Logistics of cloth diapering - what to do w/baby while dealing w/poopy diapers?

[gardenmama76]

I am 7 months pregnant with our first baby, and we are all set to cloth diaper, but I just can't seem to wrap my head around the logistics of it all. Do you wash out your poopy diapers right away? If so, what do you do with the baby in the meantime?

Both of our bathrooms are very, very tiny and have sinks with zero counter space. There is no option in there for a changing pad. I cannot think of anywhere I could actually put the baby inside the bathroom while washing out the diapers aside from the tub! (obviously it would be in a bouncer or something, not just laying in the tub!) The only safe thing I could think of is either wearing the baby in a carrier immediately after diapering while washing them out, or putting them securely in a bouncer or crib while doing so. Either scenario has me worried if my child is screaming after a diaper change - envisioning myself frantically hosing off a diaper as quickly as possible to tend to my screaming baby.

I guess I'd have a tough time setting a poopy diaper aside to be dealt with later, or just plopping it in a tub of water to soak without hosing off what I could first (I LOVE the idea of those sprayers that attach to the toilet, and our upstairs bath the toilet is RIGHT next to the shower so I could actually just use the shower head!).

So how do you ladies do it? Any tips, tricks or am I simply overlooking an option?

[natty529]

well, i totally understand about the small bathroom thing! It might sound funny but, as long as your babe is ebf you dont need to rinse the diapers before you put them in the pail as long as you wash every other day or so.
when we had such limited space i just changed him on the bed on a towel, it worked just fine.
I had a diaper sprayer attached to my toilet so rinsing was really quick when he was older, i would just make sure he was in my eye line crawling around or put him on my back and then rinse.

does that help?

[lifeguard]

Like pp said if babe is ebf then you don't need to rinse. By the time I needed to rinse dipes ds could comfortably sit anywhere I put him so I could just set him down in the hallway or the bathroom or wherever.

I usually just put the dirty dipe on top of the pail until I have time to deal with it now. And quite frankly it is easier to get the poop off after it's sat for awhile - gross I know.

[Lineymom]

I never plan to rinse. I have a 4mo ebf dd. The poopy dipes go straight into the pail (actually a doorknob hanging pail), to be forgotten until wash day. Then they all get dumped in the washer. Cold rinse first rinses the poop away, then reg hot wash. I was skeptical of this at first, but works perfectly. Once she starts solid, I will use some sort of liner.

[CallMeMommy]

Yeah, I've never rinsed diapers. Well, if he had a diarrhea blow-out I'd try to scrape some of it off with a wad of TP, but other than that the EBF poops went straight into the dry pail, once he started solids I'd just dump it in the toilet (or scrape if it was a ton of sticky stuff). If I had to scrape I'd just deposit him in his crib while I did.

[alegna]

I never rinse. When they're exclusively breastfed it goes in a dry pail and that's it. I start dumping in the toilet when it will shake off- both of my kids have been toddlers by that point and fine to hang out in the bedroom (where we change) while I dump the diaper.

-Angela

[Funny Face]

We never had a changing table. I always changed ds on the floor. We have 2 dozen extra infant prefolds that we use for all kinds of things and these come in handy with diaper changes. I always use one prefold for a changing pad and set another to the side to set dirty dipes and wipes on. After I finish changing I just whisk the whole pile into the laundry bag.

Baby can lay on the floor, a little bouncy chair or wherever they are safe.

[cchrissyy]

I never rinsed either. but this still may help you :

lay baby on the changing table or floor or wherever you want to change her.

take off the dirty diaper and set it asside.

wipe her, put on the new diaper, and return her to wherever she was hanging out before she pooped. set her up with a toy on the floor or on the middle of your bed or back in the bouncy seat or back in your sling, just wherever you want her to be.

then pick up the dirty diaper and take it to the laundry room or the wetbag or rinse it in the bathroom, whatever your system is.

[megan sacha]

I think you're making it much more complicated than you need to. As pp said, if ebf, no need to do anything, just drop the dipe in a dry pail next to your changing table (about as difficult as a disposable). Using cloth wipes helps too as you can just drop those in too. Once on table foods, you will have to deal with getting the poop off before dropping in the pail but it shouldn't be a problem as your baby will be at least 6 months and probably able to be left for a couple of minutes on the floor.

[ledzepplon]

Originally Posted by alegna

I never rinse. When they're exclusively breastfed it goes in a dry pail and that's it. I start dumping in the toilet when it will shake off- both of my kids have been toddlers by that point and fine to hang out in the bedroom (where we change) while I dump the diaper.

-Angela

Same here.

[LaydieBugs]

I'm almost at 34 weeks with my first and all this is a little confusing to me too!

This doesn't quite answer your question since you can't leave baby on it, and as everyone says, apparently dunking is a thing of the past. But ... I hear you and thought this might help:

I was also noticing that a lot of the CD routine makes more sense in a bathroom, and mine also has very little room.

But at IKEA I found this fold-down changing station that mounts on a wall. It matches the standard minimum clearance for a toilet, so it should fit above any toilet. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70143208

And, because I'm skeptical about my apartment building's coin-op washers (on which I'd have to run a full cycle twice, to prewash and extra rinse), I also wanted to get the poo out of the diapers before washing. So I'm following some advice to try Imsie Vimsie liners: http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/doublers.htm. They peel off and flush. Not super-super-green but still better than disposables.

[Katie T]

In the beginning the poopies just go in the dry pail poo and all. As the baby gets older you will find it just kinda flows and it really is no big deal. You could always lay the baby on the floor on a blanket while you rinse the diaper if you want to rinse them.

And if babe is crying just set it next to the toilet or something until babe is happy/asleep and you can take care of it them. I think you will find it isn't hard, but there is so much our pregnant brains think of isn't there lol.

Congrats on the upcoming arrival!

[expat-mama]

Thanks for asking about this! I have been wondering about it myself.

[mamadelbosque]

I only rinse ebf diapers when its a 'big' poop. Ordinary small-ish poops I just drop in the diaper pail. Either way DS2 is perfectly fine on the floor or in the pack'n play for the minute it takes to rinse/unstuff/drop in the pail.

[lalemma]

I normally never rinse out poo - it just goes in the wet bag and then into the machine on laundry day.

But we're traveling right now, and the hotel's machine doesn't have any wash options. I felt that it wasn't getting the poopy diaper totally clean, so now I'm rinsing it out really quickly before it goes in the bag.

At home, the hot wash/2 rinses in a toploader takes care of it, though.

(I change my baby on the floor, so he just hangs out there while I take care of his diaper.)

[mmhinton]

My reply will differ a bit from previous replies! We have (nearly - except for travel) exclusively cloth diapered both of our boys. I have also exclusively breast fed for at least the first 6-8 months. So, that *should* have resulted in the typical ebf poopies.... well, my boys liked to wait a day or 2 (or more) and give me REALLy big poopy diapers...which I definitely put in the toilet!
Even when they pooped every day though, I still liked to rinse it in the toilet! But, we don't have and never did have a changing table! We changed the diapers where we were - usually in the living room or the bed room (we kept a "stash" in a few locations in the house...but even if we were in a different room, I always grabbed a diaper, then did the changing!).
I would change the diaper, set it aside while finishing with the clean diaper, etc and then put baby in a "safe" location (e.g. floor mat, bouncy seat, swing, etc) or carry him to the bathroom and put him on the floor there. Then, I rinsed the diaper, put it in the bucket and went about my business!

All of it really is not that complicated... and SOOOOO worth it!!! I have 2 boys and have LOVED cloth diapering them! You will find a "system" that works for you and then you will wonder how or why anyone would choose to use "pampers"!!!

[elmh23]

When they're EBF, I just put the diaper in the pail, no rinsing until wash day.

Once they've started solids, all of my babies have been mobil and happy to crawl around the living room while I take care of a diaper.

[Carson]

Originally Posted by Lineymom

I never plan to rinse. I have a 4mo ebf dd. The poopy dipes go straight into the pail (actually a doorknob hanging pail), to be forgotten until wash day. Then they all get dumped in the washer. Cold rinse first rinses the poop away, then reg hot wash. I was skeptical of this at first, but works perfectly. Once she starts solid, I will use some sort of liner.

Yep, this has been working for us. I occasionally (1/month?) have to give our dipes a nice big soak and stuff, but day-to-day, everything is fine.

Our DS is also crazy and loves diaper changes. He hangs out for probably 10-15 mins with an I-CPF just laid on him as a blocker talking to the ceiling. Time for me to do all kinds of stuff!

[mambera]

nak agree with pps no need to rinse ebf poo just prerinse in washer.

for solids poo i lay diaper on the side, clean up baby, then deposit her in the crib (only thing we use it for lol) while i deal w the dirty.