Jan 25, 2013

A Cute Bum & How we do Cloth

January 422January 423 

     Here is Mr. Baby Croft sportin’ his thrify Diaper Rite pocket diapers.  He has been in them now for nearly 3 weeks and are definitely getting the hang of things.  We had a couple leaks in the beginning due to mama error BUT no blowouts. He blew out of pampers like nobody’s business. Deeesgusting!  I owe a big thanks to Nanny whose generosity funded the cloth diaper project, my friends Kelly, April & Katelyn for my constant questions of how to do this AND of course, big big sis Mindy.  Can I just say how thankful I am not to be buying disposable diapers on the regular?!  Those things were not so nice to the budget.

     Anyways, I am the laziest person I have ever met so I am pretty amazed that I am doing this.  But it is SO easy..who knew?! Here is how we do things

~We are using Diaper Rite brand since they were highly recommended to us.  We lucked out in that the first thing we tried worked for us.  They are about ten dollars a diaper and are pocket diapers..which means they have an absorbent strip you stuff in the crotch region. They are one size fits all, so we just adjust them as he gets bigger. I am not really interested in trying all-in-one diapers, but I would like to try some prefolds.

~We bought 15 cloth diapers. That gets us through 2 days, and 2.5/3 if I don’t change him as often as I should. Which, lets be real, sometimes I don’t change him as often as I should.

~ I bought a stack or two of cloth wipes and filled a spray bottle with a solution of warm water, baby soap & a bit of almond oil.  Right before I take off his diaper to change him, I spray a bit on the stack of wipes on the changing table. The wipes are incredibly absorbent so normally I never need more than one, I can just fold it in half and spray and wipe again. Mindy taught me all about this.

~I set the soiled diaper and the wipe aside while I snap up his new diaper and make sure it’s all adjusted properly. Takes maybe a second or two longer than disposable.  Then here is the tricky part…pulling the liner out of the diaper with the wipe so I don’t have to touch the nasties. {Which aren’t actually that nasty..hurray breastfed diapers!} and folding it all together to stuff into the wet bag.  The wet bag just hangs one of the knobs on his dresser.  Then I run and go wash my hands while he kicks to his hearts delight and smiles at my black and white necklace I hung over the changing table.  When he is more mobile, I’ll have to change that up so I don’t leave him on the table.  The wet bag is awesome..it holds all those gross diapers and I swear I never smell a thing.  One thing I am going to change is actually getting a trash can & lining it with a wet bag, so I don’t have to deal with the zipper. I’d rather just step on a trash can pedal and drop everything in

~When it comes to washing, I am still playing around with what I like best. I have a front loader, which is less convenient for cloth diapers.  Right now, I just empty the wet bag with the diapers by turning the bag inside out..you don’t have to touch anything.  Then I do a cold rinse and I make sure I choose the soiled, bulky option. {This ensures plenty of water since most front loaders are HE and use as little water as possible} Next, I do a wash cycle with hot water.  For detergent right now I am using 1/4 cup vinegar & 1 tbsp of dawn dish soap.  I don’t think I am going to continue to use that since I think it is a little hard on the diapers but I am not wanting to pay for some expensive detergent..so still researching there

~And if you are wondering, no we don’t rinse, or use a diaper sprayer, before washing or storing in the wetbag.  I know that will be more necessary when he has solid poop, and I am not looking forward to adding that extra step. And yes, my diapers are a little stained, but I’m not worried. They are diapers after all, plus I’ve experienced the magic of sun bleaching.  Let the dipes dry in the sun and they are white as snow.

~We double stuff his diaper at night and don’t change him unless I hear/smell something dirty.

~We have a wet bag for on the go.  I don’t think it is really any harder to use cloth diapers when we are out and about, but I use disposable wipes so I have to remember to bring a plastic bag to put them in and throw away.  I do keep disposables in the diaper bag and use them when I feel like it, as well as put one on James when we are waiting for the diapers to be washed. Normally just one is needed.

~For some reason, I don’t mind the washing the diapers every two days one bit, and I find stuffing them strangely therapeutic.  I need help, I know.

 

     Actually, people..I have no idea what I am doing.  So feel free to throw out any advice, best detergents, or tell me what I am doing wrong :)

2 comments:

Joel & Diana said...

Yay for cute cloth tushes! "Hear, hear" to almost everything you said! Don't mind them at all and I am super lazy as well when it comes to housework! Don't mind the stains either... looking forward to getting them all bleached out in the sun :) For detergent I use all free & clear but am thinking about getting some charlie's soap (I hear it helps keep them and other clothes super soft). Also, during my "hot wash" the laundry area smelled like diapers because of the steamy water, so I started adding ten drops of tea tree oil and voila! Completely neutralizes the smell and is a natural antibacterial/viral/fungal. Can't have too much of that where dipes are concerned :) Wish we had known about diaper rite... we went with bumgenius which were pricier (although we got them used on CL), the elemental all-in-ones which are awesome (I feared that the one extra stuffing step might push me over the edge of not actually doing it, ya know?).

Laura said...

DIANA!

I think I'll go ahead and get some All Free & Clear myself! Hadn't heard of Charlie's soap..need to check it out!

MMmm there is no better smell than tea tree oil! Do you add it right in the wash? Sounds like a good idea! Do you use a diaper sprayer? I'm thinking of making Marcus build one :)

Your girl is looking so cute in her cloth bum :)

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