I've always been keen on the idea of saving money in every area I can, and because my son grows out of clothes faster than I can buy them, any areas I can pinch a penny are warmly welcomed. After learning most parents spend somewhere around $1500 on disposable diapers per child, the idea of cloth diapering sounded even more appealing. Cloth diapering can be a bit expensive to get started, but once you have your stash established there is very little money that needs to be spent in the long run. As an added bonus, you can use your cloth diapers on any future babies as well.
Cloth diapering has tons of different options, such as do it yourself or diaper services. Diaper services drop off a certain amount of clean diapers, and pick up your dirty ones for a certain fee each week. I do tons of laundry each week, so an extra two loads of diapers was no big deal for me. Anyone who has ventured into the cloth diapering world is surely overwhelmed at the start. There are so many options! Pocket diapers, All in ones, prefolds, hybrids, the list goes on and on. After doing a bit of research, I chose to buy a hybrid kind called "gDiapers". They have the option to be worn with a cloth insert, or their own special eco friendly biodegradable insert that is similar to a disposable diaper. The benefits of their biodegradable inserts are they can be flushed down the toilet, tossed in the compost, or thrown in your regular trash, and they decompose completely in a matter of months vs hundreds of years. I strictly use their brand of cloth inserts, but I'm sure I'll try the biodegradable refills eventually.
The gDiapers come in three distinct parts, the cover, liner pouch, and the part that soaks up pee (either cloth, or the disposable refill) and I'll do my best to explain it all.
The first thing people notice about gDiapers are their adorable colorful covers, commonly referred to as "gPants." They come in many colors, and a few times a year they release special edition designs. Each cover is made up of two soft layers of breathable cotton fabric, with velcro tabs that are on the back of the diaper. The backwards closure is supposed to prevent older babies from pulling their diapers off, but I haven't any problems yet in this department since my Squishy baby is still so young! The part I really like about this cover is it is very soft, doesn't have any snaps, and the velcro closes on itself for washing so it doesn't stick to every other sock in your washer.
Snap in Liners - These things look like plastic, but they're actually made up of a special fabric which is extremely breathable. These liners are permeable to water vapor but waterproof to liquid, which allows heat to escape and keeps pee from leaking out. Because the vapors are released, a very wet gDiaper will often feel damp to the touch on the outside, which is an added bonus because it helps you know when they need to be changed! These liners are the key part of how gDiapers work, as they make a seal around your baby's bottom to contain pee and blowouts. If your baby just pees, all you have to do is wipe this liner off before putting in a new cloth. If your baby has a code brown, you easily unsnap the dirty liner and pop in a new clean one. Voila!
gCloth insert - These cloth inserts are made up of soft micro-fleece and hemp fabrics. The hemp is extremely absorbant, and the fleece side helps wick moisture away from your baby's skin and keeps them feeling dry. They may seem fairly expensive at the start, but I think they're worth every penny. I wash mine with regular free and clear detergent, and haven't had any problems with staining or funky odors.
I haven't used the biodegradable refills yet, but when that day comes I'll be sure to come back and let you know how they worked for me. They are about the same price as regular diapers, so you're not saving any money, but you are saving the world tons of diapers in a landfill that never really decompose. Mother earth would be proud!
Just like babies, gDiapers come in a few sizes. Because they're on the expensive side of cloth diapers, I only bought the Medium size which fits babies from 13-28lbs. My son gained weight so quickly he was able to wear his g's by 2 months, and prior to that we just used our disposable stash that I got at my baby shower.
When my son starts on solids, I'm sure I'm going to have to change things up a bit and invest in a handy dandy toilet diaper sprayer to remove extra poop, but so far these diapers have been amazing for us. The company has some of the best customer support imaginable and if you have any problems with leaks you can call their HQ! Their leak ninjas who will give you tons of tips and advice to troubleshoot and prevent leaks depending on where the diaper is giving you problems.
There is a bit of a learning curve to these, you can't just slap them on a baby or you're bound to get leaks. I watched a few youtube videos, and learned how important it is to get the middle liner to be right in the thigh leg crease and not just a fat roll to keep all the pee inside. Also, don't over tighten them, they should be a bit looser on than you'd put on a 'sposie.
The supplies I have for full time cloth diapering:
7 gPants - I had to have a bunch of colors to match all Squishy's outfits. You could probably get away with 5 or 6 though.
12 snap in liners - The gPants come with liners in them, I bought one extra box that included 6.
24 gCloth - This is enough that I have plenty of extra for my son's diaper bag, and laundry days.
I still use one 'sposie for overnight use since my son is such a heavy wetter and I don't change him for almost 10 hours, but we use g's all day. I have read about a lot of moms who just double up on cloth inserts at night, or one cloth and one biodegradable insert.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend these, especially if you're not sure if you're ready to make the full leap into the cloth world.
Pros:
- super trim, not nearly as bulky as other all-in-one diapers
- very cute colors designs
- very breathable, no diaper rashes
- there is actually little laundry, the cloth inserts are pretty small.
- you can use fabric or biodegradable inserts, making trips to the store or out of the house diaper changes quick.
Cons:
- they can leak if you don't put them on right.
- the snaps can leave red spots on your baby's thighs if the diaper is on too tight
- they're a bit pricey to get started on
Pregnancy often goes on for what seems like forever, but in reality its only 9 months. Here is a list of all my favorite pregnancy must have items, and a brief description of why I loved them so much.
1. Let's start off the list right! Prenatals are ESSENTIAL, and these ones are pretty delicious. They're called "Vitafusion Prenatal Gummy Vitamins" and they didn't upset my stomach like many others. The Target Up&Up brand knock off of these is pretty great too, and a bit cheaper. The only downside to this kind is they don't contain iron, but if you're not having any problems with anemia, they're great. I was anemic at the end of my pregnancy, so I just added in an iron supplement before bed.
2. Boppy total body pregnancy pillow - This thing was a life saver. Sleep is a precious thing, and when you'r pregnant it gets more and more difficult. By about midway through my pregnancy I was starting to get really uncomfortable, and as a regular stomach sleeper, I really hated being forced to sleep on my side. Using this pillow allowed me to sleep at an angle that felt almost like I was on my stomach again. It's oddly shaped, but it allows you to use the whole pillow to go from under your head to between your knees and give your back a ton of support. I could turn back and forth from side to side with it relatively easily, and its slender enough that it didn't take up a ton of space in our already crowded small bed. An added bonus, the cover easily zips off which makes it super easy to throw in the washer too.
3. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff - This book is a pregnant girl's bible. I liked the way it was broken up into sections, explaining what is going on with your little growing strawberry, what you may be feeling, and what to expect in the near future. It goes on to answer dozens upon dozens of questions you can think of, and reassures you that the horrible fatigue, nausea, or forgetfulness you're experiencing is normal. It tends to be pretty to the point, and was one of the best resources for me. Saved a lot of phone calls to the OB nurse hotline for sure!
4. Ferrero Rocher Chocolates - I'm not even going to explain this, other than the fact that these little chocolate balls of glory probably saved my family from me chopping off their heads many, many, many times!
5. Vicks Vaporub - One thing almost all pregnant women can agree on, is suddenly your sense of smell becomes superhuman. What do you do when there is something that suddenly makes your stomach turn and you want to run in the opposite direction? Rub a small dab of this around your nostrils or above your lip and your nostrils will be filled with the soothing smell of eucalyptus. I worked in a hospital during my pregnancy, and I had my fair share of stinky situations... this stuff certainly saved my lunch countless times. Another pesky pregnancy problem for many women is "pregnancy rhinitis" which is a constant feeling of a stuffy, plugged up nose. This is mostly because of high amounts of estrogen cause your mucous membranes to go into overdrive, and the blood vessels in your nose swell too. Rubbing another glob of this on my chest at night helped clear my nose and improved my sleep... and hey, who doesn't want more sleep? :)
6. Tums Smoothies- Heartburn... enough said? I probably should have bought stock in these things, I ate them around the clock. This kind was pretty good tasting, and didn't feel all gritty in my mouth like regular tums. I also took over the counter zantac daily to help with the insane fire breathing dragon problem (I've had reflux since I was a teenager, pregnancy only made it a zillion times worse!)
7. Nivea Soft - Used this stuff religiously through my whole pregnancy and avoided stretch marks until the very last week (and only a few!) It is enriched with jojoba oil and vitamin E, and is incredibly moisturizing. My favorite part (other than the deeeeelicious smell) is that it doesn't feel oily or greasy at all, and it absorbs into my skin really quickly. Now I use it on my Squishy baby right after his baths, and its gentle enough that it doesn't aggravate his eczema (it has actually helped stop some of his bad breakouts!)
8. BeBand - This was the "Be Maternity" belly band sold at Target, and I definitely got a TON of wear out of mine. I bought a black one for around $15 and wore it with a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes. It did a great job at keeping my unbuttoned pants up, and just to add a bit of length under shirts so I didn't feel like the whole world could see my growing baby belly. It's made of a super stretchy material, and breathes really well. I'd fold mine over in half to have extra support when needed as well. It saved me money on maternity clothes, and then after my son was born it gave me a little more stomach support while my abs recovered and kept my pants up.
There are dozens more of essential things for pregnancy but those are my top favorite must haves. What are your favorite pregnancy items?
I always knew I wanted to document my growing belly, and searched pinterest endlessly looking for good ideas. I loved the chalkboard idea, but between full time nursing school, working 12 hour shifts at the hospital, puking my guts out for weeks and studying endlessly, I just didn't have the time or energy. I decided to go a simple route, and use monthly belly stickers that my mom found on etsy. I started a little late, but to be fair at 8 and 12 weeks there was ZERO change in my belly, and no one would have ever known there was a little strawberry growing in there. I do wish I had gotten a good "before" shot though.
My biggest suggestion for documenting a growing baby belly would be to make sure you take the same kind of picture each month, that way you can really see how your stomach changes. I thought it was insane how much my belly changed between 28 and 32 weeks! I wanted all of my pictures to be very similar so it wouldn't be as distracting and you could really focus on how much things had changed. Each month I made sure to wear the same white shirt and black yoga pants, and stood infront of the dark wall in my bathroom. I was also induced a week early, so I didn't get a grand "40" week pic.
Welcome to my blog! After spending a few years working at a daycare, and then working as a fulltime nanny to a newborn and toddler, I had gotten my feet a little wet before this whole motherhood thing rolled around. I have spent what seems to be endless amounts of time researching tons of things from diapers, bouncers, pacis and exclusively pumping, I thought I'd throw all my collected knowledge in one place for my friends and future mommies. Stay tuned and I'll be sure to post all of my favorite baby gear, pregnancy stuff, and items for each month of my son's early life!
