Guest Blogger: Cynthia from Her Quiet Hands in Mine + GIVEAWAY

Thank you very much to each and every person that voted for Bailey!!  She came in #26 in votes out of like 6000+ children!  We are impressed and even though she did not win the people's choice spot, she may be considered by the judges for the other 9-10 spots they have.  We think she is a beautiful little girl, and so without further adieu, our winner for the $20.00 Gift Card of choice is Amy from Marvelous Mommy (if you did not win you can blame my husband, he choose the name from the bowl!) Amy, I will email you.  Thank you for all your votes everyday and for posting on face book.

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Today Cynthia joins us from Her Quiet Hands in Mine here to share her adventures with cloth diapering.   She has a darling daughter Isla!  Anyone who is not making polar bears cannibalistic is super cool (check out her Q & A below).  Check out what she has to say about cloth diapering and then hop on over to check out her blog and leave her some comment love!!

We are wrapping up our Cloth Diapering Series with a Special surprise!  One lucky reader will win a Cloth Diaper of choice, yes, any brand or type (Limit $25.00 USD and something I can get my hand on!).  I do not believe one diaper is the right one, so choose away!  This is open to our Canadian friends, because Cynthia is from Canada, you know!!

What you will need to do to enter:  Each as a SEPARATE Comment!
(You must be a Follower publicly of This Adventure, Our Life (if you are not you may not be chosen to win).
1.  Leave a comment below telling me why you would like to win a cloth diaper, and which diaper you would choose (Please be exact with a color, etc) and if you would like give Cynthia some comments with your choices.

Extra Entries:
3.  Become a Facebook Fan of This Adventure, Our Life and "Like" it
4.  Follow me on Twitter @this_adventure
5.  Share this on Twitter and put your link from sharing in the comment (one per day)

Winners:

Winners will be chosen Friday May 21, 2010!!  You must either leave your Blog/ email or an email in the comments.  Winner will either be selected at random.org or the old fashioned way picking from a hat...  any questions contact me at: cindytonyaguilar at mac dot com

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How long have you been cloth diapering and how old is (are) your child(ren)?I tried my hand at cloth diapering on April 1 and it wasn’t very successful. I tried again with another brand on May 6 and I’m in love. I have one daughter, Isla, and she is almost 14 months old.

What, if any, were your fears/misconceptions before cloth diapering?When I was pregnant, using and washing our own cloth diapers wasn’t really an option. It’s not that I didn’t want to do it, I just didn’t really think about it being an option in the first place. Luke (my husband) and I looked into a diaper service, so my fear stemmed from that… I feared the cost. Our local diaper service company was charging $25 a week, and not really knowing how many diapers our newborn would need I feared that the diaper service would run us out of house and home. 

What convinced you that you should cloth diaper?Oh my… I think the question should be what didn’t convince me to cloth diaper. I mean, there are so many reasons… Besides the toxic chemicals touching my Isla’s most sensitive parts, and the tons of diapers my household would eventually be contributing to the Earth, it was the Earth in itself. I feel like we should take responsibility to ensure that we give our kids a fighting chance to enjoy and save the planet. 

What is your best advice about starting cloth diapering?Do your research! I researched for about three months – I looked over prices and shipping, cotton and cotton disposable, hybrids and all-in-ones, pockets and snap-ins. There are so many choices and the initial investment of cloth diapering is not cheap. Before I spent a dime, I researched my face off… Even then, it didn’t do me any good. 

Were you intimidated? Is there anything that still intimidates you?I was more intimidated by finding the information on cloth diapers than I was about using them -- I was so giddy when placed my order, I just couldn’t feel intimidated. I feel like this whole motherhood thing is just one long learning experience, and cloth diapering just adds to the learning. One thing that did intimidate me the most was the cost. I remember looking at bumGenius diapers on a third party website and thinking that $23.95 must be like a six diaper pack.  Boy, was I surprised to find out that $23.95 was just for one diaper. 

Why do you prefer cloth diapers over disposables?I like knowing that I’m not making polar bears cannibalistic by using disposable diapers. 

Disposal diapers>>>>>Garbage>>>>>Landfill>>>>>Methane gases>>>>>Global Warming >>>>>Hudson Bay not freezing>>>>>Polar bears hunt each other because they can’t cross the unfrozen lake


So far, what’s your favorite brand(s) and why?Since cost is a huge issue for us, I tried Econobums. I tried to make them work, I really did… But after two weeks of battling diaper rashes, a rash from the PUL cover and at least two leaks a day… I was so over them. I moved on to Babyland diapers that I found online. So far I love, love, LOVE them. They’re an inexpensive pocket diaper—Think bumGenius for $5 a diaper. They’re made in China, so maybe the quality assurance isn’t always there… But I have 40 of their diapers and each one is identical.

What would you tell someone who is skeptical of cloth diapering?I’m the first (and hopefully not the last) of my friends to make the switch, so I have a lot of converting to do. Rather than tell them about all the benefits, I’d rather buy a little starter kit (a few diapers, some detergent, a wet bag and some cloth diaper cream) and print a sheet full of facts for them. When it comes to random people, I’d tell them about the chemical burns I’ve heard of from the new Pampers and I’d tell them about how much Earthly destruction disposables actually do. I suppose my tactic for strangers is to scare them into cloth diapering… LOL.

What’s the best part about cloth diapering?The best part about cloth diapering is knowing that I’m doing what I can to keep this family eco-friendly. By eliminating the biggest waste producer from this house, I can feel a little less guilty about driving around in an SUV.


Do you find them harder, easier or the same to use as compared to disposables?Econobum: At first, they were much hard to use than disposables, but I got used to them and they were easy peasy. However, when Isla wasn’t in the mood to cooperate… Boy was it a chore, and I wasn’t even pinning the diapers – just trifolding!

Babyland: They’re much easier than cloth diaper, actually. You don’t have to mess with “unfolding” the tabs or keep adjusting the tautness around the waist. I know exactly which snaps Isla is in right now, so every diaper is a perfect fit. They’re so easy, I think my husband won’t mind changing these cloth diapers. The only thing that sucks is stuffing the diapers after a wash. I hate that part.

Do you have any funny cloth diapering stories to share?It’s not really a funny story, but I get a kick out of it: I rather enjoy hanging Isla’s diapers on the line to dry… Luke gets rather embarrassed by it. We haven’t had any comments from neighbours though, so he worries for no reason. Plus, I think we should be proud that we made such a huge move towards being green!

What is your cloth diapering routine?I bought a trash can from WalMart, the lid locks on so that it’s airtight. It fits about 20 to 30 diapers so I launder her diapers when it’s full, which is every 3 to 5 days. It’s a small trash can so I haul the whole thing downstairs, throw her diapers in the wash, wash the bucket out and bring it back upstairs. I usually hang dry the diapers, but sometimes I don’t have the patience… or its raining. Soon enough, it’ll be winter and there’ll be no line drying.


Do you have any tricks, shortcuts or fun information about cloth diapering?I always stuff the diapers before I put them away… I would hate to have to fiddle with an insert while Isla’s lying on the table stark naked. I also air out her bum, I let it dry from the wipe before I put a new diaper on her… I hate wearing clothes while I’m wet, why would she like it? Plus, a friend gave me that advice to help stave off any diaper rash from moisture issues.

What is a must have when you are cloth diapering?Honestly? Disposable diapers and wipes… I keep them on hand in case a bad diaper rash breaks out and I have to use some heavy-duty butt cream. I also keep them handy in case I miscalculate or overlook exactly how many diapers and/or wipes I have left. Don’t worry, I buy Seventh Generation diapers and I use Aleva Bamboo Wipes when that happens.

How is the husband handling the cloth diapers?He wasn’t sold on the whole cloth diapering thing from the beginning, so he never had to change an Econobum… Lucky guy. Now that we’ve made the switch, I’m sure he’ll be able to handle the Babylands. I mean, I’m going to be without Isla for a girls night… eventually.

Have you had any funny comments when cloth diapering?Since I’ve only been doing this for a month, I don’t have a plethora of absurd comments from people. One person has asked me if I thought about switching to organic disposables though… I thought that was kind of funny. Here I am trying to save money and there she was asking me why I’m not spending more money on organic disposables. What’s more organic than cotton washables!?