Adventures Vacationing with Cloth & a Giveaway!

I just arrived home after a 2 week trip (for a wedding and taking my volleyball team to AAU Nationals), the entire time we used cloth diapers! It was quite an adventure!

Before the trip, I did lots of planning. One of our biggest decisions was do we bring our cloth or not. We have traveled before but never this long, and when we had been gone we had stayed with family so we had access to their washer and dryer.

Since my son just started to do some potty training prior to going on the trip and my daughter was pretty much potty trained except for nighttime this did make it a bit easier. Plus we found out that the condo we were staying at had a washer and dryer!

I had to remember though to bring the following:
1. Our diaper detergent
2. Vinegar in a travel spray bottle (I use this to wipe out the inside of the washer and dryer to remove any buildup).
3. Both our potty chairs (we have cheap IKEA ones that fit into one another, thank goodness).
4. Wipes in a container for the road.
5. Diapers of course. (For this trip I decided to bring the following 24 prefolds, 6 OS Pocket, 12 hybrid inserts, extra covers and snappis). I put them in 2 clear plastic bins so I could see what I had.
6. 3 wet bags (1 was a wet/dry bag: we used the dry part for dirty clothes, 1 back up and 1 small one for outings).
7. Anything else I figured I could get on the way if needed. I also made sure I knew which retailers were in the area in case.

So let the adventure begin.
Day 1: Travel to Des Moines, Iowa. My daughter thought it would be fun to stop like every 30 minutes to pee or poop after the midway part of our journey. In all fairness, she really had to go! Overall we arrived in Des Moines with no problems.

Day 3: I washed at the hotel, because we were going to be on the road for up to 3 days starting tomorrow. I was really fortunate as this hotel is run by my Uncle so I was able to check out the facilities during our last trip there. I was however pleasantly surprised to discover that the water was extremely hot, much hotter than we keep so I figured I was good.

I loved the fact that we were there for a wedding and the wedding was in the hotel we were staying at. So we were able to leave the potty chairs and diapers in the room and just run the kids up. Though my kids that it was fun to need to use the bathroom during all the good times of the wedding reception. Food game and my daughter needed to go to the bathroom, I literally got back with her and my son decided to poop, so back upstairs with him. I think they thought it was funny to watch mom run back and forth, lord knows I need the exercise too!

Day 4: We left Des Moines and start our journey down to Orlando, FL. Mind you I never would have made this trip had my volleyball team not been going to play at AAU Nationals. I definitely learned to expect the unexpected this day. We had to wait in a Taco Bell during a tornado warning, the expressway was closed down in St. Louis, then my daughter told us she had to pee and we told her we would get off at the next exit. Well wouldn't you know the expressway was closed down again near West Frankfort, IL (home of Mom's Milk Boutique). Poor thing held it for 45 minutes until we were able to stop and let her go.

Days 6-13: We stayed at a condo in Florida, it was amazing and I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to use cloth while on their vacation. We had a full washer and dryer in our condo. It was great and I didn't have to worry about going out and washing the diapers.

We got some funny looks when they checked our bags at Disney World since we had a potty chair in there. But this was a really relaxing part of our trip while cloth diapering.

Day 15: Our last day, was by far the worst day of cloth diapering. We generally change diapers in the car instead of taking the kids inside. At our last stop before arriving home, I dumped my daughter's potty chair over in the front seat and my son decided to have his worst poop of the trip on the windiest day of the trip. It took us almost 20 minutes and lots of clean up and hand washing at that stop!

So here are things I learned from traveling with cloth:
1. If your child says she has to poop and she is potty training find a place to park next to a garbage can or a wooded area so you can get rid of the evidence.
2. If you are wanting to take cloth with, condos in resort areas are a great option because many have washer and dryers in them.
3. Plan for a days more diapers than you think you will need to be safe.
4. Relax while traveling. We were gone for 2 weeks and 1 day. I planned my diaper washing around naptimes. It worked great and I didn't get stressed because of it.
5. If you don't want to travel entirely with cloth look for one of the disposable insert options.

I forgot to add our giveaway! Win a free bag of Rockin' Green Detergent, Crunchy Clean Detergent or Lulu's in the Fluff!

To enter:
1. Follow the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative on Facebook!
2. Follow this Blog!
3. Follow My Baby Pumpkin, LLC on Facebook!
4. Leave a comment to this post with your favorite traveling story with cloth or disposables!
5. Contest ends 7/14/10!

And happy travels!
Kristin
My Baby Pumpkin, LLC

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