Milagros

There are a lot of great reasons to choose cloth diapering over disposables. For instance, the amount of landfill waste that results from diapering a child in exclusively in disposables is 2 - 3 tons (yes, you read that right). But one big thing is that cloth diapers are a very cost effective way to go as well.

Cloth diapers are reusable. We have used the same diaper covers and diapers for both of our children. When we are done, these cloth diaper supplies will be used by more kids since we will either give them away or resell them.

Potty Training Happens Sooner for Cloth Diaper Babies: In general potty training occurs much earlier and is easier for children using cloth diapers. It is estimated that kids in cloth potty-train 12-18 months earlier than kids in disposables. Of course, the longer a child is in diapers, the greater the expense.

Disposable diapers absorb moisture very quickly. As a result, your child does not feel any wetness and the natural “signals” are lost. As disposable diapers have improved, the average age for potty training has extended.

The gut-check on this is that if you review diaper ads and products from 20 years ago versus today you see that ads with children aged 3 to 5 years is now a common occurrence. Also common potty training suggestions these days include “try switching to cloth diapers.”

That said, PLEASE keep in mind that every child is unique. It is perfectly acceptable if your child is “older” when he/she trains, don’t let it stress our you or stress out your little one out. It’s not a race.

Total Expense: The out of pocket cost for cloth diapering  supplies will probably be less than $500.

What about added water and energy cost for washing? This is hard to judge. Babies = a lot more laundry and energy use. So what is the incremental additional cost of using cloth diapers?

I took a look at all additional energy and water usage we have used since Gael was born. It is about $20 per month.

If I attribute ALL of that additional expense to the use of cloth diapers (which clearly is a gross overestimation) and figure he is potty trained by age 2 1/2…that is another $600 in expenses or $1100 for the total cost of cloth diapering from birth to potty training.

How does that compare? Disposable diaper expense averages $75 per month, so we are saving over $1,000 by choosing to use cloth diapers instead of disposables.

Wow!

Milagros now carries wool changing pads – made right here in Portland. These beautiful and practical changing pads are made from Oregon-made Pendleton wool. Wool makes a great choice for a diaper changing accessory. It is naturally absorbent (wool can absorb 1/3 of its weight in moisture before beginning to feel wet) and, when washed with a lanolin wash, wool is naturally antimicrobial.

We also now carry Charlie’s Soap, the zero-residue detergent officially recommended by Bummis. Are you tired of stripping your pocket diapers? Charlie’s performs perfectly on those picky pocket diapers with polyester fleece interiors. Charlie’s is also hypoallergenic, biodegradable and super-concentrated. At just one tablespoon of powder per load, one tiny bag of Charlie’s Laundry Powder can wash 80 loads of laundry or diapers – that’s only 16 cents per load! Charlie’s is also “HE” compliant for those of you with front loaders. Happy washing!

Related Content:

Tips on washing diapers

Diaper Free Baby Meetings are at Milagros on the third Wednesday of the month at 2 pm.

Diaper Free Baby of Portland is a local, free support group that helps promote a natural approach to responding to babies’ elimination needs. This practice is followed worldwide and is known as Elimination Communication, Natural Infant Hygiene, and Infant Potty Training. The process involves observing one’s baby’s signs and signals, providing cue sounds and elimination-place associations, and can be done with or without any diaper use.

If you are using this method, interested in finding out more, or are just curious, please come to a free monthly meeting for Diaper Free Baby at Milagros or check out diaperfreebaby.org

In addition to a wide selection of new cloth diaper covers and wraps, we strive to keep a good selection of gently used covers and diapers in stock.  The size of our used inventory waxes and wanes but RIGHT NOW, we have  great selection of covers in preemie, newborn, and small sizes.

So if you your someone you know is expecting or has a newborn, come in to Milagros and get some great diaper wraps and great prices!

The postman came and brought more SposoEasy All-In-One diapers in all six colors - white, buttercup, sage, lilac, aqua, and chocolate (not shown).

The outside of the SposoEasy waterproof PUL knit polyester - like on solid-colored Happy Heinys - and is very durable and soft. Inside the SposoEasy is 6 layers of cotton for maximum absorbency and comfort: 4 layers of quality 100% cotton terry and 2 layers of 100% cotton flannel. Even with all this absorbency, the diaper remains trim and not bulky. The SposoEasy washes and dries with ease and the velcro tabs make this fully adjustable with each size range and very easy to use (definitely day-care friendly!).

Available at Milagros in the following sizes:

• XSmall 5 to 9 pounds
• Small 10 to 20 pounds
• Medium 21 to 30 pounds

Families new to the world of cloth diapering often ask one simple question: how do you wash diapers? I must admit that for much of Mila’s diapering days we were spoiled by the services of Tidee Didee and we just needed to wash soiled covers.

Shortly before Mila was out of diapers I began laundering on my own and was surprised at how easy it was. Every couple of days I would start a load at bedtime, then dry the next day. Rhythm was definitely the key.

But how to actually wash? It is tricky to decide how to wash diapers and covers when there are so many different recommendations by the various makers, and then the general belief that the natural detergents should be avoided (due to natural oils that may leave residue), yet we want to be friendly to the earth…aaaarrrr! So, I’ll share what has worked for us.

Before you begin: No need to dunk the diapers of babies who aren’t yet eating solids. But once they are eating solid foods, shake those poopy diapers out over the toilet to get the solid poop off, or consider using biodegradable flushable liners (we carry two sizes at Milagros) or attaching a sprayer to your toilet.

Step 1: Cold rinse spin with Bac-Out (about a cup, or two). This will do wonders to prevent stains. The only time I did encounter stains after washing was the time I didn’t rinse…

Step 2: Warm -warm or hot wash with Bi-O-Kleen Laundry Detergent (tip: use less soap then you think you need) Through two kids I have never had negative results from using this detergent on either the diapers or covers. Occasionally I will do an extra rinse. Too much soap can linger.

Pocket diapers can conceivably get a build up of the natural detergent over time, suddenly making them seem leaky. Now, I haven’t had this happen from washing, but did indeed experience a leaky pocket a couple of times after needing to use rash ointment on my son. I followed “stripping” suggestions on the Happy Heinys website and they worked fine.

To strip I essentially took the cover that was leaking (really I believe it’s that the pee sort of glided on the surface of the fleece and out the side…) and did a mini hand wash of the center of the fleece in super warm water, rubbing it against itself. Sometimes with a bit of regular liquid soap (have used both hand and dishwashing). Then washed as usual and things were back to normal.

If you have a front loading washer, remember to really use less soap than you think you need (sort of the general rule for diapers anyway, but especially so with front loaders). Be sure not to overload the washer because the diapers need to move in the water and those washers are so efficient that they are often not giving as much water for the diapers to move in anyway. And if you can do a second rinse you can ensure that any extra detergent is gone.

Step 3: Dry diapers and all in ones in the dryer, or once summer has decided to stay, air dry! The sun really does remove lingering stains! Dry covers per manufacturer’s instructions. If it says I can dry them I do, but I also often just air dry the covers since they are generally made with quick drying fabrics. I also have a general feeling that it will prolong the life of the cover.

You may find some more tips at diaperpin.com

Happy diapering!

Are you feeling comfortable cloth diapering and would like to have your own reusable wipes? It’s so easy! Here’s how we did it!

What you need:

• Sealing water resistant container (we used an old disposable wipe container)
• Wipes (you can buy Kissaluvs terry wipes at Milagros or just use flannel squares, thin infant wash cloths, we’ve even used washed “disposable” wipes!)
• Jug of distilled water (plain tap water doesn’t cut it…eventually gets moldy…trust me)
• Tea tree oil (antibacterial properties…nice!)
• Lavender essential oil (mmmm…pretty…)

Place the wipes in the container you will use for storing. In a separate container or bowl mix the distilled water with the oils (a few drops to each cup of water you will be using). Pour the mixture over your wipes and you are set! You can even take some in a resealable plastic bag for trips away from home. We use about two cups of this solution for a full container of wipes. Go for it, mommas! You can do it!

Safe Mama had a recent post on what’s in disposable baby wipes. It was eye-opening to say the least. We switched to reusable wipes but mainly to lessen our waste stream, the question “what’s in your wipes?” hadn’t crossed our minds.

Anyhoo, thank you Safe Mama for doing the leg work on this. So if you are using disposable wipes, definitely check out Safe Mama’s review.

If you are ready to switch away from disposable wipes, it really isn’t that challenging. You can make your own wipes or pick up some terry wipes at the shop. We have unbleached, undyed terry wipes by Kissaluvs at Milagros.

How do you use them? Either use with warm water right before using them or infuse them beforehand with a homemade wipe mix.  Once they are used, just wash’em and use them again. Here is the homemade wipe mix that we use:

•  2 or 3 drops of tea tree oil
• 1 tablespoon of Dr. Bronner’s soap
•  3 cups of distilled water (be sure to use distilled water, not tap water)

Just dampen the wipes in the mixture and store in an air tight container. We use an old plastic wipes bin left over from the disposable days. Easy peasy. Enjoy!

There was a thread on UM about natural stain removers. In this debate, we swear by Bac-Out by Bi-O-Kleen.

We use it on diapers, baby clothes, the rug, the drains, really anything…we use by the gallon because life is messy….

We stock Bac-Out in 32 oz and 1 gallon size at Milagros. And we can special order a FIVE gallon bucket of Bac-Out too! …..just in case your life is as messy as ours!

There was a discussion on training pants on UM, so let me highlight one of the brands we have in stock: Blue Penguin.

Blue Penguin Training Pants have a nice trim fit but still are thick enough to absorb most leaks. Also they are made of water resistant 100% cotton knit. In addition, through the crotch there is extra padding of cotton terry and flannel, for more absorbency. However, unlike - like Bumkins or Bummis - they aren’t completely waterproof.

Proper care of the Blue Penguins is key. Please machine wash on gentle cycle or hand wash using mild detergents only. Tumble dry on low or line dry only - no hot dryers!

Sizes: Small (20-28 lbs), Medium (28-36 lbs), and Large (36-42 lbs).