One of those moments I wish I hadn't chose cloth diapers

Friday morning we went for a walk, as usual. I thought I smelled something as I was strapping little man into the stroller, but I choose to wait to deal with it later. Lately, I've been changing his diaper too early and gotten "surprises" in two diapers, instead of just one. When we got home, i took him back to his room to be changed before naptime, like always. And, oh man, what I found: an explosion. If you know anything about cloth diapering, you know that explosions are extremely rare; I can recall less than five in little man's 14 months of life thus far. This one was, by far, the worst yet.

I pulled off his pants and found poo caked inside about half of one pant leg, and that's when I knew it was going to be bad. Since explosions are rare with cloth, you know it's a bad, bad, bad diaper when it does happen. I used five wipes, and there were still flecks left on his poor little cheeks. Regardles of the sheer volume of poo in this diaper, it was also the worst type of poo: sticky. It's been this way lately, as little man refuses to eat anything real solid. The most solid things he eats are cheeses and rice cakes, which isn't enough to create solid poo, apprently. Oh, how I wish he'd eat chicken again!

I got little man down for his nap and headed to the bathroom with all the clothes he'd been wearing. I started with his pants. The upside to using cloth at this moment was that I had a nice diaper sprayer to get the poo off his pants easily. Unfortunately I also had to get it off his diaper, which was filled with sticky goo from front to back, and the diaper cover, both the outside and inside. When I was finally finished, the toilet needed to be wiped down as well as the area surrounding it. The downside to a diaper sprayer is that it's incredibly powerful, so you can imagine what it does to explosive diapers. I'm glad I was already planning to wash his diapers then because it meant no stain on his pants. I was also planning a shower during little man's nap this morning, but I felt like I nedded and deserved it after that escapade.

Yes, these moments are terrible with cloth diapers, but, overall, it's a worthwile decision. I wouldn't do it differently.

Traveling with Cloth Diapers

Once again, as an expecting mother all I can tell you about this subject are my preparations.  For running errands, I intend to have a smaller wet bag to go in my mommy clutch by Lilly Bit that will serve as the diaper bag.  Wet/dry bags have pockets for both soiled and unsoiled items.  For longer days out, I will bring a larger wet/dry diaper bag, like the bag or backpack I registered for on Amazon, both by Planet Wise.  I intend to sew in velcro in the backpack so that the wet pocket will velcro closed to help prevent smells and leaks from escaping.  I also purchased a wet/dry bag with clear pockets on the outside by Smitten Baby from babyhalfoff.com because I liked the idea of having pockets that would allow me to see where things are.  However, the pockets only have one piece of velcro in the middle for the closure, so I may sew some more velcro on so that the pocket closes more.

Don't forget to have a nice changing pad, too!  I registered for Kushies Deluxe Flannel Changing Pad because they're extra large, soft on one side, and waterproof on the other.  If you have a crossover, SUV, or van, you might also like the car changing pad by Dipe n' Go.  It attaches to the inside back of your car, holds diapers wipes, and keeps the pad in place since it's being held in down.  I've also found a couple diaper rash ointment options that allow you to not get gunk all over your hands!  Wouldn't that be nice while you're out, especially?  One is the Magic Stick by GroVia, which is all-natural, and the other is California Baby's Non-Burning Diaper Spray. 

Both of our parents live out of town, so in traveling to their houses, I'll bring either the diaper pail liner for soiled diapers or a couple large wet bags, and one of the larger wet/dry bags.  I will certainly have to have all of my diapers clean before leaving, and bring all of them with me.  If we'll be there for more than 2-3 days, then I'll also have to bring stuff for washing the diapers (i.e., detergent).

Cloth Diapering--A healthier choice?

There's much debate among researchers about whether cloth or disposable diapers are a healthier, safer choice.  Web MD concludes that cloth may not actually be so much more safe and healthy for a baby than thought, despite listing the many chemicals in disposables within this article.  The article discusses some of the biggest health concerns I've heard.  The same use of harmful chemicals in tampons long ago is present in disposable diapers, but the article disputes this concern with the fact that tampons were inserted in the body whereas diaper are not.  Since I'm having a boy, I was concerned when I heard about the German study that found scrotum temperatures to be higher in boys who wore disposables, which kills the sperm.  However, Web MD says that another study was done two years later that shows the temperatures were the same.  Additionally, dioxin (or a type of bleach) is present in most disposable diapers to make them white, so Web MD whisks away this worry by saying that parents can choose to buy chlorine-free diapers. The article fails to mention that dioxin is also known to cause cancer and is banned in most other countries, but Michelle Alsoop addresses that in her article about dioxin elimination.

Personally, I don't think Web MD's counter-arguments are very strong.  Despite the fact that diapers aren't inserted in the baby and you can choose chlorine-free diapers, there's a host of other chemicals in disposables.  Plus how can we be sure that the same tampon chemical really isn't harmful?  What if parents don't know dioxin is present in disposables?  Lastly, how could one study show differences in scrotum temperatures and one doesn't?  It seems there are some major discrepancies here.

Unfortunately, there are a host of other things to be concerned about regarding disposables.  In an article from CBC News, it says, "Diapers contain a variety of plastics, adhesives, glues, elastics and lubricants, some of which can cause irritation."  The article also explains that diaper-making companies are self-regulated, meaning they have to check for themselves to make sure they're meeting diaper regulations.  What a joke!!  They also don't have to list all of the ingredients in their diapers, and many companies only list one ingredient while there's a long list of other things in them.  According to the article, some diapers may have chemicals in them that are known to cause irritations, more serious skin problems, and respiratory problems. 

My conclusion is I know what's in a cloth diaper, uh, cloth, which is more safe than taking a gamble with disposables.  It seems there's no incredibly conclusive evidence on the harmful effects of disposables, but there are a lot of big concerns.  I'd rather not risk those concerns.

Cloth Diapering 101

This coming Saturday is the Great Cloth Diaper Change event where parents around the world will attempt to set a new world record for the most cloth diapers changed at one time.  Leading up to this event is a blog hop started by The Eco Chic (see button to the right), which I decided to join today since this blog is partially about cloth diapering.  I will resume my once-a-week blogging next week with a post on reusable shopping bags, as previously promised.  Today I decided to address Monday's topic since I didn't write about it yet.

As I mentioned before, I'm expecting my first baby in a few months, so I can't offer much advice about how to cloth diaper.  However, I can offer up the advice I've gotten from others about what you need.  Here's my growing list:

1. Diapers (obviously): 20-24 seems to be the consensus among CD users I know.  There are all sorts of different kinds, but I plan to use mostly covers with inserts by GroVia, BonniBuns, and Thirsties (because they make a small size to fit newborns).  I also plan to have a few FuzziBunz* pocket diapers to help along the nursery workers at church and my parents with this new challenge of cloth diapering.

*Correction: I'm now planning to get Booty Buns pocket diapers because they truly will fit a newborn.  This company is also a stay at home mom business that's conveniently located near me so I can pick up the diapers from her instead of pay for shipping.  Additionally, she donates one cloth diaper for each sold and provides two inserts and a cloth wipe with each diaper purchased. 

2. Two or more wet bags: I've heard high ratings for PlanetWise wet bags, so that's what I plan to use.  PlanetWise makes tons of different sizes, plus a wet/dry bag that includes two pockets--one for the used diapers and one for unused dipes and other diapering necessities.  I'm planning to use this bag and the backpack they're making that's similar as diaper bags and then having some plain ol' large bags for the downstairs part of the house or traveling.

3. Pail liner: Two pail liners is a good idea because then you always have one available while one is being washed.  I've registered for pail liners by PlanetWise, but I've also heard good things about pail liners by Blueberry.

4. Detergent: I spent tons of time researching detergents, not wanting to spend an exorbitant amount of money on washing (20+ cents/load) but, of course, wanting the best for my CDs.  I settled on the unscented hard water version of cloth diaper detergent from Crunchy Clean.  I split an order with a friend of mine so we qualified for free shipping.  I also plan to try out their pure oxygen cleaner and other cleaning products in the future. I decided to go with Crunchy Clean because of price and my extremely hard water situation, mainly.

5. Drying rack and clothespins: It's best to try air drying cloth diapers as much as possible from what I've heard and read, plus drying them in the sun gets rid of stains and helps sanitize them.

That's all I'm aware of for now!  There are lots of other great accessories that you may want, like a diaper sprayer, but aren't so necessary.  You can check out my Amazon registry and registry at Grow Natural (an Orange County baby boutique) if you're interested in all of the diapering accessories I've registered for or something specific.  Today's topic for the blog hop is saving money with cloth diapers, which I already wrote about last week, so you can check that out in the archives if you missed it.

Cloth Diapering = Less Money

I'm a mom-to-be carrying a baby boy at 22 weeks now, 18 weeks left!  Nearly two years ago my niece was born, and my sister-in-law had decided to cloth diaper.  At first I thought it was a little crazy, but then I saw the diapers and calculated the cost difference, among other things, and I was also convinced I would cloth diaper my babies. As I mentioned, there are plenty of good reasons to cloth diaper, but I'm going to focus on the cost efficiency this time.  Here are five unconventional reasons to cloth diaper and here are six more conventional reasons to cloth diaper.  Some of these reasons I will also cover later.

According to the Real Diaper Association, one child will cost about $1,600 to diaper for the first two years of life.  

Unfortunately, a diaper service for the same amount of time won't be much cheaper, maybe $100-$300 cheaper over the two years.

However, a basic set of cloth diapers (not including laundering necessities and other cloth diapering needs, like wet bags) costs as low as $300.  People sell their used cloth diapers on ebay, too!  Using the Cloth Diaper Calculator on Kelly Wels's website, I figured the cost of my cloth diapers, laundering them, and purchasing the wet bags and such would come out to roughly the same amount as using disposables would for the FIRST YEAR.  After the first year of my child's life though, we'll be saving a considerable amount of money--about $500-$700 per year, per child! Isn't that amazing?!  If I have two children who wear cloth diapers for four total years, I will save $1,500-$2,100!!  If you spend less on your cloth diapering stuff, then you'll save MORE!

If you want to know more about cloth diapering, check out these sites:

• Real Diaper Association
• The Cloth Diaper Whisperer Blog or their shop, Kelly's Closet 
• All About Cloth Diapers 
• The Diaper Jungle
• Kelly Wels

Questions?  Comments?  Thoughts?  Leave a comment or send me an email!