"You're One Of Those Moms"

Every now and then when I mention I cloth diaper my babies I get some negative feedback.  At the beginning it really use to bother me.  It made me fuming mad. How dare someone else judge.  Unfortunately, we can't help others judging us.  I've come to learn it comes with parenting.  Now I take a different approach.  I find it an opportunity to let them know what exactly is so great for our family about cloth diapering.  It's not so gross; I mention the invention of the fabulous diaper sprayer, the wonderful fabrics going against their skin, and the overall small, but important impact I'm having on our environment.

I'm not there to change anyone's mind or preach to them.  It does however, make me feel like I'm helping someone understand that cloth diapering is not unsanitary as they assume it to be.  We reuse underwear why can't my babies reuse their diapers?  It worked for thousands of years before. Disposable diapers were originally made for just travel.  They made them so family's would not have to be washing diapers when away from home.  When did it become the norm?  I was put in cloth as a child in the early 80's as many of my other friends were.  Somewhere in that decade it changed.  I'm not bashing disposables as I use them when I travel from time-to-time, but now that industry is a 7 billion machine and climbing.

It's hard when you feel like you are the "odd duck" out.  I try and remember that every parent does what they feel is right for their family.  Sometimes we get caught up in the "should do this" or the "have to's", but its good remember that these choices are our own and we should not judge each other for these choices.  It's hard enough to be a parent.  Has anyone else felt this negativity and not just with cloth?  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  I hope that in the future I can let go of my frustration and just let some of these comments slide.  It's not their fault.  It's what they know and that's perfectly fine.  I'm not going to change anyone's mind or beat them over the head with a stick that they are a bad person if they don't chose cloth.  That's not my intention.  My goal is to bring awareness, education, and maybe if I'm lucky some intrigue to using cloth diapers :)

Hope you all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

On The Go

With an upcoming trip it got me thinking about using cloth when out of the house.  This really is a judgement call.  How many diapers will you need to pack?  Do you have access to a washer and dryer? What kind of water do they have there?  Then how about when flying?  What if they have a leak?  

It's actually not that hard to cloth when traveling, just takes a little bit of practice. One of the things I found very helpful and a big space saver were All In Two diapers.  These are diapers that either have an insert or prefold and a cover you can reuse 2-3 times.  It's less bulky to pack and makes it quick and easy for changes.  Simply replace the insert or prefold and then snap back on the cover.  Boom!  Ready to roll.  I really like the Bum Genius Flip covers.  They have these great stay-dry liners that make clean up a breeze.  This is what I use for the twins when we go somewhere.  I also pack my fleece or wool covers or pants.  This prevents any leaks from seeping through in case you are running late in-between changes.

Another thing to consider is how many to bring.  I recommend adding 2-3 to what they normally use everyday.  It's best to be prepared for any major blowouts they could have.  Sometimes traveling can mess with their normal bowel functions...ewww.

If you're staying with friends or family you most likely will have access to a washer and dryer.  Most hotels do have a laundromat as well.  Personally I don't want to spend my vacation washing diapers, but if I have to I wash I will.  Bring a small bag of your CD safe detergent and possibly a hard water booster depending on what type of water they might have there.  Reminder to check-in with your bags and do not bring it with your carry-on when flying or the FFA will be drilling you for your Anthrax contacts LOL.

Most importantly know that it's ok to forgo cloth on a trip.  It's ok.  Enjoy your much deserved vacation and time with the little ones.  Your cloth will be waiting for you when you get home :)

Troubled Waters

Now that I'm a veteran at cloth I get a lot of questions from new moms about the occasional leak, stink/ammonia, or yeast issues.  Here are a few easy things to review if you are having any of these problems:

Leaking:  First things first, take a look at the fit.  Are there gaps around the leg, the top?  For boys you want most of the soaker or insert near the front.  Girls the opposite.  For the boys make sure especially that the pee pee is pointed down.  If you are worried about putting the diaper on too tight a good rule of thumb is if you can fit two fingers in the side it's too lose any less and you are probably fine.  If that's not the problem you may have build-up which will cause the diapers to repel the moisture and leak.  This would be time for a good ole' fashioned stripping (please refer to previous post on how to do this).  This will strip any build-up from hard water, detergent, urine, etc.  Hopefully, that will fix the problem and you can go back to a leak free day :). Other times you might have a heavy soaker. One of my boys is and requires extra padding.  With him I make sure if I'm using a pocket I stuff two inserts into the pocket.  One microfiber, one bamboo.  Bamboo or hemp are great at soaking up a ton, but at a slower rate whereas microfiber can soak up quickly, but don't hold as much. I find the combo of the two work great.

Stink/Ammonia:  So you change baby and as soon as they pee it stinks to high heaven.  This is usually a sign of ammonia .  This means that the diapers are not getting cleaned enough.  Take a look at your wash routine.  What kind of water do you have?  Hard water you need to add more detergent, soft water less.  Do the diapers smell after coming out of the wash?  They are not getting cleaned enough.  Try playing with how much detergent you are using.  Do you need to add more rinses?  Maybe they are not getting rinsed enough.  I was having stinks for a bit and discovered I was going too long in-between washes. With two in cloth my washer was too full and therefore not allowing the diapers to properly rinse enough.

Yeast:  Notice little red bumps all over your baby's stomach and hiney that just won't go away. He or she may have yeast.  Luckily, I have only had to battle this once. First you need to strip every diaper and put baby in disposables or liners.  Make sure you wash your hands before and after each change and lather that baby in cream that will kill the yeast.  I got some from my doctor. Now to kill the yeast in the diapers.  I sprinkled 10 little drops grapefruit seed extract to actually kill the yeast.  Its a natural way to kill those nasty little cells.  I use it in my pre-rinse once a week.  Some use pine tee oil, tea tree oil, or bleach.  I find GSE worked the best for us.  I was too afraid bleach would wreck my cute diapers.  So again, you strip diapers and once that's done do a hot rinse with the GSE and rinse twice.  Once you've done that let your baby totally heal before you use your cloth without any liners or switch back to cloth from disposables.

Hopefully, by following some of these steps you can alleviate the problem. Remember that every baby has problems every now and then (even with those in disposables).  It's just the nature of diapering babies :)

Baby Wearing And Cloth Diapering

Now that I'm a professional babywearer (insert laugh) I get a lot of questions about leaks in the cloth while baby wearing.  So far I have not had any leaks.  I tandem wear my twins and do notice on occasion a slight dampness in the front.  My solution is I usually change them right before I wear if its been awhile or throw on a wool cover.  I don't really feel any compression leaks which some say they sometimes get from using wraps.  I use soft structured carriers so maybe that's the difference.  Either way, it's a great way to bond with baby and helps give mommy free arms.

If you do feel you are getting compression leaks while wearing make sure first you are wearing baby property.  They should have knees higher than their bum, almost in an "M" position.  This is the best position for their growing hips/joints.  If you have newborn they would have feet tucked into the carrier or wrap in a froggy position.  I tried wearing the twins when they were newborns and failed miserably.  I gave up.  I finally tried again and this time I got the hang of it.  Once you have the right position make sure that they are not too loose or too tight to you.  I notice if I have my straps pulled too tight on me I can get that dampness.  The best trick is to put them in wool pants/shorts/covers or a PUL cover.  This will block and leakage and should protect you and your wrap/carrier from feeling damp.  Happy Babywearing :)

A New World Record

On April 20th, 2013 over 200 locations worldwide participated in the Great Cloth Diaper Change.  This was an event aimed at bringing awareness to cloth and at the same time set a world record for the most cloth diaper changed babies in a 24 hour period.  We accomplished that goal with a total of 8,301 total changes.  There were a actually over 10,000 changes, but due to Guinness strict guidelines some locations did not qualify.   I'm so proud to have helped and been apart of this great cause.  Many of the moms that came to my local event were brand new to cloth, but wanted to learn.  It was exciting to see all these newbies and experienced cloth diaper mamas in one room sharing the love and support for cloth.  And the babies looked cute too :)
Next year I hope we can break the 9,000 mark.

The Glorious Sun

Now that summer has found us here in California, I can finally retire my dryer for a bit.  Winter made me forget how great it feels to place each clean diaper out on the line and look at all my pretties in a row.  Ok, now I've gone off the deep end :)
Using the sun is so good for your diapers.  It gets rid of stains, saves energy, dries super quick, kills any bacteria or yeast, in other words it does it all!  It's also good to dry any diapers with PUL out on the line than in the dryer.  They will last longer.  I always hang dry my BG's and Kawaii's anyways.  All natural diapers like fitteds are ok for the dryer, but it takes forever to dry.  Hanging outside everything is dried in no time.
The one thing I notice is with fitteds they get crunchy when I line dry.  I started adding some Ecover fabric softener and it seems to have done the trick.  You have to be careful that you use CD safe fabric cleaners.  Another good one is Mrs. Meyers.
So get out there.  Hang those beautiful diapers and give your hardworking dryer a rest :)
Happy Summer!

Stripping...Not That Kind Of Stripping

So you are having stinky diapers and your kid is soaking through everything?  It might be time to strip your diapers.  Most people will need to strip diapers every 3-6 months.  Some can go longer.  Just depends on your wash routine.  Diapers can have buildup for a number of reasons; detergent buildup, water deposit buildup, ammonia buildup.  Here are some recommended supplies you'll need before you strip.

RLR (can be bought mostly online)
Blue Dawn dishsoap
Vinegar (this can be used for soft water)

First full your washing machine or bathtub with hot, hot, hot water.  I used my bathtub since I had a huge amount of diapers to strip.  Add 1 package of RLR or 1-2tbs of Blue Dawn to the water.  Swish around or agitate.  Next add your diapers and let soak for at least 3 hours.  I did a 12 hour overnight soak.  One that's done rinse your diapers in hot water.  It may take several rinses to get all the bubbles out.  Rinse, rinse, rinse til the bubbles are gone.  This should hopefully work and your diapers come out fresh and clean.  If you notice you are needing to strip a lot take a look at your wash routine.  What kind of water do you have?  Do you need to add a water softner?  Are you using too much or not enough detergent?  What kind if washing machine do you have?  Some energy efficient machines don't use enough water therefore are not properly rinsing the diapers.  Good luck and remember to rinse, rinse, rinse.