The cheapest diaper in the world!

So, here it is... The cheapest diaper in the world. It costs only 0 euros.


The non-diaper!
No diaper at all... 
Nothing...


Just to get my point, take a look at these cute litlle chinese wlking around with their bottoms open in the air... 

 

I got most of the info from thw webpage of Wade Shepard who is traveling around the world the last 12 years and is writting his experience in the

In China, people think it is disgusting to get your underwear dirty! Even if you are a baby. So, weeks after being born, after feeding or sleeping, they keep the baby over...anything and they make specific sounds meaning the two different types of baby-bottom-exit. Until they reach the result they want. After sometime the baby itself reptoduces these same sounds, so that grandmoms, nannies moms etc know when they want to use the "bathroom", wherever they prefer.So, many babies and toddlers walk around wearing their "kaidangku" trousers, so that they can "express" themselves anytime, at anyplace!

In China this old habit is being left aside at the growing areas. On the contrary, the "potty training from birth" is a brand new trend on the West!
You can read all about it on the greek freediaperbabies.blogspot.com

Yes, we have been published!

Yes, we have been published (me and my blog)!


The girls from the magazine 

added my diapers on their new articles...
Do you want to read it? "Click" (where else?) on the photographs of the sweet diapers hanging to dry...NIce reading (I am sorry, it is only in Greek. But I will translate it soon!)

Diaper reviews. Why this way?

I think that I have to clarify to all of those reading me, why do I write my reviews this way.

First I have to clarify that the diapers I own and review are either bought by myself or send to me by the manufacturing companies (you can see them on the right side of my blog).

I do not sell cloth nappies or make money from this blog. I am doing it just because I like it! I need to share my opinion about them with someone and nobody around me wants to talk about them (a big tear is falling at this point...)

Besides, after 10, 20, 30 years I might be giving interviews to Oprah (or her grandchildren) about my help to promote the cloth-diaper usage to the entire world! 
(I am a very humble person, as you can see....) 

When I write a review I want to do it without judging the type of the diaper. I know that if the nappy is all-in-one, pocket or flat it has advantages and disadvantages by each design!

Nevertheless each mommy (and daddy....should I dare to say it?) has their own preferences. So, I try to present all the special characteristics that I see and I cannot add marks or any other kind of measurement of the diaper's quality...


So, I hope I will help you a little bit, this way... 
(Oprah should know all about this...)

New stuff...

I have been starting some new stuff and I need your help and opinion:


1) We have a facebook page: marigoulaandclothdiapers. To get organised and to talk easier to each other...







2) I am trying to find a way to give/share/sell cloth diapers/nappies that you do not fit you or do not need them anymore!







Any ideas?

Fabrics, inside-out!

So far, I have found cloth diapers with cotton, hemp, bamboo... Ok, I think I know what these are! But what is PUL? What is the consistency of microfiber? Who knows anything about jersey?
This is it! I am writing and explaining everything about them:


Waterproofing materials:


PUL: Polyester (the most familiar form is the PET, ie the plastic bottles of water!) coated with a polyurethane film after a special chemical process which removes all the toxic gases used for the production of the cloth.
TPU: Polyester that has been laminated with a thermoplastic polyurethane using a heat bonding process, not chemicals. This process is low in toxicity. Both the TPU laminate and the polyester fabric the laminate is applied to are biodegradable. When composted they will biodegrade in 4-5 years. (Information from Rumparooz which is using this material). 

Fabric of the absorbent diaper

COTTON VELOUR:

A super soft absorbent and stretchy fabric which feels like velvet. It stays lovely and soft, wash after wash. 


                              MINKEE: 100% polyester.
This is the softest, cuddliest fabric we have ever touched. 100% Polyester and best washed cold and line dried or dried on low in the dryer. This fabric is not bulky, it is like the softest velvet but with a flat pile, it washes beautifully.



CUDDLESOFT: 100% polyester and VERY similar to Minkee.

(I have chosen this photo so that you can understand that the same fabric is used in many-many different products)




MICRO-FLEECE: 100% polyester fleece, when used as an inner for a nappy fleece acts as a stay dry layer, letting moisture though to the absorbent layers underneath, but keeping your babies skin lovely and dry.  Micro-fleece is thinner than regular fleece making it better suited for nappy inners.

Differences between Minkee, Cuddlesoft and Micro-Fleece:

Minkee and Cuddlesoft are very similar (They are sourced from different companies, the Cuddlesoft is slightly cheaper but with less colour options.  They are both 100% polyester and are beautifully soft to the touch).  All 3 options act as a stay dry inner (i.e. the wetness travels through the fabric into the absorbent layers underneath) to keep your little one dry.  Some people say that Minkee/Cuddlesoft does not keep their little one as dry as micro-fleece, and is more likely to wick/leak moisture to the outside of the nappy. Minkee/Cuddlesoft is super soft against your little ones skin, it washes well and stays newer looking over time (whereas micro-fleece will bobble a bit in the wash).  Notice that, for Cuddlesoft and Minkee inners they may have residues from the finishing agents used on the fabrics, and therefore it is very important for the first washing to be at 60 degrees, using the full quantity of washing powder recommended by the manufacturer.  You can wash it and wash it, and rinse it and rinse it, but if you don't use the full recommended amount of detergent in your wash, you will not remove any oily residues that may be on the fabric. These fabrics are very good to reduce your baby's irriation, since it does not stay in all that moisture... Trust me, I have a personal experience about it! 

HEMP FLEECE: 
55% hemp and 45% cotton. Will need several washes to reach full absorbency, it is natural fabric, highly absorbent, slim and environmentally friendly but the fabric may stiffen if it is not tumble dried occasionally. (like mine...after one day in the sun it comes out like cardboard). This is why companies that use this material, (like HAMAC) are using 3 layers of hemp and one layer of microfleece, that is touching your baby and is very soft.



MICROFIBER: It is made from 80% πολυεστέρα και 20% polyamide (these are the natural Fibers of wool and silk, that are also made artificially). A Man made fabric which is absorbent, slim, and quick drying. Microfiber does not need to be washed to reach full absorbency. It stays lovely and soft wash after wash.

Lycra binding

Fleece

FLEECE: 100% polyester. When used as an inner for a nappy fleece acts as a stay dry layer, letting moisture though to the absorbent layers underneath, but keeping your babies skin lovely and dry.


LYCRA:  Lycra binding is used on our nappies to keep the outer fabric from touching your babys skin and adding extra funkiness.







SUEDE CLOTH:
It feels like suede leather but is 100% polyester. It is thiner than microfleece but with the same capacity to axclude moisture from the baby's skin.





COTTON JERSEY: Of'course, 100% cotton. 

"Jersey" is the typical knitting type. This fabric is very soft, absorbent and stretchy, making it an ideal fabric for washable nappies, eco sanitary pads, clothes, bedding, the list goes on.






ORGANIC COTTON JERSEY: Same as above but this fabric is also organic. Organic fabrics are produced without the use of hazardous chemicals which can be harmful to the environment and the health of the people involved in the manufacturing process. 

TERRY:

100% cotton. The fabric that is used for towels. Very absorbent and very cheap (of'course not organic!)

BAMBOO TOWELLING: 90% bamboo and 10% polyester. I have to make something clear hear:
1) Pure bamboo is an environmentally friendly material, completely biodegradable. On the contrary of cotton, it can be cultivated without pesticides. 
2) The bamboo fabrics are made after the chemical treatment of the bamboo, so that the big fibers will cut down and it will be possible to make them thread (many thanks wiki!). In Canada and the USA, since 2009, it is obligatory to use the term "rayon from bamboo", instead of "bamboo". Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber that is produced after the chemical treatment of the wool and other plant fibers.
3) Studies are being made regarding the antimicrobial action of the bamboo fabric. There are two different opinions, regarding this claim. Some diaper (and other clothing) manufacturers say (Green Earth Bamboo) that it is antimicrobial. They even appear evidence about this action staying vivid even after 100 wash-cycles. At the same time, other researchers  (Federal Trade Commission) claim the exact oposite, because the chemical treatment of the bamboo-particles, is destroying its antimicrobial property ...
4) It has a much higher absorbency than cotton, more than 60%, and it dryes 20% faster (I have not found the proper bibliography for these two...).

LUXURIOUS BAMBOO TOWELLING:   65% bamboo 28% cotton and 7% polyester backing for durability. This fabric has all the great qualities of our regular bamboo towelling, and is lovely and soft to the touch.  It looks like normal looped towelling on one side and on the other side (the right side) it looks more like Minkee, in that it has a straight cut pile. 


ORGANIC BAMBOO VELOUR: It comes from 70% bamboo, 28% cotton and 2% polyester backing for durability. A super soft absorbent and stretchy fabric which feels like velvet. It stays lovely and soft, wash after wash. 




I think this is it... 
I wrote about everyhting. 
If I forget anything, I will be back...

(NOTICE: Most of the evidence come from  Weenotions, a small family business making cloth nappies at request!
(I haven't been able to get one yet...)  

Velcro or snaps for daddies?

As I was reading the Tots Bots webpage, I show this:

 Aplix fastening – so no excuses for dad!

So the question popes out: how easy is it for a daddy to implement in the "cloth nappy" situation? 

From my personal experience, I know that:

1) they never choose the cloth diaper instead of the...normal one (It has to be lying next to them in order to get it)

2) they do not want to have anything to do with the dirty diaper, not even through away the clean liner! 

3) of'course they prefer velcro from snaps.....

I have been trying to convince any daddy to write his point of view... Is there anyone available?

"Diapers" or "Nappies"?

I had this question while searching on internet!

Well, I got it! (thanks to wikipedia, yahoo....)

In North America it is diaper and nappy is in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and many Commonwealth countries.

This is one more difference of the commonlanguaged residents of the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean...and the lowest of the Pacific!

Here is something very relative and very interesting from yahoo answers:

Garbage or rubbish? Diapers or nappies? Color or colour?

Honor or Honour...?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I Throw out the Rubbish.

Change babies Nappy.

Love the Colour purple.

And Honour good will to all me.

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner.

Cloth diapers on the Greek TV!

You know what I observed yesterday? Cloth diapers are advertised on TV!

From whom?

Bebe Lili!

I have to tell you that I had second thoughts about mentioning this..."singer", because I do not like her at all and I never allow my daughter to watch any of her songs.. I just don't like her! But this is the only moment on Greek TV that I see a cloth diaper.

The funny part is that, before using cloth diapers, I could not understand what was she wearing... Now I know...

I think I will undust my mother's sewing machine...

       While searching, (one more time), I discovered that in Greece we are in deep darkness, regarding cloth diapers! I meen all us not having any idea about cloth diapers, because the users-mamas already know about these stuff! (check out  "γαϊτανάκι"  and the "Hellenic Cloth Diaper Service")

    Abroad there are webpages shelling materials to sew you own cloth diapers (fabric, snaps, patterns for any kind of cloth diapers).
I have selected some webpages for you to take a look;

 

There are also some where, for free, you can get instructions, like;

diapersewing

   

If you want it, you can do it. Although it needs  some free time...
The modern working mother does not have much of the latter! Imagine bei=ng an amateur like myself! Then you need a loooot more of free time to sew the cloth diapers by yourself!