"Why should I bother using cloth when disposables are so easy?"
Are they? Are they, really? I don't think so. Here's every issue that I've heard people have in relation to cloth diapering and why I love them so much:
* "Ewww! You're going to have to touch the poop!" Pardon me while I roll my eyes. Yes, you may have to touch the baby's poop at some point when using CDs, but let me let you in to a little secret. You're going to have to touch it no matter what type of diaper you use. That's what soap is for. Wash your hands and get over it. Here's another little secret: CDs hold poop in better than any disposable I've ever seen! CDs have elastic around both the leg openings and the waistband and even explosive newborn exclusively breast fed (ebf) poop gets stopped by the elastic. I've seen a streak of poop that looks like it shot straight up and stopped at the waistband. The only time I got it on me was when I didn't realize that there was poop and I squished it when holding baby S under his butt.
* "I'm not paying $20 per diaper when I can get a pack of disposables for that price!" A lot of people worry about the start up cost of using CDs. Yes, there are CDs that cost that much and more out there, but you don't have to spend that much. It is very inexpensive to buy a set of flat diapers (I'll get into what those are later) and a few covers that you can wipe off and reuse. There are also way less expensive diapers out that are of a very good quality. I also started my CD stash by buying them used on eBay. And no, it's not gross for to use diapers that someone else has pooped in. You are going to wash them anyway. The thing about a $20 diaper vs. a cheaper one is that you will end up getting a much higher quality diaper that will likely last you longer and continue to save you money because you'll be able to use them until your baby is potty trained and save them for the next baby. You could even sell them on eBay, Diaper Swappers or other websites. Well made and well known brands often retain up to 70% of their retail value if you take care of them.
At the same time, there are good diapers in a lower price bracket, but they may not be as durable. Also, many cheaper diapers are made in China, so the customer service won't be as good and you'll be dealing with someone who likely doesn't speak English. You can find these diapers resold through work at home moms (WAHMs) who buy them in bulk and mark up the price a little bit. For this markup, you will get a seller who often guarantees the diapers and will work with you if anything goes wrong. I've met some really awesome moms doing this to make ends meet. (There are pros and cons to doing this, a topic for another day.)
You can find a calculator that will tell you how much you stand to save using cloth diapers here: Diaper Cost Calculator
* "Why should I have to do all of those extra loads of laundry, wasting time and money on soap when I can just get the disposables and throw them away?" That's a twofold question. First, the washing machine does all of the work. All you have to do is put them in there, add the soap and set the machine. It's a bit harder if you don't have a washing machine, but still not impossible. (I'll get into washing the diapers later on.) Second, washing CDs takes very little soap. You don't even have to buy the soap. You can make it yourself. I use equal parts of washing soda, baking soda and Oxyclean Free and Clear. One box of each of the sodas that you can find in the supermarket and one tub of the Oxyclean makes at least four months of detergent, if not more. I started using the detergent to boost the laundry detergent in the adult loads of laundry. It cost me about $12 to make four months worth of detergent that would have lasted longer if I hadn't used it in our laundry too.
Here are a few things that people don't consider:
* Disposable diapers have some nasty chemicals in them! According to Greenpeace, disposables have traces of Dioxin and Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals! They also contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbency tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome by increasing absorbency and improving the environment for the growth of toxin-producing bacteria. I didn't know any better when I had my first son, but I don't want those things touching my baby's skin! That's what's in those gel-like crystals that you find on their delicate skin after a whole night in a disposable. (http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php)
* The environmental impact of disposable diapers worries me. In one cradle-to-grave study sponsored by the National Association of Diaper Services (NADS) and conducted by Carl Lehrburger and colleagues, results found that disposable diapers produce seven times more solid waste when discarded and three times more waste in the manufacturing process. In addition, effluents from the plastic, pulp, and paper industries are far more hazardous than those from the cotton-growing and -manufacturing processes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaper)
* CDs are so freaking cute! They have every pattern or design under the sun. I know that they're covered in clothes most of the time, but you could actually use the diapers as part of the outfit, especially when you have a baby girl in dresses or skirts.
* CDing mamas are some of the coolest and most fun to talk to moms that I've met. That's just my opinion, but it's what I've noticed as I tried to learn more about what was going to be covering my son's butt.
I know that some people will choose disposables no matter what, but it's good to have the information when making your decision.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Stupid internet fuels my addiction, but I love it!
I was doing okay with my Softbums. I was doing just fine, CDing S and telling anyone with ears about it. I have a habit of doing that. I hated the Baby City diapers, but there was something about using a pocket diaper that intrigued me. I took to the Internet to do some research. I found AlvaBaby diapers and thought that I might give them a try. (Review to follow soon.) Then I got a small, unexpected bit of money from doing market research and I knew that I could get some new fluff. Yay for new fluff! And I got sucked in!
There are two very unhealthy sites for me to frequent when it comes to my CD addiction: Facebook and eBay. Did you know that there are groups on FB where people sell diapers to one another? Crazy, I know! And don't get me started on eBay. I got all of my Softbums on there and now I'm hooked on selling things as I'm diversifying my stash little by little.
I found the Loving AlvaBaby (diapers) B/S/T and Cloth Consignment groups where fellow cloth lovers go to buy, sell or trade baby stuff. The thing that I like so much about the groups is that you can get things from them that you can't find in many other places. The Loving AlvaBaby group has a lot of designs in Alva's Color Snap Double Gusset (or 4.0) diapers that are custom made for the sellers. The 4.0s are their most popular diapers and are only available in 8 prints from the Alva site, but I've gotten some of the cutest diapers for S from these ladies. I'm talking dinosaurs, Spiderman, transportation print, you name it!
What's just as good as the products that these ladies sell is the community in the groups. Other CDing parents as questions, comment on things that they've observed and support one another as we figure things out. I love that it's so positive and no one is made to feel bad for doing things differently or not knowing what to do. I'm nowhere near an expert, but I like recommending what works for me and trying what works for others. I've told many a person how good coconut oil is when using cloth. I'm sure that there are other groups out there that are equally positive, with or without the trade aspect, but these are my favorites.
There are two very unhealthy sites for me to frequent when it comes to my CD addiction: Facebook and eBay. Did you know that there are groups on FB where people sell diapers to one another? Crazy, I know! And don't get me started on eBay. I got all of my Softbums on there and now I'm hooked on selling things as I'm diversifying my stash little by little.
I found the Loving AlvaBaby (diapers) B/S/T and Cloth Consignment groups where fellow cloth lovers go to buy, sell or trade baby stuff. The thing that I like so much about the groups is that you can get things from them that you can't find in many other places. The Loving AlvaBaby group has a lot of designs in Alva's Color Snap Double Gusset (or 4.0) diapers that are custom made for the sellers. The 4.0s are their most popular diapers and are only available in 8 prints from the Alva site, but I've gotten some of the cutest diapers for S from these ladies. I'm talking dinosaurs, Spiderman, transportation print, you name it!
What's just as good as the products that these ladies sell is the community in the groups. Other CDing parents as questions, comment on things that they've observed and support one another as we figure things out. I love that it's so positive and no one is made to feel bad for doing things differently or not knowing what to do. I'm nowhere near an expert, but I like recommending what works for me and trying what works for others. I've told many a person how good coconut oil is when using cloth. I'm sure that there are other groups out there that are equally positive, with or without the trade aspect, but these are my favorites.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Review: Softbums Echo
After I bought my Baby City diapers, I started researching diapers like crazy. I considered all of the reviews I read and decided to try an AI2 system. I wanted something that took an insert, but didn't need to change the cover every time that I changed the diaper, so I settled on Softbums. Softbums are like the high school sweetheart of diapers. They were the first diaper that I fell in love with.
How they work/Fit: 4 (Very good!)
When I was researching AI2s, the deciding factor for me was whether they would fit from birth to potty training. Softbums diapers actually can. Take a look at baby S in his diaper a few days after he was born. (Sorry for the cut off head. His dad doesn't want his picture online.) The crotch part came down really low, so they're not trim on newborns, but you have to expect that in a one-size diaper. He grew into them really quickly.
Baby S weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and the Softbums diapers fit him. They fit babies with thighs from 4"-14" in circumference. The reason why they can fit a baby so small is because of how the rise/leg openings are adjusted. Most of the diapers that I have seen have snaps that control how high the rise is. Softbums diapers are different. They have an original patent pending Slide²Size system instead.
The front of the diaper has a tiny opening that you can stick your fingers into and reach the elastic. (I tied my elastics together so that I could hook my finger in it and reach both at the same time.) Instead of buttons/buttonholes, there is a tiny toggle on both sides of the elastic that cinches it very tiny or lets it out for bigger babies and toddlers. This enables you to change the size as the baby grows for an unlimited amount of size options. I was curious and tried them on my blessedly potty trained 4 year old and they were able to fit him. (Hmmm...pictures for future blackmail?) Also, you don't need to resize them unless the baby has grown because the toggles hold very tightly to the elastic.
This is what the look like at their smallest size:
And here's how they look at the largest size:
The rise/leg openings really do get very tiny. My issue with this was that there's room for user error with the sizing of these diapers. This is what keeps me from giving them a 5. Being new to CDing (not that I'm really an old hand at it now), I was afraid that too loose a fit would cause leaks, so I tended to err on the side of having the leg gussets too tight. This gave my son marks on his thighs, despite the website's claim that you get no red marks. I loosened them, but the marks stayed there. They're almost gone after a few weeks of wearing his diapers looser and alternating them with another brand that I'll be reviewing next.
Here's how they look on him now, at 3 months:
I use the Softbums system with their inserts, called pods. They're about 20" long and 4 1/2" wide at the narrow end. The pods used to all have a flared end that's about 6 1/2" long. Now, their Large DryTouch O-Pods are rectangular in shape at 4 1/2" wide and their Super DryTouch O-Pods have that flaring. I think that the large ones are shorter than the super ones because it's not made to fold over. I have the old regular pods, the new super ones and a bunch of newborn ones that I use as doublers in my pockets. The pods are made of either microfiber or organic bamboo. I have a ton of pods and I like how big the super ones are because I can fold them where I need the extra absorption. They are so soft and fluffy!
Daytime use: 5
During the day, I use my regular insert. I get no leaks because the leg gussets fit so snugly, even if I loosen them so that they're not leaving a mark on S's chunky thighs. I have a power wetter on my hands, so I stopped using the infant pods pretty quickly and used the older large pods to hold everything. I didn't get more than one diaper blowout with these diapers. Of course, it happened when we were outside the house. I can't blame the diaper, though. That was a poopsplosion of epic proportion! There was an ocean of liquid ebf poop in that diaper.
I loved the generous size of the pods because I could fold them where S needed the most absorption, in the front. If he had been a girl, I would have folded them to the middle more.
Overnight use: 5
Despite the fact that S has chunky thighs, we had very few leaks with the Softbums, even though I don't change him at night unless he poops. I don't remember his diaper leaking at all!
Cost: 3
If you buy Softbums new, the shell costs $21.95 each and the pods cost between $2.95 for the newborn pod and $11.95 for the bamboo pod. That's pretty pricey! I bought all of mine used on eBay and paid approximately $10 for each shell and $2 for each pod, maybe less.
I love that Softbums, and CDs in general, have such a high resale value. Since I bought my diapers used, I actually made a small profit on the diapers that I sold! I sold them for $12 each and the pods for $2.50. We both made out really well.
Quality: 5
These are a really good quality diaper. When I got them, I compared them to the Baby City diapers and was pleased at how solid they felt. There was no stretch to the PUL and the microfleece inside stayed nice and fluffy. As I said before, the resale value on the diapers is really good because of how well they are made. When I sold my diapers, the elastic was still near perfect. There was only a small amount of wear and tear on the aplix, to be expected, and no stains on anything that I sold. I attribute that to taking good care of the diapers and to their quality construction.
Convenience: 5
Being an AI2 system, what I liked about them was the ability to reuse the shells. I used to alternate between 2 shells during the day unless S pooped on them. They have fabric inside that gets wet since the pods aren't PUL lined, so you just lay the shells out to dry and reuse them. I never had any issue with stink or irritation doing this and my washloads were much smaller than they are now that I'm using pocket diapers more than I used to.
Overall score: 4.5
That's a pretty respectable score! Like I said, they're my high school sweetheart diaper. I don't use them for every day like I used to, but I won't get rid of them altogether. S's dad still prefers them to the snap on pockets that I have since purchased.
How they work/Fit: 4 (Very good!)
When I was researching AI2s, the deciding factor for me was whether they would fit from birth to potty training. Softbums diapers actually can. Take a look at baby S in his diaper a few days after he was born. (Sorry for the cut off head. His dad doesn't want his picture online.) The crotch part came down really low, so they're not trim on newborns, but you have to expect that in a one-size diaper. He grew into them really quickly.
Baby S weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and the Softbums diapers fit him. They fit babies with thighs from 4"-14" in circumference. The reason why they can fit a baby so small is because of how the rise/leg openings are adjusted. Most of the diapers that I have seen have snaps that control how high the rise is. Softbums diapers are different. They have an original patent pending Slide²Size system instead.
The front of the diaper has a tiny opening that you can stick your fingers into and reach the elastic. (I tied my elastics together so that I could hook my finger in it and reach both at the same time.) Instead of buttons/buttonholes, there is a tiny toggle on both sides of the elastic that cinches it very tiny or lets it out for bigger babies and toddlers. This enables you to change the size as the baby grows for an unlimited amount of size options. I was curious and tried them on my blessedly potty trained 4 year old and they were able to fit him. (Hmmm...pictures for future blackmail?) Also, you don't need to resize them unless the baby has grown because the toggles hold very tightly to the elastic.
This is what the look like at their smallest size:
I use the Softbums system with their inserts, called pods. They're about 20" long and 4 1/2" wide at the narrow end. The pods used to all have a flared end that's about 6 1/2" long. Now, their Large DryTouch O-Pods are rectangular in shape at 4 1/2" wide and their Super DryTouch O-Pods have that flaring. I think that the large ones are shorter than the super ones because it's not made to fold over. I have the old regular pods, the new super ones and a bunch of newborn ones that I use as doublers in my pockets. The pods are made of either microfiber or organic bamboo. I have a ton of pods and I like how big the super ones are because I can fold them where I need the extra absorption. They are so soft and fluffy!
Daytime use: 5
During the day, I use my regular insert. I get no leaks because the leg gussets fit so snugly, even if I loosen them so that they're not leaving a mark on S's chunky thighs. I have a power wetter on my hands, so I stopped using the infant pods pretty quickly and used the older large pods to hold everything. I didn't get more than one diaper blowout with these diapers. Of course, it happened when we were outside the house. I can't blame the diaper, though. That was a poopsplosion of epic proportion! There was an ocean of liquid ebf poop in that diaper.
I loved the generous size of the pods because I could fold them where S needed the most absorption, in the front. If he had been a girl, I would have folded them to the middle more.
Overnight use: 5
Despite the fact that S has chunky thighs, we had very few leaks with the Softbums, even though I don't change him at night unless he poops. I don't remember his diaper leaking at all!
Cost: 3
If you buy Softbums new, the shell costs $21.95 each and the pods cost between $2.95 for the newborn pod and $11.95 for the bamboo pod. That's pretty pricey! I bought all of mine used on eBay and paid approximately $10 for each shell and $2 for each pod, maybe less.
I love that Softbums, and CDs in general, have such a high resale value. Since I bought my diapers used, I actually made a small profit on the diapers that I sold! I sold them for $12 each and the pods for $2.50. We both made out really well.
Quality: 5
These are a really good quality diaper. When I got them, I compared them to the Baby City diapers and was pleased at how solid they felt. There was no stretch to the PUL and the microfleece inside stayed nice and fluffy. As I said before, the resale value on the diapers is really good because of how well they are made. When I sold my diapers, the elastic was still near perfect. There was only a small amount of wear and tear on the aplix, to be expected, and no stains on anything that I sold. I attribute that to taking good care of the diapers and to their quality construction.
Convenience: 5
Being an AI2 system, what I liked about them was the ability to reuse the shells. I used to alternate between 2 shells during the day unless S pooped on them. They have fabric inside that gets wet since the pods aren't PUL lined, so you just lay the shells out to dry and reuse them. I never had any issue with stink or irritation doing this and my washloads were much smaller than they are now that I'm using pocket diapers more than I used to.
Overall score: 4.5
That's a pretty respectable score! Like I said, they're my high school sweetheart diaper. I don't use them for every day like I used to, but I won't get rid of them altogether. S's dad still prefers them to the snap on pockets that I have since purchased.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Review: Baby City Diapers
The first diapers I bought were Baby City Diapers, so they will be my first diaper review.
Since this is my first review, I'm going to rate my diapers
based on the following categories: cost, quality, daytime use, overnight use, convenience, and overall score. I'm going to use a scale of 1-5 to rate them, where 1 is horrible, 2 is not great, 3 is pretty good, 4 is good and 5 is awesome. (Simple, huh?) This rubric may be subject to change in the future, depending on what I'm reviewing. The categories will definitely change if I'm reviewing something that's not a diaper or insert.
Description:
Baby City diapers are a made in China brand of diapers, usually found for a low price on eBay. There are a bunch of these brands on eBay. I just looked to find a stock picture and all of the pictures below are branded as Baby City diapers. I liked the bright colors, so I ordered all of the gender neutral ones, since I didn't know if I was having a boy or a girl.
They are a pocket diaper with one row of snaps that cross over, one opening at the back of the diaper, no hip snaps and come with one microfiber insert. They are a one-size diaper with three size settings that are supposed to fit a child from 8-35 lbs. You snap the top three snaps to the bottom ones for size small, the top three to the middle three for medium and leave it unsnapped for large.
Cost: 5 (Awesome!)
I was looking through different cloth diapers on eBay when I first decided to cloth diaper my baby. I was still pregnant at the time and hadn't done much research into CDing. I saw that they had 10 diapers for $25, including inserts. I thought that $2.50 a diaper was a great deal and that even if I hated them, I wouldn't be out much money. If you're low on funds, $2.50 each might seem like a great deal!
Quality: 1 (Horrible!)
Yes, $2.50 per diaper is a great deal, unless the quality of the diaper is so bad that you can barely get your $2.50 worth! I realized not long after I ordered the diapers that it might have been a mistake from the reviews of various made in China diapers that I read after I bought them. You can feel the cheapness of the diaper as soon as you touch it. The outer PUL of the diaper is very thin, as is the microfleece layer inside. You can stretch the tabs, which actually came in handy when crossing the tabs over, but that's not really supposed to happen. (I found this out when I got another brand of snap diapers that was a much better quality.)
Also, the microfiber inserts only seemed to have 2-3 layers to them. They were thin and I was afraid to use them because they didn't look like they could hold anything. Plus, they started pilling in the very first wash load.
In addition to the inserts being really crappy, the leg gussets are pathetic. There was elastic only part of the way around the leg opening, leaving plenty of room for leaks, which I got in spades.
The biggest reason why I give the Baby City diapers a 1 in quality is because they all delaminated after the second wash! I washed them the first time in hot water to prep them for my son to wear. After he wore them once, I washed them again in hot water. When I took them out of the washer, I noticed that they sounded sort of squeaky when they moved and so I opened the pocket and the plastic laminate was coming off of the diaper! This happened to every single one! Just about every one has gone in the trash.
(Note: If your diaper delaminates, it's finished. There's no way to fix that. You can keep using it until the plastic tears inside, but you can count on a leak if it does. The best use for a delaminated diaper is to use it as a swim diaper. I saved one to use for swimming next summer and to take pictures of for this post.)
Fit: 1 (Horrible!)
They didn't fit my 6 lb 12 oz baby when he was born, so I had to use another brand and tried them on from time to time until they fit him. They finally sort of fit when he was about a month old because he has really chunky thighs. I was able to put them on him on the smallest rise setting, crossing over the tabs, when he was about 10 lbs.
At a month old, my son wasn't very mobile, so I didn't think that the lack of hip snaps was going to be an issue. Actually, it didn't occur to me that I would need them at all because of a lack of basis for comparison. All of my other diapers were aplix. Well, the Baby City diapers taught me the value of hip snaps! I got the worst wing droop and gapping around the thighs imaginable with these diapers. I don't even know how it managed to droop on a baby who barely moved! He's not crawling yet and definitely not walking, so I am truly stumped.
Daytime Use: 2 (Not great)
I only ever tried these during the day, so I'm going to leave out overnight use for now. Needless to say, I got leaks galore the few times that I used these diapers due to the wing droop. I saved them for laundry day or if I wanted to put something looser around my son's thighs to give them a rest from the tighter diapers that I used on him the rest of the time, so I did get a tiny bit of use out of them. You can see in the picture how big the gap around his thigh is, even though his thighs are really chunky at 3 months old and it's on the lowest rise setting.
Convenience: 2 (Not great)
It's not very convenient to have to change your baby's clothes every time he pees, but these diapers did open me up to how convenient it is to have pocket diapers prestuffed and just snap them on the baby. It intrigued me enough to start researching all over again, pouring gasoline on my cloth diaper addiction fire.
Overall: 2.2 (Not great)
These diapers are an example of you get what you pay for. Like I said before, I barely got my $2.50's worth out of them. If I had thought about the swim diaper thing, I would have kept a few more of them and then I would have actually got my money's worth. But hey, next summer is soon enough to get some actual swim diapers or use a few of my cuter covers as swim diapers.
Okay, this was my first experience with cloth, so learn from it. Don't do what I did and just buy blindly. If you're reading this, the first thing that you should take from it is to research the hell out of your diapers before you buy them! Ask other CDing moms that you know, if you know any. Read every review that google has to offer. Watch videos on YouTube about how they work. Look to see if the quality of the item matches the price because your diapers are an investment. Good diapers can be sold for almost what you paid for them or used for the next child. Thankfully, I'm only out $25. I could have been out way more than that!
Since this is my first review, I'm going to rate my diapers
based on the following categories: cost, quality, daytime use, overnight use, convenience, and overall score. I'm going to use a scale of 1-5 to rate them, where 1 is horrible, 2 is not great, 3 is pretty good, 4 is good and 5 is awesome. (Simple, huh?) This rubric may be subject to change in the future, depending on what I'm reviewing. The categories will definitely change if I'm reviewing something that's not a diaper or insert.
Description:
Baby City diapers are a made in China brand of diapers, usually found for a low price on eBay. There are a bunch of these brands on eBay. I just looked to find a stock picture and all of the pictures below are branded as Baby City diapers. I liked the bright colors, so I ordered all of the gender neutral ones, since I didn't know if I was having a boy or a girl.
They are a pocket diaper with one row of snaps that cross over, one opening at the back of the diaper, no hip snaps and come with one microfiber insert. They are a one-size diaper with three size settings that are supposed to fit a child from 8-35 lbs. You snap the top three snaps to the bottom ones for size small, the top three to the middle three for medium and leave it unsnapped for large.
Cost: 5 (Awesome!)
I was looking through different cloth diapers on eBay when I first decided to cloth diaper my baby. I was still pregnant at the time and hadn't done much research into CDing. I saw that they had 10 diapers for $25, including inserts. I thought that $2.50 a diaper was a great deal and that even if I hated them, I wouldn't be out much money. If you're low on funds, $2.50 each might seem like a great deal!
Quality: 1 (Horrible!)
Yes, $2.50 per diaper is a great deal, unless the quality of the diaper is so bad that you can barely get your $2.50 worth! I realized not long after I ordered the diapers that it might have been a mistake from the reviews of various made in China diapers that I read after I bought them. You can feel the cheapness of the diaper as soon as you touch it. The outer PUL of the diaper is very thin, as is the microfleece layer inside. You can stretch the tabs, which actually came in handy when crossing the tabs over, but that's not really supposed to happen. (I found this out when I got another brand of snap diapers that was a much better quality.)
Also, the microfiber inserts only seemed to have 2-3 layers to them. They were thin and I was afraid to use them because they didn't look like they could hold anything. Plus, they started pilling in the very first wash load.
In addition to the inserts being really crappy, the leg gussets are pathetic. There was elastic only part of the way around the leg opening, leaving plenty of room for leaks, which I got in spades.
The biggest reason why I give the Baby City diapers a 1 in quality is because they all delaminated after the second wash! I washed them the first time in hot water to prep them for my son to wear. After he wore them once, I washed them again in hot water. When I took them out of the washer, I noticed that they sounded sort of squeaky when they moved and so I opened the pocket and the plastic laminate was coming off of the diaper! This happened to every single one! Just about every one has gone in the trash.
(Note: If your diaper delaminates, it's finished. There's no way to fix that. You can keep using it until the plastic tears inside, but you can count on a leak if it does. The best use for a delaminated diaper is to use it as a swim diaper. I saved one to use for swimming next summer and to take pictures of for this post.)
Fit: 1 (Horrible!)
They didn't fit my 6 lb 12 oz baby when he was born, so I had to use another brand and tried them on from time to time until they fit him. They finally sort of fit when he was about a month old because he has really chunky thighs. I was able to put them on him on the smallest rise setting, crossing over the tabs, when he was about 10 lbs.
At a month old, my son wasn't very mobile, so I didn't think that the lack of hip snaps was going to be an issue. Actually, it didn't occur to me that I would need them at all because of a lack of basis for comparison. All of my other diapers were aplix. Well, the Baby City diapers taught me the value of hip snaps! I got the worst wing droop and gapping around the thighs imaginable with these diapers. I don't even know how it managed to droop on a baby who barely moved! He's not crawling yet and definitely not walking, so I am truly stumped.
Daytime Use: 2 (Not great)
I only ever tried these during the day, so I'm going to leave out overnight use for now. Needless to say, I got leaks galore the few times that I used these diapers due to the wing droop. I saved them for laundry day or if I wanted to put something looser around my son's thighs to give them a rest from the tighter diapers that I used on him the rest of the time, so I did get a tiny bit of use out of them. You can see in the picture how big the gap around his thigh is, even though his thighs are really chunky at 3 months old and it's on the lowest rise setting.
Convenience: 2 (Not great)
It's not very convenient to have to change your baby's clothes every time he pees, but these diapers did open me up to how convenient it is to have pocket diapers prestuffed and just snap them on the baby. It intrigued me enough to start researching all over again, pouring gasoline on my cloth diaper addiction fire.
These diapers are an example of you get what you pay for. Like I said before, I barely got my $2.50's worth out of them. If I had thought about the swim diaper thing, I would have kept a few more of them and then I would have actually got my money's worth. But hey, next summer is soon enough to get some actual swim diapers or use a few of my cuter covers as swim diapers.
Okay, this was my first experience with cloth, so learn from it. Don't do what I did and just buy blindly. If you're reading this, the first thing that you should take from it is to research the hell out of your diapers before you buy them! Ask other CDing moms that you know, if you know any. Read every review that google has to offer. Watch videos on YouTube about how they work. Look to see if the quality of the item matches the price because your diapers are an investment. Good diapers can be sold for almost what you paid for them or used for the next child. Thankfully, I'm only out $25. I could have been out way more than that!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
They stink! Help!!!
Okay, there may come a time where your CDs do start to stink. I don't mean that they were pooped in or your baby sat in pee for an hour, so they stink. I mean that they just came out of the washing machine and they stink or they smell bad as soon as your little one pees. What do you do?
First, there are two types of stink: ammonia stink and "barnyard" stink. These are usually caused by opposite problems with detergent, but it's going to take some trial and error to clear the problem up.
Ammonia stink happens as a by product of urine. You'll know this stink well if you keep a closed diaper pail. After a day, the diapers' smell might knock you over. Leave it open and that won't happen. But why would you smell it as soon as your baby pees? Odds are, you're using too much soap and the buildup is trapping urine in the diaper. Try cutting the amount of detergent you're using in half. You don't need a lot of soap when washing diapers.
Barnyard stink is what you get when your diapers aren't getting clean enough. I don't know how to describe it except to say that you'll know it when you smell it. Your diapers may look clean, but they're not. Remember that the diapers have several layers that can trap urine, feces and bacteria. Stains do not equal dirty diapers. You can have clean diapers that are stained. If you're having barnyard stink, you're going to have to change your wash routine somehow. Start by adding more soap to your wash load. If that doesn't work, then use hot water in your wash cycle if you're not already doing that. You might need to change your detergent because not every detergent is compatible with every location's water supply. There is also the possibility that you're overloading the washing machine so that the diapers aren't agitating properly, so try washing with less diapers. You may have to wash more often or split your load in half. (I need to remember to do this one myself!)
So, what should you do if you try to change your wash routine in one or more of these ways and it's not working enough or at all? You can strip your diapers. Stripping your diapers is the process of removing all of the built up yuck from them and getting them back to a near new state. There are several ways to strip. The good thing about that is that if one way doesn't work, just try another!
1. Using hot water to strip diapers is one of the easiest ways to strip. Wash your diapers in hot water with no detergent. You might start to see bubbles in the water if you had detergent buildup causing your diaper issues. You should wash, wash, wash until you don't see any more bubbles in the machine.
2. Wash your CDs with a squirt of Dawn original blue dishwashing liquid. Add 1 squirt to your wash cycle, wash in hot water and keep rinsing until you don't see any more bubbles. Now, the size of your squirt may depend on the size of your machine. If I add a full squirt to my tiny washing machine, I'll have bubbles all over my kitchen! If I need to strip, I am only going to use half a tbsp or less.
3. RLR is a laundry detergent additive that many people use to strip their diapers. I've heard rave reviews about it. I'll be adding my own review when I get some. RLR was developed to clean buildup and stains out of clothes, leaving behind nothing but clean clothes, so it works well on CDs. Add the RLR to your hot water cycle and rinse until there are no more bubbles.
4. Chlorine bleach is a last resort for cloth diapers, but it does work. I've used bleach when I was having stink issues and the bleach cleared everything up. Some CD manufacturers actually recommend using 1/4 cup of bleach every month in order to keep your diapers sanitized. That's what I added to my wash load. Make sure that you never pour bleach on your diapers, even the white ones. If your machine doesn't have a bleach dispenser, then add the bleach when your machine is full. I went a step further and diluted the bleach in hot water and then added it so that I wouldn't risk damaging my pockets and covers. Oh, and don't forget to rinse everything until the bubbles are gone.
There are other laundry additives that you can use to strip your diapers. I've seen recommendations of Bac-Out, OxyClean, vinegar, baking soda, Sports-Wash, etc. The most important thing to remember is (are you seeing a theme here?) rinse everything thoroughly. Bubbles in the washer will tell you if there's detergent buildup left. You're trying to get rid of anything that shouldn't be on your diapers and anything less than a complete rinsing will leave you having to strip again.
First, there are two types of stink: ammonia stink and "barnyard" stink. These are usually caused by opposite problems with detergent, but it's going to take some trial and error to clear the problem up.
Ammonia stink happens as a by product of urine. You'll know this stink well if you keep a closed diaper pail. After a day, the diapers' smell might knock you over. Leave it open and that won't happen. But why would you smell it as soon as your baby pees? Odds are, you're using too much soap and the buildup is trapping urine in the diaper. Try cutting the amount of detergent you're using in half. You don't need a lot of soap when washing diapers.
Barnyard stink is what you get when your diapers aren't getting clean enough. I don't know how to describe it except to say that you'll know it when you smell it. Your diapers may look clean, but they're not. Remember that the diapers have several layers that can trap urine, feces and bacteria. Stains do not equal dirty diapers. You can have clean diapers that are stained. If you're having barnyard stink, you're going to have to change your wash routine somehow. Start by adding more soap to your wash load. If that doesn't work, then use hot water in your wash cycle if you're not already doing that. You might need to change your detergent because not every detergent is compatible with every location's water supply. There is also the possibility that you're overloading the washing machine so that the diapers aren't agitating properly, so try washing with less diapers. You may have to wash more often or split your load in half. (I need to remember to do this one myself!)
So, what should you do if you try to change your wash routine in one or more of these ways and it's not working enough or at all? You can strip your diapers. Stripping your diapers is the process of removing all of the built up yuck from them and getting them back to a near new state. There are several ways to strip. The good thing about that is that if one way doesn't work, just try another!
1. Using hot water to strip diapers is one of the easiest ways to strip. Wash your diapers in hot water with no detergent. You might start to see bubbles in the water if you had detergent buildup causing your diaper issues. You should wash, wash, wash until you don't see any more bubbles in the machine.
2. Wash your CDs with a squirt of Dawn original blue dishwashing liquid. Add 1 squirt to your wash cycle, wash in hot water and keep rinsing until you don't see any more bubbles. Now, the size of your squirt may depend on the size of your machine. If I add a full squirt to my tiny washing machine, I'll have bubbles all over my kitchen! If I need to strip, I am only going to use half a tbsp or less.
3. RLR is a laundry detergent additive that many people use to strip their diapers. I've heard rave reviews about it. I'll be adding my own review when I get some. RLR was developed to clean buildup and stains out of clothes, leaving behind nothing but clean clothes, so it works well on CDs. Add the RLR to your hot water cycle and rinse until there are no more bubbles.
4. Chlorine bleach is a last resort for cloth diapers, but it does work. I've used bleach when I was having stink issues and the bleach cleared everything up. Some CD manufacturers actually recommend using 1/4 cup of bleach every month in order to keep your diapers sanitized. That's what I added to my wash load. Make sure that you never pour bleach on your diapers, even the white ones. If your machine doesn't have a bleach dispenser, then add the bleach when your machine is full. I went a step further and diluted the bleach in hot water and then added it so that I wouldn't risk damaging my pockets and covers. Oh, and don't forget to rinse everything until the bubbles are gone.
There are other laundry additives that you can use to strip your diapers. I've seen recommendations of Bac-Out, OxyClean, vinegar, baking soda, Sports-Wash, etc. The most important thing to remember is (are you seeing a theme here?) rinse everything thoroughly. Bubbles in the washer will tell you if there's detergent buildup left. You're trying to get rid of anything that shouldn't be on your diapers and anything less than a complete rinsing will leave you having to strip again.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Ewww!!! They've got poop on them! What do I do?
Well, duh! Wash them!
When dealing with dirty diapers, you need to consider a few things.
*Where do I keep the dirty diapers?
That's up to you. Some sites mention using a covered pail full of water and baking soda for your diapers. This will keep stains from setting. There are disadvantages to this method, though. Keeping a pail of water in the house with a baby poses a drowning risk that has made many sites and experts recommend not using a wet pail anymore. In addition, you have to deal with a full pail of dirty water. I don't know about you, but I don't relish the idea of spilling that water, and that's exactly what I would manage to do on a regular basis.
You could buy a dedicated diaper pail that doesn't have those bag cartridges like the Diaper Genie does. One of my favorites has a little dome in the top where you can put an air freshener. You could use a kitchen garbage pail with a lid and a pail liner made of PUL. You could even just get a hanging wetbag and put them in there.
Wait, just put them in a bag? What about the stink? Get this, if your diapers are exposed to air, they will not stink! Some people, myself included, leave the lid to the diaper pail or the zipper to the wetbag open and have no issues with a stinky room. The only time my eyes water when I take out my pail liner is if the lid to the pail has been closed.
*What is in the laundry detergent?
My favorite baby laundry detergent when I had my first son (before I learned about cloth diapers) used to be Dreft. It used to make the clothes smell like baby powder and feel all cuddly. I never knew that Dreft wasn't a cloth diaper safe detergent. Why not? It had a few of the big cloth diaper no-nos. Whitening enzymes, brighteners, fragrances and dyes can all irritate your baby's sensitive skin, especially when kept wet in an overnight diaper.
One of the best resources for figuring out which detergent is best for you is Diaper Jungle's Cloth Diaper Detergent Chart. I have been hearing great things about soap nuts lately. I'm going to give them a try when I run low on detergent. I'll definitely let you know how it goes! I currently make my own using a recipe from The Eco Friendly Family. I use the recipe without Borax. It's just equal parts of washing soda, baking soda and OxyClean Free. It's been working pretty well so far!
*Do I add fabric softener?
Fabric softener, whether in the detergent or added in separately, is an even bigger cloth diaper no-no. It might make your clothes feel softer and reduce static cling, but it coats the diapers, causing the liquids to repel and diapers to leak. This includes dryer sheets and bars. Even the residue from the sheets in the dryer can cause repelling. There are other more natural softeners that can give you the same benefits as softener without the repelling problem, such as dryer balls.
*What do I do if I have hard water?
Hard water can make washing cloth diapers difficult. It can make any of your laundry difficult. You will have to use special detergent or add in a water softener in order to get your diapers fully clean. Many moms recommend using Calgon water softener or Rockin' Green Hard Rock cloth diaper detergent when washing the diapers. There is a ton of information online on what to do if you have hard water. You could read a blog (besides mine because we don't have hard water in NYC), or join a message board to find out from other parents who are dealing with hard water issues firsthand.
*What should my wash routine be?
It varies depending on your washing machine and water, but the general rule of thumb is cold rinse without detergent, hot wash with detergent, cold rinse. The first cold rinse washes away as much of the waste out of the diaper as possible. The hot wash sanitizes your diapers and kills any bacteria, getting your diapers truly clean. The final cold rinse washes away all of the detergent and any leftover muck.
I live in a small NYC apartment, so I can't have a large washing machine. I'm lucky that my landlady is nice enough to let us have one at all! I wouldn't be able to do cloth if I didn't have my machine. It could be done, but I'm being honest. My washer is a tiny compact washer by Haier and it's not as powerful as other machines, so I have to make allowances for that. I do a cold quick wash, a full hot wash with detergent and another cold quick wash. I get a lot of rinses in that way, so my washer gets the job done.
*What about the poop? What do I do with that?
It always comes back to the poop, doesn't it? Well, your routine will depend on how old your baby is.
Newborn meconium poop (that black, sticky poop) scares new CDing parents, including me! My son pooped all that out in the hospital in the disposables that they used so I got lucky, but I would have put cloth on him from birth if we were home. It should be rinsed off before you put your diapers in the wash.
EBF (exclusively breast fed) poop is yellow and seedy. If you have a regular sized washing machine, you don't need to rinse off the poop. Just toss it in your wetbag or pail and wash it with the other diapers. I can't do that with my compact washer. I rinse off the poop and give them a scrub in the bathroom sink. I've seen them come out of the washer still stained if I didn't.
When your baby starts eating solids, the poop will be the consistency of peanut butter, if not firmer, and needs to be either sprayed off with the diaper sprayer, dunked into the toilet and swished around until the poop comes off or scraped off into the toilet. As he or she gets older, the poop will become ploppable, meaning that you can just turn the diaper over and the poop will plop into the toilet. That's what many CDing parents hope for because it ploppable poop so much easier to deal with! Liners, whether they be disposable or not, help with this process. It's easier to flush a liner or rinse a cloth liner than the whole diaper, especially if you're using pockets or AIOs.
What do I do about stains?
First, the sun is your best friend! Sunning your diapers is a natural way of getting stains out of your diapers. Hang your wet diapers in the sun and the stains will fade. If they're not gone by the time they're dry, they will be the next time you wash and sun them.
Unfortunately, I don't have the option of sunning the diapers. My apartment is surrounded by buildings all around it, so we don't get the benefit of direct sunlight unless I put them on the roof. Seeing as how I tend to be really, really clumsy, you can imagine that I'm a little apprehensive of going that route. I use a mixture of water, hydrogen peroxide and a little bit of blue original Dawn to get the stains out. My diapers and inserts go into the wash with very few stains on them so that they come out clean. I hang them on a small hanging rack in my house. I rarely put them in the dryer because it's smaller than my washer.
The thing about stains is that one way or another, they will come out. Besides, your baby poops in them. Once you get the stains out, they're going to get pooped in again. The baby poops inside the diaper. No one is going to see it. It's a personal thing. The only time you really need to worry about stains is if you're going to sell your diapers. The resale value on cloth diapers is higher than you would think and people pay more if there are no stains in the diapers.
Now you've got a wash routine. You might need to tweak it to better suit your needs, but now you know where to start.
When dealing with dirty diapers, you need to consider a few things.
*Where do I keep the dirty diapers?
That's up to you. Some sites mention using a covered pail full of water and baking soda for your diapers. This will keep stains from setting. There are disadvantages to this method, though. Keeping a pail of water in the house with a baby poses a drowning risk that has made many sites and experts recommend not using a wet pail anymore. In addition, you have to deal with a full pail of dirty water. I don't know about you, but I don't relish the idea of spilling that water, and that's exactly what I would manage to do on a regular basis.
You could buy a dedicated diaper pail that doesn't have those bag cartridges like the Diaper Genie does. One of my favorites has a little dome in the top where you can put an air freshener. You could use a kitchen garbage pail with a lid and a pail liner made of PUL. You could even just get a hanging wetbag and put them in there.
Wait, just put them in a bag? What about the stink? Get this, if your diapers are exposed to air, they will not stink! Some people, myself included, leave the lid to the diaper pail or the zipper to the wetbag open and have no issues with a stinky room. The only time my eyes water when I take out my pail liner is if the lid to the pail has been closed.
*What is in the laundry detergent?
My favorite baby laundry detergent when I had my first son (before I learned about cloth diapers) used to be Dreft. It used to make the clothes smell like baby powder and feel all cuddly. I never knew that Dreft wasn't a cloth diaper safe detergent. Why not? It had a few of the big cloth diaper no-nos. Whitening enzymes, brighteners, fragrances and dyes can all irritate your baby's sensitive skin, especially when kept wet in an overnight diaper.
One of the best resources for figuring out which detergent is best for you is Diaper Jungle's Cloth Diaper Detergent Chart. I have been hearing great things about soap nuts lately. I'm going to give them a try when I run low on detergent. I'll definitely let you know how it goes! I currently make my own using a recipe from The Eco Friendly Family. I use the recipe without Borax. It's just equal parts of washing soda, baking soda and OxyClean Free. It's been working pretty well so far!
*Do I add fabric softener?
Fabric softener, whether in the detergent or added in separately, is an even bigger cloth diaper no-no. It might make your clothes feel softer and reduce static cling, but it coats the diapers, causing the liquids to repel and diapers to leak. This includes dryer sheets and bars. Even the residue from the sheets in the dryer can cause repelling. There are other more natural softeners that can give you the same benefits as softener without the repelling problem, such as dryer balls.
*What do I do if I have hard water?
Hard water can make washing cloth diapers difficult. It can make any of your laundry difficult. You will have to use special detergent or add in a water softener in order to get your diapers fully clean. Many moms recommend using Calgon water softener or Rockin' Green Hard Rock cloth diaper detergent when washing the diapers. There is a ton of information online on what to do if you have hard water. You could read a blog (besides mine because we don't have hard water in NYC), or join a message board to find out from other parents who are dealing with hard water issues firsthand.
*What should my wash routine be?
It varies depending on your washing machine and water, but the general rule of thumb is cold rinse without detergent, hot wash with detergent, cold rinse. The first cold rinse washes away as much of the waste out of the diaper as possible. The hot wash sanitizes your diapers and kills any bacteria, getting your diapers truly clean. The final cold rinse washes away all of the detergent and any leftover muck.
I live in a small NYC apartment, so I can't have a large washing machine. I'm lucky that my landlady is nice enough to let us have one at all! I wouldn't be able to do cloth if I didn't have my machine. It could be done, but I'm being honest. My washer is a tiny compact washer by Haier and it's not as powerful as other machines, so I have to make allowances for that. I do a cold quick wash, a full hot wash with detergent and another cold quick wash. I get a lot of rinses in that way, so my washer gets the job done.
*What about the poop? What do I do with that?
It always comes back to the poop, doesn't it? Well, your routine will depend on how old your baby is.
Newborn meconium poop (that black, sticky poop) scares new CDing parents, including me! My son pooped all that out in the hospital in the disposables that they used so I got lucky, but I would have put cloth on him from birth if we were home. It should be rinsed off before you put your diapers in the wash.
EBF (exclusively breast fed) poop is yellow and seedy. If you have a regular sized washing machine, you don't need to rinse off the poop. Just toss it in your wetbag or pail and wash it with the other diapers. I can't do that with my compact washer. I rinse off the poop and give them a scrub in the bathroom sink. I've seen them come out of the washer still stained if I didn't.
When your baby starts eating solids, the poop will be the consistency of peanut butter, if not firmer, and needs to be either sprayed off with the diaper sprayer, dunked into the toilet and swished around until the poop comes off or scraped off into the toilet. As he or she gets older, the poop will become ploppable, meaning that you can just turn the diaper over and the poop will plop into the toilet. That's what many CDing parents hope for because it ploppable poop so much easier to deal with! Liners, whether they be disposable or not, help with this process. It's easier to flush a liner or rinse a cloth liner than the whole diaper, especially if you're using pockets or AIOs.
What do I do about stains?
First, the sun is your best friend! Sunning your diapers is a natural way of getting stains out of your diapers. Hang your wet diapers in the sun and the stains will fade. If they're not gone by the time they're dry, they will be the next time you wash and sun them.
Unfortunately, I don't have the option of sunning the diapers. My apartment is surrounded by buildings all around it, so we don't get the benefit of direct sunlight unless I put them on the roof. Seeing as how I tend to be really, really clumsy, you can imagine that I'm a little apprehensive of going that route. I use a mixture of water, hydrogen peroxide and a little bit of blue original Dawn to get the stains out. My diapers and inserts go into the wash with very few stains on them so that they come out clean. I hang them on a small hanging rack in my house. I rarely put them in the dryer because it's smaller than my washer.
The thing about stains is that one way or another, they will come out. Besides, your baby poops in them. Once you get the stains out, they're going to get pooped in again. The baby poops inside the diaper. No one is going to see it. It's a personal thing. The only time you really need to worry about stains is if you're going to sell your diapers. The resale value on cloth diapers is higher than you would think and people pay more if there are no stains in the diapers.
Now you've got a wash routine. You might need to tweak it to better suit your needs, but now you know where to start.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
I got my diapers! Now what?
Put them on the baby, duh!
Not exactly. You have to prep and wash them first. Prepping is the process of preparing diapers to be worn. You have to prep natural fabrics differently from synthetic ones, but once that's done, you can wash them together. Why is that? Well, natural fabrics are covered with oils that can cause your diapers to not absorb, or repel, moisture. This leads to big leaks and messes, the opposite of what you would want! The oils that are released into the wash water can coat synthetic fabrics in the washer and you get the same sort of repelling. Synthetics don't have these oils.
Prepping Natural Fabrics:
There are two methods of prepping natural fabrics, washing and boiling. If you want to prep them in the washer, you have to wash the five (yes, five!) times in the hottest water you can manage. Some people manage to get their water hotter by adding boiling water if they have a top loading washer or a towel soaked in boiling hot water if they have a front loader. You must be really dedicated to try that last one! Others turn the boiler up in their homes to make the water hotter. I've read a lot about prepping natural fabrics and the jury is out as to whether you have to dry them between washings. You might have to check with the diaper manufacturer if you're not sure.
I don't know about you, but I think that five consecutive wash loads is a lot! It uses a lot of resources to accomplish between the water, electricity and whatever you use to run the water heater. Boiling uses much less water. Just toss your diapers in a large pot and boil them for 30-45 minutes, then wash them as you would the rest of your diapers (more on that in the next post). Easy, right? And it is that easy, unless your diaper has plastic snaps, Velcro/aplix, or anything else that could be damaged by the heat, such as on your covers or fitted diapers. If you do, then you're better off putting them in the wash. You don't necessarily have to run five loads dedicated to the diapers. You can wash them with other clothes as well, as long as you're washing them the way you would wash your diapers.
*Important note: do not boil or wash wool in hot water! It'll shrink and you'll have diapers for your daughter's dolls. Refer to the manufacturer's instructions for those.
**ETA: One of my friends is my go-to chick for everything CD, breastfeeding, babywearing and just about anything natural you can think of. She uses only natural fabrics on her children and told me that she only washes her prefolds five times. Her fitteds get washed once and go straight on the baby's bum. I trust her judgement. You do what you think is right.
**ETA: One of my friends is my go-to chick for everything CD, breastfeeding, babywearing and just about anything natural you can think of. She uses only natural fabrics on her children and told me that she only washes her prefolds five times. Her fitteds get washed once and go straight on the baby's bum. I trust her judgement. You do what you think is right.
Prepping Synthetic Fabrics:
Wash them. Seriously, just wash them. Since synthetic fibers don't have any oils to get rid of, you're just getting them clean since they're going to touch your baby's bottom. They might have dust or dirt on them from the manufacturing and shipping process. You wouldn't want dirty diapers to go on the baby, even if there's no poop in them.
So now you know how to get the diapers ready to be worn. If you need help figuring out how to size them, fold them or put them on, YouTube is your best friend. I'll talk about that if it comes up as I review things later on. Enjoy your fluff!
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