Cloth Diapers = Fun

Let's take a short break from all the birthday talk and take a peek at my newest cloth diaper adventures!

One of my favorite things about cloth diapers is how cheap they can be. But being my notoriously cheap self, I wanted to find an even cheaper way to use them! So I'm making my own. And it is seriously fun.

This was my first attempt and I'm really happy with how it turned out! It's a pocket fitted which isn't my favorite because I have to stuff the pocket AND use a cover, but I think it was a great starting point because the pattern was free and it is made from flannel which is really easy to find locally. It also gave me a good understanding of basic diaper construction that I think I'll be able to copy with other materials and diaper styles to get what I really want. That's another great thing about making my own!

The Pattern I used was "Rita's Rump" pocket fitted, and the site also has a few other patterns for covers and all-in-one diapers.  I found my flannel on sale for $2/yard at Joanne and bought about 8 yards to start practicing with. It was probably the best deal I've seen for flannel! So I picked out some really fun and cute prints to work with. The sewing pattern doesn't include any kind of closure for the diaper (you can use a snappi if you want) so for now I am just using a cover to hold it in place, but I ordered some snaps so I can try putting those on for a snapping diaper!

I can get 2 diapers from 1 yard of flannel, which means $1 of fabric per diaper. Add in with that a little elastic and thread and we're at about $1.50 per diaper. Like I said, it needs some help to be functional. An insert averages about $3 new, but I've found them cheaper on diaperswappers.com and making your own can be cheaper too, and since I don't usually pay more than I have to, we'll say $1.50 for a used one. My cover also came from diaperswappers.com and was about $7, but the beauty of covers is you can use them more than once before you wash them. If we use it 3-4 times, it's like having 3-4 diapers that were about $2, right? So that brings our total cost per diaper to only $5! You can't beat that with a stick. Once I start adding snaps and trying pricier fabrics that number will, of course, go up, but I think it will still save enough money to be worth it. Of course I'll let you know some exact numbers when I head that way. :)

 Here you can see how well it fits him before I put a cover on. It fits really snugly around the legs and is actually trimmer than his pocket diapers. It is a one size fits most diaper (probably too big for tiny babies) and the rise is adjusted by folding down the extra fabric at the front or back of the diaper. Baby B still has a good amount of room to grow and it could definitely be folded down more for smaller babies. And it looks so cute. :)

And how great is this robot fabric?? Robots = instant fun.

 Of course Baby B has to check it out.

He runs some very vigorous quality control tests. It passed!

I also tried a variation of the pattern to make ruffly leg casings which would be cute for little girls. It was much harder than the other version and I didn't like how much more stitching was visible with this technique.

 Here is a closer look at the ruffles. I actually think they look pretty cute from a distance, but up close I'm not sold. I might try once more to see if they get better with practice, but so far I'm liking the robot style diaper better.

One of the things I'm most excited about is that I'll be able to make natural fiber diapers. All the pocket diapers I bought so far have all been fleece & microfiber which honestly is working fine so far, but I've heard that natural fibers are more absorbent, easier to care for, and better for baby's skin so I think it's worth a try. I'm planning to order some bamboo or hemp (or both!) to try and even the flannel I've been using is cotton. I also bought some PUL (waterproof fabric) to try making my own pocket diapers (and wet bags!).

While we're talking about my new diaper adventures, I'll go ahead and talk some more about a couple new things I'm trying. The first is a Dippee Dypee (sold on Etsy) I just ordered during a sale and I am very impressed with it so far. This is a fitted diaper (so it needs a cover) but it is made of super-soft bamboo, it's one size, the workmanship is excellent, and did you see those robots?!? It is hands down the most beautiful diaper I have ever seen. This will sound ridiculous, but I actually haven't put it on Baby B yet because it's so pretty, haha. She also has excellent customer service and was happy to answer any questions before I ordered. I am so impressed that I just ordered another style of diaper from her to try as well.

The other thing I bought were Econobum covers and prefolds. I haven't used covers & prefolds since Baby B was tiny and I hated them, but I also never felt like the fit right. They are one of the cheapest ways to cloth diaper so I wanted to give them another try. I found some on diaperswappers.com and a local diaper selling page and got them pretty cheap. I LOVE the covers and have been using them every chance I get with both the prefolds and my home made diapers. I actually think they fit Baby B better than anything I've used so far. I also really like the prefolds because they are nice and big and really absorbent. It's a little trickier to get them on, but I don't mind for around the house. Another big difference is that before the prefolds were no match for newborn blowouts, but now that Baby B is older he doesn't do anything they can't handle. Well, not usually. :)

So now you are once again up-to-date on our diapering habits (if you want more diapery goodness, check out my intro to cloth diapering post and my first follow up post). You're welcome. I'll leave you with these pics of Baby B and his food.

 Berries, bananas, and bread for breakfast. Followed by a bath.

Helping himself to some cereal.

Anyone else cloth diaper? Have you made your own? Did you make your own breakfast today like Baby B?

one

"Children are a gift from the Lord..." - Psalm 127:3 (NIRV)

One Year Young

Well, Baby B, you made it. Today is your big day - today you have made it one whole year in the big, wide world.

One whole year of giggles, naps, walks, smiles, rolling, crawling, and now even walking! Although there were long days and even longer nights, this year has flown by. I think I blinked one too many times.

You are learning and growing so fast with no sign of slowing down. Here are a few of your birthday facts:

• you crawl super fast
• you can clap
• you can make sounds like a boat
• you can walk (although crawling is still faster)
• you like to throw a ball or roll it around on the floor
• you can say "mama," but usually say "dada" instead
• you sign "more" & "all done"
• you point at everything
• you LOVE to take baths and play in any water - including the toilet and any cups you can reach
• you've been in the ocean
• you survived an earthquake and a hurricane - in the same week
• you love to be outside
• you fall asleep with your stuffed monkey in your hand

I still can't believe it's been a year, and I can't believe how much you have changed! But one thing hasn't changed. We still love you to pieces and couldn't imagine life without you. We are so blessed to have you as our baby boy.

"We love you forever, we like you for always, as long as we're living, our baby you'll be."

Birthday Crown

Yay! We finally get to use some of that dino felt! Today we're making a special birthday crown for the birthday boy.

 I picked up my felt at Hobby Lobby: 

1 sheet of stiff yellow (called easy felt, I think)  $1.50

1 sheet teal  $0.25

1 sheet dino  $0.75

Total - $2.50

I chose a stiff yellow for the base to make sure the crown would stand up without being floppy. I cut a long strip with a point in the middle (like below). Then I tried it on Baby B's head and it was way too tall and looked goofy, so I cut the band a little shorter. It looks much better now, and I'm glad I checked the size before I went any further!

 I tried out a couple ideas for the dino print before deciding on this. I just centered a piece on the front and cut it slightly smaller than the base so the yellow would show around it. I glued it down with Elmer's glue, but I'm sure sewing it down would look nicer. But I'm all about speed and ease!

I cut a "1" out of the yellow and played around with the teal to make it stand out more against the dino print. You can see in the top left corner an oval that I tried first but wasn't crazy about. I eventually ended up with an outline just slightly bigger than the 1 that I like liked. I glued those pieces down as well, and left it to dry. I took quite a bit of glue because the felt soaked it up so fast! Next year I'll probably try sewing it instead, but by this point I was committed. :)

The next picture shows two things. First, I used some extra teal to cover where the band will touch Baby B's head. The stiff yellow was a little scratchy, so I added a softer layer. Second, you can see where I attached another piece to the band to make it long enough to reach around Baby B's head. You may not need the extra length, but Baby B's head is off the charts! Now I just need to get the exact size figured out and get the two ends connected. :)