Final shakedown: Cloth Diapers, how to, why and well, just do it...

It's been almost 3 years and two kids in cloth diapers so can I consider myself a veteran? Yes, yes, I can. Do I still love them? Yes, I do. I've certainly had my moments, especially when both kids were in diapers for 6-8 months -- lots of diaper laundry but with one kid... PIECE OF CAKE! Here are my tips for cloth diapers. I will take a photo of my set-up and add it.

Supplies you need:

1) a baby that is 8-12 weeks (let's face it folks, who wants to wash 20+ diapers a day ? Rather than make yourself a slave to diapers-- I say wait until that poop is not happening every time you blink, and then start)

2) a good set of cloth diapers -- I'd say 15-20 is really comfortable. Do what you can afford but at LEAST 12. I use Fuzzi Bunz and YES I know they are made in China but really people, what isn't? I've had the same size medium Fuzzi Bunz with me since Owen was 3 months. MJ did a review of other cloth diaper ideas including g-diapers on this blog here.

3) Good detergent, I've used Charlie's Soap and now I'm using Vaska, which I can get locally at New Profieteers (I mean Frontiers), so I don't have to have it shipped and thus save the planet even more... ah hem anything you ship uses fuel...

4) Just bite the $50.00 bullet and buy a diaper sprayer. Do I have to go there? Believe me some sticky baby poop needs a little "shower" to release itself into the toilet...you will thank me later.

5) a cloth can liner. Personally, I don't even have a disposable diaper trash can in my nursery...too tempting. Make it a hassle to use anything disposable... I mean, it's nasty anyway-- What's nasty you ask me? POOP sitting inside plastic disposable diapers rolled up in plastic bags shaped like a sausage so it doesn't smell like poop in your house... THAT is what is nasty. I use a regular trash can with a flip up top. We got it at Target and yes, I wish it wasn't plastic.

6) brings me to WIPES: that's right, CLOTH WIPES... might as well so long as you are washing the diapers. I get them on whatever site I buy the diapers from.. you'll need around 20-25. If you are crafty and can use a sewing machine, which sadly I cannot, then make your own from old soft towels. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT have disposable wipes handy or you'll use them and guess what you won't have a trash can for them...thing is disposable wipes are nasty... believe me people I want as much cloth between my fingers and human poop as possible and flimsy little disposable wipes just don't cut it. I get grossed out anytime I have to use them.

7) While you are at it, get a cloth wipes warmer. I have a Prince Lionheart and apart from the little glowing heart being like 60watts, I love it. HINT: use black electrical tape to cover blasting light. This is the way to go for cloth wipes because they will always be WET and ready... and you guessed it, WARM!! I also used a friend's disposable wipe warmer when I was running my "two kids in two diapers" circus over here. It worked fine. Ask around, I'm sure someone has one. A trick is to put a wet cloth at the bottom of the warmer and don't let it get too dry. Here in AZ every damn thing gets dried out even a wet wipe warmer. I know, I know... it uses energy. So get some solar panels.

7) Use one disposable a day until they don't pee so much at night. Just trust me on this one. The peace of mind is worth the 365 diapers in the landfill. If you can do cloth diapers at night, my hat is off to you. Personally, I wanted the child to sleep and NOTHING was going to stand in the way, least of all a WET diaper. I buy Nature Babycare because they are supposedly compost ready but don't let me fool you, I also buy Huggies Pure and Natural because they work amazing. Harper is 15 months now and we are using cloth at night because she doesn't pee so much anymore at night... some babies and kids do... but those kids probably drink A LOT more liquids than my kids.

8) Some type of small cloth diaper tote thing that travels in your diaper bag. I have two and it's plenty. Yes, you can take your cloth diapers on the go. I have taken them on EVERY vacation we go on. The only time the child wears a disposable on vacation is on the actual day of travel if it's more than 10 hours... I just don't have room in my carry on for dirty diapers. When you travel with kids you are likely going to a place with a washing machine. The only glitch is that you need to remember your own detergent and have access to a washing machine. I have a small bottle that I carry with me on every trip. I usually only end up doing diapers two times... NOT that big of a deal. NOTE: if you are going to a hotel, call ahead to see if there is access to a washing machine, you will be surprised. If we are camping or traveling by car, I just pack one of our large diaper can liners and put dirty diapers in there and wash when we get home. Click here to view additional cloth diaper accessories.

9) A place to go with all the money you save. The average American family spends -- ARE YOU READY?? $3,000 on ONE CHILD's disposable diapers. Save yourself approximately $5,200* get some cloth diapers and hit the Caribbean! It's cheaper, folks what else do you need? *that figure assumes two children. I've spend approximately $700 on TWO KIDS!! My initial investment was $400 and then the accessories and replacing some inserts, etc.

NOTES AND TIPS

1) NO EXCUSES. The moment you start making excuses why you should use a disposable, well, it's a slippery slope. I just limit myself to one a day. No exceptions.

2) You are worried about how gross poop is and what it does to your washing machine? Don't be silly, you are a Mom, you'll be cleaning up some serious S*IT in the next 18 years, this is literally the least of your worries. Once you've knocked out most of the solids, or flipped it out (if your kids hate veggies --really poop just flips right into the toilet after they start eating solid food), or sprayed it out, or sloshed it out... you'll find your own tricks... you flush it, and pop that diaper into the can liner and it won't stink because it's not a huge turd sitting in your nursery. You will need to wash diapers every 3 days at the most, which means about twice a week, WAY MORE with less diapers. Again get 15-20 - it's worth it.

3) All, I repeat ALL the grandparents, babysitters and nannies have used my cloth diapers with no problems. If a 14 year old girl and a 65 year old man can do it, trust me, you can too!

If you have questions, please comment here, I'll get an email and respond!

Poop: 18-24 months, Joys of a Diaper Sprayer and Fuzzi Bunz

Poop. It happens.

Yes, I've been elbow deep in baby poop now for 18 months. Technically I also pick up dog poop everyday as well, just for the record. Most recently the baby poop has started to change enough (READ: sticking to diaper) to begin to disgust me and think of new strategies...

1) a diaper sprayer for the toilet ??
2) researching the dreaded potty training ??
3) disposables? (HA HA, as if)

I choose the sprayer as I don't think Owen is quite ready to potty train yet, but we will be laying a foundation soon. Heck, he's already obsessed with talking about pooping if you even LOOK at the bathroom or step near it... exhibit A:

(upon stepping into the bathroom yesterday)
"Mommy Pooping, pee pee potty?"

(while Tia Kate tried to have some privacy a couple weeks ago, foiled by the fact that Owen can open the doors in our house)
"Tia Poops? Potty? Pooping?"

(while in living room hearing Daddy peeing in the bathroom -- through a closed door)
"Daddy pee pee potty"

So, potty talk has started. Here it begins. More on this topic later. Let's get back to #1, (no pun intended)

DIAPER SPRAYER: every cloth diapering parent needs one!

So this thing rocks. I got mine at Fuzzi Bunz Store.com. It's the one approved by Fuzzi Bunz, with microban (whatever that is) It basically turns your toilet into a bidet. You get a hose sprayer right by the toilet (with good pressure that is adjustable) and for just $45. If you have a hose that connects from the toilet tank to your end stop valve (where you turn the water off to the toilet) that you can easily disconnect, installing this puppy is a cinch. Leave me a comment if you have something else, I did and I got a $10 part at the hardware store and fixed it easily.

It was getting a little dicey trying to get the poop off the diapers at this point. We did go through the "it just pops off as a log" stage, and then by some unknown food force, the poop starting sticking to the diapers. Don't kid yourself, thrashing your cloth diaper around in the toilet water as you flush IS fairly effective, but it IS beginning to disgust you, no?? Don't fret, EVEN I considered disposables for a split second... but NOT long enough to give up my precious Fuzzi Bunz. I still love them.

Speaking of Fuzzi Bunz... did you know they have a Petite Toddler sizes? Yup! It's for those skinny little babies like Owen who have skinny thighs but are still getting taller and the size large will never fit. He's almost outgrowing his size mediums (15 months of use and going strong). I did have to purchase new inserts for my mediums recently as they were starting to smell slightly urine sented. Yuk. It only cost me $24, though.

Happy pooping.

Ode To Fuzzi Bunz | My Cloth diaper findings

So I think I said I'd report back when I had solid poop diapers to report.  Well, after months of lovely experience in this department, I have good news.  Fuzzi Bunz diapers still easy! In fact, it smells LESS!  Nasty, who wants a poop-filled diaper sitting around for any length of time? I don't care how many plastic bag diaper sausages you have (aka diaper genie) it's still nasty. 

Here are my findings.  

1. Fuzzi Bunz rule
2. Use Charlie's Soap
3. Follow FB's washing /drying instructions

but what about the poop, cameron? Poop is gross, I don't want to have to "touch" it.  Hey, you are in luck, you don't! 

I told you about the baby poop and how to wash it right in your machine, now comes the mystery with solid poop.  

When your beloved infant begins to eat solid foods, around 6 months or so, the poop changes from the cute yellow sweet smelling (breastfed) poop to "man-sized" poop as my husband has nick named it.  The beautiful thing, if you can handle the word choice, is that solid poop just falls right off the diaper and 

KER-plunk... into the toilet.  FLUSHH.... gone.  Should you be left with some poopy residue, which happens about 25% of the time, I turn the diaper poopy-side down (after first flush) and swish it around a bit and flush again, this time holding the diaper in the middle of the "waterfall" of the toilet. This works great, then you just plop that diaper into the cloth-lined diaper pail and shut the lid.  

I wash diapers every other night and I have 12 FB.  I have a front-loader so I wash on cold "pre-wash" instead of soak and then hot/cold heavy cycle.  I simply take the cloth bag from the pail, and open the washing machine door and stuff the bag inside out into the machine. I never touch anything. Sorta the same concept as doggie poop bags. The diapers wash out so clean it's scary. 

Some FB tips:

• get the full priced FB because they guarantee them with a great warranty (keep your receipt) and they come with a great insert
• get 2 cloth can liners, this way while one is washing you'll have another in the hopper. 
• Get 12-14 FB if you can.  I made it with 8 when he was 0-3 but was washing every night. Get 16 if you are "rich" or you find a good sale, you might only have to wash every 3 nights!
• buy a water sprayer to wet the wipes (the small bottle kind you use to wet down hair) and 10-12 cloth wipes because if you are washing anyway might as well do the wipes too. 
• don't feel too bad if you use one disposable per night.  I'm giving you permission. I do it.  We are transitioning to FB at night because now that he sleeps, he doesn't have wet WET diapers every morning
• change them every 3-4 hours (I do it before his naps)
• get yourself a wet/dry diaper velcro baggie for when you go out and keep one fully ready FB in your diaper bag. 
• do not use diaper cream or any lotion on the baby's butt OR dryer sheets... it compromises the functionality of FBs
• you can take them on vacation!  Especially a weekend trip.  If you have access to a wash machine you are set. My husband knows I go a little crazy if I have to put more than one disposable on my boy.  They are stinky and give rash

Questions? Oh, FB came out with a new "all-in-one" -- I'm skeptical!  I will need to purchase one to find out but 6lbs-30lbs... just doesn't seem reasonable.  I suppose if anyone can do it FuzziBunz can. 

Boy is awake~ ! 

cameron's cloth diaper manifesto

For diapering, I knew I wanted to do cloth, but two concepts were stopping me 1) hassle and 2) poop. I'll address both and soon you'll be using cloth diapers yourself.

READ THIS ARTICLE

**Okay I want to preface this post with these facts: #1) I breastfeed, so I don't really know anything about formula fed baby poop so take that into consideration. Baby poop (until they eat solids) is very watery and similar to cottage cheese, only yellow *sorry.* It does NOT smell gross, in fact, it has a sweet smell, a baby poop smell. :) In any case, at first, it just splatters everywhere and absorbs into whatever will absorb it.
#2) when my baby reaches the solid poop phase, I'll post about how that works out with cloth...because I got this toilet sprayer thing that you can hose off the diapers and solid poop but I have no idea how it works.

If you are a first time mom and haven't used cloth diapers (or changed diapers since the babysitter days) you may be thinking to yourself, eeeewwwwwwww, nasty! How do I handle poopy diapers and wash them every day? Secret: YOU don't, the washing machine does. Really, you just throw those guys in there all dirty and nasty, put it on a soak cycle (or front loaders have a pre-wash) with no detergent and voila-- the are ready for the wash with detergent. After soaking (follow your diapers directions) you add some detergent. I use Charlie's Soap it doesn't leave any residue and cleans everything. Another secret, make diaper duty a habit. When I put the baby down to bed for the night, I just gather all the dirty diapers (stored in a dry pal) and toss them in the machine. After they are washed, I hang them to dry and they are ready by morning (alternatively if you don't live in the desert like me, then toss them in the dryer)

Does that sound horrible, hard and inconvenient? I didn't think so. Really, it's great AND you are not constantly buying diapers and smelling gnarly dirty ones.

I did a trial run with some different cloth diapers for the first 3 months as per a recommendation from Mom's at my baby shower. I had four systems. I'll explain each and tell you pros and cons. I chose one system in the end, Fuzzi Bunz, a pocket diaper.

1) gDiaper: love these, but at first when babies are small, the poop gets all over the liner and the diaper with frequency. I still liked them because it's less trash no matter how you shake it. If you get a whole set of these, I can see how they work awesome. I have four and we could make it at least one day. Problem with gDiapers is that their strength is that they are compostable when no poop is present. Paradoxically, you will find, though, that new babies poop A LOT. As they get older you will be able to compost more so I'd recommend these diapers as a support system for another diaper until baby is pooping solidly. Advantage: if you are camping or have a compost there is virtually no trash-- or if you can flush the pee ones. It's hard to flush new baby poop diapers because they are hard to touch since poop goes everywhere. Also they are a bit more "work" in snapping in the liner, unsnapping dirty liners, etc. If you are dedicated, you will like these, if you are looking for 100% easy solution, maybe it's not gDiapers.

2) Organic Caboose snap-able cotton diapers size newborn with Organic Caboose wool covers. I got these as a gift from my baby registry at Zen Baby in town. I found these diapers to work great if you don't mind your baby being WET and you don't want to use pre-folds. Owen didn't care about being wet, but it bothered me a bit. You have to use a cover with these. The wool Organic Caboose covers that I used worked great to keep the wetness in. Drawbacks include IT TOOK FOREVER for both the diapers and the covers to dry and I mean like ALL DAY in the AZ sun and you have to time your washing just perfectly to get the covers washed and dried with the diapers washed and dried. You only have to wash the wool covers once a week, but you also have to buy special wool wash and lanolin wool cure to keep them absorbing well. As a result of the drying issue, I found myself supplementing often with our disposable diapers. I don't think they will fit your baby long unless you have a skinny butt like Owen or a preemie. Also I couldn't fit baby, diaper and a doubler (liner to absorb more liquid) into these diapers. Maybe I just didn't have the right size, but the organic caboose super soakers didn't fit. I see on their site they have newborn size, which probably would've worked.

3) Nature Care Baby (buy at Target stores or Diapers.com) These are so called "biodegradable" disposable diapers created by some mother in Sweden. We also buy their wipes for backup (yes I use cloth wipes too). They work almost as well as the Pampers, which makes me suspicious but they are a bit kinder to the planet (not by much). Owen wears one when he goes to bed or if we are caught out without a cloth diaper. If he sleeps through the night, these will hold it all. I don't feel AS BAD throwing these away because they breakdown eventually but alas, it's still trash and I hate TRASH and landfills don't biodegrade anything as is discussed at LENGTH in this article.

We are down to one Nature Care Baby diaper per day.

4) pre-folds with cover. I tried these and didn't really like folding them all the time. I have about 6 friends who LOVE their pre-folds and use them exclusively but for now they were more hassle on the changing table then I was willing to battle 8-12 times a day. I will say, when I did use them, they worked and they are easy to clean and they dry fast and are easy to pack in a diaper bag.

5) Fuzzi-Bunz (pocket diapers) You put an absorbent soaker (foldable insert) inside the diapers and take it out for washing. I might also like an "all in one" type cloth diaper but I bet they take forever to dry. I ended up choosing to purchase a set of Fuzzi-bunz (I bought two to test run). I got a set of 10 and got the "second quality" because they were $13.99 rather than $19.99. In the future, I'll buy the first quality ones because you get a micro-terry insert in the 1st quality but not the seconds, plus a warranty. I like these diapers A LOT. They are easy to wash, easy to use, they WORK, they fit and they dry super fast. They wouldn't have fit Owen until 3 months because he had a skinny butt and legs but now he's in the tightest snap on the size small so I think these will fit awhile. Their website has tons of info regarding diapers and how to wash them, etc etc. Follow the directions because I'm told if you don't wash these properly they will stink and lose their absorbency. I have heard that bamboozle diapers are also great. I might buy two of them to check them out. I hear they take a long time to dry (huge issue if it take longer than 8 hours or 1 hour in the dryer).

Seventh Generation: work well, at least you are supporting a company who strives to do the right thing but they still have a fair amount of that plastic like absorbant substance (so do gDiapers).

Pampers: I admit on vacation for a week I used Pampers. I hated them. They stink funny with urine and give the baby a rash and you are constantly throwing them away. I couldn't WAIT to get home to my Fuzzi Bunz.

gDiapers : environmentally friendly diapers

Okay so on my personal quest to find the best diaper solution for my child... I've tried a lot (even Pampers the first week-- even though they are OUT of the question). My favorite solution so far is gDiapers. Why? Well most Americans are spending lots of CASH o-la on disposable diapers, why not invest in a few 'little g' diaper covers and call it a day? PLUS... you are doing great things for our environment. These diapers are flushable and ACTUALLY compost-able. I really like them, they are cute, they seem to fit Owen comfortably and they work well. Right now I just have a starter kit but am planning to have a bigger supply when he sizes up to medium.

Check out this amazing segment on Good Morning America about
Americans' huge human footprint (gDiapers included in the tips to
reduce one's footprint!) Elizabeth Vargas, from "20/20" and "National
Geographic", shows the impact of 18 billion disposable diapers with
fantastic visuals here:

Watch the story Friday on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET. You can also see the
premiere of the "Human Footprint" on the National Geographic Channel
Sunday, April 13th. And if you have any free time after the bub's go
to bed, you must visit their interactive site to view the data and
awesome animation. Very impressive and definitely thought provoking.

Cloth diapers: a brief (HA HA) manifesto

I haven't posted here in so long; I've just been enjoying reading about Cameron's amazing journey. Let's all give the lady a hand, hear hear! (Clap, clap, clap, etc.)

OK, let's talk about cloth diapers.

Science will tell you that cloth diapers are better than disposable for the environment. This is a fact; look it up. If you find research to the contrary, keep in mind that it was, with absolute certainty, funded by diaper-making companies. This is also a fact.

Now, I know this, and yet I myself have used (and still do, sometimes) disposable diapers. No one is perfect. And the kind of diapers you use has nothing to do with whether you are an excellent mother. But if you are interested in cloth diapering, I thought I’d share what I’ve found out through personal experience (especially since a few people have been asking me cloth diapering advice lately).

Fending off the well-intentioned
I’ve heard a lot of stories from other mamas and friends of mamas about well-meaning family members trying to dissuade them from using cloth diapers. It makes sense when you think about it: everyone wants a new mom to be well-rested (HA HA HA) and happy (HO HO HO), so they encourage her to keep things easy, uncomplicated. Something these folks might not realize is that cloth diapering is a totally different story from the days of our mothers and grandmothers—or even diapering moms 10 years ago. It’s positively easy these days. The level of ease varies depending on what kind of diapers you use (keep reading!), but all in all, it’s not so hard when you get the hang of it.

A rainbow of butt coverings
If you get into cloth diapering to save money (as I did), stick with the basics: cotton pre-folds and covers. Pins aren’t necessary any more with the invention of the blessed Snappi; and that might not even be necessary with certain snap-on/Velcro covers (as opposed to pull-up covers; think underwear, more or less).

If you have a bit more dough and are primarily interested with ease, consider pocket diapers (with removable inserts, such as Fuzzi-Bunz) or all-in-ones (just what it sounds like – no inserts, just one solid piece of diaper, such as bumGenius).

Personally, I scored a small army of Fuzzi-Bunz second-hand, which is a great way to ease into cloth-diapering. But (maybe because they were second-hand), Tommy would get more rashes with them, and so I generally stick to pre-folds. For covers, I’ve both inherited and hand-knit a few pull-on covers (sometimes called “soakers”) that I use with a Snappi. I also use Bummis Super Whisper Wraps, no Snappi needed. (Don’t you love those brand names?)

What about poop?
Ah, yes indeed, what about it. Well, my friends, once babies start eating solids, their poop correspondingly gets solid. Shake that mess in the toilet, man. I keep a small bucket next to the changing table to facilitate trips to the bathroom. Easy-peasy.

Washing
If money is no object, consider a diaper service near you. The one where I live supplies diapers (but not covers) and a handy diaper pail (for, like, $12 extra or something). It’s so easy: once a week, you leave the dirty diaper pail outside near your door, they come by and empty it and leave a pack of clean diapers. The price is comparable to buying name-brand disposables.

I choose to wash diapers at home, again to save money. It is not nearly as gross as you think. I use Charlie’s Soap for this (and for all of our laundry – super cheap when you work out how many loads you get from one bag). The diapers pre-soak in cold water, go through a hot/cold cycle, and then an extra rinse. Some people add baking soda and/or vinegar for extra freshness (or to get rid of yeast); recipes and methods abound online.

I happen to live in an area that’s been hit with a historic drought. We save water like insane people preparing for the apocalypse otherwise, but that does bring me to…

Drought: A word on composting and E.C.
I’ve tried and enjoyed gDiapers, which are basically cloth covers with a plastic liner, in which you snap inserts that can be flushed or composted (the ones that aren’t poopy, and don’t have diaper ointment on them). They’re too expensive for us to use them regularly, but the upside is I use those cloth covers constantly with regular cotton pre-folds.

I’ve never had the gumption to try Elimination Communication, which involves no diapers at all – but I personally know women in real life who use and swear by this method.

My own experience
To be honest, I hated cloth diapers at first. I just didn’t get it, and part of it was my hang-up in those early days of parenting that there was a Right Way to do things and a Wrong Way. I couldn’t figure out how to fold the diapers the Right Way or use the covers the Right Way. Later I realized that there is no Right Way or Wrong Way, just Your Way. I have since come up with various ways of folding and snapping that suit our needs well. Learn to embrace deviation and invention, if you can. That might be the hardest part of all.

We still use disposables, as I mentioned — Tommy seems prone to eczema and other rashy episodes, so putting them on at night and while traveling really helps. There are days where we use only cloth diapers, and days where I go through far too many disposables. I figure that anything we can do to reduce waste is helpful, and the goal is to do your best.

Diapers: the cloth episodes

So I am determined NOT to fill the landfill with poopy Pampers. The first two weeks we went through like 150 diapers or something insane. Yes, they wick moisture like the dickens and yes, they are fairly Daddy friendly. Yes, it's easy to toss them in a bag, snap up the onsie and call it a day; however, is this really what's best for the environment, my baby's bottom and most of all my guilty conscience? Nope!
In my noble quest, however, there is a bit of a learning curve and lots of pee on my shirts. I think I've got it now, thanks to my friend Aurora who came over yesterday and helped me learn the ancient art of "pre-folding" diapers. Now the term pre-fold is a bit like clipless bike pedals. Both terms don't make any sense considering the actual application of the item is the opposite of the name itself. The diapers are NOT pre-folded.. YOU have to fold them. The pedals are not clipless-- they indeed have clips. Anywhooo, I digress...the big innovation in diapers in the last 35 years is a little do-dad called a snappy. Yes, snappy is my friend. He holds the diaper in place instead of pins. Pins are for the birds but snappy is for Cameron and the modern mommy. Anyway, so Owen is wearing cute little cloth diapers with a wool cover. They get wet but we change him approximately 2,000 times in one day so it doesn't matter. I would love to hear other reviews and comments about cloth diapers (even though I know no one reads my blog besides my family... one can dream, right)...