M&J

   I just started reworking my website and read over a post I did at the very beginning about cloth diapering. For first time cloth diaper users, it is still very good information, in my opinion, but now that my son is almost two years old I have some updates. 

     

     Now I can give you some information about how my cloth diapers have held up in these two years. I have to say I am very pleased with the quality and durability of the diapers I purchased. The bumGenius, Flip, and even the econobums look great. All of the snaps work great and the material still holds moisture like a champ. The elastic in the legs is looking a little saggy, but in working order. You can order a diaper refresher kit from the company or just replace the elastic yourself. It still works, so I have not tried to tackle that job yet. I did also order six of their training diapers, which have snaps on the side with a stretchy section so that you can pull them up and down like underwear. They work great during the day running around, but do seem to leak a little at nap times.

   

      On to the real nitty gritty of growing up in cloth diapers. Ugg, solid foods really change things, well one thing in particular, the poop becomes poop. Real poop, not the small amounts of mostly liquid stuff we got in the beginning. We are still breastfeeding for naps and bed times, but it really doesn't matter. Any amount of real food results in real poo. Washing cloth diapers was super easy without solid food. Not that it is rocket science now, but some new techniques had to be developed. I probably should have invested in one of those diaper sprayers, but never did. I kept thinking that the sprayer would splash poo everywhere. I keep a container in my bathroom drawer that holds an old butter knife. When I need to, I use it to remove the yucky stuff into the toilet, wipe it off, and stash it back in the box (it will be going into the garbage after the cloth diapers are done). Honestly I don't have to do this very often.

     

     I bet you were wondering why I don't have very many poopie cloth diapers. Okay, I'll fess up. I'm a cheater. I use a disposable diaper at night now. I use cloth diapers during the day, and only one disposable each night to get us more hours of sleep. My son breastfeeds to go to sleep and usually wakes up early in the morning to feed again. He is a big growing boy, and I have no problem with this if it gets me a few extra hours of sleep. We usually get 10-12 hours of sleep. The cloth diapers just weren't covering that amount of time. I was changing his diapers right before his early morning feeding, but it just woke both of us up more to go through that process. I have only bought a case of each size of diapers, which is not that much. There was just too many mornings realizing that I had to wash all the sheets again. I did find that the microfiber liners did absorb a lot more liquid and got us through the night, but the disposables just always get us through the night and into the morning. So, it works out well that it absorbs all night and then, since my son is a morning pooper usually, he poops in the disposable. I toss that out and put on a cloth diaper. It is like a mommy miracle! So that is my trick for that one.

     

     Another change we went through with washing diapers was our washing machine. Somehow when we set up our washer so that it only washed with hot water. Which was great for having nice clean diapers and laundry, but not so nice on the electric bill. Since we have switched to only washing with cold water, I do wash all the diaper laundry separately. I also wash that load with hot water on the first cycle. I have never had to "strip" my diapers. It is a certain way to wash your diapers to remove soap remnants, I believe. Once soap residue builds up it makes the diapers less absorbent. So once you notice this happening, you are supposed to strip the diapers. The absorbency of my diapers always seemed about the same, so I never did this. I just use the same ECOS Free and Clear Liquid Detergent, and Have never had a problem.

     

     Jeez, I never though I would have so much to say about diapers and baby poo. I still use the cloth wipes. I usually have only dry ones, without the wipe solution, so I just run them under warm water. I may cheat on diapers, but wipes are the one thing I have never bought. Experiment and find a system that is best for you. Cloth diapering is really not as hard as it sounds to people. Once you set up a system that is right for you it can be really easy. The most important thing is not to stress about it. Have some disposables on hand for traveling or night time. Our grandparents only had cloth, we at least are able to stop in a store quick to buy some diapers if the need arises.