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March 2016 Moms
tJaffe
member
Cloth Diapering
tJaffe
member
For those that do or plan to do... Any tips you've picked up along the way/researched that you'd like to share?
We are using bum genius pockets with snaps. Two friends have cloth diapered their kids (2 each) with this brand and love it. I'm still building my stash! Sales are the only time I buy to save money, I got each of my 8 so far for $10.50.
How are you or how did you deal with judgement of others? "That's gross!" "You'll quit after a few days, weeks, a month..." I don't care generally, but I've tried to educate about how it works and why it's best specifically for my baby and family (not pushing others to try, etc). My parents are huge supporters of it now that I've explained the process and they understand (older generation sees it as a ton of extra work and "pinning", they don't know about our fancy modern cloth diapers.)
How did you get your DH on board? Mine is clueless about babies so I've been given free reign on all things we need since I have a lot of experience through my parents and aunt foster caring for infants. He is totally cool with the less chemicals on the baby and money savings, but others judgement affects him. I think since he will not know "another way" it'll get easier with time for him.
My plan is to use disposables until the meconium has passed, but, I am having a boy and have been reading up on circumcision and the needs for Vaseline to help with healing. Vaseline is a no go with cloth diapers from what I've read, what have you STM used for them at this point instead of Vaseline? Also, did you find that the cloth diaper rubbed the cord at all?
We are using bum genius pockets with snaps. Two friends have cloth diapered their kids (2 each) with this brand and love it. I'm still building my stash! Sales are the only time I buy to save money, I got each of my 8 so far for $10.50.
How are you or how did you deal with judgement of others? "That's gross!" "You'll quit after a few days, weeks, a month..." I don't care generally, but I've tried to educate about how it works and why it's best specifically for my baby and family (not pushing others to try, etc). My parents are huge supporters of it now that I've explained the process and they understand (older generation sees it as a ton of extra work and "pinning", they don't know about our fancy modern cloth diapers.)
How did you get your DH on board? Mine is clueless about babies so I've been given free reign on all things we need since I have a lot of experience through my parents and aunt foster caring for infants. He is totally cool with the less chemicals on the baby and money savings, but others judgement affects him. I think since he will not know "another way" it'll get easier with time for him.
My plan is to use disposables until the meconium has passed, but, I am having a boy and have been reading up on circumcision and the needs for Vaseline to help with healing. Vaseline is a no go with cloth diapers from what I've read, what have you STM used for them at this point instead of Vaseline? Also, did you find that the cloth diaper rubbed the cord at all?
Re: Cloth Diapering
A friend of mine found someone who was selling a stash of diapers and liners (she had ended up with twins, the stash was too small and she gave up before trying), and my DH bought them. DH is behind this 100 %.
Only negativity I've heard was how much work they are (doing the washing more often than twice a week) or that daycare centers won't work with them (small church run ones might, but I don't know).
I am also having a boy, but we are not doing circumcision (my DH is from England, and doesn't see the need since we are not Jewish).
I will also be using the disposables until the cord falls off (it's only two weeks at most).
Good luck to you!
I didn't face a lot of judgment, most of the feedback I got was positive. I also didn't broadcast our diapering preferences much beforehand though.
Money.
I use disposables only for the first few weeks after a baby is born until breastfeeding is well established and things are a little more normal. I'm not a hardcore cloth diaperer, so I do use disposables on trips, during major illnesses, for grandparents/babysitters, etc. When I do have to use a diaper rash cream though (A&D, desitin, etc) I use a fleece liner like one of these: https://www.sweetbottomsbaby.com/Sweetbottoms-Fleece-Liners-6-pack-p/638170013218.htm so maybe that would work for vaseline as well?
Again, disposables for us in the beginning, so I don't know for certain, but the covers I use generally come up to or even just above baby's belly button for the first few months. It might be a problem depending on the size of your baby and how your diapers are adjusted.
HTH!
I have a mix of everything as I know not every diaper brand/style will fit every child. I have flour sack towels through to AIOs. I mostly have pockets as they are what I prefer on most children at work. I purchased a few lots off of facebook and some new.
Check out Fluff Love University-I have a great wash routine already to go from reading their information. They have a trouble shooting page on facebook as well. My diapers are all prepped and ready to go (well the ones I'm not repairing elastics and Velcro on but yeah my stash is big already!). They also have how to strip and bleach used diapers so they are clean and ready for a fresh start.
No one has been negative to my face (a trend I have noticed) but DH has been getting comments. He generally responds sarcastically and talks about how disposables are literal poop holders that you just throw away. Plus you are supposed to shake out the poop from a disposable before throwing it out-but no one does that.
I plan on trying out my various styles and brands for a few months. Once I know what works I'm going to resell what doesn't and buy more of what does. I got a lot of microfibre inserts that I'm going to slowly replace with CBI, bamboo, and hemp-I'll keep a few for double stuffing at night since MF absorbs quickly but as LO grows I know she will need more holding power-she comes from a power peeing family.
The distance from chemicals and the savings had DH on board from the beginning. (That said, most of our stash is plain ol' Kawaii with only a few super cute others.) He's pretty adamant in general, so it takes a lot for something someone says to sway him.
I honestly don't remember what we used for healing DS. (The first 3 wks were rough for lots of reasons; I don't remember much.) I don't think we had Vaseline. Maybe it was A&D? Before DS arrived I read threads here on TB to see what others used.
We tried CDing before the cord fell off, but it got wet and so stinky. We switched back until it was gone and fully healed. We're planning to use disposables this time until DD's cord is healed.
We used disposables for a few weeks in the beginning because the BG didn't fit well when they were that tiny. You'll just have to wait and see on that one.
One random bit of advice for after they start eating food other than just breastmilk I'd give is to not buy a diaper sprayer. I thought it was super messy and gross. Instead, I just reuse grocery bags to pick up the poo from the diaper and throw it out with the trash.
We were given 8 fuzzibunz recently and diaper liners that are super thin and seem like they'd be great once real food is introduced! I hate the waste of that product but we'll send it with him to daycare.
He'll be with a "nanny" from August to June then home with me for summer. Then in Aug 2017 he'll start real day care so I have time to scope out one that allows cloth diapers.
I will plan on keeping him in disposables until cord comes off and will get him to dr. for circumcision ASAP so we can have him in disposables for that as well. I've read that most diaper rash creams, AD, etc aren't good for cloth diapers so I will keep looking for best alternatives and pass on that information!
It was my husband's idea. Cost savings got me on board and I also can appreciate environmental benefits. Plus we learned how easy they are especially the first 6 months (pre-solids).
I like BGs okay but preferred tots bots. So cute and soft and they are more trim. I'm trying some fuzzibunnies this time. I preferred sized over one size too. I also liked prefolds/covers at home but hated them out and about. We are not going to deal with them this time because we are lazy.
I accidentally ripped off my daughters cord at the hospital so no experience there. We also haven't considered a potential circumcision and the impact to cloth.
I second the recommendation of a trial. We did one and got the money as a credit since we didn't return any.
We are having a girl and wouldn't circumise but I believe fleece liners can be used while healing-protects the diaper and keeps baby a bit dryer. Also good for the first few poops.
Getting my husband on board was super easy. With our first, 2 years ago, he was a climate researcher mid-PhD.. so the double whammy of being a poor student (thank flipping goodness I have a good job lol) and someone who is very climate conscious. He studies air pollutants and health and making indicies more reliable, his background isn't crunchy by any means but we make decisions that are meant to be a little easier on the earth - cloth diapering, not owning a car (live downtown in a city with car share) and eating meatless a few times a week. We're not perfect but we try to do what we can. Having said that hubby was on board 100%.
Our family on the other hand was somewhat awful. My mom kept implying that I was cloth diapering because we were too poor and were having kids too young. FYI we're 30 with very little student loans and I have a great job... she's just convinced because we don't own a home that we're super poor and hide it well. She kept saying "I don't mind buying you a box a week", she just didn't get it. She came around after my 2nd trip to visit (I stayed with them a week a time 3 times over my year mat leave) and we used disposables and he poop explosioned almost every time. I brought a couple cloth that trip and she was sold when the poop explosions magical stopped. Cloth diapers have real elastics and if the fit is good it holds everything in : ) Our in laws just thought cloth diaper was a burden we wouldn't stick with. They were supportive in learning (just like my Mom) but definitely mentioned "don't feel bad if you need to quit", which in parenting is nice advice in general but they didn't instill a lot of confidence. Definitely outlining the benefits and the why you're doing it. This will probably be one of the many parenting decisions they might not agree with so if they're being difficult you might just disagree
As for type of diaper we use Bum genius snaps both the all-in-ones and pocket. That's the majority of our stash. I started using BG and Charlie bananas pocket. We LOVED the CBs when he was little (we have a skinny kid with skinny legs) and CB fit him at 3/4 weeks. I had a c section so we started CDing at 3 weeks. BG fit us well around 6 weeks I think. We didn't have a large stash at first, maybe 18 and we've grown with full time daycare diapers to about 32. I'd definitely reccomend taking a CD course if one is available locally but diversifying your stash at the start is a great idea. See what you love and what works. Another PP mentioned allergies, some kids are sensitive to micro suede fabric. We liked pockets for a few reasons - when they're younger/older you can adjust absorbency. We used wee little microfibre inserts until 6 months then upped it to regular ones (BG & CB come with 2 sizes) but when we were on long trips in the car (sitting can cause compression leaks) or at night time you can add hemp or bamboo in the diaper and double stuff and you get a pretty bullet proof diaper. When our guy turned 9 months we switched to kawaii good night heavy wetter diapers for nighttime. They're cheap and with a bamboo/hemp and microfibre insert they're good for 12/13 hours. Another reason we chose pockets other than customizable asorbancy is that we don't have a dryer (one of those weird life choices we have) and pockets and inserts dry faster than Aio. Although the BG all in ones do dry pretty quickly. One negative about pockets is that you have to stuff them. Some people hate this, we just do it while watching Netflix. Also a few of our diapers are Velcro, the Velcro doesn't hold up as well as snaps with the added bonus that our almost 2 year old undresses before we wakes up in the morning and he can take off this diaper! This is a new phase but we had poop in hand this morning. It was traumatic for hubby and I. Mostly acting like everything is normal in front of kiddo and being like "omg ewww!!!" Behind the scenes!
All for me for now!
The whole doing it because of "being poor" thing.... I have a great job as a teacher, steady pay checks, etc. Hubby is a commercial fisherman so every year what he makes depends on what he catches, the quotas being met early/late, etc. While we have always lived comfortable, we do live below our means in terms of "frivolous" things such as cable or a dryer. So we save for trips and experiences. Cloth diapering is way up our ally because of this. Initial expenses = long term investment to us.
We got comments here and there. I would usually just respond with the facts, since most people are uneducated on modern CDs and have no idea what they're talking about. But mostly...I just don't care. The people making the comments aren't the ones doing the work. So they can just stuff it!
A basic wash routine for CD is a short pre-wash on cold, and a regular wash on hot. Don't add a ton of rinses as this can lead to mineral build-up. If you have hard water read the sections in FL&CDS and you'll be golden - most suggestions are to use calgon along with detergent. Hanging to dry is awesome because it preserves elastics and the inside PUL (I think it stands for poly-urethane lining, basically the plastic stuff). I can't remember but I think when you prep a new diaper they might reccomend throwing it into a dryer for the first wash.
You'll see on FL&CDS's website that they have a detergent index. It's the holy grail! Detergents they don't reccomend can lead to unclean diapers (they may LOOK clean but bacteria can be left behind) or soap buildup from soaps and not detergents (soap nuts is bad for this) and these situations lead to rashes and repelling. We've never had to strip our diapers and have had maybe 2 diaper rashes in 2 years. You'll hear of people having to strip their diapers you should only need to do this if you're battling a yeast infection, buying used diapers or if you have a bad wash routine. As for rashes and creams coconut oil is cloth safe and works really well. I use a cream from a local company that's great but there's lots of different ones available. I only use cream when LO is teething and that's the only time he's had a real diaper rash (opposite to a bit red of a bum). I actually had a bad rash from teething at my ILs and was able to clear it up in 36 hour with just coconut oil (and the tooth pushed through).
Some babies are sensitive to detergents though so while regular old tide might work for us and our diapers, it might not work for your baby. Or you might be against using harsher detergents consider a mainstream alternative like tide free and clear, you might need to use double, the detergent index will let you know. One of my good friends used home made soap and kept having rashes and repelling, she switched to tide f&c after stripping and things went much smoother. I'm thankful she had kids before me
Good luck and if you have any specific questions as away!
Oh and our daycare allows cloth but they must have liners. We use liners from a Canadian
Company (honestly can't remember their name ATM) but they fit all our diapers.
The diaper brand will depend on your kid. Some are good for long skills kids, some better for short chubby ones. We have NB cloth to use during cord healing. They have a snap down.
Everyone who was negative (or unsure) with me I just made watch me change one. That usually changed their minds. It's so bloody simple that people usually felt a little silly having said anything negative.
We've gotten away w out a spray pal or a DIY one bc our LOs poops are mostly plopable or easy to scrape with a our handy poop spatula. If we had more than 2 soft poos in a week we would have gotten one. Pinterest has lots of DIY spray pal diaper holders - basically plastic and clips to hold the diaper so the water doesn't spray anywhere.
Pun intended.
It doesn't work for everyone tho.
Edited for clarity. It kinda sounded like I bleached the inside of my diapers.
We opted to not spend the extra money on NB cloth, since they're in them for such a short period of time, unless I come across a very good deal, which I haven't yet.
As a note I know a lady from our playground who has success with it. She also CDs and only uses pre folds because most of the time it's successful.