9 month Review: Diapers used daily

November 21st, 2010

bumGenius AIOs B--
This is the majority of our stash and what we use regularly. Mediums during the day and larges at night with 1-2 extra hemp doublers. Effective for preventing leaks. (Mostly. But we have had trouble with wicking if an edge isn't turned in quite right and repelling with washing issues. After identifying and rectifying those issues, we've only had a handful of leaks in the last several months. Still more than we had in the year of sposies, but not too bad.) The fit is good and she seems comfortable in them. I like that the insides are smooth (since rubbing is an issue for us) and that I can add more absorbency easily.

The aplix (velcro) though, is really annoying. I mean, I love the ease to put it on and take it off. Even though my toddler can do it, this is a pro. She helps get herself undressed for bath time or can take them off when she needs to go potty. However, the dang things do NOT stay on their "laundry tabs" while washing. (Most of my mediums have laundry tabs that are smaller than the hook side so they stand almost no chance of sticking.) Consequently, they end up stuck to each other, scratching the waterproof outside (no leaking through yet, but it's only a matter of time), and tangling up with anything else I dare to put in the diaper load. It really gets me when I have to rip one of her darling little pairs of underwear off diaper, doing obvious damage. (These are cheap, but doing unnecessary damage to them makes me sad every time. I threw a few of my not-so-cheap nursing bras in the laundry with the diapers once-- boy did I regret that!) The damage from the aplix has also made the resale value much lower. The diapers are still functional so they probably can be resold but not for as much as I was led to believe initially. Of course, disposables have zero resale value so some is better than none. I just understand why people swear by snaps now. (Prefolds and fitteds with snappis would be similar.) It might take a little longer putting them on the kid but you don't have the laundry frustrations.

Hemp doublers A+
Still happy with these. They are thin, absorb well, and are in basically the same condition as when I got them, with the exception of the 2 my washing machine tried to eat. That wasn't the doublers fault though. We add these to her nighttime diapers and this works well. Definitely adds a lot of absorbency for virtually no bulk.

9 month review: Diapers not used often

November 21st, 2010

These are the other diapers and accessories that we still have but rarely use.

Sposoeasy all in one with snaps B
We don't use this often because the tongue can contribute to my kid's rash and it doesn't fit her well (large gap around the tummy) but it has held up well. Probably a great diaper option for kids who fit in it properly and don't mind the tongue bunchiness. Actually, it'd probably bunch less if my kid were bigger around the middle and better matched the shape of the diaper design.

Swaddlebees Fleece Cover A-
I was initially a little bit disappointed that the pretty fleece pilled up immediately. However, that doesn't seem to have affected its effectiveness. It still seems comfortable on my kiddo, washes up in the washing machine well and dries quickly, and the velcro tabs aren't as obnoxious as others. I think I'd like this one a little bit more if it were snaps. The two step process of put something absorbent on and then slap the cover on my kid is often impractical. An infant size prefold trifolded in the cover works pretty well, but putting all that together is harder than the AIOs. (Remember that I'm changing a squirmy toddler on my lap while sitting on the edge of a bathtub since all changes happen in the bathroom.) I think I'm basically a fan of fleece though.

Bummas Wipes B
I got these free for making some suggestions on their website and they sent me a pack as a thank you. I was really excited. I figured we use them for everything for years to come. They don't seem to be holding up terribly well though. They're still fine and can cer, but not the fabulous product I thought they were. They're my favorite of the cloth wipes we've used, but I think that just means they're better than that one flannel one I was sent as a bonus once.

Easy to Bum fitteds with snaps
We just got these so I really can't say much. They are reasonably absorbent. They seem comfortable. They don't have any velcro so there's no washing issues. They require a cover so they're a little more work to put on than an all-in-one, but not too bad. My kid seems to really like them but I can't figure out why (colorful snaps?) but my husband thinks that having to unsnap the peed on diaper is the worst idea ever. He doesn't change many diapers so I don't want to give him an excuse to change fewer, but these are probably not a bad idea for people not married to my husband and aren't as squeamish about a little urine.

Grobaby all-in-two (now Grovia) C-
Eh. Doesn't fit her so leaks around the legs. I only use it when I'm in desperate need for a cover or don't really think she needs to pee in the near future but want a little more protection than her running around naked. The velcro was fine initially but doesn't stay stuck in the laundry at all.

bumGenius Pocket diaper C
I don't like pockets but I got this on ebay before I knew that. We also don't have an official insert for it since it didn't come with one and didn't seem worth them money when I knew I didn't like pockets. This is for emergency use only. We'll stick a prefold in it. This mostly gets used when she goes potty in the middle of dinner and we know she'll be taking a bath right after dinner so it doesn't seem worth using a "good" diaper.

9 month review: Underwear and training pants

November 21st, 2010

Gerber plastic pants A
For what these are supposed to be, these are great. My husband calls them the shower cap with leg holes. They're certainly no frills. I've been using them over her underwear when we're practicing for potty training so if she has an accident, it's contained. Since she really isn't potty trained, she's had quite a few accidents. NONE have leaked. Zero. (Now, I only use these when sje's up and running around so it's really obvious the instant she goes.) We only have 2 and I don't use them often (though they've probably been used a couple dozen times each) and I always hand wash them so they've held up well. I just sent them through the washing machine (maybe for the first time? maybe I did that initially but I don't remember) since my husband complained they smelled like stale pee. These run about $1.50 each and that's about the quality they are. Not fancy. Not worth saving for the next kid. But effectiveness for under $2?! If I'd come up with this plan at 13 months around the time she was semi-potty trained (she's less so now) and outgrew the pampers swaddlers, I might not have tried cloth. Or perhaps I'd have had a different focus. Oh, and she is using 12 mo size over her undies which are still very roomy since they are designed to go over diapers.

Elmo underwear A
Fruit of the loom or some generic brand. She saw them in the store and wanted them when she was about 16 months old. They're 2t but fit her fine. No absorbency at all but the motivation to keep Elmo dry seems useful. I couple these with the aforementioned plastic pants for around the house. I think she's only gone out in them once and she stayed dry for that short excursion.

Wool underwear
I don't know what to think of these. They seem to fit ok. We got them because she was the right size tester and potty training (many months ago) but do I put them over something absorbent? There isn't really elastic on the legs so I think they'd leak (and did, the one time I tried them over undies) and I'm not sure they'd be comfortable alone. Lanolizing was no big deal though so perhaps there is hope for me and wool.

Gerber training pants
These are more absorbent than just plain undies but won't hold a full pee. I got her 18 mo size many months ago and they fit her around but were really tall. Comfortable and soft enough. But don't have elmo on them so there's less motivation to keep them dry in our case. :) I suspect we'll use these more as she's closer to fully potty trained and these will work for little leaks.

9 month review: detergent

November 21st, 2010

Tide Free F
This made a mess of our diapers and caused serious stink and repelling issues. Some websites said it was fine because it was the "free" version and a lot of people on a CD website recently listed that as their detergent so it must work for some but it was certainly not fine for our diapers and hard water. Worked for the first couple of months but then it was disaster.

Crunchy Clean
I just had a sample of this so I used it for a half dozen washes. Seemed fine but then there was an issue when I ordered more and I ended up using Rockin Green instead.

Rockin Green Detergent A
Definitely good. Helped solve our laundry-related problems like wicking and leaking. It comes in nice scents but that doesn't really matter since they rinse out of the clothes. (It hadn't occurred to me that that nice smell left on clothes is really detergent residue.) My husband is the bigger fan, I think. He now advocates it for most of our clothes. It got stains out of shirts that he hadn't been able to get out for years. We've used it to clean the carpet and other household things because it's safer than other chemical cleaners. (We also got a bag from a bad batch that didn't fully mix so they replaced it but suggested we use this to clean stuff around the house.) I don't feel like it's the miracle product that I read so many reviews about, but it's definitely pretty darn good.

Impressions of snaps

November 21st, 2010

When I got up with the kiddo at 3:30am, I decided to change her diaper. (Both getting up and middle of the night changes are unusual now.) Anyway, she didn't want a diaper change... until she came up with the idea of a diaper with snaps. That would be fine. I was in no mood to argue so I tried to figure out how to accommodate her.

We only have 2 types with snaps. One is a sposoeasy which doesn't fit her around the belly so is fine when she's upright, but no good when she's sleeping on her face and just pees out the top-- and it was currently soaking in the washing machine. The other is the fitted diaper we got a couple of weeks ago that my husband declared the worst diaper ever.

Since I was in no mood to argue in the middle of the night, I decided to put the fitted on her. But we don't have any covers that fit right and our best option, the fleece cover, was in the washing machine soaking. I finally decided that I'd use the large bumGenius all-in-one. It's the largest diaper we own and she usually wears a medium so I figured that might be big enough.

It took some work, but I finally got all of the fitted to stay inside the BG. It meant it was a little tighter around her than I'd typically make it, but she didn't seem to mind. Leak potential was high since only the edge of the fitted had to wiggle outside the cover and then pee would wick out. But I figured that was the risk I'd have to take and she isn't usually peeing at night anyway so it might be dry by morning.

This morning: dry bed and sheets (whoo!) and slightly moist diaper that she probably used after we woke up. I took the diapers off carefully and then started laughing. She had 10 round circles imprinted across her stomach from the back of the snaps. Ha! They didn't look painful but it wasn't something I'd considered for snaps before. I doubt most people would be putting on a cover so tightly though.

Wee One's Easy to Bum Diapers

November 13th, 2010

I won a 3 pack of Wee One's Easy to Bum Diapers.

They're really no frills fitted diapers. (In other words, they are shaped like a disposable but don't have a waterproof exterior and require a cover.) They have a bunch of snaps that could have been put together in the dark by someone color blind-- functional and well placed, but no reason for the mix of colors in the various snaps. They're also a bit thick but seem soft and both times I've picked one up, my little on has ripped off her current diaper to request that one. Maybe she likes the crazy colored snaps! :)

I thought I really liked these when I opened the package. I was excited that they claimed I could use them after 1 wash, but they wouldn't be fully absorbent until 3. As soon as I got them out of the washer and showed one to my husband, my daughter fought to put it on. After a few minutes, I switched her to her night time diaper (bg aio with extra hemp doubler) but she'd already peed in the fitted. It held it well and didnt leak though, but it probably would have soon.

Anyway, when she requested it again, I put a fleece cover over it and it seemed like the softest diaper solution we have (and also the thickest). My daughter seemed happy enough and enjoyed this through dinner.

Then my husband took her to the bathroom after dinner for a bath and took off her diaper.

"Ew. Ew ew ew ew!"
"What?"
"This is just disgusting. I have to unsnap this pee-soaked diaper?"
"Oh."
"This is horrible! This is the worst product ever. How did we not see this coming? Ew!"

His reaction was so extreme it was funny, but he does have a point. Fitted diapers run the risk of soaking through to the closures. Possibly not a good plan for the elimination-squeamish.

So even though we might use this from time to time, I don't think I'll be getting many more of them. If this is the kind of thing you're looking for, it seems like a good product and they are inexpensive. Under $100 for a pack of 10-12, depending on size.

Laundry Day

Laundry Day

diapertrials

November 12th, 2010

It's 10:30am and I'm in panic mode for diapers. I'll have to make those top priority or I risk not having a night time diaper ready by the time she goes to bed 12 hours from now. I would say my laundry routine is cold rinse, hot wash/cold rinse, extra rinse, dry 2 cycles.

In reality, this is actually a lot (it's a lot less than it used to be!) and given that my washer/dryer are outside and it's not really safe for my toddler to come with me given the (filthy) air conditioner on the balcony (and her ability to climb over), I either need to carry her or find something for her to do inside and hope she doesn't get into anything else while I'm outside. We've worked out a "game" where she peaks out the door under the blinds which sometimes works, but other times she get into something else or come outside, which means her feet are dirty (not a big deal until I get dirty feet in my face while nursing later). So it's doable, but laundry is a little bit stressful for me.

Anyway, this is how diaper laundry actually looked today:
10:30 Put the diapers out in the washing machine for a rinse on cold, extracting inserts and affixing velcro to tabs. Come inside to the pile of ribbons, bows, stickers and tissue paper that my daughter got into while I was outside with the laundry (approved toy, but big mess)
10:40 Throw an additional diaper that was still in the bathroom
10:42 Throw an additional dipe in from the other bathroom (and feel dumb that there were TWO diapers I missed.) Peel stickers off the couch when I come back in.
12 pm Turn on an Elmo clip on YouTube and race outside to turn the BG AIOs inside out and peel the diapers off each other (since the laundry tabs on half my bg aios are smaller than the velcro so they always end up tangled). Turn on hot cycle and leave the lid open to soak with 2 tbsp of Rockin Green. Chase my daughter back inside 3 times. Wash pee smell off my hands. Wipe her feet.
12:30 Run back out carrying the kiddo to shut the lid, let it agitate for a moment, and stop the cycle to let it soak more.
3:30 Run out to actually start the wash. Leave for grocery store.
5:45 pm Add a few towels and run laundry again with 1 tbsp rockin green. (I used to do just an extra rinse but found I could do a full load again with a few towels and those would end up clean and my diapers would dry faster in the dryer. Otherwise, 2 cycles doesn't cut it.) Chase toddler back inside and take off her socks since she ran out without shoes on.
7pm Put on a Sesame Street clip on YouTube and run out to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer.

I'm about to make dinner so I won't get to restart it until after we are done eating. The 2nd dryer cycle will probably start at about 9pm. Fortunately, since I threw in extra towels, there will be dry diapers by about 10pm. Otherwise, 2 cycles wouldn't be sufficient for the AIOs which is what we like to use with an extra hemp insert for night time. Anyway, this will work out tonight. But if I hadn't started the washer before I left for the grocery store, I might be in more of a bind. (Makes me really wonder about that argument from cloth diaper advocates that "you'll never have to run to the grocery store when you run out of diapers"... Trip to the grocery store took an hour, laundry took all day.) Anyway, this is doable, but does take a significant amount of mental energy. It doesn't take that much actual work time, but it takes up resources. I think this is a lot less logistically challenging for others, though it could also certainly be worse.

Edit: I decided to run the dryer again sooner to be sure we have a diaper ready in time so I ran out at about 8:30 with my husband yelling, "What are you doing?! We're right in the middle of dinner!" Diapers were done at 9:15. About 11 hours today. They still smell faintly of pee (if I hold it right up to my nose) which really takes an all night soak to get rid of. Ideally, I do the initial rinse at night and soak all night and that means the diapers take up laundry resources for about 24 hours, though I could do it a bit faster if I really needed to. Realistically, I don't get them going again until I'm showered and dressed (again, out on the balcony where many people can see me... not that I *can't* go out in pjs, just often don't) so that means I start the night before and don't get back to it again until about 11am which only puts it slightly ahead of today's schedule.

9 months into cloth diapering... still not loving it

November 10th, 2010

I wish I loved cloth diapering. I want to write raving reviews over all the products I've tried. I want to tell everyone how amazing cloth diapering is and encourage everyone to try it.

But I don't love it. I don't even like it. Actually, I hate it.

Before switching to cloth, I didn't mind diapering at all. Pee and poop was no big deal. Buying was easy and cheaper than I thought it'd be, many fit in the diaper bag so I was never in danger of running out, changes were fast, fit was great, leaks and rashes were unheard of, disposal was trivial...

Now that I'm using cloth, I hate diapers. Of all kinds. All the time. Using cloth, I dread the additional stinky* laundry**, the potential for leaks***, and the continuous (albeit mild) rashes**** I know I could avoid with disposables. With disposables, I feel guilty about all the trash and chemicals I'm contributing to the landfills.

Perhaps there is a solution here, but I don't know what it is. I know there are some better-for-the-environment disposables, but I hear they are big and not as comfortable. I suspect there are better cloth options, too. Perhaps something with fleece or wool instead of PUL so the diapers are more breathable, but it'd be a significant chunk of money to try more and I'm still "behind" for buying cloth over disposables 9 months ago so I'm hesitant to buy even more that I might not like. Maybe I can find a fleece/wool trial pack so I could try some for basically free. Hm, I'll look into that. Given how much I hate diapering right now, I'm not very excited about it. I think most cloth users love it. Wish I loved it, too!




* Stink has improved some since we're using Rockin Green with an overnight soak every time but the smell is still horrendous after a day so the diapers are now being kept out on the balcony.
** Laundry is better now that I've nailed down a routine, but some of the logistics make it difficult and very time consuming.
*** Leaks are also better since we're using a good detergent, but we've had well over 10x the leaks than we did in disposables. Leaks don't happen often (in the diapers that fit well) but for some reason she leaks every time she sits on the couch with her dad wearing only a cloth diaper. (I never have the problem.)
**** The rash is due to rubbing. Cloth doesn't always fit as well as disposables so the rubbing causes rashes and any moisture makes it worse. If I'm really careful to dry her after using a wipe, she doesn't sweat, and I only use diapers with smooth insides (ie bumGenius AIO, not a pocket or sposoeasy or Grobaby which all have inherent wrinkles) then the rash improves, but then I'll forget to dry or figure it's getting better and I've run out of the better diaper options and then it's back. It's still very mild but I feel guilty about giving my kid a rash using cloth when I know she wouldn't have one in disposables (I put her in pampers for a few days when it gets bad.) This is the opposite of most kids who are more sensitive to chemical rash.

List of trial or rental programs

November 10th, 2010

I just found a great list of cloth diaper trial programs. This might be useful to others. It was from a thread at DiaperSwappers and might be a little outdated, but it still probably useful for anyone who wants to try cloth: http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=886295


*** CLOTH DIAPER TRIAL PROGRAMS ***

Mom's Milk Boutique Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: $135
Trial Fee: $20 + return shipping
Bonus: free wetbag, free disposable inserts

Trial Products (all new):
1 Chinese Bleached Prefold
1 Indian Unbleached Prefold
1 Package Flip Disposable Inserts (for use in Econobum or Pocket Diapers).
1 Econobum Prefold & 1 Cover
2 Fitted Diapers (will be either bumGenius Bamboo, Thirsties Fab, or Kissaluvs Fitted Diaper)
1 Thirsties DUO Diaper Cover (except NB - will receive Thirsties XS)
1 Bummis Super Brite or Booroi Cover
1 BumGenius All-In-One
1 Thirsties All-In-One
1 Fuzzi Bunz Perfect Size Pocket Diaper (inserts included)
1 bumGenius 3.0 One-Size Pocket Diaper (inserts included)
1 Snappi
1 small wetbag

Mom's Milk Boutique Organic Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: $180
Trial Fee: $30 + return shipping
Bonus: free wetbag

Trial Products (all new):
1 GRO Baby System Shell Set
1 Extra Organic Soaker Pad
1 Bummis Organic Cotton Prefolds
1 Imse Vimse Organic Cotton Contour Diaper
1 Clover or Dream-eze Organic Cotton Fitted Diaper
1 BabyKicks Organic One-Size Fitted Diaper
1 bumGenius Organic All-In-One One Size Diaper
1 Dream-eze Organic All-In-One
1 Econappi Organic Pocket/All-In-Two One Size Diaper
1 Imse Vimse Organic Cotton Diaper Cover
1 Snappi
1 small wetbag (yours to keep whether or not you keep the package!)

Jillian's Drawers Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 21 days
Deposit: $150
Trial Fee: $10 + shipping both ways
Bonus: free flushable liners, free shipping on next order, 10% off trial package if you choose to keep it

Trial Products (all new):
2 Bleached Chinese Prefolds
2 Unbleached Indian Prefolds
1 Snappi
1 bumGenius! Fitted Bamboo Diaper (we may sub a Thirsties Fab Fitted)
1 Thirsties
V2.0 Diaper Cover
1 Fuzzi Bunz with Microfiber Insert
1 bumGenius! One-Size V3.0 with 2 Microfiber Inserts
1 Dream-Eze Organic All-In-One
1 bumGenius! V3.0 All-In-One
1 GroBaby Shell with 1 Snap-In Soaker and 1 Booster
2 Additional GroBaby Snap-In Soakers
5 Sheets of Flushable Liners (just lay in diaper, remove, and flush in toilet with solids)

Cute Caboose Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 21 days
Deposit: $150
Trial Fee: $10 + shipping both ways
Bonus: substitutions allowed, if you choose to keep diapers, you get a 20% coupon for next purchase

Trial Products (all new):
2 Prefolds
1 Thirsties Diaper Cover
1 Fuzzibunz Perfect Fit Pocket Diaper + MF Inserts
1 bumGenius 3.0 One Size Cloth Diaper + MF inserts
1 Dream-ez All in One Diaper*
1 Thirsties Fab Fitted Cloth Diaper
1 Happy Heiny One Size Pocket Diaper + MF Inserts*
1 Snappi
1 The Natural Baby Co. Wet Bag

Diaper Junction Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: value of items purchased
Trial Fee: $0 + shipping both ways*
Bonus: build-your-own trial package (or choose one pre-built); 10% off order if you join mailing list; 10% off "stock up" order if you review a product on their site; *shipped to you for free if your order is $75 or more

Trial Products (all new):
(2) Diaper Rite™ Prefolds - 1 bleached & 1 unbleached.
(1) Kissaluvs Fitted Diaper
(1) Bummis Super Whisper Wrap Diaper Cover
(1) Fuzzi Bunz Perfect Size Diaper
(1) bumGenius! Deluxe All in One Diaper

Build-your-own trial package out of any of these products (all new):
Flip One Size Diaper Day Pack
bumGenius! One Size Pocket Diaper
bumGenius! Deluxe All In One Diaper
bumGenius! Organic Cloth Diaper
Econobum One Size Diaper
Flip One Size Diaper System
Gro Baby One Size Diaper
Fuzzi Bunz Pocket Diaper
FuzziBunz One Size Diaper
Happy Heinys One Size Diaper

Cloth Diaper Superstore Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: value of items purchased
Trial Fee: $0 + shipping both ways
(No official trial, but retailer offers 30-day money back guarantee on "almost every product" they sell.)

Diaper Daisy USED Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 14 days
Deposit: $140
Trial Fee: $20 + shipping one way
Bonus: detergent sample, trial handbook, for diapers returned, 10% bonus if you opt for store credit instead of cash back, $29.95 store credit if you keep all trial products

Trial Products (gently used):
1 FuzziBunz Perfect Fit Diaper with insert
1 bumGenius 3.0 One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts
1 Knickernappies One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts
1 FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts
1 Thirsties All-In-One
1 bumGenius Organic One Size All-In-One
1 Flip All-In-Two One Size Diaper with one stay dry and one organic cotton insert
1 Thirsties Fab Fitted
1 Thirsties Original Diaper Cover
2 Diaper service quality prefolds
1 Snappi fastener
1 FuzziBunz In and Out Mess Free Diaper Bag
1 sample package of Rockin' Green Detergent, Classic Rock, Unscented
1 Trial Handbook, yours to keep, full of information about cloth diapering
1 mailing envelope to return the diapers to Diaper Daisy (does not include return postage)

Diaper Daisy NEW Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: $30 + value of items
Trial Fee: $30 + shipping both ways
Bonus: detergent sample, trial handbook, for diapers returned, 10% bonus if you opt for store credit instead of cash back

Trial Products (all new, choose up to five different diapers):
2 Prefolds, Thirsties Cover, & Snappi
Kissaluvs Fitted & Thirsties Original Cover
FuzziBunz Perfect Fit
bumGenius 4.0 One Size
FuzziBunz One Size
Knickernappies One Size Microfiber
Knickernappies One Size LoopyDo
Rumparooz One Size Aplix
bumGenius Organic One Size All-in-One
Kissaluvs Marvel All-in-One
Flip One Size Stay Dry & Organic
Econobum
SuperDo Insert
Thirsties Hemp Insert - 2 pack
FuzziBunz In & Out Hanging Diaper Bag
Nifty Nappy Fitted
PeachyKeen Pocket

Kelly's Closet 45 Day "Wee Guarantee" Program
Trial Period: 45 days
Deposit: value of items purchased
Trial Fee: $0 + shipping both ways

Trial Products (all new):
bumGenius One Size 3.0 Pocket Diapers
bumGenius One Size organic AIO diapers
Gro Baby One Size Diapers

Earth Angels Diaper Co. Try One (or Three) at a Time
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: $20 (for one) or $55 (for three)
Trial Fee: $0 + return shipping
Bonus: for each diaper you keep, $5 refund + $5 store credit

Trial Products (all new, choose one or three):
KnickerNappies OS Diaper w/2 Inserts
BumGenius 3.0 Pocket w/2 Inserts
DryBee's Fleece Nighttime Pocket w/Insert
KnickerNappies sized Pocket w/ Loopy Do
Wahmie's OS Diaper w/Insert
Happy Heiny's OS Pocket w/2 Inserts
Rocky Mountain OS Diaper w/ Insert
Thirsties Pocket AIO
Thirsties Duo Wrap w/ 2 Prefolds
Thirsties V2 Cover w/ 2 Prefolds
Thirsties V2 Cover or Duo Wrap w/ Thirsties Fab Fitted
Green Acre Designs sized Pocket w/Insert
Thirsties Duo Diaper w/Inserts

Giggle Britches cloth diaper trial
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: $180
Trial Fee: $15 + return shipping
Bonus: 10% off diapers kept

Trial Products (all new):
3 unbleached prefolds
1 Thirsties cover
1 So Simple cover
1 snappi
1 Fuzzi Bunz One Size
1 Happy Heinys One Size
1 bumGenius One Size
1 Tiny Tush Elite One Size
1 Thirsties Fab Fitted
1 Happy Hempys with fleece fitted
1 Tiny Tush Trim one size fitted
1 Bottombumpers all-in-one
1 OsoCozy all-in-one

Sew Crafty Baby
Trial Period: 30 days
Deposit: value of items purchased
Trial Fee: 10% restocking fee on used items + return shipping

Trial Products (all new, choose at least three):
Infants Prefolds
Regular Prefolds
Premium Prefolds
Unbleached Flats
Thirsties Duo Cover
Bummis Super Bright
Bummis Super Whisper Wrap
Flip
Econobum
Prorap Classic
BumGenius Organic
Sposoeasy`s
Dream-Eze
OsoCozy
BumGenius 3.0
Thirsties Duo Diaper
Happy Heinys
Fuzzi Bunz
Tweedle Bugs
Kissaluvs
Thirsties Fab Fitteds
Tiny Tush
Sherpa Heiny Huggers
Green Acre Bamboo Contour
Grobaby
Flip Stay Dry
Flip Organic
Snappi
2 Brass Locking Pins
Thirsties Diaper Duffel
Wahmies Regular Wetbag
Thirsties Pail Liner
Wahmies Pail Liner

Mama Marsh's Creations Cloth Diaper Trial
Trial Period: 14 days
Deposit: $114 - $210 (depends on package chosen)
Trial Fee: $20 + return shipping

Trial Products (all new, quantity depends on package chosen):
Mama Marsh Pocket diaper
Mama Marsh All-in-one diaper
Mama Marsh All-in-two diaper
Mama Marsh Flannel Fitted diaper
Mama Marsh Bamboo Fitted diaper
Mama Marsh Cover

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1 OsoCozy Fitted Diaper - Unbleached
1 Kissaluvs Contour Diaper
1 Thirsties Duo Wrap - Aplix
1 Thirsties Duo Wrap - Snaps
Wahmies All-Day wet bag
Grandma El's rash cream sample
Rockin' Green detergent sample
4 Itsy Bitsy Bums fleece liners
2 Snappis
1 pair Dritz diaper pins
1 pair Tiny Tush diaper pins


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1 Cow Patties Famous Pocket Fitted - One Size
1 Kissaluvs Fitted
2 Thirsties Stay-Dry Inserts
1 OsoCozy Indian Prefold - Unbleached
1 Thirsties Duo Cover - Snaps
Wahmies All-Day wet bag
Grandma El's rash cream sample
Rockin' Green detergent sample
2 Itsy Bitsy Bums fleece liners
10 Tiny Tush Biodegradable Liners
1 Snappi


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Dry all night!

October 18th, 2010

When we got up this morning, she was nursing as usual but I eventually ran off because I had to go to the bathroom. She ran after me telling me she had to go. Sometimes this is just reporting what I'm doing but I pealed off her pjs and plopped her on the potty. She eagerly peed and had clearly been holding it. Her diaper was completely dry.

I think this probably happens often and I'm just too lazy to leap up and drag her off to the bathroom first thing in the morning. If she asks, of course I'll take her, but otherwise, I'd rather lie in bed for a few minutes and nurse and maybe we'll even doze again. I've read that kids don't pee in their sleep. They wake up first. (I've also read that it takes a while for that hormone to develop, but I guess it has.) There have been times when I'm sure it's just fresh pee when I get up in the morning. I guess I should get in the habit of getting up more quickly.

More surprises in pottying

October 17th, 2010

A couple of days ago, my daughter headed off for the bathroom. As she got there, she exclaimed "Stool!" and ran away (actually, she said, "Sewell" but was referring to the stool she uses to get up onto the toilet). She found the stool which weighs about half as much as she does and carried it back to the bathroom. Then she pulled off her diaper, put it in the diaper bucket, sat on the toilet and promptly peed and pooped.

Then yesterday, we drove to a wedding about an hour away and then to the reception following. After a while, my husband asked me when I'd last changed her. My sheepish response? "When we were at home." In other words, several hours ago. No one had checked her in the meantime. He handed her to me to go change her and was concerned she'd filled the diaper and leaked. But then someone came to chat or her grandparents wanted to play with her or something and I completely forgot that I was en route to changing her potentially leaky diaper.

A while later, my husband confirmed I'd changed her. Oops, no. So I whisked her off to the bathroom feeling like the most negligent parent ever and hoping the leaking wouldn't be too bad.

I was shocked when I removed her diaper. It was dry. Completely bone dry. 6.5 hours, including a nap, wedding, 2 car trips, dinner and some reception time later and she stayed completely dry. I popped her on the toilet in the busy restaurant bathroom (she hates those stall bathrooms with all the scary noises and limited visibility) and she immediately peed. It didn't seem like she'd been anxiously waiting for hours, but she was content enough to go given the opportunity. I put her in a new diaper (saving the other dry one for use later, but I wanted confirmation that it was in fact dry and I wasn't just crazy) and when we got home 3 hours later, that new diaper was dry too.

It's fun to change dry diapers.

observations of prefolds, poop, and traveling

October 17th, 2010

I have a very good friend who is using a diaper service. This way, she can put her kid in cloth diapers and someone else does the laundry. Now, I've stated before that I personally don't like prefolds so this option wouldn't be for us, but it's a reasonable option for many. Traveling with them seems particularly difficult though.

I don't get to see this friend often but email frequently and talk periodically so we're pretty up to date on each other's day to day lives. Recently, she's mentioned a lot of poop leakage with her diapers. It seems like an almost daily occurrence. (A couple of weeks ago, she marveled that she'd never experienced a blow out like she'd heard people talk about. So this is a new occurrence.) Anyway, it's usually the diaper, cover, clothes and whatever the kid was sitting on at the time... usually something like a blanket, couch, car seat, etc. Often, she puts an extra diaper under him when putting him down (and he's 3 mo old so not yet mobile) so that helps too. It just seems like daily that she has to do extra clean up-- which seems to defeat the purpose of a diaper service. (But she's still happy so it's working for them just fine.)

I got to witness one of these diaper blow outs and help with clean up. (Really, I don't mind poop and it was nice to get a few minutes alone with my friend in the middle of an otherwise large event with lots of people. I just wish I could have been more helpful than just making sure he didn't roll off the changing table and didn't put his hands in poop. Those are important things though, I guess.) Anyway, poop was all over the prefold, in the snappi, surrounding the cover, and a little on his clothes and it'd soaked through to the car seat where he'd been sitting. (Just a little moisture on the carseat, fortunately, since there was little they could do about it while on a trip and in the middle of an event.) Anyway, we got the kid cleaned up and in a new outfit in minimal time. It was still a lot of time though.

But I got to thinking... wow, this was a lot harder than with a disposable. If I always had a buddy to help, it'd be fine, but there's no way I could guarantee that. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd have the positive attitude and perseverance my friend had to keep up with cloth diapering on a trip like she did and deal with frequent monster poops.

More thoughts:

• Pre-planning: She had to coordinate with the diaper service to swap out diapers just before leaving or she'd have run out of clean ones.
• Packing: She had to pack more than enough diapers to be sure they'd be set. With disposables, I'd pack a few more than I thought I'd need, I'd be able to run to a store to buy more if my daughter suddenly came down with diarrhea or something.
• Changing: When changing a disposable on the go, I'd yoink one off and strap on the other in roughly the same motion, pausing briefly to wipe. then it all goes into the trash. With the cloth, we had to find a diaper, cover and a bag to put it in. This was a messy one so we needed clothes and another bag for the messy ones, but that's about the same as a disposible if it'd leaked. Anyway, remove clothes, remove cover, take off and clean snappi, remove diaper, bag things, wipe, put on clean diaper, replace snappi, replace cover, reclothe, store dirty clothes/diapers and trash wipes. Now, to be fair, disposables would really be: remove clothes, bag, remove dirty diaper, wipe, rediaper, reclothe, store soiled clothes, trash dipe/wipes. That seems like 13 steps vs 8. Now, my friend is happy to do it so it must work fine, but it seems like a lot to me.
• Supplies: She normally has diapers for up to a week and covers for 1.5 days. (As far as I know.) The covers get thrown into normal washes about every day or so. So this posed a little challenge for a 4 day trip with no machine access. Even with a swap of dirties for cleans just before leaving, there was still a limiting factor of covers. Perhaps they bought more, I'm not sure, but it still seemed like some ingenuity needed to be done with cover usage and they used covers they'd have normally washed more thoroughly before using again. This seemed to work fine, but perhaps tripling their cover stash would have been good. Seems like a lot of expense for a 4 day trip though. They certainly made it work, I'm just not sure I'd want to do it. Traveling is hard enough!
• Traveling home. They had to cart home all their poopy/wet diapers. Ew! But they came up with a clever fix. They put diapers into ziploc bags. (They'd intended to use wet bags but forgot to get them before leaving.) When they get home, they'll have to empty all the ziplocs into their laundry or the diaper service bag but it sure beats smelling 4 day old poop all the way home.

I have to wonder though-- people who are flying places for a week or so... is an entire suitcase dedicated to diapers? Given that many airlines charge for bags, that has got to be costly. Babies already require a ton of stuff. I've got to admire anyone's dedication to cloth diapering who can pull that off!

PT

October 10th, 2010

I haven't put her in undies much at all lately. (Maybe once or twice in the last week?) However, we're still seeing little potty training progress.

She seems to tell us when she has to go, or maybe when she's going, even in diapers. The conversation is usually something like this:
"Potty." Nearly inaudibly and it usually takes my brain a second to process it.
"Did you say 'potty'? Do you need to go potty? Well, lets go!"
"No." Now she's done and no longer needs to go. At least her diaper gets changed quickly and she's telling me when she needs to go, but I'm apparently taking too long to react. Still progress, I think.

Also, her diapers are dry longer so I am changing her less often, which meant we went through fewer diapers and I forgot to do the laundry because our little tiny trash can wasn't yet full. Typically, our nighttime diapers are a bumgenious all-in-one with 2 additional hemp inserts. We use the flip organic prefold if we run out of hemp inserts. That's 4 days worth and I typically do diaper laundry every other day so that should be "plenty." However, with only about 8 diapers in the pail, I didn't realize I needed to do laundry and ended up stuffing her diaper last night with a prefold and a pair of socks.

She's been in underwear most of today. I figured we had about an hour this morning before we left the house so she was in undies which stayed dry. She peed before we left, but I put her in a diaper for our 1.5 hour walk in the stroller. (I wasn't willing to risk it. There aren't easily accessible toilets the whole walk and I'm not going to carry a potty or just have her pee in the grass, which have both been suggestions I've heard.) Anyway, when we got home, her diaper was dry and she went pee/poop in the potty and then got undies on. She's been dry through her nap (so far) and it's 5pm.

I do like having NO used diapers at all so far today. :)

Trainers

October 10th, 2010

I won $10 to an online diaper store. Whoo hoo! :)

I think my typical response to this kind of thing would be to see what I could get for free. However, now I'm looking at what things I'd probably like but wouldn't justify the money without even being able to see the product, but maybe $10 would be worth the risk.

One of the products I'm considering is Trainers.

I'm not sure I really understand Trainers/Training Pants. Are they just diapers that can be pulled on and off? Are they supposed to feel wet (unlike many diapers)? Do they contain messes? Do they change color or play a sound when wet? (I haven't found any that do, but that'd be neat!)

After looking at quite a few and reading reviews, it seems like there are 2 kinds:
* Not waterproof at all but a little bit absorbent. The Gerber Training Pants that we have that are just like regular underwear but have the padding of about 6 cotton balls in the crotch. It seems like these are most useful when a kid starts peeing, feels the wetness, and stops. If they were to keep peeing, the pee would go right through. These will hold a little more than a typical pair of cotton undies so could save the carpet if there was only a little dribble before the kiddo remembered what to do.
* Semi-waterproof. I think the idea here is that the child pees and it's contained mostly. Maybe I need some of these for when I think she is potty trained but it'd be bad news if she isn't... like when she's bouncing on the trampoline during gymnastics class.

Is this it?

Potty Training Update

October 6th, 2010

We're continuing to lazily potty train. For some period of time each day, on some days in the last 1.5 weeks, my 20 month old has been in underwear with a cover, usually the plastic pants.

Some points that are worth noting (for me, anyway :)

• She doesn't pee nearly as often as I thought she would. I figured toddlers peed every 20 minutes. It seems to be more like every couple of hours. I was worried she was dehydrated, but output seems to be quite good. She's overfilled diapers twice in the last week when she'd been in them less than 20 minutes.
• No leaks at all in the plastic pants. I'm using 12 mo old size on our 23+ lb 20 month old over little 2T/3T cotton undies. I sometimes wonder if we could have gone smaller because these are so baggy, but I think the bagginess is what lets her know she has gone if she fails to notice she feels wet. Then there's a bag of pee hanging on to her and she'll respond to that immediately.
• I tried putting her in the thicker trainer undies and an empty pocket diaper. She wasn't aware she'd gone. Too much like a diaper and too absorbent, I guess. I don't think warm moisture is very uncomfortable
• Has successfully done at least one nap time in undies and stayed dry.
• One trip out of the house (day 3) in the stroller in undies (with a fleece cover and extra prefolds on the seat) and she stayed dry. Haven't risked it otherwise.
• One day 7, she was standing in the shower (waiting for me to join her) and she told me she needed to go potty a couple of times before peeing. That means she knows ahead of time! Only moments before, but that's a good sign.
• The messiest incident was when she told me she needed to go potty but she's started by the time we got there and I mostly got peed on taking the plastic pants off. Maybe she told me ahead of time, but not by much. It was just a little pee on my hands and the bathroom floor (and the undies and plastic pants) though, so not too bad for messiest incident.
• The last two nights (roughly days 11 and 12), she has been very insistent about needing to go right after we put a night time diaper on her (extra absorbency) but the diaper was wet by the time we got it off her. Good to have more back up night diapers ready. I don't plan to try nights in undies for quite some time both because I'm not sure she's ready (nor am I for getting up all night) and because the plastic pants don't breathe at all so if she's in them during the day, I'd like her to be in something a little more breathable at night. Of course, PUL covers aren't breathable either, but at least the diapers we use have a stay dry liner. I just want to let her skin be dry some of the time.
• She's taken herself to the potty several times when she had to go, stayed dry and hopped up on the toilet (she's using a stool) and went successfully all on her own. I'm still there for clean up and preventing the entire roll of toilet paper from going down the toilet but she's getting to be pretty self-sufficient.

I could put more effort into it and make sure she gets underwear time daily or that I take her more often, but the lazy method seems to be working and not taking more energy than diaper changes. Plus, I know she gets changed immediately so I don't have to worry that she's been in a wet diaper for hours if we go a while between changes. So far, so good.

Amazon Mom

October 5th, 2010

I don't know how Amazon does it. I just ordered diapers again for 30% off and free delivery. That means I got a giant pack of Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive, 132 diapers for $28, including free 2-day shipping. That's 22 cents each for premium toddler-sized diapers. Signed up for delivery again in a few months but I'll just cancel it if we don't need it then. Amazon mom is the best deal on disposable diapers right now.

Nighttime Dryness

October 24th, 2010

We've achieve nighttime dryness! 3rd day in a row, 4th this week. I didn't even rush her out of bed this morning. First she woke me up and nursed. We talked about going to potty and she agreed. I got up and she got out of bed on her own. I went potty first and undressed her and she messed with the stool while she was naked for a minute. Then she climbed up and went potty. No problem. It's like she'd been doing it all her life. I hope it lasts! :)

Diaperless

September 23rd, 2010

My daughter has been diaperless all morning. 2 "accidents" (both in underwear with plastic pants so no mess really) and she told me immediately both times. Once was about 15 seconds after we'd left the bathroom so I KNOW she was dry, not sure why she didn't go in the bathroom, but this is actually a huge step. Before, she only cared if there was a mess to clean up. Wet didn't seem to concern her at all. Now, I'm not sure if she cares, but at least she notices and tells me.

It's been a few months since she's had significant underwear time. Lots of reasons for this: very busy all summer, out of the house often, disagreements with my husband about how to deal with cleaning up accidents*, an frankly it's easier to leave her in diapers. She still used the potty. We just took her to the bathroom when she asked or it was otherwise convenient.

Since I just was reminded indirectly by a facebook post that kids usually potty train in 2-3 days if they're ready and I didn't have much on the calendar for the next several days, I thought maybe I should try it again. Plus she just found her stash of Elmo underwear and really wants to wear it. I'm hoping the incentive to keep Elmo or Abby Cadabby dry is a good one. I'm not using any other rewards other than praise and encouragement.

Logistically, I have 2 pairs of plastic pants and one fleece cover which I'm planning on using to cover her undies and attempt to avoid messes. Now that she seems to tell me as soon as she's wet, I don't need to be able to see it myself. I think this will work for my husband also since I'm not just letting her run around basically naked to pee everywhere. Of course, this means we can only have up to 3 accidents before I run out of reasonable covers.

Update: She just woke up from her nap dry. It's 3:30 in the afternoon and she's still diaperless for the day. Whoo hoo! Grandparents will be here soon to watch her for a bit while I work, so I suspect we're done for the day but we'll give it a shot again tomorrow.



* I think mopping up the little piddle with a towel and maybe getting the carpet wet and drying it sufficient. My husband thinks we need to thoroughly scrub the spot with carpet cleaner and then rinse it. After we cleaned a few spots (food spills, not pee), the floor was much cleaner in those spots and the rest of the carpet looked gross, even though it'd recently been professionally cleaned. The professional left a lot of residue, I think. We cleaned the entire carpet ourselves using our cloth diaper detergent (rockin green) as the carpet cleaner and now it's overall much cleaner. Now we all want to keep it that way.

"Would you do the same things with a future kid?"

September 20th, 2010

Someone recently asked me if I'd do things the same way if we have another child. Would we EC again? That's easy. Absolutely! I'd definitely do it. Possibly with more dedication than we did this time. Of course, then we'd have 2 kids so that might make timing more difficult so it might not be practical. It will certainly be something we try though.

Cloth diapers? That's hard. We've had a lot of trouble with cloth diapers and I'm not a huge fan despite the fact that we're still doing it. I'm not really sure what I'd do. If we had another child magically right at this moment... I'd probably cloth diaper since I'm already doing a small load for my currently diapered child, adding more to that load would mean no extra work.

But what kind of diapers... I don't know. We've never really dealt with poop since my daughter was consistently using the potty for that by the time we started CDing. Our current favorites, all-in-ones, don't seem to make sense for a newborn because it would be harder to rinse newborn poop out and that would need to happen all the time. I generally hate prefolds and one sized diapers. But both end up bunchy and my daughter got rashes quickly from anything that wasn't better fitted. That would make me crazy if I wore them so I lean away from that for my child. So that means I'd probably look into fitted diapers. (These are the diapers that basically look like diapers with elastic around the legs but don't have a waterproof cover attached.)

I've only tried one fitted style with my daughter and I didn't like it because it was enormous and the cover we had then fit very poorly. I'd like to be able to enjoy the tiny-ness of my newborn, I think. I don't think it has to be huge though. I'd look into fitteds that were of other materials like possibly hemp (we like our hemp liners that we use for night time) or ones sewn out of prefolds. Maybe I'd even make my own. (Right... I don't really sew.) But I'd probably consider something along those lines.

For covers... I don't really like the plastic-y kind. They don't breathe well. I keep hearing that cloth is much better for babies because it breathes more. I think that used to be true when disposables were mostly plastic, but disposables have evolved to be more breath-able and cloth becomes less so when it's wrapped in a plastic cover. It's been my experience that I get better temperature control and breath-ability with disposables.

I think I'd like a more cloth-like cover for general use and then perhaps a plastic-y one for out in the car or something. I have a fleece cover that I like a lot, but my toddler can easily defeat it (velcro) and requires me to use our pre-folds (which I trifold instead of wrap around her) so all that is a lot to do with a wriggly toddler. I'd seriously consider it with a newborn though. Especially if I already had a good fitted diaper I liked. The downside is that a very full diaper can leak through with pressure. For example, putting a kid with a wet diaper in the car seat and cinching it down might squish moisture through. That's why I'd want a plastic-type cover for those situations. But when we're at home, comfort is key.

I might also consider wool. People who use wool tend to love wool. But I also think people who cloth diaper love cloth diapering, and I don't so perhaps I wouldn't love wool either. I have heard people think wool is a lot of work. We have a pair of wool underwear so I have gone through the handwash/lanolizing and it really doesn't seem like a lot of work. Hand wash once/month vs machine wash potentially every day... I actually think wool would be less effort to keep clean. However, it's very expensive. One cover can cost $50! I'd certainly try it if I happened to end up with a cover but I don't think I'm likely to put out the money for them.

So I guess I'm largely undecided but I'd probably explore fitted with non-PUL covers. And if my current kid were out of cloth, I might just go disposable and focus on using far fewer diapers in general by doing more Elimination Communication. Oh, if I did decide to do cloth with a newborn, I'd definitely get a diaper sprayer.

general update on diapers

September 14th, 2010

I think it's time for an update...

My daughter continues to regularly use the potty but doesn't do it all the time so we're still doing the diaper thing. I still don't love cloth. We do, however, love it for night time. We usually use cloth at home but not when we're going out and she might be in a diaper for a long time. Some more random thoughts...

* Not great for the environment
Our diaper usage may be the worst combo for the environment. We're still throwing diapers out (1/day on average but sometimes many a days) but even on days where that doesn't change washing habits. I still have to wash every other day or it requires extra washing cycles. Sometimes I can add in other laundry so then it's ok, but I have done loads on 6 diapers.

* Washing habits
Switched to Rockin Green several months ago after a search through several cloth diaper detergents. Safe for diapers, babies and the environment. Seems to have solved our stink and repelling problems. My washing routine is now rinse cycle, soak for hours (all night), hot wash, extra rinse, dry, dry. (This is far more simple and takes less babysitting than some of the other systems.) I can't fully get rid of the pee smell though. I think I can't skimp on the soak or extra rinses. Oh, we like this detergent well enough that we're using it for most of our laundry now. And for other cleaning things like we just used it to clean our carpet.

* Rash
Almost completely gone. It's been 6 months. The bad rash she got at the beginning was from using a bad detergent (Tide Free) so the enzymes were basically eating her skin whenever the diapers got wet. After that (finally!) got resolved, she still had a rash. It'd clear up after a day or so in disposables. It got worse after any wrinkly kind of diaper like a prefold and is least bad in the morning when she was in a very wet diaper. This lead me to think that was because of the rubbing/pressure and not because she wasn't being changed enough. So prefolds are not options for us, unless trifolded and therefore basically flat. She mostly uses bumGenius All-in-ones. Those are fine and work well at night because we can add a couple of hemp inserts for extra absorbency.

Rant about the common "cloth is cheaper" argument

August 20th, 2010

I'm really tired of reading pro cloth diaper columns that talk about cloth being so much cheaper than disposables. I think it's true, but the numbers they use are ridiculous. Like comparing cloth with the most expensive option possible for disposables. I just read one that said,
"It’s natural to check the prices of an individual cloth diaper and suffer mild sticker shock. When you’re shopping for diapers for the first time, you’ll see one cloth priced around fifteen to twenty dollars as opposed to 20-30 disposables for the same price and think you’re getting the better deal if you buy the latter."

We get the most expensive version of pampers and that's about $40 for 200. (Slightly less as you get bigger sizes and there are fewer diapers in the pack, but we just used a coupon and got a pack for $27 with free delivery.) Anyway, that means that $20 buys about 100 diapers. And if we got kirkland brand or other store brand, it'd be even more diapers for the same as a single premium cloth diaper.

Now, this still may end up meaning that cloth is cheaper. Unless the cloth diapers are only used on 1 kid and the kid is potty trained by a year old, cloth is probably going to be cheaper. It certainly can be cheaper.

I would really like to see the argument formed as:
If you buy the economy sized box of store brand disposable diapers and watch for deals and coupons, disposables will cost about $400 per year. A modest stash of expensive premium cloth diapers is half that-- and will last longer than 1 year.


In other words, if people want to convince me that cloth is cheaper, compare the best deal you can reasonably find for disposables to a relatively luxurious stash of cloth and show me it's still cheaper. /rant

Review: Bummas Cloth Wipes

June 16th, 2010

Bottom line: Love these.

I got Bummas wipes only a few days ago so perhaps my review is premature. So far, I really like these wipes. I've only used them for drying after using a disposable wet wipe, but I'm sure they'd do fine with being used as a wet wipe as well.

They're about 5"x7" and very well made. My daughter has chewed on a few clean wipes and done no damage. They've been washed only a few times but look good as new. I suspect they'll stay this way for a while.

I'm sure I could use a thinner washcloth to do the same job, but that would be like using a scrap of paper when it'd be nicer to use an index card. Of course, I got these for free so I'm having a hard time determining if they are worth the price ($16.95 for 10) but I think that's what cloth wipes go for generally.

Bummas Wipes: A

Links: Recycling diapers?

June 14th, 2010

I saw a comment the other day that each disposable diaper uses 2/3 cup of oil. It wasn't clear if that was actually used in the plastic in disposables or if that was the cost of running the machines and transporting the diapers. No one could answer that but they did point me to some interesting resources.

Article on diapering:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-grayson/eco-etiquette-how-can-i-c_b_572807.html

Comparison of cloth vs disposables
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/DK5911.html

And after following links, I found that there are 2 companies in the UK who are working on recycling diapers. It sounds like it's still in development but will use the biowaste for energy and then create new products out of the extracted plastic.
http://www.knowaste.com/
http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/poo-power-used-diapers-will-fuel-u-k-recycling-plant/

Four diapers

June 13th, 2010

I did my normal load of laundry last night. Soak for a couple of hours agitating periodically, hot wash, cold rinse, extra rinse. 2 cycles in the dryer.

At some point during the soak, I thought maybe I'd turn the all-in-ones inside out so that might help clean them better since I'm still dealing with stink issues. I dug through the soaking mess and turned one... two... three... four diapers inside out. I dug around some more and then realized that was it. I was doing a full load of laundry taking up several hours of washing resources for four diapers! There were also 3 pairs of underwear, 4 inserts, and my 10 new cloth wipes so it wasn't just 4 diapers swishing around. Still seems very inefficient.

Review: Diaper Trials

June 13th, 2010

Back in February, I decided to try out cloth diapering and ordered a trial set from cutecaboose.com. There are lots of trials from lots of companies available but I chose this one because initial shipping was free, there was good variety, and I'd get a discount if I wanted to order more. I made sure their prices were decent so buying more from there made sense and also found a coupon code for another 5% off.

In retrospect, I would have gotten the trial from a better known vendor, I think. It took several days to get the package in the mail and overall, they didn't seem organized. Waiting 2 weeks to be able to start cloth diapering took a lot out of my momentum. This was fine though.



Anyway, I received:

• 2 Prefolds
• 1 Thirsties Diaper Cover
• 1 Fuzzibunz Perfect Fit Pocket Diaper + MF Inserts
• 1 bumGenius 3.0 One Size Cloth Diaper + MF inserts
• 1 bumGenius All in One Diaper
• 1 Thirsties Fab Fitted Cloth Diaper
• 1 Happy Heiny One Size Pocket Diaper + MF Inserts
• 1 Snappi
• 1 The Natural Baby Co. Wet Bag
• 1 cloth wipe

By this time, I'd also purchased

• 2 Sposoeasy all-in-ones
• 1 grobaby system
  1 bumGenius one size cloth diaper (no inserts because I got it from ebay and didn't know I should ask about that)

This was a good set to start with. There was a lot of variety and I was very surprised about what I liked and didn't like. Bottom line: The only diaper that I liked enough to keep from my trial set was the bumGenius all-in-one.

I also figured I could probably use more prefolds and I'd need a wet bag so given that I'd get a discount for keeping the set and they'd waive the trial fee, I considered trying to resell the diapers instead of returning them. If I could sell them for a little over 50% of the original cost (plus shipping), then I'd basically break even and then I'd get the 20% discount on future purchases. I wasn't able to resell them in about a week so I decided to send it all back.

Even though I was interested in the bumGenius all-in-one, there was a coupon out at that time for a free BG AIO with the purchase of $10 in their other products. This basically meant I could buy one and get one free if I could get my hands on a coupon. Since I knew I could get at least one from a friend who got Pregnancy and Newborn magazine, it didn't make sense to keep one diaper when I could get two for the same price.

Anyway, I ended up returning the whole thing so it cost me $11 in return shipping plus the $10 trial fee. Oh, and the wipe was just tossed in so I kept it. Overall, not a bad cost for about 2-3 weeks of diapers. (It was 3 weeks minus shipping time.) It was almost exactly the same as what we were spending on disposables at the time ($1/day) plus the cost/time of washing every 36 hours. Oh, and initially all the diapers have to be prepped so they were washed several times in a row before they could be used. It was a lot of washing. I just used our normal detergent (Tide Free) so that didn't seem like additional cost and I was excited enough about the new endeavor that the time was ok. (This happened to coincide with me going on strike from doing my husband's laundry so it actually wasn't much extra laundry. It wasn't related at all, but good timing!)

I highly recommend a trial set to anyone who is considering cloth diapering. In fact, I suggest you find a couple of places to get trials from and schedule them back to back or overlapping. It'll cost a little bit more overall, but I would have liked more time to try them out and more variety. Also, once I decided I really didn't like a certain type, I was stuck still using it or having to do laundry even more often.

Diaper Trial: A

Review: Prefolds

June 13th, 2010

Bottom line: I hate prefolds.

These are the classic diaper of yesteryear. The ones your mom and grandma used with diaper pins. They're the only ones available from diaper service. They're easy to care for, inexpensive, and last virtually forever. Many people still use them and love them. Now, people generally use a snappi instead of pins.



So why my disdain? I just couldn't get them to fit well. It seemed too small around her skinny waisted toddler but also far too long.
 

I tried some different folds but it just didn't work right and drooped as my kid ran around. Since I believe my daughter's long term rash is from cloth rubbing, something like this which doesn't have a good fit by design wasn't going to work for us

 
  

A cover could help some, of course. (The cover shown is a Thirsties cover. It was apparently the right size but seemed HUGE on her.)

 

I also didn't like the snappi. My husband called it "the claw" and even though I knew it wouldn't go through the diaper, I always felt like I was hooking something directly into my kid's delicate parts. (I think I'd have been even more terrified if I had a boy. My fears are irrational though.) My daughter is also an active toddler so she could easily slip her hand under the cover and extract the snappi. Though I knew she wasn't going to poke her eyes out, this still seemed dangerous.


There is one fold that I do like though-- trifold. I just take the prefold and fold it along those sewn in lines and stick it in a cover. This is relatively smooth against my daughter's skin and just relies on the cover to hold it up. This would not be effective for an infant though. I think all the wrinkles is what holds that watery poop in so a smooth fit would be bad.

A lot of people love prefolds and I think maybe I could learn to like them on an infant if I knew how to do it better, but this really didn't work for me. I don't think people who use these are nuts, these just don't work for me and my active kid. I suspect there is a better way to work these but lots of experimentation left me less than satisfied. I like this option for use in an emergency, right up there with paper towels and duct tape. It just feels to kludgy for the planned day use.

If it works for you though, awesome. They're inexpensive, easy to care for, and will last through many kids. Plus, you have the option of diaper service.

Prefolds: C

Review: Thirsties Fab Fitted and Cover

June 13th, 2010

Bottom line: Eh.



I like the concept of fitteds. They are designed to fit like a disposable with elastic at the legs and velcro at the waist but are not water proof so they're easier to wash clean than an all-in-one. However, this means that the diaper replacement process is two step: fitted diaper, then water proof cover.




On the other hand, this also gives the option of allowing the kid to go coverless. Apparently, some people do it to reduce heat rash during the summer. Others who are practicing elimination communication do it to help be able to quickly identify when their child has peed but still have the absorbency of a diaper. As an ECing mom myself, this is attractive.



The only fitted diaper I have tried is Thirsties Fab Fitted and I wasn't a big fan. They were too bulky to fit under most of my daughter's clothes and I didn't like the Thirsties cover that I had to go with it. The fit was wrong. My daughter could also whip off the cover and diaper in 2 seconds, but I don't think that was the fault of the diaper. I think I might like a different fitted diaper with a different cover though.



Fitted and cover: B

Review: Pockets

Pocket diapers are made up a water proof cover and a pocket to stuff an absorbent insert. They need to be washed after every use but the advantage is that they wash and dry more easily than an all-in-one, have the same convenience as putting on a disposable, and the absorbency can be easily varied. For example, if your child is soaking through a night time diaper, add another insert. I hear that many day cares that are generally not willing to use cloth diapers will use these or all-in-ones. These are also one-sized diapers meaning that they can be adjusted to fit babies for nearly all of their time in diapers which can be a money saver.



I had 3 pocket diapers in my trial pack: 1 Fuzzibunz Perfect Fit Pocket Diaper, 1 bumGenius 3.0 One Size Cloth Diaper, and 1 Happy Heiny One Size Pocket Diaper.

In this picture, the Happy Heiny is green, Fuzzibunz is light pink, and bumGenius is dark pink.

I was very excited about the Happy Heiny. Look at all those snaps!

It took me a few minutes to figure out what snaps went to what, but it's fairly simple. The panel of 9 that are in the bottom-ish area of the diaper are used to adjust the rise. This is what makes it go from infant size to toddler size. The 16 snaps along the top 2 rows are for adjusting the waist. The neat thing about this diaper is that there are extra snaps on the straps so that they can overlap for a skinny child. Since my daughter is on the thinner side, this was great. However, then I put this diaper on her and it almost immediately got all wonky:

The Fuzzibunz were a little better for us. There is a row of snaps for the waist and another row for the legs. This means that a skinny baby with fat legs (or vice versa) might still do well with this diaper. It didn't fit under her clothes though.

The bumGenius was my favorite of the pocket diapers. It just fit Teresa the best and also fit under her clothes. Making the rise smaller didn't work out well but maybe she's big enough that she doesn't need it.

What is clean?

June 12th, 2010

It turns out that there are various levels of clean with respect to diapers. I think everyone can agree that a poopy diaper is not clean. How do you feel about pee?

• Is a diaper cover clean if it's been wet but has now dried?
• Is a wool cover clean after it's been peed on?
• Is a diaper cover clean if it's been peed in and then wiped off? What if it was pooped in does wiping it off still work to make it reusable?
• Or is a diaper "dirty" if it has been worn but not used?
  Is this freshly washed diaper clean even though the detergent didn't completely rinse out?

It all depends on your standards of clean.

Many diaper covers are plastic or plastic-like and the recommendation is to wipe them off with a baby wipe or let them dry before using them again. The classic plastic pants are an example. Just wipe them off. Fleece covers or a lined cover (like GroBaby) are considered clean and reusable if they were just wet and are now dry so the recommendation is to rotate them. Wool is supposed to be able to go weeks being used and repeatedly peed upon because after wool has been lanolized, the pee apparently reacts with the lanolin to create a soap.

I personally have a low standard for clean and don't really care. If pee leaks out onto my lap and I'm not too cold, I may not bother changing my pants. Whatever. I do this as a reality of life, not as a rule. I'd prefer to immediately throw my jeans into the washing machine so I don't really like the reusable cover plan. (One of the reasons we have all-in-ones.) I do think rinsing is reasonable though. My husband, on the other hand, is completely grossed out when I just put a hastily wiped off cover or a dry fleece cover back on over a new prefold. "There's stale pee still on there! When she pees again, it'll activate it. Eew!!!!"

This isn't something I'd considered during the great diaper experiment. It is interesting to think about though. What is clean?

General Overview -- How I feel about cloth now

June 12th, 2010

It's been a few months. I wish I could tell you that I love cloth and I think it's the best thing ever and everyone should do it. But I just don't feel that way. I'm still trying to like it.

Cons:
* Rash. My daughter has had a rash virtually the entire time we've been cloth diapering. It got pretty bad for a while but switching away from using Tide Free to wash the diapers seemed to help. The enzymes were eating her skin every time she peed. Her disposables might be full of chemicals, but they didn't seem to be actively destroying her body. So we went through various trials with different washing routines and detergents. We keep thinking, "It's getting better. Not to worry." It's been getting better for well over 2 months now. It's really not better.

My current theory is that cloth diapers don't fit as snugly as disposables so it's rubbing her skin when she moves. I'd think maybe moisture is to blame but she is least rashy in the mornings after she's been in a diaper all night that has likely been wet for hours. Anyway, she spends about a day per week in disposables to help clear up the rash. Once it seems to improve, we put her back in cloth (any type) and the rash gets worse again. It's not terrible though. It's be nice to see my little darling's clear skin again. (Thus, she's getting more time in undies.) Anyway, I don't feel like it's better for my kid at the moment.

* Washing. The washing is a big hassle. It doesn't take tons of time, but it does take away resources I don't really have. It means planning when I will do laundry far in advance since it takes a lot of time to soak, wash, double rinse, double dry and during that time, I can't do other laundry. It also means that if I start a load and leave for a few hours, I'll still need to do a couple of hours of laundry when I get home. I mean, I'm not hand washing or anything, but the machine is in use and needs to be tended to several times during the routine. There have been times where someone has suggested something like going out to dinner and I nearly said, "No, I can't go. I have to do diaper laundry."

* Smell. These things stink. I understand they don't need to stink, but this apparently requires a lot of experimentation and is harder to get the more complicated diapers clean. About a week ago, my entire apartment smelled like a barn with no diaper more than a day used (and no poopy ones). After devoting about 16 hours to soaking and 4 wash cycles later, they are reduced to the amount of smell I anticipated. Still noticeable but I don't think would send guests running from our home. I think another all night soaking and several more washes might get them back to non-stinky. Using Tide Free on them originally is likely largely to blame.

* Comfort. I can't really tell if these are more or less comfortable for her. She throws a much bigger fit when I try to put a cloth diaper on her than a disposable. On the other hand, she doesn't want me to take of the cloth diaper either so she is now telling me she doesn't need to go potty when she clearly does. This is a big set back for potty training. Hmm, I wonder if the wipes are burning on the rash and that's the problem. I just got some cloth wipes so maybe that will help.

* Take up more space. In our case, we change her in our small apartment bathroom, not at a standard changing table. We used to keep about 30 diapers in that small space above the toilet and below the counter. Now we can keep 3 cloth diapers in that same space. We've started keeping the cloth diapers in the play pen and taking them to the bathroom individually.

* Always nearly out of diapers. Even right after I do a load of laundry, I have about 20 diapers. She uses 6-10 diapers per day so I never have more than 2 days worth. That means I basically always feel like I'm running out.

* Hard to take on outings. Certainly not impossible, but fewer diapers fit in our diaper bag. (We could get a bigger one, but we haven't.) It also means we need a wet bag to bring home any wet/dirty diapers. We're still using disposable wipes which actually poses the problem of finding a trash can while carting around messy wipes (with disposables, they can be wrapped inside) or just throwing in the wet bag and dealing with them when we get home. If we were using cloth wipes, I think we'd have to pre-moisten wipes in anticipation of use or carry a spray bottle of some sort. This seems hard, but people do it so it must work somehow. We just generally use disposables.

* Hard to tell if they're wet or poopy. When disposables are wet, they change shape so it's really easy to tell. We can't seem to tell with cloth. We've even missed poopy diapers which, of course, led to making her diaper rash much worse but I don't blame that on the cloth diaper, at least not directly. Given that we had several months of no poopy diapers before switching to cloth, we're out of practice in detecting them like we might have been otherwise. On the other hand, I don't mind rinsing them out at all and I thought I would.

* Can't use most diaper rash creams. They waterproof the cloth diapers. There are some that are ok, but we hadn't anticipated all these rashes so I haven't shelled out the money for a special cream. After she's been in a poopy diaper for a bit and needed a rash cream, we used desitin (which smells terrible-- but not compared to the foul smelling diapers) and put her in a disposable. Since we prefer cloth for night time, I put covered her in desitin, carefully pulled on underwear and then put a diaper-with-2-inserts on top of it. (When it was 1am and I had to switch to a new night time set, I was really unhappy.) This seemed to work fine but took a couple of washes to get the stale desitin smell out of her undies. We've since switched to Butt Paste and like it far better than Desitin both for smell and effectiveness. Still can't use it with cloth so she's wearing a disposable all day now and we put her in cloth at night after her bath. A couple of more days of this and she may be rash free again. (It'd be really embarrassing to go to the doctor for her 18 month appointment with the same diaper rash she had at her 15 month appointment.)

Pros:
* Cloth diapering is a good hobby. Seriously. I can learn about new types or experiment with a new washing system. I can enter contests for free stuff. I can blog about my experiences. :) This is not something to be underestimated with a stay-at-home-mom who needs something to think about when one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish is rote memory. As something I deal with many times per day, this is pertinent and relevant. My mental energy could be funneled into something else probably, but this is the hobby that has sucked me most in years. Maybe ever.

* Cloth might save money. I'd say it does say money but I haven't seen savings yet. I'm still slowly shelling out the dough. Given the wear on my diapers in only a few months, I doubt they'll have any resale value. There are ways to do it and save but we are using mostly more elaborate diapers (due to better fit) and they will not last as long as a prefold would. Prefolds don't have good resale value either but at least they are reusable.

* Less trash. 'Nuf said.

* More self-sufficient. I'm a do-it-yourself-er at heart (less so in practice) but I'd like to be entirely self-sufficient and not have to depend on other people for stuff. Although it's not entirely, cloth diapering feels more do-it-yourself than disposables. I suppose I'd really like to sew my own, but I know enough to realize I do not currently possess those skills or time. I think this is what drew me to cloth initially.

* Work fabulously well as a night time diaper. Our regular disposables don't hold enough for night time but a large bumGenius All-in-one with 2 hemp liners work great. (One might be sufficient but I haven't tried it.)