Back in August I wrote a post called A Look Inside Cloth Diapers, detailing how the whole cloth diapering experience of my five-month old daughter was going. Reading that post now, it is interesting to see how consumed I was with diapering then and how very long ago it seems.
The comments that followed the post were where the real action took place and I learned more there than in all of my online research. My little baby is now a toddler, almost fifteen months old, and much has changed in all aspects of our lives, including diapering. Here is an updated look inside our cloth diapers:
First off, I will admit the major error of my original post: equating little to no diaper rash with cloth diapers. The problem wasn't that I made the association between my daughter, cloth diapers and no diaper rash--I still give full credit to the wicking material that bumGenius uses in the lining of their diapers. The part that I got called to the carpet for was implying that this would be the case for all cloth diaper users.
Having done most of my pre-diapering research on green-leaning websites resulted in many glowing testimonials of diaper rash disappearing once cloth diapers were embraced. The comments below my original post showed me that sometimes, the exact opposite is true. Switching from cloth to disposables can be the solution to stubborn diaper rash that won't go away. The underlying lesson is an obvious one: all babies are different, and what works for one won't work for everyone else. Point taken.
Diapering a toddler is much different than diapering a baby. We are using fewer diapers over the course of the day, which is great, but their content is definitely more potent. Giving heavily soiled diapers a pre-wash is key to keeping the diapers in good shape and the diaper pail from stinking up the joint. This is achieved with a sprayer that is attached to the intake valve on your toilet. The model we have is the Handy Spray by etooti and it works great. You simply hold the diaper over the toilet and spray away. The high-pressure stream of water removes almost all of the diaper's contents and leaves the diaper itself amazingly clean.
In my original post I predicted we would have a diaper pail with a lid by now but it still has not been necessary. All we use is a wet bag in a regular kitchen-sized garbage can, just like we did before. The only difference is we keep the bag folded shut, and that is working just fine.. When you unfold and open the bag, stand back! But the bag itself does very well at keeping in odors.
The biggest change in our diapering habits has been the introduction of disposable overnight diapers. When our daughter finally started sleeping through the night, we found the cloth diapers just could not handle all of that pee. We tried extra liners and other strategies but eventually decided to go with disposables, both for her comfort and to make our life a bit easier. When regular disposables proved to not be up to the task, we upgraded to overnight diapers, which have done the trick. The brand we use is Seventh Generation, to avoid dyes and fragrances. So in the end we are using more disposables than we ever thought we would, but we're not kicking ourselves over it. We do our best and move on.
Our original diapers were bumGenius 4.0 with the hook and loop closure tabs. These worked great for a long time and the hook and loop made putting them on quick and easy. Unfortunately, the hook and loop part started to deteriorate before one year had passed, even though we followed the meticulous washing instructions to the letter. They were beginning to lift and fray, and we feared this problem would get worse as our daughter became more active and mobile. So we contacted bumGenius and kudos to them for providing excellent customer service. We had saved all of our receipts so they replaced all of our original diapers with new ones that utilized the snap closures. These take a bit more time to put on but we have no fear of them failing or falling apart.
Blow-outs have been few and far between. When they happen they are memorable to be sure, but they are part of the parenting experience from what I understand. It happens to everyone every now and then and I have found having a plastic bag handy at all times is a sound strategy, as this post-blowout picture from last year can attest to.
Creeping wetness is a much more common occurrence if you try to push the diaper past its limits. We have discovered that for our daughter at this stage in her life, three hours is as far as we should push it. We have gone longer but then we often end up changing pants, a onesie and a diaper, so we try to be smart and stay on top of it.
All in all cloth diapering is going very well for us. Like I said in the beginning we do not give it much thought anymore. It is second nature to rinse, wash, hang dry, and assemble them every three days or so. And since I still feel like we are catching up on sleep, anything that we do not need to think about is a good thing.
(Images: Richard Popovic)
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I have to add here that I rented a whole variety of newborn size cloth diapers (from Earthy Crunchy Mama, truly awesome service) and that was the way to go - I got to try all the types, and use them until he grew into the big size. And also do a trial of washing, drying, overnighting...it is an adjustment, to be sure. We used the cloth along with the Earth Baby compostable service for the disposables. Just thought I would share, we loved the intro it gave us. Way cheaper, too.
Its great that so many new parents are getting on board with cloth diapering. We used cloth on all three of our kiddos (ages 8, 6, and 3 now). Its really not a big deal once you get used to it. Not only will it save you money, but its environmentally friendly and seems so much more comfortable for the child. Another bonus? They usually potty train sooner than kids wearing disposables!
We used cloth diapers for our first child...All I can say about the experience was that I tried it, disposables work better, we moved on. Sounds like you are satisfied, though, and that's what counts.
I love 2 things about this post: It was written by a cloth diapering dad and it is from an everyday user's perspective (not a cloth diaper enthusiast or blogger.)
I have to agree that bumGenius does offer great customer service also! Thanks for bringing cloth diapers into the spotlight on AT. I'm a long time reader, first time commenter. Just had to say thanks!
-Kim
www.dirtydiaperlaundry.com
I just started using cloth on my (now) 8 month old daughter about 2 months ago (yes, I'm awesome and decided to start when she started solids.. soooo smart (note the sarcasm!)).
Just an FYI, we were having overnight leaks too, and also with disposables. There ARE cloth options out there for overnight that work! You just need to have a bit more variety in your stash! What really works for us is sustainablebabyish snapless with a bummis super whisper wrap over top. She wakes up dry every time!
Just some food for thought - just because one diaper doesn't work doesn't mean none do!
I love this! As a grandmother, I about keeled over when my daughter referred to disposables as "traditional" diapers! Where did I go wrong?? :)
We also use cloth diapers and have loved the experience, for the most part. I might need to try your brand of diaper sprayer, however, because we have the bumgenius brand and have not mastered the art of spraying the diaper without getting poopy water everywhere!
I'd been using bumGenius 4.0 and had the same problem with the velcro deteriorating before the year was up. Also before a year had passed, they quit absorbing well and caused terrible diaper rash no matter how often I changed the diaper. I've had to stop using them. I was a huge fan and recommended them to lots of folks, but now I wish I hadn't.
I wanted to offer a night time tip, if you want to try cloth at night again: a wool cover. I have a 7mo who sleeps pretty solidly for over 8 hours, and I have only had one leak that got past the wool. I use a pocket diaper with extra insert and a WoollyBottom cover over top. Wool absorbs up to 30% its weight in moisture and is self cleaning, so you only need to wash once a month and lanolize every few months to maintain optimum moisture wicking. I haven't used an overnight disposable diaper, but this cloth system has definitely triumphed over an ordinary disposable.
We used cloth with our last and it was super easy. That plus "traditional" potty learning meant we were done by two. For the next step, imse vimse training pants are great. They have a built in PUL layer.
Oh, and we both work full time and had shared apartment laundry. Washing wasn't an issue. And everyone in our family agrees that we had far fewer problems than with disposables.
We used "nightime" disposables at night but will skip it with our next. I hear wool is the way to go.
I found that it was easier to keep cloth diapers ready to go than it was to remember to pick up disposables. Sounds ridiculous, but it was true. (We lived in a not-cloth-diaper-friendly, but secluded cottage for about 2 months with each kid; so we got to see what 100% disposable-life was like too).
Notice disposables were low, bundle up kid and trek out to get diapers. Or more often, forget until morning, suddenly realize we are on our last disposable diaper. With cloth, it was: Notice diapers are low, take whatever's in the diaper bag and throw it in the machine (ours washes and dries both). Problem solved.
I liked wool for nighttime, but night success varies from kid to kid. One was fine in heavy-duty cloth dipes with wool covers. The other peed through everything. He peed through disposables too! We ended up having to change him during the night even though he slept through it. (He's still the kid that gets up 2-3 times a night to pee, now that he's been potty trained a few years).
Yep, I've been a major cloth diaper enthusiast and have used them for my kiddo from the start (she's now 19 months). However, our kid suffered from persistent diaper rash that seemed to be getting more stubborn as time passed. We switched to disposables for overnight only and it's helped a bunch. I don't love it (the garbage load of disposables kinda freaks me out), but the hybrid approach has just worked best for us.
@vegan mama- did you ever strip your diapers?
We tried cloth diapers, but we found that the velcro and snap area caused horrible irritation on our baby daughter. We tried everything with that particular brand, but it had gotten to the point that she would cry just looking at them. I'm glad that they worked for you, but we had to switch to disposables. In exchange, we decided to make sure that our daughter gets potty trained as quickly as possible. My brother and I were both trained by around a year of age, as was normal and usual in those days. For some reason, parents now wait 2-3 years, or more, which I think is outrageous. I think my use of disposables for only a year is certainly better than the average user of 3 years.
By the way, lest anyone suggest that I'm traumatizing my daughter by "forcing" her to train too early, we wait until she shows the signs of going (usually a blank stare and maybe some grunting) and quickly run her to her potty. She actually enjoys sitting on it and we read and sing songs together. We also make sure to put her on it first thing in the morning, and right before bed. If she goes in her diaper and we miss the opportunity, we put her on the potty anyway, just so she builds a connection. It's really no different than training our puppy. Quite the same, actually.
We did cloth diapers for about 8 months and then had to switch to disposables because of a rash situation. We're just now starting to get back into cloth. I have to say, the thing I hate about cloth is the feeling of wetness. Even with the PUL technology, I found three hours was much to long to go between changes for us. And we always had to do disposables overnight. We tried the wool covers, but my little girl always woke up with a super wet diaper and a wet bum.
The best thing we ever did? Introducing the potty at 5 months. Our now 15 month old daughter almost exclusively poops in the potty and has been for a long time. She also pees there more than half the time. I wouldn't say she's potty trained, but she shows me signs that she has to go and I take her. In terms of environmental impact, I think this is really great and made me feel more okay about using disposables for the past few months. And our lives are much less messy when she does her business in the potty.
[And before people get all up in arms about introducing the potty so early, it was really a no stress situation. We put her on it and she got it almost right away. We never force her to go or make a big deal about it if she doesn't.]
I would like to brag a bit: my only child never had diaper rashes (except when we first got her at 6 mos. old).
We used disposable diapers. I used a wet diaper or a soft wet cloth to clean her up. Once she was completely clean, I dabbed with a dry cotton cloth to remove excess moisture--she appeared and felt dry to the touch. Then an application of Weleda to her little bottom before re-diapering. No powder (duh); nothing else fancy or possibly scented or tinted. And nothing but cotton touched Herself.
Now this sweet little person is almost 18 yrs old! She has manis and pedis and has those nails applied. She doesn't care if she wears cotton--she will wear anything that she deems looks good (she doesn't consult tags or small print). Her hair always smells of some fruit; and when we're in a car together, I have to take an antihistamine because of the strong scents she wears.
Whatever you people do--it will not matter in 18 years, or even in 5 years. The roads to heaven and hell are both paved with the best of intentions. Stop being so hard on yourselves. ;D
Just be clean, attentive to their needs, and don't sweat it.