Truth about Cloth Diapering

To Cloth or Not to Cloth?  That is the big question.  I'd like to share the truth about my experience with using cloth diapers (3 years and counting) in order to help you answer this 0 age old question (get the joke?).  Before I begin, I want to make it clear that I am not anti-cloth diapers, I just wish someone had told me the truth about some of these advertised cloth diapering benefits and how benefitical they really are.

You Save Money!

• Here's some quick math
• Cost of a cloth diaper varies but let's assume you are not buying the cheapest ones because you want them to last, and you are buying one size diapers to simplify the math.  You will need 20+ to last and minimize diaper laundry
• So let's say conservatively $15 per diaper x 20  = $300
• Disposable diapers (let's go with size 3 since most kids will be in this size the longest)  $45 for ~200 diapers
• $300 could get you ~7 boxes of diapers = 1400 disposable diapers
• 1400 diapers would last less than a year
• So you do end up saving money on diaper purchases (not accounting for electricity and water usage for laundry)
• Obviously the cloth diapers could be more expensive and you might want to get more diapers
• However you will need to put in a big initial investment right at the beginning to build up your stash
• You real savings will come when you use the same set of cloth diapers for your next child
• Truth #1:  Your cloth diapers might not last till/through/to your second child.  I have a couple of popular "brand name" diapers that started falling apart within first year of use
• Truth #2:  Like shoes & purses, you will always want to buy more cloth diapers because of new colours/prints/model/brand regardless of how many you already own. That's additional cost that you will not incure if you are just using disposables.
• Truth #3:  If you want to avoid some diapering grossness (you will find out below), you might want to use disposable liners.  These are like super durable toilet papers that you line your diapers with, so when there is a #2 mess, you just throw away the liner holding the mess (most of it anyway) so that your diapers are not filled with poo when it's time to wash.  These liners are about $7 per roll of 100 sheets.   
• Truth #4: Other cloth diaper accessories include wetbags, pail liners, diaper sprayers.  They all add up to the initial cost. 

You Save the Environment!

• You'd think this one is simple right?  You throw away disposables, and you don't with cloth.  Environment saved.
• Truth #1:  Well this one at least applies to where I live.  Our city actually takes in disposables as part of compost collection.   So disposable diapers don't actually go into landfills, they are turned into composed soil! 
• Truth #2:  Using cloth diapers means you need to do extra laundry.  You are using hot water and electricity to do diaper laundry at least twice a week.  What about the laundry detergent, is it envionrmental friendly?  I do not know the significance of the environmental impact is from diaper laundry but I know it is definitely a -minus regardless of how small/large it is.
• Now obviously if where you live do not have a compost program that collects disposable diapers, then more likely than not you are saving the environment by using cloth diapers.

You Save Time & Hassle!

• Truth #1:  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, it is always more hassle cloth diapering than using disposable.  Some might say "oh you need to go to the store to get new box of diapers every so & so weeks".  But that's it!  With disposable, you just buy it, open it, use it, and throw it away.  With cloth diapering, it's never just that.
• Truth #2:  Dirty cloth diapers are gross
• Sure dirty diapers are gross even with disposables.  But with cloth, it's a different animal
• With #1s it's not too bad, you just take it off and throw it in the hamper
• With #2s that's when things get hairiy, especially if it's a messy one.  Even with a liner, you still need to peel it off the diaper, somehow wrap this toilet paper thin liner that is now filled with poo and throw it in the trash.  Now you still have a poo cloth diaper which you have to put into the hamper.  Wait till it's time for laundry...
• Truth #3:  Doing diaper laundry sucks
• You need to do diaper laundry at least every 3 days
• When you do it, you need to open your pail/bag to throw the dirty diapers into the washing machine, and you get punch in the face by the 3 day old pee & poo diaper ammonia smell.  On a worse day it might make your eyes sting.
• On an unlucky day, you might get an eyeful of a 3 day old poo diaper that is full of dried up baby poop stuck to it.  Those are especially haunting.  I hope you have a good gag reflex.
• Truth #4:  Setting up cloth diapers takes time
• This is actually what I enjoy the most about cloth diapering.  You diapers are fresh, and hopefully white, and they are all ready to be soiled again, well almost ready anyway
• If you have pocket diapers, you need to stuff the inserts into the diapers
• If you have prefolds,  you need to fold the inserts
• If you have all in ones, you still need to sort and put the diapers into your change table/basket
• And remember, you do this every 2-3 days
• Truth #5:  Cloth are less reliable than disposables
• No matter how high quality your cloth diapers are, they will not be as absorbant as disposables, which is understandable because you are comparing a piece of fabric/cloth to chemicals that expand when wet
• Sure you can add additional soakers/inserts to increase absorbancy, but you will also be making the cloth diaper even bulkier than it already is compared to disposables
• Regardless on which brand of diapers and the type of diapers are used, I have always have more leakage with cloth than with disposables.  And I am not the only one, many cloth diapering Moms I know also face the same problem
• The only way to avoid leakages and accidents is to change more often, around every 2 hours or so.
• Truth #6:  Cloth diapering at daycare is an uphill battle
• To be honest, this is with anybody else that will end up taking care of your baby
• Every parent does their cloth diapers differently and there is always a learning curve.  That means you will have to spend extra time teaching them how to put on the cloth diaper properly, how to dispose of the cloth diaper to your liking, and maybe even how to wash the diapers correctly when needed
• Especially with daycare, try to tell them that they need to change your baby's diaper more often than the 10 other lilttle screaming babies.  And that they need to put the dirty diapers into a wetbag and keep that wetbag somewhere for the whole day until you take it home at the end of the day.  And that they need to put the diaper on snuggly but not too tightly.  And that they need to throw away the poop filled liner instead of putting it in the wetbag with the diaper.  They will love you.

So.... Why Do I Still Use Cloth Diapers

• The main reason is savings.  I still buy disposables to use at night and for when we go out (absorbancy issue) but it is definitely significantly much less in spending compared to buying disposables for every diaper change.  
• I am not a tree hugger but I still feel that I am saving the environment somewhat, as I am not the cause of additional garbage (plastic bags that disposable come with), recycling (diaper box), and composting (disposable diapers).
• Last but not least, I am stubborn.  I made this conscious (amid not most informed) decision to use cloth diapers, and I made this investment in getting my diaper stash, I am going to use them until the diapers fall apart, and nobody can tell me otherwise.

So here's my wobbles of wisdom on cloth diapering.  I hope you find it helpful with making an informed decision!  Let's face it, as a parent you will be changing 3000-5000 diapers for each child.  That's a lot time spent changing diapers!

Best Personal Item for a New Mom is...

...an eReader!  

I bet you didn't expect that!  Well I didn't expect it myself either when I bought one last year on sale.  I have always loved to read, and with a new baby, it was getting hard to go out to buy books.  Finally I managed to go to my local library and borrowed a hard covered A Dance with Dragons (Book 5 of the Game of Thrones series).  If you have read it, or at least seen it in a book store, it is a 1125 page brick... I mean book.  It was extremely tiring to hold while reading let alone try to bring it with you while traveling.  So that's when I decided I need to get an eReader!

Anyway, back to topic, so what make it the best personal item for a new mom?  With a newborn, you spend a lot time nursing and rocking them to sleep.  Those are the times when I find my eReader has really helped.  There really is nothing more calming than reading a good book while nursing or rocking your baby to sleep.  Especially during night time, when the room needs to be dark, and you don't really have the luxury of a night/book light, an eReader that has it's own light comes in very handy.  The best part is I end up spending more time cuddling with my baby sleeping in my arms while I am reading.  That period of time when I am reading in the nursery with a sleeping/nursing baby in my arms also became my personal down time which helped keep my mental health being in check.  Sure, you can always play with your phone in the dark, but it's just not as serene, and the lighting of the phone is not as soft and can feel intrusive compared to a front lit eReader.

The eReader that I own is a Kobo Glo.  I really like its small size, and it has its own front lit light.  I have a hard book-style cover for it so that I can hold it like a real book.  Unlike other eReader brands, you can borrow eBooks from the library (via OverDrive) and load them onto your Kobo.  Best of all, it won't break the bank.  

So here's my wobbles of wisdom.  Go ask your husband to get you an eReader for Christmas, or why wait till Christmas, just get one now.  I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!

I Love Urban Decay! #Review

My Experience

My love for Urban Decay started when I visited Sephora for a makeup session for a wedding, and they used several of Urban Decay products and I am in love ever since!

A few of my favorite things from UD:

Cannonball Ultra Waterproof Mascara

I have very straight eyelashes so after I curl them I need something that really keeps my curls, and I've tried other mascara and I find that only Cannonball keeps my curl for the entire day, and they don't weight my lashes down like the other mascara does.  And best of all they don't smudge!  Nobody wants racoon eyes by the end of the day.

Eyeshadow Primer Potion

If you love wearing eyeshadow, you would know how important it is to wear a primer.  It helps keep your shadow in place and brings out the colour of the eyeshadow.  I really love using the UD primer!  It's the perfect consistency, not too runny or chunky.  You only need a grain of rice size for each eye and dap it onto your eyes.  It goes on smoothly and you can see the difference it makes.  It smoothes out your eyelid and evens out the skin tone, making eyeshadow application more uniform.  Can't do eye makeup without it!

Naked Eyeshadow Palette

Ah, who doesn't love a neutral eyeshadown palette.  I love the pignmentation of UD shadows and the versitiliy of the neutral colours are superb.  Whether you want to do a no-makeup makeup look, a daytime everyday work look, or a nighttime smokey eye look, you can do it all with this palette.  This UD Naked palette is a staple!  

The W.o.W. Factor:  High

Best Effortless Way to Save Money on Groceries

"Never say Never"?  Well not this time!

NEVER go grocery shopping when hungry!

Yep.  It's that easy, and effortless right?  You will not end up buying too much food that could end up being wasted, you will also be less tempted to buy junk food.  It's a WIN WIN!  Better yet, go after you have eaten, and you will be even more conscious about your grocery shopping.

Other tips with Some Effort = +Savings

• Read flyers & buy on sale items
• Clip coupons
• Buy seasonal produce

Other tips with Most Effort = +++Savings

• Meal Plan: Combine all the tips mentioned before to build your meal plan!  
  • Plan around seasonal items, items that are on sale, items with coupons, foods that you already have in your fridge and freezer
  • Go with the grocery list and stick to it

I personally follow these tips as much as I can.  I do find that the worst culprit is walking into a grocery store hungry, I would come home with a junk food galore.  So here's my wobbles of wisdom, and I hope you find it helpful in saving some money!

Easiest Way to Display Your Kid's Artwork

What you need:

• Wooden clothespins
• Paint
• Tape

Tips:

• I used tempera paint so the colour is more vibrant when painted on the wood.  You can also use water colour or acrylic paint.
• I used small Command tape strips and cut them in half for each clothespin.  This way if you need to remove/reposition the clothespins you won't be stripping the paint off your wall!
• Alternately, you can glue magnetic strips onto the back of the clothespins and stick them onto your fridge.

The Poo Rainbow #wobbles

As a parent, you would probably agree that poos and pees and diapers are pretty much your world, especially during those first few months when your baby is born.  And in this poo-pee world, accidents are pretty much inevitable.  The only variable is how bad are these accidents when they happen.  And this is where the poo rainbow comes in...

It was just like any other day, me a sleepless zombie, hair unwashed, teeth barely brushed, wearing the same spit-up stained sweat pants for the 7th day in a row.  As I tried to enjoy the now-iced-cold tea, I heard the unmistakable sound of baby pooping.  I looked over and there it was, cute as a monkey's butt was her poop face.   Oh you know what I am talking about, THE poop face: face all squished up, red, straining, always looking like they are trying to open a seized up jar of pickles.

Being such a perfect mother that I was, I immediately set down my now-twice-as-cold cup of tea and took her to the change table.  I took a deep breath and slowly opened up her diaper to inspect the damage, maybe even with a hint of childhood excitement, like waiting for a firecracker to explode and excited to see its destruction.  It was to my relieve that the damage was not as bad as it sounded.  Don't you find it weird that the worst poop is never the worst sounding poop?  I guess baby poops follow the same law as farts:  Silent but deadly. 

I thought to myself, yes! this one is easy peasy! As I was about to commence the clean up protocol, my relieve turned into absolute horror...  There it was, her legs up and open, the poo rainbow squirted out of her tiny bunghole like a fireman's hose on full blast.  In my head I screamed oh my f**king god! but what came out was just one long high pitch scream accompanied by the sound of squirting poo.  How does such a tiny thing contain such big volume of waste?!  The poo rainbow hit everything within arms reach:  the change table, the wall, the rocking chair, the floor.  Needless to say, the spit-up stain on my sweat pants was now going to town with the new shit stain.

The image of that squirting poo is forever burnt into my mind.  Many years from now when civilization is destroyed and aliens come and dig me up and probe my brain, the first thing they will see will be The Poo Rainbow, and they will think What odd little creatures these are.

Want a Good Nursing Bra for Free?

How?  Become a Bravado Test Wearer! 

What is a test wearer?  Just as it sounds!  You get to test wear their Bravado nursing bras and evaluate your experience.

What's the catch?  There isn't any!  All you need is to be able to get to their Toronto office!

What do I need to do?  Easy!  Fill out the form online, and if your measurements matches their test wearer needs, they will contact you and you are on your way to a free nursing bra (retail ~$50)!

What happens there?  At your appointment, you go into the test wearing room.  They ask you to remove your top so you are wearing only your bra.  They measure you to determine the size of bras that you will be trying on.  After you have put on one of their nursing bra/nursing tank, they check the fit and take pictures of your chest and torso (without your face) for evaluation purposes.  At the end, they give you a free nursing bra or tank to take home!

Any tips?  The whole appointment lasts about 1/2 hour.  Since you are in a room with privacy, you can nurse/change your baby if needed.  I have completed their test wearer program twice:  once in my third trimester and after the baby was born.  I'd recommend you go in after the baby is born as your breasts get huge and your chest band is no longer as big (Did you know your ribs expand during your pregnancy to accommodate the growing baby?) so the nursing bra you take home will fit better and be more comfortable for nursing. 

DIY Cardboard Stove #craft

Recycled materials:

• Diaper box
• Cardboard egg carton (for the knobs)
• Plastic egg carton (for the "window")
• CDs
• Shopping bag rope handle

Other materials:

• Plastic hooks
• Battery tea light
• Red duct tape
• Paint
• Hot glue gun

And of course, my little one doesn't even play with it.  Go figure...

Funky Fluff Cloth Diaper #Review

Features: 

• The most innovative and the only 3 in 1 cloth diaper on the market! Use it as an All in Two (AI2), Pocket or All In One (AIO) system.
• One Size design fits babies from 7 - 35+ lbs
• Available in bamboo blend and stay dry fabric
• Variety of funky colour combinations

My Experience:

• Saw their booth at Baby Time Shows a few years ago
• Loved their colours and bought one to try
• Been using it for two years

Thumbs Up:

• Created by Canadian Moms
• Colourful, love the fabric and button colour combinations
• Size is generous
• Cheaper than most out in the market
• Feels very soft and well made
• Multiple ways to use it depends on what your perference is 

Thumbs Down:

• Not as waterproof as some other more expensive and well established brands
  • They seem to leak more often than some of our other diapers, especially at daycare when they are changed less often than at home
• Not very trim because of the gusset
  • I use them as AI2 and I find that when I put inserts on top they tend to get bulky since the insert sits on top of the gasset
• Bulky
  • When I used them with my newborn, the waist band had to overlap quite a bit so there is a lot of additional fabric and causes bulkiness
• Bamboo diaper takes very long to dry and can get scratchy if lined dried

The W.o.W. Factor:  Medium

• It works, has some issues but it's cheaper than most out in the market and it's good value for your money

Happy Birthday to me!

It is my greatest pleasure to announce the birth of Wobbles of Wisdom!  Born on March 15th 2013 weighing in at 1MB.  Both the site and its creator are happy and healthy.  We will keep you posted with updates and photos!