Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Organic Diapers for your lil organic baby
Her Sweet Baby organic diapers , cloth diapers or nappies are made of 100% organically made cotton and fleece . These are natural baby products which also include diaper covers and liners and are offered by us to guarantee the safety of your baby...no chemically treated cottons are used.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Cloth diapers: will they limit my childcare options?
I'm an expecting first-time mom who plans to use cloth diapers. But I'm wondering whether choosing cloth diapers might limit my childcare options. How do daycare centers deal with cloth diapers? And if I do a nanny share, how do you arrange for your child's diapers to be available if the childcare isn't happening in your home?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The short answer to your question is, Yes. If you don't want your child in disposables, you have fewer choices for childcare. But the good news is that it's not impossible. My daycare, Peter Pan School in Alameda, had 95 kids (infant through pre-K) when my son started there at 4.5 months. They *only* do cloth with the babies (up to 2 yrs). You supply the wraps or plastic pants, and they supply the cloth diapers. The catch: you must drop off and pick up in disposables, so even if you do cloth at home, you must supply at least 2 disposables per day. I loved it, and started doing cloth at home when my son was 2 (and he potty trained at 2.5, perhaps due in part to being in cloth for so long). Good luck. Bananas may have this information. Jennie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In my experience cloth diapers will not limit your options, but we are a family daycare that will NOT use disposables. We will only accept cloth (and provide cloth if the family doesn't use them). We charge a modest fee for providing (and washing) cloth diapers based on how many are used (an average). When diapers are provided, we simply bag them up and return them at the end of the day. We always have extra on hand in the event of an emergency. :) Kathy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloth diapers work well for me in our nanny share. I simply pack a set of clean diapers (about 5 for an 8-hour stretch, to be safe), an extra wrap and some extra clothes (since they do leak a bit more easily than disposables on my now actively moving toddler), as well as an empty plastic bag in which the nanny puts the used diapers (rolled up so smear & smell are minimized ;-) ). We're lucky our nanny is willing and adept at using cloth diapers on my baby and disposable ones on the share kid. Only downside is it's a bit more bulky to bring along in the morning, and I have to empty out the diapers and do the laundry when I get home again with my baby. But that's not a biggie compared to infrequent rashes and a better environmental conscience! Curious to see what others' experience in larger daycare/preschool situations has been (although I hope my baby will be mostly using the potty by then)... Happy diapering
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use cloth diapers whenever you can. If your child care provider agrees, drop off clean diapers, an extra cover, and plastic bags, and pick up plastic bags with yucky diapers in them. If not, use cloth diapers at home. If you buy diapers used from a diaper service and wash them yourself, its cheaper than a service, particularly if you are buying disposables as well. Sarah
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our daycare center (''Model school'' on Prince of telegraph) any kind for diapers are accepted and provided by the parents. Each child has a little basket close to the diaper changing area. Parents simply maintain the supply. They bring clean diapers - once a week or every day or every other day, whatever works best for them. Dirty close diapers are left there (best picked up daily). They have a supply of plastic bags for that (reused grocery store plastic bags for this and other occasions.) You'll quickly figure out how many diapers you'll need, approximatively, every day. You'll also leave an additional cover or two there. Sounds a little technical, but It's actually very easy. The daycare also want to have a set of cloths for any child (at any age, also beyond diapers). If any of these items is missing, it's not a drama either, since they always have some school owned supplies for this case. Not every daycare leaves the choice of diapers to the parents, so it's something to ask about beforehand. With a shared nanny, you could set up some simple system along the lines our daycare does - using a basket at the other parent's house or a bag in the nannies car or such. Regardless of the choice of diapers that's something useful, as you can leave some toys, sunblock, sunhat, set of cloths, indoor schoes etc. there. Julia
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your childcare options are wide open for a variety of items to leave with your child care facility. Things like Diaper Covers, Cloth Diapers (By all means leave about 5 or 6) and toys, bibs etc. -Alice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The short answer to your question is, Yes. If you don't want your child in disposables, you have fewer choices for childcare. But the good news is that it's not impossible. My daycare, Peter Pan School in Alameda, had 95 kids (infant through pre-K) when my son started there at 4.5 months. They *only* do cloth with the babies (up to 2 yrs). You supply the wraps or plastic pants, and they supply the cloth diapers. The catch: you must drop off and pick up in disposables, so even if you do cloth at home, you must supply at least 2 disposables per day. I loved it, and started doing cloth at home when my son was 2 (and he potty trained at 2.5, perhaps due in part to being in cloth for so long). Good luck. Bananas may have this information. Jennie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In my experience cloth diapers will not limit your options, but we are a family daycare that will NOT use disposables. We will only accept cloth (and provide cloth if the family doesn't use them). We charge a modest fee for providing (and washing) cloth diapers based on how many are used (an average). When diapers are provided, we simply bag them up and return them at the end of the day. We always have extra on hand in the event of an emergency. :) Kathy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloth diapers work well for me in our nanny share. I simply pack a set of clean diapers (about 5 for an 8-hour stretch, to be safe), an extra wrap and some extra clothes (since they do leak a bit more easily than disposables on my now actively moving toddler), as well as an empty plastic bag in which the nanny puts the used diapers (rolled up so smear & smell are minimized ;-) ). We're lucky our nanny is willing and adept at using cloth diapers on my baby and disposable ones on the share kid. Only downside is it's a bit more bulky to bring along in the morning, and I have to empty out the diapers and do the laundry when I get home again with my baby. But that's not a biggie compared to infrequent rashes and a better environmental conscience! Curious to see what others' experience in larger daycare/preschool situations has been (although I hope my baby will be mostly using the potty by then)... Happy diapering
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use cloth diapers whenever you can. If your child care provider agrees, drop off clean diapers, an extra cover, and plastic bags, and pick up plastic bags with yucky diapers in them. If not, use cloth diapers at home. If you buy diapers used from a diaper service and wash them yourself, its cheaper than a service, particularly if you are buying disposables as well. Sarah
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our daycare center (''Model school'' on Prince of telegraph) any kind for diapers are accepted and provided by the parents. Each child has a little basket close to the diaper changing area. Parents simply maintain the supply. They bring clean diapers - once a week or every day or every other day, whatever works best for them. Dirty close diapers are left there (best picked up daily). They have a supply of plastic bags for that (reused grocery store plastic bags for this and other occasions.) You'll quickly figure out how many diapers you'll need, approximatively, every day. You'll also leave an additional cover or two there. Sounds a little technical, but It's actually very easy. The daycare also want to have a set of cloths for any child (at any age, also beyond diapers). If any of these items is missing, it's not a drama either, since they always have some school owned supplies for this case. Not every daycare leaves the choice of diapers to the parents, so it's something to ask about beforehand. With a shared nanny, you could set up some simple system along the lines our daycare does - using a basket at the other parent's house or a bag in the nannies car or such. Regardless of the choice of diapers that's something useful, as you can leave some toys, sunblock, sunhat, set of cloths, indoor schoes etc. there. Julia
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your childcare options are wide open for a variety of items to leave with your child care facility. Things like Diaper Covers, Cloth Diapers (By all means leave about 5 or 6) and toys, bibs etc. -Alice
Cloth Diapering - What Are My Options?
Seems like the two main diaper services out there (ABC and TinyTots) only offer the cotton prefold option. No one seems to do contours, fitted, All-In-Ones, Fuzzibunz, Wonderoos or any of the other seemingly more advanced cloth diapering options. Are my only options to either (1) go with a service but have to settle for prefold cotton or (2) go with the diapering system of my choice but have to launder myself?
Any experienced cloth diaper users have advice about systems/methods that work well for them? Any advice about classic diaper covers vs. soakers, wool vs. polar fleece soakers, etc. There are so many options out there, I'm overwhelmed! Brenda
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recommend Tiny Tush natural cotton diapers An Organic diaper in assorted colors by Tiny Tush -Alice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use Tiny Tots and love them! I have no problem with the cotton prefolds and still use the prowraps diaper covers that the service recommends. I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up with washing diapers myself. At night we use fuzzibuns, and just insert the cotton prefolds into the ''pocket'' which keeps my baby much dryer than the normal diaper covers. However, if he has a BM I have to dump it in the tiolet and soak the cover before putting it in with the rest of the laundry, but that is rare these days. Hope you make the choice that fits with your lifestyle, it really is a personal one. Blessings to you on the birth of your child! Erin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just wanted to pipe in that we wash all our baby's cloth diapers, covers, and wipes at home, and it isn't the hassle one would expect. She is on solids now, and we have found the flushable diaper liners to be very useful. If you want to stick with a diaper service, though, you should know that they only do diapers. You will be responsible for washing the diaper covers. There are a lot of new, wonderful covers out there that will work with the prefolds that diaper services use. You can use FuzziBunz, which are expensive, but wonderful. We have also been pleased with ProRaps (sold by diaper services) and other basic covers. I have found that the covers that work best really depends on your babies shape and size. A cover that fits a chubby baby with chunky thighs won't fit a skinny baby the same way. Check out www.diaperpin.com for reviews, then eBay for cheap inexpensive used and new covers. If you want to use all-in-ones or any other kind of diaper, you'll have to wash them yourself. One comment on the all-in-ones is that they take a very long time to dry and wear out more quickly than separate diaper and cover. We have had wonderful success with prefolds (like the services use), put on baby with a twist fold, and then held in place with a Snappi clip. Good luck! Cloth diapering has been one of the choices we made that both my partner and I have been pleased with! Another cloth mama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recommend using a diaper service, either ABC or Tiny Tots, and then checking out some good diaper covers. I like Tiny Tots because they have a great web site (www.tinytots.com) and the staff there has been very, very helpful in every respect. We have also really liked the diaper covers we've been getting from Polar Babies, web site www.diapercovers.com. Their diaper covers come in a wide variety of sizes, and while we have still had to use snappi clips, the diaper covers prevent leakage (for our 7-month-old) fairly consistently. Lori
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A friend of mine uses fuzzibunz, but someone got her a gift of a diaper service. So, she uses the fuzzibunz outer shell but instead of using the fuzzibunz inserts, she uses the cloth diapers for inserts and has the diaper service clean those. She launders the fuzzibunz shells herself. This has worked for her for almost a year. Anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Try perusing the cloth diapering forum on mothering.com. http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=221 I'm sure the mamas there will be able to give you more information on cloth diapering than you'll ever need! Good luck! Cloth diaper advocate ------------------------------------------ The cloth diapering section in the archives is quite out of date. I tried to make sense of it in '93 and found that many of the diapers mentioned aren't even available anymore. Here is what I have learned over the past 2 years: Yes, you can only choose the prefolds if you do diaper service, but oh how I loved to see those blue bags full of poopy diapers go away and in their place, magically, clean soft diapers appear. I started working 3 days a week when my son was 4 months old, and I did not have time to wash diapers, although washing your own is not hard, just very very time-consuming.
This is what I found out about diaper covers: the best ones for you baby depends upon your baby's shape. I only had the first size of covers initially until i found out which ones worked best for him. He was a skinny, tall infant and so my all-time favorite wraps were ProWrap Classics ($7.95 ea) with velcro (not the ones with snaps, those don't work well) and the Bummis Whisperwraps. No matter if he was in a skinny phase or a growth spurt chunky phase, these always fit him and they washed out really well. Oh yeah, the dirty secret of wraps is that you will spend an anourmous amount of time washing poop off of the elastic leg openings and then washing the whole bunch of wraps several times per week. I found that if I couldn't get the poop off the wrap immediately, letting it dry actually allowed it to come off easier and stain less than wetting it and letting it sit damp until I got home from work. Then, a scrub with a bar of Ivory soap did the trick (I always kept a pair of rubber gloves with the soap- this gets rough on your hands.) I also used LiteWraps ($8.95 ea) for nighttime diapers because they were so big! They made his butt look like a ballon if I used them under his day clothes, but they held a diaper and insert well at night. I think I eventually decided that about 6-8 day wraps and 3 night wraps for each size was enough.
Here are the wraps I tried and why I did not like them:
CottonWraps- just like LiteWraps but much harder to clean and not waterproof.
Motherease- I really wanted to like these wraps! But they just did not fit my guy. The Nikiwraps and All-in-Ones had the flimsiest leg elastic so that all the goop would leak out. And they were billowy everywhere else yet the tummy elastic was thin and strangled his tummy. I wasted about $30 trying to get these to work. Bumpy Imse Vimse- I got into a phase where I bought quite a few of these, but ultimately I couldn't use them because they are cut so small and low at the front, which is not good for a boy, and the velcro was so scratchy that he would get little bleeding abrasions on his inner thighs at the height of his crawling phase. They are also expensive ($12.95 for day and $14.95 for night) but they are made well and have very cute fabrics. If you try one, don't bother with the night one- no different from the day one that I could tell, maybe a very slightly more dense moisture barrier but not enough to warrant the extra $2. They also tend to get kinda damp if your guy is a heavy wetter.
Diaperaps- I had older Diaperaps that I loved, very simple good design! So I bought several newer ones and was unhappy to find that they had changed the king of velcro band that was across the tummy. Instead of soft and flexible, it was now hard and non- bendable which meant that every time my guy leaned forward a very thick band of hard velcro cut into his tummy. I wrote them about this because it was so annoying, but I don't know if they have switched back to the old velcro or not. Before you buy this brand, go into Baby World or Rockridge Kids and take it out of the package to test the flexibility. You will know exactly what I mean if they have not changed it.
Aristocrats wool soaker and also the ones made of fleece- This is the most expensive wrap ($22) and not necessary in my opinion. I tried one as my baby tends to be a heavy nightime wetter and this seemed like a perfect solution. But the upkeep on the wool is quite extensive, and again, I had enough to do just getting the poop off of the daytime wraps. Plus, the smell of wet wool and pee was very strong, and it just became too much to be hit with first thing in the morning. Diaper insert- I ended up using a fleece/flannel diaper insert at night with 1 regular prefold diaper and the litewrap wrap. At first I used the fleece side of the liner directly next to his skin, but I got tired of rinsing and spotting all of the poop off the liner when some mornings he would wake with a poop. I found that it worked just as well to place the liner under the diaper, right next to the wrap where it could catch extra pee but not get soiled by poo. I washed the liners out once a week in a pre-wash then hot wash in my washing machine and they laundered beautifully.
I can't remember the other brands that I tried, I guess I got kinda obssessive about finding the perfect wrap! But it was worth it, now he is almost potty-trained and the cotton really helped him know when he was wet or poopy. I tried so many places to buy the wraps, both locally and on-line, used and new. But my all-time favorite site for buying the wraps and liners is:
Katie's Kisses, they were great and had wonderful prices. I even bought a few of their unbleached Chinese cotton prefolds to have around for accidents and clean-ups and those are some of the thickest, nicest diapers I have ever seen. Best of wishes to you and thanks for thinking of the environment and your baby's comfort by going to the extra work of using cloth! Another cloth baby and mommy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You know way more about diapering than I have ever imagined knowing - or probably cared to know. Anyway, I use ABC service, their diapers and wraps and they've been fine. I have typically used disposables when we are out and about for longer periods of time. I do think that the only way to ''know'' is to take your best guess and then adjust as need be. Good luck. diapering mom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kushies: http://www.kushies.com/Cataloque/diapers/diapers.html Use the flushable liners to remove the mess, won't plug the sewer. Don't rinse or stick in a pail of water, just put em in a container with a tight lid and kitchen garbage bag to toss with each load. Use disposables at night so your child doesn't wake you up. You'll save tons of money.
I'm a typical diaper aversive guy, but changed and laundered thousands this way, no problems. but glad it's overwith
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'll second the opinion that Fuzzi Bunz are a really good product but very pricey. Unfortunately there's no way to know ahead of time what diapers will work for you and your baby. We've used a number of different types, including diaper service, over the last year since our baby was born. Sometimes she outgrew certain items, like the wool diaper wraps that were really nice for the first 4-5 months but eventually were too tight around her thighs.
The difficulty of washing diapers depends a lot on the setup of your home. If you have to, say, climb two flights of stairs and go outside to get to your washer and dryer, you'll be a lot less happy about doing laundry every 1-2 days than if they are right next to your bedroom. Also note that cotton and hemp prefolds take a very long time to dry, while polyester fleece diapers like Fuzzi Bunz dry much more quickly. Wool covers generally should be washed with special detergent and line-dried, but you shouldn't need to wash these too often.
Another nice way to reduce diapering costs and hassles, no matter what type of diapers you use, is to practice Elimination Communication, where you start teaching your baby to eliminate in the toilet (or somewhere besides his diaper) as early as a few days old. This system is practiced in much of the developing world and was even common the US until 60 or 80 years ago. You can read about it on the internet or get a book about it (it is also called Natural Infant Hygiene, Infant Potty Training, and other things). One East Bay group that meets weekly and exchanges emails is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EastBayDFB. EC has worked for us so far--with a moderate level of effort, our 14-month old now averages fewer than 6 diapers a day. A Dad
Berkeley Parents Network
Any experienced cloth diaper users have advice about systems/methods that work well for them? Any advice about classic diaper covers vs. soakers, wool vs. polar fleece soakers, etc. There are so many options out there, I'm overwhelmed! Brenda
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recommend Tiny Tush natural cotton diapers An Organic diaper in assorted colors by Tiny Tush -Alice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use Tiny Tots and love them! I have no problem with the cotton prefolds and still use the prowraps diaper covers that the service recommends. I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up with washing diapers myself. At night we use fuzzibuns, and just insert the cotton prefolds into the ''pocket'' which keeps my baby much dryer than the normal diaper covers. However, if he has a BM I have to dump it in the tiolet and soak the cover before putting it in with the rest of the laundry, but that is rare these days. Hope you make the choice that fits with your lifestyle, it really is a personal one. Blessings to you on the birth of your child! Erin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just wanted to pipe in that we wash all our baby's cloth diapers, covers, and wipes at home, and it isn't the hassle one would expect. She is on solids now, and we have found the flushable diaper liners to be very useful. If you want to stick with a diaper service, though, you should know that they only do diapers. You will be responsible for washing the diaper covers. There are a lot of new, wonderful covers out there that will work with the prefolds that diaper services use. You can use FuzziBunz, which are expensive, but wonderful. We have also been pleased with ProRaps (sold by diaper services) and other basic covers. I have found that the covers that work best really depends on your babies shape and size. A cover that fits a chubby baby with chunky thighs won't fit a skinny baby the same way. Check out www.diaperpin.com for reviews, then eBay for cheap inexpensive used and new covers. If you want to use all-in-ones or any other kind of diaper, you'll have to wash them yourself. One comment on the all-in-ones is that they take a very long time to dry and wear out more quickly than separate diaper and cover. We have had wonderful success with prefolds (like the services use), put on baby with a twist fold, and then held in place with a Snappi clip. Good luck! Cloth diapering has been one of the choices we made that both my partner and I have been pleased with! Another cloth mama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recommend using a diaper service, either ABC or Tiny Tots, and then checking out some good diaper covers. I like Tiny Tots because they have a great web site (www.tinytots.com) and the staff there has been very, very helpful in every respect. We have also really liked the diaper covers we've been getting from Polar Babies, web site www.diapercovers.com. Their diaper covers come in a wide variety of sizes, and while we have still had to use snappi clips, the diaper covers prevent leakage (for our 7-month-old) fairly consistently. Lori
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A friend of mine uses fuzzibunz, but someone got her a gift of a diaper service. So, she uses the fuzzibunz outer shell but instead of using the fuzzibunz inserts, she uses the cloth diapers for inserts and has the diaper service clean those. She launders the fuzzibunz shells herself. This has worked for her for almost a year. Anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Try perusing the cloth diapering forum on mothering.com. http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=221 I'm sure the mamas there will be able to give you more information on cloth diapering than you'll ever need! Good luck! Cloth diaper advocate ------------------------------------------ The cloth diapering section in the archives is quite out of date. I tried to make sense of it in '93 and found that many of the diapers mentioned aren't even available anymore. Here is what I have learned over the past 2 years: Yes, you can only choose the prefolds if you do diaper service, but oh how I loved to see those blue bags full of poopy diapers go away and in their place, magically, clean soft diapers appear. I started working 3 days a week when my son was 4 months old, and I did not have time to wash diapers, although washing your own is not hard, just very very time-consuming.
This is what I found out about diaper covers: the best ones for you baby depends upon your baby's shape. I only had the first size of covers initially until i found out which ones worked best for him. He was a skinny, tall infant and so my all-time favorite wraps were ProWrap Classics ($7.95 ea) with velcro (not the ones with snaps, those don't work well) and the Bummis Whisperwraps. No matter if he was in a skinny phase or a growth spurt chunky phase, these always fit him and they washed out really well. Oh yeah, the dirty secret of wraps is that you will spend an anourmous amount of time washing poop off of the elastic leg openings and then washing the whole bunch of wraps several times per week. I found that if I couldn't get the poop off the wrap immediately, letting it dry actually allowed it to come off easier and stain less than wetting it and letting it sit damp until I got home from work. Then, a scrub with a bar of Ivory soap did the trick (I always kept a pair of rubber gloves with the soap- this gets rough on your hands.) I also used LiteWraps ($8.95 ea) for nighttime diapers because they were so big! They made his butt look like a ballon if I used them under his day clothes, but they held a diaper and insert well at night. I think I eventually decided that about 6-8 day wraps and 3 night wraps for each size was enough.
Here are the wraps I tried and why I did not like them:
CottonWraps- just like LiteWraps but much harder to clean and not waterproof.
Motherease- I really wanted to like these wraps! But they just did not fit my guy. The Nikiwraps and All-in-Ones had the flimsiest leg elastic so that all the goop would leak out. And they were billowy everywhere else yet the tummy elastic was thin and strangled his tummy. I wasted about $30 trying to get these to work. Bumpy Imse Vimse- I got into a phase where I bought quite a few of these, but ultimately I couldn't use them because they are cut so small and low at the front, which is not good for a boy, and the velcro was so scratchy that he would get little bleeding abrasions on his inner thighs at the height of his crawling phase. They are also expensive ($12.95 for day and $14.95 for night) but they are made well and have very cute fabrics. If you try one, don't bother with the night one- no different from the day one that I could tell, maybe a very slightly more dense moisture barrier but not enough to warrant the extra $2. They also tend to get kinda damp if your guy is a heavy wetter.
Diaperaps- I had older Diaperaps that I loved, very simple good design! So I bought several newer ones and was unhappy to find that they had changed the king of velcro band that was across the tummy. Instead of soft and flexible, it was now hard and non- bendable which meant that every time my guy leaned forward a very thick band of hard velcro cut into his tummy. I wrote them about this because it was so annoying, but I don't know if they have switched back to the old velcro or not. Before you buy this brand, go into Baby World or Rockridge Kids and take it out of the package to test the flexibility. You will know exactly what I mean if they have not changed it.
Aristocrats wool soaker and also the ones made of fleece- This is the most expensive wrap ($22) and not necessary in my opinion. I tried one as my baby tends to be a heavy nightime wetter and this seemed like a perfect solution. But the upkeep on the wool is quite extensive, and again, I had enough to do just getting the poop off of the daytime wraps. Plus, the smell of wet wool and pee was very strong, and it just became too much to be hit with first thing in the morning. Diaper insert- I ended up using a fleece/flannel diaper insert at night with 1 regular prefold diaper and the litewrap wrap. At first I used the fleece side of the liner directly next to his skin, but I got tired of rinsing and spotting all of the poop off the liner when some mornings he would wake with a poop. I found that it worked just as well to place the liner under the diaper, right next to the wrap where it could catch extra pee but not get soiled by poo. I washed the liners out once a week in a pre-wash then hot wash in my washing machine and they laundered beautifully.
I can't remember the other brands that I tried, I guess I got kinda obssessive about finding the perfect wrap! But it was worth it, now he is almost potty-trained and the cotton really helped him know when he was wet or poopy. I tried so many places to buy the wraps, both locally and on-line, used and new. But my all-time favorite site for buying the wraps and liners is:
Katie's Kisses, they were great and had wonderful prices. I even bought a few of their unbleached Chinese cotton prefolds to have around for accidents and clean-ups and those are some of the thickest, nicest diapers I have ever seen. Best of wishes to you and thanks for thinking of the environment and your baby's comfort by going to the extra work of using cloth! Another cloth baby and mommy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You know way more about diapering than I have ever imagined knowing - or probably cared to know. Anyway, I use ABC service, their diapers and wraps and they've been fine. I have typically used disposables when we are out and about for longer periods of time. I do think that the only way to ''know'' is to take your best guess and then adjust as need be. Good luck. diapering mom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kushies: http://www.kushies.com/Cataloque/diapers/diapers.html Use the flushable liners to remove the mess, won't plug the sewer. Don't rinse or stick in a pail of water, just put em in a container with a tight lid and kitchen garbage bag to toss with each load. Use disposables at night so your child doesn't wake you up. You'll save tons of money.
I'm a typical diaper aversive guy, but changed and laundered thousands this way, no problems. but glad it's overwith
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'll second the opinion that Fuzzi Bunz are a really good product but very pricey. Unfortunately there's no way to know ahead of time what diapers will work for you and your baby. We've used a number of different types, including diaper service, over the last year since our baby was born. Sometimes she outgrew certain items, like the wool diaper wraps that were really nice for the first 4-5 months but eventually were too tight around her thighs.
The difficulty of washing diapers depends a lot on the setup of your home. If you have to, say, climb two flights of stairs and go outside to get to your washer and dryer, you'll be a lot less happy about doing laundry every 1-2 days than if they are right next to your bedroom. Also note that cotton and hemp prefolds take a very long time to dry, while polyester fleece diapers like Fuzzi Bunz dry much more quickly. Wool covers generally should be washed with special detergent and line-dried, but you shouldn't need to wash these too often.
Another nice way to reduce diapering costs and hassles, no matter what type of diapers you use, is to practice Elimination Communication, where you start teaching your baby to eliminate in the toilet (or somewhere besides his diaper) as early as a few days old. This system is practiced in much of the developing world and was even common the US until 60 or 80 years ago. You can read about it on the internet or get a book about it (it is also called Natural Infant Hygiene, Infant Potty Training, and other things). One East Bay group that meets weekly and exchanges emails is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EastBayDFB. EC has worked for us so far--with a moderate level of effort, our 14-month old now averages fewer than 6 diapers a day. A Dad
Berkeley Parents Network
Where to buy cloth diapers
To buy good, natural cotton diapers, you would want to shop at stores like:
Her Sweet Baby
Tendercare Diapers
Green Mountain Diapers
Ecobaby
Child Organics
Better for Babies
Tiny Tush
Her Sweet Baby
Tendercare Diapers
Green Mountain Diapers
Ecobaby
Child Organics
Better for Babies
Tiny Tush
Cloth diapers and chemicals?
our baby is due in August and we're trying to figure out what to do about diapers. we know we want to use cloth diapers, and i would love to be able to have a service, at least for the first couple of months. but i do have the concern about unwanted chemicals against our babies skin. does anyone with this concern have any advice? are there any services that offer 'healthier' diapers (organic?) and non-toxic soaps? also, it seems like when we use any kind of ecologically friendly soap for clothes washing the clothes just don't get clean... if we do it ourselves does anyone have any advice on what soap to use? is there any diaper resource anyone can point me to? thank you! larissa
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have an 11 month old, and had the same concerns about diaper service diapers. I wondered how they could get all those diapers used by all those babies so clean. So, I ended up buying my own diapers, and laundering them myself. I work 32 hours per week, and have not found laundering the diapers to be at all difficult. To clean them, I rinse off any poop (in the toilet), and put all the diapers in the washing machine (I wash about 2x/week), add 2 scoops of oxy-clean and one measurement of laundry soap (I read that Dreft leaves a film on diapers), and fill the wash with cold water. I usually let the diapers soak in this mixture overnight, then finish running the cold wash, then without adding any additional soap, I run the wash one more time on hot (to help sterilize, and to rinse off any extra soap). It has worked great, and I have no stains on any of my diapers. Good luck to you and whatever you decide. I hope this information can help anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We still CD our 16 month old and have been very happy. We never used a service. We bought 4 dozen indian prefolds (google it) and use about 5-6 covers per size. We use ''All Free and Clear'' and have been very happy with the cleaning in our home washer. Only once have we done the ''refresh'' of baking soda and vinegar.
I was daunted at first, but it all went smoothly. We do use ''sposies'' (disposables) for travel. We also, once she was on solids, started using a diaper liner (looks like a dryer sheet) that makes dropping the poop into the toilet a breeze.
There's lots of support for you at places like www.diaperpin.com and in the forums on www.babycenter.com cloth diapering happily!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We use FuzziBunz and wash them ourselves. It's actually not that much extra work.
We have enough (18) so that we only wash every other day when he was younger and every third day now. They're fleece (with hemp inserts) so the baby's bottom stays really dry. We found them to be way less expensive than a service and our baby stayed in the smallest size until he was almost a year old. We have a low water use washer and they suggest using seventh generation soap and they do get really clean. If they're stained at all after washing you just leave them in the sun to bleach.
When it's warm enough we dry them outside to save use of the dryer and it's better for the diapers. There are many different options like this available anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have been using Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers from day one, and washing them at home using gentle ecologically-frendly detergents such as Ecover, Seventh Generation, etc. Never had a problem with stains on diaper covers (diaper inserts did get slightly stained with time.) You can read up on the care of Fuzzi Bunz, for example, at www.nurturedfamily.com . It is really not that complicated -- cold rinse, hot and heavy wash, double rinse, normal dry cycle. In the early months the diaper laundry amounted to about a load per day, after a year approximately one load every couple of days (we have a dozen of cloth diapers and use disposables for outdoor trips.) RR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First off, the KissaLuvs cloth diaper brand is the best for ease of getting on/off -makes a huge different for middle of the night changings and all around easyness.
Now, here's a much cheaper (and very easy, acutally) idea than a diaper service.
There is this thing called ''The Potty Pail'' for $20. It's not fancy, but it's a lifesaver and SO easy (totally different from how our moms had to rinse each diaper off in the toilet - ew). It is a set up that hooks to the water pipe behind your toilet. Then you pull the plug from the bottom of the pail, set on toilet, take the poopies and spray off the chunks with the high- powered attachment. All said, less than five minutes. Pop everything in washer.
Seventh Generation Free and Clear works for us. You can also buy their Non-chlorine natural bleach, or just add vinegar to the load. Good Luck!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't have experience with a cloth diaper service, but we use cloth diapers and wash them at home. We simply collect wet and soiled diapers and covers in a Diaper Champ, which we line using a waterproof, washable bag. Every day or every other day, we dump the contents of the bag and the bag itself into our washing machine. We do a rinse cycle on cold, followed by a wash cycle on hot, using Trader Joe's biodegradeable, unscented laundry powder (a full scoop). We dry the cloth diapers in the dryer and hang the covers on the clothesline. Any stained diapers get hung on the clothesline after the dryer, to bleach out the stains. Never use chlorine bleach. Backing up a few steps, we use a liner at every diaper change. Because we use rice paper liners, wet liners can be washed and hung with the diaper covers. Soiled liners can be flushed. (This is not the case with Tushies liners, which disintigrate after each use.) We started using the liners when our baby started on solid food.
For whatever it is worth, I am happy we have cloth diapered and washing them ourselves has not been the burden everyone told me it would be. It is quite easy and means that we are in control of using the types of diapers, covers, and cleaning agents we want to use and it means we don't have bags of dirty diapers sitting around during the week. (With a service, you still have to wash the covers yourself, I believe.) It also means that after the initial supply expense, there has been very little cost in diapering our baby. Hope this helps! happy cloth diapering parents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you considered gDiapers as an alternative? I find them better than cloth. gDiapers.com anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was amused to read all of the thought everyone puts into washing their diapers. We rinse poopy diapers and put them in a special water-filled pail, keep all other diapers in a pail by the changing table. Then, every couple of days, I wash them with Tide (horror of horrors)...once. We are on kid number three with no problems and happy bottoms. And all grown-ups work full-time. Good luck anon
Berkeley Parents Network
Always remember the organic cloth diapers sold at natural, organic baby stores like: Her Sweet Baby
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have an 11 month old, and had the same concerns about diaper service diapers. I wondered how they could get all those diapers used by all those babies so clean. So, I ended up buying my own diapers, and laundering them myself. I work 32 hours per week, and have not found laundering the diapers to be at all difficult. To clean them, I rinse off any poop (in the toilet), and put all the diapers in the washing machine (I wash about 2x/week), add 2 scoops of oxy-clean and one measurement of laundry soap (I read that Dreft leaves a film on diapers), and fill the wash with cold water. I usually let the diapers soak in this mixture overnight, then finish running the cold wash, then without adding any additional soap, I run the wash one more time on hot (to help sterilize, and to rinse off any extra soap). It has worked great, and I have no stains on any of my diapers. Good luck to you and whatever you decide. I hope this information can help anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We still CD our 16 month old and have been very happy. We never used a service. We bought 4 dozen indian prefolds (google it) and use about 5-6 covers per size. We use ''All Free and Clear'' and have been very happy with the cleaning in our home washer. Only once have we done the ''refresh'' of baking soda and vinegar.
I was daunted at first, but it all went smoothly. We do use ''sposies'' (disposables) for travel. We also, once she was on solids, started using a diaper liner (looks like a dryer sheet) that makes dropping the poop into the toilet a breeze.
There's lots of support for you at places like www.diaperpin.com and in the forums on www.babycenter.com cloth diapering happily!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We use FuzziBunz and wash them ourselves. It's actually not that much extra work.
We have enough (18) so that we only wash every other day when he was younger and every third day now. They're fleece (with hemp inserts) so the baby's bottom stays really dry. We found them to be way less expensive than a service and our baby stayed in the smallest size until he was almost a year old. We have a low water use washer and they suggest using seventh generation soap and they do get really clean. If they're stained at all after washing you just leave them in the sun to bleach.
When it's warm enough we dry them outside to save use of the dryer and it's better for the diapers. There are many different options like this available anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have been using Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers from day one, and washing them at home using gentle ecologically-frendly detergents such as Ecover, Seventh Generation, etc. Never had a problem with stains on diaper covers (diaper inserts did get slightly stained with time.) You can read up on the care of Fuzzi Bunz, for example, at www.nurturedfamily.com . It is really not that complicated -- cold rinse, hot and heavy wash, double rinse, normal dry cycle. In the early months the diaper laundry amounted to about a load per day, after a year approximately one load every couple of days (we have a dozen of cloth diapers and use disposables for outdoor trips.) RR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First off, the KissaLuvs cloth diaper brand is the best for ease of getting on/off -makes a huge different for middle of the night changings and all around easyness.
Now, here's a much cheaper (and very easy, acutally) idea than a diaper service.
There is this thing called ''The Potty Pail'' for $20. It's not fancy, but it's a lifesaver and SO easy (totally different from how our moms had to rinse each diaper off in the toilet - ew). It is a set up that hooks to the water pipe behind your toilet. Then you pull the plug from the bottom of the pail, set on toilet, take the poopies and spray off the chunks with the high- powered attachment. All said, less than five minutes. Pop everything in washer.
Seventh Generation Free and Clear works for us. You can also buy their Non-chlorine natural bleach, or just add vinegar to the load. Good Luck!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't have experience with a cloth diaper service, but we use cloth diapers and wash them at home. We simply collect wet and soiled diapers and covers in a Diaper Champ, which we line using a waterproof, washable bag. Every day or every other day, we dump the contents of the bag and the bag itself into our washing machine. We do a rinse cycle on cold, followed by a wash cycle on hot, using Trader Joe's biodegradeable, unscented laundry powder (a full scoop). We dry the cloth diapers in the dryer and hang the covers on the clothesline. Any stained diapers get hung on the clothesline after the dryer, to bleach out the stains. Never use chlorine bleach. Backing up a few steps, we use a liner at every diaper change. Because we use rice paper liners, wet liners can be washed and hung with the diaper covers. Soiled liners can be flushed. (This is not the case with Tushies liners, which disintigrate after each use.) We started using the liners when our baby started on solid food.
For whatever it is worth, I am happy we have cloth diapered and washing them ourselves has not been the burden everyone told me it would be. It is quite easy and means that we are in control of using the types of diapers, covers, and cleaning agents we want to use and it means we don't have bags of dirty diapers sitting around during the week. (With a service, you still have to wash the covers yourself, I believe.) It also means that after the initial supply expense, there has been very little cost in diapering our baby. Hope this helps! happy cloth diapering parents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you considered gDiapers as an alternative? I find them better than cloth. gDiapers.com anon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was amused to read all of the thought everyone puts into washing their diapers. We rinse poopy diapers and put them in a special water-filled pail, keep all other diapers in a pail by the changing table. Then, every couple of days, I wash them with Tide (horror of horrors)...once. We are on kid number three with no problems and happy bottoms. And all grown-ups work full-time. Good luck anon
Berkeley Parents Network
Always remember the organic cloth diapers sold at natural, organic baby stores like: Her Sweet Baby
Drying cloth diapers out in the sun
How long do I need to keep the fuzzi bunz cloth diapers in the sun for the full sun-bleaching and drying effect?
I machine wash them and put them on a drying rack. If the sun is out all day and the diapers are dry, does it mean that it's as clean as it's going to get? Will they get any cleaner if I bring them in for the night and set them outside again the next day? Will the sunshine not take out some of the stains?? inquiring mama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've never actually had a stain problem with our Fuzzi Bunz, so this doesn't exactly address the problem, but I'm wondering how you wash them? That may be the key to eliminating future stains... I first run a soak cycle with the poopy diapers in COLD water with a little bit of All Free & Clear or Allen's Naturally detergent and a scoop of Arm & Hammer washing soda (available in the laundry section at Berkeley Bowl). Spin, then add the wet diapers. Wash with hot water and a little more detergent and washing soda. Then run a cold rinse cycle. The cold water in the first step is key to not setting protein stains (like poop). I used to do this process with a regular top-loading washer, but now have a high-efficiency front-loading washer that can't do a soak cycle. I just run a heavy-duty cold cycle first, then add the wet diapers and run the hot one -- they're still stain-free after nearly two years (and two different sizes) of Fuzzi Bunz.
Another Cloth Diapering Mom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hanging the covers (and cloth diapers or inserts) in the sun until they dry is plenty! On a hot day, if that means 2 hours, wonderful. Come winter, it might mean all day. In the winter when it rains, I still hang diaper covers to dry, but inside, out of the sun. a mama who cloth diapers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know about fuzzi buns but my prefold whiten pretty well after a day in the (esp.) summer sun. I would check with fuzzi buns to see if you can do this, but adding vinegar to the rinse brightens my prefolds incredibly! can't beat prefolds!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I periodically bleach my Fuzzi Bunz in the sun, and I think it usually takes somewhere around 4 hours for them to get stain-free. I think some kinds of stains (from rash cream, for example) don't bleach out, but in my experience with only milk poop so far, the diapers have gotten totally white again. Hope that helps! Mama of a 9-week old
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've used Fuzzi Bunz with both my daughters and I've found that the strength of the sun has a lot to do with how effective it is at bleaching any stains out of the diapers/liners. The brighter and more direct the sun, the better. You can definitely try setting the diapers out again to see if they will get any whiter.
Personally, I don't worry too much about faint staining on either the diaper or the insert. As long as I know that I've laundered them thoroughly, I figure they are clean enough! Feel free to email me if you have any more questions - love those Fuzzi Bunz! kelly
Berkeley Parents Network
I machine wash them and put them on a drying rack. If the sun is out all day and the diapers are dry, does it mean that it's as clean as it's going to get? Will they get any cleaner if I bring them in for the night and set them outside again the next day? Will the sunshine not take out some of the stains?? inquiring mama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've never actually had a stain problem with our Fuzzi Bunz, so this doesn't exactly address the problem, but I'm wondering how you wash them? That may be the key to eliminating future stains... I first run a soak cycle with the poopy diapers in COLD water with a little bit of All Free & Clear or Allen's Naturally detergent and a scoop of Arm & Hammer washing soda (available in the laundry section at Berkeley Bowl). Spin, then add the wet diapers. Wash with hot water and a little more detergent and washing soda. Then run a cold rinse cycle. The cold water in the first step is key to not setting protein stains (like poop). I used to do this process with a regular top-loading washer, but now have a high-efficiency front-loading washer that can't do a soak cycle. I just run a heavy-duty cold cycle first, then add the wet diapers and run the hot one -- they're still stain-free after nearly two years (and two different sizes) of Fuzzi Bunz.
Another Cloth Diapering Mom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hanging the covers (and cloth diapers or inserts) in the sun until they dry is plenty! On a hot day, if that means 2 hours, wonderful. Come winter, it might mean all day. In the winter when it rains, I still hang diaper covers to dry, but inside, out of the sun. a mama who cloth diapers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know about fuzzi buns but my prefold whiten pretty well after a day in the (esp.) summer sun. I would check with fuzzi buns to see if you can do this, but adding vinegar to the rinse brightens my prefolds incredibly! can't beat prefolds!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I periodically bleach my Fuzzi Bunz in the sun, and I think it usually takes somewhere around 4 hours for them to get stain-free. I think some kinds of stains (from rash cream, for example) don't bleach out, but in my experience with only milk poop so far, the diapers have gotten totally white again. Hope that helps! Mama of a 9-week old
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've used Fuzzi Bunz with both my daughters and I've found that the strength of the sun has a lot to do with how effective it is at bleaching any stains out of the diapers/liners. The brighter and more direct the sun, the better. You can definitely try setting the diapers out again to see if they will get any whiter.
Personally, I don't worry too much about faint staining on either the diaper or the insert. As long as I know that I've laundered them thoroughly, I figure they are clean enough! Feel free to email me if you have any more questions - love those Fuzzi Bunz! kelly
Berkeley Parents Network
Cheap source for Fuzzi Bunz Cloth Diapers
Where's the cheapest place to get Fuzzi Bunz diapers? Georgina
The last time I researched prices on Fuzzi Bunz (about 2 years ago), I found Zannadu.com was the best. It's run by a WAHM in MA, and both a friend and I have ordered lots of FBs from her over the last couple years and been very satisfied Another Cloth Diapering Mom
I am not sure if you are looking for new or used Fuzzi Bunz, but I have found them cheapest through eBay. I also suggest you look for Wonderoos (also a pocket diaper), which fit most babies from newborn through at least 18 months...one size fits all as they adjust to fit. If you are looking to support a local store, you can find Fuzzi Bunz at The Nuture Center also cloth diapering!
Berkeley Parents Network
The last time I researched prices on Fuzzi Bunz (about 2 years ago), I found Zannadu.com was the best. It's run by a WAHM in MA, and both a friend and I have ordered lots of FBs from her over the last couple years and been very satisfied Another Cloth Diapering Mom
I am not sure if you are looking for new or used Fuzzi Bunz, but I have found them cheapest through eBay. I also suggest you look for Wonderoos (also a pocket diaper), which fit most babies from newborn through at least 18 months...one size fits all as they adjust to fit. If you are looking to support a local store, you can find Fuzzi Bunz at The Nuture Center also cloth diapering!
Berkeley Parents Network
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
