All about... Nursing pads

I know, I know it's been a while. I've been  a little busy.. Maybe even barely keeping my head above water kind of busy.

But I've been dying to do a post on this because I had a hard time finding info about it when I was looking so I hope this helps someone else. I do cloth diapers and love to save money by using reusable things. My quest was to find a cloth nursing pad. I bought two different kinds and wanted to see the difference.  Here is a picture of two reusable kids and one disposable. These are the fronts of the nursing pads (or sides that will be touching your breast)

We will start left to right. 

The first one is a pink daisy nursing pad (bamboo). This one had a lot of bad reviews and I had to see for myself. Comes in a pack of six. 

Cost:$12

Pros

It's washable and soft.  Yup that's about it. 

Cons

It's huge. The sides have ruffled after washing. And it's noticeable even under a looser shirt. It actually is pretty easy to leak through. Is the same on the front back and moves around like crazy even with a sports bra on. 

Bottom line:Don't recommend this one at all!!!

The middle one is a bravado moisture wick. This one also had some bad reviews. But had more positive ones than the pink daisy. Comes in a pack of six. 

Cost: $13.60

Pros: works great, feels great. Has a seam on the back to help stay in place. I didn't feel like it showed anymore than a disposable would. 

Cons: for long stretches(like 6 hours) or early in breast feeding can leak. But at that point even the disposables can leak. Other than that I love them! 

Bottom line: I recommend these for cloth nursing pads!

This is a picture of what I recommend. The bravado ones act most like the disposables and I have been happy with them. I think two packs would be perfect if you don't do laundry everyday. But with two kids and two adults I'm doing laundry everyday. So just one pack works good for me.

The back side of the cloth and disposable the seam helps it stay and flow more with your bod. 

Oh and it is thicker on one half than the other. Which is desirable... Trust me. 

Breast feeding saves money why not try to save more money? Would you consider cloth nursing pads? 

Homemade Cleaners I Love

Homemade Cleaners I Love

You've seen them on pinterest...

you pin them...

you NEVER try them...

WHAT IS YOUR DEAL?!?!!

Apparently you aren't in a penny pinch like me or you are too scared.

I know its Halloween month but don't fear some of them are super good.

I'll let you know which ones I love 

and which ones didn't turn out so hot.

Dishwasher soap

Amazing! I use a splash of vinegar every time.

I even put some super dirty dishes in and they came clean highly recommend. Easy to make, easy to use. 

Recipe here

"Febreeze"

Smells so good! I diluted it a bit more than she said the only bummer part is 

I have to shake it up every time other than that totally worth it.

Recipe here

 Liquid laundry soap

I finally found a recipe that I love for laundry.

The first recipe I tried was WAY too thick. This one is just right. 

Recipe found here

Makes 4 gallons of laundry soap and the cost is a penny a load. How about them apples?

Cloth baby wipes work great! I only use them for pee-pee diapers for obvious reasons but it says a lot of wipes.

Recipe/ how to make them here

For the deep cleaning right before moving out of an apartment I used this recipe here

It cleaned the stove burners amazingly! Squeaky clean just remember you have to let them sit for at least 12 hours. So don't wait for it to be the last thing to do if you are about to move...

yes that is experience speaking. 

Homemade things that didn't turn out so hot

homemade "shout" 

it didn't even compare to the real thing.

Thats all I gotta say

Sink declogger

I had Draino before and ran out so I tried a homemade remedy that was baking soda and vinegar

it worked a bit but not anything like the real stuff. 

If you've got a big problem buy the big stuff.

So far I have had much better luck with things turning out than not. Have you tried any homemade cleaners?

Celebrating 6 months of cloth diapers

6 months of cloth diapers!!! Can you believe it?

Little man is turning one next month and has been saving just a tiny part of the environment and not even knowing it.

This post is about some of the things I have faced and some of the things I have learned.

I hope this helps you if you are thinking about cloth diapering or trying them out as well.

The cloth diapers I use are flip I have a few Indian Prefolds as well for at night.

First things first the bag...

I bought a planet wise diaper pail liner (about 17 bucks) which worked just fine other than you have to have a diaper

pail (price varies on how fancy you want to get).

I also with the help of my mother (ok so maybe all I did was buy and pick out fabric) made this bag which I

now use instead of the pail and pail liner system and I love it because it

1. takes up WAY less space

2. Easily sits next to the toliet

3. Can travel with us

4. I got to choose whatever style and size I wanted

5. IT ZIPS!!!

Don't worry it normally doesn't sit on the counter.

And please don't zoom in on my toes.

Baking soda helps combat the stink. Just sprinkle a little into whatever you hold your diapers in.

Finally verdict I like my bag A LOT better and it was cheap to make.

 (google tutorials on cloth diaper bags to find one you like)

Another thing I have learned is that it is always nice to have disposables on hand

It is not fun having a sick baby with runny poop every diaper in cloth.

Unfortunately I found out later that you should wash your diapers every couple of days. I bought enough

diapers for 4 days. which is really nice to have the extra but really 2 days worth of cloth diapers (plus a couple extra for while they are being washed is all you really need.

Hope this helps! I am sure loving the cloth diapers and the sense of security they bring.

i don't have to worry about running to the store for more diapers or worry about if they are on sale.

Cloth Diapers... do they really save money?

I had a conversation with a friend last night about cloth diapers...

I've had lots of people ask me about them so I thought I'd post about them

Heres the breakdown. Cost wise if you would like more info on how to get started please visit my friends blog she is the one who got me hooked.

Cloth Diapering 101

These are the cloth diapers I use. I started out with one stay dry pack.

Which comes with 6 stay dry inserts(cloth)

2 outer diapers (hold cloths in place)

I was scared to spend a bunch of money on cloth diapers so I just got one... cost??????

............

$49.95

I got them from diapers.com but cottonbabies.com also has them.

I kept hearing how you needed to spend like $400 bucks to get started on cloth diapers!

NOT SO! I liked them so much I bought 2

Totaling my cloth diapering to

4 outer shells

12 stay dry inserts

(you can get organic if you are concerned with going as green as possible)

Instead of buying burp cloths give these a try!

Another side note I do still have disposable diapers that I had stocked up on. But he isn't quite in that size and I bought these because I was tired of buying disposable diapers. I put him in a disposable diaper at night. (I use a size bigger than what he really is because he pees a lot at night). I haven't completely switched over is what I am trying to say. I now can do that because I am all set up. But start off slow. Cloth diapers should not be a financial burden. Make them save you money!

I use these because I don't want to touch poop. Its a lot easier to deal with and they are biodegradable. NOT NECESSARY! You can totally deal with the poop (I recommend this for first time moms or moms that get uber grossed out like me!)

Cost: $10.15 per 100 sheet. (on amazon)

Sometimes I risk it (like if I know he isn't going to poop any more that day (don't ask I just know) ) I haven't gone through my whole roll yet. I even cut some in half to make them last longer. But they work a ton better if you just use them like you should.

This is a need if you are going with cloth diapers. This is a pail liner. Keeps odor in and works really well. I have an old garbage can with a horrible lid that barely stays on and it still keeps the odor in! I love this liner and highly recommend it. I got white because then you can throw it in with the rest of the cloth wipes.

Cost: $16.50 (on amazon)

So my grand total on what I spent to get going on cloth diapering (and I have been using it for a while now)

Total: $126.65

All prices were checked on Feb 2 2012 (of course prices change)

When will this start saving money?

Well lets put it this way... I spent

about $45.00 on a HUGE box of pampers diapers (only ones that wouldn't leak)

about every 1 1/2 months I'd have to buy it.

So in 3 months I'm saving money

Assuming he is in diapers till he is 24 months...

thats $720 dollars spent

even being generous and saying I went through 45.00 worth of diapers every 2 months thats

$540

NOT INCLUDING WIPES!!!!

I also have started to use cloth wipes for pee pee diapers. I use probably about 4 disposable wipes a day. And I just made the wipes with some old tee shirts. So it cost me nothing.

Bottom line Do cloth diapers save money? YES!

******Way to save even more money... just got Indian prefolds which for the biggest ones they have as of Feb. 27 2012 cost $2.00 each. I got 6 for $12.00

Think of getting one flip day pack and then those thats six more diapers.

They are super absorbent!******

Buy them from cotton babies they have free shipping.