Adventure in Cloth Wipes

***I wrote most of this blog post before Eli was born and finally just added the pictures. So I am going to leave it written as it was!**

This Little Man is going to be here soon! One of the projects I have been working on since winter break is a collection of cloth wipes. I figure since we are going to be using cloth diapers, it just makes sense to use cloth wipes too! They all will get thrown in the wash together. Also, after some very precise math calculations I decided that 60 wipes would be a very good number to start with. It is probably high, but better to be looking at them than looking for them (Adam would say).

I, of course, did my research, reading lots of blog posts about cloth wipes. I figured that they are easy to make and I don't need to spend extra money on premade ones. They are for wiping a baby's butt so they don't need to be fancy! I liked the idea of using 8x8 wipes because when folded they will fit in a wipes container. We registered for the Oxo Perfect Pull Wipe Dispenser and plan to follow this lady's  recommendation.

After reading several posts, I decided to make a set of single layer flannel cloth wipes. DO NOT DO THIS. This blog was one of the examples I followed. To be fair, she said use flannel fabric, which I did. She also says she cut up a flannel receiving blanket, which I did not. This is another blog that says you can just use a single layer of flannel from the store. THAT IS NOT TRUE!

If you use a single layer of flannel from the store and zig zag stitch around the edge as suggested, you will have a fraying flannel mess.

Now, I wasn't expecting serged perfection and they are only for wiping a baby's butt. But if this is after one wash, imagine getting washed a couple times a week!?!

My first round of wipes involved washing the fabric and then cutting 60 8x8 squares. I then zig zag stitched around the edges of all the wipes. I started getting a little suspicious as they were getting a little frayed as I went. I threw them in the wash when I was done to test them out. Holy frayedness!

I decided that it was possibly because the zig zag stitches weren't right exactly at the edge. So I went back over them all and trimmed off the excess right up to the stitching. Then I threw them in the wash again.

NO BUENO!

THEN I had the idea to use my pinking shears and cut off the edges and THEN zig zag stictch again. This time I got smart. I only did about 20 of them. And then washed them.

Ugh.

Then I gave up. I sewed two pieces wrong sides together, flipped them around and then top stitched over the whole thing to make double layer flannel wipes. Double layer 6x6 flannel wipes by this point. 30 double layer 6x6 wipes. Not 60 single layer 8x8. 

In the grand scheme of things...no biggie. My mom thought the whole story was hilarious and picked me up some more inexpensive cute flannel at Joann for my second round. Because I still wanted 60! This time I embraced the double layer 8x8 wipes right from the beginning.

Wrong sides together

Top stitching

Double sided wipes

Overall the project was super inexpensive. All of the flannel was purchased 40% off or more. Just a few dollars and we will have cloth wipes to last us forever!

Storing the Wipes

As I said earlier, we got this Oxo Perfect Pull Wipe Dispenser as a shower gift. I thought using this method might make things a little easier and more "normal" and would probably encourage Adam to like the cloth. 

I found a container I had that was about the size of the wipes when they are folded up. I mix in about 2 cups of warm water, about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, a squirt of baby soap, and 2 drops of tea tree oil. A couple times I used 2 drops of lavender instead. (Not precise measurements because I just do it i my bathroom). Then I mix it up with my hand.

I fold the wipes (as she explains in the blog post) and put them in a stack. Then I put the pile in the container and squish it down so it soaks up all the water. I make sure they are all wet!

Then I stick them in the container! I can jam 25 in there.

Right now it is working well! We both much prefer the cloth wipes. We can usually use just 1 wipe per diaper change unless it is a massive one. The downside is that I have to do this about every other day at this point. But hopefully that will not continue as he has fewer diaper changes a day. We will see how long this continues. Maybe we will switch to the spray bottle method at some point. Depends on how much work it continues to be when I go back to work in August. 

If you cut up receiving blankets (I haven't tried this) and they are single layer, you might be able to fit 50 in the container. That would last a long time!

After they are used, we just throw them in the wet bag with the diapers and wash them all together.

We also use them for laying on top of Little Man during diaper changes because he LOVES to pee into the open air. We keep several of them in the diaper bag for the same thing. 

Overall, cloth wipes are a great idea! Inexpensive! Easy! Cute! Useful!

Elijah: 6 Weeks

Dear Elijah, 

I was going to wait and do the next update at 2 months, but you are changing so much every day, I just couldn't wait. You are so amazing! Daddy and I never stop being amazed by you. We think you are very smart! And we know you are very strong. 

Weight: At the BF group on Monday you were 12 pounds 15 ounces with a diaper on! (And then 13 pounds after eating!)

Height: No update on this

Clothes: Still in 0-3 clothes. Though some are getting a little tight! Your torso is long!

Diapers: Wearing size 2, but you do fit in size 1. You have had a really bad diaper rash for a week and a half so you haven't been able to wear cloth! I miss seeing all your cute diapers! Hopefully you can be back in cloth Monday or Tuesday.

Sleep: One night you slept 6.5 hours! And I slept 6! I woke up and panicked and put my hand on your chest to make sure you were breathing! That only happened once though. After you wake up to eat, you usually go back to sleep right away, so we are lucky! In the morning if you don't want to sleep by yourself, I sometimes let you eat and then come to bed with me for another hour or two. You LOVE that! You have started grunting a lot in your sleep. I don't know if you are having tummy troubles or just dreaming about breaking out of your swaddle!? Often before you fall asleep you scream and cry a lot. I know your tired cry, but people think it sounds very distressing! We just keep bouncing/swinging and shushing you and then suddenly you will be out!

Eating: You still love to eat a lot! You are an efficient eater. At the BF group I love to be able to do a weigh and feed so I can see how much you are getting in the short amount of time you eat! On Monday you ate 3.5 ounces on one side in under 10 minutes!

Likes: You have discovered your hands and you like to suck on them. We are excited you are starting to do it to soothe yourself. You also love to lay in our bed to sleep and snuggle with me. You are also starting to really like baths. You get baths in the big tub now with a bath chair and you think it is fun!

Dislikes: Having your face washed. We save that for the end of the bath so when we are done, we can scoop you up and hold you and then you are happy! You also don't like waiting to eat when you want to eat NOW. 

Oh! And this: This week was Family Fest at church and you were a rockstar! First, you were the star of the show. Second, everyone was so amazed at what a good baby you were the whole time. You spent most of the time sleeping in the carrier and you were very content. 

New Tricks: You smile at us a lot now! It is the best feeling ever. It melts my heart every time! 

6/11/14

Sleepy smiles

6/12/14

Baby jeans shorts!

6/12/14

Visit to Peck Farm and a butterfly landed on you!

6/12/14

Bedtime faces

6/13/14

Middle of the night snuggles

6/11/14

Bathtime!

6/14/14

Mommy snuggles

6/14/14

I came upstairs and found my boys sleeping

6/15/14

Father's Day

6/15/14

Father's Day

6/15/14

Father's Day visit to the Nature Center

6/15/14

Father's Day visit to the Nature Center 

6/16/14

The first time he laid for an extended time awake with his paci

6/17/14

All smiles after sleeping 6.5 hours!

6/17/14

Tummy time

6/18/14

Big yawns

6/18/14

First night of Family Fest

6/19/14

Cute faces!

6/20/14

Trip to the Farmer's Market

6/20/14

Alone time with mommy at the fair

6/21/14

First time playing by yourself for over 20 minutes

6/21/14

Sleepy face

6/21/14

Best Family Fest volunteer!

6/21/14

Hard worker!

Elijah: 1 month

Dear Elijah, 
As I type this, you are curled up sleeping on my chest in our woven wrap. Being curled up on my chest is your favorite place to be. It is also my favorite place for you to be. I can cuddle you and hold you and kiss the top of your head. (I can also get stuff done around the house!) I cannot believe that you have been with us a whole month already. Time flies so fast. At the same time, you are so much a part of who we are, I cannot believe you have not been here always. Though  I am sad you aren't my teeny newborn any more, I love seeing you grow into your personality and do new things every day! 

Your daddy and I love you so much; it isn't even possible to try putting it into words. We tell you how much we love you about 6 million times a day. I probably give you twice that many kisses. (Daddy wishes he could give you that many kisses, but unfortunately he has to work during the day.) As soon as your daddy gets home from work he takes you from me and gives you lots of cuddles and chats with you about your day. We tell each other over and over how wonderful you are!

I like to call you my chunky monkey because you are doing such a good job growing! Even though you had us a little worried when you lost too much weight at the hospital, we aren't worried any more! You love to eat! It makes me so happy that I can give you exactly what you need. I love being able to do that for you. I also like to call you my Love Bug, Little Man, and Cuddle Bear and Daddy laughs at me. But I hear him calling you his Peanut and Pumpkin. 

Your updates: 

Weight: 11 pounds 13 ounces! (Funny story: the nurse weighed you and left the room. Then she came back in because the NP questioned the weight because you jumped so much. She weighed you again and it was right!)

Height: 22.25 inches

Clothes: Totally wearing 0-3 clothes. And probably not for long. I was worried about not being able to wear them all before you get too big, but some days we go through 3 outfits, so we should be fine! You are long in the torso though, so some would be big enough, they just aren't very long! But in pants you still can wear some newborn (from Target) because your legs aren't very long!

Diapers: Cloth diapering is going really well! You are now in the bigger NB sizes and even some OS diapers! I am glad we are doing cloth because though you have about 8-12 diaper changes a day, some diaper changes we go through 3 diapers because your favorite time to go to the bathroom is in a fresh diaper or into the open air! You like to keep us on our toes! We have more than saved our money even with just the newborn diapers so far! And they are so darn cute! For disposables you are in size 1. 

Sleep: Most nights you sleep 3-4 hours for your first stretch. One night you even did 5 (Mommy didn't)! After that you sleep about 2-2.5 hours. You like to sleep most of the day too. As long a Mommy is holding you. This week you slept in the Rock N Play for an hour while I took a nap! That was awesome! All my other naps have been when Daddy, Grandma, or Auntie Erin were with you. You are starting to have a little more awake time too! It is fun to see you look around! 

Eating: You LOVE to eat! We try to have you eat about every 2 hours during the day to encourage longer sleeping at night. I just love being able to provide you with all you need to be a healthy growing boy! When you are hungry you like to suck on everything around you and try to climb up our chests. We don't know where you are trying to go! 

Likes: Being worn. It is your favorite thing. Ever. You like your pacifier as long as someone is holding it in your mouth for you (we think it is a trick to be near us). You love to listen to loud country music in the car and you like when I sing you showtunes. 

Dislikes: The car seat. You are pretty sure it is the worst thing that has ever been invented. Sometimes when I turn the music up loud you will calm down, but you HATE commercials or anytime the music stops. You also don't like to be alone. You want to be with your favorite people all the time. You aren't really into anything except being held right now. Aunt Suey says she called your daddy a curmudgeon when he was a baby. You are a bit the same when you don't get your way!

Oh! And this: You are a very noisy baby. You make super adorable sounds all day. Sometimes you make chipmunk sounds and sometimes you make hamster sounds. You also like to grunt and let us know when you are displeased. When you are laying on our chests, you like to stretch your neck and scrunch your face and move it around and we like to say that you look like a baby dinosaur! You also have the very best facial expressions. Sometimes I take 20 pictures in 60 seconds of all of your hilarious facial expressions! 

New Tricks: You smiled at me yesterday when I was giving you lots of kisses on your cheeks! It was wonderful! You definitely like to grab onto things. When I am holding you, you will wrap one arm around me and use the other one to hold onto my shirt. I love it because it is like you are hugging me! You even push the pacifier away when you don't want it! You are a very smart boy! You have also started sticking your tongue out a little bit. It is very cute!!

6/1/14

Wonderful squishy face at Emily's graduation lunch

6/1/14

Eli's first real bath!

  

6/2/14

First visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house

6/2/14

Sleepy Smiles

 

6/4/14

Hanging out with Mommy showing off my strong neck!

6/4/14

Eli is not please about car rides and he isn't falling for the paci!

6/6/14

Hilarious!

6/7/14

Sleepy in adorable jammies

6/7/14

Little Man

6/7/14

The Many Faces of Elijah on our walk

6/8/14

Hanging with Daddy

6/8/14

The Many Faces of Elijah: Bathtime Edition

6/9/14

Snuggles with Mommy in the middle of the night are the best

6/10/14

Sometimes he uses his hands to throw the paci and sometimes to hold it in!