Permanent Scribbles: It's Getting All California Up In Here

I've been finding some products and solutions that I like and making changes around the house.

Change #1:

I've always used cloth diapers (except at church) but I never could find an acceptable cloth wipe situation. The problem with cloth wipes is that a dry piece of cloth does very little, so they need to be moist. But it's really not plausible to go and wet some rags under the tap before you change because it's tough to determine how many wipes you will need.

Another option is to keep a jar full of water and dip your wipes. This one is okay. I just didn't like it. I guess I never had the right size jar. It was just messy when I tried to squeeze excess moisture off of my rag.

So I gave up, but then I ran across an INCREDIBLE tip just hidden among the usual not-so-helpful suspects (like using a spritz bottle to spray your child's poopy bottom and then, once it is leaking everywhere, wipe it with a dry cloth). This person posted that she uses a coffee thermos to hold her water and then wets her cloth wipe slightly. She cleans the baby's bum as usual and then puts everything in her wetbag.

Friends - I about fell out my seat. That was a really great idea.

Therefore, I immediately implemented it.

I didn't have a coffee thermos, but I did have a nice water thermos-esque thing.

It works like a dream, people.

I cut up several receiving blankets (I love those for diaper changing pads on-the-go but I had SO many) and an old flannel queen sheet that was headed for the dump. I cut 10x10 inch squares, approximately.

I mixed 5 quarts of water with 1/3 cup white vinegar and put it in my thermos-thing.

The vinegar should make sure no strains of bacteria from our well-water are able to grow, plus provide anti-fungal protection for Vivi's bum.

Change #2:

I found some XL Thirsties covers and prefolds while decluttering my diapers and am now using them as cloth pull-ups for Rhett during naps and bedtime.

Do you realize how expensive pull-ups are?!? Almost $40 a month...

Also - Viv was peeing through her cloth diapers. I'd been using Pampers at night so she wouldn't wake up lying in a wet puddle. I remembered finding cloth diapers to be more absorbent with Rhett so I wondered why I was having the opposite experience with Vivian.

I got online and, after fielding 500 articles about stripping my diapers (already did it), I found my answer: hard water. Apparently well water is often filled with minerals and these form deposits on your diapers causing them to no longer absorb well. The solution is water softener and bleaching or OXYClean.

I bleached some of my diapers as a test and was super happy to find that they were EXTREMELY absorbent. So I de-mineralized the rest of my dipey stash. Bottom line? She is staying dry in cloth through the night.

Change #3:

I was using Palmolive Baby dish soap for Vivi's bottles.

That seemed like a good choice since it was clear, marketed for babies, and the back of the bottle advertised NO UNNECESSARY INGREDIENTS.

Apparently, by NO UNNECESSARY INGREDIENTS, it means that it doesn't contain tomato sauce because it sure doesn't mean that it has cut out any harsh chemicals. I mean, really.

Most soaps now contain sodium LauRYL Sulfate... at least ones marketed for kids. Sodium Laureth Sulfate has been linked with cancer and you won't find it in many hand soaps or body washes anymore (unless it's extremely low-priced).

Most dish soaps have it but I feel like it shouldn't be in a dish soap marketed for an infant.

I mean essentially, they didn't change their formula at all except to add different dyes and alcohol to make it look clear and low on chemicals, slapped the word BABY on the front, and tripled the price.

Badly done, Palmolive. Badly done.

Unlike George Knightley and Emma, I will not reunite with Palmolive.

So now we buy Seventh Generation - primarily because it was available. I think I'm going to purchase Honest Company if I can Amazon it. It's the same price as other dish soaps so not crazy, just way better for myself, my husband, my son, and my bottle-fed child.

Change #4:

On a similar note, I finally found a baby soap that is only water, coconut oil, nut oil,essential oils, crushed flowers, and spices. Don't get me wrong:

A. I haven't been looking that hard or anything.
B. I don't think regular baby soap is going to make Vivi sick.

It's just that, even though Johnson&Johnson doesn't put sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate in their washes, they still have many petroleum based chemicals that permeate the skin and that kinda makes me sick.

So I'm not judging how other people wash their kids or something - I don't think anyone is being permanently harmed by baby shampoo.

I just found something that I know won't hurt Rhett and Vivi so I'm so in love with it and using it!

Plus, it smells possibly like heaven because one of the crushed flowers is honeysuckle.