Posts Tagged ‘cloth diapers’

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Do Your Cloth Diapers Leak? 5 Solutions for Leaky Diapers

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
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Leaky cloth diapers are kind of frustrating. Actually they are more than “kind of” frustrating…they are super annoying! You end up changing baby’s clothes each diaper change, adding to the never-ending mountain of laundry. If they leak while baby is sleeping this often entails washing bedding as well. This can make even the most devoted cloth diapering mama consider using disposables. But, wait! Don’t give up on cloth diapering just yet. Here are five simple solutions for leaky cloth diapers:

1. Double check the fit – The most important protection you have against leaky diapers is a proper fitting diaper. If you have an adjustable size diaper (ie- a one size diaper), perhaps experiment with the settings a bit. Sometimes parents keep baby on the middle setting for too long because they are worried about their nine month old fitting into the largest setting on a diaper that is supposed to last until the baby is two years old. I get it! I am even guilty of that myself! But delaying moving up a size doesn’t ensure the diapers will fit as long as you want them to…it may just be preventing them from fitting properly and therefore working effectively in the meantime. Also be assured that it is very possible (and likely) that the setting that fits your 9 month old, will also fit when he/she is older. Babies’ bodies change a great deal during the first two years of life. There is usually a “chubby” phase that occurs as they are on the brink of greater mobility.

2. Add extra protection – There are many awesome options for increasing the absorbency of your cloth diapers. Soakers, doublers or an extra insert might be just the thing for you to help keep baby’s bum (and clothes and bedding) extra dry!

3. Strip your diapers – If it’s been a while since you last stripped your diapers, perhaps they are in need of a good stripping! Stripping cloth diapers is when you remove the laundry soap residue build-up that interfere with the absorbency of your diapers. Not sure how to strip your diapers? Check out this blog post for more information.

4. Consider re-vamping your stash – Truth is certain diapers fit certain babies better. Just as two women can both weigh 140 lbs but that doesn’t mean they will fit into the same pair of jeans. If you have a variety of diapers in your stash, you probably know which one is your favorite…the one that’s always dirty! The least favorites are the ones that are always there, perfectly clean, just staring you in the face each time you change your baby’s diaper. Keep in mind that what is your least favorite, might be somebody else’s top favorite! Since there is a market for buying used diapers, consider selling the diapers that don’t work well for you. Then you can turn around and re-invest that money into buying more of your favorites! If you are unsure what your favorite diaper is, consider doing the 30 Day Fling with Fluff package through Mom’s Milk Boutique. It’s a great way, low-cost way to sample a variety of cloth diapers to determine what works best for your baby. Each brand of cloth diaper has it’s own unique design and combination of fibers that may or may not be a good fit for your little one. As with most things in parenting, the only way to really know what works is through experimentation.

5. Change baby more frequently – Some babies are what we affectionately refer to as ‘heavy wetters’. If you have a heavy wetter changing baby more frequently might be your best protection against leaky diapers. It seems that on average most cloth diaper mamas change (or at least check) their baby every two hours during the day. Some mamas can go as long as four or more hours. However if you have a heavy wetter you will likely need to change baby at a higher frequency than average. How do you know if you have a heavy wetter? If you are questioning it, you probably don’t…because you would know if you do! :)

Have you dealt with leaky cloth diapers? Any tips or suggestions to share with your fellow cloth diapering mamas?

-Sarah

Tags: absorbency, changing baby, cloth diapering, cloth diapers, diaper change, doublers, inserts, laundry soap, one-size diapers, possible solutions, soakers, soap residue, stripping diapers
Posted in cloth diapers, Sarah, Washing Cloth Diapers | Comments Off

Sunday Funday Giveaway: Mighty Be by Ju-Ju-Be

Sunday, March 4th, 2012
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Mighty Be in Marvelous Mums

I have a feeling you will like this week’s giveaway! Inspired by my recent diaper bag woe’s post, this week’s giveaway is for a Mighty Be by Ju-Ju-Be!!! For most of you this bag hardly needs an introduction. Ju-Ju-Be is a well known and well loved brand in the cloth diapering community. The Might Be in particular is a great choice because of it’s size. It can comfortably fit enough cloth diapers for an long outing plus much more! There are lots of pockets in it to keep you well organized. It snaps open and close for easy access. In addition to the high functionality of the bag, Might Be diaper bags are super cute! The prints are whimsical and the style of the bag has a hip, sporty, fun look to it.

If you would like to win a FREE Might Be diaper bag, enter this week’s giveaway today!

 
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Tags: cloth diapering, cloth diapers, diaper bag, diaper bags, Ju-Ju-Be diaper bag, Might Be, Mighty Be by Ju-Ju-Be
Posted in cloth diapers, giveaway, Sarah | 2 Comments »

Review of bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper

Monday, February 13th, 2012
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This diaper rocks! I want more in my stash!! End of review. :)

Only kidding! Sometimes that is all I need to hear about a product to try it for myself, however I know more details are helpful…especially when making important decisions such as what cloth diapers to purchase. So here’s WHY the bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper rocks:

First a quick description of the diaper. It’s a one size pocket diaper. For those of you intimately familiar with cloth diapering, you can easily read and understand that sentence. However if you are newer to cloth diapering sometimes the terminology is confusing. Learning a whole new vocabulary comes along with cloth diapering and I know it took me a little while to speak cloth diapering fluently. A one size diaper is a diaper that can be adjusted to grow with baby so essentially only one size of diaper is needed from birth through potty training. The bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper has a 3×3 snap down design that adjusts the sizing to fit small, medium and large sizes. It will fit babies approximately 7lbs to 35+ pounds. Here’s a picture that shows a side by side of the diaper on the smallest and largest setting.

A pocket diaper is a diaper that has an opening in it that you stuff with an insert which creates the absorbent layers of the diaper. The bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper comes with TWO inserts. A small one to use with newborns and a large one to use with growing baby. Or you can use both inserts for an older baby who is a heavy wetter or needs extra protection at night. Currently I use the newborn insert with other diapers and the larger insert folded down with my bumGenius. Here are two pictures to show you the two different sizes of inserts that come with the bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper:

You can see that the larger insert snaps down which is a feature I love because it offers extra protection where needed depending on which way you stuff it; in the front for boys in the back for girls. The pocket opening is large enough to easily stuff the insert, however is cleverly designed to hold in moisture.

Speaking of moisture, that is one of the biggest factors in how much I like a diaper. Does it contain moisture and poop? How well does it prevent leaks and blowouts? One would assume all diapers are created equal when it comes to this feature (because that basically is a cloth diaper’s #1 job; the #2 job is to look cute!) however that is not necessarily the case. The effectiveness of a cloth diaper mostly depends on 1) the design of it and 2) the fit of it. BumGenius has perfected their design to the point where I cannot even think of suggestions for improvement. The 3×3 snap design, hook and loop or snap closure, and two sizes of inserts, allow you a custom fit diaper every time and at each stage of growth. I have had ZERO incidents of leaks or blowouts with my bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper!

Another important feature of a diaper is how trim it fits. A bulky diaper is cumbersome on baby and to pack in a diaper bag. A bulky diaper can impede baby’s movement and impact how clothing fits on a baby. A nice trim fitting diaper is definitely preferred, especially once baby is mobile. Here’s my active 11 month old wearing a bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper on the largest setting. You can clearly see how trim fitting is in these pictures.

The bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper is my favorite diaper for on the go because I am fully confident in it! Plus it is fast to diaper baby with and the trim design packs well. The colors and prints also deserve honorable mention because they are gorgeous. Overall I give it 5 stars!!!

Have you tried the bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper? If so, what do you think of it? Anything in particular you like or dislike?

-Sarah

 

 

Tags: bumGenius, bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper, cloth diapering, cloth diapers, newborns, one-size diapers, pocket diapers, Review of bumGenius 4.0 One Size Stay Dry Cloth Diaper
Posted in Co-sleeping, Product Reviews, Sarah | 1 Comment »

Our (modified) use of Elimination Communication

Monday, February 6th, 2012
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Abraham at 15 months old

Okay fair warning here: poop (and variations of the word) will be mentioned frequently in this post. Okay now that we got that covered, let’s discuss Elimination Communication (EC).

What is Elimination Communication? It is”toilet training practice in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant’s need to eliminate waste” (Wikipedia, 2011). I first heard about it while visiting with a friend who’s baby was close in age to my then 5 month old son. She mentioned how much she liked using cloth diapers in conjunction with practicing Elimination Communication. When she explained to me what it was, I admit I thought it sounded kind of strange, but I was also intrigued. Later that day as I was driving home I thought more about it. I realized that for the most part I knew when my son was pooping. Normally I would just wait until he finished and then change his diaper.  I thought to myself, ‘gee why not try holding him over the toilet and just let him poop in there?” I mean, isn’t that were I would prefer for poop to be? The more I thought about it, the stranger my current approached seemed to me. Why did I wait for him to finish his ‘business’ in his diaper, then dunk his dirty diaper in the toilet to clean it off, when in fact it might be possible just to ‘catch’ the poop in the toilet in the first place?

So the next day I decided to try it….and much to my delight, my five month old actually pooped in the toilet! Mmm, this could make diapering much easier! So from five months on, anytime I thought my son was going to poop, I would rush to the bathroom, take off his diaper and hold him over the toilet. Once he was big enough to actually sit on the potty, I would sit him on it instead. In just a few short weeks it seemed he was pooping almost exclusively in the potty.

Okay, trust me…I know how crazy I sound saying my 6 month old was potty trained. Truthfully he wasn’t ‘potty trained’. Not in the traditional sense of the word. Rather I was more attune to his elimination needs/cues and responding immediately by bringing him to the bathroom. What made this a relatively easy process with my second son was that his cues were super easy to read and he tended to poop around the same time most days. Shortly after his first birthday he began telling us when he had to poop by saying ‘poo-poo’.

There are more extensive means of practicing Elimination Communication that include responding to your baby’s urination needs as well. Since those are typically more subtle cues, it takes a greater attentiveness. I will be honest that I personally didn’t have as much incentive to hold my son over the potty to urinate since wet cloth diapers are really no big deal to change or wash. I actually don’t mind wet diapers at all…it was dunking messy diapers that convinced me to give Elimination Communication a try.  And I am glad I did because Elimination Communication and cloth diapers certainly are a dynamic duo!

Did you/do you practice Elimination Communication with your baby? If so, we would love to hear your experience with it!

-Sarah

 

Tags: cloth diapers, elimination communication, timing signals, toilet training
Posted in cloth diapers, Sarah, Washing Cloth Diapers | 4 Comments »

Cloth Swim Diapers

Monday, January 30th, 2012
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8 month old Iz in a Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diapers

With Spring Break on the horizon, your family might be getting ready to take a vacation to a warm destination where you’ll be spending lots of time pool or ocean side? Or perhaps you take baby swimming on a regular basis at the local recreation center for open swim or to participate in a baby swim class? Or you might be among the lucky few who live near an ocean and visit the beach frequently? Whatever the case maybe, if you are taking your baby swimming, you might consider using a cloth swim diaper.

Cloth swim diapers carry all the same ecological and economical benefits that regular cloth diapers do! Here, let’s actually do the math:

Name brand disposable swim diapers run about .90cents a piece. A brand new Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diaper in a size large will cost you about $16 and on average will fit baby from 6months old to 15 months old. But remember that cloth diapers can be used with multiple kids. The Imse Vimse pictured here on 8 month old Iz, was actually used by his two older brothers when they were babies. So imagine how many uses this bathing suit has gotten, keeping in mind that we live in a hot, dry climate and have access to a pool and hot tub on a daily basis.  Let’s just pretend we’ve used it 100 times, even though the actual number of uses is probably higher. If we had been using disposable swim diapers we would have spent about $90, so using a cloth swim diaper saved us around $84 (not to mention that is 100 less diapers in the landfill). However it’s likely that the savings are even higher simply due to the convenience of always having a swim diaper available. You know how it is when you have to run to the store for something, you are likely to pick up other random stuff even if there is only one item such as ‘swim diapers’ on your list. Or you stop at a higher-priced convenient store on the way to the beach to pick up swim diapers and pay twice the amount you would at a big box store. The convenience of always having a swim diaper available is definitely an added bonus in my mind. Additionally because I have boys, the cloth swim diaper also functioned as a bathing suit so I never needed to purchase a separate bathing suit.

Bummis Swimmi Swim Diaper

Now you might be wondering if a cloth swim diaper is effective in holding in messes in the water. In my five years experience we have had no issues with blowouts in the pool…thank goodness! The design of cloth swim diapers is not to absorb, but to contain. Therefore you want to be sure to have a snug, but comfortable fit. In addition to the Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diaper  I have a Bummis Swimmi Swim Diapers. One thing I like about the design of the Bummis Swimmi Swim Diaper is the velcro closure because it allows a custom fit. I also like the interior mesh fabric as it seems very effective in containing messes. The other question you might have is in regards to how well the fabric holds up with the repeated chlorine exposure. And my answer would be it does surprisingly well! As previously mentioned we’ve used the same swim diaper with multiple children over multiple years with no issues of the fabric wearing out prematurely.

Both the Bummis Swimmi Swim Diaper and the Imse Vimse Reusable Swim Diaper are great swim diaper options…and I almost forgot to mention that they both come in super-duper adorable prints including gender-specific and gender-neutral options. :)

Do you use a cloth swim diaper with your baby? Any extra thoughts to share? Would love to hear from you!

-Sarah

Tags: bathing suit, bummis swimmi swim diapers, cloth diapers, economical benefits, imse vimse, reusable swim diaper, reusable swim diapers
Posted in cloth diapers, Eco Friendly, Sarah | 2 Comments »

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