need opinions/advice

[PurpleMonkey]

I really just need to know what you would do if you were me. I WANT to use cloth soo soo badly, but here's the deal:

in May of 2009 I bought 20 fuzzibunz for my (then) 17-month-old twin girls. I'd used Charlie's soap and there was an actual chemical burn that happened on my of my girl's labia, freaking me out and making me want to never do cloth again. It took almost 2 months for the scars to go away

I gave birth to another girl in Sept. 2009 and have been using disposable diapers on all 3 of my girls, with occasional prefold/blueberry cover use on my newborn

the thing is, I *WANT* to do cloth, but honestly the prefolds/cover system does not keep her bottom as dry as a disposable. I change VERY frequently, even MORE frequently, when she wears cloth, and it just seems her bits "sit" in the pee, like the pee is always more up against her skin in the cloth versus the disposable. It's like the disposable draws away the urine from her bottom

also I know I am vain, but her clothes are not as cute in cloth! Too much bulk

ALSO I have soo much laundry with 3 kids 2 and under that doing cloth loads is just too much

What do you think? I mean, I *WANT* to do cloth as in my beliefs about the environment and just knowing it's the "right" thing to do, but am I just lazy?

It's like I'm addicted to WANTING to do cloth because I keep buying cloth diapers (I just bought some Thirsties medium AIOs haha) but I can't seem to want to put them on my kids because seriously NONE of their clothes will fit them, unless I put a baggy dress on them but then they just look dumpy

am I being too vain?

THE *REAL* DEAL why I stopped with my twins is the chemical burn issue, but now I've changed detergent (Tide free and clear) and so should I just give them another go?

Any of you out there with 3+ kids and doing cloth for 3 kids?

[Ola_]

I haven't used Charlie's Soap myself, but I've read on Pinstripes and Polkadots detergent ratings that some people have the exact issue with it that you described. So I'd try with a different detergent definitely.

And yes, prefolds do not wick the moisture like disposables. That's what those gelly crystals in sposies do. Pocket dipes usually have a layer against the baby that helps pull the moisture away and into the insert.

[Blueone]

The new Flip diaper with the Stay Dry insert is really thin! It's like a really durable disposable. I love them! I got them to use at night because my son is sensitive to feeling wet and they work really well. I ended up buying enough to use on a regular basis.

As for detergent, we use Crunchy Clean and it works the best for us. It smells good and my son hasn't had a rash from them like he did with Arm and Hammer. I heard chemical burns are common with Charlies Soap.

[PurpleMonkey]

thanks y'all. What kinds of clothes do you have your little ones in while in cloth? Just a t-shirt?

again, I really want to do cloth full-time! I need encouragement/kick-in-the-butt

[Lisoula]

In warm weather, yes, I often would just do a t-shirt and diaper. Otherwise I usually had them in stretchy-pants or leggings. Or - you can always do a skirt and babylegs.

Sounds like you would prefer a trim fitted with a cover or a pocket, rather than AIO's which IMO tend to be much bulkier. I would just get a variety of used dipes from diaperswappers or something and see what works best for you.

[4myfinn]

I've also heard of the chemical burn issues with Charlie's. How scary to have your baby burned by your detergent! It's no wonder you stopped CDing after that! And pre-folds haven't worked for me either.

I use pocket diapers (Bum Genius mostly) and wash them in Country Save detergent. I took a risk before DS arrived and bought 4 boxes of Country Save on amazon.com. I did some research on the internet, and it looked like there were very few odor issues with CS. Also, BG is pretty clear on their website that you need to be choosy with detergent (no additives, brighteners, whiteners, fragrance, no free and clears, etc.). It was well worth the risk. I LOVE it. I use it on all of our clothes now, and it works great on both clothes and diapers. It even get out black stains from the gripe water we use. I haven't had any odor issues with diapers, but I follow the directions on the BG website to a tee. The few times they've gotten smelly, I just wash them in a few extra rinse cycles and that seems to solve the problem.

As for the clothes, I actually think the CD bum is adorable. I have a boy, though, so we wear lots of overalls and jumpers and I don't think it's as much of an issue. It is a bummer though when clothes don't fit right. We haven't been able to wear some really cute clothes we've gotten as gifts because of the cloth diaper bum.

[Xavismom]

The reason the sposie keeps babies 'dry' when they are wet is the sodium polyacrylate in diapers. Just my opinion, but I worry less about urine in a cloth diaper on my DS's skin than the absorbant gel in sposies. I wouldnt let it worry you too much, I just change DS whenever I notice he is wet and he's fine.

If you are really worried about clothes, then I second the babylegs. I think a baby in a cute cloth diaper with some matching baby legs is super cute! DS pretty much lives in a t-shirt and babylegs.

And dont feel bad about wanting your LO to look adorable, thats part of the fun of having a baby!