Adventures in Cloth Diapering: The Post about Stripping

Trust me, this post isn't as scandalous as the title makes it sound.

When I first started researching about cloth diapers,  I kept coming across the term "stripping diapers". I had no idea what that meant, so, as with many things, I asked my mom (who had cloth diapered me and my three younger brothers). She had no idea, either.

I did some reading and found out that diapers occasionally need to be "stripped" to remove hard water buildup, detergent residue, and other oils from diaper ointments, lotions, etc. Mom had never heard of stripping diapers because she only used the old-fashioned 100% cotton prefolds (the best kind, in my humble opinion), washed them with detergent and a little bleach, and dried them on the clothesline. Stripping is mostly necessary for diapers with microfleece (and other synthetic materials) and diapers and/or inserts made with hemp.  Build-up isn't as much of a problem with diapers made with cotton or bamboo.

My next question: when do you do it? The same answer kept coming up: when the diapers get really stinky. This seemed a little confusing. I thought, don't dirty diapers always stink?  Then when I started cloth diapering, I realized that they don't really stink all that much, especially if you use Bac-Out on them and keep them in a good diaper pail . Granted, if you let them sit in the diaper pail for days, then they'll stink.

But then the day came when they really started to stink. Not so much in a gross, poopy kind of way, but an overpowering, make-your-eyes-water ammonia smell. It was bad. Plus, they weren't absorbing as well as they had before.  It was then I knew it was time to strip the diapers. (For other ways to tell if your diapers need stripping, check out this funny video. Oh, how I can relate...)

I read all sorts of methods to do this, among them boiling them in a pot on the stove or washing them in a bathtub.  Here are the two ways I went about stripping my baby's diapers; one of them did the job.

Attempt #1 -- RLR

As I read about the different diapering stripping methods, I kept reading about a product called RLR . It's not a bleach or soap or anything -- it just a powder you add to your laundry that is supposed to lift detergent residue, mineral build-ups, and other particles in material. Lots of people swore by the stuff, so I ordered a few packets.

Being a lover of all things retro, the packaging of this stuff made me happy. I love that the company hasn't changed the look of these packets in decades. It looks like something I would have found in my grandparents' laundry room.

Anyway...

I used a whole packet in my top-loading washing machine. It made everything more bubbly, so I did some extra rinses to make sure everything was out. I was pretty stoked to find that my baby's diapers didn't have that ammonia smell when I changed him.

The only problem: it was fleeting. The smell came back after about a week or so.

The verdict on RLR:  I think the stuff works, but I think it'd be better to use it early on, before the diapers get serious build-up. I think it'd be good use preemptively, like once every 1-2 months to catch the build-up before it gets bad. You can get each packet for about $1-2 (I got mine here).

Attempt #2 -- Dawn Dish Soap & Bleach

I hardly ever use bleach. I'm kind of scared of the stuff. Not just because of the fumes (though that's a concern too, what with all the vinegar I use in my house. The two don't mix.) and chlorine, but because I've had plenty of clothes ruined by it in the past. But those diapers stunk so I had to bring out the big guns. I figure that the diapers are rinsed so many times that there won't be much bleach coming in contact with my baby's adorable little bum.

To strip diapers this way, you'll need to use 1 tablespoon of Dawn dish soap (the blue, original kind) for top-loading washing machines (1 teaspoon for high efficiency washers) and 1/2 cup of bleach.  Wash the diapers in hot water, adding the dish soap and bleach during the wash cycle.

It will get super bubbly and reminiscent of cartoons or sitcoms when the husband or kids do the laundry.

Once that first cycle is done, rinse and then rinse again.

And rinse again. Keep rinsing until there are no suds in the water. That's it -- diaper stripping is no big deal, though it does use a lot of water. (For a great video of the process -- it's the one that helped me -- click here.)

Verdict on Dawn & bleach: it works!  The diapers not only stink way less, but they absorb better, too.

Typically, you only need to strip the diapers every few months. My baby's diapers didn't need stripping until after his first birthday -- this may have been partly due to him being breastfed that first year (it's been my experience that breastfed baby diapers are really easy to clean) or maybe because we mostly used the cotton prefolds during his first year (we're definitely using pocket diapers more as our little guy gets older -- it's faster and easier with him always on the go!).  You can also help your diapers require less stripping by doing a few things:

• do a cold water pre-rinse (I just use the rinse cycle on my washing machine) before washing your diapers because this gets urine and other residues agitated out (plus, if you don't do it, your diapers are basically washing around in urine and poopy hot water, which is counter-productive).  
• use enough detergent. The ammonia smell in my baby's diapers got really bad after I tried using soap nuts (for my experience with those, you can read about it here) because our hard water made them less effective and not enough saponin (the natural soap in soap nuts) was being released. 
• detergents do matter when it comes to build-up and some are better than others. A great post about different detergents and how they rate when it comes to build-up can be found here (I just found out that I've been using a not-so-great detergent for microfleece diapers. Oops.)
• use ointments and creams that are safe for cloth diapers -- some have oils and ingredients in them that stain and stick to the fibers of cloth diapers, causing serious build-up. This link has a pretty good list of what creams to use and not to use on baby when cloth diapering. 

It almost always surprises people when I tell them that cloth diapering doesn't smell nearly as bad as diapering with disposables (I remember well the days when I'd empty my first son's diaper pail. Gag.), but only if you do it right. With the right supplies and methods, you can easily keep the stink out of cloth diapering.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

{This post is linked up to Homestead Barn Hop and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways..}

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: Some Thoughts on Nighttime Diapering and Flexibility

As a classic perfectionist, I struggle every day with an "all-or-nothing" mentality. If I'm going to do anything, it has to be 100% or I feel like I failed. "Almost" doesn't cut it for me. I've been like this for as long as I can remember. It's exhausting. (At least I'm not alone -- check out this great article if you're a perfectionist like me. Such good advice. I need to read it daily.)

That was how I approached cloth diapering once I made the decision to do it. If I was going to spend the money getting a supply of cloth diapers, if I was going to make (ahem...have my husband make) a diaper sprayer for the bathroom,  if I was going to hem the edges of a bunch of homemade wipes, there was no way I was going to go back to disposables with my baby. I would use cloth diapers no matter what, even if it was tricky at night like everyone said (with the exception of vacations and camping trips, of course. Even the perfectionist in me balked at the idea of long road trips and days at Disneyland with cloth diapers.).

This all-or-nothing approach to diapering was my thinking before we had the baby. This was before I tried to change a diaper bleary-eyed at 2 AM, only to find that my newborn's pajamas and bedding in the bassinet were completely soaked. By the time his diaper was changed, his pajamas changed, and his bedding clean, he was wide awake. That's when I started weighing my options. I had to be flexible with cloth diapering at night or there was an excellent chance I would go completely bonkers.

If I remember correctly, we went with cloth for the first month or so with my baby. Then, sometime in the second month, the cloth diapers leaked at night -- regularly. And even when they didn't leak, I just couldn't manage the cloth diaper changes at night. Those first few months are rough. I remember one night  I was so tired, I was changing him in the dark and putting his diaper on inside out, while getting so frustrated with the closures ("Why won't these work? What is going on?").  The next day I went and bought a package of disposables. What a relief it was. It was so easy to change him at night and there were no leaks. Then in the morning, I would put him right back into cloth diapers.

So we went with disposables at night, on and off, for my baby's first year. Whenever we'd run out (I always bought the small bags of disposables that only had 30-ish diapers in them), I'd re-evaluate if we still wanted to go that route. I would put him to bed in some sort of cloth diaper combination as a test: two inserts in a pocket diaper, a hemp insert added (more on those later), sometimes with the diaper cover we used for the prefolds on top of the pocket diaper. There were nights when poor little Jonah's bottom half could barely fit into his pajamas. Cloth diapers are bulkier than disposables anyway, but the get-ups we had him in at night were ridiculously bulky.  Sometimes our cloth combinations worked and we would go with that for a while, but if they ever started leaking in the middle of the night regularly (once in a while was no big deal, but I couldn't handle every. single. night.), I just took the easy out and got disposables. It wasn't the route I wanted to go with, but it worked. I was so tired. I needed sleep. Getting disposables saved me from getting burned out.

So how do we diaper our little guy at night now?  He's in cloth every night and we haven't had a problem with leaking for months now. What changed? Once I weaned him about a month after his first birthday and he wasn't nursing at night anymore, he didn't wet his diapers nearly as much at night. Around that time, I would change him in the mornings out of his disposable diapers and they'd be barely full. That's when I decided to switch back to cloth at night. I put him in a pocket diaper with one of the regular inserts in it plus a hemp insert.  It's been working well and there have no significant leaks since.

The key, in my humble opinion, is the hemp insert. These things are amazing! They're made from a cotton/hemp blend (55% hemp, 45% cotton) that is super absorbent.

(This picture shows one of the inserts folded in half. It's not that short.}

One thing I love about them is that they're not thick at all, especially for how much moisture they can hold. They're made from six layers of fabric yet they're only a quarter-inch thick. This makes them more comfortable because they're less bulky (at least, I imagine they're more comfy. That giant diaper we used to put him in at night looked annoyingly bulky to me). One caveat to their awesomeness: they do take longer to dry (which is sort of good, in a sense, because it shows that they work really well at holding moisture in). At night, I stack the microfleece insert on top of the hemp insert (since the hemp insert absorbs slower it's better to have the microfleece on top as the first line of defense) and stuff them into the pocket diaper. You don't have to use them just at night, either -- if I know that my little guy is going to be in one diaper for a prolonged period of time (like when I know we'll be in the car for a while), I use a hemp insert in addition to the regular one.

So, basically, my advice for nighttime diapering: flexibility.

Was going with disposables the ideal route? No, probably not. The perfectionist in me hated buying them.  Looking back, whenever I cloth diaper a nursing baby again, I'm going to look into wool diaper covers (I've got a couple of them on my Ravelry list of projects). But what's done is done. I feel no guilt (what a silly thing, anyway, to feel guilt about diapers!) in "copping out" occasionally with disposables at night. It made my life a little bit easier and I got a little more sleep. Heaven knows, a well-rested mama is a happier mama.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

{This post is linked up to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Homestead Barn Hop, Frugal Fridays, and Little House Friday.}

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: The Post about Poop

"It's that poop again."

It's one of those parenting truisms: once you have kids, talking about bodily functions is no big deal. Pee, poop, boogers, vomit -- it's all up for conversation. (Same goes for women talking about their latest appointment with the OB-GYN. It always strikes me a little odd how a woman can talk so openly about how dilated or effaced her cervix is. But that's another post entirely...) Discussions about poop -- color, consistency, frequency, smell -- are commonplace for a lot of people when they have kids.   It's crazy (and sometimes disgusting) the things people will post as a status on Facebook...

I only mention this because I'm a really private person when it comes to my kids. Even though my baby is pooping in a diaper on a daily basis without a second thought, I still like to give him a little privacy and dignity, you know?  That's why I feel a little weird writing this post. 

So why write it?  Because, without fail, whenever someone finds out that I'm cloth diapering my baby, I can just tell that they want to ask what it's like to deal with cleaning the poopy ones. Sometimes they do ask. Most of the time it's just a genuine, I-didn't-know-people-still-use-cloth-diapers curiosity. Of course, there's the disgusted curiosity, too. Why would anyone deal with that when it's so easy to just toss the poopy diaper in the trash? I'm sure if babies only peed, cloth diapering would be way more popular. But poop happens (ha ha) and you have to deal with it.

So that's what this post is addressing: how we deal with the stinkier side of cloth diapering. Consider yourself warned -- plenty of potty talk follows.

The Stages

1.  Milk-Only Diet:  Cloth diapering for the first six months was really easy for us, even with the poopy diapers.  Granted, there are a lot of diaper changes in that stage (especially the newborn months), but it's easy. Breastfed baby poop is actually water-soluble so you don't have to do anything with them except toss the diapers into the diaper pail. No need to worry about liners or sprayers or any of that stuff. I don't have any experience with the formula-fed baby poo, but I imagine you would have to rinse them off before sticking them in the diaper pail (correct me if I'm wrong).
2. Transitioning to Solids: This is the point where baby starts eating the cereals and pureed food in addition to breastmilk/formula. This is when you're going to start using the sprayer. The liners are good, too, but they didn't seem to catch everything since the poop in those diapers is still pretty loose. Yes, I'm writing about loose baby poop. Hey, you were warned.
3. Mostly Solid Diet: At this point, baby is eating regular meals; breastmilk or formula isn't the main source of nutrition anymore (or not even a source of nutrition at all, as is the case with my recently weaned baby). With more solid food you're going to deal with...you guessed it...more solid poop. This is where the liners are so helpful. Sure, we still get those ultra-poopy diapers that require some time at the toilet with the sprayer, but lately, the liners have been catching it. I just dump it into the toilet and give the diaper a few sprays of Bac-Out.

The Gear

• Wipes and Solution -- Obviously, you're going to need wipes. Some people cloth diaper but still use disposable wipes. No offense to those people, but this doesn't really make much sense to me. I made our cloth wipes out of an old receiving blanket and they do the job really well. Before I use them, I give them a few squirts of my homemade wipe solution (just a mix of water, olive oil, and baby shampoo).  Once I'm done with the diaper change, the wipes go right into the diaper pail with the dirty diaper and I wash them with the diapers. I still keep disposable wipes in my diaper bag for poopy diapers away from home.

• The sprayer (A MUST) -- Personally, I don't think I would do cloth diapering without it. At least not for long. I hardly used the sprayer while my baby was exclusively breast-fed, but once he started solids, that sprayer became a must. Sure, you can do the dunk-in-toilet cleaning method (that's how I remember my mom cleaning off my brothers' diapers before putting them in the diaper pail), but the diaper sprayer is so much better. Not only does it rinse everything off better, but it gives me a little distance from it all. I don't have to stick my hand in the toilet bowl to rinse the diapers -- I simply hold a clean corner of the diaper and spray. If you follow my tutorial for a DIY diaper sprayer, you can make it for around $30 in less than 20 minutes. It's worth every penny.

• Flushable diaper liners --  Flushable liners make cloth diapering easier, period. There's not much to them -- they look like a dryer sheet. The idea is that when the baby soils his diaper, the liner catches the poop (or at least most of it). When you're ready to rinse out the diaper, you simply dump the liner into the toilet and, if all goes as planned, the stinky contents of the diaper go with it. No need to do much, if any, rinsing with the diaper sprayer. When I'm folding and assembling the diapers, I'll put the liner in the diaper, so it's ready to go.  My favorite liners are the Imse Vimse flushable liners because you can actually wash and reuse the liners that have only been peed on (they'll last around 2-3 wash cycles). 
• Bac-Out -- I give every soiled diaper (and the wipes) a few sprays of Bac-Out before putting them in the diaper pail. It's an odor and stain remover that contains live enzyme-producing cultures that actually digest the waste away between laundry loads. The diaper pail, even when full of diapers, doesn't really stink that much. Honest. The stuff works!

The Dirty Truth

I'm going to be completely honest:  there have been more than a few times I've been bent over the toilet, poopy diaper in one hand, sprayer in the other, and muttering, "This is completely ridiculous. What was I thinking?!" This was especially true in that whole transition period I mentioned above.  It was around that time, too, that my little guy decided to poop every. single. time. we went somewhere. I still dread changing poopy diapers away from home a little, though it's definitely gotten easier.

Changing poopy diapers, whether it's cloth or disposable diapers, is gross. There's no getting around that fact.  There have been times, like when we were on vacation a few months ago, when the baby was in disposables and we were able to just throw away the stinky diapers. I remember saying to my husband after changing a soiled diaper, "I forgot how easy this was!"  That said, I haven't forgotten what it's like to deal with explosive diapers, where the poop squishes out of the back and into baby's shirt. That has never happened with cloth diapers --  not a single poopy leak. So, really, there's a trade-off no matter what kind of diaper you use on your baby. 

I'm totally used to the whole poopy cloth diaper routine. It's just how it was diapering my first child (in disposables) -- gross, but you just get kind of numbed to the whole thing. (But only if it's my kid. I still dry heave a little when it's someone else's child).  I don't enjoy it, but it doesn't bother me. And when it's really bad, when the ick factor is higher than usual, and I have those "Why on earth am I doing this?" thoughts, I just remember why I'm going with the cloth diapers. Less money thrown in the trash. Less plastic. Less waste. I'm more than willing to rinse off a poopy diaper for a few minutes a day to keep diapers off my shopping list.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

{This post is linked up to Your Green Resource, Frugal Friday, and Little House Friday}

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: The Diapers My Baby Wears

My sweet baby turned one year old a little over a week ago.  When we first brought him home, we had a pretty ample supply of disposable diapers given to us by the hospital. After about a week, they ran out and we switched to cloth diapers. So, it's safe to say, that my husband and I have been cloth diapering our baby for a year now. Believe it or not, I prefer cloth to disposables.  Really. Our little guy's diapers rarely leak (no "pooplosions"), he hardly ever gets diaper rash, and I LOVE not buying diapers.

Whenever I tell people I cloth diaper my baby, I first get the inevitable look of bewilderment and/or disgust, then I get asked what kind of diapers. Most people have the same idea of cloth diapers I did before I looked into it -- their point of reference is the old-fashioned cloth diapers (big and flat, that needed to be folded like origami), safety pins, and plastic covers. That's how my mom diapered me and my brothers in the 1980s and I figured it hadn't changed since then.  Wrong. Cloth diapering has come a long way and there are lots of options out there.

In this post, I'm going to share what diapers my baby wears, along with the pros and cons of each type. There are so many different brands and types of diapers out there, so this list is by no means comprehensive. I haven't tried every brand or kind of diaper on my baby. Also, no one is paying me to say nice things about the diapers they make (not that I would be opposed to anyone sending me free diapers to review...).  All of this is purely my opinion and experience, so take it for what it's worth!

Diaper #1 - Bummis Easy Fit Pocket Diaper

The Bummis Easy Fit diapers (along with the Bummis Tini Fit) were the first cloth diapers I purchased. I'd read a lot of reviews of them and thought they'd be the best for us. It seemed like an easier transition from the familiar disposables.

Pros: 

• These diapers fit your baby the entire time he or she is in diapers, thanks to the rows of snaps that let you adjust the size. My baby wore these diapers as a newborn and he wears the same ones now.
• Well-made, high quality materials. The insert is made of a bamboo rayon fabric and polyester microfibre, making it really absorbent. Made in the UK. 
• The insert is attached to the diaper, making it really convenient (no need to find accompanying inserts like with other pocket diapers). When I'm packing my diaper bag before going out, my first choice of diapers to pack are the Bummis because I know I've got everything I need.
• They go on quickly, just as fast as a disposable diaper would. 
• These diapers are easy to wash. The insert comes out by itself in the washing machine. If the diaper is wet, you can toss it right into your pail; if it's poopy, just rinse it off and put it in the pail. No fishing out icky liners like with regular pocket diapers.
• They have a trimmer fit than most cloth diapers. Still bulkier than disposables, not too much.
• In my opinion, these are the best diapers for reluctant spouses and babysitting grandparents because they're easy to use and, of all the ones we own, they are the most similar to disposables. 
• It doesn't really matter that much in terms of performance, but I like the looks of these diapers best. I also prefer the Velcro tabs to snap enclosures (the Velcro has held up beautifully after a ton of washings). And I really like the colors the diapers come in, too.

Cons:

• At $25 each, they're a pricey choice. I bought ours for less (around $16-18 each) through an online baby shop -- I'd give you the link to it, but the reason I got the diapers so discounted was that she was closing her shop. Do a little searching and you may find a good deal. 
• I hate to say it since they're the most expensive, but of all the pocket diapers we've used on Jonah, these have leaked the most. As I was writing this post, I asked my husband which diapers he preferred and he said that the Bummis at the bottom of his list, saying that they are "leaky, leaky, leaky".  They haven't leaked when the diaper is poopy, but they definitely have when the baby's diaper was wet. I think this may have had something to do with the way the diaper's leg openings fit around his extra-chubby legs in his pre-solid food days (when he was in the 80th percentile for his weight). He has since slimmed out a little since he started solids (as is expected, though he is still a beautifully chubby little guy) and they've seemed to leak less often. 
• (UPDATE: About two years into our cloth diapering experience, these ones started to show their wear the most, especially the elastic around the leg openings. The fabric also started to wear away to the point of leaving holes, again mostly around the leg openings. For how much these cost, I was pretty disappointed.)

Diaper #2 -- GoGreen Pocket Diaper "Champ 2.0"

After I'd ordered a few of the Bummis, I discovered GoGreen Pocket Diapers. I was relieved to see that I could find pocket diapers that were a lot less expensive than the others (like Bummis and other brands) were.  GoGreen sells a couple different types of pocket diapers and the ones we use the most are their Champ 2.0 pocket diapers.

Pros: 

• The price. At $15.95, the Champ diapers cost a whole ten dollars less than the Bummis. That's a great deal for pocket diapers (though the Champ diapers aren't the cheapest ones GoGreen offers. More on that later.).
• Like I mentioned before, my little guy wore these as a newborn and he wears the same ones now. Once you buy them, you don't need to worry about getting bigger sizes.
• The four rows of snaps make the Champ diapers extra adjustable. The Bummis only have three snaps, which made them a little harder to use on a newborn. Jonah was able to wear the Champ diapers when he was only a few weeks old. It was bulky, but it worked!
• You can get one of these on baby super-quick, too.
• Though the insert isn't attached like the Bummis insert is, the inserts in these diapers snap in. When you wash the diapers, the insert stays (most of the time) snapped but it also agitates itself out of the pocket. With these diapers, there's no need to fish out the insert before putting it into the diaper pail or washing machine. As you can probably tell, not having to get the insert out of a pocket diaper is a big plus for me!
• I love the double-gussets at the leg openings. This keeps everything inside the diaper better, especially important when you're dealing with runny breastfed/bottle-fed baby poo. We've had some wet leaks but no poop leakage. Adding an extra insert fixed the wet leaks right away.
• There are two openings openings which not only allow the inserts to come out on their own in the wash, but it also makes stuffing the diapers easier and quicker. No worries about bunching and twisting of the the liner. Also, the dual openings make it easier to add additional liners, like the hemp/cotton ones I use for the baby at night sometimes.
• Again, not that it really matters, but there are a lot of fun prints and colors available with GoGreen diapers. You can go as plain or wild as you want with them. (Max calls Jonah's star-print diapers the "Captain America diapers".)
• Great customer service. When one of my diapers arrived with a broken snap, they replaced it really quickly. Also, they have a flat $5 shipping fee on all US orders.
• These are the only diapers my baby wears at night because they work the best with the hemp insert. For more info on how I diaper my baby at night, check out this post.

Cons:

• I'm not completely nuts that they're 100% polyester. The fleece material on the inside does wick away the moisture away from my baby really well, but I'd rather have natural fibers instead of synthetic ones against his skin. Not a huge deal, but worth mentioning.
• Since they're polyester, they seem more prone to ammonia build-up than cotton diapers which makes them smell a little, even after they're washed. GoGreen has started to offer a new product for stripping the diapers, but I haven't tried it.
• I prefer the Velcro enclosures on the Bummis over the snap enclosures on the GoGreen diapers, especially when the baby being changed is feeling extra grouchy and/or wiggly.

Diaper #3 -- GoGreen Pocket Diaper "Solid Silky"

I bought three of GoGreen's regular pocket diaper when I was getting the Champ diapers because they were on sale for $7 each. I figured they were worth a try.

Pros:

• Like with the Champ diapers, the price! GoGreen's regular pocket diapers are very affordable, running at $9.99 each (plus, the flat $5 shipping rate on all US orders.).  
• Since the inside is made of fleece, they keep baby's skin dry and comfortable. Like the Champ diapers, both the inside and outside of the diaper has held up well after many, many washings.

Cons:

• Fishing out the inserts in poopy diapers. It doesn't really bug me to pull out the insert out of the pocket when the diaper is wet, but when you have a really poopy diaper to take care of, pulling out the insert is pretty gross.
• Again, I'm not a huge fan of synthetic materials; I prefer natural fibers against his skin. And, as I said before, the polyester seems more prone to ammonia build-up.
• Only one row of snaps across the top makes it seem a little less secure than the two rows that the Champ offers.
• The inserts do have a tendency to bunch and twist since there's nothing keeping them in place except the pocket itself.
• It takes a little longer to stuff the inserts in the pocket diapers than with the Bummis and Champ diapers, but not long enough to be a huge deal.

Diaper #4 - Green Mountain Diapers Cloth-eez Prefolds

When I first talked to my husband about using cloth diapers for our baby, he agreed to it on the condition that we wouldn't use "those flat diapers".  And I agreed. Prefolds seemed like they would be a big hassle.  Then I started ordering the pocket diapers and realized that it would cost a lot to exclusively use pocket diapers. 

So I decided to just look into prefolds. I came to the conclusion that they wouldn't be so bad and told my husband that if he really didn't want to deal with them, I would put them on the baby during the day while he was at work. Just a week or so into cloth diapering, my husband and I both decided that we liked the prefolds better than all the pocket diapers. Who knew? It came as a complete surprise that we preferred the Cloth-eez prefolds sold by Green Mountain Diapers (along with the Thirsties covers and a Snappi) over everything else!

Pros:

• The PRICE! Even though $10 is a great deal for a single pocket diaper, you get way more for your money with prefolds.  The prefolds' (depending on whether you get regular or organic cotton and what size you get) price range is $2-4 per diaper. You do have to buy a few covers in addition to the diapers  (the Thirsties covers are awesome -- they run at about $10.00 each) which adds to the cost, but you only need a few covers. If you bought a dozen newborn Cloth-eez diapers and four Thirsties covers, your total cost would still be just less than $70 (plus shipping). Wow. 
• All of our pocket diapers have leaked a little from time to time (mostly just wetness around the leg openings). The prefold-cover combo has NEVER leaked. Seriously, never. Granted, this is due to the   Thirsties covers (they have gussets by the leg openings that catch everything so well) more than the prefolds themselves. 
• Prefolds are so much easier to rinse than the pocket diapers. It's harder and takes longer (even with the help of my handy diaper sprayer) to get the pocket diapers poop-free because of the nooks and crannies. The flat prefolds rinse off faster and easier.
• I love that they're 100% cotton. Not only is it better against baby's skin, but they don't get as smelly or need to be stripped as soon as the polyester ones need to.
• Even though you do have to buy bigger sizes of diapers and covers as baby grows, I don't mind because I like how they fit at each stage. He wore the one-size-fits-all pocket diapers when he was only a few weeks old, but they were pretty bulky on his little newborn frame. The newborn prefolds fit perfectly (and they looked super cute on his little body!).
• Once you're completely done with cloth diapering, you can reuse the diapers for household chores.

Cons:

• Unlike the pocket diapers we bought that fit from birth to potty training, you do have to buy bigger sized diapers and covers as baby grows. So far, we've bought the orange-edged newborn size, the yellow small size, and the brown large size. We've been using the brown-edged large ones for most of the time. This isn't a huge con, in my opinion -- I think it actually spreads out the cloth diaper start-up cost better. 
• Once babies realize they can roll, wiggle, and crawl away, diaper changing can be a struggle, no matter what you use. I've gotten pretty fast at getting those prefolds on my baby, but if he's super-wiggly or fussy, having to get the diaper on him, along with the Snappi (you can forgo the Snappi, but I like how it keeps things together) and the cover, can get tricky.
• They're not the best diapers for taking on the go. When I have to change the baby at one of those restroom changing tables that folds away from the wall, I want to get him on and off as fast as I can. That's a situation where I prefer the pocket diapers. Pocket diapers are ready-to-go and easy grab from my bottomless diaper bag. 
• I don't use prefolds at night. I use the Diaper Champ diapers at night exclusively. 
• Prefolds aren't really the best diapers to leave with a babysitter or grandparent that isn't used to them. There is a bit of a learning curve to using them -- not much of one, but there still is one. Pocket diapers resemble the familiar disposable diaper more.

****

Whew! That's a lot of diaper info. Again, the list isn't comprehensive. There are a lot of different kinds of diapers and brands on the market. If you cloth diaper, I would love to hear what has worked best on your baby.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

{This post is linked up with Your Green Resource. Check it out -- lots of great ideas!}

Off the Needles: The Laurel Love Cocoon

I didn't know how to knit when I was pregnant with either of my boys so I never did the excited, nesting sort of knitting. I wish I had. There's something just sort of lovely about an expectant mom knitting blankets, bonnets, and booties.  {Speaking of babies, my sweet little baby turns one year old tomorrow. Already.}

However, there has been a new arrival in our extended family since I learned to knit: my cute little nephew, Everett. I figured it was a perfect opportunity to knit this "love cocoon". Not only did it seem like a good beginner-level project, but it looked so sweet and snuggly.

{Photo courtesy of my brother-in-law, Richard.}

This project came together pretty quickly -- well, once I figured out how to do the magic loop technique. When I first started it, I hadn't read the instructions that well and was so confused why I would be using a 40" circular for only 40 cast-on stitches! Anyway, I watched a few different video tutorials about magic loop and found this one from VeryPink to be the most helpful. It took a little bit of trial and error to get the technique down. I'm so glad I learned it, though, because I've used it a couple times since (in my attempt to avoid double pointed needles -- they seem so tricky!).

For this project, I used a skein of super-bulky, washable blue yarn and a size US 13 40" circular needle. (You can find my Ravelry notes here). The Laurel Love Cocoon pattern (which you can find here for free) is well-written and so simple to follow. I can't recommend it enough. It makes for a wonderful and personal baby gift. In fact, I'm going to be casting on soon to make two more of them for my twin nephews coming in July. Newborns are usually happiest when they're swaddled and I can't think anything nicer than swaddling them up in something that has love knit into every stitch.

Thoughts from the Nursing Room at Disneyland: The Breastfeeding Post

I just spent the past week at Disneyland, celebrating my 30th birthday. It was such a nice way to spend my birthday and the park was as magical and fun as ever.  Even though I've been to Disneyland many times, I've never been with a baby. As a result, I visited the baby care center a more than a few times while we were there.

It's a sweet little place, complete with padded changing tables, a room full of baby supplies to buy if you need them, and there's a private area for nursing mothers. I snapped the picture at the left with my iPod while I was nursing the baby, trying my best to be quick and discreet, even though I knew the picture wouldn't turn out that well. (Can you imagine what all the other moms behind me would have thought if I pulled out my big SLR camera?) But I couldn't resist snapping some kind of picture of this peaceful place that was so different from the hustle and bustle everywhere else in the park.

So as I was sitting there with my baby, feeding him and listening to all the sweet little nursing sounds of smaller babies around me, I was thinking about this blog and I realized that I've never done a post about breastfeeding on this blog. Oops.  I mean, is there anything more frugal than breastfeeding? It's a huge money-saver. It's free food!

But what to write on here that mothers don't already know?  The benefits of breastfeeding are well known. Plus, everyone's situation is different. I know mothers who, despite their very best efforts, struggle to make breastfeeding work for them. I know other mothers who, for personal reasons, have decided not to breastfeed at all. It's such a personal thing and I would never want to make anyone feel bad. Heaven knows, we mothers have plenty to worry about; who needs to feel judged about how we feed our babies?

That said, I'm an unabashed advocate of breastfeeding. I've loved nursing my babies. I nursed my first until he was 13 months old; my second baby is 11 months right now.  Here are some of my suggestions to help you be successful at nursing...

1. Take a class.
Most people think that breastfeeding will come naturally once the baby arrives. This isn't necessarily so. It takes some practice and guidance to get it right. One piece of advice I give to family and friends who are expecting is to take a class before they have the baby. It was so helpful for me. I took a class the month before I had my first baby -- it was at the hospital I was delivering at. For $20, I got two hours of instruction from a certified lactation consultant who answered all of my questions. I just found this great article about how to tell if you're taking a good breastfeeding class -- check it out. If you need help finding a class, your doctor or midwife can be a great source; also check with the hospital where you'll be delivering your baby.

2. Visit with a lactation consultant once (or more, if needed) your baby arrives.
Those moments after birth are beautiful and tender. The baby wants to nurse. You want to nurse. Trouble is, both of you might not totally know what you're doing. Even after I took the class and read the books, I still needed a little help and assurance that I was doing it right. Those lactation consultants are a treasure trove of knowledge. They know all the tricks and ways to get babies latched on and how to make mothers feel confident. Even though I'd nursed my first baby, I still appreciated their help when I had my second. It'd been a few years since I'd nursed a baby and they gave me a great refresher course in what to do. Plus, every baby is different and each may need help in different ways. Every lactation consultant I've met has been nothing but sweet and encouraging, making me feel completely comfortable.  Trust them, they know exactly what they're doing.

3.  Find a good breastfeeding reference book.
Read a good breastfeeding book before and after baby's arrival. I can't tell you how many times I've turned to my go-to reference while nursing both of my babies. My choice: The Breastfeeding Book by William and Martha Sears.

I have turned to this book so many times. Why is he so gassy? Is it safe to take an antibiotic while nursing? How do I get this baby to stop biting me (ouch)? Why is he on a nursing strike?  This book answered every question clearly and concisely. When I was pregnant with my first baby, this book explained the whole process so well for me -- the tip about the "lower lip flip" alone was worth buying the book for! My copy of this book is worn-out from use (and a bit wavy because I dropped it while reading in the bathtub when I was nine months along last year).  I love the format of this book -- it's mostly written in a question/answer format. It's very approachable, readable, and a fantastic (and quick) reference.

One complaint that some people have had about the book (at least from what I gathered in reading the reviews on Amazon) is that the authors make no attempt to hide their personal opinions about breastfeeding. They say flat-out how they feel about bottle-feeding. Some people find that off-putting. It didn't bother me. If anything, it made me even more enthusiastic and more determined to make breastfeeding work for me. If you're familiar with the Sears, then you'll know they're also very into attachment parenting, which some people don't like either. To each her own, I say. That said, I don't agree with everything in the book. They're big into extended nursing (meaning past a year, even into the toddler years. I'm not saying it's bad or anything, it's just not for me.). My one complaint about it is that it has next to no information on weaning (again, they lean toward toddler nursing and letting kids wean themselves).  Even with that complaint, I would still highly recommend it. It has helped me many, many times, especially in those first few days and weeks. I credit much of my success in breastfeeding to this book!

My baby is getting so big -- time goes by so fast. I can't believe he's almost a year old and that I won't be nursing him much longer. Even though I'm starting to feel ready to be done nursing this baby, I've loved the experience. Breastfeeding is a pretty incredible thing -- it's one of my favorite ways to be frugal! Whether you do it for just a few weeks, months, or even years, you will definitely reap plenty of the benefits that come with breastfeeding.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

Recipe for Relief: Homemade Teething Biscuits

Teething. It's one of those things parents dread, right up there with sleepless nights and potty training. My baby is 9 1/2 months old right now and already has a bunch of teeth.  Besides Hyland's Teething Tablets (just discovered these -- they're awesome), having something to gnaw on seems to bring my sweet little guy some relief. 

A few years ago, I came across a recipe for teething biscuits in my favorite (but now defunct) magazine, Wondertime. Even though my firstborn was well past the teething stage and my second child wasn't even a twinkle in my eye yet, I clipped the recipe because I knew it would come in handy some day.  The recipe is super-simple and the biscuits are the perfect size and shape for chubby (and, might I add, impossibly cute) baby hands to hold.

Teething Biscuits (from the February 2009 issue of Wondertime)

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup maple syrup  (The real stuff, people. Don't even think of using imitation pancake syrup.)
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir until dough begins to hold together.  Dust countertop with flour and transfer the dough to the floured surface.

Knead the dough lightly until it is smooth -- this will take around three minutes. If the dough gets sticky and difficult to handle, dust with a little more flour.

Roll out the dough until it's somewhere between a 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Cut out the biscuits. You can use a doughnut cutter if you have one or you can use the top of a kids cup like I did, then cutting out the hole in the center with soda-bottle cap. You could also do different shapes and use a cookie cutter, but I prefer the circles because they seem easier for babies to grip.

Transfer biscuits to a greased cookie sheet (or you could use a Silpat. I looove my Silpat.). Bake until they're just barely browned, about 35 minutes. Let them cool completely on the cookie sheet. If you'd like them to harden even more, leave them out overnight (this didn't seem necessary to me since they're pretty hard once they've cooled).  Store in an airtight container (they fit perfectly in a wide-mouth canning jar) for up to 2 weeks. 

Sometimes my baby loves these, sometimes he just plays with one like it's a hockey puck (seriously, he sends it flying all around his highchair tray like he's playing a round of air hockey). But when he loves them, he gnaws and gnaws on them until they get all gooey and sticky. Which is fine.  It seems like babies are often happiest when they're in that sticky-gooey state anyway.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: The First Two Months

If you'd told me almost a year ago, when I first learned I was expecting, that I was going to cloth diaper my baby, I wouldn't have believed you. I would have told you that I was frugal but not that frugal. My mom cloth diapered me and my brothers back in the 1980s and I've always considered her a sort of patient saint for doing it. Cloth diapers seemed good in theory but not worth the hassle. Plus, even if I wanted to, there was absolutely no way I would get my husband on board.

And now here I am, about to tell you all about what it's like to cloth diaper a newborn. Little baby Jonah is already two months old and quickly leaving the newborn phase. So, here's an overview of what worked, what didn't, what I would do differently, what I like, how my husband has fared, and all the other stuff in between.

{Note: I'm writing this assuming you know all the cloth diaper lingo. Cloth diapers have come a long way since our mothers and grandmothers used them. There are so many different types of diapers and accessories -- it can be overwhelming and confusing if you're not familiar with all of it. I will be writing more in-depth posts about cloth diapering in the future. For now, I'm just giving an insight into my routine and first-time experiences. Okay, moving on...}

The Gear

For the majority of the first two months, we used:

• 10 prefold diapers.  I got mine through Green Mountain Diapers (newborn size).
• 4 diaper covers. My cover of choice is made by Thirsties (x-small).
• 6 pocket diapers. We used Bummis Tinifit.
• 2 Snappi fasteners
• Homemade wipes and solution
• Hanging diaper laundry bag. We use the Fuzzibunz bag.
• Rice paper liners. We use the Imse Vimse liners.
• Biokleen Bac-Out
• Lots and lots of vinegar and laundry detergent

Quick Summary

We used disposable diapers for the first five or so days as we were busy adjusting to having a new baby in the house. We were sent home with tons of diapers from the hospital so we decided to use them.  After a few days (and with a little nervousness), we started using the cloth diapers during the day and the disposables at night. Once we ran out of the hospital and gifted disposables, I bought a package of them at the store. I was so tired at night and we were doing so many changes, it was just easier to do disposable. Once that small package of diapers ran out, I was starting to get the hang of it all, so we decided to go with cloth at night, too. 

During the day we use the prefolds and then the pocket diapers at night.  With the prefolds, we used the Snappi fasteners (they replace diaper pins and work sort of like an ace bandage clip does) to keep the diaper together under the cover; once Jonah got bigger and the prefolds were getting snug on him, we stopped using the Snappis and just used the cover to keep the prefold in place.

We haven't really used the diaper sprayer since it doesn't really do much with the...errrrr...consistency of newborn poo. The liners do really well catching most of it, so we just flush the soiled liners (wet liners can be washed and reused).  We've stopped using them, though, since the runny, seedy newborn poo just washes right out and there isn't much solid to catch. Ahhhh...a sure sign of parenthood: discussions about poo. 

When the diapers are wet and/or soiled, we spray them with Bac-Out (this helps with stains and odor) and stick them in the hanging laundry bag (we keep it on a hook on the bathroom door). I do a load of diapers just about every day. I rinse them in a cold or warm cycle, wash them with detergent and vinegar in hot wash/cold rinse cycle, and dry them in the dryer. It's been really rainy here so I haven't been able to use my clothesline all that much -- when I do, however, the sun magically removes any sign of stainage.

The Good

We bought all these diapers and accessories a few months before Jonah's arrival. Having spent a good amount of money getting all of our supplies, we were a little nervous that we'd hate it once we got started. Luckily, the transition to cloth hasn't been bad at all. Really. It's not nearly as hard, gross, or time-consuming as I thought it would be.  One day, as I was putting another load of diapers into the washing machine, my husband walked into the laundry room and said, "I honestly don't mind this."  We've both been surprised by how we've adjusted.

Our favorite diapers are the prefolds. This came as a huge surprise to us. I got them since they were so inexpensive (especially compared to the pocket diapers) and planned on using them during the day while Kevin was at work. When we'd discussed using cloth diapers initially, he agreed to it on the condition that we wouldn't use the prefolds.  Who would have thought that we'd both come to prefer them over the others? We've never had a leak with the prefold method. Not a single one. The Thirsties covers are great because they have double gussets at the legs that catch anything that leaks from the cloth. The prefolds are easy to clean and dry easily. I really like Green Mountain Diapers -- a review of their diapers to come in another post.

Other benefits: No diaper rashes (he only got them when we had him in the disposables at night). We haven't had to adjust our budget to cover diaper costs. When he pees or poops in a diaper ten minutes after we've changed him, I don't get that feeling like I've just wasted diaper. Plus, I feel all earth-friendly.

The Bad (or, at least, the most tiresome)

It's been a few years since we had a newborn in the house. I kind of forgot how much they pee and poo. With disposables, you go through plenty; cloth diapers have to be changed even more often. This translates to A LOT of diaper changes.

I'm not a huge fan of how bulky they are. They make getting pants on him a little harder (thankfully it's getting warmer and I can just put him in romper or a onesie without pants). It made his newborn-sized and 0-3 month clothes a little harder to fit. We've been putting him in 3-6 month clothes and the fit pretty well because of the diaper (and it doesn't hurt that he's a chunky baby -- as of this writing, he weighs in at over 13 lbs.). 

The Ugly

When we first decided to use cloth diapers, Kevin and I were sold on the pocket diapers. They seemed the easiest. The prefolds seemed like they would be a huge hassle -- the pocket diapers were the most like the disposables we were used to. Plus, I'd read some really good reviews about the Bummis Tinifit and Easy Fit diapers. They are well-made and wash really easily (the pocket insert is attached and comes out of the diaper by itself in the wash). So I shopped around and got some pretty good deals on them.  Still, they cost, on average, $12-15 a pop. I figured, though, that we would save the money and it was worth the expense. This is still true -- even if we went exclusively with pocket diapers, we'd still save a lot money.

However, the prefolds only cost $2 each AND we like them better. The pocket diapers, while nice enough, still leak if you don't change them in time. Like I mentioned earlier, we haven't had any leaks with the prefolds and covers. I like the pocket diapers for going out and they are easier to use in the middle of the night. For those reasons, I would still get a few of the pocket diapers, but not nearly as many, especially of the TiniFit ones.  Now that Jonah's bigger, we've started putting him in another brand of pocket diapers (along with the Easy Fit) I bought before we had him and we really like them, but, again, I wish I would have bought less of the more expensive pocket ones and bought more prefolds.

As of Now...

As Jonah has gotten bigger (and even cuter, I might add), we've had to order more prefolds in the next size up, the small size - I bought 10 of them, plus 3 Thirsties diaper covers (size small). The newborn prefolds fit for about six weeks. We got PLENTY of use out of them. He outgrew the TiniFit diapers around six or seven weeks, as well. We've started using the Bummis Easy Fit and Go Green Champ Diapers (reviews to come -- I really like the Champ diapers). During the day we use prefolds and we use the pocket ones at night.

The Verdict

Believe it or not, I prefer cloth.  If someone offered to give me disposables to use, I honestly would still go with the cloth. Granted, newborn diapers, though plentiful, are not very stinky and gross (breastfed baby poo doesn't even stink to me), so this could change as he gets bigger. For now, though, I like Jonah having cloth next to his skin instead of plastic. He hasn't had a diaper rash since we started using cloth exclusively. I like not throwing away hundreds of diapers and I LOVE not buying them every week. They take a little extra work and planning (as in, I have to carry arounda wet bag when we go out), but the savings and benefits make cloth diapering totally worth it to me.

How to Make Cloth Wipes & Solution

In the month before I had my baby, I was busy sewing up a storm in an attempt to distract myself from the ever-increasing discomfort and to keep me from going crazy with anticipation. One of the things I sewed in preparation for baby were these homemade wipes. (Note: post about cloth diapering a newborn coming soon.)  

Even though using cloth diapers saves a lot of money in the long run, the start-up costs can really add up.  You can buy wipes from the various cloth diaper companies, but I figured that I could probably make my own. I mean, how fancy do wipes need to be? As long as they get the job done, right? What's better -- I just reused some old fabric, so they were basically free.  Even though I made these weeks ago, I wasn't going to post about them until I'd actually tested them out. Well, we've been using them for the last couple weeks and I'm happy to say that they've worked out quite well. Plus, they're super-simple to make.

To make your own wipes you'll need:

• Flannel material - the amount you'll need will depend on how many wipes you want to make. I used a couple old, standard-sized receiving blanket and got about 20 wipes out of it, with still some fabric to spare.
• Thread, fabric, scissors/rotary cutter, ruler, sewing machine

The flannel receving blankets I used for this project were similar to the one I used for the homemade nursing pads (which, I might add, are doing their job well). The blankets were great when I used them with my first child, but they've since gotten faded and stained. This is why I don't feel bad cutting them up.

I cut the wipes into 6" x 6" squares using this handy-dandy ruler I got for my quilting class. You don't need one of these, of course, (any ruler will work) but it did make it go by really quickly.

Next, I did a zigzag stitch with my sewing machine as close to the edge as possible. This will keep your wipes from fraying in the wash. I've washed these wipes a lot already and haven't had any problems with fraying. They've held up really well.

Trim the excess fabric from the edges, cutting as close to the stitching as possible. That's it. Homemade wipes that work.

Before you use these on baby, you've got to wet them down. I mean, I guess they'd work dry, but I'd feel bad rubbing dry material on his cute baby bum. There are a few ways to do this -- the way we've been doing it is with the spray-bottle method.

When it's time to use the wipes, I simply give a wipe a few sprays with a spray bottle filled with wipe solution. You can find a bunch of wipe solution recipes online, depending on your needs (like if you want an anti-fungal solution or one with lotion for dry skin). For a list of recipes, check out this link.

To make your own wipe solution, you just need a combination of oil, soap, and water. The oil helps the wipes move comfortably against baby's skin and keeps it soft; the soap cleans away the pee and poop; the water dilutes the first two ingredients and helps clean the diaper area. If you want, you can also add essential oil to your solution if you want certain aromatherapy or antibacterial benefits.

Depending on what ingredients you use, you'll have different amounts of each ingredient. Here's the recipe of the wipe solution we've been using:

• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons baby soap/shampoo
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix the shampoo and oil, then add water. Pour into spray bottle.  I love how fresh it smells. It seems to do a good job cleaning the diaper area, too -- we haven't had any problems with diaper rash yet.

I'll admit right now: using homemade wipes isn't as easy as using the disposable kind that come in packages and containers. Kind of like cloth diapering. Sure, it isn't as convenient, but it's not that bad and it doesn't take that much extra time. For me, the trade-off of saving money and sending a little less trash from my house is worth the few extra seconds it takes to use and wash them.