Saturday, November 22, 2008

Top Ten Reasons to Use Cloth Diapers

1. They save you MONEY!! Estimated saving for using cloth diapers varies depending on the where you gather up your numbers, but an easy way to calculate the savings that you could expect to see is by using the savings calculator at the Diaper Pin. It is amazing to see how quickly cloth diapers will pay for themselves…regardless of if you choose economic prefolds and covers or a more upscale pocket or all in one diaper system…

2. They are soooo much easier on the environment than disposables! For each baby diapered with cloth diapers, you will be saving 4,000-6,000 diapers from going to the landfill…accumulating in landfills at the rate of 3.4 million tons per year. These mounds of soiled diapers (Do you know you are actually supposed to flush the poop off of a disposable before you toss it in the trash can!?!?) are not able to break down well in airtight landfills…This process could actually take several hundred years!!! Disposable diapers accounted for 2.1% of the garbage in landfills in 1998, the last year that this information was collected.

3. The chemicals in disposable diapers…Dioxin, Tolune, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, isopropylbenzene, sodium polyacrylate…Sounds like stuff I don’t want near my babies!! There are questions about the safety of these chemicals…

4. Using cloth allows you to choose from organically grown, and sustainable textiles. Cotton is one of the world’s most widely known crops, but it is also popularly known for it’s pesticide use. When you choose to purchase organic cotton (or organic bamboo or hemp) you are choosing to support the harvesting of chemical free crops.

5. One of the best feelings I get about using cloth is knowing I will not have to run to the grocery store to get diapers. We used disposable diapers with our first 2 children, and it seems like I was always needing to call my husband, mother in law, or neighbor to pick up a pack of diapers for me…I love the freedom of knowing that as long as I have water at my house, I can have clean diapers.

6. Disposable diapers do not allow the skin to breathe…In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogenesis.

7. Cloth diapered babies tend to learn to use the potty earlier than babies who wear disposables. For the most part, babies who are wearing disposables do not feel wet when they pee, due to the reaction of the chemicals in the diaper. Cloth diapered babies actually get the opportunity to feel wet when they have peed, so they usually will want to learn to go to the potty sooner.

8. Cloth Diapers can be used for such a long time. A good quality cloth diaper is made to stand the test of time, and can easily be used for multiple childern. After your children are finished using them, their legacy lives on…they are the best cleaning cloths available! They are perfect for cleaning around the house and for cleaning cars…A disposable simply gets thrown away…

9. Cloth diapers are CUTE!!! There are such a wide variety of diapers on the market today, that getting the perfect fit is only a portion of the shopping equation…you get to select from some amazing fabrics (cotton, bamboo, hemp, velour, minkee…) as well as a HUGE selection of colors and prints. I don’t know where you will find any diaposable diaper that holds a candle to how cute cloth diapers are.

10. No one wants to wear paper underwear…Imagine the feeling you have when you are at the doctor’s office and they ask you to slip into their little paper gown and sit on their paper covered table…Not the best feeling, huh. Wouldn’t it be great if you could say, “no thanks…I’m going to slip into my cotton velour gown and sit on my minkee blanket”…Seems a little bit more comfortable… I think babies should be as comfortable as we are…so we should stop dressing them in paper.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

We LOVE Special Beginnings Birth Center!

We had such a lovely time at the Special Beginnings Birth Center this weekend!  We got the opportinity to meet many new and expecting parents, and were able to show them the different kinds of cloth diapers and baby carriers that we had available.

It was awesome to see nearly every mom (and lots of dads, too) wearing their baby, many who already used cloth diapers or were interested in learning more about them…Lots of breastfeeding mommies (I laughed because beside the La Leche League booth there was a chair, and every 15 minutes a mom would sit and take her turn in the breastfeeding chair. :-) )

Along with meeting some awesome mommies, daddies, and babies… we got a tour of the birth center and met with one of the lactation consultants that works there…I was very impressed with how family friendly the birth center is, and it is a beautiful facility.  They had 3 great birthing rooms, each with a birthing tub (2 whirlpool tubs and 1 inflatable tub).  The lactation consultant (who is also a nurse) said that most of the births tend to be waterbirths!  Each room was really nicely decorated, and would certainly feel like a welcoming environment to any family.  They had a great ‘waiting’ area, perfect for those wanting to have their family with them for their special event…there was plenty of space for other childern, as well…with lots of toys:)  There was also a full kitchen that is available to bring your food and really make yourself feel at home during your stay.

I’m not sure who all was working that day, but I was so very impressed when I walked by the front desk and heard some gentleman say ‘Well, it looks like things are starting to go well…the baby is latching on really well…’ I’m not sure what his position is there, but I was happy to hear excitement in his voice about this little baby learning to breastfeed!

It sure does seem like a great place to have a baby, and if you are anywhere close, I would encourage you to take a trip there and have a walk through of their place…

And beyone those things, there were some really great vendors!  Check out some of the great products that these vendors have for you and your little ones!

http://www.naturalbeautyandspa.com/ A FABULOUS line of skincare for women, men, and babies.  These products are absolutely heavenly!  And Peechee is super sweet!

http://www.greenirene.com/ This is an amazing woman with a wealth of knowledge in her field.  If you want to go green, or go a little greener, she can tell you how!  She shared some amazing information with us that really helped to see that not all changes have to be big, but every little change has a big impact…She does in home consultations to really personalize the recommendations for you and your family

Of course La Leche League :)  There were several very sweet ladies who were, of course, offering a comfy place to breastfeed, as well as check out some slings, baby shoes, and information about LLL membership…Ohh, and I bet they were answering some breastfeeding questions, too:)

Alyhas Alternatives Great store offering lots of baby carriers and cloth diapers, as well as alternative menstrual care products, and lots more…She had a great selection of Moby Wraps, Zolowear Slings, and Fuzzi Bunz diapers for her customers to check out…She is an amazing woman who is a doula and childbirth educator, as well as a busy mother :)  Check out her Birth Business : www.birthdiva.com

Bediboo was there with some cute stuff, too…Along with Freehand and Ergo baby carriers, she also had lots of HABA toys that were absolutely adorable.  Bediboo has a brick and mortar store in Baltimore City, where they offer classes on cloth diapering, babywearing, and much more.   She also has an online store.

P & D Woodcrafts, Etc.  had some adorable little wooden toys…they are cute and affordable!

Daniel Creations This lady has talent!  She had a great selection of items from handmade cloth diapers, baby carriers, I Spy bags, training pants, and so much more!  Her table had so much good stuff I couldn’t tell what to look at first!  LOTS og really nice stuff:)

I’m sure there were more, but we didn’t have too much time to browse around…we had such a great time being surrounded with people who trust in birth and have a great respect for mothers and their babies.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Come See Us at Special Beginnings Birth Center in Arnold MD

Come see us !

November 16, 2008.  10-4pm
Special Beginnings Birth Center
1454 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd
Arnold, MD 21012


We have lots of great baby carriers and cloth diapers that will be available, with some great one day pricing:)

We will have:
Baby Carriers
UpMama Slings
Connecta Baby Carriers
AngelPack LX (APLX)
Sleepywrap
Maya Wrap
Wrapsody
and our handmade line of Mei Tais (Bundle O’Baby)

Cloth Diapers
bumGenius
Thirsties
Prefolds
Starter Packages

We will also have some beautiful Nursing Necklaces, as well as a great bargain bin:)


Come and visit with us, try on some great baby carriers!

To learn more about the event and to see a list of other vendors, visit this website.

Cleaning House!

Time to clean house!! We have decided to clear out some of our inventory to make some room for some exciting new products. We have put many great items in our clearance section, including a great variety of essential oils and base oils, Tiny Tush one sise organi cotton fitteds, Under the Nile Fitteds, and so much more!

We are so excited to be expecting some new products:) We have placed our orders and are awaiting our shipments of Llamajamas Longies and Soakers and the fabulous UpMama Hybrid Slings!!



And a sneak peak as to what is in store:

  • Bum Genius
  • Wrapsody (Gypsy Mama) Wraps
  • Organic Toys!
Just in Time for Holiday Gift Giving!

Friday, November 14, 2008

A Very Special Mama Needs Help

There is a very important fundraiser happening within the babywearing community. A very kind and generous mother, who has been there to help countless other mothers, is in need of help. She and her children are in a terrible domestic violence situation, and her fellow community memers are working hard to raise funds to help her get her and her children to safety. A Yahoo group has been established as well as a Hyena Cart store to take collections and to have auctions. If you have anything to offer, please do so, this mama really needs your help.

Donate Now

Babywearing: What About the Bucket

It’s one of the most common ways I see mothers and fathers carrying their babies…in a bucket car seat. I refer to these babies as ‘bucket babies’. Almost everytime I go to the mall, the grocery store, the park, etc. I see babies in buckets. I feel so bad for both the baby in the bucket, as well as the ones who need to carry it.

As I sat at the mall for an entire weekend at a vendor stand, I had the opportunity to talk with many parents who thought that carrying the bucket was the only way to go…when in fact once they realized their were more comfortable and easy to use choices available, they were interested! We heard many reasons as to why people had chosen to keep their baby in a bucket…’she sleeps so well’, ‘it’s convenient’, ‘I don’t need to take her out and put her back in, I can just pop the seat in and out’, ‘I have tried a sling, but they don’t work for me’, ‘I can sit the bucket in the cart’, and so on…

A few of my worries with babies being left in their buckets:

Babies like to be held, and it is good for their development.

Babies deserve to be interacted with, and their interaction is limited while they are nearly covered up and tucked into their carseat, often while it is placed in a shopping cart.

Babies like to change positions, too…it feels good after a long car ride to get out of your seat and stretch out a little…it feels good for babies, too.

Those buckets are heavy! I can’t imagine how carrying those, as well as the weight of the baby, is good for your back, arms, or neck!

They bump into everything, your legs included. There is really no great way to carry one of these things without having it bump into your leg with every step. Not fun!

I have been walking through stores with my baby closely snuggled up in a carrier, with both hands free (well, one hand free…the other one is almost always rubbing my baby’s back!), talking to my baby, knowing she can feel safe…knowing she is warm…knowing she can hear my heartbeat…and wonder why this is what I see:

Mothers struggling to keep their babies from screaming while juggling the carseat, a shopping cart, and toys to try to distract the baby. Sometimes a whole shopping cart is dedicated to carrying a bucket carseat, while another person needs to oush the cart to put groceries in…My guess is most babies would be happier being held, and most mothers would feel less stressed. Isn’t that what we want? I watch those moms and desperately want to take off my sling and put it on them.

I have had the pleasure of teaching many parents about the benefits and convenience of wearing their baby. Our society doesn’t seem to recognize the importance of nurturing our babies. I hear things like “She will never want to walk if you carry her all the time”, “She is going to get spoiled”, “She can’t be comfortable like that” (meanwhile she is contently alseep), “doesn’t that hurt their legs?”, and so on…It is important to hold our babies. Each one of them will grow up. There will come a time when they don’t want to be held. There will come a time when you wish you could still be holding them.