100% Reusable Cloth Diapers

This blog has been seriously neglected but what better time to start fresh than the new year. And what better topic to start back with then my passion for cloth diapering.

I know, it's a little weird to be passionate about what I use to catch by kids poop. But I really believe that our current "disposable" society cannot last. We can't keep using finite resources to make products we use once and them throw away to take centuries (if ever) to decompose. I see cloth diapers as a one simple step in the right direction. One that also has a positive impact on my kids' health and my pocket book.

As the popularity of the Monday night #clothdiapers Twitter chat would indicate I am far from alone in this passion. The Real Diaper Association is trying harness this enthusiasm with the new 100% Reusable Cloth Diapers Campaign. As a member of RDA's board I not only get to particpate in the campaign but had a chance to help design. The campaign is focused on gathering information from cloth diapering parents everywhere about how they have overcome potential obstacles to cloth diapering 100% of the time. And giving those parents a way to show off their awesome accomplishments.

The campaign is starting off with a focus on supporting cloth diapering and cloth diapering at night. I shared my nighttime diapering routine and bragged about the ways I support cloth. Now I can proudly display my cloth diapering badges. So if your a cloth diapering mom or dad come share your experience, tips, tricks and advice and get some badges to show off on your website, blogs, facebook page, etc...

FDA lost its way?

I no longer have any faith that the Food and Drug Administration is looking out for the health and well-being of me or my family. Hearing story after story of hamburger, spinach, or jalapenos tainted with salmonella or E-coli that inspectors missed is just the beginning. Now I read that the FDA's solution to this problem is not to improve agricultural and inspection procedures but to allow the irradiation of some produce.  And to make matters even worse they are considered weakening current requirements that food products which have been exposed to radiation must be labeled as such. Apparently, food labeled as irradiated doesn't sell very well. (Imagine that!) I think it is appalling that consumers would not be aware if this has been done to their food,  a process which some experts believe can destroy nutrients, create hazardous chemicals, and even affect the taste the food. 

As if that issue wasn't enough, the FDA also released a report recently that the trace amount of Bisphenol-A (BPA) found in plastic food products are safe. BPA is a chemical used to soften plastics (including most baby bottles) and it is can leach into food and drink, especially when heated. BPA has been linked hormone problems and cancer. Many other countries have banned its use in certain products and the state of California is considering such a ban. The FDA's argument is that their is no proof that the chemical is harmful in such small quantities. I cannot comprehend this logic. It is established to be toxic at some levels why shouldn't it work the other way around. We should assume it is not safe until you prove to me it is. Especially when we are talking about anything we are exposing are children to. 

And just to add one more straw to the Camel's back. My husband's going low-carb to try and lose a few found pounds and motivate himself to exercise a little more. (I know, not the healthiest way to diet, but effective.) So I was trying to lookup recipes for him and I wanted to see if I could find any desserts. I came across a list of possible low-carb sweeteners. All of them artificial options like Splenda or Equal, except Stevia. Stevia is herb which can be an all natural sugar substitute. However, on this list is was the only item noted as "not approved by the FDA." According the FDA Stevia can only be sold as a "supplement' and cannot be labeled as or used in products as a sweetener. How does it make sense that artificial sweeteners which are allergens to many people (like my husband) and linked to cancer are approved by the FDA but a plant, an all natural product, is not approved. 

Like I said, I've lost all faith in the FDA.  

It's all fun and games...

As a new mom I am often at a loss for creative ideas about games to play with my girls. But thankfully I live in the Google generation. All I have to do is run a search for "baby games 9 to 12 months". The web site I found Games to Play with Baby had lots of fun ideas I've been trying out.

I turned the baby blanket ride into a laundry basket ride. I can fit them both in the basket and drag them around the house. Andi especially enjoys this, it always has her grinning from ear to ear. To save my back from leaning over the basket I even attached the dogs leash to the basket and pulled them around that way.

And I just love the obstacle course idea. I've been using things like towers of blocks they must knock over (Alex's favorite game) to get around, pillows to crawl over, and toys they have to roll out of the way. I'm still working on tailoring the right difficulty level for the girls to complete but be challenged.

Babies' First Airplane Ride

I've been negligent of the blog. The first of my many excuses is that we've been traveling. The husband, babies, and I flew to Montana for the family reunion for my dad's side of the family.

The reunion was great, this was the first time most of my relatives got to see the girls. The getting to and from the reunion was dramatic to say the least.

First off, if the airline says, arrive 45 minutes before your flight to check luggage, they mean exactly 45 minutes. Not 44 or 43. They will bump you to standby on the next flight the minute you are late. They don't care if you have two babies and the next flight is in 2 hours and the delay increases your layover from 1 to 3 hours.There were at least 8-9 other passengers who missed the flight like we did and all were willing to accept if they were bumped to the next flight but an exception was made for us poor fools with two babies. The airline did not see it that way. We also discovered that hot weather in Montana = turbulence. My husband and I spent almost half the 2 hour flight from Denver to Billings trying not to slam the babies in the sides of the plane or seats because the turbulence so bad one passenger kept raising his arms in the air as if on a roller coaster. Finally, after waiting 30 minutes for our rental car and listening to the girls cry on the entire 2 hour drive from Billings to Livingston we called ahead to our hotel to discover the 2 cribs we requested were not available and we had to change hotels when we arrived in Livingston. Moral of the story: always we really really early and never expect anything you request to be ready for you.

On the upside, almost all of the flight attendants and passengers on our flights to and from Montana were very understanding and helpful. They fetched things from the overhead bin, held babies on a couple of occasions, and even tried to help entertain them. And the girls were good sports, they were only fussy on the very last flight on the way back. The airline was also very good about the stroller and baby carriers. They were checked at the gate on the all the flights and returned to us when we landed. All for no extra charge.

On a final note, although we did have to resort to some jarred food; bananas, cheese, tofu, and avocado were fairly easy "homemade" food options while traveling.

Gaming & Crocheting

I made a pretty new dice bag for myself during our D&D game last night. Well..I didn't quite finish it, I'm still working on the drawstrings.

I got turned onto the idea of crocheting while gaming by a friend of mine who games with us on Fridays. She made her husband the coolest dice bag shaped like a d4. She also told me about www.raverly.com. The website is a community of crochets and knitters. You can get free patterns, post your projects, see other projects, and post in an amazing number of forum groups . So far I've joined groups. rpg gamers, cloth diaper moms. And I got the pattern for the dice bag form the website to.

As soon as I finish up my bag, I'll be moving on to a bag for my husband.