I have learnt 2 things today!

I've had a very rewarding day!

look at that floaty-less golden liquid!

First off I decided to make some more liquid soapnuts, but I needed to strain the mixture to try to stop little bits of soapnut getting into the liquid... being that I need a new sieve, I really had nothing to use - but in a moment of genius, decided to try a couple of disposable diaper liners - and it worked!  I put the two liners on the top of the jar, and kind of poked them inside a little, then with one hand around the neck of the jar, I poured the mixture into the jar with the other..... and it was a great success!  After I'd strained all the liquid, I put the soapnuts inside the liners and then squeezed out the excess saponin into my liquid soapnuts...  it stopped my hands from smelling quite so much like soapnuts, and was also a lot less messy.  Upon further inspection, I was unable to really see any floaties in the liquid - and then patted myself on the back, for a job well done.

my cute little model

Freshly converted prefold-fitted!

Another thing I learnt today, is that I'm quite clever.  Really.  With Emersyn's blister issue, I have been using prefolds - and because of my newfound love of fitteds, I decided to have a look online and see how easy it would be to convert some prefolds into fitteds.  Not too hard, so it seemed.  I armed myself with a prefold, my pattern, my scissors, elastic and my sewing machine, and after not too long (an hour?) I finished and held the completed diaper in my hand.  And it looked pretty good!  The sewing on it was pretty rushed - because I made it while Emersyn was asleep, but it's definitely something that'll be easy to make look tidier, with a little extra time.  I followed this tutorial, and found that making it was actually easier than I had thought it'd be after reading the tutorial, I think anyone who can sew a straight line, would be fine with attempting this particular tutorial - and I can't imagine that others would be overly different.  I used toddler size Real Nappies prefolds, because I find the size down aren't able to be snappi'ed comfortably now, but at the same time the toddler size is ENORMOUS...  I think the size is pretty good for Emersyn - it'll allow for growth, but at the same time the rise is somewhat adjustable, so it fits - as a fitted - perfectly. 

Who knew it could be so easy?

After all my night time diapering dramas, I have suddenly found the perfect night time diapering solution for Emersyn.  I'm using a fitted - or a pocket, with a pad folded flat as a booster, then putting a fleece cover or a woolen cover over top... and bobs your uncle!  No leaks, no wet clothes, no wet bedding - and not a lot of bulk either!  I forgot how absorbent a simple pad folded flat can be.  I think all I need now is to get my A into G & make some fleece liners, so that they can have a staydry layer, and it'll be perfect.

I don't even really care which fitted or pocket I use, because I know that the addition of the pad folded flat will give me enough absorbency (me/her) - and with the wool or fleece cover over top, it's pretty much a bullet proof solution!  When I use a pocket diaper, I use two microfiber inserts as well, but I could probably get away with just using one.

I think the ONE thing I have learnt from all this night time drama, is that the COVER you use is the most important factor, and that pocket diapers often leak if they are by themselves, no matter how perfect the fit is.  Obviously with wool and fleece you do need a reasonable amount of absorbency in the actual diaper, but if you do have enough, the wool/fleece is essentially bullet proof (well, wee proof!).

It makes me laugh to think that for SOOOOOOOOOO many months I refused to use fitteds overnight (and to be honest, I have no idea why...) - and in the end it was FITTEDS that were part of the solution.

Now to get my hands on more woolen soakers, and to make some more fleece soakers - the perfect task for my new sewing machine I'm getting tomorrow! (happy birthday to MEEEEEE)...

Have any of my readers fallen in love with wool or fleece for night time?

getting my creative groove on

Anyone who knows me 'in real life' will know that I am NOT the most creative person in the world - hell, I'm not even the 5,000,000,000th most creative person in the world, but it seems that I am starting to become a little of a wannabe homemaker, because I have started SEWING...  Sewing is something that's never interested me until now - at high school I failed our little sewing module terribly... possibly because my best friend and I were paired up and were more interested in breaking our machine.............

Moving on... A couple of weeks ago [or was it last week??] I completed my VERY first sewing project EVER..... a pretty pink fleece soaker for Emersyn.  I think I have mentioned it on my blog, but keep forgetting to put photos up - because I've been concentrating so much on the night time issues we were having.  But now that's all resolved, I've had time to actually do some of the bloggy things I've been meaning to do, including posting these photos of my very first soaker.

front view of the soaker - not too bad if I say so myself 

and the back...

 THEN yesterday I decided "hey, why not try to make a proper diaper", so got my thinking cap on, and decided that I could probably trace around a diaper I already have - and use that for my initial shape, then surely I could just use some fabric for the outside, the inside - and the absorbent pads inside the diaper, which I decided had to be a fitted that pins up [because I lack elastic and velcro or snaps, and waterproof material]....  what follows are the photos of the diaper that I saw in my mind - and it's actually turned out to be pretttttty much exactly what I had imagined in my mind...

diaper in its pre-use state

my little Emmy-Boo modelling it

action shot number 1

action shot number 2

What none of the above photos tell you, is that BOTH of my creations were made using recycled fabrics that I already had at home...  The fleece soaker was once upon a time a big fleece blanket, that had gotten a bit ratty over time, and the fitted I made?  The outer material is from a baby blanket that is no longer in use, the inner fabric is from a long sleeve t-shirt that I no longer wear - and the absorbent pad inside the diaper is made from the sleeves of the long sleeve t-shirt. 

I believe the term for all of this is 'upcycling' - and I quite like the concept too.  I now find myself looking at clothing and manchester in a whole new way, particularly fleece that has embroidery on it.... infact the soaker I'm working on now has a butterfly on the back - that was once on the fleece blanket.  I always feel like I"m wasting things when I throw them away, or shove them in the wardrobe knowing they'll never be used again, but now it's kind of like these items get a new lease on life.....

a year of cloth love - part 1

It is ALMOST a year since I began cloth diapering Emersyn, so I figured now is as good a time as any, to do her 'one year in cloth' post [more so because I will probably forget...]... so here goes...

FIRST time wearing cloth.. a OSFA pepenaps pocket... 2 weeks 4 days old

Rocking a mohawk, and her blue pepenaps... about 1 month

this was the start of the obsession.. a Bambino Mio cover, over a fitted - part of a bunch of free diapers I got given, from a lady on the Nappy Network NZ

showing off her new Real Nappies cover, over a prefold. about 2.5 months

One of her first Bummis Super Brites - again about 2.5 months

What was and still IS my favourite pocket - a MyBaby... I adore the colour

[almost] 4 months old, wearing a Green Acre Designs small pocket.  I was so sad when she grew out of this particular diaper

4.5 months, showing off her first Snazzipants diaper - this brand is my favourite fitted, and I ended up with a full 'stash'.. it was sad when she outgrew the size ones.. luckily we have some size twos on the way

a week off 6 months, showing off her Bummmis flower print Super Whisper Wrap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the beginning...

I thought it was time to take some photos of the different types of diapers, so that those of you who haven't come across modern cloth diapers before, would have more of an idea what the heck I'm talking about!  In amongst all the AIO, AI2, OSFA, OSFM, FB, BG, PF abbreviations & associated cloth diapering jargon, are the 4 (well, 4 of the 5) basic types of modern cloth diaper - the AIO & AI2 (all in one & all in two), the fitted, the pocket & the prefold.

We will start with the pocket diaper.  This diaper consists of a waterproof cover, which has a stay-dry layer on the inside - and in between the waterproof cover & stay dry inner, are insert - which provide the absorbent layer/s for the diaper.  They do up with either snaps or velcro/aplix, and come either sized (small, medium, large, x-large) OR in a OSFA (one size fits all) style.

the waterproof outer

the stay-dry inner (microfleece)

the cover and an insert

the insert slides in between the two inner & outer layers

Next, we have the fitted diaper.  The fitted diaper has all it's absorbency sewn in, and often will come with an optional soaker which can be snapped in, OR is sewn in as a flap.  Fitteds are NOT waterproof and require a waterproof cover.  As with pockets, these can be fastened with either snaps, or velcro/aplix

fitted, fastened with snaps

inside the fitted, you can see a detachable soaker pad

Now we get on to the AIO & AI2.  They are a combination of the fitted and the pocket, in the way that the absorbent layers are sewn into the diaper, and again there can be the snap in, or sewn in soaker flap, but unlike the fitted - and like the pocket, the outer material of the AIO is waterproof.  There is a distinction between the AIO & AI2 however.  The AIO - as said above, has all the absorbency sewn into it, whereas the AI2 has the cover - referred to as the 'shell', however all the absorbency needs to be added to it - generally with snaps.  The AI2 is sometimes referred to as a 'snap in' or 'snap in one'.

the AIO & AI2 are the same on the outside

the AI2 has a shell - with all the absorbency separate & to be snapped in for use

all the absorbency that can be snapped in (you can customise to suit your child)

the AIO however, has all of its absorbency sewn in, with or without an extra soaker flap

And last but not least, we have the prefold.  The prefold is the closest thing to the old school flats that were used 'back in the day'.  The diaper is essential sewn in thirds, with absorbency on the inside.  The two outer sections with less absorbency, the inside with more (usually 4x6x4 layers), and they can either be folded into a pad shape (trifolded), or they can be folded & fastened as with flat diapers.  As with the fitted diaper, prefolds do require a waterproof layer over top of the diaper.

a prefold in its flat state - you can see it is sewn in thirds, lengthways

a prefold in its trifolded state

Another option for cloth diapering - as I mentioned with the prefolds, is using flats.  I haven't added them as I don't have any personal experience using them, however I do plan on purchasing some & giving it a go - so stay tuned for my flats experiment! 

A fluffy day in the life of Emersyn

Here's a chance to see Emmy's fluffy wardrobe for a whole day!  Enjoy!

Good morning everyone!  Time for my first diaper change

"buh-bye" FuzziBunz

& hello pink (dyed) prefold!

... no prefold is complete without a cover (Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, Froggy print) - and on those cold days, a pair of babylegs!

Up from my nap - and it's time for an Itti Bitti (Bitti D'Lish) in Turqouise... Mummy didn't plan on the turquoise diaper matching the Turquoise in my babylegs!

now I'm up to no good.. but a least I look cute!

now my mean Mummy is making me have another nap...  I"m in my PeaPods this time - and funnily enough, my red diaper matches the red in my babylegs!

up from my nap & now I'm all nekkid - bar my diaper, ready for my bath!

nice & sparkly clean, showing off my BumGenius diaper - and showing Mummy how clever I am getting at standing up!

saying "buh-bye" to the people on TV... Mummy says it is time for bed...

having my bottle while Mummy changes my diaper... first step is a TotsBots Bamboozle

followed by a[nother] Bummis SWW - Jungle print this time!

and now I'm in bed... I don't want to but *yawn* I'm a bit tired... Non-night everyone!

Fluffy Wardrobe - 13 April 2011

Today so far, Emersyn has worn.....

Snazzipants prefold & Bummis 'bloom' SWW
Mint green Itti Bitti - Bitti D'Lish AIO
Snazzipants fitted & Bummis 'ladybug' SWW
Bluberry bamboo fitted & Bummis 'flowers' SWW

to be continued!
(you can tell it was insert stripping day today!)

Fluffy Wardrobe - 2nd April 2011

Just for fun...
today Emersyn has been wearing:
- Ecobubs woolen pocket, in baby pink & brown
- Ecobubs woolen pocket, in baby blue & brown
- Itti Bitti Bitti D'Lish AIO in pink
- Snazzipants prefold with blue Bummis Super Brite cover
- MyBaby pocket, in blue - with a Bummis Super Brite cover (for overnight)

Favourite Brands... part 1!

While Emersyn has her bottle, I thought I'd share some photos of Emersyn in some of my favourite brands of cloth diaper - I'll also go into more detail about these brands in the not too distant future!

BUMMIS

This is one of Bummis new 'Super Whisper Wrap' prints - Ladybug

Another of their new prints - this one is called 'Bloom' & is my favourite print!

I just really like the colours they use in this print, particularly the pink & brown combo

ITTI BITTI

This is a pink Itti D'Lish AIO - the first AIO's that I've really purchased & loved

The back of a lilac Itti D'Lish SIO (snap in one, which I believe is essentially an AI2)

The Fuschia AIO

And the yellow AIO

SNAZZIPANTS

Wearing a size 1 Snazzipants fitted.. these were the first fitteds I tried & I love them (they are also a NZ brand)