10 (Unconventional) Tips for Potty Training...

Be sure and check out our GIVEAWAY while you're here.

When Little Owl was first born I had dreams of changing very few diapers thanks to elimination communication (or EC). Well, two years into this journey called motherhood I was starting to have visions of changing a five year olds diaper! It just didn't seem like it was working for us. 

We would make progress and then regress. Make progress, and then regress.... It didn't help that I got into a car accident right around the time when Athena was just starting to be mobile, and I couldn't lift her for months. It didn't help that we had "potty rebellions", and that we lived in carpeted housing at times. So I just decided maybe EC wasn't for us, and just basically gave up any hope of potty training before five! 

Then, a few weeks ago, when we moved into our new space on the Eco-village, something clicked. And, now, potty "training" is done. We've had two accidents in three weeks. So, I guess, by all standards, we're done. And before two. (That's not bad, right?) It's really hard to believe. And I'm not even sure how it happened, but I'm definitely not complaining!

People have asked me if I think doing EC has been worth it. And even before I knew I would have a fully potty learned two year old, even when things weren't going so well, I would have said a resounding YES. I am so grateful I was introduced to this idea before Little Owl was born. I highly recommend it! Even catching a few poops in the potty instead of having to deal with blow-outs makes it 1000 times worth the effort, IMO!  ;)

But, now onto the real reason I am writing this post. It's more than just to update you on my experience with EC, but to tell you my "tips" for potty training. It seems like bloggers these days are full of advice, so I thought I might as well jump on the band-wagon! Here are my 

10 (Unconventional) Tips for Potty Learning

1. Chocolate. 

Really this should be part of any how-to for any stage of parenting. Always chocolate. You DON'T need to invest in a lifetime supply of Hershey's, you could even make your own. But, I highly recommend always having some on hand. You never know when it might be needed.

2. Wine. 

What goes better with chocolate than wine? Yes. This should always be around too. It can be especially helpful after a long to of unsuccessful potty learning. But it also doubles in the case of a successful day of potty learning... as a reward for momma!

3. Naps.  

Always a good idea. Take naps whenever you can. It's a good strategy for all aspects of life... so why not apply it to potty learning. You deserve some shut eye, momma!

4. Meditation.

 This is kind of like napping, except sitting up. 

5. Long Walks. 

On the beach, in the city, in the woods, with baby, without baby, with a stroller, with a carrier... however you do it! The fresh air is always helpful. 

6. Deep Breaths. 

You have to be careful with this one during potty learning. It's all in the WHERE you do it. Just don't do it right over a diaper blow-out or a potty "miss" and you'll be golden. 

7. Yoga. 

I don't have much experience with this myself. But people always add it into advice lists so I thought I should include it, too.

8. Massage.

 Yes. Just, yes. Get a massage. Your potty learning a baby! You deserve it!

9. Pedicure. 

Unfortunately, I am too ticklish for a pedicure, but that shouldn't stop you!

10. Hot tea. 

Hot beverages cure a million ailments. Potty learning included. This is my personal non-caffeinated favorite! But, really, you can't go wrong. Pour yourself a cup of tea and know that, someday, your baby will be potty learned. So that's comforting, right?

That's my list, Mommas. Pretty unconventional, right? ;) It's a good list, though I think. I'm going to keep it around for other parts of parenting too... like temper tantrums, sibling fights, teenager debates, etc. 

But in all seriousness, I don't feel like I have a lot of advice to give. But I do have a LOT of sympathy! If you want to learn more about elimination communication I can't recommend highly enough Ingrid Bauer's Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene. Even though, I didn't follow exactly what she advised, I learned a LOT from it. And I know you will too. 

I also wish all parents would read Mei-Ling Hopgood's How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm: And Other Adventures in Parenting (from Argentina to Tanzania and everywhere in between). She talks about EC in the book, but it is also just a good look at parenting in other cultures, to help us put our own in perspective. 

As far as "potty learning" tools go, I highly recommend you check out www.NaturallyDiaperFree.com to see what this momma has to offer in the way of EC materials. Here is a little bit about the site from the page itself: Here you will find products for Elimination Communication (EC). EC is a gentle, natural way of meeting your baby's elimination needs. I create many of the products for sale on this site. The products that I create are made from 100% organic cotton or upcycled fabric, both from local sources. Our goal at Naturally Diaper Free is to provide you with the tools you will need to practice EC in the modern world.

For our family we used two different potties. When Athena was really little, we used the BABYBJORN Smart Potty which was great because it was very small. 

As Athena got older we wanted something a little more sturdy and found this Munchkin Arm & Hammer potty seat at a second-hand store. I highly recommend looking for these sorts of items second hand! It's amazing what you can find at thrift stores. 

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Guest Post at Naturally Mindful: Tips for Traveling with Cloth Diapers

Be sure and check out our GIVEAWAY while you're here.

With the holidays right around the corner lots of folks are thinking about packing up and heading out to get in cars, in planes, on trains, etc. Traveling during the holidays is never the most fun of times. Traveling with children makes things even more complicated. Traveling with a baby in cloth diapers? Forget it. 

At least, that's the way a lot of parent feel about the matter.

But there is no need. Traveling with cloth diapers can actually be quite painless and simple.... 

(This is a post written for Stephanie of Naturally Mindful. Visit her site to Continue Reading...)

How to Wash Cloth Diapers

Be sure and check out our GIVEAWAY while you're here.

As a brand new mom washing cloth diapers terrified me. I was afraid I would somehow get the process terribly wrong and end up giving my child a horrible rash or some sort of awful disease. One of those "paranoid new-mom" moments I guess.

Washing cloth diapers does not have to be complicated. After doing myriad loads of them I feel like I finally have my method down. 

This is what works for my family. What works for you might be slightly different. I would encourage you to not stress out over washing diapers. Diapers tend to let you know if they are not truly clean. (They will emit a nice odor if they are not....) And, your baby's bum will also let you know right away if you are doing something less than optimal. If you pay attention to both those signals, and change your method accordingly, you will be fine. Remember that baby's skin is very sensitive and you should act quickly if a rash does develop and change something about your washing process if necessary. 

Now, onto how to wash diapers...

There are two things to think about before you wash your diapers: rinsing and storing.

Rinsing

I never rinse wet diapers, and only past a certain age do I begin to rinse poopy ones. How you deal with poo on the diapers depends on two factors that are inter-related 1) the age of your baby and the kind of poo 2) the foods your baby eats and therefore the "texture" of the poo. Before you place your soiled diapers into your storage container you need to decide if they should be rinsed or not. 

For the first several months with Athena I never rinsed poopy diapers. (We also practiced EC so most of the poo went in a potty anyways...). As she got older and her poo changed, typically I can just "dump" it into the toilet without needing to heavily rinse or scrape to get the residue off. 

I know people swear by these diaper sprayers (and this looks awesome, too!), but as of yet I have never needed them. If you are not a super OCD person there is always the old "dunk-in-the toilet" method as well...

However you do it, just know that if the baby is old enough to eat solids... most likely you will have to take some measure to remove the waste product before you wash. After all, you want your washing machine to be used as a washing machine, not as an expensive flushing toilet . 

Storing

It's important to think about how your soiled diapers are stored. For one thing, they can start to smell quite lovely depending on where they are kept. For another, you don't want the diapers to sit and "ferment" (build up ammonia) while they are waiting so patiently to be washed... 

I have enough cloth diapers for Athena that I really only need to do a load of diapers once (maybe twice) a week. So, once a diaper is dirty I place it in a food-grade plastic bucket (that I will never, ever, ever use for anything else down the road except, perhaps to hold compost...). I keep the lid on the buckets slightly cracked if I am noticing that the smell is incredibly intense when I open it. This way the ammonia does not continue to build up. When I empty these buckets for washing I rinse them and allow them to air dry outside. 

As of yet (a year and a half into using cloth diapers) I have never had an issue with ammonia build up. Just be careful to not let your diaper sit for too long. Different kids eat different foods, have different bodies, etc. So the amount of ammonia will differ from child to child. (If you do have an issue with ammonia build up you can read this.)

Washing

Now, onto the washing. When I have a full load (remember I only do diapers about once a week now. My LO is 17 months.) I dump the diapers into the washing machine. (Can't you just taste the lovely aroma...? Mmmm. The scent of parenthood.)

When I first started washing diapers I would rinse them in cold water with a bit of vinegar, wash them in hot and then call it good. I realized after a while however, that Little Owl's skin was reacting to the laundry soap residue left on the diapers after washing, so I added another rinse after the wash cycle. Then, as she got older I added another rinse cycle before the wash cycle because her urine changed from sweet little baby pee that basically smells like water... to toddler "what-the-heck-did-you-eat-today"-hold-my-nose smell. 

This was my process for washing baby diapers:

• Cold Rinse with 1/2 cup vinegar
• Wash on Hot
• Rinse on Hot 

My process for washing toddler diapers is: 

• Cold Rinse
• Hot Rinse with 1/2-1 cup vinegar (based on smell)
• Wash on Hot
• Rinse on Hot (to remove soap residue) 

Thus far, with these methods of washing at the different stages of babyhood I have never had an issue with my diapers smelling like ammonia, or giving my little girl a rash. (Note: I also use high-quality organic coconut oil at any sign of irritation on her sensitive skin as well as these simple, natural alternatives to baby care products.) 

I have a standard (as opposed to an HE) washing machine. For soap I either use a little more than the instructed amount of a gentle, organic unscented laundry detergent or 3/4-1 cup of my homemade laundry soap (which saves me a great deal of money).

I use this brand of diapers and these covers. I have used other brands in the past but these are definitely the winners as far as I'm concerned. 

And that's it. That's how I wash cloth diapers.  

Of course, actually folding the diapers after they are clean is entirely optional...

;)

What's your method for washing cloth diapers? And what kind of cloth diapers do you use?

EC Update: Fifteen Months

It has been quite a long while since I have written about practicing EC.

Wait, seriously. I just went and checked the archives. Holy mother of batman... has it really been TEN MONTHS (?!) since I last wrote about it?!

Get it here.

Crazy.

In case you don't already know what EC is you can learn more about it in this post on it. Or, if you are REALLy die-hard and want to know about it so you can practice it with your own baby, I recommend you check out this book.

EC Update: 15 MONTHS

Well, things did go really well for us for quite some time. It got to a point some days where we would have more "catches" than "misses". This was awesome for my self-esteem, confidence in the method, as well as on my laundry machine and my hates-to-do-laundry self.

However, back around six months ago things started going backwards. So what happened?

Mobility.

Like everyone said it would, it made it a LOT more difficult to read her signs. She became too busy to pay attention in the same way to her body's cues. (Duh, there were things to explore, bits of old food to eat off of the floor, tables to climb up on... no one has time for trivial things like going to the bathroom... sheesh mom!)

I think we possibly could have pushed through this hurdle if not for the fact that around this same time Brian and I got in a bad car accident. How did this affect EC? I couldn't lift her without being in pain. Holding her in the squatting position was no longer an option, and neither was holding her over the toilet.

So, we kind of took a break for awhile. I tried not to focus on it too much (which is part of why I didn't write about it...) because it was discouraging to me. I was disappointed because it HAD been working and I really believed if I hadn't stopped/been forced to stop putting the energy into it, it could have STILL been working.

As my strength has slowly been coming back and her movement has "plateaued" in that she is now fully walking on her own (more like running, really... ), we've been slowly getting back on the EC-train. She is doing fabulous at learning sign language now so we have been working with her on understanding what "potty" means so she can tell us if she needs to go.

And guess what?

Just like I knew it would... it's working! Again. Okay, so maybe most days she signs it... after she goes. Or maybe she tries to put her pee in the potty by placing her potty over a puddle she just made on the floor.... But she's trying. She's getting it. And you can see she is SO proud of herself when she goes on the potty. Most mornings if I put her on the potty and let her read books... she poos. That's first thing in the morning, though. The rest of the day is kind of a crap shoot... (Haha. I made a pun! Get it?)

That's what happens most days.

But, then there are really, really good days, too.

Like today, for example, all on her own she woke up and signed to me "potty" and I placed her on the toilet and she went... both peepee and poo.

So proud of her. So proud of me.

And who knows, maybe she will be potty-trained before two. She is, after, all, only just turning fifteen months.... so we are still ahead of the curve, I guess...

Have you heard of EC before? Are you practicing it with a kiddo? Let me know your thoughts/experiences with potty training?

An Alternative to Dryer Sheets

As most of you already know, I tend to shy away from anything with ingredients on the label I don't recognize or understand (part of the reasons I don't wash my hair, make my own laundry soap and use coconut oil for everything...).

As a result I have pretty much never used dryer sheets. In all honesty, it hasn't been a big deal. Sure, maybe it would have been nicer to have softer clothes, but it wasn't that important...

But, then I discovered Woolzies, Wool Dryer Balls.  They are great, folks! If you, like me, don't use dryer sheets get yourself a box. They help the laundry come out nice and soft! And you will use them again and again (unlike dryer sheets).

Plus... if you have a little one around, they will love them, too! Little Owl couldn't believe her luck when they came in the mail as we were heading out to run errands and I emptied the box into her carseat. Woohoo!

Thanks to Woolzies, you have a chance to win a set here, too! Enter the giveaway below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thoughts on "EC": Guest Post from Word Winding

Hello friends. I am excited to share with you the first guest post in a series on elimination communication/Diaper-Free/infant potty training/whatever you want to call it. Elizabeth J. K. Erickson has successfully "graduated" her baby girl from EC and shares her journey with us today. Elizabeth is a musician and mom in Northern California. Visit her at her blog or follow along on Facebook. Hope you enjoy her story. 

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Here's what I get: being patient with your offspring's achievement of goals, whether weaning, potty training, or learning to read, sing, or swim. Here's what I don't get: waiting till they declare themselves "ready" to set foot on the path toward such a goal.

Skeptical about Elimination Communication, the infant toilet training sensation that's sweeping the nation? Tell me, was your child able to demand a bite of spaghetti before you offered it? Did you hold off on board books and the Berenstain Bears until they came home from little Jaden's house and whined so incessantly that you broke down and took that first trip to the library? You certainly would have refrained from the simplest of lullabies for at least the first year or two, lest you be pushing your child into singing too quickly, and as for swimming, well, it just wouldn't be fair to even fill a bathtub let alone visit the pool or the ocean with a helpless infant.

Assuming you offered a tidbit of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, read Goodnight Moon, and didn't landlock rubber ducky, you may want to give E.C. a go.

Here's the story of our experience...
We were lucky to hear of E.C. from the family I used to babysit for before having children of our own. Their kids were already on the conventional timetable for loo learning, but they recognized a valuable idea when they heard it and passed it along. My husband was on board, especially when I explained it wasn't an all-or-nothing scenario -- despite the title of the book I was reading, we did not need to go diaper free to do E.C.

Our daughter was born. I had intended to wait until she was six weeks old to start thinking about E.C., but she was so clearly squirming with impending poo that we had our first "catches" (note: no, catching does not mean poop in your hand) before a month had passed. As she grew accustomed to the intricacies of digestion, she stopped signaling so strongly, and unlike most children, never really gave discernible signals for most of the rest of her first year.

No biggie. We just took her to the loo whenever we changed her diaper. We also used common sense timing based on the reading I had done: we offered her a chance to pee before and after bed/nap, car rides, or being held in the sling or Ergo.

At about 3-4 months, we had a phenomenal stroke of luck. Instead of pooping endless times a day, our clockwork child began to go just once, first thing in the morning. Since then, we have experienced a joy unheard of in our culture -- poopy diapers totaling in the single digits. She is almost three years old now, and yes, you read that correctly. Less than ten. Times. Cleaning. Sh*t. Off. A. Squirming. Crawling. Crying. Poo-flinging. Monkey. Child.

(In the interest of full disclosure, our son is almost ten months old and only recently has a sketchy pattern of poo-timing begun to emerge. So I feel ya. I do. He is so impossible to change that we have taken to doing so outside in the backyard whenever the weather allows.)

To begin with, my husband or I would hold her over the sink or toilet in our arms, a leg in each hand, her back against our front. As she got too heavy for me, I began sitting backwards on the toilet in the same position so I could rest my arms on my thighs. (I am five foot two and a half and my husband is six feet tall; unsurprisingly, he never took to this position.) Sometime between six and nine months we transitioned to having her sit on one of those little inserts on the adult toilet and about a year later got a C-shaped stool so she could climb up on her own. For awhile we carried a travel seat around with us, but by 18 months she was fine sitting on the big toilet seat (unless it was filthy; then the in-arms position made a triumphant return). I disliked the thought of cleaning a potty out incessantly and in fact hate the very word "potty" so we didn't use one except in the car.

Cuing is a big component of E.C. I made up a little song that we would sing called "To the Loo We Go" and then we would make a "tsssss" sound and if she had any pee in there, it would come out. If she squirmed or fussed, we waited a second (having quickly learned from experience that that might mean poop was about to explode) and then rediapered her. If she didn't squirm -- and this is just as important -- we stayed there as long as we could bear it. In my experience, a baby who is happy sitting on the loo or being held in the position described above will soon reward your patience. I mean, they seriously pee every ten seconds sometimes, so it could just be coincidence, but still.

For my own amusement and to try (unsuccessfully) to learn what her signals might be, we spent the occasional period of time diaper-free. Pre-mobility, I just put a towel or a large prefold diaper under her and waited, Jane Goodall style. (Note: for us, this did not work as well with, ahem, male plumbing.) Post-mobility, it was easier done outside.

Our daughter was approaching one year old when she began making sounds resembling words. You know what I mean. She says "wa-wuh" and you know it means water; "kih" and you know there's a cat behind you. Well, our child began to say "boo," occasionally accompanied by emphatic hip-patting, and that meant it was time to go to the loo.

And that was the beginning of the end. We went cold turkey on the diapers, first at home and then even while out. When she was 13 and a half months she successfully went diaper free at a family reunion. (We did do diapers for the airplane, but man is it easier to hold a baby and cue them to pee than it is to wrestle them into a diaper in those tiny, disgusting airplane bathrooms!)

The hardest part is to stay comfortable during misses. She peed on the floor at other people's houses several times. She wouldn't reliably say she needed to go when friends or family would babysit until she was almost two. She still occasionally wets the car seat without warning. And twice she hit a period of time a few weeks long where she began to pee as frequently as a newborn and made us feel very, very foolish.

(It wasn't a true "potty strike" either time because she was still willing to go to the loo, just couldn't seem to make it in time. The sort of thing most people are very understanding of in a preschooler but for some reason don't always approve of in a young toddler.)

Fortunately baby pee is not as yucky as adult pee. Fortunately, our friends and family are awesome and understanding despite not having done E.C. with their own children, a fact that humbles and amazes me. Fortunately, we have mostly managed to keep annoyance and impatience from our voices when dealing with cleanup, because that can lead your child to throw in the towel.

Our little girl eats meals but still nurses a few times a day. She still wears a diaper at night. She can recognize letters and read family members' names but it will be awhile before she reads a book from sight rather than memory. She is a wonderful singer with amazing intonation for her age but still lilts off-key from time to time. She can doggie paddle with the best of them but is only just beginning to lift her face out of the water to breathe while swimming.

We are all a work in progress. Adults who didn't learn as children can be taught to swim or sing. But it's harder, and can be frustrating. We all know early, low-pressure exposure to things like language and music and safe places to play result in a stunning, seamless acquisition of skills and knowledge. Why should elimination be any different from all of the myriad other ways we learn to use our bodies?

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Thanks to Elizabeth J. K. Erickson for sharing her experience on LittleOwlCrunchyMomma. Elizabeth is a musician and mom in Northern California. Visit her at http://wordwinding.wordpress.com/ or follow along on Facebook.

(If you would like to share your thoughts on EC in this series please message me through Facebook.)

Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent (without Borax)

Be sure and check out our GIVEAWAY while you're here.

This is a post I have been waiting about three months to put up. Why? Because I wanted to test out my homemade product for a good long while to make sure it really worked before I shared it with you. And guess what? Can I just say, this easy homemade laundry detergent is awesome. It is incredibly easy to make and costs mere pennies.

Being the crunchy momma that I am whenever I used to purchase laundry soap from the grocery store I would always get the most natural, non-toxic, good-for-the-environment. (Read: the VERY, most expensive bottle). It would just kill me every time I had to fork over money to buy a new jug, which when you factor in that my husband works manual labor and my daughter uses cloth diapers, was pretty often. And on top of that, when you turn over any bottle of laundry soap and you read the list of ingredients the list always goes 1) water 2) a bunch of chemistry terms I don't recognize. 

So I decided to embark on a journey to make my own. This is my recipe. It may not work for everyone but it works for us. We even use it on diaper loads without any problems.

Easy Homemade Laundry Detergent

Makes 1 quart

1 quart-sized container
1 tablespoon washing soda (Where to buy. Or make your own)
1 tablespoon baking soda 
1.5 tablespoons liquid Castile soap.)
1 quart very warm water

In a small cup mix washing soda and baking soda together. Turn on tap water as hot as it gets. Add water to almost fill cup and quickly stir the powder mixture and dissolve thoroughly. Pour into quart-sized container. Add more water to almost fill. Shake well. Pour in Castile soap. Shake vigorously. Add more water to fill the container. Use 1/3-1/2 cup for regular load. More for a heavily soiled one. (Note: to learn how I wash cloth diapers go here.)

It's that easy.

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This post shared at: Natural Living Monday, 

How to Turn a Receiving Blanket Into a Diaper (no-sew method!)

When Little Owl was sick with a cold it was all I could do to not go batty from sleep deprivation. Getting laundry done was completely out of the question. Her peeing incessantly was not.

Luckily, since I had a home birth, I happen to have TONS of receiving blankets on hand. That is how I discovered how to turn a receiving blanket into a diaper (without sewing--since I can't sew to save my life...)

To start lay out your receiving blanket on a flat surface:

Next take one corner and fold it over to the opposite far corner to create a triangle:

Repeat again to form a smaller triangle:

Fold over about a half inch of material along the "top":

Place folded edge under baby. Next, pick up corner between the legs,

Fold over top bit of triangle:

For the sides, roll over about a half inch of material on both sides.

Wrap sides over middle section. Voila! A cloth diaper from a receiving blanket. 

Hope you are staying healthy and having a good week! <3

(Note: this post contains affiliate links. Meaning if you shop on Amazon after clicking on one, you just might be helping to support my blogging endeavors. So thank you!) 

EC Adventures: a 5 Month Update

(Five months, baby!)

Wow. I can't believe that it has already been five months since Little Owl was born. People always say it goes fast... and they aren't joking.

I promised myself back when I told you all about my decision to do EC/"Diaper-Free" that I would give a little update once a month. Well, it's that time. So, here it is.

When it Rains, It Pours

First off I have to say it was a lot easier to practice EC when it was warm out. Little Owl could just hang out with nothing on and just a receiving blanket under her. If she peed, all I had to do was change the receiving blanket. Now that the lovely cold and wet of the PNW has returned I really have to adjust. I used to be able to just stick her on the potty straight away. Well, when she is wearing a diaper, a diaper cover, a onesie, and a pair of pants it takes a little longer to get her "potty ready".

The rain makes everything more difficult when you are out and about with baby. Stroller-rides change, it's not as easy to change a diaper in the back of a car, transferring a sleeping child from car to bed is even more stressful. It's no different with EC. But, like this whole adventure, I have learned to adjust. She needs to stay warm. I want her to stay dry. It doesn't always work, but we keep trying. Thankfully, she is old enough now to where she holds her pee for longer and will recognize the verbal cue and go when she is given the opportunity.

The cold weather has also changed our nighttime routine. I discovered that not all pajamas are conducive to EC. I have adjusted several outfits to make them work. I particularly like this one. They are your typical pjs with the snap pants, but rather than snapping them to the pant leg I made it into a sort of dress. (Easier access to the diaper in case of the need to do a nighttime change...)

It hasn't ceased to be an adventure. But, I am committed to this for the long haul. Many days I am still in shock at how well it does work. I have learned her routine. She pees after naps. She kicks at night if she has to pee. She kicks in her carrier if she has to pee. It's interesting  Around three months her cues were all verbal. Now, there are no verbal cues (not that I can find, anyways!...) they have switched to physical.

Home is Where the Boredom Hits

One surprising observation I have made over the last month is that I actually have more success with EC when we are not at home. That's right, when we are out and about it's easier to catch pees/poops. Why? I think the answer is multi-fold. At home, she is often practicing rolling over or doing little airplane dance moves (aka all movements that put pressure on her bladder). When we are at home she will sometimes pee teeny amounts four times in an hour (yes, those are VERY hard, nigh, impossible, to catch... especially if you want to get anything done during the day besides holding your baby over a toilet. Hint: I am not THAT "crunchy"!). Out and about she usually goes once every one or two hours.

Why the difference? I think a large part of it is because she gets distracted by all that is around her and also because I am typically carrying her in the ERGObaby and can feel her kicks when she has to go. Last week we went out on the town (that expression has a different meaning when you have a baby...) for about five hours. Number of dirty diapers we returned with? ZERO. That's right. ZERO.

Granted, this doesn't happen every time we go out. But, typically now we will return with only one or two diapers for a whole day excursion. I find myself packing my diaper bag to the brim with STUFF and not needing even a tenth of it. Once I learn to trust myself that we really are getting it I will only take two or three extra diapers (not twenty).

I just finished reading the section, How the Chinese Potty Train Early from Mei-Ling Hopgood's wonderful book, How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm. I was very encouraged. It reminded me that there is a whole spectrum to early "potty training" with many different starting points, approaches, and end-dates. The basic, underlying theme is simply to keep your baby dry, not let them get used to being wet-- help them to know about their elimination needs, help them recognize your cues, etc. 

Traditionally, most Chinese children are potty trained by around eighteen months. And they don't typically start until around 6 months. (By those standards we are ahead!) Of course, some cultures are potty trained by one year. There are variations on this all over the globe. 

Who knows when our potty-trained "date" will be. I don't particularly care. While, EC is a means to an end, the end is not the only purpose. As Hopgood says, "It's about learning to read your child and teaching him to communicate needs. It's not a task or even a goal but simply something that is done with gentle patience and persistence." (100)

I would also add, on (most) days it's actually (believe it or not...)FUN! <3

The Price of Babies

When I was looking around in Tar-jay's baby section the other day, a sign on the wall caught my eye. It read: 

The person who wears the pants in this family, wears a diaper under them. 

Cute, huh? Well, kind of. I guess. On the one hand. But at the same time it seemed to me to represent an underlying mentality in our culture--the idea that babies will take over and ruin our once carefree, wonderful, meaningful lives and cost us a lot of time and money. I know, I know, I am way reading into it, but it did get me thinking.

While there are a lot of things I could talk about  as far as how I think the Western world's understanding of what it takes (and takes out of us) to raise a child is fallacious, I want to focus on one aspect: money.  I believe that children are viewed as being way more expensive to take care of than they are, or at least need to be. 

There is more than one way to spend money. There is more than one way to raise a baby. And there is more than one way to spend money to raise a baby. 

I want to share with you one of my tips for cutting down the cost. 

What is Money Saver #1?

The biggest money suck for having a baby is buying diapers. While I am a big fan of practicing EC, it is by no means fail-safe and you will still have to change diapers if you live like most western culture (aka in carpeted areas, indoors, not over a mud floor).

When Little Owl was first born we used paper diapers for several weeks before switching over to cloth. Over those few weeks we spent close to $100 dollars on diapers. Granted, we were buying 

organic, chlorine free ones, and there are cheaper ways of getting them (e.g. ordering in bulk online, being less picky), but still, any way you look at it we were spending--and were going to spend-- a LOT of money on diapers. That is, until we switched to cloth.

The initial investment for cloth diapers can seem substantial, but when you think about how much you save it comes out in the wash. Literally. (<insert courtesy laugh here>). Before our daughter's birth we had registered for cloth so our start up was cheaper. I did go out and buy another dozen basic cloth diapers to add to our collection. I now have around thirty cloth diapers. Most of them are the kind that have a basic insert that you can get to go with all sorts of diaper covers.

But I also have a few 'fancier' (aka more expensive) cloth diapers that I also use. They are Knicker Nappies. They look like this:

I like both diapers for different reasons-- the basic ones are great because you can reuse the covers multiple times before washing them, the Knicker Nappies are nice because they are easy to take on and off for EC-ing. 

My suggestions to you if you are interested in cloth-diapering would be to go to a store and check out the options. In hind-site I wish I had registered for these. (20/20, right?). 

What about all the extra work?

One of the most common complaints people have against using cloth diapers is that they are 'so much work'. And while I agree that everyone should do what is most comfortable for them/fits their baby-raising lifestyle I really haven't found it to be much extra work. Babies are laundry-producers. They spit up all the time. On themselves. On you. On blankets. They leak through their diapers (paper or cloth). They pee on blankets. On their clothes. On your clothes. You will already be doing an extra load of laundry at least every other day with a new baby in the house. Throwing the diapers in at the same time has been no big deal for me. 

What about all the poop stains and using that little sprayer thing on the toilet? Well, my baby isn't eating solids yet so I haven't needed to use them. I'll keep you posted once and if that changes. But, infant poop is pretty benign. I put diapers (poop and all) into the washing machine, run a rinse cycle before washing, and than wash with soap on a normal cycle. No poop remains. Occasionally a cloth diaper will come out with a poop 'stain' but that can be 'bleached' out by the sun. It's super easy. 

What about wipes?

Guess what? You don't need them either. Simply go to a thrift store and purchase a handful of old wash-clothes. Voila! 'Cloth wipes'. Eco-friendly, affordable, durable. 

When we go out, along with diapers and wash clothes, I carry a small water bottle to wet the 'wipes' just in case we will be in an area that doesn't have easily accessible running water. What to do with all the laundry until you get home to wash it? Simply keep it all in a plastic or wet bag until you have a chance to take it home and do laundry. One other perk of using cloth? Less diaper rash. I found my little one had less diaper rash with cloth than paper. 

Babies don't have to be expensive. Using cloth diapers is one great way to cut down on the cost of raising one. Of course, every family is different. Every baby is different. Cloth won't work for everyone. But, if you are at all up for it I would highly recommend it. I have found it to be better for the environment, better for my wallet, and better for my baby. 

If you decide to try it out, or have any questions, let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

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