The Flats and Handwashing Challenge: Day 3

 

Today is Day 3 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge! Day 1 and Day 2 have gone pretty well so far, with only one leak yesterday at nap-time. If you are interested in reading the Rules of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge, you can find them HERE.

So yesterday I practiced the kite fold over and over and over. I even tried using pins for the first time! I don't think I pinned very "properly" or neatly, but, it stayed on! (If anyone has any tips, I'd be happy to have them) It was really neat to use the pins, I definitely felt like I was doing something from a lost art form. I had read that keeping them in a bar of soap helped them slide through the fabric better and I think that it was really helpful. I am also happy to report that neither little man or his mama were injured in the application of pins in a diaper! Woohoo!

 

   We used the Econobum cover yesterday with the kite fold and it was pretty good. It's definitely a thinner cover, but it holds everything in. I had a little bit of a hard time making sure all the edges of the kite fold were tucked inside the Econobum cover, but that's probably because I'm not very "neat" when I do my folds. I'll keep practicing though! For the price, an Econobum cover is a good option.

I felt like overall the kite fold was a good fold for little man, except for nap-time! I had done a kite fold with a pad fold inside of it and when he woke up from his nap his pants were slightly wet and the cover was pretty damp. Little man is a stomach sleeper, so diapers really have to be well padded in the front. So, it seems like the Origami fold with a pad fold in it was the best for him so far. I posted on Twitter yesterday that little man leaked with the kite fold at nap-time and Kim was quick to respond and help me out. (Thank you!) She recommended the Diaper Bag Fold and I am going to be practicing it today so that I can try it on little man tomorrow! Today we are doing the Pad Fold, which is super easy-peasy!

We used a Flip diaper this morning with Swaddlebees flats and I think that the Flip diaper is great for holding the pad fold in place. For nap-time, I bulked things up with a Zabi Baby bamboo flat and a Hemp Babies flat diaper folded together in a pad fold and then I covered that with our Zookies cover. We shall see how it holds up!

Yesterday during nap-time, I was able to wash little man's diapers, some wipes and a cover in the tub and then hang them outside in sun. It was nice to be able to get them out there while the sun was shinning. I am really happy that my flats and covers seem to be getting really clean with being washed in the tub. I was a little worried that I might not be able to get them "clean" enough, but both sets of washed flats and covers pass the "sniff" test! They look clean, they smell clean and fresh... I think they must be clean! I feel like I spend quite a bit of time washing and agitating since I am hand washing in a tub. It is time consuming, but, I think the time is worth it knowing that the result is clean diapers.

While I was washing my diapers, I really thought about how fortunate hubby and I are. We have each other, a wonderful, happy son, I get to be a stay-at-home-mommy, we have a home, cars, a washer and dryer, food, clothes, plenty of diapers and things for little man - we are truly blessed with so much. We may have a tight budget at times and we may not always have all the things we wish we could have, but we have enough to have the things that we need and we have enough to have a comfortable life.  I also am appreciative of challenges like the Flats and Handwashing Challenge that help me to really contemplate what things would be like if we were struggling to buy diapers, if we didn't have easy or affordable laundry access or if we didn't have enough money for the necessities. I truly am so very thankful that God has blessed us with so much.

Zookies provided a cover, Zabi Baby provided a Snappi and a Bamboo Flat, and Ju-Ju Monkey provided Hemp Babies Flats for me to use for the challenge. Special thanks to Swaddlebees for sponsoring me with two dozen flats to use for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge!