Ideas... sharing... on "recycling" CD?

Picture on the left is the many inserts that I have in my stash even I only have... let's see after selling / trading some... only left 4 fleece pocket diapers, 2 GAD medium long pocket diapers, 2 HH OS pocket diapers, 2 large Snap-Ez pocket diapers, 1 almost torn Haute OS pocket diaper and 1 local brand Bouncing Baby OS (velcro) pocket diaper. Seriously I have too many inserts than pocket diapers...

Okay, basically, 12 pocket diapers that I have in stash to rotate everyday and I may seems having not enough if it's raining and all the CD is still in laundry. 

Luckily I have 4 Cotton Babies insert sock (pic top right) which I bought long long time ago... well, back in year 2007 which I can stuff inserts in and lay them in PUL diaper cover for use. (just like pic above) Oh, at the moment still using 4 medium Bummis covers with insert socks and another 2 Large diaper cover with fitted diapers at night ever since my DS rejects to put on any wool longies and soaker. (So heartache...)

Guess what, I used to think that I need to buy fleece liner to use in fitted diaper until I discovered I still have the insert sock which also can be used as stay dry liner. Moreover, it's more wider than the standard fleece liner so it covers a big portion of the internal in fitted diaper. Unexpected bonus usage!

On top of that, who is still using lampin??!! Well, I do. It feel so comfortable especially on hot hot sunny day when my DS sweat alot! Furthermore, he is now able to hold his pee longer or sometimes no pee for the whole evening due to less liquid intake... I can save one CD when he's on maybe 1-2 lampin as the volume of urine was little.  Or I will bring him to the toilet for wee wee once I notice he's still dry after a long period. Normally, it works! Yay!!! Some great achievement for toilet training...

Stack of lampin

So. need any expensive training pants? Well, just like last time with my DD, in my opinion, I still think it's unnecessary even I was almost considering to order them. Now, I realized we can live without it. Once the child gets older, the CD laundry will be lesser. I only have 2-3 CD laundry per week comapre to last time - everyday..
Oh yes... if you wonder how I use lampin on toddler with higher volume of urine, do check out my No Sew Prefold.

Last but not least, I'm glad that I am able to convinced myself not to buy any new CD now by thinking and doing some mix and matching on the current CD stash that I have. Yes, reuse is recycle...

Some thoughts to share

Read about this from Bean Sprout Bubba and it's an awareness that everyone of us shall practise. Do you do the same too?

I stop buying... but I lied!

I really stop getting more CD and these are latest addition for the coming newborn. I think it's enough since I will be using more lampin (flat cotton gauze) for newborn till it's not absorbent enough. Well, why need to buy more since the purpose to use cloth diapers is to Reuse, Reduce and Recycle!

Prefer to use lampin with diaper cover and I have 6 small & newborn diaper covers from Bummis and Prorap. Thanks to Rebecca for the 2 free NB cover even they are seconds. The Prorap Classic thanks to a mama from US (you know who you are :) ...) who helped to carry all the way from US back to KL, not forgetting a few more other fitted and pocket diaper. Luckily the custom didn't make any trouble.

Another diaper cover that I love... it got to be woolen!!! Never buy any wool cover but lots of wool yarn and turned them into... Ta-dah!!!

Oh yes... I still knit though...

Facts about bamboo as fabric...

"Bamboo has the capacity to be one of the greenest materials on earth, but thanks in part to its popularity, bamboo growth has become somewhat exploited. And the lack of transparency in fiber processing makes it hard to declare bamboo fabrics wholly green."

- taken from The Green Guide How Green Are Bamboo Clothes?

Get to know PUL and its family

PUL is the acronym for Polyurethane laminate. In simple words, derived from polymer family, a synthetic material.

what is it?
Polyster fabric that laminated to a thin film of Polyurethane. Well, I think I got to make some mess to my old stacks of books to look for the chemistry basic learnt in secondary school... LOL!
In short, it is = Polyster + Polyurethanes

Plastics, vinyl, polyster, PUL, nylon, suedeloth, microfleece, polyster fleece... they are all from the same family but appear in different combinations, types and functions. Perhaps someone from chemistry background can give some talks and guides on all these different synthetic that we use in our daily life? I'm longing to know more...

Speaking about recycle, it doesn't stop after you use cloth diapers. Beware that they are alot of cloth-like synthetic around too... we should know how material is created and how they are decomposed even they are not so biodegradable. Afterall, it's knowledge learn, isn't it?

No worry, everyone of us here (who's on cloth) is helping the earth no matter how far you practise about the real frugal living which is the 3R - REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE!

What is Dioxin?

My mum threw me this question early in the morning. I know it's something harmful to human but nothing much about it. Oh yes, my mum ordered and received her cloth menstrual pad and told me she found out a note that talk about dioxin together with her parcel. I guess it's the same note we all received from Sandra.

I goggled search in wikipedia, and anyone studied Chemistry? I did but forgot all by now. OK, this is taken from wikipedia:

Dioxin is the common name for the group of compounds classified as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs). ( I also don't know what's that)- are members of the family of halogenated organic compounds, have been shown to bioaccumulate (accumulate over years) in humans and wildlife due to their lipophilic (fat-liking, refers to the ability of a chemical compunds to dissolve in fats, oils, lipids) properties, and are known teratogens, mutagens, and suspected human carcinogens.

Some interesting facts about dioxin:
- Dioxin enters the general population almost exclusively from ingestion of food, specifically through the consumption of fish, meat, and dairy products since dioxins are fat-soluble and readily climb the food chain. Thus create body burden.

- Children are passed substantial body burdens by their mothers, and breastfeeding increases the child's body burden[citation needed]. Children's body burdens are often many times above the amount implied by tolerable intakes which are based on body weight. Breast fed children usually have substantially higher dioxin body burdens than non breast fed children until they are about 8 to 10 years old. The WHO still recommends breast feeding for its other benefits.

- Dioxins are produced in small concentrations when organic material is burned in the presence of chlorine

- Dioxins are also generated in reactions that do not involve burning — such as bleaching fibers for paper or textiles, and in the manufacture of chlorinated phenols, particularly when reaction temperature is not well controlled.

Think about the disposable menstrual pad and diaper we use, which one doesn't go through bleaching??? And we are/were using it since ... the first day we got our period 15 or 20 years ago??!!

- Dioxins are present in minuscule amounts in a wide range of materials used by humans — including practically all substances manufactured using plastics, resins, or bleaches.[citation needed] Such materials include tampons, and a wide variety of food packaging substances.

However, it is disputed whether such exceptionally tiny exposures have any clinical relevance[citation needed]. It is even controversially discussed whether dioxins might have a non-linear dose-response curve with beneficial health effects in a certain lower dose range, a phenomenon called hormesis[citation needed].
Dietary sources of dioxin in the United States have been analyzed by the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) and scientists from other organizations.

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Effects on Human?

Exposure to high levels of dioxin in humans causes a severe form of persistent acne, known as chlorance. Other effects in humans may include:
-Developmental abnormalities in the enamel of children's teeth
-Central and Peripheral Nervous System pathology
-Thyroid disorders
-Damage to the Immune systems
-Endometriosis
-Diabetes
Recent studies have shown that exposure to dioxin changes the ratio of male to female births among a population such that more females are born than males.


My conclusion - there is no firm evidence showing that Dioxin is extremely harmful to human in small quantity. But bear in mind that it will accumulate in human body from 7 -132 years! If you can avoid it, try to avoid. Read up more on the update from time to time as I think scientists & researchers also will take up a long time to do research on getting good evidene on effects of Dioxin on human body and the ecological system in our planet.