Cloth Diaper Update

I said I would keep you all posted on how the cloth diapering is going, so here goes!

First, I want to talk about issues related to diaper rash:

1) I now have a stash of fleece liners that I use regularly as a wetness barrier with the econobum cloth diapers. Some of them are the Bummis brand and some are ones I made myself out of scrap fleece. I've discovered that it is best to wash these separately from the cloth diapers, since the job of the liners is not only to protect my son from rash caused by wetness, but also to protect the cloth diaper from any ointments or creams we use. (Rash creams make cloth diapers less absorbent over time. If I wash my liners with the diapers, I am essentially washing the cloth diapers with the rash cream!) I "stripped" the diapers of any rash cream with some good old Dawn, hot water and a stiff brush, so we're back to business as usual.

2) I had been having some problems with leaking that I wasn't before. This has partly been remedied by the stripping I mentioned above. At night, even the "night time Pull-ups" are not enough to hold it all, so I've ended up putting "night time" disposable diapers on him at bedtime.

3) The other thing I noticed is a higher incidence of diaper rash with the BumGenius diaper detergent than the FuzziBunz diaper detergent. I'm wondering if my son may be allergic to something in the BumGenius detergent...? These are the only types of detergent I've tried thus far. Another reason I prefer the FuzziBunz detergent is that the package says it is formulated to work with any water type (we have hard water, which can cause mineral buildup on the diapers over time).

So, between changing him often during the daytime (he's 2 and I change him 5 to 7 times), finding the right detergent, and using the fleece liners, I have noticed a significant decrease in diaper rash.

The other issue is cleaning up poop!

Bowel movements from babies who are exclusively breastfed should wash right out in the washing machine. It is ideal (for your washing cycle and the environment) to put bowel movements from solids-fed babies in the toilet. Samson has adult-like poops that plop right out of the diaper and into the toilet...most of the time. The problems arise when there are days that he has very soft stools! My best solution for this has been to keep a flushable paper liner in the diaper during the time of day I expect him to have a bowel movement (his are fairly predictable). Then, I am able to remove most--if not all--of the stools from the diaper by removing the flushable liner and flushing it. When all else fails, I use a grocery bag over my hand to remove as much of the solids as possible, then throw the grocery bag in the trash.

So that is where we are at now. I will be sure to post another update after the arrival of our newest addition. She's due to arrive any day now!

Cloth diaper update

We did cloth diapering for my son's first few months of life when we had access to a cloth diaper delivery service. Then we had some major life changes and quit cloth diaper for about 2 years. Now he's in the potty training stage, but we're expecting a new baby this fall.

About a month and a half ago, we made the investment of $100 to get two cases of econobum diapers. Since our utilities are included at a flat rate in our rent, washing the cloth diapers doesn't cost us anything extra. We just have to buy cloth diaper laundry detergent and flushable liners, which are costing us a tiny fraction of the cost of buying cases of disposable diapers. (These diapers fit babies from 8 lb up to 35 lb, and will hopefully hold up through the time our second child gets potty trained).

Here's my latest take on this whole cloth diapering thing: Yes, It is a LITTLE more difficult for me than disposables, but I'm not ready to give up on it. Today's cloth diapers are much easier to use than the old fashioned ones, and with the money we're saving, I might even buy some of the fancier types of cloth diapers that are EVEN easier to use.

I think folding these prefolded diapers is about the same amount of work for me as picking up a case of disposables at the store (because there's only 2 dozen cloth diapers and I moved the changing station to next to the dryer!). And washing them is only a little more work than toting bags of dirty disposables out to the garage. I think its good for his potty-training that he sees me flush the poopies "bye bye" down the toilet (I know...I'm taking the potty training thing really slow). And every time I'm frustrated with putting the cloth diapers on, I just remember how much MONEY we are saving and how much we're AREN'T putting into the landfill.

The only problem I'm seeing is that Samson's getting a little more diaper rash. It seems it always only appears overnight, on evenings when he's had a lot of liquid and I didn't get him out of his crib to get changed right away in the morning. The diaper rash doesn't appear during the day, because I change him often during the day. Some people say a piece of fleece between his skin and the diaper would help keep his skin dry, so I think we either need to buy fleece liners for night time, disposables for night time, or start limiting his liquids in the evening! (Or, yes, get this kid potty trained!)

I'm going to keep using disposables when we go on long trips, but I'm going to keep trying and I'll let you all know how it goes!