Cloth Diapers: Addendum

I had some follow-up questions about cloth diapering, so I thought I'd write an addendum to my previous posts.  I made a cloth diaper category over there to the left for easy reference.  I also added a few other sites that do a good job of answering questions.  Many of them have links to follow if you want more info.

DIAPER CHANGE FREQUENCY: I change C every 3-4 hours or when I smell poop, whichever comes first.  I found out the hard way that she pees a ton in the morning, so I can't let her go more than 3 hours between diaper #1 and #2 or else I'll be changing her whole outfit.  I tend to change her early (2-2.5 hours post diaper #1) just to err on the side of caution.  For the rest of the day, 3-4 hours works just fine.  I use 4-5 cloth diapers/day which is why 18 prefolds keeps me in twice weekly diaper loads.

LEAKS: The only time I have leaks is when I am late with the diaper change early in the day or when I'm not careful to tuck the entire prefold into the wrap.  Sometimes, if I anticipate a lengthy nap, I may add a soaker to the diaper.  I just fold it right up in there like this.  You know, sometimes I am slow.  It just occurred to me that I could do this with the first diaper of the day and not have to be so conscientious.

BLOWOUT EXPERIENCE: I have better luck containing blowouts with cloth than disposables.  I have a kid who poops occasionally (twice a week is average) so when she goes, MAN, does she go.  With cloth, it often leaks onto the wrap, but not the clothes.  (When she was smaller and having small, frequent poops, it rarely leaked onto the wrap.)  If she happens to be in a disposable, there is 99% chance of clothing stains.   Disposables don't have anything to keep the poop from heading right up her crack and all over her back, neck, and sometimes hair.  The prorap covers I use have a seam across the back of the waist and do a pretty good job of containing everything.

BULKINESS FACTOR: Some cloth diapers are bulkier than others.  If you use prefolds,  you could try trimming them.  Or you could use slim and trim fitted diapers, pocket diapers, or all-in-ones.  Seriously, I think prefolds are the bulkiest option.  One piece sleep-n-play outfits, like these, work best.  Ooh, or overalls.  I am lazy and prefer one piece outfits anyway, so it's no hardship for me.  Two piece outfits~before the kid is walking and consistently upright~find me constantly pulling down the shirt.  Nor does it bother me to put my 6 month old in 12 month size clothes.  As a future model/WNBA star, she needs the length.  The extra butt room is just a bonus.

A MAN'S OPINION: How does my husband feel?  He says it's easy to fold a diaper.  He admits to a learning curve~it took a few days, maybe a dozen diaper changes~for him to feel comfortable.  Prefolds/wraps do take about 30 seconds longer to change, mainly because you have to fold the prefold (5 seconds) and our diaper pail is not next to the trash where the wipes need to go (about 25 seconds to walk around our main floor and make the appropriate deposits).  If you were smart and had a changing table with everything close, there would only be a 5 second time difference.

Direct quote: "Speaking as a man, I'm looking for a diaper that's dependable and rugged, but still gives me the independence to climb mountains in my truck and drink a good quality American draft lager.

NFL pigskin nappies are my favorite.

Seriously, though, cloth is very easy; pretty much all of them.  You should be able to assemble and reassemble one blindfolded, the same as your field issue rifle.  If you do not change diapers, you are a girly man and not even worthy of a pity beating.  Turn your penis in immediately to central command."

THE WIPE ISSUE: Speaking of wipes, no, I don't do cloth wipes.  I change my kid on the floor or couch so it's more convenient for me to have a container of disposable wipes.  If I had a changing station, I think a bunch of cheap washcloths would be just as easy to use.  They might even be easier because they could just stay wadded up in the diaper.  I have to pull my wipes out of the diaper and toss them in the trash.

Comments

[caro]

We are only semi-committed cloth diapers around here with kid #2 (I'm glad you are finding it so easy and simple, but for me using about half disposables on this baby has cut my stress level waaay down. Mostly due to leaks and more frequent changes that we seem to get into with the cloth).

BUT! I am a super-committed disposable wipe user. In three years of diapering, we've only ever used disposable wipes for travel. When #1 was born I bought a few yards of cheap, on-sale flannel and cut it into wipe-sized squares. The first few washings they were a mess of frayed edges and thread, but that all worked itself out and we're still using the same stack of flannel squares over and over and over. We use a spray bottle of water (stored on top of the heat vent in winter to keep it toasty) to get them wet when needed. Assuages my guilt a little for all the disposable diapers I'm throwing away...

[Sarah]

I was able to send Huggies Supreme wipes through the wash with my cloth diapers. Of course, then you're picking fuzzy wipes out of the clean diapers, but sometimes it can be a time saver.

[Jen]

me too, sarah - i even wonder sometimes if i could reuse those washed disposable wipes. i haven't tried, mostly because i'd hate for them to disintegrate just as i was wiping poo.

i'm considering switching to cloth wipes too. we use cloth diapers now but i still hate spending money on the wipes. plus, i wonder if a warm cloth wouldn't feel better than an alcohol-ish paper. i don't know...

[Meira]

A side note on one piece outfits: when I had my twins, I begged for one piece outfits. Two piece outfits are just waaaaay too much laundry and keeping track of this shirt and those pants -- no way. I almost died when my MIL showed up with multiple 5 piece outfits for my little girl (onesie, skirt, special shirt, cardigan, tights), and she's still pissed that I didn't keep that outfit forever. hell no, it went to goodwill ASAP for some mom who REALLY loves her kid and will keep track of it, lol!

[Summer]

I did the cloth wipes (baby washcloths, wet with water with a tiny dab of baby wash mixed in, kept in a wipes warmer) and found it pretty easy, because everything just went into the diaper pail. The hardest part was folding the washcloths in half to stack into the warmer, and that isn't exactly difficult.

But, um, is it gross that now, several years post-potty-training, I still have all those oft-washed, oft-bleached baby washcloths and often use them to wash off my makeup? It doesn't bother me, clearly, but I suspect that many people would be horrified to think of me scrubbing off mascara with a piece of cloth that once scrubbed my boy's messy butt. And here I am, admitting it to the world. I am gross, World!

[Jen]

i don't think you're gross, summer - my first thought was, "eh, oxyclean washes everything out." :)

[Rach]

I have nothing to say on cloth diapers. But I want to eat C up in that picture of her passed out on the carpet in red overalls - it hurts my ovaries to look.

[Jen A]

I'm jealous of people who can make prefolds work. I tried and tried, but apparently I'm not smart enough for anything harder than fitteds, LOL. It reminds me of swaddling DD when she was a baby. DH could turn a receiving blanket into a straight jacket, but I couldn't successfully swaddle without one of those velcro-tab swaddle pockets.