Diapering your July baby

[craft_media_hero]

What have you learned in the last month or so?

Rashes? Ointments, creams, powder? Cloth or sposie wipes and dipes? How's the communication if you're EC-ing? How would you amend your dream dipe stash if you were to tell you pre-natal self? Nekkie butt time or no?

In the last few weeks, I have learned that my little one will develop a pretty mean rash if he's in more than one or two sposie dipes in a day (like if we're laundering the cloth dipes).

I've learned that I love, love, love the Burt's Bees Baby Bee powder. It rocks! And so does their zinc cream, though our favorite butt ointment is simple coconut oil or nipple cream (lanolin).

I've learned that our fancy-pants pocket diapers are a pain in the butt, and both dh and I prefer the flats padfolded with Flip cover. That was a shocker! So we will be ordering more flats and maybe selling all but a few of the pockets (some are still brand new in their wrapping).

As far as EC, he communicates through fussing and wiggling when he needs changed, and we talk to him about it *shrug* we use cue sounds when we notice him going. We've had one "catch" though it was on a prefold, not a potty. Letting this develop as it comes.

We try to give him some nekkie butt time every day to fend off the swamp butt, and he really loves naked and clean dipe, but generally hates being changed--though it seems like he's starting to understand that we are trying to make him more comfortable, not torture him, and he's becoming a lot more happy during diaper changes.

[lrgs]

This was my first go around at cding a newborn (we switched to cloth when Mya was 14 months old) and so far, so good. We dealt with a pretty bad bum rash right at the beginning.....it started in a sposie but continued in the cloth. She's very sensitive to being wet so we have to use a fleece liner in our prefolds because she doesn't tolerate the wetness against her skin (she doesn't fuss about it but she gets a rash). Her bum has been a lot better lately but is very sensitive.

I tried out my Flip for the first time today (with one of the stay dry inserts) and the fit is pretty good but it did not do a good job with the ebf poop. Prefolds are working well and are our workhorse diaper (folded with snappi). DH prefers them because you don't have to "dis-assemble and re-assemble" them (eventhough I'm the one who does all the laundry and assembling). I taught him how to fold on one of DD's dolls and he's doing a good job. We did have one day where he accidently used an old premium prefold we had laying around so Ainsley (at about 9lbs) was wearing a prefold meant for 20-35lbs.....it was HUGE and I'm not sure how he didn't notice . We've had more leaks in our pockets and AIO's then with our prefolds and I'm so impressed with the fact we haven't had any blowouts.....we had so many of those with Mya, it was ridiculous. The one thing I have been thrown off by is the staining...our diapers are pretty stained and I didn't have that issue with Mya. I put them out in the sun the other day and it did the trick so hopefully we can get rid of all the stains but won't bother doing that until she's outgrown them. I'm on the fence about keeping or selling this newborn/small stash, we're not sure if we want more so I'm not sure what to do.

[somegirl99]

We're doing pretty well with our prefolds, snappis, and Thirsties Duo covers, although doing laundry a bit more than expected (daily, with 3 dozen prefolds). Only had a couple of EBF poos escape onto the covers. Number of diapers used is gradually going down, or at least it was until we hit this growth spurt.

We had a bit of rash at first and it comes back here and there, but I think it was mostly caused by DH not cleaning so thoroughly during a change (working on that). We have a CD-friendly cream (CJ's Butter) which has done a great job clearing it up each time.

Started out trying to catch pees which I did, but he didn't like being held over the potty, so I've just been giving him a bit extra naked butt time when I change him, and caught some pees with a prefold. He really gets upset when he wets himself when he is awake.

Going to have to find some sposies for a trip we're taking in 3 weeks to a wedding. My MIL had picked up some organic ones during her visit but they didn't fit him well. She claimed the prefolds and snappi were too complicated, even though she did her kids in flats and pins, go figure. I even had pins on hand....

[majazama]

I'm using mostly flats too.. finding the thirsties duo wraps super great with them

we do a bit of ec, and he's so adorable when I hold him over the sink and he lets loose.. I'm so proud he's so smart.

[YHannahh]

We have 22 pocket diapers and we couldn't be happier.

Leaks - We had some leaks when we switched detergents. We stripped and went back to the original detergent. As good as new.

They have never failed us for her explosive exclusive breastmilk poop.

Also, we originally purchased 24 diapers spread across 5 brands. One brand doesn't fit her properly. Her thighs are too small. So those leak and we can't use them. Luckily, it was only 2 that didn't fit and 22 leftover is plenty.

Laundry - No problems here. I do laundry about every other day. My husband generally stuffs the inserts into the diapers.

Rash - I make my own cloth wipe solution. She got red in her inner thighs quickly. I diluted the solution a lot. Problem solved. No other rash problems.

Disposables - We use 7th Generation on rare occasions. They are fine. Once, they didn't contain an explosive poop.


Our diaper situation has been the least of our new parenting worries I'd say.

[coffeegirl]

Just wondering about the cloth diaper cleaning thing. (I was actually in the July DDC but my Annie came TWO WEEKS late, ok? ) We have a couple of thirsties covers and prefold diapers. My baby has been in the NICU since she was born, hopefully she'll be home this weekend. So I'm trying to get everything figured out.

How do you clean them? Like, you take off a poopy diaper and then what? Do you dump the contents into the toilet? And then do you rinse off at any point or just throw them in a diaper pail or right into the laundry? And as for diaper pails, do you put any kind of liquid cleanser/disinfectant in there or just leave it dry?

I'm just trying to figure all this out, how to rinse/de-gross the diapers before they go in the wash. I don't want to wash really gross diapers in the washer and then wash regular clothes in there, you know? Or...am I being unreasonable and is that just how it's done? Just seems kind fo gross to me.

[Surfacing]

subbing to come back later and read

[MJB]

We're using Flip stay-dry inserts with Thirsties covers. We're on the biggest setting of the size 1 covers already (at 11+ lbs). Edie's down to pooping every other day, so even though poo gets on the cover every time, we still have more than enough covers-- I'm only going to get 4-6 in the size 2s (we have 8 size 1s and a couple smalls that fit now). I might get more than we need just because I want all the colors, LOL.
No rashes or ointments here. We did have some pee leaks and had to strip our diapers-- I think because our wipe spray (for cloth wipes) had apricot oil in it. I quit using oil in our spray so hopefully we won't have repelling issues again. Also started running the diapers through an extra rinse.
We throw the poop diapers straight into our "pail" (a PlanetWise hanging wetbag). The wet bag gets washed with the diapers. We'll use flushable liners once she starts solids. Our clothes aren't poopy.
We have 24 Flips and 6 prefolds, we wash about every 2.5 days.

I don't want to EC but the baby does. When she has to poo she gets really angry until I take her diaper off. I just let her lay on top of a diaper to go and try to keep her feet out of it. Often when she is fussy, taking her diaper off (whether she has to go or not) will make her happy when nothing else will.

[YHannahh]

Originally Posted by coffeegirl

How do you clean them? Like, you take off a poopy diaper and then what? Do you dump the contents into the toilet? And then do you rinse off at any point or just throw them in a diaper pail or right into the laundry? And as for diaper pails, do you put any kind of liquid cleanser/disinfectant in there or just leave it dry?

I'm just trying to figure all this out, how to rinse/de-gross the diapers before they go in the wash. I don't want to wash really gross diapers in the washer and then wash regular clothes in there, you know? Or...am I being unreasonable and is that just how it's done? Just seems kind fo gross to me.

When I change her, I remove the inserts from the pockets and throw them into a dry bag. No rinsing, no nothing at this point. The baby is exclusively breastfed, so there is nothing to knock into the toilet even if I tried. The bag doesn't really stink. I do laundry every other day. When I do laundry, I empty the bag into the washer and throw the bag into the washer as well. (I have 2 Fuzzibunz bags for at home and 2 for on-the-go.)

1. cold rinse - no detergent
2. hot wash (which includes a cold rinse on my machine) - w/ detergent (use just enough to get clean and no more)
3. cold rinse again - no detergent

Sometimes I add extra rinses if I'm feeling extra neurotic that day. Our clothes aren't poopy.

[craft_media_hero]

Laundry- dh has been doing it and they have been coming out super clean he says:

Soak and agitate a bit on Warm (but our warm is pretty cool)
soak a bit more
run thru cycle til it drains
rinse out the poo water
uh then run it again
uh it's poop just run it twice


okay, so that was his pithy explanation of how he's getting the dipes so clean; I thought he had a real method. But really, they've been coming out totally stainless and we don't even sun them as we have no clothes line up at our new place yet, and I don't want to hang them on the bird-poopy fence. We use Bio-Kleen for all our laundry, btw. **oh, and we wash about every other day, sometimes stretching it to the third day, but by then we'll have gone thru every clothie and will be using the backup gifted sposies.

Pail: we dry pail them, no pre-treat, no rinse, no baking soda, etc. I try to pull the inserts out of pockets right away. We will get a diaper sprayer for the bathroom when the poo gets gross-er (with solids).

I figure, if the diapers are clean, then the washer is clean, so I'm not stressing it.

Majazama-sounds like he is quite the little smarty!

EC: I don't get how to get him to E over the sink or container. Is it just a coincidence thing until they start associating cue sounds? When I've held him over the sink, even if I know he's making his growly noises that always signal a bm, he dislikes it so much that he quits working on the bm. BUT, it does seem like our boy has to work extra hard to digest and eliminate, so it might just be that he's not ready to add anything else into the equation.

[expat-mama]

Loving our cloth diapers around here too!

We have been using GMD prefolds- we switched from orange to yellow about 2 weeks ago when DS was 5 weeks old. We use thirsties duo covers too- we just switched to the medium snap setting when we switched to the bigger prefolds. I love the thirsties too- those gussets are KEY for keeping sloppy poopy in, but the white trim on mine is turning a gross yellowy colour from containing anything that is trying to get out. We also use fleece liners and they work great at keeping DS pretty dry. He has had NO rash or irritation whatsoever- it's amazing! We haven't had to use anything on his bum so far at all.
We also use a variety of pocket dipes I found on clearance:
Haute pockets one size- good so far, but they didn't fit until a week or so ago.
Rumparooz one size- awesome! I love them and they have such cute patterns, too bad they are so expensive or I'd get lots more. Inner gussets are great!
Monkey Doodles size small- boo! two thumbs down. They fit DS right from the start but when he was about 2 weeks old and he started having bigger pees and poos they started leaking up the back. So we have about 5 of those we don't use.
Fuzzi bunz size small- don't quite fit him yet, so we'll see in about a week or so.
I had 30 cloth wipes ready but we haven't started using those. We are using some natural, fragrance free wipes. I just can't get my act together to mix some wipe solution and have the extra laundry. Besides, I don't think 30 wipes would be enough. Sometimes I use soo many for DS's giant poos. I think we're sticking to bought wipes.
Laundry- one load of dipes a day. I had an elaborate washing routine worked out from all I had read, but DH just started throwing them in with a prewash on the "baby care" cycle and that worked wonderfully so that's what I do now. Easy. We hang to dry outside in the insane heat and sun here (dry in less than an hour during the day) and have had no stains whatsoever.

Yep, cloth diapering is the bees knees! It's working really well for us.

[craft_media_hero]

nak

expat- we just use water for our "wipes", fill ye old peri bottle in the AM and douse a baby washcloth before each change, real easy. the baby cloths are so small they dont really add a lot to the laundry. **oh, and folded over in half, they are the perfect size to stack up in a commercial wipey tub works great!

I'm surprised how easy CD has been!

oh, and we EC'd! We really communicated and I helped him via tummy massage and pushing his knees up toward tummy him with a bm that was causing distress last night! It was so cool. What a mommy-geek statement that is, sheesh! But it was like this great breakthrough in the two of us "talking about" and understanding what was going on. Hopefully that will lead to more EC as we go along--I feel really great about it.

here's one for you all: how many diaper changes at night?

[MJB]

We went from two to one diaper changes at night, and last night went without any! I added a microfiber towel under her Flip insert and was pleased that it worked! She nurses once at night (night defined as midnight to 7am) and I was changing her then but now that we have side-lying nursing down, I'm too lazy to sit up and mess with her diaper.

[majazama]

C_M_H~ that's so great that you guys "ECed"!

I don't do it for every elimination, because my boy pees ALL THE TIME, so I just hold him over the sink and go "psss" and then make little grunting noises (for poops.. make sure you have the butt aimed directly at the sink or else you'll get your toothbrush fulla mustard poo ). at first he didn't like being held like that (by the thighs) but now, he really seems to understand and gets so pissed off I think at times when he doesn't want to pee in his diaper. its just a PITA to take off a flat with a snappi and put it back on again. I just hold him over the sink after I change his diaper, or when he has nakey time and I see his little penis getting full. Also, I think him seeing me in the mirror above the sink while we are "ECing" and waiting for the big result helps him, and I can see on his face that he understands what is going on.
I watched the "nappy free" video and it really helped me. I recommend watching that.

[majazama]

Originally Posted by expat-mama

I love the thirsties too- those gussets are KEY for keeping sloppy poopy in, but the white trim on mine is turning a gross yellowy colour from containing anything that is trying to get out.

put them out in the .. guaranteed to take mustard poop stains out.

[mamakaikai]

Great to see so many ECers on here! I've been 'part time' ECing catching about 5 or so pees in a day. No poos though, they are way more elusive in this babe! I'm amazed it's just as easy with a newbie as it was when I started at 6 months with dd1. My big question as it has been in the past, is how to work around the snowsuit?!! darn winters!

As for CD, I'm using prefolds and flats for the first time after using mostly FB pockets and bamboozle fitteds in the past. I am very surprised at how well the prefolds work!! We bought 24 newborn size and I think we're likely to buy more when we get into the medium sizes. I am surprised that I am getting away without using anything to tie them. We have snappies but I can never find them! SO I never use them. I just fold them under the flap in my bummies and they stay put no leaks no blowouts. Neat. mind you now that I've said that!!...

I've been using nellies soap and line drying and the dipes are coming really clean and not smelly. I had so many issues figuring out how to keep the dipes from stinking the first time around.

[sblisster]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero

nak

expat- we just use water for our "wipes", fill ye old peri bottle in the AM and douse a baby washcloth before each change, real easy. the baby cloths are so small they dont really add a lot to the laundry. **oh, and folded over in half, they are the perfect size to stack up in a commercial wipey tub works great!

I've also found that washcloths do a better job than wipes, i.e. where I would use 2-3 wipes per poop, I only need 1 washcloth.

I'm using the Bummis prefolds and covers that I was given for DS. This is their fourth baby to be used on (DS, my friend's two girls, and now DD), and while the velcro is getting worn, they're still great. I have some other pockets and such, but I don't like them as much as the prefolds. I'm also using a disposable overnight. I'm way too tired to sit up and change her, and the disposables were given to me.

[mamakaikai]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero

how many diaper changes at night?

(N)one. I change her at midnight when I go to sleep myself and again in the am when we all get up, around 7-8. She sleeps through the night, feeds in her sleep and we co-sleep in bed so I don't fully wake either. SOmetimes she pees and gets antsy about it so I change it. But otherwise we sleep at night.

At night though I put her in bamboo fitted+hemp doubler+fleece liner so it's extra super absorbent and the fleece keeps her dry.

[expat-mama]

We usually do one change at night too- change him before his middle of the night feeding so he wakes up a bit more otherwise he will eat soo lazily, I'll be up for hours.
We put DS in a DryBees pocket dipe stuffed with a prefold at night and it's amazing- it holds sooo much pee and stays soo dry that when I feel the inner fleece in the morning it's hard to tell there's ANY pee in there at all. Then I take it off and it feels like there are 2 litres of pee in there.

Hmm- Yes I'll have to make the effort to try the cloth wipes.

[somegirl99]

2-3 changes every time he wakes up at night as he gets so upset when he has to pee in his diaper, even with a hemp doubler. I know he would really benefit from EC but not sure how to fit it in with nursing & burping him which we have to keep going back and forth between...interestingly the poos don't bother him at all.