It is obvious that I am officially a stay-at-home mom. Two years ago I would have never thought that I would say that about myself. Two years ago I was not pregnant and had a thirteen year old son. I was driven by making money in the corporate world, even though I made them more money than myself. So, today, I am home with my son and realizing that I like it better. I was impressed by a comment that another blogger made to me regarding EC. I was convicted because I did not give it a try. Indeed, there is no pressure here on me or my son. I will either be successful or I will not.
Today, I am going to go out and buy a very simple potty. I am going to set a goal to eliminate one cloth diaper a day. I will start out with the first morning diaper, although sometimes my baby gets up before us and plays quietly in his crib. I don't know if I will be successful reading his facial expressions because this baby has a poker face. Wish me success in this new thing that I am not sure about. I will keep you all up to date while I try and I am going to purchase the book I saw on the blogger's page. God bless!
Showing posts with label cloth diapers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloth diapers. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Elimination Communication
Today I want to talk about elimination communication. This is also referred to as IPT or infant potty training. I took interest in it because I was looking for ways to cut costs and was just curious. Really, there would be no savings because we use cloth diapers. I am a partially green mom, in that my concern is more about my home environment. At any rate, I was shocked by what I found on the topic. When I Googled the topic I went to the first website and basically stayed there. That website is http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/.
I learned a few things. It is best to implement the IPT in the first window, which is 5-6 months. After which, there are other windows at 8-12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. My baby is 8 months, so I read on. What you have to do is notice the elimination time patterns in relation to meals and awaking from sleep. Your baby must wear a cloth diaper with no plastic pants, or go commando!!! So, my first question to that was, will my house smell like urine? Once you figure out these patterns and study the baby's response to wetting and pooping, then you anticipate these movements and sit the baby on the potty. I even read that the parents sit on the toilet and sit the baby on their lap. That grossed me out. You have to be prepared to clean up urine and poop off of the floor and furniture or bedding at any time. You can also use baby signing to teach the baby how to communicate with you when he or she is wet or needs to use the toilet.
One thing that I read that I could appreciate was about our response to the smells of poop and pee. I agree that we should not make a big deal about how bad things smell around the baby because the child could notice it and become stubborn or use it against you in some way. I stand corrected because my little one has us making wretching noises and strange faces with some of the stuff he is off loading in his diaper. We will work hard to do better. Elimination will be a natural thing in our household.
There was a whole lot of things mentioned about the potty training process that I will not mention. I have decided that we will go with the flow and not push early training with our baby. It is just too much work. It would be okay if I had a maid doing all of the cooking and the cleaning. But, I don't. I feel that this IPT would consume all of my time because I would have to study the baby and look for signs that he is getting ready to pee or poop. I am trying to run a home-based business and I do dedicate a few hours a day to it. Our baby will let us know when he is ready to be trained. What do you think about IPT?
I learned a few things. It is best to implement the IPT in the first window, which is 5-6 months. After which, there are other windows at 8-12 months, 18 months, and 24 months. My baby is 8 months, so I read on. What you have to do is notice the elimination time patterns in relation to meals and awaking from sleep. Your baby must wear a cloth diaper with no plastic pants, or go commando!!! So, my first question to that was, will my house smell like urine? Once you figure out these patterns and study the baby's response to wetting and pooping, then you anticipate these movements and sit the baby on the potty. I even read that the parents sit on the toilet and sit the baby on their lap. That grossed me out. You have to be prepared to clean up urine and poop off of the floor and furniture or bedding at any time. You can also use baby signing to teach the baby how to communicate with you when he or she is wet or needs to use the toilet.
One thing that I read that I could appreciate was about our response to the smells of poop and pee. I agree that we should not make a big deal about how bad things smell around the baby because the child could notice it and become stubborn or use it against you in some way. I stand corrected because my little one has us making wretching noises and strange faces with some of the stuff he is off loading in his diaper. We will work hard to do better. Elimination will be a natural thing in our household.
There was a whole lot of things mentioned about the potty training process that I will not mention. I have decided that we will go with the flow and not push early training with our baby. It is just too much work. It would be okay if I had a maid doing all of the cooking and the cleaning. But, I don't. I feel that this IPT would consume all of my time because I would have to study the baby and look for signs that he is getting ready to pee or poop. I am trying to run a home-based business and I do dedicate a few hours a day to it. Our baby will let us know when he is ready to be trained. What do you think about IPT?
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Cloth diapers
My husband and I made the decision to use cloth diapers when my baby was a few days old. However, I did not have all of the knowledge necessary to start off . I looked for cloth diapers in Target, Walmart, and Babys R Us and could only find the kind that you usually use as burp cloths. There were no pins and plastic pants. I had heard of diapers with velcro strips which would be my preference. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 24 weeks pregnant and manipulating pins would have definitely lead to me sticking myself and the baby. I wanted the diapering experience to be enjoyable and not traumatic.
One day I was in Target shopping for baby items and stumbled across a little blessing. Bum Genius cloth diapers! Whoo Hoo! What made this diaper so genius was many things. There was no need for plastic pants on the outside. There were microfiber liners that you insert on the inside of the diaper, which absorbs 15 times it's weight in water. When the diaper is soiled, you simply remove it and wash it. Now, there is a little more labor involved when using cloth diapers. We have a sprayer attached to the toilet which we use to get all of the poop off of it. We remove the liner and rinse it as well. All of the soiled diapers go into a lined diaper pail in the bathroom. I soak them in cold water and wash them in hot water every other day. One important factor here is that you cannot use the traditional laundry detergents on these diapers, which is cool with us. We already use ecofriendly, toxin-free products in our home. No adjustment was necessary there.
Now, Bum Genius diapers are not cheap. They are about $18 each. I bought 15 of them in bulk on http://www.cottonbabies.com/. It was cheaper than buying them one at a time in Target and cheaper than buying them on the company website. By the way, Target stopped carrying them around the third one I purchased. They were very scarse in the store. Overall, I have paid for them already in that I have not purchased diapers in a long time. Please note that if you have a child that urinates a lot, they may not keep them dry at night time like a traditional disposable diaper does. I have had to change the sheets on my baby's bed a little more often, but I don't mind. Also, you may need to change your baby a little more often than the regular diaper. But, who cares. You are not throwing these away. You can use them again when you are done washing them. Another benefit of using cloth diapers is that studies have shown that the babies potty train a lot sooner because they feel the wetness much more than in a regular diaper. The last benefit that I will mention is that these diapers are reusable for any new babies that come into your household. as long as you take care of them.
Another diaper that I love is a cross between a disposable diaper and a cloth diaper. This diaper is called a G diaper. The diaper has a cloth outside, a plastic insert, and a disposable liner. What is neat about this diaper is that the liner is flushable. Yes, you flush this diaper down the toilet. There is a proper way to do it. You don't fill up any landfills with this one. The liner is completely biodegradable and breaks down completely in your sewer system. You can reuse the cloth portion, but the plastic insert may need to be changed. This diaper is a few dollars more than the traditional diaper, so you will not save money here. It is a way to save the earth when you are traveling outside the house and you don't want to carry around soiled cloth diapers or use regular diapers. You can Google this diaper to get more information.
To hear more information about the eco-friendly laundry products, you can go to http://www.saferforyourhome.com/. You can purchase the products through my business and even start one of your own. The products are a lot cheaper than what you would buy at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and other health food stores. Visit my website at http://www.healthybizathome.org/. Thanks and God bless!
One day I was in Target shopping for baby items and stumbled across a little blessing. Bum Genius cloth diapers! Whoo Hoo! What made this diaper so genius was many things. There was no need for plastic pants on the outside. There were microfiber liners that you insert on the inside of the diaper, which absorbs 15 times it's weight in water. When the diaper is soiled, you simply remove it and wash it. Now, there is a little more labor involved when using cloth diapers. We have a sprayer attached to the toilet which we use to get all of the poop off of it. We remove the liner and rinse it as well. All of the soiled diapers go into a lined diaper pail in the bathroom. I soak them in cold water and wash them in hot water every other day. One important factor here is that you cannot use the traditional laundry detergents on these diapers, which is cool with us. We already use ecofriendly, toxin-free products in our home. No adjustment was necessary there.
Now, Bum Genius diapers are not cheap. They are about $18 each. I bought 15 of them in bulk on http://www.cottonbabies.com/. It was cheaper than buying them one at a time in Target and cheaper than buying them on the company website. By the way, Target stopped carrying them around the third one I purchased. They were very scarse in the store. Overall, I have paid for them already in that I have not purchased diapers in a long time. Please note that if you have a child that urinates a lot, they may not keep them dry at night time like a traditional disposable diaper does. I have had to change the sheets on my baby's bed a little more often, but I don't mind. Also, you may need to change your baby a little more often than the regular diaper. But, who cares. You are not throwing these away. You can use them again when you are done washing them. Another benefit of using cloth diapers is that studies have shown that the babies potty train a lot sooner because they feel the wetness much more than in a regular diaper. The last benefit that I will mention is that these diapers are reusable for any new babies that come into your household. as long as you take care of them.
Another diaper that I love is a cross between a disposable diaper and a cloth diaper. This diaper is called a G diaper. The diaper has a cloth outside, a plastic insert, and a disposable liner. What is neat about this diaper is that the liner is flushable. Yes, you flush this diaper down the toilet. There is a proper way to do it. You don't fill up any landfills with this one. The liner is completely biodegradable and breaks down completely in your sewer system. You can reuse the cloth portion, but the plastic insert may need to be changed. This diaper is a few dollars more than the traditional diaper, so you will not save money here. It is a way to save the earth when you are traveling outside the house and you don't want to carry around soiled cloth diapers or use regular diapers. You can Google this diaper to get more information.
To hear more information about the eco-friendly laundry products, you can go to http://www.saferforyourhome.com/. You can purchase the products through my business and even start one of your own. The products are a lot cheaper than what you would buy at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and other health food stores. Visit my website at http://www.healthybizathome.org/. Thanks and God bless!
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