Issy is trained!

My daughter is 32 months old and she has finally potty trained just this last week! She is doing so well and is very aware. So much so that she stays up late at night until she has gotten up one last time to go pee pee before falling asleep. While this is a bit annoying for mom, she is waking in the morning totally dry. Only one accident yesterday and its been over a week since I would say the "light when on". Its true that a child needs to be gently guided and not rushed into the potty training and that eventually a with "click". This happened a little later for Issy than for my first child, so I was worried. But each child is unique and I was patient with her. I now the Sandy's diapers that can be pulled up and down helped us greatly as well as the M+M rewards.
Now I am on to my new hobby with is sewing wool diaper covers for other peoples babies. I need to stay involved with this cloth diapering world until I get a newbie to diaper in cloth again :) You never know a girl can hope!!

Potty training sucess!

Issy has been potty learning for several months (with not much commitment on my part). Well recently, after being frustrated with all the accidents in her cotton training pants, I decided to purchase some side snapping cotton fitted diapers. They are great at containing a mess, but can pull up and down like regular underwear. I got Mother-Ease brand Sandy's diapers. I got some in pretty colors and told Issy they were her new pretty "fluffy underwear". She has been doing great with these. I pair them with a pair of wool pants to catch any moister. But to be honest she is having great success with going potty and staying dry. She has even started telling me when she needs to go. This has been a new development in the last few days.
I also purchased a large bag of peanut M+M's which have been a great motivation for her to use the big girl potty. We did this for a couple days until they were gone and now the behavior has continued even without the treats.
Another thing that has helped with the potty training is our "Potty Power" video. She loves watching it and knows the songs.
I am so proud of Issy and we are not longer having issues with night time "ammonia" diapers, because she is going pee on the potty right before bed and is dry until early morning. She is still wetting her diaper at this time, but at least she isn't laying in a urine soaked diaper all night.

Washing and Lanolizing Wool Diaper Covers

How to wash and lanolize your wool diaper covers.

1. Hand wash your soiled wool diaper covers in lukewarm water using a wool-safe wash (like Euculan or Northern Essence). Make sure the water is not too hot or cold. Fill a small sink or basin with lukewarm water; add 1 tsp. of Euculan and then your wool. Swish and soak for 5 minutes. When finished don’t ring out your wool, gently press out the water and roll in a towel. Then lay flat to dry.

2. To spot clean your wool (like for a poo stain, but the whole cover is not dirty). Use a bar of olive oil soap (Kiss my face makes a good one) and apply to the stain with some lukewarm water. Rub gently. Rinse and lay flat to dry.

3. To lanolize add a pea size amount of solid lanolin (like Lansinoh) in a small jar or container. Add some very hot water and 1/2 tsp. of the wool wash or baby shampoo(this helps emulsify the lanolin) swish or shake until well mixed. The mixture will become cloudy and you won't see oil floating. Fill your sink or basin with lukewarm water, add the lanolin mixture. Turn the cover inside out and add it to the basin. Let it soak for 15-30 minutes. Remove the cover and gently roll it in a towel and lay flat to dry. I usually lay my cover to dry on top of the dryer. Do not put your wool in the dryer. This will shrink the wool.

I usually always add lanolin to the wash each time I wash my covers (which in once every 2-3 weeks or sooner if they get a stain or something).

There are a lot of videos on youtube that show the process of washing and lanolizing wool diaper covers.

Cloth Diaper Starter set for sale.....

I have put together a wonderful starter set for an infant. It includes:
One dozen infant size prefolds (Diaper service quality, white prefolds)
Two size small cashmere recycled soakers with interlock wool waistband and cuffs. Both in beautiful gender neutral colors. Orange/cream strip and a pretty ocean blue. These are new and made by me. (pictured on the left)
Ten cloth wipes made by me from recycled flannel receiving blankets and baby towels. One side is flannel and the other side is terry.
Six micro-fleece liners to keep baby dry and for easy clean up of messes.
One size 1 snappi, to secure the prefold to the baby.
I will also include instructions for washing the prefolds and caring for the wool covers.
I would estimate that this package would fit a baby from 10lbs to 18lbs (depending on the build of your baby).
$50 via paypal. Wonderful deal for diapers and covers made from natural fibers. Shipping is extra and will probably be cheapest via a USPS flat rate box. I could get these into a medium size box, which would be around $10. Email me for an exact amount.

Diapers for charity

A well known cloth diaper store owner, put out this email today. Do you know of any organizations that need wonderful organic cotton prefold diapers? Geneva

Do you know an orphanage in need of seconds prefolds?
GMD is giving away seconds prefold diapers to orphanages. We are looking for East coast shipping destinations to send boxes of off-brand prefolds. Adoption agencies. Also crisis pregancy centers. We are trying to keep our shipping costs down for the give-aways so... east coast and charitable (tax deductible) places needed.

If you know a place that wants some of these, please send an email to

karen@greenmountaindiapers.com

Sincerely,
Karen

Want to start your own web based business?

Do you sew, knit or create other handmade items? Do you have a home based business and what to expand to online? Check out www.hyenacart.com
Hyena cart is a web site that allows you to have your own "store front" and sell your goods to anyone who has access to the internet. You are in charge of stocking your store with your items. Hyena cart provides the online "shopping cart" that is needed to make the transaction. Most shops use paypal to accept payment, you then ship your item to the buyer. Its easy. Only requirement is that the items be family friendly. The cost is $10 to start and $5 per month. Unlike Etsy, Hyena cart does not charge a percentage of your sales price and they don't charge a fee for each listing. Get more information here:
Sign up here!

Great new fitted diaper....

I just received some new fitted diapers from Green Mountain Diapers.
These are the "Cloth-eez Workhorse" diapers. They are made from 100% cotton prefold diapers that are shaped like a fitted diaper with elastic around the legs and waist, and they have an extra flap style doubler sew to the back of the diaper. They come with either snaps or with no closure (you can use pins or a snappi to close).
These are great fitted diapers with an amazingly low price. They come in sizes newborn, small, medium, large and XL. I am using the XL size on Issy. She is 30lbs and 2 years old and they fit her generously, but are not too big. She will be able to wear these until she potty trains and then at night as well. I like fitted diapers because they are easy to use and they contain messes well. You can get by with using fewer covers because the fitted diaper contains the mess and you can reuse the cover more times in between washings. Many fitted diapers are very expensive and thus are a difficulty for many parents to afford. These fitted diapers cost between $3.95 (for newborn with no closures) to $6.95 (for all other sizes with snap closures), which makes them a very affordable choice. They are selling quick and right now she has size newborn, small and medium available. Large and extra-large will be in stock in a couple months.
Check out http://greenmountaindiapers.com/workhorse.htm for more information.
Happy diapering,
Geneva