Wool: I'm in love!

Today a small pair of longies were rolled up and converted to shorts

 We started cloth diapering on baby #5. Intimidated by just the thought of extra laundry and overwhelmed with all of the cloth diapering options every time I did consider it, I never seriously investigated the option. (Yes, here comes the "until.") Until...chickling #5 had such sensitive skin and we had tried every brand of disposables unsuccessfully and it seemed by the best option. I did hours and hours of research, finally settling on what I thought was the best option for us. The rashes cleared and #5 eventually transitioned nicely from a cloth bum to the potty trained, panty-wearing little girl of today. And me? Turns out I wasn't traumatized by the extra laundry (it really isn't that much) and I found myself a CD addict mourning the lost time I could have spent doing it with girlies # 1-4.

Yes, those are my woolies line drying on our trampoline enclosure. I snapped this pic as I ran out to save them from the sudden rain storm.

  Last fall a friend introduced me to wool covers, pre-folds, and flats, the simplest and cheapest of all diapering options, and I'm in love! In fact I became so enamored that i told my husband I wanted a sheep. Being the loving, supportive guy he is, he actually went on Craigs List and looked for sheep! They didn't have any listed, but as a side note you can find virtually any other farm animal for sale there.

Why wool? It's naturally water repellant, slightly absorbant, naturally anti-bacterial, and is breathable. Not to mention adorable. I bought one cover and have made, and continue to make, the rest. In November I cleaned both of our area Goodwills out of 100% wool sweaters. Two were converted to pants, or "longies," one into a "skirty", and one into a simple soaker. I've recently been trying my hand at knitting and am almost done with my first soaker from scratch. We're finding ways to meet all fashion possibilities and having so much fun doing it.  

A little note about night time: I was worried about leaving little Maya in a pre-fold over night. Wouldn't the constant contact with moisture wreak havoc on an already sensitive bum? With a regular cover, yes it did, but my wool is another story. Thanks to the breathability, moisture can more easily evaporate. In fact, the other day I changed what at first sight seemed like a dry over night diaper. Upon closer inspection I realized it had pee in it, but it had actually dried over night, leaving my little one's bum nice and dry.

I'll say it one more time. I'm in love.