint or no VOC paint
Switching laundry detergent
Eating more organic and local foods
Turning our heat down 1 degree
Installing a clothes line
Switching to glass storage containers
Reducing takeout meals to once a month or less
Finding an organic shampoo and vegetable based soap
I will update and add to this as we make these changes.
There is so much out there to worry about these days as parents. Unfortunately the first child is the guinea pig and the subsequent ones get the benefits of what you learned with your first. With my first I used plastic bottles and food storage containers. With this next child we are switching to all glass because of the BPA. I didn't start cloth diapering my son until 4 months; This child will likely not have a disposable touch it's bottom ever in its lifetime. I used all sorts of name brand soaps and lotions with pthalates and toxins in them on my first son; this child will only have natural or organic soaps and lotions. I used to use a name brand laundry detergent which I recently learned contains arsenic so I will be switching our laundry detergent to 7th generation. I vaccinated my first child ignorantly until he was 4 months until I learned what was in vaccines; this baby will only have selective and delayed vaccines. I still used toxic cleaning products with my son and only switched to vinegar, baking soda and grapefruit seed extract in recent months. I am still learning about off gassing and materials in the home.
There are still many changes to make in every room of our home. I am sure it will take years to completely green my home and lifestyle. I still drive a gas car and non eco friendly furniture. I still use name brand shampoo and mascara with mercury in it. I still eat imported and nonorganic foods.
The biggest deterent to green living is cost. Some changes are cheaper but organic food, clothing and linens still cost a fortune. I am wondering if it is possible for a middle income family to truly live green. Do the little changes we are making really make a difference in the environment and the health of my family?
What our family currently does:
Uses non toxic cleaning products
Composts
Shops at a local farmers market for local organic veggies and fruit
Buys organic milk
Buys wooden toys instead of plastic
Buys used if possible
Buys high quality to hopefully prevent replacement of furniture.
Drives one car
Uses cloth diapers and wipes
Gets bills online with no paper version
Recycles
Uses cloth shopping bags
Wraps in reusable materials
Changes in the works:
Growing our own food
Repainting with milk paint or no VOC paint
Switching laundry detergent
Eating more organic and local foods
Turning our heat down 1 degree
Installing a clothes line
Switching to glass storage containers
Reducing takeout meals to once a month or less
Finding an organic shampoo and vegetable based soap
I will update and add to this as we make these changes.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Toys, Toys, Toys!
I found this article genuinely interesting. I thought I would share it giving full kudos to the author. I just bought my son a set of hockey figurines one of which promptly broke when he dropped it. It got me thinking about the fragility of plastic and all the toys we throw out because they break. I think one of my New Year's Resolutions will be to try and eliminate as much plastic as possible from our home and lives. This article says what I would say a lot more articulately and eloquently.
No More Junk Toys: Rethinking Children's Gifts
By Judith L. Rubin
One night, not long after Christmas, my pacifist friends Jay Levy and Su Zuniga quietly crept down to the basement with a hammer while their three-year-old daughter, Samantha, slept. There, they methodically banged on the belly of her new mechanical dog until it stopped yapping.
Another friend's daughter received a Victorian makeup table for her fourth birthday. "It's plastic, it's ugly, and it's huge. It's totally inappropriate for a four year old. Not to mention that my daughter is a tomboy." When asked about the fate of the gift, she replied firmly, "It is going to 'disappear' very soon."
Some parents are creative in their disposal of "junk toys," as my husband calls them. "The worst toy our daughter ever received," notes one mom, "was a hard-plastic, realistic, talking doll. She purported to be your child's 'best friend' by using a set of pre-recorded diskettes that get inserted into her back. We were saddened to think there might be some lonely children out there for whom this doll might actually be enriching. The doll stands in the center of our peace garden as our scarecrow."
But approaching friends and family about their gift choices can be awkward. As one friend put it, "I don't want them to think I disapprove of their taste." So the gifts wind up at the Salvation Army or the dump.
Making gifts "disappear" is a last resort for parents who receive junk toys-i.e., toys out of line with their values or taste. Like junk food, junk toys can be fun but are devoid of nutrition. Buying them requires little forethought. They are excessively commercial, and are often linked to cross-marketing schemes. They excite children at first, but that initial flicker doesn't endure. Also like junk food, junk toys have hidden environmental and social costs for which the consumers pay.
The issues involved in junk toys are deeper than the layer of clutter on the playroom floor. These issues are as deep as the ocean, where thousands of yellow Lego toy life rafts drifted ashore after three million toy pieces inadvertently spilled from a tanker in 1998.1 But more important than the occasional freak toy-pollution disaster are the routine environmental insults associated with most toy production.
When we buy a Barbie doll, the relatively low price belies the full cost of her petroleum-intensive plastic manufacturing process, her plastic and paper packaging, and transporting her and her billions of accessories from Southeast Asia to the US . These hidden costs, what economists call "externalities," are paid (or more commonly unpaid) not by individual consumers or corporate producers but by collective society at large. We don't-and probably can't-pay enough for the product and its packaging, shipping, and manufacture to justify the damage caused by these processes.
The vast majority of plastic commercial toys are made by children themselves, working in overseas sweatshops. Girls as young as 13 years, some working the night shift, stitch Barbie's dresses.2 In Thailand in 1993, hundreds of workers, including child laborers, died in a fire while stuffing Cabbage Patch dolls for Hasbro, Inc.3 The Asia Monitor Resource Center and the Coalition for the Charter on the Safe Production of Toys reported that Vietnamese workers making McDonald's Happy Meals toys for as little as six cents an hour had been poisoned by acetone, a chemical solvent used to manufacture plastic Disney characters such as the 101 Dalmatians line.4 All of this so that I can pull up to the drive-through window and toss my child a Happy Meal figurine? No, thanks.
Then there are the social costs of marketing. Marketers broadcast programming designed to hypnotize toddlers into "cradle-to-grave brand loyalty to these toys."5 Marketing professionals cross-reference, cross-market, and cross-pollinate products and entertainment. By intentionally blurring the distinctions between entertainment, products, school curricula, and advertisements, marketers readily capitalize on young children's limited ability to differentiate between them. It's no accident that, in the children's section of Barnes and Noble, the books starring such television-based characters as Arthur, Clifford, and Blues Clues are displayed most prominently, while the classics get the cheap seats.
Despite warnings from the American Medical Association that children who watch more than 10 hours a week of television and/or video are more likely to be overweight, aggressive, and slow to learn, more products and entertainment than ever are designed to capture the imaginations of children aged one to three years, and to encourage them to watch TV.6 Experts with PhDs conduct sophisticated focus groups to ensure that each and every episode of TV shows such as Dora the Explorer hit the mark with preschoolers.7
The TV show sells the books and movie, the movie ads sell the Happy Meal action figures, and these in turn sell next year's patented Halloween costumes. Then the media hero du jour is immortalized and consumed, literally, as a fluorescent, frosted birthday cake from the local supermarket. If you were hosting, say, a Dora the Explorer party, you could choose from more than 70 party accessories, including blinking fiesta beads.
It's brilliant marketing, and it works. The only problem is that it works against parents, children, and the environment.
North Americans have come to rely on commercial institutions to furnish our stories, heroes, icons, and expectations. The old traditions and rites of passage have been eclipsed by a boy's first Nintendo, a girl's first Barbie, a computer, a first toy gun.
Last Christmas, when the US was bombing Afghanistan, JC Penny advertised Forward Command Post, a 75-piece set that includes: a bombed and blood-stained play house, one 11 1/2-inch-high figurine in military combat gear, toy weapons, an American flag, chairs, and more.8 "Take command of your soldiers from this fully outfitted battle zone," the ad boasted. Forward Command Post is recommended for ages five and up. Last December, the Toys-"R"-Us website listed it as "sold out."
Julie Convisser, a movement therapist and mother of two small boys, worries about the messages kids get from commercial culture. "I feel like they are being groomed to be materialists, to buy into an evil-vs.-good world paradigm, and to ignore the spiritual heart of life and the bounty of nature." She buffers the influence of commercial culture as much as possible by limiting her boys' TV viewing and being picky about videos, avoiding media-promotion toys, and sending her older son to a school at which the other children's parents share her values.
Others argue that children should be exposed to commercial culture to avoid becoming victims of it. In fact, direct experience can be a fast way for kids to learn the ropes of misleading ad campaigns. Karin Purdy, mother of three, says, "I let my kids watch TV, and I let them buy some of the products they see. They are usually quite disappointed when they get them and they aren't as great as they thought. They get smarter as they get older."
Michelle Sobel, a film editor, a creator of educational software, and the mother of two girls, thinks about this issue constantly. "We live in a consumer culture and kids are going to be confronted with it all the time, despite your best attempts to control it." When her three year old, Willa, sees a seductive ad for a toy and says, "I want that!" Michelle asks, "What do you like about it?" She transforms the indulgence/denial struggle into an interesting conversation about what is appealing to her daughter. Engaged in discussion, during which mom may even begin to talk about something else, it's easier for the daughter to walk away from the toy.
Whatever their individual approaches, many parents work hard all year long to protect children from pervasive and cloying commercialism. But despite our best efforts, holidays and birthdays can become gift-crazed free-for-alls. Why allow our friends and relatives to fall into the trap of giving meaningless gifts when a simple, genuine gesture can mean so much more to the children? "Disappearing" junk toys only compounds the environmental and cultural costs; it's up to us to stop the charade and transform the culture of gift-giving.
It's perfectly natural that adults love to give children things and that children love to receive them. Even in Waldorf schools-which discourage plastics, TV, and commercial images on clothing-there exists a strong understanding that, according to writer Gisela T. O'Neil, "in the beginning of life, roughly till we reach adulthood, we are at the receiving end of life: parents, teachers, and society bestow their care upon us. Later follows the time when we ourselves are called upon to contribute to other people and to society. Think of the boundless expectations with which a young child anticipates his birthday or other gift-bestowing events, how he feels at the center of the world! Actually, most of the early part of life is a continuous receiving."9
Changing the Culture of Gifts
Alicia Daniel, field naturalist, teacher, and mother of two daughters, offers a radical checklist:
1) Will this toy eventually turn into dirt-i.e., could I compost it? Stones, snowmen, driftwood, and daisies-they will be gone, and we will be gone, and life goes on.
2) Do I know who made this toy? This question leads us to search for the hidden folk artist in each of us.
3) Is this toy beautiful? Have human hands bestowed an awkward grace, a uniqueness lacking in toys cranked out effortlessly by machine?
4) Will this toy capture a child's imagination?"10
To this list we might add: Does this gift foster my child's natural inclinations? Will it enable him to more fully engage in life? Does it help her reach her goals?
My husband and I have been proactive, perhaps downright annoying, in our efforts to work closely with the gift-givers in our children's lives. We have banned plastics and gifts made in China , and have asked that donations to nonprofit organizations be made in their names. The results have been amazing. Relatives made a hand-painted chair, built an art easel, and offered such practical and well-timed gifts as a backpack for sleepovers. They have knitted miles of handmade sweaters and blankets. Parents who hesitate to speak up for fear of offending rob their friends and family of a chance to participate more deeply in their child's life.
Head them off at the pass. If you don't offer clear choices well before a holiday or birthday, relatives and friends will buy "obligatory" gifts. Dovetail their best intentions with something your child actually wants or needs. One friend wrote in tiny italics at the bottom of her baby's birth announcement: "Please, no pastel, no plastic." We all got the message. Another suggested that we each bring a cup and saucer to a birthday party to help make her child a new tea set. Every year, my husband and I ask that guests bring a skit or song to my daughter's birthday party in lieu of a gift. It's not difficult to get them to juggle instead of buying her a Barbie, but it doesn't happen by osmosis.
Pay people for their skills, not their stuff. Last October, my daughter decided she wanted to play the violin. Her grandparents agreed to sponsor eight lessons, one for each night of Chanukah. This arrangement satisfied everyone: my parents, who from 3,000 miles away longed to instill in their granddaughter a love of classical music; my daughter, who took lessons on a time-limited, trial basis; and a talented young violin teacher, who is raising her own child and going back to school.
Give away your juiciest ideas. As your child's closest confidante, you are up to date on his or her secret interests. Being close to children gives parents a unique opportunity to clue relatives in about what gifts will have relevance to their children's lives.
The best gift I ever gave my nephew was a cardboard refrigerator box. After opening a dozen molded-plastic toys at his birthday party, he and his friends went absolutely wild over the giant carton. His mom knew how much he'd enjoyed one at a friend's house, and had passed on the clue to me. It took a bit of moxie to show up at his party with a cardboard box, but the other parents-total strangers to me at the time-congratulated me with hearty slaps on the back.
Be Prepared if it Backfires. When a friend's son was two, her parents asked what they could get him for Christmas. She explained that he liked making music, and that a drum would be nice: "My mom went to Toys-"R"-Us and bought him a battery-packed, plastic, multicolored drum machine with various buttons, high-volume percussion tracks, and multicolored blinking lights. My heart sank when he tore open the paper and I saw what it was. I was actually angry-a little at my Mom for being so clueless, and a lot at our culture, which has turned something as wonderful as a drum into this repellent mechanical thing. Fortunately, my son didn't even understand what it was. We made it 'disappear' that day and went to a fair-trade import store and bought him a handmade tom-tom drum made of wood and hide with a lovely wood drumstick. He still has it, and loves it and uses it three years later."
And if you still can't bring yourself to tell friends and relatives what your child really wants, you can always put it in writing.
NOTES
1. Curtis Morgan, "Legos and Other Floating Flotsam," Miami Herald, 17 May 1998 .
2. Sarah Cox, "The Secret life of Toys,"
www.maquilasolidarity.org/campaigns/toy/scox.htm.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Gary Ruskin, "Why They Whine," Mothering no. 97 (November-December 1999): 40-50)
6. Karen Springer, "Why We Tuned Out," Newsweek, 11 November 2002 .
7. Daniel McGinn, "Guilt Free TV," Newsweek, 11 November 2002 .
8. JC Penney, 2002 Christmas catalog: 486.
9. Gisela T. O'Neil, "Gratitude, Love, Responsibility" in Waldorf Schools, Volume 1: Kindergarten and Early Grades, Ruth Pusch, ed. (Spring Valley, NY: Mercury Press, 1996), 24-32.
10. Alicia Daniel, "Checklist for Toys Focuses on Deeper Values," Burlington Free Press, 16 December 2001 .
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Organizations
Center for a New American Dream
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 900
Takoma Park, MD 20912
www.newdream.org
Brochure, "Tips for Parenting in a Commercial Culture
Commercial Alert
www.commercialalert.org .
For more information about toys, see the following articles in past issues of Mothering: "Homemade Toys: Why Nothing Can Beat a Paper Pinwheel," no. 95; "Top Toys," no. 91; and "Toys That Encourage Imaginative Play," no. 90.
Judith L. Rubin lives in Portland , Oregon with her husband, Peter Bahls, and their daughters, Cecilia (6), who still enjoys violin lessons, and Hannah (1 1/2), who plays with all her sister's best toys.
Friday, November 9, 2007
My Husband
My Husband is the most awesome person I know. I am so fortunate that I decided to make him my life's partner. I don't tell him this enough though. I just hope he knows how much I appreciate him. These are the reasons I love my husband.
He supports me in everything I do while always telling me truthfully what he thinks about it.
He is a wonderful father who responds and listens to his son. He enjoys his child and it shows. He is always interested in what our child has done that day.
He is my partner parent. We always find a way to be on the same page. He is involved in every decision including food, naps, toys, clothes, childcare, education and healthcare. I love that he will discuss and participate in all aspects of his son's life.
He worries about me.
He makes me laugh, laughs with me and when necessary laughs at me.
He cleans.
He Cooks! I don't think that there is any other meal out there that I would rather eat than his risotto.
He puts his family first.
He always sticks to his commitments.
He has an awesome bum!
He is helping me stay motivated to stay in shape.
He snuggles me.
He holds me when I am tired, cranky, sad or angry.
He is research minded like myself. If we don't know something we will find out. He does not make uninformed choices.
I know how lucky I am to have him in my life. I know that he is a very good man and I will always love and treasure him.
I know our marriage will not always be peachy keen but I am married to my very best friend and that will never change.
He supports me in everything I do while always telling me truthfully what he thinks about it.
He is a wonderful father who responds and listens to his son. He enjoys his child and it shows. He is always interested in what our child has done that day.
He is my partner parent. We always find a way to be on the same page. He is involved in every decision including food, naps, toys, clothes, childcare, education and healthcare. I love that he will discuss and participate in all aspects of his son's life.
He worries about me.
He makes me laugh, laughs with me and when necessary laughs at me.
He cleans.
He Cooks! I don't think that there is any other meal out there that I would rather eat than his risotto.
He puts his family first.
He always sticks to his commitments.
He has an awesome bum!
He is helping me stay motivated to stay in shape.
He snuggles me.
He holds me when I am tired, cranky, sad or angry.
He is research minded like myself. If we don't know something we will find out. He does not make uninformed choices.
I know how lucky I am to have him in my life. I know that he is a very good man and I will always love and treasure him.
I know our marriage will not always be peachy keen but I am married to my very best friend and that will never change.
Cloth Diapers
I've been doing an internet scavenger hunt called the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt. It got me thinking about how I got into cloth diapers and why I continue to use and love them.
I started using cloth diapers when my son was about 4 months old. We started with disposables because it seemed like that was what everyone did. My husband had an aunt that used Elimination communication and cloth and had sent me some motherease one size fitteds. I read an article on cloth in a parenting magazine and thought wow maybe we could save some money and help the environment.
I did 3 days of research and found 4 Canadian sites. I was horrified about the effects of diapers on the environment and I calculated that in the four months my son had been in this world we had used approximately 1200 diapers. Our trashcan had never been full before. Now it was overflowing every week. The really scary fact for me was that disposables have been linked to infertility in men and asthma in children. The toxins in the diapers were found in the urethras of little boys. I could not wait to get my son out of them. Then I started looking at the diapers and I fell in love. They were soooooooooo cute!!!
We bought a couple wetbags, some motherease diapers and covers and some swaddlebees. I was so excited I wanted to try everything (still do). My husband wanted to find something and stick to it but he was also keen to start on cloth. He accepted it no problems. He was a little exasperated at my desire to talk over all my discoveries with him though. We started with cloth during the day and disposables at night. I didn't think cloth could hold up to all the pee since we were still nursing at night. We switched to all cloth when my son started blowing out of his disposables. I mean up the back and down the legs. This meant a lot of laundry and stains. I thought there had to be a cloth diaper that could go overnight. It was trial and error. We bought rumpsters and used those for a while. These still leaked at night and didn't fit as well as I'd hoped as I had a very chubby baby!!! We bought some Jam tots berry plush and found out that the inserts fit into the motherease diapers. This became our nighttime solution. They are still very bulky and I think with the next babe I will go with a wool solution or the thirsties fab fitted.
Swaddlebees makes up the bulk of our stash though Jam tots berry plush and motherease make up close seconds.
Now I'm on the hunt for a one size diaper that fits really well. We've had some blowout issues again now that my son is 19 months and running. His little bum and legs have really slimmed down. So we bought some medium swaddlebees and I cannot believe how well they fit. I also bought a baby kanga and a mommy's touch one size easy clean. Both of these are nice dipes no leaks but the mommy's touch is complicated with all the snaps and how to fold in the fleece. The kanga has wing droop which I don't like.
For inserts I absolutely love jamtots one size hemp 3 layer and one size 2 layer. They are so absorbant. Hemp is an awesome fabric. We also use prefolds and microfiber inserts to stuff. I am interested in trying bamboo and sherpa.
I really want to start my own cloth diaper showroom and store here in the north but I need to find out if the interest is there. I thought I might sew some diapers at first but now I realize that nothing I can make will compare to what is already out there. My passion lays in testing the diapers that other mom's come out with and showing off their products for them. I also really enjoy teaching other mom's about cloth. I love to share this passion. I'm sure that some of my loved ones get tired of hearing about it. Which is why I decided to blog about it.
My discovery of the new world of cloth led to many other parenting choices. For example making my own baby food with organic choices. Also delaying vaccinations but these are also huge issues and passions of mine to be discussed at another time.
The one myth I would like to dispell about cloth diapering is that it is any more difficult or gross than using disposables. This is so untrue. Yes I do have to wash my diapers but this is using my laundry machine in my basement. If I was out of disposables I would have to pack my child into the car and drive to costco, unpack the child get the diapers and several other items (because we all know you never go into costco for just one thing!). I would have to stand in line and then pack the diapers and my kid out to the car and home and unload into the house. No thank you!
As for the rinsing diapers. I DON'T, simple as that. I use flushable liners until the poop of the day, tip these into the toilet and throw the diaper into a dry pail with a little baking soda in it.
I wash my dipes by rinsing in cold first, then a hot wash with baking soda and a little detergent, then a rinse with vinegar and an extra rinse. I dry the inserts in the dryer and hang all my covers and pocket dipes on a line in my basement.
I am saving the world one cute cloth diapered butt at a time!!
Cloth diapers were really the start of my endeavor to become a Green parent.
Just thought I would add to this as we are completely potty trained and have been since about 25mo. I really think the cloth helped my son to know when he was wet and to associate when he as about to pee. The other discovery I made before potty training was that bamboo is the ultimate absorbant fabric and this with a fleece cover was amazing for overnight when my toddler would have enormous pees before waking. Bambinos 2 size dipes were great and so soft even after several washes. Now with a new babe on the way I will be researching the most effective way to CD a newborn.
I started using cloth diapers when my son was about 4 months old. We started with disposables because it seemed like that was what everyone did. My husband had an aunt that used Elimination communication and cloth and had sent me some motherease one size fitteds. I read an article on cloth in a parenting magazine and thought wow maybe we could save some money and help the environment.
I did 3 days of research and found 4 Canadian sites. I was horrified about the effects of diapers on the environment and I calculated that in the four months my son had been in this world we had used approximately 1200 diapers. Our trashcan had never been full before. Now it was overflowing every week. The really scary fact for me was that disposables have been linked to infertility in men and asthma in children. The toxins in the diapers were found in the urethras of little boys. I could not wait to get my son out of them. Then I started looking at the diapers and I fell in love. They were soooooooooo cute!!!
We bought a couple wetbags, some motherease diapers and covers and some swaddlebees. I was so excited I wanted to try everything (still do). My husband wanted to find something and stick to it but he was also keen to start on cloth. He accepted it no problems. He was a little exasperated at my desire to talk over all my discoveries with him though. We started with cloth during the day and disposables at night. I didn't think cloth could hold up to all the pee since we were still nursing at night. We switched to all cloth when my son started blowing out of his disposables. I mean up the back and down the legs. This meant a lot of laundry and stains. I thought there had to be a cloth diaper that could go overnight. It was trial and error. We bought rumpsters and used those for a while. These still leaked at night and didn't fit as well as I'd hoped as I had a very chubby baby!!! We bought some Jam tots berry plush and found out that the inserts fit into the motherease diapers. This became our nighttime solution. They are still very bulky and I think with the next babe I will go with a wool solution or the thirsties fab fitted.
Swaddlebees makes up the bulk of our stash though Jam tots berry plush and motherease make up close seconds.
Now I'm on the hunt for a one size diaper that fits really well. We've had some blowout issues again now that my son is 19 months and running. His little bum and legs have really slimmed down. So we bought some medium swaddlebees and I cannot believe how well they fit. I also bought a baby kanga and a mommy's touch one size easy clean. Both of these are nice dipes no leaks but the mommy's touch is complicated with all the snaps and how to fold in the fleece. The kanga has wing droop which I don't like.
For inserts I absolutely love jamtots one size hemp 3 layer and one size 2 layer. They are so absorbant. Hemp is an awesome fabric. We also use prefolds and microfiber inserts to stuff. I am interested in trying bamboo and sherpa.
I really want to start my own cloth diaper showroom and store here in the north but I need to find out if the interest is there. I thought I might sew some diapers at first but now I realize that nothing I can make will compare to what is already out there. My passion lays in testing the diapers that other mom's come out with and showing off their products for them. I also really enjoy teaching other mom's about cloth. I love to share this passion. I'm sure that some of my loved ones get tired of hearing about it. Which is why I decided to blog about it.
My discovery of the new world of cloth led to many other parenting choices. For example making my own baby food with organic choices. Also delaying vaccinations but these are also huge issues and passions of mine to be discussed at another time.
The one myth I would like to dispell about cloth diapering is that it is any more difficult or gross than using disposables. This is so untrue. Yes I do have to wash my diapers but this is using my laundry machine in my basement. If I was out of disposables I would have to pack my child into the car and drive to costco, unpack the child get the diapers and several other items (because we all know you never go into costco for just one thing!). I would have to stand in line and then pack the diapers and my kid out to the car and home and unload into the house. No thank you!
As for the rinsing diapers. I DON'T, simple as that. I use flushable liners until the poop of the day, tip these into the toilet and throw the diaper into a dry pail with a little baking soda in it.
I wash my dipes by rinsing in cold first, then a hot wash with baking soda and a little detergent, then a rinse with vinegar and an extra rinse. I dry the inserts in the dryer and hang all my covers and pocket dipes on a line in my basement.
I am saving the world one cute cloth diapered butt at a time!!
Cloth diapers were really the start of my endeavor to become a Green parent.
Just thought I would add to this as we are completely potty trained and have been since about 25mo. I really think the cloth helped my son to know when he was wet and to associate when he as about to pee. The other discovery I made before potty training was that bamboo is the ultimate absorbant fabric and this with a fleece cover was amazing for overnight when my toddler would have enormous pees before waking. Bambinos 2 size dipes were great and so soft even after several washes. Now with a new babe on the way I will be researching the most effective way to CD a newborn.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Moving
We are moving into our very first home. This move is eliciting more emotions than any other before. I am so excited to be in our home with our little family. Of course I am proud of us for achieving our goal. I am also terrified of all the things that could go wrong with my beautiful 93 yr old house. I never thought that I could love an inanimate object but I really do love our house. I am forever daydreaming about the holidays and good times we are bound to have. We are inviting anyone who wants to come to our place for Christmas.
Chris and I were talking yesterday and it occurred to both of us that the housebuying process is very odd. When you buy a new car you get to test drive it for a couple hours take it home see if you can fit things in it. When you buy a house you don't get to test it out often you walk through it once. This is the biggest purchase of our lives and we have only entered the house once.
I never knew how much work it was to buy a house. It requires all sorts of meetings and paperwork. We are still not done and we move in in less than 2 weeks!
I am terribly stressed over the packing and moving and cleaning we are going to have to do in the next month and I am torn between spending the money and hiring someone to do the cleaning and touch ups at the old house and saving the money for things we will need in the new house.
My dear husband has decided he wants to adopt a minimalist approach. This is based on a person having a few really quality items rather than a lot of mid range stuff. I think this is great but what it's really doing is making me want NEW STUFF!!! But if it means that he'll clean as he goes and find places to hide the junk and clutter I am all for it.
I cannot decide what is more exciting for me: the dishwasher or the fence yard with the deck. Maybe it could be a combination because the dishwasher means I can spend more time with my son and dogs in the yard or sitting on the deck. I cannot wait to see Emmett kicking his soccer ball in the new yard or the dogs rolling around on the grass that they have not enjoyed for 2 years. However if they dig a hole in my immaculate yard I will have to skin their furry butts!
Chris and I were talking yesterday and it occurred to both of us that the housebuying process is very odd. When you buy a new car you get to test drive it for a couple hours take it home see if you can fit things in it. When you buy a house you don't get to test it out often you walk through it once. This is the biggest purchase of our lives and we have only entered the house once.
I never knew how much work it was to buy a house. It requires all sorts of meetings and paperwork. We are still not done and we move in in less than 2 weeks!
I am terribly stressed over the packing and moving and cleaning we are going to have to do in the next month and I am torn between spending the money and hiring someone to do the cleaning and touch ups at the old house and saving the money for things we will need in the new house.
My dear husband has decided he wants to adopt a minimalist approach. This is based on a person having a few really quality items rather than a lot of mid range stuff. I think this is great but what it's really doing is making me want NEW STUFF!!! But if it means that he'll clean as he goes and find places to hide the junk and clutter I am all for it.
I cannot decide what is more exciting for me: the dishwasher or the fence yard with the deck. Maybe it could be a combination because the dishwasher means I can spend more time with my son and dogs in the yard or sitting on the deck. I cannot wait to see Emmett kicking his soccer ball in the new yard or the dogs rolling around on the grass that they have not enjoyed for 2 years. However if they dig a hole in my immaculate yard I will have to skin their furry butts!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Toddler's
The word for toddler should begin with "F" because there are so many other descriptive words that start with this letter that can describe this stage in life: Fascinating, Frustrating, Fun, Fickle, Flirtatious etc....
For background information my son is now 16 month's old. He is entering this fabulous stage.
I am thrilled to watch him explore and learn all about the world around him. His curiousity at times can get frustrating especially in the grocery store. He insists on examining everything I put in the cart and attempting to open every package. He must have magician blood in him because I swear he should not be able to open some of the stuff he gets into.
The talking and babbling has increased tenfold. Oh and the shrieking which I as his mama think is hilarious. His Daddy is not so amused by it. He talks in the stroller and in the car and babbles away to the dog and us. He is starting to copy us and the other day I heard him say "oh sh!t". I think he gets that from Daddy. We will have to watch what we say from now on.
The most frustrating part of raising a toddler is the tantrums as I'm sure every parent can relate. I still haven't found a fullproof way to deal with these so I do not lose my temper (which my son obviously inherited). He gets mad if he doesn't get what he wants, when he wants it, how he wants it. Usually something gets thrown or hit across the room. I'm open to words of wisdom. (We are having a cranky day which this post stems from).
The best thing though is watching his pride in his accomplishments like when he throws or catches a ball we say "clap for (insert son's name)" and he will clap enthusiastically. If we say "clap for daddy or mama" he will shake his head and that's that. Nobody else does it quite as well as him in his mind. It's quite wonderful to watch.
My words of wisdom for the day.... "Enjoy your children and find humour in every situation"
For background information my son is now 16 month's old. He is entering this fabulous stage.
I am thrilled to watch him explore and learn all about the world around him. His curiousity at times can get frustrating especially in the grocery store. He insists on examining everything I put in the cart and attempting to open every package. He must have magician blood in him because I swear he should not be able to open some of the stuff he gets into.
The talking and babbling has increased tenfold. Oh and the shrieking which I as his mama think is hilarious. His Daddy is not so amused by it. He talks in the stroller and in the car and babbles away to the dog and us. He is starting to copy us and the other day I heard him say "oh sh!t". I think he gets that from Daddy. We will have to watch what we say from now on.
The most frustrating part of raising a toddler is the tantrums as I'm sure every parent can relate. I still haven't found a fullproof way to deal with these so I do not lose my temper (which my son obviously inherited). He gets mad if he doesn't get what he wants, when he wants it, how he wants it. Usually something gets thrown or hit across the room. I'm open to words of wisdom. (We are having a cranky day which this post stems from).
The best thing though is watching his pride in his accomplishments like when he throws or catches a ball we say "clap for (insert son's name)" and he will clap enthusiastically. If we say "clap for daddy or mama" he will shake his head and that's that. Nobody else does it quite as well as him in his mind. It's quite wonderful to watch.
My words of wisdom for the day.... "Enjoy your children and find humour in every situation"
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