Mama's Sew Frugal

So I decided to do the math.

I used these figures.

12 diapers a day for the first 3 months

8 diapers a day from 4 months to 12 months

6 diapers a day from 12 months to potty trained

2 diapers a day from potty trained to present date (for napping and bedtime)

I did not count the first 2 months for Snow White and 1.5 months for Cinderella because the bulk of these diapers were changed by the NICU nurses

I only counted day time diaper changes for little Belle (my niece whom I've kept since 2 months old)







Here it is:

Cinderella uses diapers and pull ups daily. In her 3 years and 7 months she has been changed 8,433 times!

Snow White was fully potty trained at about 2.5 years and only wears a diaper during napping and bedtime. In her 3 years and 7 months she has been changed 6,681.

Little Belle has been with me since she was 2 months old and in her 2 years I have changed her approximately 3,304 times.

Prince Charming has already been changed 2,356 times in his first 8 months.

Are you ready for this??????

That's a total of 20,774 diaper changes.




It makes me wonder how I've had time to do anything else.

I can't claim all of those diapers from my twin girls because my husband was a great help to me after he got home from work and my Mom came to visit as much as she could to help with the girls when they were infants, but the bulk of them I changed.

I only counted the diapers that would have been changed by myself from my neice, and my baby boy's diaper has rarely been changed by anyone other than myself.

All-in-all I think it's safe to say that I've changed close to 20,000 diapers in the last 3.5 years.

I feel like that's enough to put it at the top of my "skills list".

I may not be able to have an intelligent conversation about chemistry anymore, but I can change diapers and baby talk with the best of them.

 

When my girls starting pulling up and standing and before they could walk, I found an easier way to get them still long enough to put their diaper on. At this stage they were very wriggly and rolled right over when placed on their back, and since I had to do everything twice, I needed to save time.

I started letting them pull up and hold onto something, and I changed their diaper from the back while they were standing.

It is really easy to do, just:

• Pull down pants
• Remove diaper
• If it's a Dirty diaper just have them lean over a bit so you can see what you are wiping (this really works better when they got older)
• Open up new diaper
• Align the diaper at back waist
• Pull between legs and up the front
• While holding the back with one hand, use the other to pull open one tab and connect it to front
• Connect other tab
• Adjust the first tab if needed to ensure a good fit

 

Now I used only disposable diapers with them and still do during naps and bedtime, and yes we still diaper them standing up. My husband has it down to a science. He says, "spread 'em" and they do this sumo wrestling stance that looks hilarious. He pops that dipe on in a second, and if they need diaper rash cream, he caulks 'em with the full strength desitin. I say caulk, because that's what we call it and it is literally what it looks like because he does not use his finger to apply the cream, he just squirts it out of the tube right onto the bottom. Yes, it's a bit wasteful, but hey he is putting on a diaper isn't he?

On a side note...

Over the last 3.5 years, we've both done our share of caulking with desitin, caulking to prep for painting (we remodeled our entire house 2 years ago and caulked all the baseboard, crown molding, and door facings ourselves, and then I painted, ahhhhhh the nightmares), and caulking in the bath (we've put in 3 bathroom countertops, all of which I have been in charge of caulking or siliconing and I have also siliconed a bathtub).

 

Now that my son has reached that wriggly stage and I wish I could change him standing up, I'm looking for an easy way to pop a cloth diaper on his bottom. But.... He isn't pulling up yet. He loves to roll to his left and even get up on all fours while I attempt to change his diaper. He is super strong at 25 pounds and almost 8 months old. So finally the other day I just decided to give it a try...And after some practice, I can now change his cloth diaper while he is up on all fours. I've even wiped up dirty dipes this way. It is a bit trickier using cloth diaper covers with a pad folded prefold laid inside, but with more practice I'm sure I'll master it,or at least make it until he stands up.

 

My mom still thinks it's very strange that we diaper our kiddos this way. What do you think? Have you tried any unconventional methods yourselves?

 

A recent Facebook post prompted me to describe my cloth diaper organization. So here goes.

 

I got this new changing table for $15 at Dirt Cheap and the blue terry changing pad cover there also.

The large green bins came from there also. Beginning to see my Dirt Cheap addiction?

The smaller ones I got at Target on clearance.

 

The bin on the left holds my fitted diapers. All of which I made.

The middle bin holds my pocket diapers and covers, some of which I made, and cloth wipes, which are actually infant wash cloths.

The bin on the right holds my inserts and prefolds. Some of which I made. See the cute wiener dog ones?

The large bin labeled diapers holds disposable diapers and the cloth bits that are not in rotation right now.

The large bin labeled laundry holds guess what? Dirty laundry.

I keep the dirty dipes in this wet bag I made to fit the end of the changing table. I think I should made a tutorial for that sometime.

An in case you've got the misconception that I've got my whole house this organized, I'll show you the other side of Prince Charming's room, which doubles as my embroidery machine and serger area. And also seems to attract all the piles and bags of fabric. The poor baby does get to hang a few clothes in his closet.

Ahh! It makes me crazy, but I try not to look at it. I'll get it clean at some point, but then another spot in the house will be piled with stuff. I've accepted the inevitable.

 

I don't know if you've noticed, but I figured out how to add a button to my blog. To some this may seem simple, but to this busy mom it's a huge accomplishment. (I also added label categories this week- to see posts related to topics like sewing, family fun, frugal shopping, or cloth diapering look on the right side of the screen).

But back to my new button.

If you'd like to shop for cloth diapers, yummy smelling bottom cream, or other natural accessories for babies, try Kissed by the Moon. I just became an affiliate and I can tell you from personal experience the customer service is great and you will not find faster shipping. My last order shipped within 1 hour of being placed.... That's fast. And by the way shipping is free and there is no tax.

My personal favorite product from Kissed by the Moon is the CJs original butter sample size for $1.50. Try any or all the scents. Use it on baby bottoms, dry skin, eczema, bug bites, most anything.


Need any more reasons to shop?

They are highly rated.

Just click my new button on the right side of the screen.

Mobile viewers will have to view the web version to see it.




Happy shopping.

 

I love all my newest cloth diapering products I ordered from Kissed by the Moon.

After speaking on the phone with someone at Softbums I was convinced to try a Softbums Echo shell, to this point I have used only Omni Shells, which are a larger fit diaper cover. The Echo is trim and I love it. Paired with the new bamboo pods I ordered it fits nicely and is definitely trimmer than our other options. A snap-in microfiber pod also fits nicely. A prefold will not fit inside though, and it is not recommended for night use because it can't be stuffed much and does not have a pocket.

I also ordered my first, yes my first Oso Cozy unbleached prefold! I don't know why I have hesitated so long. It works great, just like my flip prefolds that I love so much and was much cheaper at around $3. I got the shorter version to use pad-folded in a cover.

Cjs butter rounds out my order. If anyone needs a good bottom product, I would recommend this. I've been using it for a while on my baby boy's bottom, because in cloth he rarely needs anything stronger like desitin. The trial sizes are only $1.50, and it comes in so many scents you'll want to try a few. This trial size is New mown hay, how southern is that? I got the full size tube, the first I've ever owned because the trial sizes last a long time, for FREE, yes FREE with my order. It was a special being run at the time.

Always check for specials and coupon codes when ordering cloth diapers and products, because there are tons of sales. Refuse to pay shipping, and always get something for free (maybe even a diaper). If you can't find a great deal, just wait for the next holiday. Next up- LABOR DAY. Trust me the sale will happen.