Cauliflower!?!?!

     I now have a love/hate relationship with cauliflower.  The other day I had some cauliflower puree in the freezer and I thought I'd try it out with the little guy.  He ate it up like it was nobody's business and I was super excited since I have a nice little stash of it already pureed up and ready to go.  What happened next was a new lesson in food for me.  As I was laying in bed, Eli laying next to me, I get this waft of a nasty smell.  Trying to figure out the source, I smell E's diaper to see if maybe he was dirty.  I took a good whiff at him and it was like a punch in the face!  He wasn't dirty and only a tiny bit wet, but the smell was a force to be reckoned with!  Apparantly, and this is news to me, cauliflower falls into that same category as asparagus...sulfur-rich foods.  When the veggie is broken down in the body, specific chemicals are released through the urine and have a less than yummy smell.  I think most of us know this phenomenon from easting asparagus...but cauliflower?  I've eaten my fair share of cauliflower in my lifetime and I've never smelled anything like this before.  E's even eaten asparagus and I never smelled a thing on him.  Apparantly again, not everyone has the gene to break down sulfur-rich foods all the way to the stink-making compound so we're just blessed to have a little boy who does :P
    The next morning I threw the diaper into the diaper pail, but the smell was so overwhelming every time I opened the pail that I HAD to do a load of diapers.  I washed them 3x on hot and not only did that diaper stink still, but it made the entire load stink!  I gave up, figuring eventually the smell would wash out, and hung them up outside.  When I went back to get them , they smelled like fresh spring air!  Wow...what a miracle fresh air is!  So note to all the cloth-loving mama's out there, beware of cauliflower and never underestimate the power of a little fresh air!

Used diapers...you're kidding right?

     I buy used cloth diapers.  Yep, you heard me right.  They're not my entire stash, but they're there.  In fact, my entire beginning stash for the first three months was entirely second hand diapers.  If you're like I was in the beginning, this is really making you squeemish.  In the end, turns out used diapers are like any other piece of used clothing so long as you make sure you wash them well before putting them on your little one.  Before running out to find some great steals, here's a few points to make sure you're getting a great diaper and not a dud:

• Ask about the wash routine.  You want to know what temp of water they washed in, if they line or machine dried, how often they washed and what detergent they used (very important). A harsh routine (VERY hot water, always machine drying, etc) could mean the diapers will be very worn down.
• Ask if any laundry additives were used (bleach, oxyclean, etc) that may have prematurely worn the fabrics down.
• Check the PUL.  If you're buying anything with PUL, take a good look to make sure there's no damage to it and that it's not starting to bubble and pull away from the fabric it's lining.
• Sniff them!  I always sniff diapers before buying. Might sound gross, but which of us cloth diapering mamas hasn't sniffed a few dozen diapers?  If they stink, you know you have a residue or ammonia issue to deal with at home.
• Check the velcro and snaps.  Make sure they're all in good working order.
• Pull on the elastics and make sure they have lots of strength left in them.

Once you get your diapers home, you'll want to give them a good wash.  I prefer to strip all new diapers using several HOT washes on the inserts (just one hot wash on the covers is usually fine) with a little bit of detergent in the first wash.  I also use a 1/4 cup of bleach on the inserts in the first wash just to be sure.  If you're opposed to using bleach, just skip this step.  Finally, I hang them out on the line to let the sun and fresh air finish off the sterilizing and cleaning...then they're good to go!


Some great places to find second hand cloth diapers:

• kijiji
• ebay
• diaper swappers
• children's consignment shops
• friends
• some online retailers such as The Cloth Diaper Shop

It's Friday...let's HOP!

Time for the friday blog hop!!  

As always, please leave me a comment here so I can follow you back!  Happy Hopping!

Mom Blog Monday blog hop!

    I'm so honoured and excited to be the featured blogger this week for Mom Blog Monday Blog Hop!  Stop on by and get yourself on the list for this amazing hop hosted by some really great blogs!

Find the hop here!

As always, don't forget to leave me a link to your blog so I can follow you back!

Happy Hopping!

One big wet bag don't...

     Wet bags are great and most cloth diapering mama's would agree that trips out of the house are a no-no without one!  Today, I forgot to use my liners with E which taught me a major lesson in on-the-go cloth diapering:  DON'T put a poopy diaper into a wet bag without clearing off those solids first!  This poop wasn't 'shakeable' and so I left 2 diapers in my wet bag with the poop still on them and figured I would clean them off at home.  BAD idea.  The smell was overwhelming whenever I'd open up my bag, and when I would pull anything out to use it, it stunk!  I swear a cashier gave me a dirty look when I hoisted my bag up onto the counter and opened it up to get my wallet.  So the quick lesson of the day...always toss your dirty disposable liners when out or shake your diaper out into the nearest toilet before dropping it into your wet bag or you'll be getting the 'stink' face from everyone you meet!

Cloth Liners...A Must Have When Out & About!

     I started using liners in E's diapers when he started solids, about 6 weeks ago.  A home I use flushable liners because it's one less thing I have to think about...I just pull it out of the diaper and either flush it or toss it into the compost bin.  Today though, we were out for the day and I realized how much I hate paper liners when I'm out and about.  I was changing Eli and ended up having to put aside this poopy liner, balancing it on the edge of the change table so it wouldn't fall onto the floor and make an even bigger mess!  After all the fussing with changing, redressing, putting away the dirty diaper, etc I still had to balance the baby and diaper bag in my arms while reaching for this liner to throw in the garbage.  And whereas a dirty disposable diaper you just close up into a neat little package, the poop on this liner is just sitting in the garbage can for the whole bathroom to look at.  
     So, here's how the situation would have looked at had I been using cloth liners:  I would have taken off the poopy diaper, put it all into my wetbag to deal with at home, put on a fresh diaper and have been done with it all!  Now, I guess with a disposable liner I could just do the same and throw out the liner at home, but the fact of the matter is I wouldn't remember to take the paper out and it would end up tossed into my washing machine with the diaper...a new mess to deal with.  
     Long story short, I'll be packing my cloth liners for trips out of the house from now on!  In case anyone's wondering, I make my own liners out of pieces of microfleece.  Cheap, easy and you can get some cute patterns :)