Greener Bums: The switch to cloth diapers
The chronicle of a new mom’s experience in ditching the disposable diapers. Also check out our cloth diaper resource list and b. lime’s cloth diaper selection.
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5. July 1st, 2015: The Rash
8:50 am
About a week into cloth diapers we had a rash – a little different than his typical diaper rash, it was like pink smears on his cheeks. So I jumped into a chat with my go-to gals: my cloth-diapering veteran sister, and cloth diaper guru, Mary (of B. Lime, have I mentioned that I love her yet?). It’s been a humid summer and he’s a sweaty boy, so maybe it’s a heat rash. Or maybe it’s a reaction to the detergent I’m using, or some other issue with the inserts I’ve chosen. After lots of troubleshooting, we decided to go in disposables for one day and night, then back to cloth and observe. If the rash went away in disposables then came back in the cloth, it probably indicated an issue with the cloth diapers/detergent, and if there was no change then it was probably a heat rash.
I washed everything again in free & clear detergent, just to be sure.
One day and night later, the rash was still there. Improved slightly, but not enough to convince me that it was from the cloth diapers. I dub it a heat rash, and vow to change him more frequently to help it improve, but we stay in cloth.
Another week later and the rash came back, but in full force this time. It was an angry red rash, one of the worst he’s had. But I’m almost certain this one was caused by me. I had the flu and couldn’t smell for crap (meaning I couldn’t smell when he crapped). Everyone was sick in our house, and we slacked in frequency of changes. Then this rash hit us like a freight train.
I went back into disposables, just to be sure again that this wasn’t a diaper thing. And then while my son was playing, the diaper popped. Gel granules made of who-knows-what all over his chubby, soft little thighs. I was horrified and disgusted and went back to cloth immediately.
I’m determined to clear this rash, so I decide to loosen the diaper cover (front to back) to give him more breathing room, thinking that maybe the moisture wont be irritate his skin if it can sag just a little lower. The next day I got some cloth-safe diaper balm and used it religiously.
A few days later the rash is GONE. I’m convinced it was a combination of the two solutions- a looser fit and the balm. In cloth diapers we stay!
Our area has a wonderful online community for brainstorming solutions to cloth diapering issues – a Facebook group called Champaign Area Cloth Diapering Families. If you’re in need of some support or have wisdom to share, please join in!
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4. June 19th, 2015: Laundry Day
7:40 pm
The additional laundry is the only downside to using cloth diapers, but so far, it’s cake. (Disclaimer: I enjoy cleaning and find clean laundry very satisfying.) Again, this might be the new cloth-diaper-induced joy that could fade and I may eventually find this task annoying.
B. Lime Mama and owner, Mary, gave me a ‘Cloth Diapering 101’ sheet at my lesson, and it has been an extremely helpful reference to have. It covers all of the things you need and need to know for cloth diapering on one page. It details step-by-step washing instructions, so I felt very comfortable with this process.
Basically: Cold rinse, hot wash (with detergent), cold rinse, cold rinse. Dry on the line or in the dryer. Cake, right?
The GroVia covers dry incredibly quickly, so I hang them from my shower curtain rod. The first load of inserts in the dryer took a few repeat cycles, which was indeed annoying to keep pulling out wet inserts and start it again. So the second time around, I flipped the inserts inside out so that the most absorbent layers were on the outside. Done in one.
Ultimately, the excess laundry is not a deterrent to using cloth diapers.
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3. June 17th, 2015: Day One
12:45 pm
Day one in cloth diapers was extremely exciting. Perhaps it will wear off when I’m elbow deep in diaper laundry tomorrow, but for now, things are going well.
The dirty details:
Changing wet diapers is a breeze! Snap out the wet insert, snap in the dry, keep the same cover. So far, 3 out of 4 poops have been contained by the insert, only one soiled the cover. And honestly, disposable diapers had about the same success rate for us. This boy is forever eating.
I haven’t quite figured out wiping yet. I started the day using disposable wipes to clean baby, then to help dump the mess into the toilet (because I haven’t hooked up my sprayer yet, oops!), but it’s not ideal. More on that when I find a solution.
It’s the beginning of day two and I already freaked about not having enough covers to get me through between washes. Mary to the rescue! I asked about more covers and an hour later she was delivering them to my house.
Another update coming on laundry day.
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2. June 16th, 2015: Cloth Diapering Class
7:20 am
I had my cloth diaper lesson with Mary of b. lime yesterday afternoon, and it was AWESOME. She walked me through the different diaper options, like snap closure or hook and loop closure, all-in-one diapers, separate covers and inserts, or a mix of all kinds. We tried the diapers on my son to look at fit and comfort, and which see style he cant Hulk his way out of.
We talked about my current diapering set up and routine at home, and she came up with simple swaps to my current routine- like using the same ‘diaper garbage can’ at my changing station, but switching the garbage bag for a waterproof pail liner, where I’ll toss the dirty inserts to take to the laundry instead of the landfill. Easy! She even showed me step by step how diaper changes and laundry happen in her home.
I was so confident in my ability to rock these cloth diapers that I bought everything I’ll need right there on the spot from her B. Lime store, which was awesomely convenient. I went with the AI2 (all-in-two) style diaper by GroVia – a cover with a separate snap-in insert (which allows you several insert options, nice!).
Here’s a picture of my new stash, which should get me through a few days of diapering between loads of laundry:
-5 (adorable) GroVia hybrid diaper shells
-18 GroVia no-prep soaker pad inserts
-1 Planet Wise wet/dry bag
-1 GroVia pail liner
-1 FuzziBuns diaper sprayer
Stick around for the next post about real life in cloth diapers.
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1. June 13th, 2015: Considering the Switch
1:30 pm
I never seriously considered cloth diapering a viable option for my family. My husband and I don’t enjoy germs or filth, so we both assumed the route of disposable diapers when our son was born. I didn’t plan to explore any other options for poop catching, since I really just wanted it to be out of sight and out of mind.
Only it’s not. The amount of diaper waste bothers me, the idea of things being ‘disposable’ bothers me, my son’s frequent diaper rash bothers me, and the stink bothers me. The dirty diapers might be out of sight, but they are constantly on my mind.
I met Mary, the owner of B. Lime, today and within 30 seconds of sitting down she asked about my son and if I used cloth diapers. And 30 seconds after that I was convinced to give it a shot. There are serious upsides to going cloth – the cost, the environmental impact, the baby’s health – and the only downside is the increased amount of laundry. I can handle that. But I was concerned about actually using the cloth diapers, which I have very little experience with. The great news is that Mary offers free, one-on-one cloth diapering lessons. So, we scheduled my lesson.
Stay tuned.
greener orange and blue 