Diaper Doodie

Aka laundry day.

I was a little nervous to wash cloth diapers for the first time. I didn't want to ruin my new collection of beautiful, expensive, fluffy diapers. I knew I had to use a detergent without specific ingredients, and that it's better to line dry diapers than toss them in the dryer. I knew I couldn't use bleach or fabric softeners. I didn't want to wash them with anything else because of the... well, remaining content that could potentially be floating around.

When I had purchased those used diapers from the lady nearby, she also had a spare wet bag she was willing to part with. I had gone to Walmart earlier this week and purchased a "step can" so that the smell would at least be partially contained in little man's room. I fitted the wet bag in the trash can and tossed all of the dirty diapers in there.

We were going through our small diaper collection fairly quickly and down to our last two clean diapers. Also, I had read its best for the diapers to be washed about every-other day to avoid them marinating in baby waste for days on end. I put little man down for a nap, then took that stinky step can into the laundry room. I had been advised to take the absorbent inserts out of the diaper right after changing my baby, and before tossing them in the dirty laundry basket (trash can). This is good advise. Use it.

I have a lot of laundry detergents. Gain apple mango tango is my favorite detergent I've ever used. It smells SOoo good! I love getting my clothes out of the dryer and just smelling them :) Unfortunately, it's filled with chemicals that aren't good for cloth diapers.. so that one was out of the running. I also have a laundry detergent that's free of fillers and fabric softeners, but come to find out, has a small amount of optical brighteners (a no no for cloth diapers). I ALSO have a half used bottle of All, Free and Clear which come to find out isn't really completely free and clear of all of the ingredients I needed it to be. But don't fear! I have a fourth variety of laundry detergent in my laundry room... Back to The Honest Company where I used to buy Eco friendly disposable diapers, I had purchased their laundry detergent along with a few other environmentally happy home products. This one was on the good list for cloth diapers.

I filled my washer with warm water and dumped in the detergent. I pulled the wet bag out of the step can and flipped it inside out, emptying the contents right into the water. The nice thing about the wet bag is that it too is machine washable. I tossed it in with the diapers. I didn't have to touch a single old soiled diaper (score!)

When the wash cycle finished, I took the diapers to my backyard where I had made my own clothes line (Yarn. Tied between my two peach trees. Not the highest quality, but it served its purpose). I draped the diapers and inserts individually across the yarn to dry. It worked well, but my next purchase will be clothespins to keep them in place.

I feel so old fashioned with my cloth diapers and hanging things out to dry, but I kinda like it! It makes me slow down during the day, and life seems more simple. I feel all warm inside because I know I'm saving money and doing something good for this place we call Earth. I'm beginning to not only think I can "handle" cloth diapering, but that I might actually enjoy it.

Who would have guessed? Not me!

Poop

How did it go you ask?

Let me tell you:

I unsnapped that beautiful blue diaper and found what I had been dreading inside. Poop. I've been a mom for nearly ten months now and this isn't the first time I've seen poop... But this time I knew I couldn't just fold the diaper up and toss it. I had to DEAL with the poop.

I set the diaper aside while I wiped my baby clean. I reached over to set the wipes in the diaper when I realized that's gotta change too. Where do cloth diaper people put the dirty wipes?? If I just stick it in the garbage, it'll stink up the room and no one wants to see poopy wipes sitting on top of a trash can.. But I can't fold them up in the diaper because the diaper isn't getting tossed. I'm not sure I can handle rinsing out poopy cloth wipes AND poopy diapers just yet... I guess that'll be something I'll work out later. For today I rolled them up and buried them in the garbage.

I snapped a new super cute diaper on my super cute squirmy baby (already easier this time though) and then faced the dirty diaper... Hmmmm.

I'd read two things online. Some people invest in a sprayer that connects to their toilet water line. I guess they just hold the diaper over the bowl and spray the poop off. You know, like after dinner when you rinse the food off of your plate... but this time it's poop and you don't want to touch it and you might be gagging while you're doing it. I had also read horror stories of people turning the knob just slightly too high and the sprayer turning into a laser and poop flying all over the bathroom. I wasn't ready for that yet.

The other option: use a plastic knife/spatula thing to simply scrape the poop off into the toilet, then flush it away. This sounded much more simple to me.

As I took the problem across the hall to the restroom, little man crawled right behind. He wasn't about to miss this. I lifted the lid and seat of the toilet and while I was focusing on the issue at hand, little man crawled out of no where and put his MOUTH on the toilet bowl (fail #1). I moved him away and while I used one leg to barricade my child, I balanced on the other and started scraping... Lets just say it wasn't as easy as you'd think. That fabric is made to hold things in, not let them just slip off. During the process, the diaper touched the edge if the bowl and got poop on it (fail #2) AND as I was juggling my child, I grabbed the wrong spot on the diaper and got poop on my finger (fail #3). Needless to say, I'm getting a sprayer tomorrow.

Since then, I've changed a few wet diapers and they're easy-peasy.

As far as diaper functionality goes, these ones work great. I haven't had any leaks and little man's bum doesn't have any redness or irritation. The microfiber insert holds all of the pee, and the whatever-it-is fabric against his skin stays pretty pee free, keeping his skin dry as well.

I love that these diapers are one size so that I can adjust them as he grows rather than purchasing a whole new supply of diapers. These are "Pocket" style diapers, meaning: the part that absorbs the pee inserts into a pocket between the soft fabric touching his skin, and the waterproof fabric protecting the rest of us. At night or if your kid pees a lot, extra absorbent pads can be inserted into the pocket.

They're the Sun Babies brand from China and they're a lot less expensive than the American made ones. I like supporting American businesses, but at the tone of 5x more expensive, I waiver occasionally (guilty).

Fancy Pants

I couldn't stop thinking about the cloth diapers that should be coming in the mail this week, so I hopped on the local online classifieds to see what people were selling. One woman in my city had posted a whole bunch of really cute boy prints with some inserts that had never been used. She was only asking $4-$5 for each one! (Normally $15-20+) So, naturally I went over and fell in love and came home with 2/3 of her collection :) Happy Earth Day! I did something green.



Little man had just pooped after his nap so I figured I had dodged that area, and it was perfect timing to try out his first cloth diaper! I would have picked out my favorite one, but I love them all, so I just grabbed the closest one and strapped it on. How do I feel so far?

Well, in my extensive cloth diapering experience... ;) Here are my first impressions: The snaps will take some getting used to. Little man likes to wiggle and crawl away when he's getting his diaper changed, but I'm sure it won't be an issue once I've practiced and know what size he needs. Also, it's much more poofy than a disposable diaper. I haven't actually tried to put pants on over it yet, but I'm sure he'll have a nice little bubble butt when I do (that's partially genetic though.. he can thank his dad for that one).

As I'm sitting here typing this out, little man is crawling around exploring his bedroom.. That's fine and all, but he keeps pausing and staring with a glossed over look That doesn't mean he's looking closely at something, that means he's working on something. Something fun for mom. Looks like he wants to really see what these diapers are worth!

I'm nervous....

Parents of the year!

Yesterday was a hard day for our little man. 9 months old and first "big" injury. Fat lip and bruised/cut chin. The other picture is my husbands shirt after little man buried his face in his shoulder.

Pathetic

I had a dream about cloth diapers last night. Don't make fun of me, I'm already embarrassed...

Lets Begin

I've started to venture into a new area, and it could get messy... so I thought I would document my "progress" along the way.  What is this area you ask?

Diapers.  Cloth diapers.

You know those crazy hippy people who put their kids in cloth and haul around stinky poop diapers in their diaper bags all day and scrape their kid's poo into the toilet and do lots of laundry and save the planet?  I'm not quite that committed yet.  But I'll admit I'm sloooowly inching that direction.

Where it started:

I've always known that diapers don't break down much (at all) in land fills and I've always felt kinda guilty about that, being a disposable diaper using mom myself.  Being a nurse at a pediatrician's office, I see a LOT of diapers.  A few moths ago, a mom came in with her son who had on some super cute disposable diapers.  I asked her about them and discovered they're from The Honest Company.  Come to find out, they're eco friendly diapers (and other products), and did I mention they're super cute?  I gave them a try!

After a few months of having a baby with the cutest little bum and patting myself of the back for going green, my cheapness took over and I decided the price of the diapers were just too steep for me.  Gradually I went back to my ugly bargain chemical diapers with my tail between my legs.

Fast forward to yesterday: I was browsing Facebook and ran into THIS blog post a friend shared.  Perfect!  She reminded me of myself, admitting that she uses cloth because they look cool and come in pretty colors.  Nice!  This got my wheels-a-turning..

I browsed a few websites and was already overwhelmed.  Did I need All in Ones?  All in Twos?  Pockets?  Flats?  What are inserts?  Cotton, hemp, bamboo, microfiber?  What's hook and loop? (I'll tell you: it's just velcro) Do I need H&L or snaps?  What's fluffy mail?  What is TPL?  They cost how much PER diaper?!

I by far liked this website the most.  Very helpful!  After hours (literally) of cloth diaper research, I decided on the types I wanted to try out.  I talked with my husband (He's all in!  We'll see if that changes after his first time dealing with a stinky baby...) and I submitted my order.  I got two Thirsty's AIO's and two hybrid AI2/Pockets, a couple with H&L and a couple with snaps, a variety of inserts, and a wet bag all from a WAHM who runs the IBB website.  (I'm beginning to feel like my husband when he talks about the military...)

SO

Here I am anxiously awaiting my "fluffy mail" because I know I got the cutest ones on the market, and I'll be able to save lots of money and help the planet... as long as I can control my gag reflex.  I guess we'll find out next week!

and I feel a little like the butt of this joke:  (dangit)

..but it's so true