[Euromom]

My ds is already 28mo but I have just switched to cloth. (Long story but it just wasn't possible before...) I was so excited to switch but now I am having big problems I didn't forsee. Firstly, I'm pretty much alone in this since DH can't handle the gross factor of dirty dipes, needless to say he wasn't very keen on the descision. But more troubling is my ds rash! and the constant leaks! After one pee he is soaked and starting to chafe???

He woke up last night cold and soaked so I had to change him into a dispose. So what was the point of buying cloth? It wasn't easy for us to spend such a big chunk of money up front so I'm feling some buyers remorse which I hate. What did I do and how do I help my little guy?

HELP! Tell me I made the right choice all you diaper junkies!

And tell me what to do to stop the leaks and rash?

thanks.

 

[Ducky5306]

what kind of diapers are you using? PFs? Pockets? AIO's? it matters alot what kind they are.. you can do things to keep your little one dry (fleece or silk liners help alot!) and doublers help too

LMK what kind of dipes and i might be able to help..

to ya mama!

 

[attachedmamaof3]

Yes, what kind of diapers? Also, what type of detergent? Are you using any diaper creams? What is your normal wash routine?

We want to help!!

 

[roseselene]

Yes, I agree -- we need to know what kind of diapers you are using and your wash routine for them.
Amy

 

[Euromom]

Thanks mamas!

Don't know if this will help. I'm not very consistant since I'm experimenting to see what works.
I have a bit of everything: Prefolds, AIOs, and Fitteds with and without pockets. (I got whatever the 2nd hand shop had.)

As far as my washing routine, I've tried using a dry pail and wet pail (soaking them in a bit of all natural Oxo Cleaner and water). Then I wash everything together if solided- a cold rinse then hot wash. If just wet I do only a hot wash. I use liquid HE detergent. ( I just read that I should be using 1/2 the called for amount!).

Maybe my covers are too small and I should have gotten the XLs ??? I was sizing by the look of sposies.

And I didn't get any doublers or liners so I can try that.
I think I'll get more prefolds seeing as they are the most economical and most absorbant, right? Is it better to use a snappy or can I just use the cover to keep them in place?

My ds hates lotions which makes using rash cream really frustrating for us. Is powder ok?

Thanks for your wisdom on this. I really want this to be a benefit to our family not a frustration, kwim?

 

[mumkimum]

I had a few ideas that might help, I hope!

Folding a prefold in thirds like this has been working well for heavy night-wetting for us. I've found I can not use a snappi EXCEPT for when we are expecting a messy diaper (it holds it in, yk). And I agree that it might be worth it to get a few doubler and try them out. I hear good things about the fleece-topped ones.

Rash-wise, I've found we do really well using baking soda baths & I just use a little olive oil on her bum if it's pretty bad. What's the rash look like though, because that could suggest if it's any kind of sensitivity to detergent or something in any of your dipes, or something else. . . (I think powder/cornstarch is fine to use with cloth though, btw, never heard of it not being ok before).

 

[attachedmamaof3]

Okay, just going off of what you posted, these are used dipes?? And you've possibly been using too much detergent? I would suggesting stripping your diapers immediately. (Build-up of detergent can cause repelling diapers. This can result in rashes/leak issues.)

There are MANY methods to do this...one is to wash on HOT with a little bit of Dawn instead of detergent and continue with this until there are no more bubbles in the rinse cycle, another is to boil diapers in water on your stove, to wash without detergent in the dishwasher until there are no more bubbles in the rinse cycle, or to wash on HOT using oxyclean instead of detergent and continuing until there are no more bubbles in the rinse cycle. Every time you wash, you'll want to look in the washer during the rinse and make sure there are no bubbles. If there are, continue to rinse until bubbles are gone and try using less detergent next time....yes, it's a delicate balancing act!!

Also, there may be bacteria/yeast in the diapers if they are used and haven't been properly stripped....after stripping you may want to begin using Tea Tree Oil (I usually use 3-4 drops for medium load) in your HOT wash cycle as an anti-fungal. I also usually strip my diapers (just in case) every 2-3 months.

You may also need to investigate and see if your detergent is okay to use with cloth diapers. I've found that most liquid detergents aren't. The most commonly used are Allen's Naturally, Charlie's Soap (which can cause rash), Dawn, or Sun. I personally use Nellie's Laundry Soda which hasn't caused me any build-up or repelling issues.issues.

If these items are new, there is prep work needed before use. Most AIO's need to be washed 2-3 times before use. Some prefolds need to be washed up to 12 times before use in order to maximize absorbancy. IF this prep wasn't done and combined with possible detergent issues, I'd still strip the diapers just to make sure.

I'm not sure about powder, I've never used it!!!...it's hard to find rash cream that won't buildup on your diapers and cause repelling and I was trying to see if using a cream could have been contributing to your diaper problems!!

You should be able to go online and see what weight your covers fit...That could be an issue as well.

Okay, hope that helps!! You may want to browse on diaperswappers.com...it's a huge CD community and you may be able to find answers there as well!!

 

[Brees_Mama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by attachedmamaof3 You may also need to investigate and see if your detergent is okay to use with cloth diapers. I've found that most liquid detergents aren't. The most commonly used are Allen's Naturally, Charlie's Soap (which can cause rash), Dawn, or Sun. I personally use Nellie's Laundry Soda which hasn't caused me any build-up or repelling issues.issues.

I agree about the detergent...ALL detergent is BAD for cloth diapers...I suggest Allens. Love it!!! Also, you could try a few pocket diapers bc you can double stuff them at night and there bulletproof! Diaperswappers should have some cheap deals on some.

 

[DreamsInDigital]

I use Bio-Kleen for my diapers and I LOVE it. I just have to remember not to use Bac Out to pretreat stains.

 

[Euromom]

AH HA! All your suggestions make total sense. I'm going to strip the dipes tonight.

Do you think I should drop detergents all together and switch to a baking soda, tea tree oil and white vinegar recipe? Have any of you tried it? Was thinking I would, and continue doing a cold rinse then hot with baking soda and tt oil and throw in white vinegar while it's rinsing. How does that sound? Will they be clean enough? Or could I use the OXo Brite somewhere in their too?

Also, I am changing ds a lot more often and letting him run around in the nutters in between changes (I hope it will motivate potty training and it's just fun!

) The rash has started to fade!

Man I had no idea this was so

: I never could understand why there was such a huge forum for diapering! I do now!

Thanks for your help!

 

[Jenlaana]

I think the biggest reason there's such a huge diapering forum is because we're obsessed with diapers.

Once you get through the start up hurdle it is SO fun to CD.

So many cute options available!

One thing I noticed is that you're not rinsing a second time after washing. I would reccomend that. I do a cold wash, hot wash and then a cold rinse (to get the rest of the soap bubbles out). I have used normal detergent with no problem - but ONLY use a tablespoon or so, NOT the whole wash amount, but I did switch to Charlies which works great for us. Its only like $12 for 40 loads.

My DD is 20 mos and a very super super heavy wetter (she drinks atleast 28 oz every night between bedtime and midnight...sometimes even more). Whats worked for me is Happy Heiny solid color pockets (their prints are very cute but have a bit more of a wicking factor and arent reccomended for overnight use) double stuffed with prefolds at night (I use 1 infant and 1 toddler size because thats what I have on hand) I don't think you need doublers and all that if you have PFs. They make great doublers especially with a pocket diaper (did you prewash the prefolds about 4 times before you started using them?).

I hope you get it figured out momma! CDing is so much fun when you do that its obsessive!

Oh and about the dirty dipe part. I'm not too keen on the yucky diaps either, but I havent found much of a difference between cloth and disposables really. I just shake them over the potty and what drops, drops, what doesnt comes out in the wash. No wet pails, no rinsing, no touching dirty stuff. If your DH doesnt like that part he can always just roll it up like a disposable and you can take care of it later when its more convenient.

 

[attachedmamaof3]

Oh absolutely!! We are addicted and obsessed on every level with our dipes!! We start up conversations with each other in the CD stores, we talk to strangers about our kid's poo and when we can't get enough of that, we come online to talk some more!!! (We really, especially LOVE to give advice so this stuff is fun!!)

I haven't tried the baking soda/vinegar/TTO but I've heard it works pretty well...since we use Nellie's for our other clothes we just go ahead and use it for our dipes since it's on the "approved list" for diapers....

'Cause I'm LAZY!!!! hahaa

Startup is definately the hardest part...but you'll soon find you're addicted too and you'll have about a million different diapers and you'll get to know your "supplier" on a first name basis and they'll call you whenever anything cute comes in!!!

 

[Juvysen]

My first thought, having used disposables frequently w/my daughter for half her life is that Cloth needs to be changed MUCH more frequently than disposables do. If you wait, you can get rashes. Also the heat can be a problem depending on the kind of cover you're using. Wool is nice and breatheable... no cover at all is good if you're at home, too. Looks like the other ladies have covered the other issues pretty well.

 

[kathteach]

I just want to agree with the pp who suggested fleece liners to help w/the rash issue. I always had rashes after using fitteds or prefolds so I switched to pockets and had no prob. I realize now it was because of the stay-dry fleece liner built into the pockets already. The fleece liners are pretty cheap to buy. I've also heard you can make them yourself.

 

[curly_mommy]

Hi mama, I just want to say you haven't made a mistake! It takes a while to get into the cloth diapering groove sometimes. I absolutely hated it at first (it never really occurred to me that when a baby pees, the diaper will get wet - I thought all of my cloth diapers were defective since sposies never feel wet.....) but after a few weeks, and figuring out what worked best for us, I love it now.

That said, I did want to note that older toddlers have humongous pees. My almost-two-year-old just recently started completely peeing out of diapers that used to be able to last for her. I'm talking drip down her leg type leaks because the diaper was so saturated. You would think she wasn't wearing a diaper at all. I started putting an extra insert in her diapers, either a folded up prefold or an actual doubler. Maybe you need a bit more absorbency in your diapers, as well as a good stripping?

I hope your dh comes around and helps you out! Good luck!

 

[mamamoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juvysen My first thought, having used disposables frequently w/my daughter for half her life is that Cloth needs to be changed MUCH more frequently than disposables do. If you wait, you can get rashes. Also the heat can be a problem depending on the kind of cover you're using. Wool is nice and breatheable... no cover at all is good if you're at home, too. Looks like the other ladies have covered the other issues pretty well.

:

 

[willsmomm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenlaana One thing I noticed is that you're not rinsing a second time after washing. I would reccomend that. I do a cold wash, hot wash and then a cold rinse (to get the rest of the soap bubbles out). I have used normal detergent with no problem - but ONLY use a tablespoon or so, NOT the whole wash amount,

This is what I was going to say. Also, I remember using All free and clear on my dipes with my last babe, so I have been using a big old jug of All on my dipes with my six week old baby. I didn't even realize it wasn't the free and clear.

Anyway, he has had a constant rash on his bum his whole life so far that I couldn't get rid of. So just last week I switched to Sun free and clear (just b/c I realized I was using the wrong thing) and the rash disappeared! I think that the wrong detergent and leftover detergent on the dipes is a huge issue.

Good luck... I hope things improve!

 

[Euromom]

Hi Just had to make sure I said a big

to all of you for your encouragement!

Ds rash is pretty much gone (I just have to be careful there isn't any velcro hanging over and scratching his leg). I went out and bought a few microfiber towels and I'm going to make some doublers. I feel I've gotten into a much better changing rhythm which helps too. Overall, I feel a lot more confident! In fact the other night I was going on and on about the virtues of cding to my friend over the phone!

I guess I'm a convert now!

Thanks for your advice and support!

 

[mamamoo]

Just make sure you don't put the microfiber stuff against his skin. It is so absorbant that it can cause skin issues if right against it.

 

[Euromom]

Oh good to know! I have some polyester fleece I was thinking of using for the top layer. ???