Please help me over my 3 hurdles to CD!

[scribbles]

I'm new to MDC and haven't had too much time to explore, so please re-direct me if these issues are covered well somewhere. I want to switch to CD soon, but need help to solve my 3 remaining hurdles. Please help! Here they are:

1) The ick factor. I really really don't like the idea of poop swishing around in my washing machine. Does everything come clean really? Really? What's the best way to ensure all is sanitary and won't show up in my next load of laundry? Will those flushable liners help me like I hope they will? I struggle with the toilet dunking idea.

2) Size questions. I have a chunky-legged, 21 pound, 6mo. Do I get one-size that I can adjust and re-use in the instance that we have another kid? He's already so far along in the sizing! How long will whatever size I buy really last this fast-growing kid? (They seem to top out at 35 pounds) Also, I'd rather not be finding red marks on those chunky legs.

3) Options overload! There's a lot out there! I'm currently leaning toward ones that have an insert that I can toss in the laundry and re-use the cover. Somehow that makes sense to me. (Not sure that I'd like AIOs or pocket and flats intimidate me a bit.) But this is all hypothetical having never tried any. Is it worth doing the Jillian's Drawers Changing Diapers Changing Minds trial program? The program includes two types I'm thinking of, but there are others I would consider that aren't included too. On my list so far are GroBaby/GroVia, Bummis, Thirsties, and SoftBums. I also saw a couple posts where people recommended Mommys Touch covers. Are there others I should consider? Do the snaps on snap-in inserts or the toggles on the SoftBums poke into the babies at all? And will mixing up types cause laundry complications? Obviously, I have a TON of questions still and keep discovering new things (like wool).

Eeeek! I can feel myself starting to lose momentum to the spiral of confusion!

[sacridote]

1) The ick factor... this kinda freaked me out as well, but I've not really noticed any residuals in my washer.... and I'm kinda lazy and don't even do all the extra rinses.

2) Dunno, but if you find out let me know... I have a chunky 2mo. We're using BumGenius 3.0 AIOS and OS... I also have several dozen prefolds and three Thirsties Duo covers...

3) Absolutely do the Jillian's Drawers trial! I just finished ours and it was really eye opening. I liked the ones I didn't expect to... (the AIOs).

[JudiAU]

1) Poop, whatever your diapering choice, needs to go in the toilet. So if you are using disposables, you should be getting that poop in the toilet too. Diaper sprayers make it very easier to get in there. You don't need to dunk/soak/rinse them. When you wash them, the first rinse takes off any remaining poop, then then get washed and tried. Nothing stays behind and I have no issues with a shared laundry room.

Do the Jillian's Drawers trial. It is very helpful to compare types in person and on your baby. And everyone seems to walk away with different ideas about what they like. I bought a bunch of styles used (trials didn't exsist then) and it was totally clear what I would like. (We do sized fuzzi bunz 100% of the time and they are nanny, DH, and grandparents approved.)

[snoopy5386]

I'm just getting started too!
I did the Jillian's trial and it was great, and really gave me an idea of what I liked - for me it is AI2's (at home and out) and PFs and covers (at home for $$ factor).

I'm still dealing with the ick factor. We're still EBF so they just go right in the washer and so far, so good, everything has been coming out clean. I'm still worried about solids tho.....the sprayer icks me out so I think we'll try liners first.

[treeoflife3]

poop is gross but you deal with it anyway, right? get a diaper sprayer. that will help. it might even help to get a cheap mop bucket and spray down the diaper in that and pour into the toilet, especially while you figure out how to angle everything.
No, it won't show up in your laundry. I honestly don't get every single tiny bit of poop off my diapers and have no problems. Just do a pre rinse and an extra post rinse if you are really worried. I've never used flushable liners (kind of defeated my purposes for using cloth) but the poop isn't guaranteed to stay JUST on the liners. A lot of people like them but be warned that some poop will still get on cloth to be washed.

I have a chunky thigh kiddo. She has also barely gained 3 pounds in the past six months since she really started running and moving a lot. she is still fitting in medium thirsties covers. Keep in mind that kids will grow differently at different times and that a 35 pound kid can look very different compared to another 35 pound kid. Its more about shape than weight honestly. people have different experiences because of that. One size is definitely nice but depending on how you handle them and depending on which brand (or even which batch of which brand) it isn't guaranteed to last through multiple kids. Especially when one size means elastic and velcro. Both can die fast sometimes.

If you REALLY want to avoid red marks on legs, you should consider wool or fleece covers. They can be non elastic and are soft but still work well. Wool works better in my opinion and is natural but fleece is cheaper and vegan so its all a matter of your needs/values.

I definitely recommend you try a bunch of things. Get a couple types of pockets, sized and OS. Get a couple different AIOs. try a few covers and some different fitteds. Yes, even try prefolds and flats. once you narrow down the style you like, you can try MORE brands in that style including WAHM made ones off hyenacart.

When I first started out, I just bought kissaluvs size 0 with bummis covers and bumgenius 3.0 OS pockets with exactly three little aios thrown in. I was so excited and figured this would be perfect for me and exactly what I like. I was afraid of prefolds/flats and fleece/wool baffled me at how it could POSSIBLY work. I went through a short time where I hated fitteds/covers but realized actually I just didn't like the kissaluvs and bummis covers. I discovered that aios are nice and convenient but annoying to wash and then discovered I hate microfiber. I discovered that OS is really convenient but its annoying when a kid is right between two settings. I also discovered that snaps are WAY better than velcro even WHEN a kid is between two settings.

I went through a stage where all I wanted was fitteds. then just OS snappiable fitteds (BSRB is a really popular version) I tried a TON of things.

I'm finally settling into exactly what I love best. For me, that means flats with wool covers. I use BSRBs (my favorite os snappiable although hard to get) for a nighttime diaper since my kid is a light wetter and I like having some pockets on hand for people who can't do flats for for a quick change when we need to leave the house fast. I want to try the sposoeasy aio. I think I would like that best of all the pockets... really convenient to not have to stuff, but NO microfiber. I'm not sure though... I'm still looking for the perfect aio that is wool or fleece outer and all natural inner.. not sure about hemp, bamboo, or cotton. I like all three.

I do know though that I have a crap ton to sell now because I went overboard haha. Definitely try different styles though. you might find you like having a bit of everything on hand for different occasions. You might find that prefolds are THE BEST THING under the sun. I certainly didn't expect to end up where I am!

[cristeen]

My browser crashed and i lost a long reply i dont have time to recreate.

Poop. At 6 mos, this is a concern. Options: wipe out the drum after each load, diaper liners, diaper sprayer, dunk and swish. Ive tried all the above, diaper sprayer is my fave. Not a huge concern until theyre eating large amts of solids (not purees). Until then its water soluble, but after that there are bits of undigested food that dont fit through the drain holes in the washer drum.

I would probably choose a os if i started at 6 mos, if pfs werent an option. I'll say though that i have not been happy w os fitteds, and ive tried close to a dozen brands. The best ive found was s'bish pin dipe, but even that has some negatives. The mommys touch os cover i do like over pfs. But for OS, i have to give the nod to pockets. Rumparooz being the absolute winner in my mind, but knickernappies and HH tying for 2nd.

As for all the options, a lot depends on the situation. Is your lo sensitive to feeling wet, is he in daycare, is he a heavy wetter, along with a dozen other questions will influence what works for you. What works best for us is a mix of fitteds, pockets and pocket fitteds w a few pfs thrown in. It sounds complex, but weve grown into this system over the last year and thats what works for us, so dont be afraid to allow it to evolve.

[cristeen]

Forgot to add that w cd, red marks are usually a sign of user error, putting the dipe on too tight.

[scribbles]

Thank you everyone for chiming in! So much of this was helpful, and it's good to hear both from those experienced and someone newer to CD too! That makes me feel better!

Sounds like I should definitely try the Jillian's Drawers thing and then go from there. At least it'll keep up the momentum

Originally Posted by JudiAU

1) Poop, whatever your diapering choice, needs
to go in the toilet. So if you are using disposables, you should be getting that poop in the toilet too.

Really interesting that you say this. I don't think I've ever heard any non-CD folk talk about doing that. Maybe I haven't been listening!

Originally Posted by treeoflife3

poop is gross but you deal with it anyway, right?

Yes. And I'm beginning to wonder if I've been over-zealous in my cleaning routine. When ds had leaks (even when EBF), I'd take it to the sink and do a pre-wash with laundry soap before tossing it in the machine. Was I wasting my time?

[Marissamom]

with the poop in toilet with sposies, depends on where you live. it is better not to have poop going into landfills, but I live in a city where we have a waist-to-energy plant, so all garbage is burned at extremely high heat, and only the ash goes to the landfill.

with CDing, when we started at 9 months mostly her poop was solid enough to just shake into the toilet. when it's mushier we scrap with toilet paper, do a toilet swish, and anything left over use the tub faucet to spray it off. that way there's no chunks left to stay in the washer. I've actually had a harder time getting all the ammonia out of the dipes then the poop.

oh, and EBF poop can stain clothes, so when we had leaks I've always pre-washed, and still ended up with staining sometimes. now I know that if I had dried it in sunlight it might not have stained.

[DevaMajka]

For poop, I use the hand held shower, and spray it into a bucket then dump in the toilet. You'd need one with a "hard" setting. After that, I figure it's not any worse than washing ds1's undies with skid marks.

[Marcy&Dono]

We just started CDing about 4-5 months ago (my kiddo is 2.5! But have another on the way, too Right now we're using gdiapers and I do use the Kushies flushable liners to help with the poop. I don't know if I'd mind the poop that much, but my husband was hard enough to convince to go with cloth and one of his biggest concerns is the poop factor... this just makes it simple. We still have times when poop will end up on the cloth inserts, but then I either wipe it off with toilet paper or usually it's only a small amt anyway and it just goes into the diaper pail. I've never noticed a problem with those washes, all the poop seems to come off well in the pre-rinse.

But yeah, it is nice to take the poop and just flush it with the liner. ; ) Though I don't think I'll bother with them with the new baby, since breastfed poop should be so easy to clean/deal with (and liners probably wouldn't contain it anyway).

[blizzard_babe]

I second the diaper sprayer suggestions. You can get all the solids off pretty easily (even with our house's crappy water pressure, it packs quite a punch) and don't have to dunk in the toilet bowl, which is not something I'm a huge fan of (and I'm not all that easily icked out by most standards).