[caption id="attachment_1485" align="alignright" width="320" caption="Meaghan and Baby C at the pool - it's a Saturday morning and C is wearing her Swimmi under her swimsuit (you can see a tiny bit of it peeking out)!"][/caption] Today our featured mom is Meaghan. How old are you? 34 years old What did you do (from a working perspective) before your baby arrived? I am a Speech-Language Pathologist working with ages 0-5. Are you currently at home with your baby/children or working in/out of the home? Just returned back to work 4 days a week after a year's maternity leave. How old is your baby? Baby C is 11 months old. When did you decide to cloth diaper? We decided to try cloth diapering when I stumbled across the N&G website and their newborn rental program.  We were lucky enough to get the last rental kit around our due date.  We were solidified in our cloth diaper decision after the N&G cloth 101 workshop, which we attended while still pregnant.  And we were even more gung ho when we actually got to put the newborn rental kit into action and saw how easy and effective it was. When did you start cloth diapering? We started with the rental kit about 3 days after arriving home from the hospital. What is your favourite diaper(s)? Newborn: Kissaluvs After the rental kit: bummis organic cotton prefold kit (infant size until she was 10 months old! She's petite.) Now: larger size prefolds with whisper wraps at home, Easyfits and Bum Genius pockets for daycare Tell us about your day Well, I have to say that my days have changed significantly in the past two weeks since mat leave ended.  They currently look very different on days I have to go to work and days I don't.  My husband has very long work days, hence my example doesn't include any help from him.  If he happens to have the day off on a day that I go to work, the following example would include a latte (made by him!) before I leave for work and no diaper laundry when I get home, because he does it during the day :).  Those are good days. Here is an example of a work day + diaper laundry day: 6am - wake up, get myself ready 7am - if little C isn't up yet, reluctantly wake her up, breastfeed, change out of the overnight diaper (usually hemp prefold+doubler+aristocrat wool cover) and into a prefold/whisper wrap combo 7:30 - a bit of breakfast 7:50am - to daycare for 8am drop-off I send a bag of at least 5 cloth diapers (Easyfits + Bum Genius pockets) preloaded with biosoft liners + pre-moistened cloth wipes (make sure there's at least 10, use wipes cubes solution to soak them, use the small Huggies travel pack case for storage) + a medium wet bag for dirty diaper storage + bum-bum balm 8:10am - off to work 8:30-4pm - work, work, work 4:45pm - pick up from daycare Daycare gives me back the bag with the unused cloth diapers (usually they use 3 over the day), full wet bag, and cloth wipes pack for restocking 5pm - home, walk dog 5:30pm - dinner for little C and the dog 6pm - bath or straight to bedtime for C, depending on the night and the level of fatigue 7pm - Little C is asleep, time to prepare for the next work day (if it's Friday, breathe a sigh of relief, have dinner, crash in front of the TV) 7-9pm - eat dinner -Unpack bag from daycare - full wet bag (the day's used diapers and cloth wipes) goes right in the washer after I've taken out the inserts of the BGs (I love that this step is skipped with the Easyfits), along with the larger wet bag of diapers from our at-home diaper bin - cold soak, hot wash (1tbsp wonder wash), cold rinse, dryer (hang up Easyfits, BG's and whisper wraps to dry, they're dry by the next morning) -make sure diaper bag is stocked for the next day - I have a total of 6 BGs and 3 Easyfits and these are just barely enough for two days at daycare, washing every other day - I have around 30 cloth wipes, so plenty enough to replenish each night (make sure there's 10 for the day) -prepare my lunch and C's lunch for the next day -some sort of relaxation if time (usually something on the PVR) -to bed by 9:30pm at the latest ... zzzzzzzzz Some mornings I have to stuff a couple of BG's that have been drying overnight to add to the diaper bag for the day, but I try to have everything ready the night before. I just want to say that I'm really thankful that my daycare will do cloth!  I can imagine if you're used to sending a pack of disposable diapers and a big bucket of wipes to daycare and not having to think about it again (for awhile at least), then the routine I've described probably sounds like a bit much.  But I'm so used to using cloth and so committed, it really doesn't feel like a big deal to me.

This interview was submitted February 5, 2011.

March 4th is the day to like us.  Head over to facebook, hit the like button and grab the sale code. You'll save some money now on our top selling cloth diapering item (aside from the diapers themselves) and pocket some future savings, because we like you and we want you to come back and say hi! See you over on facebook.

Welcome to a new series here on the New & Green blog highlighting the fabrics that are used in the wonderful array of cloth diapers that exist on the market today. Many parents at our Cloth Diapering 101 workshops want to know the benefits of using natural fibres and are curious about synthetic fibres, since they make cloth diapering so easy! Thus this series was born - through the year we will highlight several of the fabrics commonly used in the diapers that don your babies' bums. HEMP Hemp is one of the world's oldest plants and one of the ones that has been most used through history. It is earth-friendly, versatile, and renewable. Though it's a sibling to marijuana, which is grown for the use of its blossoms and leaves, hemp is grown mostly for its seeds and its fibrous stalk, which breaks down easily with very few chemicals during processing. It is known as a very eco-friendly plant, as it grows quickly, requires little water, improves soil nutrients rather than depleting them, is an excellent anti-erosion crop, and is naturally pest-resistant, which eliminates the need for pesticides. It's also very easily grown without the use of herbicides or fertilizers. All in all, it is a very "green" crop and can be easily made into thousands of different kinds of products with fewer chemicals than its counterparts. (e.g., in paper making, hemp requires fewer chemicals than wood; in the production of fabrics and other textiles, hemp requires fewer chemicals than conventional cotton; etc...) The end product when made into a fabric is naturally anti-microbial and very durable. There is a serious downside to hemp, however. While it is now legal to grow hemp in Canada, there are no textile mills able to deal with raw hemp. In the US, not only are there no hemp textile mills, but it's still illegal to grow the crop. Thus, it's still necessary and more cost-effective for diaper manufacturers to import finished hemp fabric from other nations, usually China. This certainly increases the "eco-footprint" for any hemp diaper. There's also the factor of softness. Hemp is a very sturdy, durable, absorbent material and until recently, most hemp diapers were more practical than swoon-worthy. However, both Annie Marie Padorie of AMP Diapers and BabyKicks have been among the first to use luxuriously soft combed hemp fleece in their diapers - we invite you to pick one up and feel the difference! They're almost down-right cuddle-worthy... Mamas (and papas) - what has been your experience with hemp diapers?

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At our popular Cloth Diapering 101 workshops, many parents are eager, or at least interested, to use cloth on their babies. However, the “deal breaker” question many ask first is, “But what do I do with the dirties?” No fear – the days of lugging heavy pails full of sloshing, acrid water to the washing machine are far behind us. These days, diapers are designed with ease of cleaning in mind and you don't have to even touch the dirties once they've been placed in the diaper pail. A diaper pail is a good place to start. You can read more about choosing a diaper pail that will work for you in other posts around our blog, but basically any container with a lid that is big enough to hold 2-3 dozen diapers will work just fine. Place a pail liner in the pail and you're ready to go. When it comes time to change your baby, there are only a few steps. If the dirty diaper is merely wet, you can toss it straight in the pail. Make sure you keep the cover and hang it to dry, as you can reuse it several more times before wash day. If the diaper has poo in it, you can deal with it in various ways. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, the diaper can be tossed straight in the pail, poo and all. If the baby is receiving any formula or is old enough to be eating solids, as much of the poo as possible should end up in the toilet. You can shake the poo off if it's solid, do the Four Corner Dunk and Swish (popularized by our own instructor, Bonnie) if it's a bit more sticky, or you can pre-line your diapers with a bio-liner that gets flushed, a fleece liner that gets washed, or a raw silk liner, which can also be tossed in the wash. Once the poo is in the toilet, toss the cover and the diaper together into your diaper pail. If you're using pockets, make sure to put out the innards as you put the diaper in the pail, as this will ensure that you don't have to touch the diaper again. (Always a good thing....) On wash day (we recommend every 2-3 days), take the pail to the washing machine, pull out the liner, dump all the contents plus the liner into the machine, do a rinse on cold, a wash on hot with detergent, a second rinse on cold if you so desire, then toss everything into the dryer or hang them on a line – and you're done! And as always, if you're worried about smell in your diaper pail, there are lots of great ways to keep odors at bay. And that's it - just as easy as taking out the trash (but lots more fun...)

Recently on our Facebook page, we asked moms to chime in about what a typical day looks like in their home, especially on a laundry day. We're receiving fantastic responses and we hope these peeks into other mamas' lives will inspire you as much as they inspire us! We'll be posting responses throughout the year, so stay tuned! Today our featured mom is Elaine. We'll let her introduce herself... How old are you? 32 years old What did you do (from a working perspective) before your baby arrived? I'm a kinesiologist turned graphic designer. I worked as a researcher in occupational health and then as a graphic designer for a non-profit organization. Are you currently at home with your baby/children or working in/out of the home? Currently at home with children and do graphic design part-time from home. How old is your baby? Son #1: 3 years old (not in diapers) and Son #2: 19 months When did you decide to cloth diaper? The chaos and sleeplessness of having a fussy infant (we didn't figure out that he had acid reflux until he was nearly 7 months old) and also being a first time mom didn't really allow any consideration for cloth. When all this settled down, we started to look into cloth diapering. When did you start cloth diapering? Started cloth diapering when Son #1 was 10 months old. Son #2 was in cloth from birth during the day. What is your favourite diaper(s)? FuzziBunz Perfect fit, Bum Genius, Happy Heinys Tell us about your day 7:45 - 8:15 a.m. I hear Son #2 wake up. I usually give him a few minutes to roll around in his room while I roll out of bed and do some things in the bathroom. Hubby has already left for work awhile ago. 8:15 a.m. I nurse Son #2 and then change his diaper. He sleeps in a disposable diaper so that goes into the garbage and a cloth diaper goes on the bum. Son #1 usually wakes up and wanders into the room while this is happening. Son #1 uses the toilet and then we all get dressed. (I've given up on taking a shower in the morning during the week; just doesn't work well.) 8:30 a.m. We all go downstairs for breakfast and eat something simple: cereal and milk, toast, or homemade muffin. 9:15 a.m. Wait for it.... Son #2 is quite regular and I can expect a poopy diaper just after breakfast. Rather than drag him back upstairs, I usually grab the change pad and wipes from the diaper bag (which is sitting downstairs in the foyer) and change him in the living room. I let him go play again while bring the poopy diaper upstairs (where our laundry room is). Poop into the toilet (yay for the Biosoft liner!), separate pocket diaper into two, and it goes into the diaper pail which sits on top of our dryer (out of reach of curious hands). 9:30 a.m. Teeth are brushed, kitchen is clean-ish, shoes on, two diapers in the diaper bag and we usually go out to a playgroup, gym time, library storytime, run errands, visit a friend, etc. 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. We're out and about. Don't usually have to change a diaper unless we get a surprise code brown (AKA second round of poopyness). If I do have to change a diaper, I take the dirty one home in a used produce bag (we don't have a special wet bag). 11:30 a.m. Back home again. Son #1 uses the toilet if he didn't while we were out. Son #2 gets a diaper change if he didn't while we were out. Again, he gets changed in the living room and I run the soiled diaper up to the laundry room. If necessary, empty produce bag into diaper pail. 11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. I nurse Son #2. I make lunch while the kids are playing (and hopefully not antagonizing each other in the living room). We eat, they go play, and I clean the kitchen. 12:30 - 1:15 p.m. Play inside or outside (weather permitting). 1:15 p.m. Son #1 gets to watch 30 minutes of a video. He has somehow associated this with eating sliced apples (some do popcorn, others like apples... who am I to complain??) and usually polishes one off. Son #2 isn't interested in TV so we play and he eats apples too. Often lunch prompts another poopy diaper. Son #2 is changed in the living room unless I go upstairs to run a load of laundry. Then I'll bring him up with me. 1:45 p.m. Stories in Son #2's room with both boys. Diaper change (upstairs) for Son #2 if it wasn't done since lunch. Nap time. 2:00 p.m. One more story in Son #1's room. Toilet. Nap time. 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. ME TIME! Both boys are usually napping for the same 3-ish hours. I work, read, start dinner, clean the house, revel in the silence, etc. 5:00 p.m. Boys wake up. I nurse Son #2. Hubby comes home sometime in the next half an hour or so. Son #1 uses the toilet. Diaper change upstairs for Son #2; diaper into pail. 5:15 p.m. We all go downstairs. Dinner is made. 5:45 - 6:30ish p.m. The whole family eats dinner. Hubby cleans the kitchen (isn't he great?). 6:30 p.m. We play, read, run errands, go to drop in ice skating or swimming, go for a walk, ride bikes, etc. Son #1 has been interested in baking lately (actually I think he's been interested in EATING the baking), so we've been doing that in the evening also. Son #2 usually has a poopy diaper after dinner. Diaper change usually takes place upstairs while other things are being done upstairs. Diaper to laundry room. 7:30 p.m. Son #2 has a snack. 7:45 p.m. Last cloth diaper of the day off and Son #2 has a bath. If it's a diaper washing day (happens every other day), diapers are dumped into the washing machine for a cold rinse cycle (no detergent). After bath, a disposable diaper goes onto Son #2 with pajamas. 8:00 p.m. Son #2 has stories, I nurse him, we sing songs, and it's bedtime. Meanwhile, Son #1 has a snack. 8:15 p.m. Cold rinse is done. Washing machine is run again for a hot wash/cold rinse with Rockin' Green detergent. Son #1 has quiet play time, usually doing puzzles or playing a game. 8:30 p.m. Son #1 has a bath and uses the toilet. 8:45 p.m. Stories and songs with Son #1. Bedtime. 9:00 p.m. Both boys are in bed! 9:00 p.m. Diapers are now clean and hung to dry. 11:00 p.m. Hubby and I go to sleep.