Cloth Diaper Series, part 5

I mentioned in my Earth Week post that one of our challenges was to dry laundry outdoors when possible.  Unfortunately, it rained almost everyday during Earth Week (except, of course, the day I did not do laundry...), so I didn't get to do any outdoor drying until this week.  I started off the line drying experiment with diapers, since they make up the majority of my laundry anyway (although, my shirts and pants are making a huge surge to try and take the lead with all the spit-up Lincoln has been sharing with us).  Line drying is actually beneficial to cloth diapers.  Heat can sometimes wear down the elastic in diapers, so by avoiding the high heat in the dryer, line drying may add some extra life to your diapers!  Also, they smell great after spending the afternoon out in the fresh air.  They can get a little stiff, but if you are worried about that, you can just toss them in the dryer for 10 minutes or so after you bring them inside and they will fluff right up.

Sun bleaching is something I was mostly skeptical about actually working.  I had a few stained inserts that were up for the challenge, so I hung them in direct sunlight on the top rack.  After an afternoon basking in the sunlight, the result was....much lighter stains!  On the shells, the stains were completely gone.  Some of the heavier stained inserts were still stained, but noticeably lighter.  I'll call it a success!  Now, I don't plan to dry the shells in direct sunlight every time because I don't want them to fade, but every so often for stain removal sounds wonderful!

Below, is my little drying area I rigged up for this adventure.  We aren't allowed clothes lines per HOA rules, so I made do by hauling my drying rack out onto the deck.  After the rack fell down for the 4th time from the wind, I wedged the 2 tiles against the base to hold it up--it mostly worked.  It stayed up for a good 2 hours before a really big gust of wind knocked it down.  Much better than the every 5 minutes from before!  The clothes pins were also a new addition after my first attempt of just draping the diapers over the rack like I do inside. Chasing the diapers around the yard once was enough for me to learn my lesson!

I love how colorful it looks!  Ah, cloth diapers (and a Maya Wrap pouch, if you were wondering what the multi-colored item was on the right) hanging in the sun on a spring day=happy!

New FuzziBunz!

A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune to be a winner on a giveaway held over at A Psych Mommy.

When we returned from Omaha, I found waiting for me in our mailbox my wonderful prize:  3 of the new-style, one size FuzziBunz diapers in white, sage, and aqua!  This prize was sponsored by Tereson Dupuy, founder and CEO of Mother of Eden and inventor of FuzziBunz. I was beyond excited to see these waiting for me!

Before we had even unpacked our bags from the trip, I had already opened these up and was exploring the new adjustable elastic in the legs and back and was marveling over how soft the microfleece was.  The other FuzziBunz in our stash came secondhand from Diaper Swappers, so we had never felt the softness of new microfleece!  Just how soft is it?  I'll quote my husband for that.  I'm sure he won't mind.

Lucas:  "Man, that is soft!  I would wear that."

Yep.  They are that soft.

I got them all washed up and prepped yesterday so that Lincoln could test drive them today for the first time.  We had to experiment a bit with the elastic sizing to find the perfect fit, but once we did they snapped right on.  Because these have the adjustable elastic, they only have one row of snaps across the top of the diaper instead of 2 like the sized FuzziBunz.  Each diaper also came with 2 inserts, which is great because we are always hunting for those around here!

These fit Lincoln really well.  They are a little bulkier than the sized diapers, but we will be able to use them much longer.  For Lincoln's size, I didn't have any trouble snapping his onesie over the diapers, but with tiny newborns, the bulk might make for a tight fit for snaping those tiny newborn onesies closed!  Although, if you are in a hot and humid climate like us, you could probably just get away with a diaper and t-shirt combo and be good to go =]

One of the features I am most excited about (besides the adjustable elastic and super soft microfleece...) is the warranty!  These come with a lifetime warranty on the snaps, 6 months on the workmanship, and 18 months on the elastic (with a note that even if the elastic wears out outside of warranty, the company will send easy-replace elastic for just a small fee!). 

Onto the pictures.  Um, I got a bit carried away with the picture taking.  The buddy was in a particularly good mood, and I couldn't pick my favorites, so you are getting them all.

So, a big thank you to both Shari at A Psych Mommy and Tereson at FuzziBunz for Lincoln's new diapers!  He (and I....and Lucas, too!) love them!

Cloth Diaper Series, part 4

Cloth Wipes and Diaper Pails

Thought I'd venture back to my posting about our experience with cloth diapering.  Having already talked about the types of diapers we are using, I figured I could branch out a bit to the accessories.  

Cloth Wipes. 

We started off using disposable wipes.  I had originally planned to make my own cloth wipes out of flannel, but didn't get around to it before Lincoln was born, so we just went with the pre-moistened, toss away kind.  I found, though, that I typically had to use at least 3 wipes to get Lincoln's bum effectively clean.  That led to a lot of wipes piling up in the trash can!  At the same time, Lincoln had been receiving many thoughtful gifts from friends and family that included packages of baby washcloths.  At last count, we have received about 40 of them in all.  Since I have no intention of bathing the buddy 40 times a week (ha!  as if I only have to do laundry once a week...), I commandeered those washcloths for a better purpose--cleaning my son's bum.  (I am aware that I have probably lost most, if not all, of the male readers of my blog at this point...perhaps I can persuade Lucas to come and write something manly sometime soon...).

Here is the way we work this reusable wipe business:

1.  Mix up the wipe solution.  I use water, olive oil (to help clean), and lavender essential oils (for scent and antimicrobial properties) for my solution, but whatever you choose to add beyond water, just make sure your little one doesn't have a skin sensitivity to it first.  I keep my solution in a wipe warmer so it is a little more pleasant for Lincoln.  If you don't have one, a thermos, jar with a lid, or even water bottle with the sport type cap would work just as well.

2.  Gather up your wipes.  As I mentioned, we just use all those baby washcloths we ended up receiving for Lincoln.  They are about the same size as a disposable wipe and fairly soft.  There is actually a big range of softness between different brands of washcloths.  You can also make your own--flannel works great, old bath towels, t-shirts, etc.  I know you can also buy them on the web if you aren't interested in sewing your own.  We just keep our wipes in a drawer and dip them into the solution as needed.  I found that if we kept the wipes in the warmer with the solution, there would inevitably be one that didn't get as wet, or they would start to smell musty before we got through them all...it just works better for us to dip them as we go.

3.  Have a place to place used wipes and diapers.  We use a narrow, lidded trash can that fits between our changing table and the door.  Nothing fancy.

We have lined the trash can with a diaper pail liner from Planet Wise, which is made out of the same waterproof material (PUL) as that the cloth diapers use.  When I do laundry I just carry the bag to the washer, dump out the contents, and toss the bag in on top.  I find it helpful to have 2 bags so I have something to put dirty diapers in when one is in the wash.

See how easy?  Wipes, Diapers, inserts all in one place.  Bag and all into the washer.  No touching dirty diapers!  I'd love to hear any of your tips/suggestions for using cloth wipes!

Cloth Diaper Series, part 3

Feeling a bit braver today, so below, behold my attempt at making my own AIO cloth diaper. You can't miss it because it is the neon orange thing below that is screaming at you. You may want to avoid staring directly at the diaper if you value your retinas.

This second picture isn't really needed, but his smile prevented me from leaving it out...

The diaper, while sewn by me, was from a kit purchased fromDiaperkit.com. The kit arrived with the material already precut, including the elastic, touch tape (velcro), and size tag. In addition, it had already been pre-washed, so it was all ready for me to sew together when it got here! Nice.

I ordered 2 kits for my first attempt. The first was a fitted diaper made from unbleached flannel. You can either serge the seams or turn and topstitch, which was my method because I lack a serger. I feel obligated to point out that I chose these diapers as my first sewing project on my first sewing machine. A bit overly ambitious, which is why I am not sharing the results of the fitted diaper. The elastic leg holes leave something to be desired. Lincoln felt the same way. The second diaper is the AIO pictured above. The inside is a soft, unbleached flannel, and the outside a garishly orange PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric. It looked much less bright in the pictures on the website when I was choosing a color. This diaper nearly made me lose my mind. My sewing machine is a "beginners model" and protested loudly at sewing through 6 layers of flannel and thick velcro tabs. I also learned that a ball point needle is a plus when sewing with PUL. I did learn my lesson on how to sew in elastic after the 5th go at it. Truthfully, even though it isn't much to look at, I am pretty proud that this diaper actually fits Lincoln, doesn't leak, and stays closed at the tabs. That it does that much goes against all odds, so should it fall apart after a mere 3-4 washings, I won't mind too much.

I would like to attempt more diapers in the future--I think I serger would go a long way in preserving my sanity, or at least a higher end sewing machine, but for now I am happy with what I have. My sewing skills still do not warrant owning a higher end machine, and it does work fine for thin fabrics and basic stitches. I would like to recommend Diaperkits.com if you are attempting your first diaper--the fact that the materials and accessories are precut and ready to go made it a lot easier than attempting to make my own pattern and finding fabric and such on my own. Plus, it is a very economical way to add more diapers to your stash. For an AIO, my kit cost me $6.95. You can get cover kits for $3.95. Sure, there was the time involved to sew them up, but really, after making a few, I think they could go pretty quickly. This coming from the girl who had to re-sew her seams 4 times. There are patterns available online, though, if you are more advanced in your sewing skills and would like to attempt it on your own.

Cloth Diaper Series, part 2

Pockets and AIOs

Ok, to continue on about cloth diapers...last time I wrote about the prefolds and fitteds, which are the cheaper way to do cloth diapering. If you are willing to shell out a little more dough up front, pockets and all in one (AIO) diapers offer a bit more connivence and ease of use. Although they function in pretty much the same way, there are some differences in the pocket and AIO.

Below is our (small) stash of pocket and AIO diapers. It should also be pointed out that the red diaper was graciously lent to us by our friend Kari(who also lent us the previously mentioned kissaluvs...thanks, Kari!). Also, not pictured is an AIO diaper I made myself. Sometime I might write about that, but for now, I'll be keeping my shoddy sewing abilities to myself. Although, I will point out the diaper actually fits him and appears to work, so all that needs fixing is the aesthetics!

Ok, pictured above, clockwise from top left: BumGenius 3.0 (pocket), Thirsties (AIO), fuzzi bunz new style (pocket), fuzzi bunz old style (pocket).

I like to think of these as our "special" diapers, and seem to save them for special occasions, such as...the grocery store, when we have visitors, or night time. If we are just lounging around the house, we use the prefolds. Lincoln has outgrown the kissalvus (sad...we liked those!) in the rise. He is a long baby, and even though they still fit him in the waist, they are too short on him!

The BumGenius 3.0 is a one-size diaper; meaning that it can be adjusted to fit a baby up through toddler through the use of snaps. This diaper was HUGE on Lincoln when he was first born, even though he was the recommended 8 lbs. We found it fit him much better when he got to 10 lbs. The diaper uses the snaps to adjust the size lengthwise, and velcro tabs to adjust the waist. The inside of the diaper is a soft fabric called suedecloth. This is the part that is next to the baby's skin. There is a pocket opening where you put your absorbent material--in this case, we use the microterry inserts that came with the diaper. You can also make your own inserts from microfiber towels, flannel, prefold diapers, or hemp and bamboo fabric. I've heard that hemp makes super absorbent inserts, but haven't tried them myself yet. The outside of the diaper is a water proof PUL (the same material as the covers I mentioned in the previous post--difference being this one is attached to the diaper).

Above: insert inside the pocket opening. When changing the diaper, you remove the insert and place both insert and diaper in the diaper pail. The nice thing about removable inserts is that it speeds up drying time. Also, at night or if you know you need some extra absorbency, you can add an extra insert in the pocket.

Above: Suedecloth inside the diaper

The Thirsties AIO is next. An AIO diaper functions like a pocket, except the insert is sewn in, so you don't remove it for washing. The upside on this is your don't have to pull out a dirty insert, but the downside is that it takes much longer to dry. This AIO is nice because it also features an optional pocket. It isn't necessary to use an insert with this diaper, but we do add one at night just for a little added security. This is a sized diaper, so it can't be adjusted. Lincoln is wearing a small now, and seems to still have a lot of growing room.

Above: Thirsties AIO, lined with microfleece.

Finally, we have our fuzzi bunz. These fuzzi bunz are sized (both small), but fuzzi bunz did just release a one size diaper. I haven't seen or tried it, but the way to adjust the size is supposed to be new in that you adjust the length of the elastic on the side, inside of snapping the front down. In theory, that should make them less bulky in the front. I'll be interested to try one out. We have both an old style and a new style fuzzi bunz. The main difference is the shape of the tabs--old style is a bit pointy, new style more square. The sizing is also a little different, but not too noticeable (at least on Lincoln). These are pocket diapers, so you need an insert with them. We really like the fit of these on Lincoln, and I currently am expecting a set of them to arrive from a mama from diaper swappers. Hopefully today!

Above: Looking in at the pocket openingAbove: fuzzi bunz are lined with a microfleece fabric.

Above: an example of a microterry insert.

These are just a small glimpse of the types of diapers out there. There are so many choices that it can make your head spin trying to figure out what is best. We went with a few of each different types to see what worked best for us, but we have only scratched the surface at the many (many!) brands available, including TONS by work at home moms! This website offers reviews of different brands of diapers. I've found it really helpful.

So, in short, that is our experience thus far with cloth diapers. We wash them about every other day. I am still tweaking our laundry method, so once I figure out what works best for us, I'll post that. If you have any questions, or suggestions, let me know!

Cloth Diaper Series, part 1

Prefolds and Fitteds

Lucas and I decided that we were going to use cloth diapers with our baby long before we were even pregnant. Back when I was in junior high/high school, I babysat my cousins a lot, and my aunt used cloth diapers with them, so I always figured we would do the same. Then when we were living in Denver, a friend of mine decided to use cloth with her son, so I knew they were still around. It wasn't until we moved to Houston, though, that I realized how many more options there are in cloth diapering compared to the prefolds and plastic pants I used with my cousins. I am lucky enough to be involved in a mom's group that offers lots of support for cloth diapering. Lucas and I learned all about all the different types available through the group and through our own research online.

Reasons we decided cloth diapering was for us:

1. The cost factor: figures vary, but we found that the average cost to use disposables for a minimum of 2 years would be between $1500 and $2000. That is repeated for each child you have. With cloth diapers, there is the initial set up cost, which can run between $300-$1000, depending on the cloth diapering system you use. This is a one time cost, because the diapers can be reused with any future children you have. So far for Lincoln's stash, we have spent just about $150 dollars. He will eventually need to add bigger diapers to the stash, but we have been happy with what we started with. We were also lucky enough to be able to borrow a good numbers of diapers from a friend, so if that is an option for you, you can cut costs even more. There is the consideration of the cost incurred to wash the diapers, but we have found our water bill has only increased by a few dollars per month so far...much less than we would have been spending if we were using disposable diapers.

2. The environmental factor: this article sums up nicely what environmental factors we considered.

3. The health factor: we liked the idea of keeping cloth next to the baby's skin all day instead of the plastic used to make diapers.

4. The cuteness factor: cloth diapers are adorable. They come in fun prints and colors and give baby an irresistibly cute fluffy butt.

5. The convenience: Ok, there is no way I can argue that cloth diapers are more convenient than disposable diapers. Not going to happen. I can, however, point out that cloth diapers are much more convenient than they used to be. We are even able to use them when we go to the store or out to eat, just by carrying a water-proof bag with us in which to carry the diaper.

In order to be completely fair, I will admit that we use disposable diapers at night. We eventually hope to switch to cloth at night, but at the moment, we are still new parents and changing a disposable at 3:00 AM is a bit quicker than a cloth, and we need all the sleep we can get!

So, to start, I am going to share the 2 types of diapers we started with. We have expanded a bit from these 2 types, but that will be another post.

 Above, Lincoln is wearing a prefold held together with a Snappi. A prefold is a rectangular diaper that is thicker in the middle than on the sides.  They come in many different thicknesses, and obviously the thicker you go, the more absorbency you get.  You can also find these diapers in bleached or unbleached cotton and are distinguished by the location in which they are made (e.g., Chinese Prefolds or Indian Prefolds).  If you go with bleached, make sure they are oxygen bleached and not chlorine bleached to prevent any chance of irritation.  Chinese prefolds are generally a bit more durable than Indian prefolds, but Indian prefolds win the prize for softness.  We went with unbleached Indian prefolds for Lincoln.  They have held up great so far and are super soft!  When looking at thickness, you will see measurements such as 4x6x4 or 4x8x4 (that is 4 ply on the edges, 8 in the middle).  Go with the bigger numbers, if available.  They'll be a bit bulkier, but you won't have to risk leaking as much.  If you do go with the thinner, make sure you have doublers on hand. In addition to cotton prefolds, you can also find prefolds made from hemp, which is even more absorbent.

You can use pins to hold the prefold in place, but we find the Snappi to be much easier, and we don't risk sticking Lincoln with a pin. We choose to Snappi the prefold, but many people just fold it in thirds and lay it in the diaper cover. We find that method didn't work too well for us, with the runny newborn poo. Maybe when he is older, we can give it another shot. These diapers also come in handy as burp cloths, now that he has outgrown the newborn size. We ordered these diapers from Green Mountain Diapers.

The diaper above is called a fitted diaper. It has snaps on the sides and is made of an absorbent cotton fabric. It functions the same way as a prefold diaper, with the convenience of going on like a disposable. The brand above is called Kissaluvs, but many different types exist out there.

The prefold and fitted diapers both require a cover to be worn over them to prevent leaking through to the baby's clothes. I think plastic pants still exist, but also available now are covers made from breathable, waterproof fabric. We have a few different brands of these:

The brand Lincoln is wearing above is the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap. It velcros on over the diaper.

This brand is called Thirsties. It also just velcros on, but is a bit softer and more flexible than the Bummis.

So, that is a start to our cloth diaper experience! I have much more to write about, so perhaps I will have to do a cloth diapering blog series. And now, off to put the diapers in the dryer!