You can find the coolest stuff at the Science Museum gift shop. This bird mobile makes me happy.

Swim classes started in January, spring seems to have come early – does baby have a swim diaper?

Many people ask us how a swim diaper is different from any other diaper. They are used to seeing babies at pools waddling around with puffy, saggy disposable diapers. There are a few reasons why that’s really not the best idea:

• Swim diapers should not be absorbent. An absorbent diaper of any kind in a pool of any kind (community, front yard or otherwise) is a drowning hazard, weighing baby down.
• A diaper can’t tell the difference between pool water and urine. It’s going to absorb whatever liquid it comes in contact with, and will stop absorbing anything once it’s full.

The sole job of a swim diaper is to keep feces in long enough for you to get baby out of the pool and change their diaper. To prevent pool contamination, this means you should check baby’s diaper regularly while in the water. If baby has pooped, please get out of the water right away and change the diaper.

Cloth swim diapers work better than disposables at keeping poo contained due to the elastic at the waist and the legs. Many municipalities require a “plastic pant” or cloth swim diaper, even if you use a disposable swim diaper underneath (though there would be no real point to doing so).

Another question we are often asked is, “Can I use my cloth diapers as swim diapers?” The answer is, yes, sort of, and carefully. You still want to remove any absorbency from the diaper, so a diaper cover would work, as would a pocket diaper with inserts removed, but an All-in-One would not be a good choice. If baby is only going to be in a kiddie pool in your yard (as in, pool water is from the tap), using your cloth diaper covers as swim diapers is a fine idea.

If you plan to swim regularly at a chlorine pool or a lake, we’d recommend designating one cloth diaper for use as a swim diaper. Chlorine can be very harsh on fibers, so it could wear out your nice cloth diaper quickly. Lake water can contain contaminants you don’t want in your diaper stash. Always wash cloth swim diapers separately from your other diapers if they’ve been in a chlorine pool or a lake before reintroducing that diaper to your stash.

Cloth swim diapers can save a lot of money, and in my experience are much easier to change in the case of poop. Green Bambino carries both Imse Vimse and Bummis swim diapers.

Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Brandy Harris of Willow Doula Services recently announced the HypnoBirthing class schedule through June. For more information on the classes and to sign up, please visit Willow Doula Services. Save $75 by paying in full for a class at least 4 weeks in advance.

Green Bambino owner Morgan Harris used HypnoBirthing for the birth of her son and is happy to share her experience.

Date: March 10, 2012 (5 week course)
Time: 2:00pm – 4:30pm
Fee: $375.

Date: April 17, 2012 (5 week course)
Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Fee: $375.

Date: May 12, 2012 (5 week course)
Time: 2:00pm – 4:30pm
Fee: $375.

Date: June 5, 2012 (5 week course)
Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Fee: $375.

As a cloth diapering mama it has been implied to me more than once that the amount of water/electricity to wash the diapers basically nullifies the environmental benefits of reusable diapers and that I may as well use disposables.  Although I do not have the stats to prove or disprove this, a (what seems to me) logical comparison has presented itself to me, and I thought I would share.

I was changing my newborn’s clothing as often as his diaper for the first few months and these days the ratio is probably 1:2.  However, no one has ever suggested to me that I buy disposable, non-biodegradable clothing for my baby because washing clothes takes so much water, detergent, and energy.

And yet, I have to buy much more clothing than diapers because, while we have to go up a clothing size every three months in the first year, I have cloth diapers that work from 8-35 lbs!  From shortly after birth to potty training for most babies!

My son is 6 1/2 months old and I have a bin of clothes he has outgrown already, but he has been rotating through the same 30 cloth diapers since he was born and they will also work for any siblings who may come along after him.  Or, I can sell them and let another mama wrap her baby in cloth, rather than in chemicals.

Just a thought.

-Betony S.

Helping parents create gift registries is a big part of what we do at Green Bambino. We love showing parents their options in cloth diapers and other eco-baby products, and love helping them pick out the perfect items for their registries. Our staff always wants to help as much as possible with registry creation because we all remember how overwhelming it was creating our own baby registries in the past.

As Green Bambino has grown and expanded, Saturday registries have become difficult. We can be so busy that our staff just can’t help a registrant to the extent we want. We know Saturday is the only day many people can register, so we are opening up discussion to our entire community. It’s you we want to serve, so it’s to you we need to turn for insight.

Our desire is to provide the absolute best possible service to parents wanting to register at Green Bambino.

What do you think? Should we:

• Eliminate registries on Saturday and schedule appointments at other times during the week (even outside of store hours)?
• Allow registries on Saturday, but let the registrant know we won’t be able to help much? -We can provide a checklist of the basic items to include in the registry.
• Have a set time frame; e.g. “Saturday registry appointments and drop-ins only from 1-3 p.m.” and have an extra staff member on hand?
• Do something else entirely (make sure you tell us what that something else is! )?

We really want your input. Please take a moment to leave a comment. Thanks!

If you’ve secretly wanted to learn more about reusable feminine products but didn’t know who to ask, our Mama Cloth 101 class on Feb. 11 at 9 a.m. is for you!

We’ll present several options to replace traditional disposable products, and talk frankly about why we use them.

In order to allow for open and honest discussion in the most comfortable setting possible, this class is open to women only.

To register, click here>>>.

Now it’s time for Advanced Wipes 202.  Settle down class, My name is Heather and I’ll be your instructor today.

Sometimes cloth diapering feels this way in the beginning… like we should be taking a series of classes and stuffing our heads with ALL available information.  Luckily for us, there is plenty of time (despite the urgent urgings of third trimester hormones) to learn all that we need to know and more.  If you are still contemplating the overwhelming number and types of diapers, please feel free to skip this blog entry… it’ll still be here later, when you feel you’re ready.

For those of you who are still with me, welcome!   Many people who come into the store have questions about how to do wipes with cloth diapers.  Some are convinced that they are just going to use disposable wipes, and some just want to know WHAT to do to use cloth wipes.  Like diapers, just to go with the option that makes the most sense to you.  It may be different than what I do, and that’s ok!

I was one who started with cloth diapers and disposable wipes.  We tried to keep a plastic grocery bag hanging from the changing table to catch the disposable wipes while our cloth diapers went into the pail.  We often forgot to replace the bag after taking the trash out, so we were left with nothing to do but leave the dirty wipes in a little pile on the changing table.  We would have the very best of intentions to come back and get those dirty wipes, but our baby was amazing, entrancing… spectacular!  We often forgot.  So the little pile would become a big pile until finally someone would take care of it.  I decided to try cloth wipes, but I was determined that it would be just as convenient at the changing table as the disposables had been.  So I bought a stash of wipes and folded them one into the other so that they would pop up out of our wipes warmer.  Then I made a solution out of 2 cups water, 1 Tablespoon Witch Hazel and 1 small drizzle tear free soap.  I poured this solution over my stack of folded wipes in the warmer and used them exactly like I had been using disposables, except for the mountain of dirty wipes trash.  These wipes went directly into the pail and got washed just like everything else!  We were quick converts.

Image credit The Feminist Breeder. Click here to see her step-by-step photo instructions.

There are several ways to use cloth wipes:

1.  Wipes warmer, wipes, solution – you can fold your wipes or you can just stuff them into the warmer and dig one out when you need one… either way is fine and convenient.
2. Dry wipes, wipes solution spray – this is what I do for in the diaper bag, but lots of people just keep the spray at their changing table and use this for all of their diaper changes.  I have found that I need a bit more moisture for poopy diaper changes, so I usually try to start with a wipe wet with water before I change the diaper.
3. Wipes wet with water in a container at the changing table – you don’t have to use a wipes solution at all… many people just use water, and it works just fine for them!  For the diaper bag, you could just keep the dry wipes and wet them in a faucet before changing baby’s diaper.
4. Wipes in a container of some sort (plastic with a lid) wet with wipes solution – this is what we have gone to with our son… he likes to play with electrical plugs, so outlets in his room are strictly baby safe!

Last minute advice:  anything can be used as a wipe.  The ones you buy are going to be the highest quality, longest lasting.  For a great out and about/possibly disposable option, cut up a t-shirt.  You can wash and reuse if you want or if it’s a particularly gross poop diaper, you have the guilt free option of throwing it away.  Whatever method you choose, enjoy your diaper changing time… it’s the perfect bonding moment for parent and child!

I have serious verbal issues.  If there was one thing I’d like you to know about me right off, it’s that I have certain conversational needs that just aren’t met at home with my toddler.  It’s not a big deal; we do lots of playing and dancing and ‘ride a pony’ instead.  I’m perfectly happy; but like a dam redirects a certain volume of water, this conversation back log can only go so far.  Eventually the dam’s going to break and the words are going to come out.  Usually all at once.  Usually at Green Bambino.  You might come in to ask about a diaper funk issue and get the VERY VERBAL SALES MOM.  You might want to just drop in for a sec, but end up talking with me for several minutes.  You might leave Green Bambino thinking, “That Heather… She’s a talker”.  I’ll apologize in advance.

I chose to cloth diaper my son because, in my opinion, cloth diapers are less offensive than paper diapers.  When I began, I had absolutely no idea of the environmental impact of paper diapers or the cost of paper diapers or the chemicals packed into paper diapers.  I was just skeeved out by the diaper left in the parking lot at The Generic Big Box Store that survived over a week of 100+ degree temperatures.  Something about the very full plastic lump on the hot asphalt just made me want to gag, and I swore to myself that I would not use that mess on my children.  This incident happened while I was in college over 10 years ago… before I married my husband and very definitely before I had any immediate plans to have a family.

I’ve been cloth diapering my son for two and a half years now, and I’ve had two babies in cloth diapers for the last 11 months.  Buying and using cloth diapers has changed a lot about how I live my life.  As I’ve said, I didn’t choose cloth diapers for economic or environmental reasons.  I didn’t want to use gross disposable diapers so I started doing some research, and found the number of chemicals in disposables a bit daunting, and a good excuse to do what I really wanted to do and invest in cloth.  I think I may have used economics to sell my husband on the cloth diapers, but that’s the extent of my thinking on the subject.  This was a decision that was made by my gut, not my brain.

Once I began, I was introduced to a whole new way of thinking about reusable items versus disposable items.  I started to see that stinky week old diaper in my paper towels, in my disposable wipes, in the paper changing pads we used while out and about.  I started thinking about all of my purchases as long term investments instead of short term conveniences.   I started to think about every single thing I put into the trash can.  Hubby’s old t-shirts aren’t just something to fight over anymore… they’re cut up for diaper bag wipes.  I’ve cut up old greeting cards for diaper swap price tags.  I plan to use the two huge pads of completely crayoned paper for wrapping and for Christmas cards this winter.

Cloth diapering may have not begun as an environmentally or fiscally responsible act, but I’ve found that it has helped my family to live in a way that is sustainable.  We don’t spend money every week on diapers or wipes or formula or baby food.  I use cloth diapers, nurse and make almost all of our baby food.  This has made it possible for our family to absorb the birth of an unplanned second baby with much less impact on our budget.  I’m a stay at home mom with a fun Saturday job.  I love going to Green Bambino and sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm for all things reusable.  I love everything about the Mom Club, and working at Green Bambino is like getting paid to talk with friends… if you come in I may talk your ear off, but you’ll walk away with a bit more information, and maybe even a friend for life.

Who am I? That one question that sends everyone on their own path of self discovery. A search that I’m not convinced ever ends.

But thankfully Morgan didn’t ask that I give you an in depth analysis as to the depths of my soul. And good thing too, because we’d all be plum outta luck..as the saying goes.

My name is Vanessa. I recently celebrated my 31st birthday. And I’m not even sure that’s important, but I wanted to share it because I’m quite excited about growing older. My recent discovery of two tiny gray hairs makes me a minority, because I was rejoicing about the occasion and thought about celebrating with a glass of champagne.

I married a very loving, tender man 8 years ago. Approximately 2.7 seconds after being pronounced man and wife I began begging for a baby. Seventeen months later persistence proved a valuable annoying habit to have because I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. A little girl who proved to be allergic to nearly everything that touched her skin. Being a low income family, I chose to research cloth diapers. The research started slow, being that I had to do all of it in the internet, and I didn’t become a full blown cloth addict until having my son 19 months later.

I now have three children. Once again, persistence paying off. My youngest is 2 ½ and still wearing some of those diapers I bought years ago. So if you’re a numbers person, I have saved over $6,000 in the last 5-7 years. If I had cloth diapered my first born full time and hadn’t been so intimidated by all the research, that number would be closer to $9,000.

So obviously, you can tell that my main motivator in cloth diapering was the money. Being that my husband and I are still working on finishing our degrees in higher education, finances are usually tight in our house.

I think that cloth diapering was  like a gateway drug into becoming a more eco-friendly family. Once we saw the savings and how easy it was to cloth diaper, we switched to nearly all things reusable in our house. From cloth wipes, to cloth napkins, to..ahem… cloth toilet paper when times are really tight. I can picture the face you’re making right now, but I can assure you that it’s not nearly as disgusting as you think it is. I promise.

Cloth diapering accomplished a lot of things for our family. First and most importantly, it saved us money. But it also gave us the confidence of knowing that we were doing what was best for our kids, by avoiding the chlorine and chemicals in disposables and also helping to lessen the waste that they and my future great great grandchildren will have to deal with.

Just now in the store, our staff had a brief, but great discussion about family “completeness”. One staff member said that there might be another baby in her future because “I don’t think my family is done.” Another woman commented that she knew her family was finished after her last baby. I am still on the fence about more children, but I often feel that our family of three is “complete.”

What about you? Is your family “complete” yet? If it is, did you know when it was complete?