Doing Away With Tissues and Using Our Sleeves

We're a cloth diaper family. I don't really do it because I care about the environment, although I agree that is important.
Mainly I'm cheap and hate buying disposable things.

We make our own baby wipes for the same reason. While, yes, they are disposable, they are cheaper, and I know what's in them.

When I can, I make our own spices, as well, such as pumpkin pie spice, ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix. Partly for health reasons, but mainly because 1) they taste better, and 2) CHEAP!

I am cheap frugal when I can be. Allergy season had me cringing over the amount of Kleenex boxes we were going through. And sometimes (okay, you have permission to announce "how cheap! those poor kids!") I would let my toddler's nose run just a bit longer before he was old enough to blow his nose, just because I didn't want to waste a whole kleenex if I was just going to wipe it again in another minute and a half. (I know, I know...)

So I got an idea.

Hankies.

Yep.

Not original with me.

But here's the thing. I don't know how they did it back when Kleenexes weren't a thing, and tissues were... especially with a cold, or allergies. The same ol' hankie all day long??

This is what has stopped me from trying it sooner.

But then somehow I got the idea to use some old t-shirt sleeves we had in the scrap bin. (I think these are left from the t-shirt quilt I have cut out but never sewn together.)

I cut off any seams, since those wouldn't feel good on a sore nose, and cut each sleeve into two pieces. If you want larger, just use the whole thing. I cut out a bunch! I knew we'd need several to keep us stocked while they cycle through the laundry.

I kept an empty tissue box to stuff them into. (Which by now looks a bit too beat up for a blog pic, since my two-year-old found it and decided it was a toy, or something to jump on, or who knows what, so you get a pic of what we're using right now, which is an empty diaper-liner box which is working nicely) Then after a bit of blowing our nose and running to the laundry room to discard the used hanky, I decided we needed a handy place to put them.
Hence, the little blue basket in the pic.

And again, my boy decided this was a toy, and commandeered it, and guests didn't know what they were for either, so I labeled it.
I used just a scrap piece of cardstock and punched holes in it, and tied it with some cute twine left from the goody-bag from my niece's 1st birthday.

And there we go! It's been a pretty easy transition for my family. It has taken a bit longer to get guests to love the idea, so we still have Kleenex boxes around, but we've totally saved money so far!

Thankful

I'm not gonna lie. Life is hard. SO hard. But I'm remembering to be thankful. I'm remembering to savor. Because even if life is hard, it is my life. My only life. These day-to-days even when I accomplish nothing other than keeping my little boys alive and fed, these are my life. We're in the thick of it. We're smack in the middle (and at the beginning, depending on perspective) of doing the thing, and we get one shot at it.

I'm extraordinarily hard on myself. I am realizing more and more how many people are hard on themselves and I am no exception. I didn't really think of myself as a perfectionist, but perhaps there is a bit of that in me. It could just be plain ol' insecurity. It could be a lot of things. (By the way, I'm going through Beth Moore's So Long Insecurity with four precious daughters of God, and it is like a fresh glass of iced tea in July. Every person on the planet could benefit from that book and I strongly recommend you get a copy!)

But I'm easing up a bit.

I am a week behind on my scripture memory. Or a year plus a week, depending how you look at it. I started the Romans Project last year and drifted away from the habit around the end of July or August. Life happens, and I allowed it to get in the way. So I started back with it this year in the middle of July, and am behind.
I was beating myself up about this. This and a host of other 'started but unfinished' projects... like the laundry for example.

But there is grace. God offers grace abundant, and we've only but to receive it.

And I am behind on my scripture memory, but, God graciously reminded me, at least I'm doing it. God's precious words, while maybe not in the quantity or at the pace I would have liked, are still being trained into my heart. Little is better than none at all; praise Jesus.

We took a walk yesterday. The dinner dishes weren't washed. My son may have still had a bit of pizza sauce on his face.
But we laughed together.

My hair is graying and I'm not even 30.
But I have hair.

My best girlfriend is states away.
But I have a precious friend.

The sink is full of dishes and the diapers need washed.
But I have a family to clean up after.

My back aches and my arms and neck are sore.
But these are all likely from caring for and carrying my kids.

These are hard eucharisteo and gifts only from God.
Every good and perfect gift comes from God. Our father.
I have a Father.
I have gifts from that Good Father.
I am thankful.

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Sometimes

Sometimes I forget. I forget to be thankful in all the moments.

All. the moments.

I think things like "why are you crying?" and "you liked this food yesterday, why does it make you upset right now?"

And then I remember.

I remember to be thankful for the now.

There are not that many more days where I will get to take care of, care for, and fend for my boy. He's already One. One eighteenth of the way to being an adult already. 

Won't be long (and I will have to remind myself of this when it comes time to potty train) and he won't need me to lovingly clean up his diaper. 

Won't be long until he won't want to throw the green beans and carrots and black beans on the floor- he'll want to eat them. And then he'll want to help me cook them. And then he'll drive to the store for me to buy more.

Won't be long until those teeth will all be here, and then they'll fall out, and then they'll be here to stay. Only the next set won't make him cry. And he won't be my baby any more. He'll be big.

Won't be long until he doesn't cry every. single. time. I get out the vacuum and I won't have to decide it's not worth it to have vacuumed floors right now. He may even help me vacuum. 

Won't be long and he'll eat the same foods as us, and I won't have to make baby food in the afternoons so dinner doesn't get cold if I wait to make it til later. And I won't get to feed him. He'll just eat by himself and I'll just have to watch.

Won't be long and he'll know all the words, and I won't have the daily practice of learning to understand him, study him, read him and know him to know what he wants. I won't be forced to, that is- it will be a discipline to maintain on purpose.

Won't be long and I won't have to try to figure out which clothes to put him in because of the size difference between the days he wears a cloth diaper or the days he wears a paper one. He'll have one size, no diaper, and big boy underpants. And he'll probably dress himself. No more tickling him as I change his shirt.

Won't be long until I fold laundry without him crawling into the basket and crawling over the folded piles, and I'll probably miss it- even if we do have clean, folded clothes.

Won't be long and he will be telling me what he sees in the car, rather than me asking him what he can see- hoping he understands what his mother is babbling about in the front seat. I'll hear a constant stream of chatter and it will be bliss.

Won't be long, and he won't try to eat the crayons, and the refrigerator will run out of room for pictures, and two or three will probably get in the way or fall off (again) each time we open the fridge door.

Won't be long and those little fingers will not get into stuff, and I won't get to hold him back or move him to a better spot all day long. Won't be long til I can't pick him up at all anymore.

Won't be long, and he'll be big, and he won't put his feet on the table under his high chair anymore. And I won't get to tickle high-chair bare feet.

Won't be long, and I won't have to worry about him spilling my drink, but instead, maybe worry about him drinking it all.

Won't be long until I won't get to hear a high-baby-voiced 'Mama?' on the monitor.

Won't be long and I'll actually get an answer when I ask, instead of daily daily silence every day when I ask him "did you have good dreams? What did you dream about?" He will tell me. If I listen.

It all won't be long.

He's growing too fast.

I must remember the moments, and remember to live all here in the moments. 

For they don't last long.

Cloth Diaper Inserts Tutorial

The Tutorial

You will need
1 yd fleece
1 pack of microfiber towels (find them in the automotive dept at Walmart)

You will use
rotary cutter & cutting mat (trust me, it will make your life easier)
sewing machine or serger

Instructions, simplified
1) Cut fabric
2) Layer fabric: two pieces of fleece with two pieces of microfiber in between. Total of 4-5 layers.
3) Stitch ends to secure them
4) Stitch/serge around edges. 
5) Wash on hot & tumble dry


Detailed Instructions

1) Cut fabric
This depends on the size of diaper you are making these for.
gDiaper TinyG's: 4" x 10.5"
gDiaper Size Small: 4.5" x 11.5"
gDiaper Size Med/L/XL: 5.5" x 13.5"

Cutting Diagram for Tiny G Inserts

For my TinyG's, out of the 1 pack of microfiber towels and a yard of fleece (had some fleece left over even), I got 16 diaper inserts. For larger inserts you won't get quite as many. I paid $5 for the towels and $6.97 for a yard of fleece at Walmart. I decided not to go with the cheap, white fleece there, because it wasn't as soft. There was some there for $3-something per yard, that was white. Even so, however, I paid less than $0.75 per insert... whereas the gDiaper inserts will run you about $5 a piece at full price.

If you are using a serger, add about a half-inch when you're cutting, to allow for what the serger will trim off. Alas, I do not have a serger (poor me.) and used a regular sewing machine, and cut it the size I wanted the finished product.
The microfiber towels kindof lie, however... they say they are 14x14, but that's stretching the truth just a bit. Plan on them being more like 13.5" or so. Since I am making inserts for the TinyG's, I fit 4 per towel; three across and one along the bottom. They weren't quite as big as 10.5x4. More like 10x4 except for the one the went lengthwise.

2) Layer fabric pieces
Two layers of fleece with two layers of microfiber between them... like a sandwich... total of 4 layers. If you are making inserts for larger diapers or an older child, you may consider adding more microfiber layers- just a guess. My newborn is great with just the 4, but he is still just little.

EDIT 5/2013 when my baby grew into the next size up, I went ahead and made the inserts with three inner layers.  These have been working beautifully. He is 10 months old and they are still absorbing all they need to. For these, I went with the orange/green/yellow microfiber towels at Walmart- they are a bit larger. I got 3 out of each towel, so one towel=one insert. 

TIP: Microfiber is super absorbent... great for the inner linings of the diaper insert, but do not let it rest against baby's skin. It is so absorbent that it will dry baby's skin out. Fleece is a good choice, as it is absorbent and keeps baby feeling dry.


3) Stitch ends to secure them (Skip if you didn't skimp on your microfiber like I did) 
I put a tiny stitch on each end of the microfiber, securing it to one layer of the fleece. I didn't want to stitch to all the layers, as I wasn't sure what any stitching/quilting would do to the absorbency of the diaper. This held it in place, and will ensure it stays in place through washings as well, even if the ends are not sewn into the outer seam. I chose to do this anyway, even on the ones I made where there was plenty of microfiber, just because it helped it not to slip as I sewed it. (I was too lazy to pin it... besides I was trying to tell my OCD self that these don't have to be pretty. They are going to get pooped on.)

4) Stitch/Serge around the edges
Fleece does not ravel, so there's no need to turn it and a tight zig-zag is just fine... it just maybe doesn't look as pretty. Make sure you're catching all 4 layers, at least on the long seams. If you do that, you should have no trouble with it bunching up inside when you wash it. Especially if you've secured the ends also.

5) Wash on hot and tumble dry before use
Just like when you buy new towels or new washcloths, these won't be very absorbent til after they've been washed. Other diaper insert brands suggest pre-washing something like 5 times. When I changed the first diaper using these inserts I wasn't sure if he was even wet- since it still felt pretty dry to the touch. I decided it was maybe just a bit damp to the touch, and definitely heavier than a dry one. 

Wet diaper that feels dry = success!

The Story

Part One of my story: (disclaimer: not very exciting, but helps give background for part two)
My husband has always planned on cloth-diapering his children. I have always adamantly planned on NOT using cloth diapers. Ask my sister how adamant we were on this point... "No way am I washing out poopy diapers!" 

When I got pregnant, however, I decided I would make my husband happy and at least consider cloth diapers. And upon looking, I found a happy compromise called gDiapers! Part disposable (even flushable, which goes away faster... no waiting for the trash pickup to get rid of the stink.) and part washable and reusable.

diaper liners

Uno problemo. Price. Yes, in the long run, it would still probably save money (oh yes and the environment and all that) but its still a chunk of change to go laying out there.  The more disposable option is actually more expensive than regular disposable diapers, basically your only benefit with those is the convenience and earth-friendly value. The option I decided to try was called gCloth, and is the part that absorbs the wet, and is washable. You line it with a diaper liner, which is like $9 for a box of 105 of the things. That is the only part we will have to re-purchase. The rest is simply an investment for all our future children's diapering. HUGE diaper deal in my opinion, compared to regular disposables.

The little gPants (diaper covers) I got on Ebay, some new, some used, and saved at least 50% on retail cost on all of those. Same with the gCloth inserts. I didn't get a boatload of the med/large gCloth- I figured I'd start with the size small, and purchase more M/L later when we were closer to needing it. I went ahead and got a half-pack of their newborn size gpants, called Tiny gPants. When I looked for the gCloth to fit those however, there wasn't one. I searched online and the best answer I found was that they were designed to use the flushable inserts only, and they did not make a gCloth insert for this size. (I could be wrong, but I didn't find them anywhere.) 

I figured if we ended up needing this size, we would figure out what to do then.... I'm actually not sure what I had planned on doing for sure. We were fully expecting a bigger baby- 8-9 pounds at least, simply because that's what both our moms had. My husband is one of 7, and I'm one of 10. With most of the babies being 8, 9, or 10 lb. in both families, we were pretty sure that's what we'd have too. The size small gDiapers start at 8 lb, so the tiny G's were "just in case" anyway.

Baby Ivan, 12 hours old

Part Two of my story is a bit more exciting:
 Our baby surprised us and came 6 weeks early!
Now what? "Now what" is right! We still had a lot on our list of things to get done in the last few weeks before he was born! He was in the hospital for 3 weeks, which helped/didn't help... They supplied the diapers at least, but didn't give me time to do anything at home, as I stayed there with him 24/7 so I could nurse. We live just far enough away from the hospital for it to not be easy to go home in between feedings.

When we did finally get to come home, we still had a few preemie diapers, as he wasn't big enough yet for even the tinyG's, and did have a bag and a box (so I thought) of newborn-size diapers. When he hit 6 lb, I was ready to try the TinyG's. I wasn't sure what to use for an insert, so I tried a couple things. First I tried folding up an old washcloth that I had, which worked okay, except that it was a bit labor-intensive for each diaper change to get it folded right, and stuff it in there without unfolding it. They also crunched up in his diaper as soon as they got wet, and so the gPants got messier than they should have. They also didn't keep him very dry, so I was worried about him getting a rash or something. They were also bulky.

My little man keeping himself entertained while I sew

Plan B was to try the size small gCloth inserts. Again, these worked okay, but because they were a bit big, they crinkled inside the pant, and let poo get around it into the gPants (which are supposed to stay relatively clean, so you don't have to wash them each time.). 

While we were figuring this out, we used mainly the disposable newborn size diapers that were given to us. Like I said, we had a bag and a whole box, right? He might be 8 lb before he gets through them all anyway. Wrong. Mainly wrong, because what I thought was a box of newborn diapers was actually a box of size 1... which starts at 8 lb. He was only 6 lb, and has skinny little legs. Those were not going to work, so we went strictly to the tinyG's by default.

The washcloths and size small inserts were not working. I knew I was going to need to just make some inserts that would actually fit. So that's what I did, and I wish I had done it sooner! They work amazing, and are so much less bulky than the too-big inserts or the washcloths. 
His little diaper butt is actually cuddly again. (Don't laugh at me--you moms know what I'm talking about.)

Happy mom, stay-dry feel diapers, easy diapering, money saved... Happy ending!