Philly Diaper Service Bloghttp://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/a cloth diaper blogen-US2012-02-17T20:29:07ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Freedom!http://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2011/10/31/freedom.htmlPhillydiaper Team2011-11-01T01:17:25ZPocahontas is just about potty trained! We started quite a while ago, and have been gradually decreasing the number of diapers we go through in a week. For the last four months we have used about 10-15 diapers per week ( allowing for nap time and nighttime diapers). I am pleased to announce, that, just in time for the cold weather and layers upon layers of clothing (which can make potty training downright nightmarish), we are through with diapers during the day! After a full month of dry nap times, I think it's official! The next frontier is night time- which means we will wake her each night to use the potty at midnight, just before we finally go to sleep. Good luck and Godspeed to all my fellow potty trainers out there!

]]>Potty Training and the Cloth Diapered Babyhttp://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2011/8/19/potty-training-and-the-cloth-diapered-baby.htmlPhillydiaper Team2011-08-20T00:56:02ZMy 2 year (and 3 months) old is out of diapers during the day! Hooray for cloth! Miss Pocahontas only wears diapers for nighttime and nap-time (and long car rides...) In my experience, it seems like clothie kiddies potty train faster because they are used to the relationship between elimination and action. A cloth diaper gets wet, it feels wet and needs to be changed. Contrast this with the modern day disposable that can suck up a kiddie pool and still "feel dry!" Of course, there are times when that super-duper-fluid-sucking power comes in handy, (and yes, I've employed them on occasion for that reason), but in general, and in the long run, I am glad that cloth diapers have led to fewer months of diaper duty for me, and earlier potty-pride for them.

]]>Extra, Extra, Read All About It!http://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2011/1/18/extra-extra-read-all-about-it.htmlPhillydiaper Team2011-01-18T18:33:00ZWe were recently featured for an article on green Philadelphia businesses in the LaSalle Collegian!

]]>The very first cloth diaper 'client', all grown up!http://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2011/1/7/the-very-first-cloth-diaper-client-all-grown-up.htmlPhillydiaper Team2011-01-07T18:21:00ZOur dear Mowgli turns 6 years old today! We have officially become parents of a "big kid"

We love him for so many reasons, but here are just a few...

He is brilliant, kind, clever, funny, adventurous, inquisitive, compassionate, energetic, astute, bold and loyal.

Mowgli and a favorite bookWe put our first cloth diaper on him 6 years ago and also have him to thank for introducing us to the world of babies and the world of cloth. Both have been a wild and exciting ride!

Three cheers for our boy!

Hip Hip Hooray!

]]>Happy New Year!http://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2011/1/1/happy-new-year.htmlPhillydiaper Team2011-01-01T18:01:00ZNew Year's Resolutions- what a fun and daunting concept. I love the thought of a new, crisp year. It is full of potential and possibility. It can also be full of...duhn, duhn duhn!! Responsibility! Pledging, vowing, promising to be a better parent, a more faithful reader, a kinder friend, a disciplined exerciser can all fall flat very quickly when we realize that while the year has changed, we haven't.

I set a few goals months ago that I've been slowly working on- strive for wellness for my soul and body and the souls and bodies in my charge. This year, instead of a brand new initiative, I'm going to resolve to do the difficult work of sticking with what I've already begun...

What are your hopes, resolutions, goals for this new year?

]]>Celebrating the Holidays...http://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2010/12/19/celebrating-the-holidays.htmlPhillydiaper Team2010-12-19T17:50:00ZPhilly Diaper Service wishes you all a joyful and peaceful holiday season. We will be celebrating Christmas with friends and family from near and far. We look forward to a house full of laughter, sweet smells from the oven and the pitter-patter of our children running around.

There will be very minor changes to the delivery schedule. Stay tuned for more info.

Blessings on your homes!

]]>We Did It!http://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2010/11/30/we-did-it.htmlPhillydiaper Team2010-11-30T17:40:00ZPocahontas loves Dora, especially the part of the show where Dora (and her little monkey, Boots) celebrate their success with a song, entitled " We Did It!" She loves to dance and sing and celebrate with them as they sing. Children love celebrating every little success, every small victory. It is a good a rare quality to find in grown-ups. We are more inclined to lament the difficult journey or the details that didn't go quite as planned, instead of standing up and shouting "We did it!"

Philly Diaper Service would like to follow the lead of the small children we serve everyday and shout "We did it!" Our diaper washing operation is now fully based in Germantown and we are thrilled to have this milestone under out belt!

What does this mean? It means that we have reduced our footprint even further by eliminating the drive to and from the washing facility. It also means that we may be able to offer some new options to our clients soon since we will have great control over the washing and handling process.

 

Thanks for your partnership and patience as we grow!

]]>Busy Busy Busyhttp://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2010/10/4/busy-busy-busy.htmlPhillydiaper Team2010-10-04T14:48:26ZI have been somewhat absent from the blogging world... we've been busy. We are in the process of moving our washing  operations to our own facility right here in Germantown. This is super exciting, but it's also tough work! Stay tuned... we'll be announcing the move soon and will be celebrating with a big giveaway!

]]>Be careful! The worrying mommy.http://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2010/8/1/be-careful-the-worrying-mommy.htmlPhillydiaper Team2010-08-01T14:10:00Zeating grassliving dangerously- assessing the challengeMy little sister-in-law (15 years old)was in Guatemala for a Church mission trip. Of course, as a mother, the first thought is of her safety. Is she going to be ok? Is it safe? I hope she doesn't do anything to get herself into trouble or danger etc.

Then I stop and think about all of the things I did and places that I went that must have sent my mom into mental and emotional fits.

Where is the balance? I find myself saying things like "be careful, not so high, not so fast, that's too dangerous," quite often. I think to myself that the 17 year old adventurer (not to mention disrespecter of authority) i once was must be rolling her eyes at me daily.

I have this image of an adolescent girl and her mom having an Down the slide by herself- Challenge met!argument, the mom saying "I just don't want anything to happen to you" and the girl responding with tears in her eyes "yes, but then nothing will ever happen to me...I need to live"

Ok- that's a little dramatic, but it describes the tension I feel inside daily. Do I let Mowgli go down his new slide? No, not on his bottom, or his tummy, but according to his master plan; on his ride-on fire engine! (There is no picture of this because, while it did happen, I walked away while Dad supervised...)

Do I let pocahontas roam free in the grass, risking that she just might eat some of it?

How do you moms out there manage keeping the worry monster at bay?

]]>The runs... cloth diapering during challenging timeshttp://www.phillydiaperservice.com/blog/2010/7/12/the-runs-cloth-diapering-during-challenging-times.htmlPhillydiaper Team2010-07-12T16:44:00ZWell, the title of this post basically sums it up. My question: How do you stick with cloth diapering when it's difficult? Whether the baby has the runs or you feel like you're constantly on the run...what keeps you going? What keeps you motivated- what keeps you washing?

I must admit that there have been times when we turn to disposable to solve a problem like busyness or messy sick-baby diapers. My honest assessment is- sometimes they help (air travel with no washer option in sight), sometimes they don't. There are downsides to having to dispose of yucky diarrhea diapers rather than washing them- they are in the house for up to a week waiting for trash day (pee-eew!) or they are in the outside trash bin (attracting flies and who else knows what), is an effort to minimize the smell and insect/animal attraction, people often wrap them in layer upon layer of plastic (i.e. diaper genies bag or shopping bags) which leads to a nearly unfathomable decomposition rate in the landfills.

Changing a sick-belly diaper is awful no matter how you slice it- there's just now way around it. Sometimes, you're gonna get a little poop on your hands. The reality is, parenting is messy- not just figuratively, but literally.

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