The Best Newborn Cloth Diapers?

Occasionally I will write a post here answering a common customer questions I get at the shop. Today a very nice young couple came in looking for information about cloth diapers in preparation for their newborn, expected in about a month. They were a typical Seattle couple – very hip and cool looking, with their first baby due practically any moment yet exhibiting a relaxed certainty about wanting to use cloth. Oh, and they knew very little about the many styles of diapers they have to chose from. And did I mention how relaxed and not stressed they were?!

 

I took them through the range of modern cloth diapers. They asked some good questions. Then, when we had gotten to the end of the official tutorial, the dad-to-be asked me what, if I had another baby right now, would I pick for my newborn?

Tough question, but a good one. From my perspective, the two easiest, safest, most cost-effective cloth diaper systems for newborns right now are 1) Prefolds and covers (preferably Thirsties Duo Wraps) or 2) A set of Fuzzi Bunz One-Size Pocket Diapers.

Chinese prefolds are often the go-to diaper for newborns because they are cheap (less than $1.75 for a newborn diaper when you buy a package). This means you can afford a big stack, and that comes in handy when that precious little bundle needs 12-15 diapers a day (no, I am not lying). You can buy a 36-pack of newborn prefolds for $57.25 – around the cost of 1 pack of disposables! And prefolds are pretty simple – just fold in three and lay inside a good cover (you don’t usually need complicated folds or fasteners for newborns). And because your newborn pees and poops so often, you will change them frequently anyway so the absorbency level of a cotton prefold is fine.

The key to success with prefolds is to have good covers! You need to keep explosive messes in, where they belong. Soooo…you need double leg gussets! Thirsties Duo Wraps are a fabulous waterproof newborn cover: Size 1 adjusts from XS to Small so it fits from birth to about 9 months old, giving you a good bang for your buck. You can use each wrap for about 3 changes before you They are super light and pliable, so no loud crunching noises during changes to wake up your sleeping newborn in the middle of the night. They are breathable, soft, easy to Velcro closed and have a nice cut-out for the umbilical stump.

 

Thirsties Duo Wraps also work beautifully on top of a Thirsties Fab Fitted in XS if you want to get a superb diaper with a little more absorbency than a prefold, along with a Velcro closure and elasticized legs. Thirsties Fab Fitteds have an amazingly cozy fit for newborns and really hold everything in. Plus the fleece lining keeps that new butt nice and dry!

Then, on the other end of the diapering spectrum, is the Fuzzi Bunz One-Size. There are so many reasons why I think this is a fabulous newborn cloth diaper. First, it adjusts from birth to potty-size through an elastic in the leg gusset (plus one across the back of the diaper), thereby avoiding the extra bulk a lot of other one-size diapers have when they adjust with rise snaps. These are one of the few one-size diapers that actually fit a newborn! I love the snaps on this diaper because they last forever and look so clean and neat. The fleece lining keeps baby’s skin dry, cutting down on rashes for babies with sensitive skin (like mine). After you get into the habit of stuffing the pocket as soon as your diapers come out of the laundry, it is so simple to just pull a clean Fuzzi Bunz from the waiting stack and put it on. And in terms of cost, if you sit down and crunch the numbers, you will save a ton of money with these because you will buy one set and use it the whole time your child is in diapers! It costs $538 for a 30-pack of Fuzzi Bunz One Pocket Diapers (a 2.5 – 3-day supply). That’s the same cost as 5 months of disposables, for 3+ years of cloth!!

 

So there you have it, my top Newborn recommendations. As you build your stash, you will add things that can make diapering even easier and more versatile, but these are the good bones you can begin with.

Good Green, Carbon-Friendly Giving

This year at the Punkernoodle house we set a little challenge for ourselves. The kiddos are suddenly wise to the whole gift thing – they know they’re coming, they’re asking and begging for them, and of course for them, more is better. We decided, in an effort to save money and also be green, that we wouldn’t buy any NEW gifts for them – it’s a recycled Hanukkah/Christmas for us. I was nervous at first, but so far it’s gone off really well and the kids are none the wiser – and not in the least bit disappointed. For Hanukkah, when some children traditionally receive 8 nights of gifts, they got wooden puzzles, a doll, little learning computers, some DVDs for family movie night, a pile of books, and more – all of it recycled. Christmas will bring more of the same. Everything we bought for them was new or nearly new looking, some had never even been used, and all had a ton of “playing life” left in it. The only truly brand new stuff the girls got was from their relatives (grandparents don’t want to buy pre-owned stuff for the apples of their eyes, they just don’t).

So how’d we do it? Thanks to a few great kids consignment shops, I found really wonderful gifts even up to the last minute. I helped organize a toy drive in the fall and bought some toys from there (garage sales, community sales and swaps are other good places). Craigs List is another great place if you are looking for specific things (last year we bought the girls an amazing wooden train table, train tracks and a whole wooden Thomas train set for waaaayyyyy less than it costs new).

In Seattle, a couple of our favorite consignment shops are Childish Things and Me ‘n Moms. Every community has stores like these, or even thrift stores where you can find great recycled toys and clothes for cheap.

Another great way to give to your children without buying New Stuff is to give an experience. Annual passes to the zoo, the Children’s Theater, the Children’s Museum, tickets to a show, swimming or soccer lessons, etc. We took the girls to The Nutcracker and it was a great gift and a lifetime memory for them. Relatives and grandparents also love this idea because they feel like they are giving a gift that keeps on giving. Another carbon-neutral idea is to download a music album for your child – an hour or two of fun new kiddie music. Then put it on and have a family dance party. There are lots of gift ideas that maximize family time and togetherness and minimize buying new crap. If you do want to buy new stuff, anything locally made is great (we have artisans at our local farmer’s market who make soap, jewelry, hand-knit hats and dolls) or fairly traded (hot chocolate or chocolate, bubble bath, and hand-made organic cotton toys).

And you can always buy something new that is earth-friendly and will help you reduce your overall footprint (like cloth diapers for your baby from Punkernoodle or Two Little Whales!) or seeds and tools to plant a winter or spring garden…

Finally, re-think wrapping. Our kids are still young, so the present is the main focus and they don;t care much about wrapping. I just had one recycled gift bag that I would place each night’s gift in over Hanukkah and then when it was time for gifts I would pull it our of the bag or let them do it – no extra wrapping. When we do have wrapping I try to reuse it. You can also wrap things unconventionally – use the gifts themselves, like clothing or a toy purse, to wrap or contain other gifts. Wrap gifts in a reusable canvas shopping bag and then tell your child that’s their bag to take to the grocery store (another gift!).

Only a couple days left for Christmas shopping – with a little change in thinking you can give your kids a recycled, carbon-friendly Christmas too!

Things That Go Grrrrr In The Night

What is this, you ask? Meet Miss Owlie, our new family security guard. Miss O came home with us tonight, after an emergency trip to the local toy store. It wasn’t a cheap night, I’ll say that. Partly because we didn’t end up at no Toxics R Us. No no no, we headed straight for the all-natural, eco-friendly organic European import toy store. Miss Owlie actually hails from Mass. but I digress… It also wasn’t a cheap night because you never go to the toy store and just leave with one thing. Especially when you have two kids. So we also are the proud owners of one sparkly pink magic wand that was already on its way to unraveling as we left the store and one little Olivia doll. $55.75 later – cha-ching.

Ah – but the reason for Miss Owlie, I’m getting to that. It seems that in the Punkernoodle household we have finally reached the era of Irrational Preschooler Fears and Undeterrable Ideas. Punk One, who is now 4, has suddenly become overwhelmingly terrified of raccoons. Specifically, that raccoons will break into our house, getting past our alarm system, 40-pound dog and hermetically sealed vinyl windows, crawl up the stairs, enter her bedroom and … I don’t know what. I’m afraid if I ask for specifics she’ll freak out even more than she already is.

We’ve being woken up every 2 hours all night long for the past week (hello, can you say worse than a newborn feeding schedule?!) with such pleas as “I can’t do it” and “When is it going to stop?” – by the latter I can only assume she means when is her brain going to stop eating her alive. So we did the research. The fears are normal, in fact very common, for preschoolers. Which makes sense because I can remember as a 3-year-old torturing my mother for months about the witch who lived in the upper right-hand corner of my closet.

So we considered the options and decided on a confidence-building reverse psychology little-white-lie tact. With Punk One in rapt attention, I Binged for “raccoon predators” and read her the list, which included the expected wolves, foxes, mountain lions, coyotes and the unexpected owls and water moccasins and fishers (what the hell is a water moccasin?). Then we drove to the Socially Un-Objectionable Toy Store Where Nothing Shall Hail From China and let her loose. “Pick out a new friend who will protect you,” we cooed. After 20 minutes of squealing and shelf mauling, Miss Owlie was ours, along with Olivia and the wand, which was intended to cast spells on the bedroom so that no errant raccoons could penetrate.

In the car on the way home, Punk One, exuding a perilous new confidence, told her sister “now we don’t have to be afraid, Miss Owlie will protect us.” Punk Two, who is 2 1/2, looked right at her big sister and scoffed “I’m not afraid of any raccoons.” Apparently she is deciding to skip the Irrational Fears phase in favor of the Mortal Concerns Are No Skin Off My Back phase.

What about the little white lie, you ask? Well to seal the sweet deal and reclaim some mortal sleep, we informed Punk One before bed that our neighbor next door, and elderly lady obsessed with gardening, personally knew the one and only raccoon who lived in the neighborhood and in fact was quite good friends with her. This raccoon, we said, was a lovely little animal who liked to visit the garden now and again for some water but had absolutely no interest whatsoever in coming into our house through the cat door for a midnight nibble or even visiting with our 7 fresh, plump chickens living in the backyard.

Lastly, we cast a good spell on the room before tuck-in, and reminded her in an absolutely supportive and non-threatening way that hopefully Miss Owlie could get the job done and keep her in bed all night or she would have to head back to the Toy Store of the Gods to help another child. Yes, we are evil. And tired. And sick of talking about raccoons, which we all secretly know are indeed the most filthy, disgusting and terrifying predators roaming our streets in hungry packs of rabid death squads.

Here’s to a cozy night.

Chew on This :)

Hee hee hee hee hee: saturday-night-live-pampers

Diaper Donations Coming In! Please Send Yours!

Thanks to those of you who have donated new or used cloth diapers for our Fall Diaper Drive!

We so far have a growing stack of prefolds, pockets, inserts and some covers. We are thrilled to set up a collection bin next weekend at the Sustainable Ballard Festival.

 

We are particularly in need of covers!

Donations can be dropped off anytime on our secured porch at 7350 Mary Ave. NW, Seattle 98117 – we are in the Ballard neighborhood. We also have a collection bin at Childish Things on Holman Road (which by the way has THE BEST baby and young child clothing selection right now).

Fuzzi Bunz Rewards – Who Can Resist Free Diapers?

For fall, an excellent deal from Fuzzi Bunz! In this economy, who can resist free cloth diapers and fabulous accessories? After you buy your Fuzzi B’s, follow the clicks to get either $40 or $80 worth of free product – all you need is proof pf purchase from Punkernoodle Baby!

Do They Sell Mace at Walmart?

It looks like Walmart might need to start handing out baseball ball bats to sleep-deprived mothers as they walk through the front doors. Not to use on their children, of course – apparently us mothers need to defend our offspring from grouchy psychos whilst shopping for corn puffs:

Stranger at Walmart slaps crying child

Associated Press

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Police said a 61-year-old man annoyed with a crying 2-year-old girl at a suburban Atlanta Walmart slapped the child several times after warning the toddler’s mother to keep her quiet.

A police report said after the stranger hit the girl at least four times, he said: “See, I told you I would shut her up.”

Roger Stephens of Stone Mountain is charged with felony cruelty to children. It was unclear if he had an attorney and a telephone call to his home today was unanswered.

Authorities said the girl and her mother were shopping Monday when the toddler began crying. The police report says Stephens approached the mother and said, “If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.”

Authorities said Stephens then grabbed the 2-year-old and slapped her. The child began screaming and Stephens was arrested. Police say an examination showed the girl’s face was slightly red.

A call to the girl’s mother, identified in the police report as Sonya Mathews of Grayson, was answered by a woman who identified herself as Sabrina Mathis, the victim’s aunt.

Mathis said today that the girl is doing fine.

“As of today, she has really forgotten about it,” Mathis said. “She’s been playing.”

Mathis said the girl’s mother was shaken up over the incident.

“She’s as well as to be expected,” Mathis said. “Right now she’s just trying to calm down.” 

Gwinnett County Sheriff / Associated Press

Now, I don’t even shop at Walmart. But if I did, and a snarling man with bushy eyebrows came toward my toddler, you can bet I’d grab the nearest bat, or Nascar Collector’s Edition Raceway Set, or can of foaming rat poison, and go mommy medieval. Who the hell do you think you are, crazy angry man?

After three years of crime and court reporting at a metro newspaper, I’m a firm believer that the punishment should fit the crime. So let’s put this guy in a nice padded room littered with less-than-fresh diapers and piles of crushed goldfish crackers, hook up a cheap Walmart stereo system and pipe in a 24-hour live recording of the nearest daycare center. Have a nice three years, sucka!

Whatever Happened to My Childhood???

I have very fond memories of playing the board game Candy Land as a child. So I was really excited when my bro bought my 4-year-old Punkernoodle the game for her birthday. But I was dismayed to find out that it is no longer what I remember. I have done some searching and now think I might be going crazy…

 

I remember playing the game with a cloth bag filled with tiny colored plastic circles – you reached in, grabbed a circle and then moved to the corresponding space on the board. It was much like the process of picking a Scrabble tile. I can remember the sensation of reaching in and feeling around for a circle, brightly colored and looking much like candy.

 

Now, the game instead has a deck of cheapo paper cards with colored squares indicating where to move. Nostalgic, I started searching online for “vintage” and “retro” versions of the game. I found games with the older game board I remember, but still with the square cards – even versions from the fifties seem to have this deck of cards with colored squares (and I was born in the late 70s). I found a write-up of the game’s history and it even outlines the board and square cards, no mention of the bag of colored plastic circle tiles (which I know today would probably be a huge chocking hazard).

 

I’m going nuts! Am I nuts? Does ANYONE remember Candy Land with a bag of round colored tiles????

 

And We’re Back….

Just a quick post to let everyone know that after a lovely summer off, tending to our garden and slinging lots of diapers, we are re-committing to our keyboards to bring the (mostly) diaper news back to the blog. Besides boxes of swim diapers, we’ve added a lot around the shop lately, including new version of the awesome One-Size Fuzzi Bunz, Gro Baby, Haute Pockets in snaps and Velcro, Thirsties Duo Wraps, and lots of in-stock bumGenius.

Punkernoodle Baby is still doing frequent (and free!) cloth diaper consultations by appointment in our Seattle showroom, and we’ll be back to teaching Cloth 101 classes at a rotation of locations around the Puget Sound. Check back here in September for a schedule! To set up an appointment, or to buy or find out more about cloth diapers, you can always call us at 206-325-3497. Happy diapering and see you soon!

The Food Project – Shopping

Under the new concept of eating local, I went to the Ballard Farmers Market Sunday morning with several hundred dollars in cash and the goal of feeding us all for the week, grocery store be damned.

Mr. Punkernoodle and I debated quite a bit the night before about the approach. Since we typically like to walk down to the market with the girls in The Rig (an embarrassingly large yet surprisingly nimble double jogging stroller) we were wondering how to 1. Get all the food back up the hill (20 blocks north and 6 blocks east) and 2. How to keep the meat and cheese I was planning to buy cold while we meandered through the market and spent a lazy Sunday morning listening to the musicians, eating wood-fired pizza for lunch, chatting with friends we often meet, and generally just hanging out before heading back up the hill during naptime.

Part of the idea of being more local-focused is reducing car driving (ours or others’), so I didn’t like the idea of taking the car. Plus we enjoy the long walk for exercise and fresh-air naps. In the end, I drove ahead and arrived just as the market opened (I know from past experience that meat and other delicacies sell out fast – I missed the rumored fava beans!!). After stocking up on perishables I drove home, and then we all walked down together, ambled about and picked our produce etc. Not the ideal, so I think we’ll have to refine the approach.

Anyway, in my haste to rush home and get the fam, I didn’t write down exactly what I got from where as I intend to do going forward (no receipts at farmers markets to refer to later). But this was the general haul: a hunk of fresh lamb, enough pork loin for a big tray of enchiladas plus leftovers, 5 fresh sausages, a jar of Chardonnay mustard, a quart of lamb stock and a chunk of free bacon from Sea Breeze Farm on Vashon Island, some frozen ground lamb from another farm a couple of hours north of here, a small chunk of aged cheddar, a round of goat cheese, and a grapefruit-sized mama wheel of farm cheese from various cheese artisans including Samish Bay in Skagit Valley; a huge jug of raspberry apple cider from the amazing Rockridge Orchard and Cidery, a box of chocolate/toffee ice cream topper, and a bag of locally made cheese crackers. Add to that an unorthodox amount of rhubarb stems, a hefty log of asparagus, kale, a bag of gorgeous (and ultimately buttery/creamy smooth) French fingerling potatoes – a farmer’s last batch from the late fall harvest preserved perfectly, a bag of Yakima apples, a jar of pluot jam, a clutch of red radishes, a precious sack of locally foraged morels (!!), and probably something else I am forgetting. For this I spent about $200.

Rhubarb and apple, being cooked down.

What became of the rhubarb and apple. YUM.

Meat ‘n Potatoes:

And finally, the first vegetable harvested from our garden this season (not counting early onions and a few spinach leaves). Isn’t it cute?

As I learn more about eating locally, I am finding a fascinating group of people dedicated to this approach. People in Seattle and beyond who have formed urban farming and gardening co-ops to purchase materials, chicken feed, and bulk grains. People who are learning to bake bread, make cheese and garden organically in order to eat more healthfully and consciously. People who are purposely returning to a more traditional way of preparing food and who are eager to exchange backyard eggs and ripe pears with neighbors in order to feed themselves and each other with what’s in season.

Pretty cool.