The sprayer was a great tool; I just needed to learn how to use it well. My first rinsing attempt lead to a bath, for myself and for the bathroom. As I navigated the gentle tweaking of the valve to get just the right amount of water pressure, the water and organic matter went flying. I tried again, hoping it would get much better. While my next several attempts got much easier, it was still messy.

I decided to bring the dry pail into the bathroom and pull it close to the toilet. This helps prevent dripping (huge move). I also used to lift the toilet seat before spraying. I did not want to get it dirty. However, the lid, actually, helps keep the splatter to a minimum. If you put the diaper sprayer below the level of the toilet seat, it works.

In the end, I learned a few things. Bring the pail to where your sprayer is located. Open the pail ahead of time. Pull out the liner, if it is a pocket, before rinsing off the bulk of the poop. Put the insert in the pail. Then, fold the diaper in half (opening side down) with the inside out. Rinse in a downward motion. Put the sprayer close to the fabric on a lower setting to prevent tones of splatter. It may take a little longer to rinse, but it will prevent bathroom clean up.

If you are using an all-in-one, you will most likely need to wring the diaper. I have heard that you can use tools (aka. tongs) to hold the diaper and press it against the side of the toilet bowl to remove the access water. I, admittedly, have never tried this myself.

My conclusion is that sprayers are great. They take some getting used to, I still am; however, it helps keep the diapers from staining as horribly. Cloth diapering can sometimes be a labor of love, but overall the sprayer makes it a little bit easier.

Ashley Williams is a 24 year old first-time mom to an amazing little boy and wife to a great husband. She is taking a year off school to be a stay at home mom. Before going back to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Ashley considers herself a “cloth diapering, baby food making, sling carrying, warrior momma” and loving every minute.

In her free time Ashley cooks, scrapbooks, goes to a mother’s bible study, watches TV, and sleeps (if she’s lucky).

I’m always looking for ways to continue that love outside of the nursery, to make every day an earth day, and I believe you all are doing the same. I’ll be posting green tips as I find them, but I’d love to hear from you all as well. I’ll group them together and turn them into a one-click online resource for parents who are just getting started on their eco-conscious journey.

Today’s Green Tip: Green Cleaning
When I was growing up, my parents made decisions that were about being less eco-conscious, more about being cash poor. Whatever their motivations, the end result was that we used what we had versus buying expensive disposables. In our house, there were seven kids and only one income. For us, baking soda was akin to a miracle.

• Round one: baking soda plus toothbrush. For the first 30 days or so, it was the combination we used it in our mouths to clean our teeth. Not so tasty but it did the job.
• Round two: scrub around the sink fixtures. A little bit of baking soda and water kept those faucets sparkling clean.
• Round three: Baking soda plus vinegar or lemon juice. Who needs expensive cleansers when you can combine two natural ingredients that do a foamy, fizzy, delightfully clean dance over soap scum and bathtub rings?

We also used baking soda to clean countertops, baking soda to freshen diaper pails and baking soda in our carpet to absorb any smells. With all the chemical options on the shelves, isn’t it nice to know that one of the best and most versatile cleansers is eco-friendly, inexpensive and non-toxic?

Do you use baking soda? Let us know how it worked (or didn’t work) for you!

Whether you use reusable diapers or disposable ones, diaper changing can become a masterful feat once your little one reaches the age where they discover there is a world all around them that begs to be explored. When my daughter reached about four months old and was becoming an expert at rolling over, I suddenly felt like I had to be Mrs. Universe in order to adequately change her diaper – and that’s using a pocket diaper, the easiest cloth diaper out there! She didn’t just roll over – she rolled over and grabbed the bars on her changing table, making it nearly impossible for me to turn her onto her back and successfully change her diaper.

Now that she’s older, her second favorite thing to do on the changing table (aside from rolling over), is to grab the dirty diaper while I’m taking it off. And forget about the snaps! Though they are my preferred method of diaper closure, they double my diaper changing time, and yet I need to use them even more than before since her curious fingers are quickly discovering how to undo Velcro.

So what can I do to make this new challenge easier? Skip the diaper?

Yeah, um… so this really isn’t an option for my 8 month old and is better suited for a potty training toddler. But sometimes, when she rolls around and resists all my efforts to change her, letting her hang around naked seems perfectly plausible. I mean, we have hardwood floors and a mop, so… Okay, okay, bad idea. A more plausible option is to distract your curious baby.

Replace her interest. Give her something to play with. Sometimes I’ll give my little girl a toy, or her pacifier, but usually she isn’t interested in those things when I change her diaper. She wants to touch the dirty diaper or the diaper area (ew!) so I’ll give her things that I’m using at the time: a clean baby wipe, her pants that I just pulled off, the clean reusable diapers that I’m preparing to use – all of these distract her long enough for me to be able to get rid of the old diaper, clean her off, and then quickly attach the new one.

Sing and dance. Sometimes, if I sing an upbeat song like  “Jesus Loves You” or “Father Abraham” and add some clapping and nerdy dance moves my daughter is delighted enough by the change of pace and my voice, to forget the interesting dirty diaper, which it buys me the 52 seconds I need to switch it out for a clean one before she even realizes it happened.

Tickle her. My baby girl loves nothing more than for mommy to tickle her tummy or to blow raspberries on her little belly button. When she’s not only enthralled by things she shouldn’t touch, but angry to have to stop playing long enough for me to change her, a good tickle puts her in just the right mood I need her to have for her diaper change to go quickly.

Say no. Though some parents would disagree, this is a great opportunity to teach your child some discipline. I really want my daughter to learn that mommy and Daddy are her authority and that she needs to listen to us and to other people that God has put in authority over her. Saying “no” is a great way to do that. I’ve taken to showing her what no means. When she rolls over or touches things that I don’t want her to touch, I say “No” and pull her hands away or put her back in the diaper changing position. She’s starting to learn and behave appropriately which is exciting for me when she’s about to touch something really dangerous and I can’t run to her in time.

Face, it, despite the fact that your little one has suddenly become an acrobat with a will of their own, you still have to change their diapers. Mopping the floor every hour or two just isn’t an option, and despite what you’ve been told, it really isn’t easier than the diaper wrestle. So re-strategize, re-group and do what it takes to get the job done! Go on now, change that reusable diapers!

Really, the only thing you absolutely must have for changing your baby is a flat space.

One good place for that is the cargo area or the “way back” as my sisters and I used to call it when we were little. Only in SUVs, vans or stations wagons are the cargo areas actually large enough to change your little one, though maybe an old Buick might have a trunk that’s spacious enough.

Besides having ample space, the cargo areas generally have a durable surface such as wipeable rubber or a removable (and thus easily cleaned) indoor/outdoor carpet. Both of these components make it ideal for changing your baby’s diaper. However, when traveling, the cargo area is often filled with, well, cargo rendering it useless for your specific need at the moment.

The rear seats, especially when they’re bench style seating, are also good places for changing your baby’s diaper because they’re flat. Unless you have leather or vinyl surfaces, the drawback to using a seat is the possibility of messes that will stay wet for a few hours even when cleaned. If someone is actually occupying those seats during your trip, you need to be very careful of such messes as your passengers may end up having to sit in them throughout the duration of the ride.

Another downfall to using seats is that it’s easier for your baby to roll off them though, granted, they don’t have too far to fall. When changing your baby in a back seat, it’s important to use your hand to restrain them and also it’s very important to have a changing pad that will stop unwanted messes from making their way into the seats.

If your rear seats are filled with either people or cargo, then you may have to use the front seat of your car to take care of your baby’s toiletry necessities. In this case, you may want to recline the seat which will give you somewhat of a flat surface—though unless you drive the Batmobile, it may never lay entirely flat. In this case you are not only on a surface that someone (namely me) will be sitting in, you are also in a very confined space with lots of bells and whistles surrounding it such as gear shifts and radio dials.

Changing your baby’s diaper in the front seat is very challenging, but it’s the route that my husband and I generally take when traveling since our cargo space is filled with pack n plays and strollers and our back seat is occupied by the carseat.

Finally, if it really boils down to it, diapers can, in fact, be changed on your lap. This will lessen the amount of flat area in which you can work and will also increase the chances of soiled clothing (to yourself, mainly) but if all else fails, I can tell you from experience that your lap is a viable option. Granted, you do have to grow a second or third pair of arms for such an endeavor but if your husband or wife is especially understanding and helpful (as mine is), then they’ll gladly share their limbs with you to hold flailing legs and curious fingers out of harm’s poop’s way

For all of the above scenarios it is important to have all of your diapering-on-the-go accessories on hand rather than waiting in the back seat once your baby lays diaper-less.
1) You’ll need a changing pad. I like to use a prefold on top of my changing pad as an extra absorbent layer. That way if my princess decides to relieve herself, it doesn’t roll off a waterproof surface and onto surfaces like seats or laps.
2) Grab your baby wipes. I like to not only have my little travel case handy, but to have one wipe out and ready to go—two if I know she’s got a poop bomb ready and waiting like a hidden land mine.
3) Your wet bag on hand is an absolute must. It’s well and good to have it waiting for you in the diaper bag but if you have limited space and arms and you know you won’t be able to keep curious fingers (or toes) from investigating for long, put that sucker in the wet bag and zip it up right away.
4) A clean diaper. I know that seems too obvious to even put on this list, but when you’re smelling poop and simultaneously trying to hold down a kicking baby while grabbing all your necessities, Mommy brain may just kick in and temporarily paralyze your senses. I find it especially useful to place the clean diaper ready and waiting underneath the soiled one before unfastening it so that my baby’s bottom is exposed to as little air time as possible, thus lessening her opportunity to soil the car.

Whether you use cloth diapers or disposable diapers, changing them in the car (or any other mode of transportation) is not easy. So, going into your journey prepared for every eventuality is an absolute must. With a little preparation and a lot of creativity, though, you can handle anything!

This applies even more to bringing a baby with you whether they are cloth diapered or not. This summer, my little family has taken an inordinate amount of trips away from home and every time we go, we go with cloth diapers. In fact, I’m proud to report that not once, while away from home, has a nasty, chemical-ridden, plastic-y and loud disposable diaper touched my daughter’s precious bum.

Was it difficult to use cloth? Maybe at times.
Worth it? Absolutely!

You just learn to go with the punches and make do with what you have!

Solving Sticky Situations

In our travels, here are some of the sticky situations my husband and I have encountered and the solutions that we found worked for us:

No Washing machine.
I’ve traveled many times to places without a washing machine. In such instances, all you really need is a place to soak your diapers. A hotel bathtub or sink will do nicely.

If you’re going to be away for more than two days you will have brought your cloth diaper detergent with you anyway – so just use this inconvenience as a chance to strip your cloth diapers while your at it!

Give them a good, long soak in some all natural laundry detergent or dish detergent and rinse, rinse, rinse until all the bubbles are gone. Your diapers will smell so fresh when you’re done that you’ll want to hand wash them more often!

An unfamiliar washing machine.
Even if the place you’re staying does have a washing machine, all washing machines are different and will treat your laundry differently. While visiting a friend over a couple of days, she was kind enough to allow me to wash and dry my daughter’s diapers in her machines. Now, hers are much more fancy than mine are, and though I’m accustomed to an HE washer, hers seemed to use much less water than my HE does. This meant that I found I had to add more rinses to my wash in order to get all the urine out of the inserts.

It took me a few times, but right around the time I was ready to leave for home, I’d figured out the best method of washing my diapers in her machine.

No dryer
This is absolutely not an issue because you can line dry your diapers just about anywhere.

I’ve laid my diapers over air conditioners, hangers, curtain rods, and even on my car to dry them in the hot, Southern sun while I was away on vacation.

Normally I line dry my shells anyway and machine dry my inserts so it’s really only half a hassle for me not to have a dryer at my disposal.

Granted, it will take longer to dry your inserts this way but if it’s sunny outside, why not use it as an opportunity to take advantage of the sun’s natural and safe bleaching properties? And if it’s raining or cold, use the luggage rack that the hotel provides and hang them near the heater.

No Diaper Sprayer
With a spray bottle, some dunking, or even toilet paper, poop can still be extricated from soiled diapers even if you don’t have your trusty diaper sprayer with you. Yes, it may be more gross than using a diaper sprayer, but you’re going to wash your hands and you will eventually wash the diaper that you dunked in a public toilet anyway.

No Diaper Liners
With some sturdy toilet paper or even a flannel cloth baby wipe, you can easily create a cloth diaper liner to avoid said dunking and prying of poop.

If you’re going to go with toilet paper, though, make sure it’s the tough stuff, not the flimsy one-ply deal you may find in some public restrooms. In either case, having a even a make-shift liner will make the disposal of poop much easier as you travel.

No Changing Pad
Failure to remember a changing pad does not have to be a big deal. If you cloth diaper with prefolds or flat diapers, just pull an extra one out and stick it under your baby’s bum. If you don’t have one of those, then a blanket will do nicely as well. If you’re worried about messes and leaking, a grocery bag or even an empty wet bag underneath your baby accompanied by a soft blanket or prefold will really take care of things.

No Wet Bag
Though it’s not ideal, it’s not the end of the world if you forget your wet bag. A ziplock bag or a grocery bag will do nicely.

No Wipes
If you forget your baby wipes, there are so many possible solutions! If you’re at a friends house, you can beg some of their cleaning rags. If you’re in a hotel you can easily use the washcloths left in your room. If worse comes to worse there are plenty of disposable paper products you can use. Wet a couple of paper towels from the gas station bathroom or, use some tissues from your purse.

Traveling with cloth diapers doesn’t have to be difficult and it doesn’t have to be stressful either! You just need to go into it realizing that you probably will find yourself in situations where you don’t have all the conveniences of home and that you’ll have to find a way to get around those things with a little bit of creativity and flexibility.

GUEST BLOGGER

Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time Stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

You can read more about Becca at her blog, Becca’s Cloth Diaper Blog.

Since we bought a diaper sprayer, poopy diapers have been a non-issue in our house. It is a convenience necessity we just don’t think about, and definitely can’t live without, much like the toilet to which it is attached.

When we go on vacation, using cloth diapers is the only choice for us. Vacations can be expensive enough as it is without the added cost of a couple of boxes of disposable diapers.

But what about the poop? What do you do with the poop when you’re on vacation and you don’t have a diaper sprayer at your disposal? It’s not like we live in Europe where bidets are commonly found in every dwelling place. As my husband put it, it’s one thing if your baby poops when you’re gone for a day. At least then, you can put the mess in your wet bag and deal with it properly when you get home. But when you’re away for a span of time, saving the poopy diapers until later is just not an option.

My husband, daughter and I have gone away three times already this summer (it’s not even July when I write this) and we still have a couple of trips left before the summer is out. This means, that we’ve had plenty of time to experiment with alternate ways of disposing of poop from our cloth diapers, and plenty of time to decide how we will be taking care of said poop in the future.

Here are the options we’ve discovered in our journey

Shake it off. Sometimes the poop really does just “shake off” the dirty diaper and into the toilet. I’ve found that this is true mostly with diapers that have microsuede, rather than microfleece, as an inner fabric; sometimes it works for my fleece-lined diapers too, depending upon the texture of the poop and whether or not the diaper was also wet.

Pry it off. When the poop won’t just fall out into the toilet, we’ve found that using wads of toilet paper to pry it off by hand also works. Yes, this is disgusting, I know, but when it’s all you can do, you’re willing to do it.

Dunk it off. While dunking your prized diaper in a public bathroom (or even the bathroom in a hotel or your host’s house) may not be ideal, it can effectively remove most of the offending poop. I grab both the top and the bottom of my diaper tightly and dunk it while flushing the water. The pull of the flush seems to remove a good amount of the poop. I generally need to do this at least twice. Be careful, though, to have a good hold on your diaper. I couldn’t imagine how awful it would be if I accidentally flushed one, or got it jammed. *shudders*

Spray it off. I don’t know why, but I always have a spray bottle with me when we travel for an extended period of time with cloth diapers. One particular day, when I was just tired of trying to extricate the poop on a soiled diaper using the methods listed above, I figured it couldn’t hurt to use my spray bottle. I adjusted the spray so that it came out forcefully rather than in a mist, and aimed it at some of the worst clumps. Granted, it was a lot of work getting the poop off just a little bit at a time, but with no other option, it worked.

Use a diaper liner. This, is by far, the best option. I promised myself I’d get some of these before we went on vacation after some of the poop experiences we’d had in our previous trips, but alas, I forgot! What a bummer! There are lots of different options of cloth diaper liners. All of them involve a thin barrier between the diaper and the mess.

You can get disposable disposable bioliners which just slough off into the toilet with the poop leaving your diaper washing machine ready. You can also get or make cloth diaper liners out of a bit of microfleece or microsuede and just deal with cleaning the mess of cleaning off a thin strip of fabric rather than the creases and folds of your diaper. Either way, these seem like the absolute best option for traveling with poop. If I can get my act together, I will remember to buy some of these before my next trip

We Only Travel with Cloth

Despite the challenges of traveling with cloth diapers, my husband and I still refuse to buy disposable diapers even if it is just for trips.

We’ve dealt with poop just about everywhere you can imagine – in the car, in gross gas station bathrooms, in nice gas station bathrooms, in Wal*mart, in fast food restaurants, in hotel rooms, and even in friend’s houses – and in none of those cases did we have our beloved diaper sprayer (one of our best cloth diapering investments, by the way!)

Overall, we find that the rewards or using cloth everywhere we go far outweigh the difficulties. We’ve discovered that with a little bit of problem-solving, even the difficulties of cloth diapering can become non-issues after practice.

GUEST BLOGGER

Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time Stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

You can read more about Becca at her blog, Becca’s Cloth Diaper Blog.

The Tots Bots Easy Fit Diaper is an innovative cloth diaper distributed by Bummis – a cloth diaper company recognized and respected for its long standing commitment to quality products.

An all in one, pocket diaper, the Tots Bots Easy Fit Diaper has the built-in efficiency of a two-piece cloth diaper system with its attached liner. No more wasted time digging through the laundry basket to match-up the insert to the diaper!

6 Layers of Customized Absorption

Attached on one end only, the Tots Bots Easy Fit Diaper‘s insert quickly folds to provide up to 6 layers of absorption right where your baby needs it. Once folded, stuff the insert into the Easy Fit pocket and you’re done!

“No Run-Off Leaking”

Two layers of ultra soft rayon constructed from highly absorbent bamboo fibers rest against baby’s skin. Bamboo absorbs 70% faster than cotton – couple that with the Tots Bots Easy Fit Diaper’s protective side-guards and the company’s boast of “no run-off leaking” is secure!

The Tots Bots Easy Fit Diaper is available in five, bright, Oeko-tex certified dye colors, including white.

Ethically produced in the Tots Bots factory in Glasgow, Scotland, the Tots Bots Easy Fit Diaper is manufacturered with a “closed loop” system which recycles water and chemical output to ensure sustainability.

I love pocket diapers. I have seven pocket dipes, and all were gifts or prizes. But hubby and I decided to go economical on this cloth diapering journey, so the majority of our diaper stash consists of Diaper Rite Prefolds. (I do not dislike my prefolds – they do a great job. I just like pockets the best).

When we started using prefolds full-time…

When we started using prefolds full-time, I quickly realized my baby had wetness sitting right next to her skin. I stopped in at Diaper Junction, and the wonderful ladies there suggested stay dry liners. I had never heard of them before…silly me, not enough research.

Stay-dry liners are fleece liners that lay inside of your baby’s prefold (or any diaper). The fleece wicks the moisture away from the baby’s skin and into the absorbent diaper beneath. I purchased a package of these liners, and loved the fact that the liner acted just like the soft fleece lining of my beloved pocket diapers. Now my little girl wasn’t getting wet anymore!

Make your own Stay Dry Liners

A cloth diapering friend suggested that I make my own liners. Why didn’t I think of that?

So I did.
And so can you.

First, purchase a light-weight fleece. Then, cut it into strips about 11-12 inches long and 4-5 inches wide. Since fleece doesn’t fray on the edges when washed, you don’t have to finish the edges.

Now granted, my store-bought stay dry liners look much nicer, they are serged on the edges and exactly the same size, but my homemade stay-dry liners function the same.

I purchased 1/4 yard of fleece when it was on sale. I was able to cut about 20 liners – enough to cover my stash and wash every 2-3 days. I spent $2. This is a great, economical way to keep baby dry – DIY!

Are You Using Cloth Baby Wipes?

My second DIY tip involves making cloth baby wipes. I recently started using cloth wipes and again I wonder why didn’t think of this sooner?

Before my baby’s arrival a friend asked if I was going to use cloth wipes. My reply was, “I’m not that crazy!” I thought it was gross. Then I read some reviews.

I computed that I was spending $2-3 per week on disposable wipes. I began to wonder if there was really a difference between washing and reusing cloth diapers, and washing and reusing cloth baby wipes.

I concluded there is no difference; cloth wipes do not have a greater “gross factor” than cloth diapers (and I love using cloth diapers!).

The thing that pushed me over the edge was when I started wrapping disposable wipes in my cloth diaper and throwing them into my wet bag. I didn’t realize what was happening until I began to pull wipes out of the dryer. Talk about gross! So, my solution was to try cloth baby wipes. I purchased 15 wipes off E-bay. They were sold in a package of 5 for $5, and they are homemade double-thickness flannel wipes.

Make your own Cloth Baby Wipe Solution

I used a cloth baby wipes diaper solution recipe from a friend – 4 cups of hot water mixed with 3 tablespoons of baby wash/shampoo, and 2 tablespoons of baby oil. I read somewhere that adding lavender and tea tree essential oils to your wipe solution helps cut down on the odor while the wipes are in the diaper pail. While I have not encountered an odor problem, I do use the night-time baby bath which is scented with lavender. (I was given a lot as baby gifts and I don’t usually do bath time at night). The scent is wonderful and I love using my cloth wipes even more because they smell so good!

I mix the solution and put it in an old water bottle with a squeeze top. I store my wipes in an old wipe container. I squeeze some liquid onto each wipe in the stack. They are wet, but not submerged in liquid.

Make your own Cloth Baby Wipes Too!

Now for the DIY part: 15 wipes is not enough for a 2-3 day wash cycle! I was at the fabric store and discovered the cotton flannel on sale 50% off – $2.99 a yard! I picked out two fabric designs and purchased 3/4 yard of each. I went home and made my own wipes.

I was able to make 12 wipes for around $5. (I later realized that had I laid my fabric out properly I could have cut 15 wipes from this length of fabric). Here’s how you can make your own wipes:

1. Prewash and dry your fabric.
2. Cut a piece of typing paper into a 7.5″ square. This size will fit just right into an old disposable wipe box. After trimming and finishing, my wipes are closer to 7″ square.
3. Use the typing paper for your pattern and cut the fabric into squares.
4. Put two squares together (I used contrasting fabrics), wrong sides together.
5. Stitch the squares together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I used a decorative stitch. Tip: I found it helpful to have gingham on one side. I stitched along the plaid lines and came out with a perfect square.
6. Finish the edges by running a zigzag stitch over the edge of each wipe. This will keep them from fraying in the dryer.
7. I do not have a serger, so I had to stitch the squares together and then finish the edges. If you have a serger, just serge around the edges and you’re done!
8. Stack your wipes and store in your old wipe container!

Please note…I am not an expert seamstress by any means – I only know the basics. If I can do this, anyone can do this! I spent about an hour on this project (after washing the fabric)

I hope you enjoy these DIY projects. I enjoyed getting a little more involved and hands-on in the cloth diapering products I use on my baby!

GUEST BLOGGER

Andrea Hamilton‘s full time job is being Ben’s wife and Elaine’s mommy in Virginia Beach, VA. She started cloth diapering in November 2009 – initially to save money, and now because she loves it. In her “spare time” she enjoys studying God’s Word, playing the piano, scrapbooking, blogging, and bargain-hunting. Andrea has a Bible & Missions degree, and her family is preparing to move to NYC where her husband will be an assistant pastor.

You can read more from Andrea at her blog, Random Issues.

Before the birth of my first child, I started looking into cloth diapers. I expected to find cotton prefold diapers, funny-looking plastic pants, and diaper pins. What I discovered in my research was a pleasant surprise! When I registered for Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers, I didn’t quite get the stash of 24 that I needed to cloth diaper my baby full time. So my husband and I decided to “go economical” – cotton prefolds and diaper covers; I was so excited to learn that I no longer needed diaper pins. Enter the Snappi Diaper Fastener!

What is a Snappi Diaper Fastener?

The Snappi fastener is a t-shaped rubber fastener that easily grips cloth diapers on each side, and secures down in front. The grippers remind me of that little silver piece that holds an ace bandage together. It is so easy to use! I fold the diaper up between my baby’s legs and “clip” the Snappi on one side. Then I stretch it over to grip the other side – nice and snug. Lastly, I pull the Snappi down to grip the center of the diaper and hold everything in place just so. That’s it!

Anyone Can Use a Snappi!

When I showed my Mom and Grandparents today’s modern cloth diapers, I also told them diaper pins are now obsolete. They were so impressed with the ease of the Snappi Diaper Fastener!

While visiting home for the holidays, my parents took care of my baby one morning so I could sleep in a little. I awoke to find my little girl with a fresh diaper – happy and playing with Grandpa. My Mom was so proud of herself for figuring out how to put that diaper on…with no help! That’s the beauty of the Snappi – it’s so easy, anyone can do it!

When I pick my daughter up from the nursery I have received many comments ranging from, “What’s that thing for?” to, “Oh, cool!” to, “I had to use pins on my babies.”

Inexpensive, But Necessary!

The Snappi is not an expensive investment, but I believe it is a necessary investment for the prefold diaper user. I own two Snappi’s. I keep one in the diaper bag and one at the changing table. Priced at just $3.95 at Diaper Junction, they are very affordable.

Maybe you’re thinking about cloth diapering but you worry about sticking a wiggling baby with a diaper pin. Maybe you want a more economical way to cloth diaper, but you don’t know how to hold those prefolds together. I recommend the Snappi Diaper Fastener. It’s a prefold’s best friend!

GUEST BLOGGER

Andrea Hamilton‘s full time job is being Ben’s wife and Elaine’s mommy in Virginia Beach, VA. She started cloth diapering in November 2009 – initially to save money, and now because she loves it. In her “spare time” she enjoys studying God’s Word, playing the piano, scrapbooking, blogging, and bargain-hunting. Andrea has a Bible & Missions degree, and her family is preparing to move to NYC where her husband will be an assistant pastor.

You can read more from Andrea at her blog, Random Issues.

When you hear the word “lanolizing” you probably get the impression that it’s time consuming and difficult. Luckily, it’s not. Lanolizing your wool diaper covers is a very simple process and there are a few very easy ways to do it.

There is no need to wash your woolies every time you want to lanolize them either. Here is my handy guide for everything you need to know about lanolizing your wool.

What is Lanolin?

Lanolin is a greasy, yellow substance produced by sheep to help keep their wool dry. It acts as a moisture barrier on skin and helps to keep wool soft and in good condition. Lanolin is also soothing to the skin and can be used as a hand lotion.

Why Do My Wool Diaper Covers Need Lanolin?

Since lanolin acts as a natural water repellent, it helps keep moisture in and the wool dry to the touch. Lanolin is also naturally anti-bacterial and neutralizes the smell of urine in your wool. 

How Often Do I Need To Lanolize?

When your wool diaper covers stop repelling moisture or start to smell, it’s time to re-lanolize. 

How To Lanolize

Here are the basic steps to lanolizing for each of the different types of lanolin.

Liquid Lanolin – Fill a sink or container with warm water. Add 1 – 2 Tsp. of Imse Vimse Wool Cure or whatever liquid lanolin you prefer. Submerge wool into water, swishing around to help coat the wool with lanolin. Leave the wool to soak in water/lanolin mix from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Drain the water. To remove excess water, gently squeeze the wool, then roll into a towel and press firmly. Lay the wool flat and allow to air dry.

Lanolin Wash Bars – As you fill your sink or container with warm water, hold your lanolin bar under running water until the water becomes cloudy. Then submerge your wool into the water/lanolin mix, swishing it gently to coat the wool with lanolin. Allow your wool to soak from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Drain the water. To remove excess water, gently squeeze the wool, then roll it into a towel, and press firmly. Lay the wool flat and allow to air dry.

Lanolin Spray – This can be used on either wet or dry wool diaper covers. Place woolies onto a towel. Hold spray 8 – 12″ from inside of wool and spray evenly over it. Be careful not to spray to much on, or it will give the wool a greasy feel when its dry. Massage lanolin into wool to help work it in. Turn your woolies right side out and repeat. Lay wool flat and allow to air dry.

GUEST BLOGGER

Beth is a SAHM of 5 wonderful boys ages 2 months to 14 years. She has been cloth diapering for over two years and has a passion for helping other moms learn all about it. She also loves to write, sing and spend time with her loving family.

You can read more about Beth at her blog, The Diaper Cover.