Why Am I Participating?

I am taking part in the Second Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry. For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and handwashing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all. You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post. This year there are over 450 participants from all over the world!

Why am I participating?

Last year I explained how I found the Flats Challenge, and why I decided to hop on board. You can read about that HERE. Not much has changed. I'm still working towards starting a non profit that provides cloth diapering education and opportunities to low income families. I'm still advocating for cloth diapers. I still believe I can make a difference through using cloth diapers my self, showing them to my friends and teaching them all the little things you learn along the way.

I know for a couple of my friends things are really difficult financially right now. I'm hoping they will be able to see this is do-able and that choosing cloth diapers for their new babies or switching from disposables, especially flats, can ease things a bit in that department.

Let the Flats and Handwashing Challenge Begin!

This weekend we moved. Again. We had just moved in March. Ugh. Circumstances change, and so we make changes to accommodate. I spent all day yesterday vacuuming every square inch of the basement, then the dining room (our temporary bedroom) and cleaning the carpets in the basement. By the time I got finished Toad and Turtle-Love were fast asleep and I could barely stay standing to take a shower. I was exhausted but the shower rejuvenated me a bit, so as I lay in bed I hopped on Twitter to see what I had been missing over the weekend. I find a Tweet from Kim Rosas ( Dirty Diaper Laundry ) talking about using flats for the night because of the challenge tomorrow. Here is what my mind did...
Twitter... tweet tweet. ... oo picture... I'm surprised I have enough signal to get Twitter loaded right now... mmm Johnny Depp... oo a giveaway! Oh, I don't need that... man this is a lot to scroll through!... Kim.... flats.... .... crap what day is today? Crap I'm working tomorrow. Crap I have to pack the diaper bag. Crap I have to.. wait... flats... challenge.... Day? Sunday. Date? Date? DATE?! Crap.

And that is when I realized the challenge starts tomorrow (Today) and that allllll my flats are packed up. Insert unamused face here ---> -_-

I decided to deal with it in the morning. Insert sleep time. Insert me hitting the snooze button. Insert me turning off my alarm. Insert me waking up five minutes before I have to be at work. Insert the word Crap.

After fumbling around getting clothes on and brushing my teeth I remember my discovery from last night and begin re=packing the diaper bag so Toad wont have to. Partly because I want to be nice, but more because I'm worried he will forget even though I told him last night when he had to wake up to bring the giant curtains inside (different story). I find three covers, one that is a little too small, and all my other diapers but no flats. Eff. Then I realize the flats are still at the old house, in a fabric bin, in the living room. Then I also realize I stuck the flour sack towels I picked up at Target in the bag with some of our clean clothes. I dig those out, still in the packaging, and stuff them into the diaper bag along with the covers, wipes and a wet bag and tell Toad he MUST retrieve the box of flats on the way to drop Turtle-Love off. The flour sack towels haven't been pre-washed - but there are four of them and it is better than nothing.

And that is how I prepared for the challenge.
And recapping those events has made me realize I did not remind Toad that he needed to pack Turtle-Love a real lunch (instead of the snacky type first lunch we usually pack and then I feed him real lunch when I pick him up)because I am working late today. Eff.

Some days are more hectic than others.

And now.. drum roll please...

Nicole's first flat!
Looks like she may have used a diaper bag fold

Oops, I didn't pack a snappi! Errr.... where is the snappi....

Check out what everyone else has to say about why they are participating, and how the first day is going for them!

Cloth Diapers: How I can help right now

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you most likely know that we cloth diaper our son. I made the decision I wanted to cloth diaper our baby while I was pregnant. My husband came on board after our son was born, and our cloth journey began. Once we made the decision to switch to cloth I attended a Cloth Diapering class at a local consignment shop. That shop is no longer open, but the connections I made through that class have proven to be long lasting. The other mom's and babies I've met through that connection all stay in touch. A handful of us still try to meet up every weekend, we are all friends on Facebook, and it is through my interactions with these wonderful women that I have learned so much, and have become so passionate about cloth diapering.

I have dreams of starting a non profit organization that teaches our local families about cloth diapering. Right now that cannot become a reality. Life at this moment is already so full and busy, I don't know where to begin with my dream project. So for now, I do what I can.

This year I am helping one of these lovely women to organize the Great Cloth Diaper Change event here locally. Last week we even strutted around a high traffic area in town asking local businesses to help support our event - with my son as our walking and talking advertisement. Well, I actually carried him most of the time and the most he said was "Hi" "Bye" and "Bites!". He was very excited to see fruit among the food options at a local coffee house. I had him appropriately decked out wearing his "Cloth is Cool" diaper from the FuzziBunz Elite Diaper Talk series, with baby legs and a shirt, which definitely caught the attention of many people we passed by.

Today begins Real Diaper Week, and as a cloth diaper enthusiast and host-assistant for our local event, it's my job to get the word out! I'll be sending the following message to all of our local news stations today...

Did you know there will be an attempt to break a Guinness Book World Record, right here in _____ on Saturday the 21st at noon? We are going to attempt to break the record for most number of cloth diapers changed simultaneously, AROUND THE WORLD. Last year over 127 locations around the globe participated, including us! We set the record then and we want to shatter it this year! So far there are 305 locations registered to host an event in 16 countries! Please contact me or ________ for more information. We would love to hear from you!

I'll also link them to this great video created by Kim over at Dirty Diaper Laundry


I will also be bringing two babies (and their mommas) who are normally in disposables to the Great Cloth Diaper Change, and letting them borrow a diaper for the event. It makes a great addition to your baby books and scrap books! How many kids do you know can say the helped break a world record before they were even out of diapers? Your kid could be able to say that you know.... feel free to contact me if you have any questions, either here in the comments or on my Facebook Page Facebook: Little Tiny Love!

My first blog hop =)

This is my first blog hop post! =) I hope there will be many more to follow!

Relax and make friends =)





Happy hump day!