The Gift of Cloth Diapers

I can’t believe that the holidays are just around the corner. The holiday season is one of the times where the most money is spent on buying gifts for other people. Whether you are buying gifts for family members, friends, or even those in need this holiday season, why not think about giving the gift of cloth diapers.

If you are reading this blog article, it probably means that you have or know someone with young babies in cloth diapers, or are even thinking about using them yourself. If this is the case, why not give the gift of cloth diapers to someone you know?

Too often around the holidays we get and even give gifts that are not always the most practical or useful. I know for me personally, I would love it if some of the gifts I received helped in my everyday life, and as a new mom, that includes diapers! I would love it if my boys had received cloth diapers as a Christmas gift! It could and would have been an item I used all year around! It could and would have saved us a ton of money on cloth diapers if people had bought them for us! It is a practical yet economical gift to give or receive.

WHERE TO BEGIN?

If You Would Like to Give Cloth Diapers

Pay attention to the family and friends around you who might be curious about cloth diapers. Take note if they make comments indicating they might want to try them out. For instance, I have a friend who announced on her facebook page that she was looking for unused cloth diapers. It doesn’t get much clearer than that! This is the perfect opportunity to give the gift of cloth diapers. You can start off with a single diaper, or even a small gift set depending on your budget!

If You Would Like to Receive Cloth Diapers

Make it clear what you need. I always have this problem with my family. I am never clear about what I might need and then end up getting things I don’t need or end up returning. It is better for all parties involved if you make it clear to them because they will appreciate getting you something you will use, while you will appreciate saving money and a more practical gift! If your family does not ask what you or your baby would like, why not make a “Wish List.” Many online stores allow you to make a list of items you would like. Simply e-mail this list to friends and family and you are all set to go!

Have you ever given or received the gift of cloth diapers?

Contributed by: Julie

Pant Choices and Alternatives for Bulky Cloth

Cold weather has arrived for most of us. This means going pants-less is not an option for our cute fluffy tushy babies. There are many cloth diaper options out there that are slim and allow for wearing of normal pants, but others are bulky whether it's the style of the diaper or the need to add extra inserts for absorbency. So, what are your options when your baby’s diaper is too bulky for normal bottoms?

The first option you have is to find pants with a little extra stretch to them. Infant/Toddler jeans with stretch in the fabric or jeggings are a good option for fitting over the bulk and not having to worry about moving up sizes and dealing with too long of pants. Stores that I’ve seen stretchy jeans/jeggings at include Walmart, Target, Crazy 8, The Children’s Place, and Baby Gap to name a few. Also non-jean fabrics are generally a good option for stretching over diapers [a few options in here would be cords, sweatpants, cotton fabric or fleece bottoms]. Just be sure that once on they are not causing too much compression upon the diaper which could lead to leaks.

A second option is buy pants with adjustable waist bands in one size larger than what your child wears. That way there is more room within the pant to accommodate the diaper but you can adjust the elastic in the waistband tighter so the pants aren’t falling off your baby. In most cases the extra length won’t be a huge issue since the diaper will raise the pant up a little, but if you do find the pants are a little longer you can fold the hem up if need be- luckily this time of year many children are wearing boots so you are able to hide the folded hem inside those J A few stores that I’ve seen carry adjustable waist bands include Target, The Children’s Place and Old Navy.

A third option is to find alternatives to pants. In less chilly areas, this could be skirts with thick tights for girls. Boys are much harder to find alternatives too since you can’t put them in a dress or skirt. For boys in warmer climate areas can do baby legs in the winter, but for majority of winter areas you’ll probably have to use first or second option.

Whatever option you choose, to avoid leaks, choose a pant or pant alternative that will not cause compression issues and are loose enough for baby to have a free range of leg motion.

Let us know what has worked for keeping your cloth diapered baby’s legs warm during the winter seasons!


Contributed by: Alex

Battling Ammonia

It has happened to the best of us. We think all is going well with our wash routine, and then ammonia hits. Nobody can mistake that horrible smack your face burning ammonia smell, and whether its while the diaper is on your little one, or if its when you open the diaper pail or forgotten wet bag it can knock you off your feet. Ammonia may seem like it happens all of a sudden but it builds up over time.

The first course of action against ammonia is stripping your diapers. I strip with a normal wash with a little extra detergent, then just keep running rinses until the bubbles are gone. I usually end up with about 3-5 cycles without soap, then I throw the diapers in the dryer as usual. The sneaky thing about ammonia is even when the diapers smell clean from the washer, and still smell clean from the dryer, there can still be ammonia crystals hidden in the absorbent layers of your inserts/diapers. I have unfortunately stripped our diapers only to retain an ammonia smell, so what to do?

Some people will recommend a Dawn strip, but I personally don't unless you were cleaning non cloth diaper safe diaper cream or other grease from your diapers. I've also heard some people doing a vinegar or baking soda strip, but if you have hard water the vinegar can react and cause worse stink issues than you have now. There are products on the market you can add to your cycles to help prevent ammonia build up but these again have mixed results depending on your water type.

I personally do a bleach strip, which is recommended by some diaper manufacturers and not others. I have a wide variety of diapers and have bleach stripped them all at one point with no adverse reactions. As long as its only a once or twice a year phenomena I don't believe bleach stripping will ruin anything. If you are needing to fix ammonia more often that that, i suggest changing your wash routine because it isn't working for you; this could mean you need different soap, more/less soap, more water, its up to you to figure out.

Bleach stripping is pretty simple and not much different than a regular strip. I still add the detergent and wash on hot cycle with extra rinses. What turns a strip into a more effective bleach strip is simply adding bleach. Depending on your wash load, you can add up to a half cup of bleach to the wash cycle. Be sure to rinse rinse rinse to get any bleach out because bleach on baby butts isn't good, but neither is ammonia so make sure you run 4-5 rinses.

As I said, bleach shouldn't be used every wash or often at all. It can make your elastic weaker, effect the color/pattern of the diapers if applied directly, and possibly weaken your PUL. Bleach stripping is the only way I personally have found to completely knock out ammonia before it knocks me out. The best way to fix ammonia is prevention, so be sure that you are pre-rinsing your diapers, and not letting them sit dirty too long, because that is one of the main sources of ammonia!

Contributed by: Miranda

How To Deal with Diaper Rashes when Using Cloth Diapers

   

It really depends on the person you ask whether diaper rashes tend to occur more or less often in cloth diapers vs disposables. If you're currently battling a rash, you may tend to lean on the side of more, but most cloth experts {where their stats come from, who knows!} tend to say that rashes occur less often in cloth. No matter, like I said, if you're in the midst of battling a diaper rash, it can seem overwhelming when all you want is to make it go away!

 Honestly, I feel like the cloth diapering community tends to over think some things when it comes to cloth diapers. Diaper rashes in cloth should be approached in the same ways that a disposable diapering parent would approach the same issue. First step in dealing with a diaper rash is to identify the rash and culprit. If your rash is Yeast, that's a whole other ball game. But normal rashes can be caused by a multitude of issues and it's best to identify the cause so you can stop it from recurring. Some of the most common causes of diaper rash in cloth diapers are:

• Are your cloth diapers clean? Sometimes you may be using such little detergent that bacteria is actually hanging around your diapers.
• Using too much detergent? Maybe your diapers have build-up? Stripping your cloth diapers can help in this situation.
• Baby is Teething or is Sick.
• Prolonged wet or dirty diaper.
• Allergic Reaction to Fabrics {could be synthetic, fleece, PUL, etc.}

 If it's possible to identify the reason for the rash, the worst part is over because you now know how to help it from happening again. But what do you do now to get the rash gone for good?

• Change your baby's diaper often.
• Use a good, cloth safe diaper cream. One of my favorites just happens to be Coconut Oil! It's a solid, but melts at body temperature and is water soluble so it washes right out in your cloth diaper laundry.
• Use a disposable or reusable fleece liner. Not only will the liners help keep baby's bottom a little more dry, they're also a great barrier for cloth creams {that are both safe for cloth diapers and some that aren't}. If you use a cream that isn't safe for your diapers, just be sure to wash the reusable liners separately than your diapers. Here are some great tips on making your own reusable liners.

 

Have you dealt with Diaper Rashes in Cloth Diapers? Do you feel like the occur more or less often than with disposable diapers?

  Lindsey is the author behind the So Easy Being Green blog. Once she decided to use cloth diapers on her children, she started making green-er choices in all areas of her life. SEBG is a resource for parents who want to make small changes that will make a big impact on their path to a green-er life.

Why Miranda is Thankful for Cloth

there are many things for my little family to be thankful for. health, food, clothing, love. november has become a month of reflection of all we are thankful for, and to start off on a light note, im thankful for our decision to cloth diaper. or actually my decision since i was told babe would no longer change diapers if i switched. i was the main diaper changer anyway so it didnt matter, and after a few months he came around. there are many reasons to be thankful for cloth, and here are my top ten...

1. the cuteness

i am thankful for the cuteness of my cloth diapers. this is why i started cloth diapering. there are other reasons (some listed below) but the main reason was the cuteness of designs. sposies are pretty boring. theyre white and flat. the tabs are there. my cloth are fluffy, fun, festive, unique, and can even have fun snaps if i choose.

2. the environment

i am thankful to be doing a little to lesson my carbon footprint by using cloth. i may forget to throw all little pieces of paper in the recycling instead of the trash, but cloth diapers are the ultimate in recycling...they get used again and again and again, baby after baby (more on that in a bit). instead of helping fill a landfill every time toddler2.0 feels the call of nature, we get to lesson the garbage.

3. the cost

im thankful for cloth diapers saving me money. theoretically i could have spent under $200 and been set for life with china cheapies (less if i chose prefolds and covers). that $200 would have bought about 33 diapers which is a nice sized stash. not only wouldnt have had to buy more the entire time toddler2.0 is in cloth, but with belly3.o coming i still dont need more diapers...i can continue using the ones i already have. of course im a sucker for cute (see #1) so i have spent over that on diapers, but i didnt have to, i chose to. sposies by comparison cost about $800 a year. if you potty train at 2 thats $1600, and next baby you get to do it all over again.

4. the resale

im thankful for cloth diapers having a good resale value. when sposies are used they are trash, and that money is gone. once im finished having babies i can sell the diapers at close to what i paid for them, as long as they are still in great condition. even in bad condition i can regain some of the cost by reselling to someone who is a fixer. save money and get some refunded.

5. no middle of the night runs to the store

im thankful for cloth because i will never run out in the middle of the night and need to make an emergency walmart trip. im pretty bad when it comes to noticing im low on something disposable. if we used sposies i know i would inevitably reach for a clean diaper and find none. scary people are at walmart in the middle of the night. i dont want to go through that. as long as i do diaper wash every other day or every few days we are golden.

6. no diaper rash

im thankful for cloth diapers lessening our diaper rash. toddler2.0 has had 3 rashes in 17 months, and one was more of a reaction to a new detergent. cloth diapers are made from more natural and breathable materials, so the chance of diaper rash is reduced. my niece is in sposies and i cannot tell you the last time she didnt have some degree of diaper rash.

7. supporting small business

im thankful that buying the majority of my cloth diapers helped small businesses. a lot of them are from work at home moms, so i know my money went to support a family, not into the belly of a giant and faceless corporation like sposies. even the "bigger" cloth companies were mostly started by moms and grew. its also nice to buy USA made products, although i do have a few imports.

8. easier potty training

im thankful that cloth diapers help potty training. i dont speak from personal experience, but friends have confirmed this. when a toddler is in sposies, the wetness is wicked away so they cannot tell they are wet as easily as when in a cloth diaper. we potty trained child1.0 by putting him in undies, and it took one wet sock for him to realize he did not want to feel wet. once toddler2.0 is ready, he will be able to easier recognize and avoid wetness!

9. less toxins on the baby

im thankful that cloth diapers lessen the amount of toxins my babies come in contact with. there are toxins everywhere so unless i build bubbles they arent totally safe, but i do all i can to limit the amount around/in them. while cloth diapers are made from natural fibers, sposies are full of chemichals i cannot pronounce like sodium polyacrylare. what is that?

10. friendships

im thankful that cloth diapers have led me to be introduced to some great friends. through meetings and online, we not only share a love of fluff but friendship. i cannot name one person i bonded with over sposies when we used them on child1.0!

Contributed by: Miranda

Transitioning to Cloth Wipes

If you've decided to make the switch to cloth diapers, deciding to use cloth wipes also might be an easy decision. However, it took months before I was comfortable giving up disposables wipes for cloth. Why? Honestly, I'm really not sure. I was a little overwhelmed with all the different types of cloth wipes {just like diapers}, what type of solution I should use, how I would store them... Turns out, transitioning to cloth wipes was super easy and indeed adds to the money savings of cloth diapers too! Tossing your cloth wipes right into the pail with your cloth diapers and you'll have virtually no waste coming from using cloth diapers! Cloth Wipes usually range in price anywhere from 50 cents to $2 a wipe, depending on the style and brand. One way to make the transition without investing is to make your own cloth wipes!

DIY Cloth Wipes

Making your own cloth wipes simply couldn't be easier. There are a variety of materials that you can use - cotton, flannel, terrycloth, even bamboo velour. The first wipes I ever made were small squares of cut up old t-shirts and old hand towels. I sewed the squares together so I would have one side for scrubbing after messier diapers and one side that was soft. You can even go as simple as cutting up old receiving blankets that you don't need and baby washcloths make perfect cloth wipes too!

Storing Cloth Wipes

I store my wipes in a disposable wipes box. No matter what size of wipe you make, they fit easily folded or not. I also store mine wet in the wipes box, but make sure to use them within a couple days so they don't mildew. You can also store them dry and use a squirt bottle {or simply wet them in the sink} when you're ready to use!

Cloth Wipe Solutions

There are just as many option for cloth wipe solutions as there are for cloth wipe materials! Plain water is an option, but if you're looking for a little more {or simply want those cloth wipes to smell good}, you can add in essential oils or even a drop or two of Baby Soap. There are also companies that sell Cloth Wipe Solutions that come in forms of liquid and soap bits. No matter how you decide to store your cloth wipes, what solution and materials you choose - I think you'll find that using cloth wipes goes hand in hand with the cloth diapering process and is quite an easy transition!


 Lindsey is the author behind the So Easy Being Green blog. Once she decided to use cloth diapers on her children, she started making green-er choices in all areas of her life. SEBG is a resource for parents who want to make small changes that will make a big impact on their path to a green-er life.

Wool Dryer Balls: A Simple Eco-Friendly Drying Solution

With winter just around the corner, the hours of sunlight and the days of “sunning” your diapers will be quickly dwindling. While you can still “sun” your cloth diapers in the winter time because of the UV rays, it is a little more challenging. Have you ever thought of using wool dryer balls to help get your cloth diapers dry in an eco-friendly, cost saving way? These little wool dryer balls may just be your answer!

Wool dryer balls are essentially pure wool wound into a ball. The wool can come in all different scents, styles, or colors depending on the manufacturer. The wool dryer balls are then put into your dryer with your cloth diapers or even laundry. You may start with 3-4 dryer balls, but the more you add, the quicker the drying time and thus the more money you save. Ideally, you would want to be using 7-8 dryer balls to get the maximum cost savings and drying results. The more balls put in the dryer, the more it allows for the clothes or cloth diapers to lift up and dry more efficiently.

One of the best part’s about the dryer balls is that they will last you a very long time. I have had my dryer balls for over 1 year and they are still looking and working great! In addition, they provide your clothes or cloth diapers with an all natural way of softening your fabrics so they don’t feel “crunchy.” There is nothing worse than taking a load of cloth diapers or clothing out of the laundry to have them feel stiff and hard. Another great thing about wool dryer balls is that they don’t put any chemicals on the fabrics that they come into contact with. Unlike traditional fabric softeners or dryer sheets that leave chemicals all over your clothing/cloth diapers, wool dryer balls leave nothing!

So what are you waiting for this winter season? Why not give wool dryer balls a try and see if you like the results. It may change the way you think about traditional laundry methods.

Contributed by: Julie