Anyone Cloth Diapering? - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by here we are 

Fitted diapers- I am looking at GreenMountainDiapers, they have 3 choices-the less the better for me, its overwhelming as it is. I am trying to decide about using them for nights &having enough until wash day. Its just they have the Workhorse, but i dont like that you need many sizes, then one geared more towards newborns& i THINK a one size after that which I am leaning towards. But then they have an organic more expensive one, cant think of the name. I like it b/c it looks so adaptable for the longest amount of time. I feel stumped. Anyone else considering these I would love to hear your thoughts. I cant let this be so hard!

Best to get just one or 2 to try of the ones that look the most interesting to you and decide from there. You don't know how you will like something until you have tried it. My first diaper purchase was a stash of kushies(crappy diapers.) I got them because that's what the mom I heard about the modern cloth diapers from loved and used. Thankfully, they resold at nearly the same amount I paid for them. Anyway, don't buy a huge amount of any one thing or you may regret it. For a newborn though, either fitteds or prefolds or a mix of the two should suffice to get you started.

[BabySmurf]

I bought a stash from someone else and they had 4 osocozy organic fitteds and one bamboozle, so I am assuming they liked the osocozy better.  Although, I just googled the dipes and the bamboozles are a ton more expensive, so that might be why there is only one! I haven't used them, so I don't know the pros and cons of each, but I know she loved them.  that probably doesn't make your choice easier though, sorry!

I am also curious about what people have used for diaper pails - we had a lot of stink issues on many levels, and storing the dipes was a huge problem.  We don't have a ton of space in our bathroom, so we have to put the pail in our linen closet, which is also small (there is about 18-20 inches of clearance). But the stink permeates all of our clean towels, which is totally gross.  I suppose I can keep something in the "nursery" where the changing table will be, but that will only work for so long....I have two wet bags coming, but I'm guessing that we will need to do some experimenting. 

[dayiscoming2006]

I don't know if there is any real answer to the stink issue once they are toddlers. I hide my diaper pail(garbage can with closing lid and pail liner) in my daughter's closet. And I keep a 5 gallon pail with lid in the bathroom tub for the diapers that need to be sprayed off. Wash often is the best tip for stink. That and strip/deep clean diapers once every 4-8 weeks.

[sky_and_lavender]

Originally Posted by littlegreenlady  What did you ladies use, how was it with smell? How often do you wash the diapers, and do you wash them with anything else? I've heard of a big wet bag that can just be washed with the diapers, but was concerned that the PUL would wear out in the hight temperature I usually wash my diapers with.

Just wanted to say that eventually stink was a huge issue, but not for at least the first six months. I was thinking the pee smell that came from my diapers any time they got wet had to do with my not very efficient HE washer and perhaps using hard water rocking green when I guess I needed regular. Maybe not. Also some of my diapers were hand-me-downs a couple of times over, and who knows what the other people washed them in.

Anyway, I used the PUL wet bag, hung on a doorknob. I would not recommend it. It does get worn out and stinky and hard to clean. And worst of all, one time it drooped down or I left it on my wood floor (can't remember which) and it left a huge stain (from wetness from diapers leaking out, apparently) on my floor! I still regret that I let that happen. This time around I'll be using some kind of plastic container.

[BabySmurf]

yeah, my stink issues definitely have to do with the HE not getting them super clean...but I *think* I just figured out a decent enough wash routine.  That's a really good point about the hanging wet bags getting the floors all icky, I didn't even think of that.  Bummer! So I guess we will definitely be getting a covered pail.  I didn't think about keeping it in the shower, that might have to be the way we go since there is not much other space.  Or in the "nursery" for the very beginning would work until they need to be rinsed.  Hmm.

i also just met a bunch of moms from my area who CD, so i am getting together with them to talk about wash routines, lol!

[Voondrop]

We've cloth diapered our first 3. W/ baby #2 we moved into an RV & the single layer flatfolds became the best choice, due to dry time. The pail (a feed storage bucket) stayed outside in a PUL bag w/ no lid & diapers were washed every other day in the campground laundry sink. I had 2 PUL bags so there was always a fresh one in there, though I did need to replace the bags after baby #2.

W/ baby #3 we had a house & a washing machine & around 1 month old I tried EC w/ a pretty good degree of success. Anything that went in the bowel instead of the diaper was a lighter wash load. I stayed w/ the flatfolds because there wasn't as much mess w/ the EC & they dried in a couple of hours. I was SO GLAD to have tried the EC because our washing machine broke last year & we've not been able to afford a replacement.

She was potty trained at 1, the earliest of my 3, I just had to adjust my perceptions of being potty trained from taking yourself to the toilet & handling your business to letting mommy know consistently when she needed to go.

So I'll be hand washing diapers again for a third baby & EC + flatfolds are just the best way to make it work for us. I generally put 2 flatflolds in a PUL (monkeybunz) wrap w/ a snappi & it works out great. The sunshine gets them clean & we've never had a rash problem. We do supplement w/ disposables for errands but it usually takes us 2 months to go through a pack.

[here we are]

If anyone wants to talk flats, i am eager to hear. It sounds possible that they contain poo better than a prefold b/c of the shape.Or maybe i am starting to fall in love with the price. Then i read maybe using wool wraps vs pull on wool covers so if there is a leak it wont spread as you take it off. Does anyone use wool wraps for other things?

[zjande]

We also will be be using CDs. I'm not hip with all the diaper lingo, :p , but I've used those regular ol' prefolds with all 6 of my children. And regular ol' diaper covers I've picked up here and there used, and ordered a couple from Amazon.

We had a diaper svc. for a couple of our children. I've washed the rest. To deal with the stink issue, I've always kept the diaper pail outside. I can't imagine keeping it in the house! But I've also never done any kind of diaper rinsing. I just take the dirty diap straight off the child (of any age), and toss it into the diaper pail. When I wash them I first do a rinse cycle on hot, then a cycle on the "heavy duty" setting with detergent and Sun Oxygen cleaner on warm. Finally I do another rinse on cool with around a cup of vinegar. I never fill the washer all the way full -never more than 3/4 of the way. But I use the highest water setting, for a large load. I never wash them with anything else. My experience (because I don't rinse the diapers myself before washing them, probably) is that there's some undigested stuff in the washer after washing my toddler's diaps. Like nuts & seeds from our granola, or peanuts. I just wipe out the inside of the washer with a blob of dryer lint from the garbage can right next to the washer and throw it away. The dryer lint trap catches the rest. It's not a big deal, it's easy to clean up, and they are clean nuts and seeds, lol, but I'd rather not wash our other clothes with that.

The diaper pail is right outside our back door so it's easy to open the door and toss in the diaps. When we lived in apartments we had a small balcony. I'd keep the pail there on the balcony.

I made our laundry soap for many years but then my last baby had terrible reactions to her diaps- bad rashes. I tried switching to Country Save laundry detergent and that cured her rashy troubles, so now we just use that for all our laundry.

I love hanging them on the line to dry in the summer- the sun bleaches them sooo nicely!

We use cloth wipes as well. I toss them in & wash them with the diapers.

I've not yet ever used mama cloth, just the regular chemical laden plastic horrors from the grocery store. I've had so few periods in the past many years that I've not stressed about it too much..... but once I feel we're done having babies, I'm pretty sure I'll make the switch. I ceased using tampons long ago because I didn't want to be putting those chemicals up there!

[Erica13]

Voondrop,

I am also hoping to try the EC with cloth diapers. This is our first, so it will be new for me, but I'm really hoping the EC-ing will cut down on the amount of diapers we need to use and wash.
 

[Voondrop]

Zjande, we used the cloth wipes too for our 3rd baby. We had received so many baby washcloths over the years I just folded them in half & kept them in a wipes container. Sometimes since their so thin I use them as a panty liner too. I keep our pail in our bedroom so I DO rinse. I actually remember my mom dunking my own diapers out in the toilet when I was little. They didn't have sprayers back in the 80's I guess. The toilet works for me.

Erica w/ the EC, I just held a pedestal bowel between my knees & held her on it making a "psst- psst" sound as soon as she woke up as she always had to pee after a nap. As she got older I would kind of do a mental math thing calculating her fluid intake x the temp around us x her bladder being the size of an acorn. It was hit or miss but I got better & by 9 months she was making signs for her needs. It was much less about potty training & more on just keeping the wash load reduced.

[JNajla]

We plan to cloth diaper (haven't purchased them yet- still doing research on which ones to get) and I plan on making my own diaper wipes.  The daycare that we'll be using supports this- which is wonderful news for us.  

[Erica13]

Voondrop,

Thanks for the comments on EC. Using a small bowl sounds much easier and simpler than trying to hold them over the toilet when they are really little. I was encouraged by your comment that "it was hit or miss." Gives room to not feel bad when it's a miss. :)

[holidaymama]

I can't remember who asked about the Green Mountain workhorses, but I purchased several in the newborn orange edge and the yellow edge for night time. They are very thick...they are a prefold but then they have like another prefold liner in them so I would guess they will be pretty bulky but everyone has recommended them for night time so I am trying them out. The newborn are only 5.50 a piece and the rest are about 10 a piece. They still fit nicely into a cover.

I bought a bunch of mama cloth to try as well as a diva cup...had my tax return and knew I wouldn't spend the money later so I just ordered it all now! I ordered a bunch of post partum which are very large, but I figure I can use them for night times. Also purchased a bunch of small pantyliner types and will be trying them out as soon as they are clean as I have so much gunk starting to come out of me ;-)

[JNajla]

What do y'all use for wipes?  Disposable or do you make your own?  I have been researching wipes and I cannot find one single brand without some kind of questionable toxic ingredient in them.  Even the ones that say that they're 'non-toxic' or 'organic'.....  it is frustrating? 

[littlegreenlady]

Ya I had the same problem with the wipes and my little guy kept getting rashes. So I chopped up some old towels and used them. I wet them and sprayed a bit of wipe solution (link below) and kept them in a ziplock.

http://www.basicbabyshop.com/Mother_Herb_Baby_Wipe_Solution_p/mh003.htm

[BabySmurf]

yeah, I'm going to make some this time too - might as well since we are doing cloth dipes anyway, right? I'll probably just use water for the most part to wet the wipes, maybe using a home made solution on occasion.  I've got some old shirts, face cloths and some flannel wipes that I'll try and pick which material works best.

[JNajla]

What are the ingredients in that spray solution?  I thought that I had found a good brand, but then saw that the 2nd ingredient listed is polysorbate80....  I was hoping to find something disposable because I'm already going to be up to my eyeballs in laundry with cloth diapering.  But, will do whatever I need to do to for baby. 

[BabySmurf]

I haven't book marked any recipes, but it's super easy to make, and it's not any more laundry than the cloth dipes would be (and actually less messy since you aren't having to go through and separate dirty wipes from messy dipes).  You can put it right in a regular wipe container for portability.  There's a range of recipes, some being just water, some are water and oils, and some are those with soap. 

If you really wanted to buy some, you could look into Mommy businesses in your area - a lot of times moms who sell cloth diapers also make things like laundry detergent and cleaners, so you could check out stuff like that, it would probably be better than most commercial brands, but also more expensive.  I really don't know of any brands that don't have chemicals....but I haven't done an exhaustive search, more just comparing ingredients at the store.  There's not a lot of difference between brand name and not, although I think some of the more "green" companies do have better options, they aren't completely natural and usually still have a few yucky things in them. 

[littlegreenlady]

the ingredients for the pre made one I linked to earlier are: grape seed oil, apricot kernel oil. vitamin e, organic essential oils of lavender, rosemary and tea tree.

t's $10.

You add a few drops to the water then have at it.

My bottle is pretty much still full after diapering the one child, so I'm guessing I will be passing it along to someone else at some point, cause I don't see how I could possibly use the whole thing. 

I have used just water or just water with a drop or 2 of some oil (tea tree or lavender) as well. 

A friend actually got me the pre made stuff and it was nice to have around.

[JNajla]

Thanks littlegreenlady-  that sounds like a great option!  :)