Help distract a lady in her tww: tell me about Mother Ease OS or your favorite OS or fitted...

[lapis]

I'm waaaay ahead of myself, I know, but I needed a fun distraction from the tail end of my tww Ive been feeling diaper curious/obsessed the last couple of months and thought I'd start getting things narrowed down.

So, how do you like your Mother ease one size diapers? on a newborn? infant? on a toddler? how do you like the 100% cotton ones vs the ones with the poly blend? here in austria they also have a brand called Popolini, which is almost identical to the mother ease products. Has anyone used both the MEOS and the POS? any thoughts on the differences?

For newborns I've heard that the OS diapers aren't the best. so what do you like for the first couple of months? are the newborn kissaluvs worth the $$? or are prefolds the way to go before starting with the OS diapers?

also, having nannied for the past 15 years I've had the chance to use tons of prefolds (with pins and snappies, pull up wraps and velco/snap wraps) but the only fitted diaper I've used are fuzzi bunz, which I realize actually an "all in one".

As for washing: we have hard water, a front loader (smallish) and no dryer.

do you think it would work to do a cool wash with detergent and water softener and then the sanitizing wash w/ softener? we will likely wash every other day and do some ECing as well.

if you have any other diaper systems that you loved, I'd also be interested in hearing your thoughts. The other thing I'm curious about is the Kissaluvs hybrid diaper... if anyone has tried that one!

[inky leeuhhh]

i love our MEOS. havent tried the other brand you mentioned. we got the meos when dd was about 6 mos old. we have the poly blends, because when i bought them i didn't realize they werent 100% cotton. if i had to get more, i'd go for the 100%, just because thats what i prefer in a fitted. i really like them though and reach for them a lot. i find that they don't go well under many of my covers ( i have thirsties duos, regular thirsties, and other assorted wahm covers). i think they are really meant to be under the air flow covers that me makes. i have one, but it leaves red markes on dd. i usually use them under our wool soakers. i have heard though that the ME AF covers are super gentle on the legs for most kids. we have fuzzi bunz too that we use when she's too wiggly for me to wrangle her into a fitted or pf and cover. fuzzi bunz are pocket diapers.

i think the best thing to do though is get sort of a variety and figure out what is going to work best for your baby. for the newborn stage, we used prefolds trifolded in a cover. if you are going to trifold at that stage though, you need to have a lot of covers because they get pooped on a lot and you aren't able to reuse. you could rinse the cover out and re use it when it dries, but i was way too tired post partum to do any work that wasn't necessary.

edited to add- good luck in your 2ww!! i have a whole year before we even begin ttc, and i'm already anxious! lol.

[lapis]

thanks Inky: good to know about the covers and sizing. I've been really interested in wool or fleece or anything that doesn't make marks but really covers the diaper and keeps out leaks. I remember when I was first diapering babies (1992 maybe?) everyone I knew just used the gerber pull up plastic pants (and I don't think snappies were invented yet so it was pins all the time)... boy did those wraps leave marks though.

ok, so what wool or fleece covers does everyone love... style or actual brand?

[lapis]

here are some links to what I'm thinking of so far:

these

and

with a few of these

[inky leeuhhh]

we use recycled wool soakers from winkydinks on etsy. she is awesome, and makes fleece soakers as well that are really cute. there are tons of other ones i want to try, but can't justify spending any more money on diapers. lol. id still get some pul covers for when you want the baby to wear "normal" clothes. i dont think wool goes as well under clothes- the dampness can wick through. she wears mostly wool with fitteds at home and for short outings, and pul covers or pockets for when we are away.

[lapis]

wool use sounds very individual: I hear some love them only for frequent diaper changes and some LOVE and swear by them for ALL NIGHT. I guess its something I'll need to play around with... come oOOONNNN baby, I can't just try diapers out on the dog, he'll hate it!!! we need your little round butt to try all this fun out on... I think its pretty funny how interesting cloth diapering is to so many women (maybe some men too). The baby clothes I really could care less about but the diapers are fascinating.

anyone like the imse vimse soft covers?

[inky leeuhhh]

i am home today with a sick baby and stalking this site, thus all my replies to this one thread. LOL. the diapers you posted are so cute! i love the bright colors. and yes, they do look just like the motherease diapers. its awesome that they are organic cotton though. i have been obsessed with cding for six years now. some people say the addiction lessens, but for me it has gotten worse! i'm going to need rehab when my kids potty train, lol.

[lapis]

hope your babe feels better : )

and thanks for sharing your cd experiences. its helpful to hear what people like and dont and also why... the winkydinks are super cute, btw!!! I've seen quite a few covers, always fleece or wool, in that cut. they look very comfortable and like they also create a smooth fit... while keeping out those sneaky leaks.

and I'm excited to do some ECing as well, I had read a lot about a few years prior to actually getting to try it out with a set of triplets that i worked with. its was nice to have my first experience with EC, learning from someone who had already done it with their older child and also who was having to readjust to their new circumstances and to be a bit more flex the second time around... having three and all. anyhow, my feeling is that I will still want to use diapers but will want the flexibility of having them be more or less absorbent depending on night or day or being out and about or home...that is part of what I liked about the MEOS. and yeah, I also love all the colors that come in that set. there is also a sage green or a bright red you can buy as separates along with their white/natural color.

how many diapers do you like to have for a couple days of use? I was thinking I could get a set of ten and then some really good/thick night time diapers, say four of them and call it a day... but I'm starting to think that might be too few. again, I know I'll need something extra for the newborn/many poops a day months... but figured I'd get something a bit smaller than a OS

over the past fifteen years of taking care of babes, every year there is something new. or products change... for better or for worse. there is always some sort of baby/kid thing that I'm like "man, when I have my babies, I'll definitely remember xxxx" some things still ring true and I feel extremely lucky to have a sense of what I like after trying out almost every kind of stroller and carrier.... not to mention toys that are cool (or really useless/annoying)...

and as for CD rehab... I'm sure you are not alone... and I"ll probably be following right behind you. I think we will only be having one or two babies so I know the diaper years will soar on by... maybe having a couple of years to ruminate in my Cd obsessiveness before we even get pregnant isn't so bad after all ; )

[lapis]

just thought I'd :bump and see if anyone else has some MEOS words of wisdom!

[cristeen]

I can't speak for the MEOS, but I can speak towards the hard water and the FL.

At this point the biggest thing for me is to add water during the wash cycle. Otherwise it's really not doing a whole lot.

I would do a cold rinse first before adding soap. This is to rinse out the excess urine and get rid of the poo. After you've done that, then you can add the soap/water softener and go from there.

My routine right now is cold rinse with 2 gallons of extra water. Heavy Duty wash cycle with an extra rinse and long spin (warm/warm) with soap and white vinegar. And I add another 2 gallons to the initial wash. Then I will usually do another warm rinse if I think I need to (sniff test) before tossing them int he dryer.

Oh, and as for number - 10 will not be sufficient. A NB goes through 12-14 dipes a day. Even now, at 9 mos, we're going through probably close to 10 a day.

[megincl]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I can't speak for the MEOS, but I can speak towards the hard water and the FL.

At this point the biggest thing for me is to add water during the wash cycle. Otherwise it's really not doing a whole lot.

I would do a cold rinse first before adding soap. This is to rinse out the excess urine and get rid of the poo. After you've done that, then you can add the soap/water softener and go from there.

My routine right now is cold rinse with 2 gallons of extra water. Heavy Duty wash cycle with an extra rinse and long spin (warm/warm) with soap and white vinegar. And I add another 2 gallons to the initial wash. Then I will usually do another warm rinse if I think I need to (sniff test) before tossing them int he dryer.

Sorry to hijack....how do you add water to a cycle in a FL washer?

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by megincl

Sorry to hijack....how do you add water to a cycle in a FL washer?

Pour it into the detergent cup. It runs straight into the cylinder.

[megincl]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Pour it into the detergent cup. It runs straight into the cylinder.

brilliant!!!!!

[fruitfulmomma]

For a newborn I would have a minimum of 36 diapers and 6 covers. They go through a lot, up to 14 a day and you don't want to be doing laundry every day during the postpartum period.

I have the MEOS and they work great on my 18mo. I think they would be too big for a newborn though. If you need cheap, the best route would be prefolds. If you want to spend a bit more money, Green Mountain Diapers has some fitteds made from prefolds that are $4.50 each - http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/....htm#workhorse

Mother Ease also does make a sized diaper which comes in newborn. I think they are about $12 each.

I have a kissaluvs fitted and don't love it. I think it is too wide in the crotch and it takes a long time to dry. My husband likes their contours but I can never get a snappy to stay on them.

[lapis]

cristeen: thanks for the front loader and wash routine tips... and you've solved the mystery of how to add more water I was wondering if people were just pouring it into the drum or something?!?

fruitfulmama: and I gave up on the kissaluvs dream because I've been hearing too many mixed things these days and also they are not available over here so we'd have to spend so much money just on shipping. Instead I'm just going to use flats in the newborn stage... and then get 10 OS diapers for when baby is a bit bigger and then use both flats and the OS after that.

[Ola_]

Some mamas do use the MEOS for newborns. I think it depends on the baby's shape and size, and your own tolerance for bulkiness. Here's one person who posted comparison pics on the Mother Ease forum:
http://www.mother-ease.com/wwwboard/...id/1/tid/16131

[lapis]

Ola_: thanks for that link. That baby looks even to be a bit on the skinny end... so that is reassuring that even if the diapers are a bit bulky they will at least fit around the legs and waist to contain poop and pees.

[JessieBird]

For newborn to 10 lbs or so: prefolds and covers, about 36 prefolds and 4-6 covers will be plenty though the more you have the less often you need to do laundry

Favourite AIO OS: Coolababies from eBay. I have TONS of different diapers and far prefer these to any others. They are almost identical to FB and I've heard that they're even made by the same factory if that helps your conscience when it comes to buying from China. They will fit from about 10 lbs right through to big toddler. Best part is the price. They are so affordable that you can have a huge stash. I have 40, plus an assortment of others, so I only do laundry about once every six days. Some would say this is gross but the pail doesn't stink and they come out clean without any problem. I spray the poop off.

Hard water: Calgon is your friend. Add it to every load. I had horrible stink issues for a while before I discovered Calgon (the hard water minerals were building up on the diapers and the ammonia stench was unbearable).

My #1 front loader tip: Always have a full load. FL'ers don't work well at all with small loads. It took me a LONG time to figure this out. Clothes and diapers come out much cleaner if you fill that washer to the max. So either buy a big stash of diapers or keep 1-3 old bath towels on hand to boost up the size of the load. I've never added extra water to a load.

On not having a dryer: Three of the main materials used in most AIO OS - fleece, elastic and PUL - last much longer if you don't use a dryer anyway. I used to use a dryer and the diapers I had back then look OLD. The diapers that have never been in a dryer still look and feel brand new, even though they are all about the same age. I use either a clothesline or a wall-mounted drying rack. If hanging them over a rack (rather than with clothes pins), lie them inside up for fastest drying. As long as your washer was full and therefor was able to get to it's full spin speed, it should only take a day max for them to dry. Another reason to invest in a big stash - so that there are always diapers on hand even when most are drying.

GOOD LUCK TTCing!!!!!! I hope you'll be slaving over dirty diapers soon!

[lapis]

thanks jessiebird: ok... so I"ve been wondering about calgon. I see it around and I have a detergent that has a built in water softener but I'm not sure its enough... it a natural detergent and the brand that most folks use for diapers here in Austria and in Germany... but I totally have smelled that amonia smell on some of the diapers of babies I've nannied for and wowza! a terrible smell! so my question is: I've smelled the calgon at the grocery store and it seems so smelly? are there unscented ones or does the smell just dissipate with the wash?

thanks for the tip on filling the drum full. I did not know that : )

[St. Margaret]

Oooh great info, thanks! I've heard so many wonderful things about the MEOS it's on my try list for sure with this baby. I also love that GMD link! I hadn't seen those before!!! Ahhh I am cotton-obsessed this time, too, so GMD makes it easy