To have a baby is to have been given a crazy amount of semi-useless flannel receiving blankets. You know the kind... They come in a multi-pack and are good for about, hmmm, three days.
Before:
They do have a fantastic second life: cloth wipes! Now when I set out to cloth diaper MJ, I never thought I'd bother with cloth wipes. But as part of the Crunchy Cascade, it becomes easier to throw the dirty wipes in the same container as the dirty dipes, instead of having a trash can and a diaper pail at your changing station. Using cloth wipes becomes time- and money-saving.
During my maternity leave, I spent about 16 feverous hours making about 40 cloth wipes, pulling out stitches and trying to make them perfect. While most have held up, the ones that I've had to toss was because of finding them disgusting and forgotten at the bottom of a wet bag after like three weeks.
It's time to re-up the stash. I have four receiving blankets, and a more realistic idea of how pretty these suckers have to be. They clean up poop. No need for glamour. Imperfect sewing is a-ok in my book! No hems necessary. Just take a receiving blanket, cut into 16 even-enough pieces (no need to measure; folding is fine), then sew 2 pieces together. Blammo! Cloth wipes.
Some people like to store them wet. I prefer to store them dry and keep a spray bottle of wipe solution handy. You can buy commercial wipe solution, but what works for me is to take two tablespoons of baby shampoo (I like California Baby since it smells so delightful), and a tablespoon of olive oil. Whisk them together and mix in about4 cups of water. I boil it first; probably unnecessary. Plain water works well too!!
It took me about an hour to make these 8 wipes today. I have three more blankets and we will be totally re-stocked by the time baby boy arrives.
Finished Wipes
Use your wipes to cover up the up-and-coming peepee! Also, I cover my boppy with the blankets, so I don't have to wash its cover all the time.
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