Cloth Diapering - from the other side of the trenches

 

When I wrote my previous cloth diapering posts, I was still a mama of one kid.  One kid who had not yet finished potty training and got all of my attention.  Now I am the mama of two (and a third on the way).  One kid out of diapers and the other one on his way out.  My lovely pile of cloth diapers has been through the wringer.  Literally.

Some thoughts from the other side of this adventure.
1. Diapers suck.  Paper, cloth, whatever.  Having to be responsible for the poop of another human being is just gross.  Especially after they start eating solid food and even more so when they are toddlers.  We did as much Elimination Communication with both children as we could and still, there was poop in diapers and sometimes on the floor during the potty training phase.  (And that is why we pulled up the carpets.)  I still stand by my 'shake what you can shake and leave the rest to the washing machine' mantra.  The less contact one has with that stuff, the better.

2. High Efficiency washing machines don't actually clean diapers very well, or clothes for that matter.  And the ones with the short agitator just shred the heck out of my diapers.  I am serious!  They are quickly going to tatters.  Very frustrating, especially when I had planned for them to see me through all of our children, not just the first two.  We saved up and bought our HE washer in September 2011 and I am over it.  It was made for people who gently wear their clothes, not for kids who think it is their job to coat themselves in mud or who pee their pants and then stash the offending undies at the bottom of the laundry basket to be found later when the stench has infiltrated the entire load of clothes.  When you can't get the smell out after 2 hot wash cycles and extra laundry boosters thrown in, the washer is just not doing a good job.  I'm on the hunt for a used washer that actually fills with water, warranty be danged!

 

3. Cloth diapering loses it's 'fun' aspect after one kid and just becomes work.  This is the reason our mother's generation gleefully dove headlong into the paper diaper movement!  Who needed the extra work?  I'm sure glad these kids are cute!  Don't get me wrong, we still cloth diaper and I'm still grateful for the savings, but it's not fun anymore.  I don't get asked about it much anymore since most of my friends CD as well or have potty trained their kids.  So I rarely get a chance to enthuse about CDing to strangers, educating them in the ways of the cloth.  In hindsight, that was one of the things I loved about CDing...talking about it.  Because who in their right mind really loves a pee and poo soaked piece of cloth?  Am I right?

4. The overnight diaper dilemma.  I'm sure there is a cloth diaper solution for a kid who is a nighttime super-soaker, but I have not done the research on it, apparently.  I've tried inserts and doublers and still, it's not enough.  And without being able to get them really clean (see HE washer paragraph above), the nightime diapers sit on my little guy's bottom so long and have the tendency to burn his skin. (Pee reacts with laundry soap residue left by that stupid HE washer and can cause problems for sensitive skin. Super awesome.) So for now, Judah wears a paper overnight diaper and often still pees through it.  He has a bladder of a cow, I tell ya!  If you have any good ideas for a super-soaker kiddo, let me know. I'm guessing I won't solve this one until we get a new washer.

5. Lest I sound like a complete ingrate, I still would and do choose cloth over paper any day.  We have saved our family thousands of dollars this way and that is no small feat.  We have it down to a science now, with the diaper pail kept only in the laundry room.  Yes, it adds an extra step to the change, but getting rid of the stink from our main rooms was so worth it.  Judah looks cute as all heck when he runs around in those little cloth diaper covers with trees on them (Thirsties).  He is out of the full time diaper phase and into the running around naked and practicing going potty phase so we use a lot less diapers.  We have even introduced undies but at this point, but he uses them like diapers and it's just more for me to wash. We are working on it.  He does loose shorts much better.

All in all, cloth diapers serve a purpose, save some money, look cute and are a great step for reducing waste, but don't feel guilty if it's not for you.  I encourage parents to try it and like everything else we do as parents, give yourself some grace if it isn't perfect. 

A word of caution

photo from here

OK. Second post of the day, but this was too good not to tell you. My dear sweet husband braved single fatherhood this past weekend and just before I left, I said something like this..."Oh yeah! I'm shaking the poop out of her diapers into the potty now. Just FYI."

I returned home to a sightly annoyed husband who informed me that he was NEVER washing diapers again. EVAR! Mystified, I asked why, saying 'You don't even have to touch them, why is it gross?' Apparently my instructions were not very clear and he in preparation for washing the used diapers, had gone through the entire diaper pail (after they had been sitting there for 2 days!!!) and tried to get the poop off of the diapers, one at a time. Poor, brave soul!! This was the first time he had ever washed them and if this is how I had to clean them, I would be RUNNING to the store for a box of 'sposies'. (or I would have said 'screw it!' and just thrown them in.) He was trying to do it right and thought this is what I meant! I'm sure he was questioning my sanity as he gagged through the entire pail.

I couldn't help it. I laughed and then apologised profusely for not explaining it better.

The moral to this story? Communication is key. (and cloth diaper care mystifies many, not just hubbies)

Cloth Diapering...revisited

We've been cloth diapering since Cora was 4 months old and where ever I go, I get questions from wide eyed mamas who look at me as if I was some kind of environmentally sound Saint, saving the planet one bum at a time. I'm not that. I'm just cheap, very laid back (read lazy) and Cora looks awesome in her cloth diapers.

We haven't really added anything to the stash we started out with, but I have learned some things along the way. Shall I tell you about them? OK! Because apparently I, like others who have gone before me, am inordinately excited about cloth that catches poop and will talk your ear off about it given the slightest chance.

• There are diaper sprayers and scrapers and all manner of things that get poop off of one's cloth diapers, but we don't use them. We just wash the poo. Yes, we may end up with some very clean corn bits or pea hulls in the washer, but it's all gonna be alright. I promise. My mantra is "If it's solid enough to shake in the potty, shake it. If not, wash it."
  

• This is my favorite site for diaper covers and for Diaper Service Quality (DSQ) prefolds. Free shipping! http://www.momsmilkboutique.com Sign up for the newsletter. They send out coupons and have regular sales. Some sites have free shipping, but jack up the price to cover it. Not this one! You only need about 4-5 covers in each size and I started buying little tiny ones for our next baby when they went on sale. All but the large size since we intend to be done before Cora is that large. Ahem.

• www.Diaperswappers.com Used diapers, used covers (kid/baby clothes, slings, and tons more). Minimal investment if you just want to try it before you buy a whole load. Buy a cover or two, buy a few cloth pre-folds. Then you can see if it works for you. We eased in to cloth. No shame!! The site is a smidge hard to figure out because there is just SO much, so browse around for awhile.

• Tell people you are cloth diapering (church, work...whatever). They will GIVE YOU cloth diapering stuff that they are done with (or they will look at you with horror and sympathy). I had bags full of stuff I got for free from people who are done diapering, but the diapers are still good. It's like a secret club that we just REALLY want you to join.

• All this debate about Fuzzi Bunz (FB) vs BumGenius(BG)...on and on about which is best for leaks? Prefolds (not the Gerber kind, Diaper Service Quality, or DSQ) and a cover, baby. (A Thirsties cover, for us, which has saved us from many a blow out. Thank you, leg gussets!) Night and day, we have never, ever, ever had a leak. They are called the 'workhorse of cloth diapers' for a reason. Plus, friends who bought BG at the same time we bought our pre-folds are saying how the aplix (Velcro) is worn out and they won't be able to use them for a second child. Good thing they started making ones with snaps, huh? (25 bucks each!!??! Ack!!) Cora's diapers cost $1.75 each, with a $9-$11 cover. Seriously. No sticker shock here.
  

• If you live locally, Whole foods carries Charlie's Soap, which cleans, but does not disinfect, clothes. For that, add a scoop of Oxyclean occasionally. Since to start using Charlies you have to wash out your washing machine tub, we found it best to use it for all of our clothes too, so I don't have to keep doing it. (here's a chart of detergent's and how good they are for your diapers) But, sometimes man sweat needs more than Charlie's to come out, if you now what I mean, which brings me to...

• Oxyclean is great for stripping, but make sure all of it is washed out. I do an extra rinse load since my washer is old and crappy and Cora has "princess skin." (ie, everything makes her rashy. Sigh.)

• Vinegar (white) comes in GALLON jugs at Kroger(or your local grocery store) in the pickle aisle. I put in a cup or so if the diapers smell like ammonia when I am dumping them in the washer (and it burns my lungs!). If the ammonia smell persists or smells really strong in the morning, it's time to strip them.

• For great stripping instructions, go here.
  

• If you don't want to use a liner for rash cream, here and here are a couple of lists of ones that are safe for cloth. (I personally use Desitin Creamy with a cloth wipe as a liner if I need to use anything, and it's pretty rare since we are practicing EC. She never sits in a wet or dirty diaper which has historically cause most of our rash problems)
  

One final thing and I'll be quiet (for now). Traveling with cloth diapers sucks. (Piles and piles of blessings heaped on the head of my mother for doing it with 7 children!!) Just before our first trip this summer, I thought through every solution, trying not to have to buy diapers, but I gave in, used disposables and the Green police did not come get me. As one friend put it in a recent blog post " really didn't want to put baby poop in somebody else's washing machine." Yeah. But after this last trip, I was really glad to get home to our pile of fluff. It just does my cheap little heart good.

{Updated to add: I'll be back on Monday. Pray I survive my 'single parenting' weekend with Matt away playing at the airsoft event of the season. This explains what airsoft is.}

We made the switch! A journey from paper to cloth diapers.

Since our little lovey was born (4 months ago, can you believe it?!) we've been using disposable diapers. With every giant garbage bag full I experienced more and more guilt. I mean, those diapers are going to be around for my daughter's grandbabies!! I wanted to switch to cloth, but it was very intimidating. There are zillions of diapers, covers, all-in-ones, pocket diapers, fitted diapers, prefolds, contoured diapers...the list goes on and on and on and ON! I was totally overwhelmed. So I put it out there (on our local neighborhood google group) that I wanted to get started and a total stranger mama of twins invited me to her house to see her system. She even gave me a couple of diaper covers that her children had outgrown. Then our local diaper service donated (yes, DONATED!) a bunch of diapers, covers, diaperpail, pail liner, and cloth wipes to me. Another friend gave me a bag of more stuff with pre-folds, contoured diapers and snappies, then another mama gave me her all in one diapers! I was overflowing with cloth diapers and I hadn't even begun to put them on her bum.

Now, my mama cloth diapered us, but I remember this bucket of stinky diapers and liquid, (poop soup as cloth diapering sites refer to it) and I was not looking forward to that at all! Plus, the little plastic shorts...ick. But cloth diapering has come a long way! No more poop soup! They come in all colors, shapes designs, snaps, velcro, waterproof cloth and more! It was hard to imagine, but some of the cutest things out there for babies are diapers! And they are going to get pooped on! It's a whole world of work at home mamas fueling this thing. Most of the popular brands were made by mamas. I think that is amazing!

So in light of the Geeks still unemployed situation, I decided to go ahead and move on over to cloth. I tried a couple per day to get in the hang of things and finally decieded to not buy any more sposies (disposables). It was scary! But she hasn't leaked yet and I actually really enjoy knowing I am doing a good thing for our budget, the planet, and my baby's bum!

Because she is still so small and most of the stuff we were given is for bigger babies, I did buy pre-fold diapers in infant size, plus some covers too. But since I was going to have to spent that money on diapers in the next few weeks anyway, I don't feel guilty at all. I know I won't have to spend it again!

Kind people in my neighborhood gave me a list of where to begin and I am pretty much there. Here's what they recommended:

"But here's a good start if you do laundry every other day:

• 24 prefolds (either infant size or premium size depending on the weight of your baby)
• 3-5 covers (the younger your baby the more covers you will need... the same is true if you used a snappi or not. If you use a snappi you can get by with fewer covers)
• 2 diaper pail liners (one is in the wash with the dirties while the other is in the pail collecting dirties)
• 1 pail
• 1 snappi (these come in 2 different sizes depending on the age of your baby - infant and toddler)
• 20 wipes - if you are washing prefolds you might as well wash wipes... then you don't have to buy these at the store too. ( I made my own with those tiny wash cloths that we were given TONS of, and cut up least favorite flannel receiving blankets - yes they unravel a bit, but it's for cleaning up poo! It doesn't have to be perfect)
  
• 3 doublers - for extra absorbency during night/naps (these you need if you're not changing a diaper at night) I chose 3 hemp doublers from an online diaper shop GreenMountainDiapers.com"
• I also added a 'wet bag' (a waterproof bag for used wet diapers). A mama has to get out sometimes!! I also added a little spray bottle for my diaper bag to wet my cloth wipes.
  

So with our newly prepped pre-folds and covers in hand we began our adventure. Here's our first cloth diapering. The baby bear did not approve of being put in this bulky thing, plus Mama was trying to get the hang it too! (this was before we bought smaller pre-folds.)

Giant diaper bum!
My stash of diapers - they came like this and had to be prepped (washing in hot water and then drying 3-5 times)
After prepping they looked like this (fluffy!!)
This is what we use every day or 2 - minus the larger diapers on the right and not all of the wipes.
The pretty colored covers are by Thirsties. The white one is a Bummis Super Snap.

So far, so good! I'm not overwhelmed by laundry and we are in a groove.