Sunday, March 30, 2008

Another Poopy Solution

Forgive me for using the word "poop" a lot, but since becoming a mommy it's topping the charts as one of the most frequently spoken words in this house. Much of my days are now spent cleaning up poo, so I treat it like the serious business that it is. When I was still prego and my girlfriend raved about how much she loved her reusable baby wipes, all I thought was "ew!" But when our little girl, Miss C, came into the world I was amazed by the waste such a cute little thing was capable of creating. Regular wipes weren't cutting it and we seemed to be going through them faster than we could buy them. If you figure you'll use 10 disposable wipes a day, then that's 3650/year! Now I am a convert and huge fan of reusable wipes. We tried out the bumGenius! Bamboo baby wipes with the Prince Lionheart wipe warmer (important during those cold northern winters). I'm sure that you could use the wipes without the warmer, particularly if you're trying to save electricity, but Miss C hates a cold wipe on her bottom.
When the wipes arrived I wasn't sure how I'd like them. I was afraid that the bamboo terry wouldn't be very soft, but it is. Best of all, the fabric gets softer with every washing. In addition to being less wasteful to the environment, I like knowing that I'm using something that doesn't contain such chemicals as fragrance, chlorine, synthetic preservatives, and dioxin (created during the bleaching process). Bamboo is a naturally occurring fiber that is biodegradable and grows quickly and easily, without the need for pesticides or fertilizers. Also, bamboo fibers have natural antibacterial elements that naturally fight bacteria growth. I wash the wipes with Miss C's clothes so that I'm not using extra water. We originally purchased 3 packs of 8 each, but just ordered a 4th pack because I don't like to do laundry more than once a week. Also, we thought they were getting a little stinky so we purchased Kissaluvs diaper lotion potion concentrate and started adding that to the wipe warmer. Now they smell great, stay cleaner, and we're not afraid to use them on her delicate face. Cottonbabies now sells a whole baby wipe kit that consists of 24 bamboo wipes, a wipe warmer, the Kissaluvs potion and bumGenius bottom cleaner (which I've yet to try); the package saves you about $20 over buying it all separately.
While visiting the Kissaluvs website I noticed that they now carry organic wipes. If anyone's tried these, please let me know how they work!

No comments: