[flats]

Flats!
I've known about flats for a long time. I know they are typically what you think of when you think of cloth diapering "back in the day". I've always wanted to try them out but never wanted to spend the money on actual flats, lest I hate them, and I didn't have any receiving blankets leftover from my son's newborn days.
Luckily I was given a bunch of blankets from various people for my daughter.

Here is what I love about flats:
they're versatile.
easy to wash/dry.
fit a large range of sizes.
fairly absorbent if you add a little booster.
can come in cute prints.
pins well.
can be padfolded and laid in a cover if you aren't into pins or snappis.
easy to find things around the house to use as a flat.
the poo pocket - no EBF poo blowouts!

Here is what I don't like:
can be difficult to snappi (at least my blankets are).
sucks absorbency wise unless you add a booster of some sort. not a problem if you want to change very often (ie every little pee).
can be a pain to fold with a wiggly baby. wasn't a problem for me, though. just fold it before you bring your baby to the changing table if it's an issue.

Here's my stash of receiving blanket flats:



Nice and girly. :)

Here is the fold I used most often (in other words, the only one that worked, LOL).



Lay baby on top of that and pull middle up, pull sides in and pin or snappi.

This is my three year old wearing a flat:



I got him to cooperate by letting him photograph me while I took pics of him. :)



It looks a little messy because I'm a total flat newbie! I'm still trying to get the perfect fit and absorbency!
Here is my three month old with a pinned flat on, same fold. Don't mind the blurry pic, she won't ever stay still!



I'm really liking flats thus far. If they were super absorbent I would love them even more.
Maybe if I used ACTUAL flats made for diapering they would work a little better. ;)

[labels]

I have been going back and forth trying to decide what exactly to do with this blog.
Do I just blog cloth diapers? Insert my opinion?
And I've decided this can be a personal AND cloth diapering blog.
Most cloth diapering blogs are uber-crunchy, bordering on obsessed with being "natural".
I know you are laughing because of the title of this blog.
It used to be exactly that, you are right. But no longer.

Here is what I'm not: Lactivist. Intactivist. Anti-Vaxer. Raw milk drinker. Chiropractor user. Homebirther. Vaginal birther. Homeschooler. Organic food eater.

Here is what I am: Breastfeeder. I breastfeed my daughter. I'll do so until one of us throws in the towel. It's just that matter of fact. It is a lovely bonding experience sometimes. Sometimes it fucking sucks. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I love it. I don't think I'm better than you because of it.
A proud vaccinating mother. Don't let anti-science people scare you with their propaganda. Vaccinate your damn kids. :) My son wasn't vaccinated at all until he was almost three. I came to my senses and vaccinated my daughter from birth. Trust me, been there done that with the whole no vax thing.
C-Section lover. Loved my certified nurse midwives and loved the OB who performed the totally elective c-section at my daughter's birth. Love the hospital and the wonderful caring staff there. "Birth experience" means shit here. But for the record, I had lovely birth experiences. (BTW Love love this blog post about c-sections, check it out: http://itsabeautifulwreck.com/2010/01/cesarean-goddess-speaks-my-vagina-is/)


This is why I don't fit in anymore.
How very funny that when you "come out" about changing everyone turns their back on you.
I've toyed with this a lot in my head.
I had to walk away from a part of my life because I couldn't in good conscience keep smiling and nodding while I am screaming in disagreement on the inside.
I still watch from a distance. A part of me wants to call them up and hang out, because I MISS people. I miss bonding with other women. I just can't shake feeling ostracized so I am bowing out quietly.

[cloth diapering to save money]

I am SO excited to share my experience cloth diapering my kids!
With my son I tried almost everything out there.
I spent a lot of money buying everything I wanted for full retail price.
Now I know better! I will get into everything in more detail in future posts but here is how I have spent less than $70 cloth diapering my daughter so far.
If I had gone with disposable store brand diapers for her I would have already spent over $100 just on diapers alone (not counting wipes or other accessories)!

Amazon.com - I use the Amazon gift cards I earn from Swagbucks and survey websites to buy diapers! This is the best way to get free diapers if you are a stay at home or work from home parent with full access to a computer. I get at least 5-10 dollars in Amazon giftcards from Swagbucks alone each month.

Diaperswappers.com - A great site to buy/sell/trade cloth diapers and other goodies. It is very easy to bargain with people here and if you can work out a trade, even better! It is best to always ask for very detailed pictures and descriptions before going ahead with a transaction, though. While the transactions that work out are superb, the ones that don't are very discouraging.

Fixer-Uppers - If you have even beginner sewing skills you can pick up some diapers with shot elastic or bad velcro and fix them up like new! Replacing elastic is fairly easy in most diapers and velcro is also easily replaced with new velcro or snaps. I have bought plenty of diapers at $5 a piece or less (or FREE!) and fixed them up so they worked great.

Get creative - Receiving blankets make excellent flats, prefolds can be boosted with a wash cloth or microfiber insert, washcloths can be used as flats on a tiny newborn. You can pick up wool sweaters from Goodwill or other thrift stores/garage sales (or your own closet even) and turn them into wool soakers! You could easily make an entire stash out of recycled wool and receiving blanket flats if you wanted to.

I will be sharing pictures and helpful hints soon!