Random Updates

I know all three of my readers haven't been able to sleep because they spend their nights wondering what we're up to in the Fukumoto household. I decided to end their senseless torture and tie up some loose ends.

1. Capsule Wardrobe

I'm going to be honest here...I started out with the best of intentions, but I've reverted back to old habits, and on most days, I reach for my yoga pants or norts. Maybe when Rory isn't constantly getting into things she shouldn't be, and I'm not crawling after her in the sandbox, it may make more sense to wear nicer clothes, but for now, loose, comfortable clothing just makes sense. I am making more of an effort on weekends, and the idea of a capsule wardrobe has helped me in other ways. I've cleaned out my closet, identified my "uniform", and I find it easier to resist impulse purchases. It also prevented me from overpacking for San Francisco. I used all but one of the clothing items I brought because I thought in terms of outfits rather than individual pieces. I still plan on creating a fall capsule wardrobe because I like the idea of condensing my clothing and focusing on versatile pieces that make sense for the upcoming season and my lifestyle. My friend, Karla, has done an awesome job with her CW. She posts her outfits on Instagram daily...and she has two boys under the age of five, so I really have no excuse. Perhaps I need to post my outfits on my blog...a little accountability goes a long way. Or so I've been told.

2. The Basement

Our basement is finally finished...after 7 long weeks. The original estimate for completion was three weeks, but when do contractors ever finish on time? Marcos and I decided to paint the room ourselves in order to save some money, and if we had to do it again, I'm pretty sure we would have happily shelled out the dough. It was a long, tedious process made even longer by the fact that we have a 10 month old. This means that we could only paint during nap times and when she was in bed for the night. It seemed like it would never end. But, of course, it did end, and now we are enjoying the extra space. It's one big room, but we designated one half as a TV/movie watching area and the other half as Rory's play space. We also plan to put visitors down here where it's quiet and cool and there isn't a baby in the next room who makes up before it's light outside.

3. Feeding/Breastfeeding

Several people have commented on what a good eater Rory is. She pretty much eats whatever we put in front of her. (And whatever she finds on the floor.) I'm sure that will change and there will come a day when she refuses to eat anything except chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. But for now, she is into hummus, mushroom risotto, vegetarian Shepard's pie, you name it. She pretty much feeds herself at this point, but I do spoon feed her yogurt and oatmeal.

Ahhh....breastfeeding. My struggle with BF was one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place, but Rory and I have come a long way. I have to admit, I never really grew to love it...but I did grow not to hate it. (If that's not a ringing endorsement for breastfeeding, I don't know what is.) Rory is now feeding twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night. I plan to go down to just the nighttime feeding in a few weeks, and hopefully she will be completely weaned by one year. I've tried giving her some whole milk to replace her midday feedings, but she's not a fan. So, I use it in her oatmeal instead. I worry about her getting enough vitamins and nutrients, and I know a lot of people would say that twice a day isn't enough for a 10.5 month old, but it's working for us. And if there's anything I've learned from this whole BF process, it's that you can't listen to other people. You have to do what's right for you and your baby.



4. Cloth Diapers

We ended up getting a new washer a few months ago because our old one wasn't agitating...which is important. I love our new front load washer, and it's been great for CD, but lately her diapers have been reeking of ammonia. (Once they've been sitting in her pail for a few hours.) I spoke to several friends and called our local CD store to ask for some advice, and I came to the following conclusions.

1. The ammonia smell may be the result of too much detergent (build up)
2. ...Or it may be the result of too little detergent
3. My HE washer may not be using enough water to wash the dipes
4. I may need to do more rinses
5. I may need to strip my diapers
6. I may need to change my wash routine
7. I may need to wash my diapers more often

Notice how there's a whole lot of maybes? This whole CD thing is all trial and error. One of my friends suggested using Funk Rock Ammonia Bouncer, so I've been using two tablespoons in the prewash cycle, and that seems to be helping. I didn't realize that I should only be using half a scoop of the recommended amount of detergent, so I'm almost positive the ammonia is a result of build up rather than too little detergent. I really wanted to avoid using bleach to strip my diapers, but the smell isn't 100% gone, so I may have to bite the bullet. I don't mind doing a few extra rinses, but one of the main reasons I use CD is to save water/money, and if I'm rinsing my cloth diapers five times every other day, that seems to defeat the purpose. After doing some research and going back to the drawing board, my new wash routine is as follows:

Quick wash with two tablespoons of Funk Rock (warm)
Normal wash with half a scoop of Country Save detergent and an extra rinse (hot)

If the smell gets any worse, I will try to add more rinses or strip with bleach. I've also gotten better about washing every other day, and I think that's been helping. Three days is too long to go without washing. The nice woman from the store who tried helping me over the phone also suggested that I put a towel in with my diapers to trick the washer into using more water.




5. Sleep

Rory has been sleeping through the night since 6.5 months, and I couldn't be more relieved. Sleep deprivation was by far the hardest part about being a new parent. From about 4 to 6 months she was only waking up once a night, which wasn't bad, but sometimes it would take me hours to fall back asleep. Rory's naps are also much better. She naps twice a day, for a total of about 3 hours. Her naps range anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but as long as she wakes up happy, I don't stress about it. Looking back on how obsessed concerned I was about her sleep habits, I realize how much time and energy I wasted worrying about her short naps and her midnight feedings. Sleeping through the night and condensed daytime sleep are developmental milestones. You can't rush it...it happens when they're ready. I have several friends with babies who are Rory's age, and their sleep habits are across the board. Some have been sleeping through the night since a few months, and some are still waking up for a feeding. Some take three naps, and some are already down to one. One think I know for sure is that I won't worry so much with baby number 2...mostly because I have no choice but to be more easy-going with two children, but also because I know now that all phases, good or bad, come to an end.

Cloth Diaper Update: New Wash Routine

A few months ago, I wrote a post about my CD wash routine, and I mentioned that I didn't have any issues with stink or ammonia yet. Well readers, that all changed last week when I opened the lid to the washer after my normal wash routine and the strong stench of ammonia hit me like a ton of bricks. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but I knew I should do something about it before it got worse. So, I did a lot of research, and came to the conclusion that my diapers had detergent build up, which is apparently pretty common in top-load HE washers.

So, once again, I had to rework my wash routine. I realized that I was using quite a bit of products on my dipes: detergent, oxiclean, stainstick, Bacout...It's no wonder there was build up. I decided that instead of putting oxiclean on all of my diapers, I would soak the dirty diapers separately. I bought a small white trashcan and filled it with an oxiclean/water mixture. Now, whenever Rory has a dirty diaper, I place it in the small bin to soak. By the time it's time to wash the diapers, the stains have usually completely disappeared, which also eliminates the need for the stainstick, except for very stubborn stains. When it's time to wash, I simply dump the whole bucket in the washer.

I spoke to a few other CD moms and several of them recommended that I try a powder detergent instead of the liquid one I was using. I was resistant to this at first because the CD-friendly powder detergents aren't available at the local grocery store, and I didn't want to be caught detergent-less on a wash day. But, Marcos and I recently signed up for Amazon prime, which means we have free 2-day shipping on most products. Problem solved. I went with Country Save because it's cheap and had great reviews.

Most of the posts I read about ammonia caused by detergent build-up emphasized the importance of rinsing in order to ensure that all residue is removed from the diapers. So, my new wash routine is as follows:

1. Hot wash set on bulky with an extra rinse, using 1/4 C Country Save detergent. 

2. Hot wash set on bulky with an extra rinse, no detergent.

Obviously this could change in the upcoming weeks/months, but so far, so good!

My Obligatory Cloth Diaper Post: Part 3

Organization 

Being organized is the most important part of cloth diapering, in my opinion. If I weren't organized and didn't have an effective wash routine, it would be a lot more difficult, and I would be much more likely to reach for the disposables.

I bought a white bookcase from IKEA for $25 that I use to organize Rory's cloth diapers. It sits right next to her changing table, which makes it very easy to access her diapers and anything else that I may need when changing her.

There are 3 shelves. On the top shelf, I keep her diaper covers and all-in-ones. The second shelf houses the inserts, and I keep her liners and wipes on the bottom shelf. Since I usually change her on the floor, this set-up works best for me at the moment.

I keep her diaper cream, lotion, and grooming kit on top of the bookcase, since I often reach for these things during changing times. Her diaper pail and a bottle of Bacout are easily accessible on the other side of her changing table, and the smaller wetbag that I use to dispose of her wipes/liners hangs on the inside doorknob. Her room is quite small, so everything is relatively close and easy to reach. Her bedroom is right next to the bathroom, which is convenient for those times when I need to use the diaper sprayer.

My Wash Routine

I must have read at least 30 blogs and message boards before deciding on a wash routine, and my first time washing CD was still a disaster. (I ended up with diapers that still had poop on them!)

After doing some more reading, I figured out that my top-loader high efficiency washer wasn't using enough water to clean the CD, so I reworked my wash routine and I haven't had a problem since.

If you're still trying to figure out the best wash routine, don't give up. It's a frustrating process because there are so many factors to consider. It's all about trial and error and making adjustments until you get it right.

Many of the wash routines I read about online included up to 5 rinses per wash! I don't know about you, but one of the big reasons I am cloth diapering is to save money and to lessen my environmental impact. If I'm rinsing my diapers seven times per wash, I'm doing neither. Fortunately, I've discovered an effective wash routine that involves only two rinses.

My wash routine is as follows:

1 soak cycle with warm water
(No detergent, one scoop of Oxiclean Baby)

This helps remove any of the excess solids and the soak feature allows the Oxiclean Baby to work its magic. Also, the diapers become heavier after absorbing water from the soak cycle, which tricks my HE washer into using more water during the actual wash cycle. After this cycle is finished, I quickly look at each diaper, and if there are any stubborn stains, I rub my Buncha Farmers stain stick on the spots before beginning the wash cycle.

1 wash cycle set on "bulky" using hot water and 1 extra rinse
(With  Ecos Free and Clear detergent)

I  think it's important to use the hottest water possible at this point to kill any germs and remove as much ammonia as possible. I use the bulky setting because it uses more water and I turn the extra rinse on to make sure all of the detergent is removed.

So far, I haven't had any problems with staining or stink. I've been cloth diapering for almost two months now, and haven't felt the need to strip my diapers, but I do plan on ordering Rockin Green Funk Rock just in case I run into any ammonia problems.

I put all of my inserts in the dryer and hang dry anything with PUL. I wash my CD twice a week, but I don't have set wash days. I wash the diapers when there are about five clean diapers left. This ensures that there will be enough diapers for Rory to use while the others are washing/drying.

My Obligatory Cloth Diaper Post: Part 2

I mentioned in my last cloth diapering post that making the decision to cloth diaper hasn't been nearly as painful or messy as I thought it would be. But, it does require a certain amount of organization and planning, as well as a variety of cloth diapering accessories. Everyone has their own wash routine, method of organization, and list of essentials that they can't live without. Here's mine:

The Stash 


My cloth diaper stash consists of the following:

3  Thirsties covers (size small)

12 Bummis prefolds (size medium)

2 Flip covers (one size)

12 Flip inserts (one size)

3 Little Monsters pocket diapers with microfiber inserts (one size)

6 BumGenius all in one organic diapers (one size)

After taking a cloth diapering class, I quickly realized that there are pluses and minuses to every type of cloth diaper, so I decided to get a few of each and decide which I like best. 

The prefolds with covers are definitely the least expensive, but also the most difficult to use. They have to be folded and pinned, which takes some getting used to, and can be quite challenging on a wiggly baby. 

The Flip covers and inserts are probably my favorite. These inserts require no folding or pinning, but the cover can be reused several times, which makes them very cost effective. The inserts are labeled with small, medium, and large to show where to fold according to the size of your baby. This reduces leakage and means the same liner can be used as your baby grows. Another thing I like about the Flip diapers is the variety of inserts available. Besides the regular stay-dry inserts, they also offer disposable inserts, which are great for traveling or when you're out and about, as well as extra absorbent night-time inserts. 

I haven't had any problems with my pocket diapers, but honestly I don't really see the point. They have to be stuffed before use and the insert must be removed before washing. (Removing the insert after a poop explosion without actually touching any of the poop should be made into a Minute to Win it game.) So, just like the Flips and the prefolds, there are two parts, but the shell isn't reusable. The good think about pocket diapers is that you can increase their absorbency by adding additional inserts. This is especially useful if you use cloth diapers at night. I also love the embroidered detail on the butt of these diapers. 

The Bumgenius all in one diapers are my go-to diapers. They are the closest to disposables, so if you are still on the fence about cloth diapering, I recommend stocking up on these. They are very easy to use and there are no inserts involved. However, these are also the bulkiest and the most expensive.

The Essentials

BumGenius Diaper Sprayer



This thing has been a life saver. It's easy to install and does the job. It makes washing CD that much easier. (Warning: There is a learning curve. Make sure you practice using it, or you could end up spraying yourself with poop. Or so I've been told.)


Snappis



These are used to "pin" prefolds together without having to use actual pins. They are made of super stretchy rubber and are easy to use. No sharp pins means no blood, which is good because I'm not sure I could deal with poop and blood.


Diaper Pail


This is a fancy term for plastic trashcan. Our is a simple white one from Target, but I've heard good things about the Diaper Dekor pail, which comes in several fun colors.


Pail Liner



This is essentially a huge wet bag that goes into your diaper pail and makes it easy to transfer diapers from pail to washer. These do a great job blocking out the smell and can be thrown right into the washer with the cloth diapers. Mine is the Kanga Care brand, and it has a small tab on the inside that you can use to put a drop of essential oil. I haven't tried this yet because I haven't had any problems with smell, but it was definitely a selling factor for me. I'm such a sucker.


Travel Wet Bags




I freakin' love these things. I have several different sizes and use them for all sorts of things. I keep one in my diaper bag to hold wet/soiled clothes and diapers, and there is also one hanging on the door in Rory's nursery. I throw disposable diapers, diaper liners, and dirty wipes in there and empty it every few days. Bummis and Planet Wise make great wetbags, but try Alva for a cheaper option. Rory hasn't been to our local pool yet, but these will be great for holding wet swimsuits this summer.


Diaper Liners



These aren't a necessity, but they sure do make cloth diapering a little easier (and less messy). Mine come in a roll and look a lot like dryer sheets. I just stick one in her diaper before putting it on and it does a great job catching the solids. These can the flushed or tossed in the trashcan. I usually just toss them because I get nervous about backing up the septic system. I'm sure these will be even more useful once she starts solids.


Ecos Free and Clear Laundry Detergent



This was one of my hardest CD decisions. I read blogs, message boards, and interrogated spoke to fellow CD moms before finally deciding on Ecos detergent. There are several detergents made especially for cloth diapers, but they are expensive and must be ordered online. I also wanted a detergent I could use for both regular laundry and CD, rather than having to switch back and forth. Ecos Free and Clear is free and clear of dyes, scents, and chemicals that could harm your cloth diapers or irritate baby's skin. So far, I haven't had any issues with ammonia or stink, but we're still early in the game.


BioKleen Bacout 



I love this stuff! It's made of natural enzymes and lime and does a great job eliminating stains and smells. I use it for everything. (I'm like the dad on My Big Fat Greek Wedding who was obsessed with Windex.) We literally have four bottles around the house right now. I keep one right next to the diaper pail, and before I toss a dirty diaper in the pail, I give it a quick spray to help prevent staining and ammonia buildup. I also use it on our clothing, carpet, and furniture. I'm telling you, I would bathe in it if it were socially acceptable.


Buncha Farmers Stain Stick


Just when I thought I couldn't love anything more than Bacout, a friend told me about Buncha Farmers all natural stain stick. This thing is magic. I rub a little on any left over stains, and they literally disappear. I read somewhere that you can cut off a small chunk and throw it in the wash with your CD, but I haven't tried that yet. I just placed this on automatic order on my Amazon prime account. So yeah, I guess you could say I'm slightly obsessed.


Oxiclean Baby



I was skeptical of this at first because I was worried that the chemicals would ruin the diapers or irritate Rory's skin, but Oxiclean Baby is free of harmful dyes and fragrances, and I haven't had any problems so far. I put a small scoop in with the detergent, and I think the "grit-factor" (Yes, I do believe I just made that phrase up.) helps clean the diapers and keep them nice and white.

Drying Rack 

I bought this drying contraption at Ikea for super cheap. It's perfect for drying cloth diaper clovers that can't go in the dryer, and it doesn't take up a lot of space.

My Obligatory Cloth Diaper Post: Part 1

Okay, so I know what you're thinking: You're crazy. And maybe I am. But if saving hundreds of dollars on diapers every year makes me crazy, then I don't want to be sane. I did a lot of research before making the decision to cloth diaper. Marcos and I even took a cloth diapering class, which answered a lot of our questions. I highly recommend checking to see if there's one in your area if you're considering cloth diapering. There are lots of benefits to going cloth, including cost, environmental impact, all-natural fibers, and most importantly, cuteness. Despite these benefits, I still had some major concerns before fully committing to cloth diapering.

My biggest concerns were:
1. The high upfront cost
2. The yuck factor
3. The time factor

Turns out, if you do it right, none of these issues are a real concern. Well, not enough of a concern to deter me from joining the cloth diapering cult, anyway.


The Cost
It's true that cloth diapering saves you money in the long run, but it can also be quite costly upfront. Plus, there are several different types of cloth diapers, and you never know which kind you'll prefer. I didn't want to waste money on diapers that I wouldn't use. The thought of buying used diapers was a little unsettling to me, but I scoured Craigslist for deals on cloth diapers, and saw several postings from people selling unused cloth diapers for much cheaper than retail. (I skipped right over ads with the words "light staining".) I also used gift cards that I received from my shower and bought a few on sale from Zulilly and Cottonbabies.com. I probably spent $150 of my own money for our entire diaper stash. I quickly discovered that using prefolds and covers is the cheapest option, so these make-up the majority of our collection.

The Yuck

Honestly, the yuck factor doesn't bother me too much. Whether or not I use disposables or cloth, I'm still going to have to deal with poop. I may as well save some money in the process. Each time I change Rory's diaper I put a biodegradable liner in the diaper. This catches the solids and can be easily flushed down the toilet or thrown in the trashcan. These cost about $7 for 200, and now that Rory's bowels are on more of a schedule, I can predict when I'll need them and when I can skip them all together. I also used one of my gift cards to buy a BumGenius diaper sprayer. So any solids that happen to escape the liner can be easily sprayed off the diaper and into the toilet. This means that I never have to actually touch any poop. Hooray!


The Time
I'm fortunate enough to stay at home, but even if I was working, cloth diapering doesn't require much more time than using disposables, especially if you're OCD organized. Actually changing a cloth diaper is easy and fast. Even if I'm using a prefold, it only takes a few minutes to put on a new diaper. If it's just a wet diaper, I throw it into the diaper pail and we're on our way. If it's dirty, I simply flush the liner and quickly spray any poop remnants into the toilet using the diaper sprayer. This takes a max of three minutes. The wash routine takes the most time, but it's just like doing any other load of laundry. Every three days I simply dump the soiled diapers from the wetbag into the washer. I press a few buttons, and voila! Clean diapers!



I decided to use a disposable at nights and if I know we'll be out of the house for awhile. (Which doesn't happen too often these days.) Nighttime disposables are just easier for us at this point since Rory still sleeps in our room and the cloth diapering supplies are kept in her nursery alllllll the way down the hall. (What? I like my sleep.) This just seemed to work best for us, but I know lots of people who use cloth all day everyday with no problems. Now that we've been cloth diapering for the past month or so, I'm so glad we decided to do it. Even my husband has come around and admitted that it's not nearly as gross or time-consuming as he originally thought.