Don't Leave Your Two Year Old Alone with the Cloth Diapers

Don't leave your two year old alone with the cloth diapers, or this may happen:

I was given a roll of liners recently. 

These photos were taken AFTER I had spent 20 minutes rolling up the liners that were in his bedroom and all down the hallway. 

This is the culprit. My guess is that he was communicating, "Mom, it's 8 o'clock and I'm hungry and bored."

My diapering accessories have been under attack lately. Sweet Pea (pictured below) got a hold of a sample pack of Grandma El's diaper rash ointment yesterday, and ate some of it. We got to talk on the phone with the nice people at poison control (She's fine).

Have your kids ever gotten into your cloth diapering products and made a mess of anything? 

The Idle Housewife

This morning I was reading from Proverbs 31, a passage from the Bible that basically describes the perfect wife. It's a great example that I do my best to live up to. 

Here is a part that stood out to me today:

"Who can find a capable wife? She is far more precious than jewels." (Prov. 31:10; HCSB)

According to Merriam Webster, "Capable" means "having attributes (as physical or mental power) required for performance or accomplishment."

I want to be a capable wife, a capable mother, and a capable woman.

I'm competent (adequate) in many areas, but not necessarily capable (accomplished). I'm capable in some areas: I keep the diapers washed and folded, I do meal planning and strive to feed my family healthy home-cooked meals, and I homeschool my children (at this stage this means we read Bible stories, read story books, color, play games, and look at nature when we play outside). 

But I am not a capable wife. Look, if you dare, at these examples:

My bedroom doesn't look so bad, until you go to the other side of the bed.    

Our pretty white door going into our office/junk room keeps most people from seeing what's really happening:

But there's no excuse for the state of our hallway:

So how do I become a capable housewife?

I believe the answer is in verse 27: "She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle." (Prov. 31:27; HCSB)

"Idle" means, "shiftless, lazy." I didn't really know what "Shiftless" meant, so I looked that word up too: "Lacking in ambition or incentive."

To sum all that up, the woman who watches over the activities of her household and is not lazy and does not lack ambition or incentive is a capable woman.

To sum it all up in a more personal way, I am not a capable wife. I am lazy. I lack ambition and incentive. I do not watch over the activities of my household in an effective manner.

Starting today I choose to become a more capable wife (there's my ambition).

If I can work hard and care for my home and family (even the parts no one ever sees like diaper changing and closet cleaning and emotion-controlling), then perhaps this will happen: "Her sons rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her: 'Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!'" (Prov. 31:28-29; HCSB) (there's my incentive).

Today I will stay away from my books and the computer (after I'm done writing this!) until I have completed my day's work. Perhaps Satan's going to throw me a curve ball and make everything go wrong. Mini emergencies will happen, distractions and trials will get in my way. But at the very least, I choose to have a prayerful heart and a diligent mind as I seek to serve my family and my God. We are "more than conquerors" (Rom. 8:37).

Goodbye idleness.



Comment if you plan to join me. :)

CJ's BUTTer® Review and Giveaway

CJ's BUTTer® graciously sent me samples to try! They came in cute little 1/2 oz jars. I love the sample size, because I have one in the diaper bag, one in my purse, one by my bed, one in the bathroom, one on my desk, and one... that I've lost (if you know me you won't be surprised!).

The texture of CJ's BUTTer® is unique. It's thicker than lotion or cream, yet it goes on just as smoothly. Right after putting it on your skin feels oily, but after a few minutes the BUTTer® dissipates and soaks in and the oily feeling vanishes. The Vegan formula was the same texture as the original. If you prefer a lotion, CJ's also sells Creamy Body Lotion. 

The first day I used CJ's on every person in our family:

-On my son's diaper rash (See HERE)

-On my daughter's eczema (more about that below)

-On my sunburn (soothed it)

-On my husband's grease burn

CJ's can also be used as a lip balm. For a (more) complete list of uses, go HERE. 

CJ's comes in a number of scents you can check out HERE. Below is a list of the ones I was able to try, and my opinion of each. 

Sensuality (ylang ylang and myrrh)- Although this scent is CJ's favorite, this one is probably my least favorite. But that's only because it smells just like the face cream my grandmother uses. If it were my husband who used it, I'd probably like it better. 

Lavender and Tee Tree Oil- I love this one! It smells exactly like the title says, and is my second favorite scent. 

Monkey Farts- This is another one that I do NOT like. According to the scent page, it "begins with top notes of fresh banana and juicy grapefruit, middle notes of kiwi, bubblegum, and strawberries; and a hint of vanilla as a base note." I'm pretty sure it's the banana and bubble gum that bothers me. My husband, on the other hand, loves this one! 

Pink Sugar- I love this one too! This one is hard to describe, and it's tied for second place with the Lavender and Tee Tree Oil in my opinion. Here is the scent combination: lemon drops, cotton candy, red fruit, fig leaves, caramel, raspberry, and vanilla-musk.

Blueberry Crumble-This one is my favorite! I could eat it right out of the jar! (and therefore do not dare use it as a lip balm). It smells like fresh blueberry muffins. (WARNING: It doesn't taste at all like it smells!)

The only problem I had with the CJ's cream is that my daughter's eczema became much worse after using the CJ's. According to her doctor, scented creams can worsen eczema. A CJ's Representative suggested trying the Lavender Tee Tree BUTTer®: 

The Lavender Tea Tree is one of our essential oil scents, so it does not contain any fragrance oils (like the Monkey Farts, Pink Sugar & Blueberry Crumble). Instead it contains both Lavender & Tea Tree essential oils, which are both known to help with treating eczema in and of themselves. In fact the 4 options that we recommend to people with eczema are Unscented (Natural), Lavender, Tea Tree & Lavender Tea Tree. If the Lavender Tea Tree seems to aggravate her eczema it may be that she actually has an allergy to one of the essential oils or another ingredient, which I just wanted to point out so that you can compare the ingredients to anything else that may cause irritation for her in the future. 

So if you want to use CJ's for eczema, go for the one of the four scents she recommends (I had been using the Blueberry Crumble... you know, because she's so cute you could just eat her up?). 

Use the Rafflecopter below to win some CJ's BUTTer® of your own! The winner will receive a 4 oz. Tube of BUTTer® in the fragrance of your choice!


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4 Reasons to Cloth Diaper You Probably Haven't Thought Of

1. It helps you get your other laundry done

Since I know that I have to free up the washer for diapers every day, that means I have to make sure my other laundry gets done and out of the way. Did you know that it's easier to do one load of laundry a day than it is to do 4 loads every 4 days (or 7 loads every 7...)?? True story. 

2. It can teach your child colors, classifying, and counting

My son is able to practice his colors by asking for the color he wants next. He also helps me organize the diapers. I ask him, "How many grey diapers are in this pile?" and he counts them. I also sometimes catch him counting the snaps on the front of his diaper. 

3. It can be relaxing

Maybe I'm weird, but I find it relaxing to put on some classical music, sit on the floor or couch, and stuff and organize diapers. It's a mindless chore that allows me some time to think about whatever I want to think about. 

4. It enables self-expression

My son LOVES to choose what diaper he wants to wear next. "I wanna wear the star one! Wait... no... the bwoo one. Da bwoo one." It's not just a water-proof pant to catch urine, it's a fashion statement. 

What about you? Can you think of any other "perks" to cloth diapering (aside from the usual financial and environmental reasons)?

Breastfeeding and Lack of Weight Gain

I haven't been thinking very much about Cloth diapering lately. I've been too concerned about my daughter's weight gain.

She's always been a five minute nurser, but she remained in the 25th percentile for 4 months. By 6 months she had LOST some weight, without changing any of her eating habits. She's now underweight according to the growth charts.

After a week of supplementing every nursing session with either formula or solids and PRAYING that she'd gain at least 7 oz, she only gained TWO ounces. TWO.

The doctor looked at the computer screen and mournfully turned to me with the announcement that he was extremely worried about her, because if she doesn't begin to gain weight soon, she'll be small her entire life (and that would be bad because....?)

But aside from lack of weight gains (and threats by the doctor to give her the label "failure to thrive"), she seems to be excelling. Does this look like a sick baby to you? The one just below that is emptying my cloth diaper rack? 

The girl turned 8 months old today and is sitting up, crawling, "talking," standing, and starting to learn how to cruise around. She drinks from a sippy cup, eats finger foods, and takes her brother's precious monkey away from him and laughs and laughs when he gets irritated with her.

I shouldn't be worried about my baby girl, but I'm a mom. Moms worry.

Have you ever had a tiny breastfeeding baby? If so, what did you do? Supplement? Switch to formula? Ignore it?

Oh and on a happier note, I just received a Cocalo diaper in the mail to review... After I write the review, there will be a giveaway! Aren't you excited!??

How to Start Cloth Diapering Without Breaking the Bank

One of the biggest reasons people are not interested in cloth diapering is because of the startup costs. In fact, this was the reason it took me so long to get into cloth diapering. I knew that cloth diapering would save me money in the long run, but I was already spending $50 a month on disposable diapers and couldn't afford to spend the $500 or so it would cost to purchase 24 cloth diapers.  

I have come up with a plan that will give you a stash of 12 t-shirt diapers with covers, 12 pocket diapers, and 3 all-in-one diapers, and will cost you an average of $48.98 a month (including the cost of disposables until you get switched over!). Sound good?

Okay, here’s the plan:

Month 1:

Ask around and collect 12 soft t-shirts for t-shirt diapers. You can use a toddler t-shirt for a newborn and an extra large adult t-shirt for a toddler. Use whatever size seems best. Also this month, purchase diaper pins, covers, and diaper detergent.

When you run out of cloth diapers, put a disposable on your baby (I started out using disposables at night and cloth during the day). Remember that this month will be the most difficult. You will have to wash every day, keep dirty diapers in plastic bags, and dunk the nasty diapers in the toilet (unless your baby is exclusively breastfed, then you can just toss it in the wash!). But remember, it’ll get easier!

12 T-Shirts: Free

Disposable diapers: $50

Diaper Covers: $27.80 (4 for $6.95 each)

Diaper Detergent: $11.95

Diaper Pins: $1.95

Total for first month: About $91

Month 2:

This month will be where things get a bit easier in your wash routine. Purchase a diaper pail liner or a wet bag and a diaper sprayer.

Diaper Pail Liner: $14.95

Diaper Sprayer: $32.99

Total for second month: About $47.94

Month 3:

This is the month you get to try pocket diapers! You’ll need to be patient a while longer, however, as the shipping may take around 30 days.

12 Sunbaby Diapers: $60

Total for third month: About $60

Month 4:

If you have stuck it out this far, you’ll probably need to invest in a larger container of detergent. Shop around, investigate, and pick out what suits your family the best.

Diaper Detergent: $34.95

Total for fourth month: About $34.95

Month 5:

These next two months are the fun months! This month pick out one fun diaper, any kind you’ve been wanting to try!

One Fun diaper: $20

Total for fifth month: About $20

Month 6:

Celebrate your cloth diapering journey by purchasing two fun diapers!

Two Fun Diapers: $40

Total for sixth month: About $40

Total Cost to transition to Cloth in 6 months: About $293.89 ($48.98 per month)

Total Cost to use disposable diapers for 6 months: About $300 ($50 per month)

(If you want to break it down even further, it costs about $1200 to use disposable diapers for 2 years, or $1800 to use disposables for 3 years. Your cloth diapers will last you much longer than that!)

What other concerns have prevented you or people you know from cloth diapering?  

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