Testing out some mommy made Cloth diapers!

I have been cloth diapering my son since he was big enough to fit in the tinniest little cloth diapers I could find. There are so many reasons to use cloth, but here are mine:

1. Its very economical. A package of diapers cost roughly $11. This is referring to Seventh Generation brand which I LOVE for its lack of harsh chemicals. My son would go through a package once a week. That is $44 a month I was spending just on diapers! Now that I do cloth I have saved a ton of money, the start up cost can be scary but it evens out in the end.

2. The chemicals. Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, TBT, and sodium polyacrylate. Dioxin is banned in most countries because of its carcinogenic properties. However it is not banned in the USA. All of these chemicals are being absorbed in to your babies skin when they wear a disposable diaper. No judgement here though! I disposable diapered my first! But, that is why research and knowledge are wonderful things :)

3. Its GREEN! Disposable diapers will sit in landfills for hundreds of years. On average each baby will produce a total of 6,000 diapers in the first 2 years of life. These will be sitting in the landfills anywhere from 250 years to 500 years from now.

4. Adorable-ness... Okay, so I made that word up, but its true! Cloth diapers now are easy to use and come in so many different colors, prints and styles its rediculous!

That brings me to the entire point of this blog. I am reviewing two AI2 diapers that were made by a work at home mommy. We have been using them for roughly 2 weeks now and just absolutely love them! They came in a size medium, brown outer PUL and Minky inner, one green, one yellow. Each diaper came with 2 snap in inserts.

First we used these as an AI2 (all in two) meaning you could snap in the insert and when it got wet, just switch out the insert and put in a new clean one. This works really well for wet diapers, but not dirty (which is the case with most covers and inserts anyway). I loved this option because I could leave my house for several hours with just 2 diapers and the inserts which left more room in the diaper bag. Generally I have the bag stuffed with atlest 4 or 5 diapers, the wet bag, toys, extra outfit ect... But this new option was great.

The minky inner is also very soft and im sure that is nice for my son. He hasnt had a single diaper rash while wearing these dipes as the micro terry fleece inner really pulls the moisture away from his skin.

These dipes have held up very well in the wash as well. They have been through 2 dryer cycles but are generally hung to dry on the line. There has been no pilling, no fraying, no ripes ect... And they also stood up really well to my son scooting across the sidewalk the other day when we were out drawing with chalk lol

One of my favorite options on this diaper were the adjustable leg gussets. Inside the diaper there is a strip of elastic on each leg that can be adjusted with snaps for different sizes. This is great for babies in medium diapers that may have thinner or wider thighs and need a different fit but also I feel that my son would be able to stay in these diapers until potty training age. He is currently quite the chunker and they fit him well on the 2nd leg gusset setting. If I put it on the largest setting he could easily wear these longer.

I would absolutely love to see these diapers come in one size, to allow the adjustable leg gussets to change the size of the diaper to fit from newborn until potty training age. It would also be nice if they came in snaps instead of velcrow. So far the velcrow holds up very well but I prefer snaps personally and that also would allow for size adjustment. Otherwise, I really have no complaints for these dipes! I love them, they are adorable, soft, absorbant and the snap in inserts are very convenient for use as an AI2. I was also able to stuff the back pocket of the dipe with a different insert as the inserts that came with the dipe were too long for stuffing. However, I could stuff the pocket and use the snap in insert for extra absorbancy at night which is nice for heavy wetters!

All around I would deffinately recommend these diapers to other mommas out there cloth diapering their babes. Her diapers will be available on her website after their testing is over, but also be sure to check out her other adorable items like apliqued onesies and cute printed burp cloths: http://www.jillybeanshop.com/

RainReserve Rain Barrel Diverter Kit/Rain Diverter Kit

This is a neat way to utilize all that rain water coming through your drainage pipes (and for me, inevitably collecting in your basement). Give the dog water, water your plants, fill the kiddie pool, wash the car! Without ever turning on a hose! What could be more green?

RainReserve Rain Barrel Diverter Kit/Rain Diverter Kit

My right to breastfeed, your right to turn away.

This blog and most likely several more future blogs will be surrounding an incident I recently experienced at a local swimming pool.

I have never had a problem nursing in public in the past. For 8 solid months I enjoyed hassel free, comfortable, wonderful public nursing. Until of course, June 1st 2010. On this day I took my family to swim for the first time that season. My 8 month old son is under the assumption that me being in a swimsuit equals him being able to nurse 24/7.

While I was enjoying the cool water on this extremely hot day lazying about in the zero depth pool my son decided once again it was time to nurse. I was enjoying the fact that I was not sweating despite the 85 degree temperature, severe humidity, and sun beating down on us. So, I decided to just cradle him right then and there and nurse away. For a good 5 minutes we went un noticed. My suit was covering most of my "goods" and my son was wearing a very large brimmed sun hat. To people around me it just looked as though I was cradeling my sleeping babe. Apparently however, from the perspective of a lifeguard tower, the view shows otherwise.

This lifeguard begins to violently blow his whistle at me. I turn to him and he motions for me to exit the pool immediately. I calmly explain that I am just nursing my son and have every right to be there. He tells me that I can not do "that" there... When I continue to refuse to leave he runs off to the lifegaurd house to tattle on me.

Now that he has brought attention to me with his whistle blowing and yelling, I have everyone in the pool staring at me. Not only is everyone staring but about 20 men and teens of varied ages are now aware that some woman (GASP) has her breast out! So they all start swarming around me, pretty closely, trying to get a peak. At first I was just floored that people were so brass and bold to just crowd a single woman and her small baby and then they got closer and closer and I was starting to feel uncomfortable and fearful. I looked over at the lifeguard post and the evil man that blew his whistle at me was so overly concerned with my breastfeeding that he had completely abandoned his post and now left me totally alone and vulnerable to these harassing crazy horny men.

Thankfully I have a brother that can tower several feet over most other men when standing and also has the amazing ability of well, being a complete asshole :) He yelled at them all and made enough room for me to get out of the pool. I went over to a bench and continued to feed my son.

Since I am located in the state of Illinois, I am thankfully very protected by the Civil Liabilities Right to Breastfeed Act. Wich clearly states:

(740 ILCS 137/10)

Sec. 10. Breastfeeding Location. A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother's breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding; however, a mother considering whether to breastfeed her baby in a place of worship shall comport her behavior with the norms appropriate in that place of worship.

(Source: P.A. 93‑942, eff. 8‑16‑04.)

So far I have taken action against this incident by writing a strongly worded letter to the towns parks and rec department. Further updates, I promise :)

In the meantime please comment below and tell me, when have you ever felt violated of your right to breastfeed? Have you ever been asked to leave an establishment? What actions did you take? I would love to hear of other moms experiences in this area since this is a new ballpark for me.