The Ultimate Guide to Cloth Diapers

I got a chance to read and now review the ebook The Ultimate Guide to Cloth Diapers.  This is FANTASTIC and saves me so much time.  You have no idea how many hours of searches I was doing for every little question I had (Not fun considering misinformation I had to sift through). It's ALL in this book.  Throughout the ebook Autumn Beck gives you links which is really helpful.  I honestly wish I had found this book before my first day of using cloth diapers on the baby because I had no idea how to prep them for first use.

This ebook is not just a little booklet with some information, the name says it exactly.  There is a ton of money and time saving tips to help you.  If you are thinking about cloth diapering your child, think about purchasing this book first.  

-Autumn Beck

Questions I had answered:

1. How to prep diapers BEFORE their first use.

2. Is there anything dangerous about disposable diapers?  (This one will shock you).

3. Can you try out cloth diapers before you buy them?

4. There are soooo many different cloth diapers out there, which ones to buy and why?

5. How do you strip diapers?

6. Which diaper rash creams are safe for cloth diapers?

7. How to make your own fitted diaper (whoa, that's awesome).

8.  How to diaper your baby with prefolds and flats.

9. How to wash cloth diapers.

Oh my goodness, there is just soooo much in the book and this is just a tad.  I know you'll love the book!  It really is the ULTIMATE guide.  The book isn't cheap but if you consider how much money is wasted on buying the wrong cloth diapers, buying disposables, or not knowing how to care for cloth diapers properly, then it is really worth it.  

*You can visit her blog at http://allaboutclothdiapers.com
*Or click HERE to buy the book

Safe Detergents for Cloth Diapers & Safe Foods for the Body

In my quest for learning more about cloth diapers, I'm discovering how icky most laundry detergents are.  I had no idea there were so many tricks companies use to give you the illusion of brighter or cleaner clothes.  I also discovered that I cannot use my homemade laundry detergent on my cloth diapers.  There are enzymes in it that breakdown the fabric.  That will eventually cause the diapers to leak.  Well, always trying to be frugal minded, I then wondered where I can go to buy some of this all natural, no enzymes, no dyes, no brighteners, no fabric softeners, no scents detergent.  Well,  I found Sprouts has their own detergent with none of the harmful ingredients in it.  This week it was buy one get one free for $14.99 and since I have a front loader, that's 200 washes.  Good deal!  I need to go back and buy more of them.  This detergent isn't even mentioned on the list so I had to just check it out for myself.  If you'd like to see a list of safe detergents, here it is. :)  This is good for allergy issues too.

Detergent Choices

Also..

Safe Diaper Rash Creams

I went ahead and made my own cloth wipes because I figure if I'm already doing a wash for cloth diapers, might as well add in the cloth wipes rather than go and purchase them every week.  That cuts out more couponing for me.  

Apple Cider Vinegar

Sooo, I started my calorie diet but then switched over to The Primal diet (mostly meat and vegetables and keeping carbs low) a week and a half ago.  8 lbs lost so far and I'm finally able to start fitting into some clothes again.  I know it seems nuts but the primal diet just doesn't feel like a diet to me.  I'm having crazy amounts of energy without crashing and dealing with exhaustion.  I've always preferred meat and vegetables so it's perfect for me.  My husband really likes Italian food so I made that a lot for him.  Yeah, um, not as much anymore. My pastor's wife went out and bought me Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother in it and I'm excited to read all of the things it can help with your body ailments.  Let me tell you now though.  GROSS taste.  I take a teaspoon with every meal and thankfully that really, really, really bad taste disappears in about 5 seconds when you wash it down.  Ohhhhh, I shudder.   Pick a strong juice like Orange Juice to wash it down.  Eek!  By the way, it can also help baby's diaper rash problem as it kills the fungus.  

Large Families Need a Party Bus

We must really love our big van because every time we turn around there is something else we have to do for it.  Yesterday we spent most of the day just trying to get new tires on it.  Turns out, the ones we had on it weren't even designed for the weight of our van and so it explains why we constantly had to replace them.  This time we paid a lot more money to get really good tires.  While Charles was looking at the van my parents came over and visited for a bit.  My kids love their Nana and Papa.  Do I wish we had a bigger van? Yes, we desperately need one.  However, we are learning that in life you sometimes have to wait rather than rush into debt to get what you want.  We did that in the past and paid dearly for it.  Now, we are trying to do things the right way because we learned the hard way.  

Well, the girls' costumes were ordered for their dance recital coming up in November.  I'm super excited but nervous at the same time.  Before signing the girls up I asked the teacher if there would be any modern dancing in it.  I am only doing this for tap and ballet but I only wanted classical ballet.  We shall see.  The parents can't see what their kids are doing in class.  They are still learning the basics and how to be flexible.  Ivy has been working really hard and can do the splits in the air now. They are so cute.  My living room has turned into a gym room as they are always practicing.  Ivy asked me for about 3 years now if she could do ballet.  I wondered if she would actually like it once she started but so far she absolutely loves it and counts down the days to the next practice.  Ashley was easy to figure out because she was always fluttering around the house.

So much happened in the month of August!  It is a very, very busy month for us!  Cars breaking down, I become a mom to a preteen (Chaz), My kids are asked to be featured in photos for the science center, kids start school,  Ivy gets taken by ambulance to the burn ward, girls start ballet lessons, the kids learn how to make their own rockets, Ryan has a birthday at a fun trampoline place, I make a major change to switch the babies to cloth diapers. While boys are away camping the girls went bowling, the boys join band in school, and Kyle turns 9.  Wow!  That's a lot to happen in just one month but we that's why I love our family!  We have so many adventures together and don't like to be apart for very long.  I feel like we need our own party bus.  Ha ha.  I'm thinking about getting a bumper sticker that says something like "This is our party bus."

Why I Switched to Cloth Diapers

I'm asking for prayers for my husband's job that more work will come in.  I have 244 followers and would love the prayers to be lifted to heaven.  This economy is not that great and work tends to dip drastically in my husband's field.  I'm praying that God will bless my husband's job with more projects.  His boss is Christian and it's such a blessing for Charles to work there.  Ohhh, I wish our economy would stabilize.

Did you know I switched my babies to cloth diapers?  I spent an hour with a lady (thank you, Rosemary!) I met on Craigslist who was super nice and she had almost every brand of cloth diapers out there.  She showed me each one so I could see the differences.  A lot of it is about preference but there are just some that function better.  Functioning by not leaking!  I wanted to cloth diaper 9 years ago but there wasn't as many options and I hated the constant leaking.  Maybe there was good ones out there but I just wasn't good at finding them. Anyway, the selection is HUGE now and we're lovin' it!  I can afford to buy the disposables but being that I spend $700 a year on the Target brand, lets not even mention the more expensive brands, cloth just makes sense.  

I used the excuse that you have to also use electricity and water and you have to count in that cost.  Well, in just one load I can wash several days worth of cloth diapers.  I have a front loader so even better.  Sweet!  I have been changing diapers nonstop since the year 2000 without even a month break.  Do you know how many diapers that is?  Around 50,000!  Whooooaaa.... You know you love kids when you don't mind changing THAT many diapers.  I wish I could see all the diapers I changed in a big mound to really understand how much I added to our landfill.  That is just me alone that used that many and threw away. Eek.

I made sure to go to Sprouts and buy Country Save which is safe for cloth diapers.  It's 80 loads for 10 bucks.  I asked Rosemary why it was important to use this kind of laundry detergent and she said because regular laundry detergent will break down the material that keeps diapers from leaking.  Okay, I make my own laundry detergent but I might just figure out how to alter it to be able to make it safe for cloth diapers as well.  I've been noticing lately that I have this desire in me to learn how to do everything the hard way.  Not sure why but I just like learning how to make things myself.  What if I couldn't go to the store and by the top brand out there?  Isn't it nice to know your options?  Save money?  To actually know what you need and how to make it?  Maybe it's the frugalness in me, I don't know.  

It really is important to protect your cloth diapers so if you are curious about brands, just click on this link HERE to know which ones are safe and the cost differences.  

By the way, I'm trying THIS next!  Keep one in the shower filled with a mixture of half vinegar and half Dawn dishsoap.  Use it to wipe down the shower while you are in there and your shower will always be clean.