Sunday, February 19, 2017

Cloth wipe solution recipe.


When I decided to cloth diaper decided what the hell, let's go all the way. *cue that Sly Fox song*
And looked into cloth wipes as well. After all I did this is part to help the environment right? Anyway it became an afterthought. I do have disposable wipes in my diaper bag I know.... I'm so bad. But because I haven't found the right bag or case to keep them in yet so don't you start thinking  "Rayna that's blasphemy!"

Anywho, when I bought diapers from a friend she included a set of wipes. And it was instant love. They were soft! And you don't havvvve to buy new either. Just like the diapers the wipes are cleaned regularly and stripped with bleach so no germs, passing from baby to baby. You could use old t-shirts, old or new receiving blankets cut into squares or regular baby wash cloths. Okay back on topic I swear I'm ADD sometimes... Oh look a cookie no ones eaten yet!

Here's what you'll need for my main solution.

  • Cloth wipes *duh Rayna we got that geeze.*
  • A mixing bowl
  • Container you will use for your wipes. (mine is a munchkin wipe warmer but it's not necessary)
  • Measuring cup
  • Tablespoon measuring spoon? *proper name anyone?)
  • Whisk
  • Baby wash
  • Coconut oil
  • Tea Tree oil









Recipe as follows.
2 cups of water, pour half in the mixing bowl save the second half for later
1 tablespoon coconut oil. It's melting point is 72 degrees I use warm/hot water to melt it.
2 tablespoons baby wash.
1 drop tea tree oil. (no more than that it's really powerful and can irritate baby's skin.

Mix all together make sure all the coconut oil has dissolved and add the second half of water. Mix again and set aside or pour over wipes.

Notes:
I roll my wipes as follows so they fit better in the container.

15 wipes usually lasts a couple of days and get washed every other day so they stay in rotation and I haven't had any issues with mildew/mold in my warmer. And Tea Tree oil is antibacterial/antifungal helping as a preventative for icky things. Along with smelling great.

Used wipes go in the wetbag with used cloth diapers. And washed the same way.

Coconut oil works great to keep baby's skin soft and dry. I've been using it for a month now. Also helps with any diaper rashes as I'm told.

Instead of pouring the solution over the wipes you could keep it in a Peri Bottle (postpartum bottle they give you in the hospital) or a spray bottle. And spray the dry wipes as you need them.

************
You could  substitute olive oil or Castile Soap instead of coconut if you or baby is allergic. I haven't had staining issues with wipes or diapers so far the couple of times I have used it.









Sunday, January 29, 2017

Ju Ju Be Diaper bag review of the B.F.F and HoBoBe

First off my new baby Squish has been born! Having a 3 week old has taken some getting used to as my other two are eight and ten years old. A LOT has changed since they were little. Including the diaper bags and thank all that's holy for that! Of course you can still find the old style over the shoulder diaper bag. But I'm here to introduce you to the world of Ju Ju Be. Or my Jujubag according to my husband and older boys. 


(I'm not sponsored or associated with the brand in anyway)

I was never a huge fan of the old messenger style diaper bag. Just saying... It was always unorganized, hard to find things in, never closed properly with nothing more than a magnetic strip to hold the flap down and if anything spilled in it, good luck getting it cleaned out again. Ju Ju Be has thought of all those things and more. Let me introduce you to the B.F.F!  


This is the retired Bubble trouble print by Tokidoki
I got this second hand from a friend who bought it from someone else. If anything these bags have good life and great resale value. Buying new online the average cost ranges from $115.00 to $180.00 so I'm not going to lie these bags are pricey. I recommend looking on buy/sale/trade sites but be wary some of those bags or prints can cost more on those sites then you would pay for new.


Now for the reasons I heart this bag. Seriously. I'm not a purse girl I'd rather carry a wallet. Reason one. The storage is AMAZING. It has four pockets and three interior zippered pockets. Reason two. It opens from the front instead of on top and the front is gusseted to ensure things that could potentially fall out don't. Everything is easily seen when you first open the bag. And the pockets all have two holes on either side of the bottom so crumb build up is a thing of the past. Reason three.  My favorite reason for this bag... It's machine washable! of course there's a few other bags out there on the market that are machine washable. But this bag has held up great for me. 





What's in my bag? Main pocket.
  1. Three newborn outfits
  2. One Hooter Hider nursing cover
  3. One crocheted baby hat
  4. One burp cloth
  5. One receiving blanket
  6. One muslin swaddle blanket
  7. Two Cloth-Eez newborn cloth diapers with Kawaii baby covers. 
  8. Two wet bags for cloth diapers. One is in the laundry at the moment. 




Interior Pockets: Starting from the left side and going around the back to the right.
  1. Three pairs of baby socks, two pairs of mittens. A plastic baggy with three pacifiers. 
  2. My first aid bag. I keep everything in there from bandages to lip balm.
  3. Nothing in back zipper pocket.
  4. Back zipper pocket contains my back up disposable diapers x 2 and disposable wipes. 
  5. Front gusset pocket Babyganics sanitizing wipes, and honest company disposable wipes.
  6. Right front gusset pocket keeps burt's bees bottom balm, honest company sanitizing spray, poo puri spray, and Paci wipes. 
The front pocket under the clear picture tabs I keep a few cloth wipes, The weird three headed white thing is a cloth diaper closure and it usually goes into the picture tab next to the tissues.


The exterior of the bag has three front and back pockets and two side pockets perfect for water bottles. A cell phone pocket. The lower front pocket has the "mommy pocket" with an extendable keychain, eye glass pocket that actually cleans the glasses and a few pockets of its own. Fits my wallet and a few nursing pads at the moment. Back pocket holds changing pad. The straps are for backpack style easily removed for cleaning. With the option of a messenger strap.


Thing's I like about BOTH bags.

Both bags include changing pads. Though the B.F.F's is a memory foam one. The bottle pockets on either side of the bag are insulated to keep bottles warm or cold. Heck have a different one on each side if you want. The shoulder straps have a memory foam non slip pads so they stay put. Made of Teflon yep the same stuff on pans so stains don't stick! They are both machine washable. And both have metal hardware that I really like.





The Hobobe:
The Hobobe in the print Black Magic with the interior print of Black Beauty. It has matte black hardware on the bag. It has the more traditional diaper bag set up but easily works as a purse. The bag has four inside mesh pockets and zippered one. The mommy pocket and cell phone pockets on the outside and the changing pad pocket on the back. Oh and the same insulated bottle pockets on the sides. 






Picture one and two is my wallet inside the mommy pocket. it's a tighter fit but works I have a size reference later in the blog.

Loaded diaper bag doesn't look like much.



But it holds a lot! Almost as much as the BFF. 


I love this bag. Although it's more traditional it doesn't feel that way. It feels like a regular sized purse. But it holds so much more. With the added bonus of the insulated bottle holders. Handy dandy changing pad uses the back pocket so the inside pockets are free and hold a tone [Not pictured is the inside zippered pocket that runs the length of the bag.] And there's so many storage solutions it's insane. I should know I watch way too many packing tutorials on youtube... The front mommy pocket is the same size the one in the BFF I can't say the same for their other bags these are the only two I have. But I hear the Be Prepared has an amazing one. I did have an issue with my older wallet. But to be fair the thing was huge and still had a spot for a checkbook. So my loving husband bought me the Be Spendy in the Sweet Scarlet print wallet by Ju Ju Be for our anniversary. And I must say the wallet fits like a dream. Same as the bag has lots of storage options and could be used as a clutch.