Why use mama cloth?

           
            The reasons to use mama cloth are very similar to the reasons to cloth diaper. Quite honestly i cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would switch from soft cotton for your baby or yourself to some unknown bleached, paper-plastic product. Oh did i mention all the chemicals inside tampons, yea those things that actually go INSIDE your body. But i am getting ahead of myself, allow me to explain in full.

regular tampon vs. organic cotton tampon

-Harmful ingredients in disposable pads and tampons.
             Many women do not realize the amount of chemicals within their store bought disposables, or how they may correlate with gynecological concerns. Disposable pad and tampon companies are not required to list the ingredients on labels. Some irritating or toxic ingredients found in disposables include: aluminum, alcohols, fragrance additives, and hydrocarbons. Tampon bleaching processes leave behind dioxin. Dioxin is a toxic chemical (chlorine-compound) linked to cancer, immune system suppression, ulceration, pelvic inflammatory disease, reduced fertility, changes in hormone levels and endometriosis. Try this simple test: Place a regular tampon in glass of water and return in a few hours. You will find the water cloudy and filled with residue - all things that your body is otherwise absorbing into the soft tissues of the vagina.

-Cost
             Cloth pads = Savings:
The money you save using cloth pads will be worth it in the first year alone! Figure you spend $8/month on pads and another $6/month on tampons ~ that is $14/month or $168 a year! You could buy over 20 cloth pads for that amount…and still have them to use for another 4-6 years! That is a savings of $672-1008! I know that I have better things to spend my money on

 -Environment
             Environmentally, there are two main issues at stake: the impact of production, and the impact disposal. A typical woman can use anywhere between 8,000 to 17,000 tampons in her lifetime. This depends on individual usage of course. I hate to sound cliche here, but every woman is different, and the numbers available are all over the map. Think about it though, a handful of products a month, 12 months a year, for 30 to 40 years, multiplied by the female half of the population… It really does add up. According to the book Flow: The Cultural History of Menstruation, the average woman throws away up to 300 pounds of feminine hygiene related products in a lifetime. In the grand scheme of things this makes up only about 0.5 percent of personal landfill waste. But even so, when you see that there are alternative options available, it becomes difficult to rationalize. In the United States alone, an estimated 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are disposed of annually. Each of those tampons and pads has an environmental impact of the waste of not only the product itself, but the packaging, plastic or cardboard applicators, as well as the less visible costs of transportation and production.

If you can just get over the mental ick factor the decision is just plain obvious

 -Just plain comfort
            On average women who switch to mama cloth find that their flows are lighter and they have significantly less cramping each month, I mean really who doesn't want that. All in all, it again comes down to common sense. Which would you really want to wear something that feels dry and velvety soft or something that feels slimy and crunchy. I for one always used disposables because i thought that was my only option. Once i found out about mama cloth i was slightly put off by the idea but after doing the research i have found it to be the logical option not just for comfort but for all of the reasons listed above.

i will be linking up to the pistachio project 

Mama fluff arrived

            So my mama cloth from TheCrazyElephant arrived yesterday and i am SUPER impressed at how quickly everything got here. Let me add that i also ordered a Mei Tai carrier and a DivaCup on the same day and i tracked them and they will not be here for another several days. This is everything that i ordered from them and let me say that they are really really soft and way thinner than i expected. I figured that the heavy absorbency pad would be about as thick as a disposable maxi pad but even the heaviest absorbency is about as thick as an ultra-thin disposable.

            This is the heavy absorb short peanut pad in magenta cloud. It is velvety soft and super thin. I may actually be okay using pads if this mama cloth works as well as everyone says it does. I hate disposable pads because they get slimy and feel like a wet diaper. . . yuck. One of the benefits of mama cloth is that it should breathe and not trap moisture the way that disposable pads do. I am excited to try them out. This looks exactly like the medium absorbency pad except that the heavy has a layer of zorb in the center. And the medium absorbency is the peace and love pattern.

            These are my two teardrop thong liners. I am really really hoping my DivaCup arrives before my next cycle or else it will be almost two months until i get to try this stuff out. These are also very soft and thin. All of these products are a wingless design so the are not as bulky but they are backed with fleece to hold them in place while you are wearing them. TheCrazyElephant also doesn't finish the edges of any of their products, instead they cut them with pinking shears so that they will fray and be thinner on the edges but they are sewn so that they will not completely unravel.

            These are the plain panty liners that i ordered. They are freaking adorable and so soft. They are made up up of i think two layers of super soft flannel and backed with the fleece so that they wont slide around.






I will be linking with the pistachio project.

Cloth Diapers part 2

                So i would like to introduce and explain all of the different types of cloth diapers. In a later post i will then explain how to clean and care for cloth diapers and my final post on cloth diapers will be all about trouble shooting with cloth diapers because nothing is perfect and you are bound to run into a snag here and there. So for this post i will list all the types and explain what they are and then i will list the pros and cons from my own opinion.

An AIO with aplix closures.

-All in ones [AIO]
            An AIO is considered the easiest option in cloth diapering. They are very daddy and daycare friendly and easy to put on baby. All an AIO is made up of a waterproof outer material, normally PUL[polyester lined with polyurethane], with an absorbent material, like microterry, microfiber, bamboo, hemp, or cotton. sewn into the middle and topped with a wicking material like flannel or micro fleece so that the moisture is pulled away from baby's skin and into the absorbent core. Fastening options for this are either snaps or aplix[A.K.A. velcro] I personally do not like AIO's simply because i prefer line drying anything with PUL [it makes it last longer] so because i line dry my AIO's they take almost a day and a half to dry after washing.

an AI2 with a snap in insert and aplix closures.

-All in twos [AI2]
            These are basically the same thing as an AIO except the absorbent core is removeable. So you have a shell with your waterproof material and you have an insert with your absorbent material and you wicking material on it. With AI2's the absorbent core normally snaps into place. These will also fasten with either snaps or aplix[velcro] closure. I do not have any of these diapers so i cannot tell you from experience but i would assume that they wash and dry the same as pocket dipes and i LOVE my pocket dipes. The downfall to these is that they do take some assembly but they will wash easier and dry faster than an AIO's

Already stuffed pocket dipe, stuffed with a prefold.

-Pocket dipes
            Finally my favorite. A pocket dipe consists of a shell with wicking fabric sewn into the inside and a hole in the back of the diaper that forms a pocket. You have an insert made up of an absorbent material of your choice that you then stuff into your dipe and you are ready to go. I personally love these because of how easy they are to wash and dry. I pull the insert out of dirty dipe and throw shell and insert in my pail and then when my pail is full i pick the whole thing up and dump it into the washer [no touching dirty dipes] i wash everything then i pull the inserts out and put them in the dryer and hang my shells on a drying rack and by the time the dryer is done so are my shells. Downfall to these is that you do have to stuff them when they are clean but that is also an advantage because you can personalize the amount of absorbency you put in your dipe by adding more or less inserts.

My daughter Skye in her aplix pocket dipe.

Different sizes of prefolds

-Prefolds
            These are the way your grandma cloth diapered . . . oldschool, yes. But I still have a place in my heart for prefolds. A prefold is a rectangular piece of fabric that has a thicker absorbent middle. These can be folded different ways to add absorbency or comfort for baby. This is by far the cheapest route for cloth diapering but it does have a bit of a learning curve. Prefolds have to be folded and then fastened with either a pin or a nifty little thing called a snappi. When i am at home i will use a prefold fastened with a snappi and no cover on my daughter it lets her breathe without peeing all over my floor. My daughter is in prefolds with no cover when ever she isn't sleeping or out and about. So  They also have no water proof outer layer so they need a waterproof cover if you are using

them full time.

My daughter Skye in her prefold fastened with a snappi.

Fitted diaper with snap closure.

-Fitteds
            These are diapers with no water proof outer layer but are made up of many layers of absorbent fabrics. These do need a cover for using them overnight or for long periods between changes but many people find them absorbent enough to go without a cover during the day. These normally have some type of fastener such as snaps or aplix[velcro] and are shaped like a diaper so there is no folding invloved. I currently have one fitted diaper that i made out of a prefold but i am waiting for the oppurtunity to get myself a few poopsiedoodle fitteds.

            Now diapers like prefolds and fitteds have no waterproof outer layer so you will need to use a cover over them but again there are several options to choose from.

Wool cover in shortie style.

-Wool
           Alot of people prefer wool because it is very breathable but it can be hard to care for sometimes. You will need to lanolize your wool cover before use, this entails filling a bowl with very hot water and melting lanolin on top of the water and washing your wool in it until it absorbs the lanolin. This makes your wool water resistant. You must hand wash your wool with a wool wash and hang it to dry. The benefits of wool is that it is extremly light and airy on babys skin and helps to prevent rashes because of its breathability. Also, wool soakers come in many different styles such as pants[longies], skirts[skirties], and shorts[shorties]. these covers require no fasteners because they are often just a pull up style.

PUL cover with snap closures.

-PUL
           PUL is the same fabric that is sewn onto the outsides of AIO's, AI2's, and pockets. It is polyester that has been lined with polyurethane. The upside is that it is easy to care for, all you do is wash with your dipes and hang dry. But it has little breath-ability and it can trap moisture if baby is not changed as often as they should be. These covers also have snap or aplix fastening options.





 

plastic pants with nylon hem

-Plastic pants
            It is exactly what it sounds like. It looks like a tiny pair of pull up underwear except they are made of plastic. These are the cheapest covers to buy but they are not very good for babys skin and they are not very comfortable because the hemming along the edges is often done with a waterproof nylon that can be very abrasive on babys skin. Also, unlike the PUL which offers some air flow these will offer almost none. So when you are using these you will have to be very diligent about changing baby often. And make sure your baby has a little bit of diaper free time everyday, even just 5-10 minutes of air can help a lot.

I will be linking with the pistachio project.

                    

Mama cloth

            So i just ordered my DivaCup and a few mama cloth items. I do not like using pads so i felt kinda like there was no crunchy option for my aunt flo but then i discovered the DIVACUP. It was like a revelation to me that being crunchy has moved into the 21st century. I ordered my Divacup and some panty liners and a few pads from The crazy elephant. I ordered off of their etsy shop but they also have a facebook  and a blog Their products are adorable and they look super soft and are very reasonably priced. I loved their shop and will definitely be shopping there again. I will be posting reviews for these products as soon as i get them and am able to use them.

           So for anyone who does not know a DivaCup is a soft silicone cup that you insert into the bottom of your vaginal canal that catches menstrual flow, you empty it twice a day and you can use it for as long as you want. It is recommended to replace it every year but if you take care of it, it should last way longer than that. I have read many reviews of women still using the same cup after 5years. The only complaint i have seen is that they do get a little stained [obviously] but if you mix 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 2 parts water and soak your cup overnight, it will not only remove stains but will also disinfect your cup

            I ordered a pack of 3 regular panty liners to use with my DivaCup. In the reviews I have read everyone has said there is a bit of a learning curve with quite a bit of leakage in the process. These are called the Little peanut panty liners and they come in a set of three. This set is Neapolitan dot but I ordered a bumble bee pattern.

            I ordered four minimal coverage liners because I hate wearing real underwear. . . TMI maybe but whatever haha. I ordered a few different patterns. These do not come in a set but they are only 1.99 for one so it is not a big deal to order a couple of them at once. These are called tear drop thong liners.

I only ordered two actual mama pads because other than giving birth to my daughter I could count on one hand how many times I have used a pad but just in case I ordered one medium short peanut pad and a heavy short peanut pad. They look exactly the same but the heavy pad has a layer of zorb [a super absorbent fabric] in the center of it.

So since my daughter is still in her cloth diapers I plan on having a bucket in my bathroom with a lid that will have 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 2 parts water inside of it for soaking my mama cloth and then I will just be washing my mama cloth along with the diaper laundry. As soon as everything arrives I will post pictures and as soon as I get to use everything i will post my reviews. 

I will be linking with the pistachio project.

 

Cloth diapers Part 1

            Why use cloth diapers, you ask. Allow me to tell you all the factual reasons and then later I will tell you all of the personal reasons why I am in love with cloth diapers.

My daughter Skye, wearing her cloth diaper and her baltic amber teething necklace.

FACTS
- The environment.
            One disposable diaper takes over 500 years to breakdown. The number of disposable diapers in landfills is increasing dramatically every day. There is also a concern for the contents in disposable diapers, did you know that it is illegal to throw away human waste. Over 100 intestinal viruses are dumped into our landfills via disposables diapers and then transported into many of our water sources, contaminating our drinking water. On top of all of this approximately 1 billion trees are destroyed each year to make disposable diapers. Finally don't forget to take into account all of the natural resources and emission gases, used to haul those disposable diapers all over the world.

-Cost
            Disposable diapers can range in cost anywhere from 1500 dollars to 2500 dollars over the course of three years and many children are not totally potty trained by three years. This stats are not including things like traning pants, swim diapers, and wipes by the way. I have spent a total of 200 dollars on all of my cloth diaper necessities and because you only use 1/4 of the amount of detergent you would normally use in a load of laundry, I am only buying detergent about once every three months. Doing diaper laundry twice a week with 1/4 the amount of detergent uses the same amount of water in your home as a child that would be using the toilet. All in all you are looking at a comparison of 2500 plus dollars or 200 dollars total to diaper your baby through toddler years. Don't forget you can also reuse cloth on multiple children so multiply all of these savings by how many kids you would like to have and you can only imagine.

This is a photo of chemical burns caused by Pampers brand diapers

-Skin care
            Would you rather wear paper underwear or soft cotton. . . This is a list of Pampers  Ingredients; wood pulp, absorbent gel material, petrolatum, stearyl alcohol, aloe, polyethylelene and polypropylene [plastics], cellulose tissue, elastic, and perfume. Sodium polyacrylate is in the absorbent gel material [AGM] it is what forms the beads you find inside of an over saturated diaper. This chemical has been linked to rashes, allergic reactions, and decreased sperm count. Cloth diapers are changed more often which decreases the chance of a child developing a rash and they rarely ever cause an allergic reaction and even if they do, all you do is switch to an all natural fiber dipe and poof problem solved.



This is a link to a site that i am in LOVE with it is called toxipedia and this link will take you to a page that explains all of the harmful chemicals that are lurking in your baby's disposable diapers.
http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Diapers

If it was your body, which would you choose to wear. . . 

Add caption

I will be linking with the pistachio project.

Natural Unmedicated Childbirth

            So this is a relatively large subject to cover so I am going to break it down into options and explain them each, in depth. Natural Childbirth is defined as a method of childbirth characterized by the absence of anesthetics, in which the expectant mother is given special breathing and relaxing exercises. Even though there are no medications given to the mother to relieve pain she manages pain with many different techniques. Natural Childbirth is not for everyone but it was something I felt very strongly about. I feel as though going to a hospital to have my daughter stripped me of my right to choose how I labored. There are several options you can choose to have a natural birth experience.
-Certified Nurse Midwife [CNM] in a hospital
            This was the option i tried first, i felt that it fit my want for a natural birth but i still had the security of a hospital setting [what i thought was better at the time]. I started with my first midwife, Dr. Kay at university hospitals. She was wonderful and i would highly recommend her to anyone in the Cleveland area who thinks that this option is for them. Unfortunately, my insurance did not cover UH hospitals so i was forced to switch midwives. I switched to a practice of midwives at the Cleveland clinic and right away i did not feel comfortable. I wanted my own doctor to trust and be comfortable with but that was not an option for me. I was diagnosed with placenta previa and was forced to go to an OB. My placenta previa resolved itself by 25wk. but the midwives refused to care for me because i was considered high risk because of an issue that has now been resolved. I never did get my personal, trusting, caring relationship with my doctor that i wanted. The doctor that delivered my daughter i met only moments before and even though my birth plan was printed out and handed to every member of my birth team they promptly informed me that they were going to start my IV and get me ready for my epidural because i was not allowed to get out of bed. I feel as though hospitals are set up as a business and they just want to get you in and out of their rooms as soon as possible.

-Midwife at a homebirth
              The biggest difference between giving birth to your baby at home instead of in a hospital setting is that, at home you're in charge and everyone supports you. There are obvious advantages to having your baby at home; you'll feel secure in your own familiar surroundings and you can have as much privacy as you want. Your partner, older siblings, family, and friends can all be involved as much as you want in your labor experience. You will have a major say in your labor and you will be able to easily avoid the routine medical interventions that can often do more harm than good. You'll be able to see one midwife throughout your prenatal care and labor experience and there is no danger of being separated from your partner or your baby after labor. Bonding and breastfeeding are encouraged to happen spontaneously after birth. This is the option i will be choosing for all of my birth experiences. Also, I don't know about you but have you ever heard a mother say that she doesn't want control over her body and her baby during birth. . . A hospital setting will not give you any of this.

-CNM at a birthing center.
            A lot of people say that this option can be the best of both worlds. Personally it scares me because of my previous experience with giving birth in a medical facility. But this option will give you a lot more control over your birth plan than a normal hospital setting but with the added benefit of have a high tech medical facility at your fingertips in case of an emergency. Another benefit to this is that there will be no mess in your house to clean up and also you MAY be able to get insurance to cover this.

With all of these options you can choose to hire a doula to help support you through labor.

             A doula is an experienced woman who offers emotional, physical, and informational help or support during and after the birth of your baby. Some doulas are willing to live in for a few weeks after the birth of your baby. A doula is trained and experienced in childbirth and baby care, but is not medically qualified. The doulas purpose is to make sure that women have a safe, memorable, and empowering birth experience.

I will be linking with the pistachio project.

Pregnancy and Birth

            When I found out that I was pregnant, I was dead set on going to a certified nurse midwife [CNM] and having a natural birth. To my disappointment my first ultrasound revealed that i had a condition called placenta previa. Placenta previa is a condition in which the placenta covers the cervix, this can cause massive blood loss and maternal and fetal death if the mother is allowed to deliver naturally. The only safe way to deliver, with this condition, is by a scheduled c-section. I was heartbroken and terrified. Needless to say i was forced to go to an OB. As my pregnancy continued the placenta previa resolved itself so i was yet again set on my natural birth plan. I wanted no pitocin, no pain meds, and i wanted to be able to get up and move around during labor.
             After 42 weeks of pregnancy I finally went into labor. My contractions started waking me up at 3AM but i had experience false labor so many times that i wasnt convinced that i was actually in labor. At 9AM our family went to the zoo. I walked around at the zoo until about 2pm, Christian told me that we had to leave. I was still not convinced that i was in labor. We got into the car and he asked me if we were going to the hospital and i said no they are just going to send me home again, so we went to his brothers house. At 5pm Christians brother informed me that weather i like it or not i was in labor and i was not allowed to have a baby on his couch. Off we went to the hospital, i was horrified. The last place in the world i wanted to go to have my baby was a hospital.

              We arrived at the hospital and they immediatly admitted me. I changed into a gown and they forced me to lay in bed. Laying down caused my babys head to push down on my sciatic cause searing pain shooting down my right leg. I had said i wanted a heplock but not an IV but they told me i didnt have an option. I asked if i could stand up and they said no that it would mess with the moniters. Everytime i would try to move the moniters would slip and alarms would go off. I was forced to lay on my back and perfectly still. This not only made the same pain, that i was able to walk around the zoo in and play with my 9 month old niece, unbearable but also research has proven that laying flat on your back is the WORST position to labor and give birth in. I was finally in so much pain that i was forced to get an epidural and my daughter was born several hours later

             Skylar Elizabeth Marsh, 7lbs. 6oz. 21inches long, born at one forty two AM. Do not get me wrong my birth experience with my daughter will always be one of the happiest days of my life but i truly wish that i had not been pushed along the birth assembly line of a hospital. My desire was to EXPERIENCE my birth. Not ignore what was going on. After my medicated hospital birth experience and the regret i feel for it this was what led me to look into my home birth option

I will be linking with the pistachio project.

Intro

             Hi all, my name is Bekah. I was born and raised in Elyria, Ohio. My mother raised me and my two older brothers. My home was less than environmentally concerned. Crunchiness and the health of mother earth was on no ones priority list. At age sixteen I met the love of my life, Christian, and moved out to bo-hunk-nowhere. I was amazed at how quickly I fell in love with living in the country. There is just something about the quiet, the land, the clear starry nights, and clean air. I became invested in ways that i can help to save this beautiful world that we all share

             At seventeen Christian and I found out that we were going to have a baby. Little did i know but this was the beginning of huge changes in my life and my way of thinking. I began to research not only environmentally responsible parenting decisions but also the health benefits of living crunchy. I hope that you will join me in this new adventure into natural living and natural parenting. This blog will not only contain my personal experiences, but also the research i collect about all the ins and outs of living CRUNCHY.