Diaper Stripping 101

Thinking my kids were sharing some kind of a bacterial infection (they aren't), I went ahead and stripped my diapers again this week.

Diaper stripping is useful if your child does indeed had a bacterial infection or if your diapers are leaky/stinky.

I boil water on the stove and boil all of my (CLEAN) inserts/flats/prefolds/anything that doesn't have PUL. Even using a non-additive cloth diaper friendly detergent, I still manage to get some soapiness in my water from previous washes.

Next I put these in the washer with all of my pockets/AIOs/covers and put them through warm/hot rinse cycles...I do 8. I know that sounds like quite a bit...but this is not the normal laundering, it is a strip. Then I hang them in the sun to dry. The sun is a natural brightener/bacteria killer.

Even though I don't have to worry that either of my kids had a bacterial infection, I still have beautiful white, clean diapers!

Sick

I am putting up a link in case you don't already read "The Cloth Diaper Whisperer" or missed this post. It is just sick what they are doing to get people to buy disposable diapers. Yep, I have to use them occasionally...but man is their marketing sick. I do not even want to think about all of those diapers in landfills. Sick.

http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/2010/08/nightline-spotlights-disposable-diaper.html

Thirsties Has Moved!

For anyone who likes to use Thirsties Diapers (they are great, and so is their customer service), their site has changed! They are now www.Gavinbaby.com

Good to know!

Cloth Diapering a Newborn

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, "Rosebud". She was born April 14, 2010 and weighed 6 lbs, 11 oz. She dropped to 6 lbs 2 oz, so if we can cloth diaper, I think anyone can! She does wear some disposables because #1 we are TIRED, and #2 she got impetigo in the hospital and I don't want the ointment that has to be put on multiple times a day to get on her cloth.

We are using both flats with covers (SO tiny ones, I will get pics up soon), but also splurged and bought two Rumparooz Lil Joey newborn diapers. In pink and purple of course! These diapers have been great. No leaks, no blowouts. Note the umbilical cord area that snaps down, but can be put back up once her cord is gone. She is wearing them on the smallest setting, but they can be let out farther as she grows.

This picture shoes the back, but they are not that bulky...I think the picture makes them appear that way. She is wearing newborn onesies just fine. Note the diaper pin at the bottom of the photo. When using flats/covers we have not been able to use a Snappi because even the smaller of the two sizes is WAY too big.

Along with diapering a newborn, we have just recently moved so with the change in water, etc I decided to strip my diapers. Note that most of these belong to my almost 2 year old.

1. Did NOT strip my Thirsties covers. They don't have cloth on them and didn't seem to be having any problem holding odors or leaking. I left them alone.

2. Boiled water in a stock pot on the stove and then turned the water to just below boiling. Used tongs to swish diapers individually in the water and then drop them into an empty laundry basket. Water did have some soapyness to it after 3 or 4 diapers, even though we use Charlie's, so I would empty the pot and start again.

3. Ran the (really wet) diapers through the machine on a rinse/spin cycle.

4. Sunned them dry.

Check with your manufacturer before stripping your diapers...but this works for me!

Bullet Proof

Pretty sure I've over posted this picture between this and my family blog www.thedraystoday.blogspot.com . But I want you to look closely at that BEAUTIFUL green diaper hanging in the middle. It is the only photographic evidence that I own a Bum Genius diaper. Yes, yes, after using cloth for over 18 months, I finally have my own BG diaper...er Little Monkey has one.

This is the kind of Bum Genius I use. It is a one size diaper, but they also sell AIOs. I wanted a one size as I will (*very) soon have two in diapers. My color is "ribbit" one of their most popular. I am about to have 2 white, a Zinnia, and a blossom because of the buy $10 in BG and get a diaper free.

Here's a diagram of how this diaper works. But that isn't what made it bullet proof for me today.

We have been working really hard to be ready to move into our new (to us) house this weekend. That means we are away from our rental house quite a bit. I cloth on the go (some people use disposables when away from home) and it is always harder to remember to change diapers when not at home. Knowing that, I tried something today that worked SO well.

I am ashamed to say that even though this worked, he wore the same diaper for about 5 hours today. YIKES. That is so not even cool. Sorry Little Monkey.

What I did was put 2 gDiaper inserts into my BumGenius pocket (one size). NOT a leak. Not even a hint. And that boy drinks water like it is going out of style. Let me tell you, when I finally changed him, I think it weighed close to 5 lbs. But it was bullet proof!

Why Cloth Can be So Good...and So bad.

Recently our Little Monkey Man had diarrhea...and by recently I mean it has been less than a week since he STOPPED having it. And he had it for over 6 weeks. We've been battling it since late October, but we think we might have it figured out.

Cloth diapers were SO bad because I don't care what liner you use (we use Imse Vimse), the BM goes EVERYWHERE in that diaper. And when you are dealing with it 5-7 times a day...ugh. Now if we had our diaper sprayer it would have been different, but we are in a rental and were not supposed to install it. So it sat in a box as we hand scraped diaper after diaper. (No, we did not use bare hands, come on people).

But in the end, cloth diapers were SO good. When we first moved into the rental the diarrhea was in progress, but we had no washer/dryer so we were using disposables. Guess what? BM up the back...out the sides. When changing the soiled clothes (which then I had to work on the stains...I'd rather have stained diapers than stained clothes!) the BM often ended up all over him and in his hair etc. We do not EVER have that problem with cloth diapers. Once in a great while some might eek out by his thighs...but never anywhere else or enough to ruin clothing.

So while cloth diapers were not a dream during this time, at least they weren't the nightmare that we had with disposables!!!!

The picture at the top is our stash being sunshined today. It was so good to get them out in the sun and make sure any lingering bacteria was DEAD. Does anyone have suggestions though for how to get them soft after hanging outside? They get so stiff!

Washing Wool Diaper Covers

When I decided to start cloth diapering, I had no idea really where to begin. My mom gave me everything she had from my brother and I when we were babies, and the journey began.

Despite inheriting the rubber pants my mom used on my brother and I (as well as all the cotton prefolds and flat diapers); I was determined not to use the rubber pants! I used rubber pants to help potty train one of the children in my daycare and I knew using them day in and day out on my infant wasn’t what I had in mind when I decided to switch to cloth.

After some online research I decided on using Thirsties diaper covers. Then a friend of mine who is an avid knitter came across a wool soaker pattern online. Fortunately she thought of me and gifted me with a homemade soaker, I love it! Although I do not use wool every day, I do use it frequently and love the look/feel/convenience. I have a second homemade soaker from her, and use it even more often than the first. I love how waterproof it is, how it doesn’t require constant washing, and it doesn’t smell!

If you know someone who knits, patterns are available online, but there are also plenty of cute soakers and “longies” available to buy. Kelly’s Closet also offers some wool products. If you choose to try wool, please know it cannot be washed with your regular cloth diapers. Washing wool it is NOT rocket science, in fact it is very easy!

Here is what works for me:

Step 1: Turn your wool inside out

Step 2: Warm water in the kettle until it is nearly boiling. I don’t boil my water as I don’t want to “felt” my wool.

Step 3: Get your supplies ready. You need a lidded container (I use a recycled applesauce jar), some lanolin (I use Lansinoh), some liquid dish soap or baby soap, a medium bowl (I often use a 4c. Pyrex measuring cup) and a large bath towel.

Step 4: Pour hot water into container and add a squirt of lanolin into the hot water. It will be a lump floating on top at first, and then will begin to melt.

Step 5: Add 1-2 drops of liquid dish soap or liquid baby soap to the water. The lanolin will immediately start to emulsify and turn the water a milky white. Put on the lid and shake well. I usually have to use a dishtowel around my jar-the water is that hot.

Step 6: Pour the contents of the jar into a bowl. Add two more jars of warm water to the hot. The water temperature now should be “comfortble”. Gently put your wool into the bowl and swish around until the entire thing is wet. Let it soak at least 20 minutes. I do this while getting breakfast ready, and then return once we are done eating. It won’t hurt it to sit longer.

Step 7: Drain the water and gently turn your wool right side out. Fold the wool over onto itself and press (squeeze) as much water as you can from the wool using your own body weight (NEVER wring wool). Lay the wool flat on a large towel and roll the towel. When you unroll it, you may need to pull your soaker a bit to get it back to shape. It may look short and fat.

Step 8: Once your wool looks back to “normal” lay on a towel to dry. It will feel “tacky” and that is ok-good in fact. Once dry (give it at least a day…do not put out in the sun, do NOT put in the dryer) it can be used several times before it will require washing again.

How can you tell when the wool needs to be washed?
If it has food stuck on it (I use mine like ‘shorts’ quite often). If it starts to leak (very rare). Or, if the wool starts to smell (also rare). I’m typically able to use my wool soakers 5-10 times between “washes.”

This is a post I did for "The Cloth Diaper Whisperer". They had changed a couple of things I originally wrote, and above is the "original". To see my guest post, click here.