Cloth diaper diary @ 8 months

Short version: I think our diapers are suffering from detergent residue build-up, which is leading to leaks, diaper rash, and funky colours in the diaper lining. Hopefully, using the solutions offered by Bummis, we'll be able to lick this problem and carry on. 

Maintenance

We've hit our first major snag. Washing cloth diapers might not be as easy as I first thought.

Over the last couple of months I've noticed a green and yellow discolouration building in the lining of our cloth diapers. This has coincided with Puddle experiencing more skin irritation in the diaper area than usual.

I suspect we're dealing with a build up of detergent in the lining of the cloth diapers.  Detergent residue can cause diapers and inserts to be stinky, discoloured, and leaky, particularly if the diapers are made of synthetic fabrics (Tots Bots have fleece liners, so this applies to us). Affected diapers can increase the instance of diaper rash.

The Bummis resource page has been a huge help in diagnosing our problem. Luckily Bummis also offers a few ways to get of detergent residue.
 
We use the Bummis recommended, Rockin' Green Laundry Detergent to wash our diapers. Although this is a zero-residue detergent, we may be experiencing residue build-up because we have a front-loading, high-efficiency washing machine. This is where things get a little tricky.

HE machines determine the amount of water needed for a wash by weighing the soiled laundry before water is added. That means, you can't increase the amount of water manually. This is great for the environment, but not for diapers. To adequately remove detergent from diapers, you need a lot of water, probably more than a HE uses in a rinse.

So I'm going to try a two-pronged approach, decrease the amount of detergent while increasing the amount of water for each wash. How are we going to increase the amount of water? Bummis suggests adding a wet towel to the each load, tricking the machine into thinking the load is heavier than it is.

Of course, I'll let you know how it goes.

Fit

The Tots Bots Easyfit still fit on the second snap. However, a friend of mine with a 7 month-old who uses the same diapers is already on the third snap, the biggest size. Her kid is 23 lbs. Not surprsingly she's wondering if they'll be using the diapers much longer.

Absorbency

We've been experiencing a lot more leaks. I think this is due to the detergent residue problem. We'll see if absorbency increases after I eliminate the residue.

Cloth diaper diary @ 7 months

Short version: The right diaper insert makes a difference for night-time cloth diapering.

Maintenance

Washing diapers is still easy. We've had to dunk a few particularly soiled diapers in the toilet but this hasn't been a hardship. My good friend Kathleen, also a cloth diaper enthusiast, gave us a Bum Genius toilet spray hose so we could avoid the unpleasant diaper dunk. Sadly, our toilet is too modern and we can't attach the otherwise easy-to-attach hose to our toilet. I'll have to readjust my future diapering plan as I was planning on getting a lot of mileage out of that hose.

Fit

Puddle's impressive weight gain has slowed substantially. This is good for diaper fit.

Absorbency

So far we still only use diaper inserts, or doublers, at night. But we've discovered that some inserts work better others (and by "we" I mean my husband as I have strategically assigned him to the 6am diaper change).

1. Bummis terry cloth insert - while this worked in the beginning when Puddle had little pee-pees and she was too small for a bulky diaper, it's too thin now that she's a big girl.

2. Charlie Banana cotton insert - this insert comes with the Charlie Banana 2-in-1 cloth diaper (The most stylish cloth diaper BTW). We used it with our Tots Bots diaper and loved it for a couple of months but are now finding that we gravitate away from it, towards the thicker ones. We could pair this insert with a Bummis terry insert in a pinch though.

3. AMP hemp and cotton folded insert - this thick insert absorbs pretty well. Our only complaint is, it's bulky and makes snapping the diaper closed difficult. It's biggest advantage though, is you can fold it to meet your baby's specific absorbency needs. Heavy wetter in the front? Fold the insert in half and place in the front of the diaper. Ditto for the back and the middle.

 4. FuzziBunz organic cotton insert (our favourite) - I just bought this thick, absorbent insert from Cozy Bums (a great online diaper shop in Prince George, BC). It's now our first choice for night-time diapering because it is less bulky than the AMP insert, just as absorbent and fits easily into the diaper.

Cloth diaper diary @ 6 months

Short version: That I have nothing of interest to report is testament to the quality of the Tots Bots diapers and simplicity of cloth diapering.

Maintenance

Puddle is now eating the occasional tablespoon of pureed veggies, it's not enough to change the consistency of her poo. The spray hose is still waiting to be used. Washing diapers could still be done by a trained monkey.

Fit

They still fit on the second snap (there's three) despite Puddle's impressive size. At 6 months she's 18 lbs.

Absorbency

With boosters and liners, the diapers still last through the night. During the day, without the extra absorbency the diapers last around 3 hours. We haven't had a major leak in months.

Programming note: I am putting the cloth diaper diary on hold until Puddle really starts eating solids and the experience of cloth diaper changes. 

Cloth diaper diary @ 5 months

Short version: Very boring diaper diary entry. Nothing to report. Next month we'll start solids so maybe things will pick up a little.

Maintenance

Nothing to report. Still finding it easy to wash and care for the diapers in these pre-solid days.

Fit

They still fit.

Absorbency

Still very happy with the absorbency of the diapers day and night.

Cloth diaper diary @ 4 months

Short version: Now that we have night-time absorbency figured out, we're all happy diaper-campers.

Maintenance

Washing and caring for the diapers continues to be a no-brainer. Discovering the Bummis resource that lists which detergents are safe for cloth diapers was a big help when we ran out of our Rockin' Green Laundry Detergent. We're now happily using Nellie's (we couldn't find Rockin' Green anywhere for sale in Vancouver. We didn't look that hard.).

Fit

They still fit.

Absorbency

Last month we struggled a bit with night-time absorbency. Five hours into the night, her diapers were leaking pee and poo all over her sleeper and sleep sac, which was not fun to clean up at 12am. I tried adding a fleece liner but it didn't increase the absorbency at all. Then I figured out that liners don't increase absorbency, rather they wick away moisture from the skin, allowing a wet diaper to be worn longer. Another trip to Room for 2 Baby and Maternity and the problem was solved. The lovely folks there sold me cotton doublers, or inserts, to increase the absorbency. So now Puddle wears a cloth diaper with a cotton doubler and a fleece liner and mummy doesn't have to change her diaper until much deeper in to the night.

Thank you Bummis!

Last week we ran out of our Rockin' Green Laundry Detergent, which we use to wash our cloth diapers. Because not all detergents are safe to use on cloth diapers (certain detergent ingredients can affect the absorbency of the diaper), I headed to the store Room for 2 Maternity & Baby to buy more. However, because the diapers we use, Tots Bots Easyfits, contain bamboo, the sales person at Room for 2 did not recommend we buy the detergent they had for sale. She wasn't sure exactly which detergents I could use, she directed me to the Bummis website.

Well, it turns out the Bummis website has a wealth of information on how to use cloth diapers and how to care for them. In their extensive resource section, there's a list of which detergents to use and which to avoid and why. It was so helpful! I took the list grocery shopping with me and was able to find a detergent that will work for our diapers.

If you have questions about how to cloth diaper or care for cloth diapers, check out the Bummis website. They sell all sorts of great cloth diapering accessories and cloth diapers, including my favourite, the Tots Bots Easyfit diaper.

So you want to use cloth diapers

Pregnant or a new mum and interested in cloth diapering? Here's what you'll need to cloth diaper your baby from newborn to six months of age (before your baby starts eating solids) and an estimation of how much you'll spend.

1. Cloth diapers
I recommend TotsBots Easyfit diapers because they are easy to care for, they fit well and they are absorbent. However, there are lots of other great diapers on the market. Educate yourself: attend a cloth diapering workshop, ask your cloth-diapering friends for advice, or hit the Internet.

Babies use roughly 8-14 diapers a day. Calculate how many diapers you'll need based on how often you want to do a load of diaper laundry and how often you'll need to change your babies diaper (this depends on how absorbent your diapers are and how much your baby pees and poos). Start with 18 diapers and buy more based on this calculation.

If you plan on cloth diapering exclusively and you buy all-in-one diapers (these diapers can be adjusted to fit your baby as she grows), prepare to spend $350-$450 on diapers.


2. A dirty diaper pail with tight-fitting lid
Forget a diaper genie, or other fancy diaper pails. You don't need to spend $50 (or more!) on a diaper pail when you cloth diaper. All you need is a regular garbage pail that has a tight-fitting lid.

I bought my diaper pail at a drug store for $8.


3. Diaper pail liners
You'll need a bag to line that diaper pail. I recommend a bag made of poly urethane laminate (PUL). It's waterproof so it will keep the pail from getting wet. Every time I wash a load of diapers I simply pull the bag from the pail and toss the bag, with diapers, into the washing machine. I turn the bag inside out, to empty if of the diapers, once it's in the barrel of the machine.

After the wash is completed, I hang the liner to dry. And this is why I recommend having two liners. You need a second liner for the diaper pail as you'll inevitably accumulate more dirty diapers while the first liner is being washed.

Liner cost anywhere from $10-$35 depending on the size and fabric. Buy two. (BTW you can easily make these if you get your hands on some PUL. Google diaper pail liner to get pattern ideas).


4. Diaper ointment
If a baby wears a diaper, no matter what type, the baby will develop red, irritated skin in the diapered area. Irritated, red skin is usually caused by urine. Changing your baby's diaper often and allowing your baby some naked bum time will help the skin heal. Using a cream or ointment as a barrier between your baby's skin and urine will also help the healing process and prevent further irritation. However, if you're cloth diapering, you'll want to steer clear of ointments containing zinc-oxide. Zinc-oxide can cause your cloth diaper to be become less absorbent.

Look for natural balms and creams. I use a calendula-based ointment, Bum Bum Balm.

There are lots of different natural diaper ointments on the market. You could spend $5 or $25 per bottle.


Optional cloth diapering accessories:

• Wet bag to store soiled diapers when you're out of the house
• Doublers or boosters to increase the absorbency of your cloth diapers
• Detergent specially formulated for cloth diapers
• Deodorizer for the diaper pail or wet bag

If you're interested in purchasing cloth diapers and accessories online, check out New & Green Baby Co. and Cozy Bums.

If you have any questions on how to use or care for cloth diapers, just ask me! Or if you have any further advice, please send it along.

Cloth diaper diary @ 3 months

Short version: A few vacations provided a nice reprieve from all of that diaper washing and cloth doublers are needed for night time absorbency.

Maintenance

We've taken a few trips over the last month during which we used disposables when we weren't sure if we would have access to a washing machine. We also used disposables when we had long car trips - nobody wanted to sit in the car with ripe diapers AND a crying baby. I enjoyed the vacation from washing diapers but didn't enjoy shelling out my precious moolah for disposables.

Fit

We now have Puddle on the second snap of the diapers (she's a big girl). This means we only have one more size to go after which, she'll be too big for her diapers. I'm a little worried she'll grow out grow the diapers before she is potty-trained. On the other hand, we might be might be more motivated to get her out of diapers and onto the toilet!

Absorbency

This past month Pud has had a few major leaks while wearing the cloth diapers. The majority of leaks have happened in the early morning most likely because I was too tired to change her diaper during the night. But she's also leaked out the top of her diapers during the day if she's had a big pee. That she hasn't leaked out the leg opening of her diapers is a testament to how well designed Tots Bots are.

Now is the time to start exploring the world of extra inserts, or doublers, to increase the absorbency of the diaper. I bought a package of Bummis fleece doublers on the recommendation of the store clerk at Room for 2 Maternity & Baby. Does anybody else have any experience with other types of doublers?

The battle of the bulge

I recently bought Pud adorable grey leggings. I was hoping to pair them with dresses and tees, turning summer outfits into fall ones.

Now, I have to buy bigger bottoms for her because she has a bigger bottom due to our diapers of choice, but the pair I bought were still too tight!

 Pud with what looks like an uncomfortable muffin top.

The offending grey leggings.

So here's a warning to cloth diapering parents, buy pants and leggings at least two sizes bigger than her actual body size if you want to get any wear out of them.

Cloth diaper diary @ 2 months

Diapers drying in the sun on our patio

Short version: No leaks, no headaches, no problem. But we might need more than 20.

Maintenance

The diapers are still easy to wash and dry.  I am wondering if we should buy a few more diapers though. I wash them every two days, and by the time I do that, we're down to one or two clean diapers. We always manage to squeak by without having to resort to disposables but it would be nice to not have to be SO vigilant about when I do the laundry. If we do buy a few more, can anybody recommend a brand? I'd love to find out if other diapers are as good as the Tots Bots Easyfit.

Fit

Pud is now officially pudgy. But we still have the diapers snapped to the smallest size, which makes me think she'll have lots of room to grow.

Absorbency

No leaks in the last few weeks. And she's had very little diaper rash.

Cloth diaper diary @ 4 weeks

Diapers drying on the line at our cabin on Texada Island.

Short Version: Pud is 4-weeks-old and so far we still like using cloth diapers just as much as we did in the beginning.

Maintenance

Washing and caring for the diapers has been fairly straightforward. This is partly because her poos are so liquid that we don't need to remove any solid bits. We take the soiled diaper off of Pud and toss it directly into a bucket (with a lid). Every other day I empty the bucket of soiled of diapers into the washing machine, followed by the dryer. Our dryer doesn't always get the thick padding completely dry. On those days, I hang the diapers to dry on a clothing rack on our porch (or on the line if we're at our cabin).

I thought doing an extra load of laundry every two days would be really annoying while I was trying to care for a new baby, but so far I barely think about it. That the nursery is about two steps from the laundry machines, helps.

The recommended washing process for the diapers (cold rinse, followed by a hot wash) really does work. The diapers come out smelling fresh and looking clean. 

Fit

We bought Easyfit All-in-One diapers. That means the diapers can be adjusted, with snaps, to different sizes, thereby eliminating the need to buy multiple sizes. I thought there would be no way that the diapers would fit a newborn properly. I was sure we would be dealing with major leakage. But no, when formatted to their smallest size, the diapers fit. And the Velcro closures allow us to make the diaper fit very snugly around her waist.

Absorbency

We've had a few leaks. But after experimenting with disposable diapers at night, I discovered that even disposables are not 100% leak-proof. To deal with the leaks I've been a little more vigilant about changing her diaper during the night. If the leaks were to become significant, I could insert an extra pad into her diaper. Having the option to make diapers more absorbent is a nice feature of cloth diapers.

Pud has developed a bit of diaper rash. Cloth diapers have the reputation of not wicking away moisture as well as disposables, causing diaper rash. But dealing with diaper rash has also been fairly easy. Ointments containing zinc-oxide damage the absorbency of cloth diapers, so I don't use those. Instead I use a calendula-based ointment, Bum Bum Balm. It's organic and 100% natural, which is nice. But it also works. I also try to give Pud naked time every couple of days to dry out her bum.

My baby's got back: cloth diapering

My husband and I agreed we go the cloth diaper route when we found out we were pregnant. Not knowing what we were getting ourselves into, I signed up for a cloth diapering workshop through New & Green Baby Co.

The teacher made it all seem pretty easy. She discussed all the different types and brands of diapers and explained how to wash and care for them. Not wanting to spend time experimenting with different brands of diapers, I followed my teacher's recommendation and chose TotsBots Easyfit diapers.

The start-up cost of cloth diapering is a major deterrent so most online diapers stores have a gift registry. I registered for 20 diapers plus accessories (specially formulated detergent, dirty diaper bag, diaper pail liner, etc) on the New & Green Baby Co. site.

There are a few features that make the Easyfit stand out from the rest:

1. the lining and insert are made from a bamboo and polyester making them very absorbent
2. the insert is removable for quicker drying but it never gets lost, because it's attached at one end to the diaper
3. the closures are velcro, making them easy to close when you're half asleep, but have a special  tab to stop the diapers from attaching to each other in the wash

Tots Bots Easyfit cloth diapers

My one complaint, besides the cost, are the colours Easyfit come in. Ugh. (Side story: When I bought the remaining diapers on my registry, I selected as many neutral-coloured diapers as possible. I bought all of the white, and what I thought were "mushroom" coloured diapers, the online store had in stock. You can imagine my horror when upon receiving the diapers I discovered the mushroom diapers were not a soft grey or taupe but instead a psychedelic pattern of brightly-coloured, cartoon mushrooms.)

The first two weeks of cloth diapering have been pretty hassle-free. I've found they are surprisingly easy to wash and care for. And plus, they give Pud this adorable big bum.

Photo credit: Olive&Ash Photography

I'm sure cloth diapers must have some drawbacks that we haven't encountered yet. So I've decided to document our experience using them to see how our feelings change. Each month I'll review the maintenance, fit, and most importantly, the absorbency of the diapers as Pud grows from an infant surviving solely on breast milk, to a terrorizing two-year-old eating adult food. Will we still as positive about cloth diapers in two years? Will we still be using them?