MIA

I have MIA for quite a while and decided that I really needed to do an update.

I was able to complete the Flats Handwashing Challenge! I am also proud to say that I have been using flats since the challenge. I still use my pocket diapers and I do not hand-wash, but I have found a new love for flat diapers. I still have not had a leak. My favorite folds are the Diaper Bag fold and the Jo fold.

My experiences with the challenge convinced my awesome sister-in-law (and best friend) to use flats for her daughter. She was already cloth diapering, but finding a good fit for her petite daughter has been a challenge. Enter the flat diapers, Thirsties, and Bummis covers and my niece is the cutest cloth-diapered little girl ever!

If I was not the cloth diaper addict that I am, I would sell most of my pocket diapers and move almost exclusively to using flats and Thirsties Duo Wraps covers. When my 16 month old is getting a red bum for whatever reason, usually acid poo, I just put a flat on him with a little bit of coconut oil. The next day, his little heiney looks as good as new!

The flats diapers do not hold onto smell, wash and dry easy, and fit VERY trim. When my baby boy is in a flats diaper, you almost cannot tell he is in a cloth diaper! My one complaint about using flats is when it comes time to use the diaper sprayer to get the poo off. It is a lot of material to unfold and get clean, but it really only takes about 30 seconds more of my time. I attribute my complaint mostly to the 30 seconds being 30 seconds more of my time that my boys know I am distracted, so they can get into something!

All in all, the challenge was a major win for me and I am planning on doing the challenge again if it is hosted again next year!

Day 4: Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Origami Fold on my 1 year old

Night time ready diaber bag fold with a pad fold inside on my 2.5 year old.

Today is day 4 of the Dirty Diaper Laundry Flats and Handwashing Challenge. Today I used a mix of the different flat folds. I am finding that the fold I use the most for my 2.5 year old is the pad fold and the fold I use most for my 1 year old is the origami fold. I am developing a love for the diaper bag fold. My least favorite is the kite fold. The kite fold is theone I cannot seem to get perfected and it just doesn't fit either of my boys as well as I would like it to. 

For night time, we have been so successful with the diaper bag fold and a pad folded second flat on the inside. In fact, I am thinking about making this our regular night time set up. My 2.5 year old is a heavy wetter at night and we have not had a single leak this week or stinky pjs in the morning! I have actually been able to reuse pjs for him and that almost never happens. I am LOVING the decrease in laundry!

Day 3: Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Today is day 3 of the Dirty Diaper Laundry Flats and Handwashing Challenge. Checkout my blog for posts on the other days of this challenge.

Today I am going to share how the handwashing has been going. I have washed two loads so far. The first load was done with Eco Sprout detergent. The second load was done with Ecos, which is a liquid detergent I buy at Costco.

My camp bucket washer and plunger

I started out the first wash load with four covers and nine flats.

Then I filled the bucket with cold water and used the plunger to give a cold rinse to the diapers.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the plunger agitate the diapers!

After that, I added one teaspoon of Eco Sprout.

I added hot water, without turning on the cold tap. I wanted it as hot as it could be.



I agitated the diapers for about ten minutes. My arms were very sore, as was my back! I then did two rinses with cold water.

No bubbles!

I then squeezed out as much water as I could from the flats and covers. My 2.5 year old went outside with me to hang the diapers on the line. He is an amazing helper! He hands me the diapers and pins so I don't have to do any bending over.

The diapers and covers were dry in less than three hours! The flats did not get stiff at all and the two diapers that had poop stains were very hard because the sun had bleached out most of the stains! They smelled fresh and I was amazed at how clean the diapers were. They seemed to have gotten a better clean than my washer gives my diapers!

I repeated the process today, but I used Ecos instead. WAY too much Ecos... After three rinses in the camp bucket, I finally just hand rinsed each diaper. I discovered today that I prefer to wash the flats first and then wash the covers seperately. It is an extra step, but I felt the covers received a better cleaning job that way. Despite the fact that it may rain, I chose to hang the diapers on the line tonight, so they can have the sun in the morning.

I also discovered today that I could probably have gotten away with only 20 flats between the two boys. 36 flats was wya more than I needed. However, I do need six covers for each boy, maybe a couple more each, as I have not perfected the art of catching poo in the flat and the covers are getting soiled. I am hoping to change that by the end of the challenge! 











bumGenius Freetime All-In-One One-Size Cloth Diaper Review

I recently purchased a bumGenius Freetime cloth diaper to try out on two of my boys. I wasn't sure what to expect with this diaper and I was little skeptical, to be honest. I am not a huge fan of all-in-one diapers. They are more expensive and take more time to dry. Also, I enjoy stuffing my diapers! It is my time to relax.

 Smallest setting

Medium Setting

 Large Setting

Sewn in inserts

I was pleasantly surprised with the bumGenius Freetime! Not only did it fit my little boys well, but it really didn't take that much time to dry.

Pro's:

• One-size, so it fits 7-35lbs.
• All-In-One, so no time spent stuffing.

Con's:

• Spraying off poo was a challenge due to the way the inserts are sewn in.
• Hang drying takes a bit longer than a pocket diaper. 

My 1 year old ( 20lbs) and my 2.5 year old (27lbs) are both able to wear this diaper comfortably. It will fit my almost 4 year old (32lbs), but it is snug and he says it hurts his legs. He has thick thighs.

1 year old, 20lbs sitting

1 year old, 20lbs

Day 2: Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Today is day 2 of the Dirty Diaper Laundry Flats and Handwashing Challenge. I already have two other posts from Day 1 and my original post about this challenge. The orginal post has links to the challenges from the first and second year. There have been blogging prompts listed and today I am going to give my thoughts on what supplies I am using.

Since I am diapering two full time, I decided to buy 3 dozen unbleached flats. I have a large rotation of covers, but I have decided to only use four Thirsties Duo Wraps and two Kawaii one-size covers for each of my boys. I also have 1 Snappi and 1 Boingo set for each boy. With my husbands help, we made a camp bucket for washing the diapers. Here is a tutorial on how to make one of your own, filmed by Kim over at Dirty Diaper Laundry. For my detergent, I am going to try Eco Sprout and Ecos. Eco Sprout is in powder form and Ecos is a liquid. I am starting to think that 3 dozen prefolds is more than enough... I think I could have gotten away with 2 dozen.

I am happy to announce that neither of my boys leaked last night! The extra flat, pad folded and put in the middle, seemed to do the job. I am impressed!

This morning, I chose to use the origami fold on both of my boys. I tried without a Snappi...

 1 year old, 20 lbs

2.5 year old, 27 lbs

Then I went ahead and used a Snappi...

1 year old

 2 year old

I added their covers and I am continually impressed by how trim fitting the flat fold diapers are!

2 year old lying down

2 year old front view standing

2 year old back view standing

1 year old lying down

1 year old front view sitting

1 year old side view sitting

The boys seem really happy in the flats. I was worried they would not like the feeling of being wet, since we usually use pockets and only use prefolds when I am behind on laundry. Judging by the looks on their faces, the flats are a hit!

I didn't want this post to be huge, so I will be be making a second post today about my first time hand washing diapers in the camp bucket! 

Day 1: Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Today is day 1 of the Dirty Diaper Laundry Flats and Handwashing Challenge. To prepare for this challenge, I purchased 3 dozen unbleached flats from clothdiaper.com when they were at the Great Cloth Diaper Change on April 21, 2012. I knew I was going to do this challenge, so I asked if they were selling any. They did not have any on hand, but in their usual great customer service habits, they specially brought some for me and the few others who had asked them about flats! I already had covers from use with my prefolds. My husband made me a camp bucket to wash my diapers in a couple of days ago and I am so excited to use it to wash the diapers!

My 1 year old

Today, I used Thirsties Duo Wraps in size 2 on both of my boys. I used the padfold and the kite fold with my 2.5 year old. For my 1 year old, I used the padfold and the origami fold. I did not wash any diapers today. I plan on using my camp bucket and washing the diapers and covers in the morning, then hang drying them outside.

So far, I am really liking the flat folds! They are working very well for both of my boys. I was bit worried about night time, as my 2.5 year old is quite the heavy wetter. To combat this, I used the diaper bag fold and then folded another flat in half, then in half again, and the basically rolled it to stuff in the front of the kite fold diaper. I did this for my 2.5 year old.

Then, I used the kite fold and put a second folded flat in the front of that for my 1 year old. It is a little bulky, as you can see in the pictures, but I am confident they will do the job.

I then added the covers and started praying that we can last the night without any leaks!

2.5 year old

 1 year old

I just had to get a bum picture of my 1 year old!



Flats Handwashing Challenge

 Kim Rosas, from Dirty Diaper Laundry, held a flats handwashing challenge last year in response to all of the media coverage about how low-income families were re-using disposable diapers. Her challenge was to prove that a low-income family can afford to cloth diaper for very little money and that they can hand wash their diapers at home. This is the second year she is holding this challenge. This year, I am participating. You can find her original post at this link: First Flats Handwashing Challenge

Here is the link for the current challenge: Second Annual Flats Handwashing Challenge 

I will be cloth diapering my 1 year old and my 2.5 year old. My goal is to use the flats for the entire challenge and to also use flats at night. I plan on making the camp bucket that Kim showed how to make last year. Since I am cloth diapering two full time, I will need to wash diapers every day during this challenge. I plan to hang drying outside and inside, so I can see the drying time both ways, as most families would hang dry inside during the winter. I am very excited about this challenge and I will be blogging about it every day during my experience.

The challenge is May 21-27, 2012. Stay tuned!!!

Stink Problems?

Once in a while, your diapers are going to stink. The stink may be an ammonia smell right after your little one urinates in a fresh diaper or it may be the barnyard smell that a diaper has after it is washed and dried.

A diaper that stinks like ammonia right after your little one urinates has ammonia build up. The best solution I have found to combat ammonia build up is this:

• Rinse diapers, even just pee ones, before putting in your diaper pail or wet bag. The longer a diaper sits with pee on it, the more ammonia stink it gets.
• Make sure you have plenty of water in your wash cycle. In an HE machine, this may mean adding water through the soap dispenser. I get my diapers nice and wet by doing a rinse with no spin before I wash my diapers. This makes them heavier, which adds more water in my HE front loader.

A diaper that stinks like a barnyard or has a fish smell after it has been cleaned is simply a diaper that has not gotten clean. There is still poo and pee residue in it. This either means you did not have enough detergent in your wash cycle or you tried to wash too many/few diapers in a load. Yes, it is possible to wash too FEW diapers in a load. I know it is the common practice to use a quarter of the recommended amount of detergent when it comes to washing cloth diapers, but it is okay to add more if your diapers are not getting clean. A quarter of the amount was not enough for my diapers, especially given that I have an HE front loader. Half seems to work best for me.

Ideally, you want between 12 and 15 diapers, depending on your washer capacity. You need enough diapers to swish against each other. Too many and there isn't room to swish. Too few and there isn't enough to swish against. That 12 to 15 diapers means the cover and inserts.

 12 diapers

 12 diapers close up.

Think about it: If you are washing 12 pocket diapers and you use both inserts, that is is 12 covers and 24 inserts, for a total of 36 items in the washer. If you use cloth wipes and wash your diaper pail liner or wetbags in the same wash with your diapers, that is more in the washer. See how it all adds up very quickly and your wash can become to full?

 15 diapers

 15 diapers close up.

I have a pretty large wash capacity, but I have found that about 15 diapers is just right for my wash loads. 12 is almost too few and 18 is pushing the limits. With two in cloth full time and another in cloth just at night, this means I pretty much have to wash every day. I have been know to wait two days and just do two loads in a day.

 18 diapers

18 diapers close up.

In the pictures, there is a mix of pocket diapers, hybrid diapers, prefolds and covers, wipes, and wetbags.

My Flip Review

Here is a link to the Flip review I did for Cloth Diapers Inc. Their address is www.welovecloth.com

http://welovecloth.com/?p=902

Cloth Wipe Solutions

Once a cloth diapering family moves over to using cloth wipes, the next step is choosing a wipe solution. There are so many options out there to choose from! You can make your own or purchase a solution from a store. I used and then reviewed three wipe solution options.

The first solution is one that I created for sensitive skin. It is 1 3/4 cups warm water. I then add 2 tablespoons of fast-absorbing baby oil and 2 tablespoons of Equate brand Cetaphil. I mix it all up and then pour it over my cloth wipes.

The second solution I tried was Monkey Doodlez Wipe Cubes. To use this solution, you add one cube to 2 cups warm water and dissolve. There is lavender and tea tree essential oil in this solution.

 The third solution I tried was Honey Bun Drops by Chubby Cherubs, LLC. The cubes are made from milk and honey with chamomile. You add one or two drops per 1 cup of boiling water and then dissolve.

 I like to fold my wipes accordion style and then place in a wipes container. This allows them to pop up. I pour the wipe solution over the bottom third, then the middle third, and then over the top. This allows the solution to get evenly distributed on the wipes. I like to use a glass measuring cup and a spatula for mixxing the wipes solution.

My favorite solution is the one that I created, but that is mostly because it works so well for my little boys who have very sensitive skin. I like that there isn't really a scent and that it leaves their skin smelling clean afterwards.

My second choice is the Honey Bun Drops. I really like the smell of these wipes. My boys did not break out while using this solution, so that was a bonus.

My last choice was the Monkey Doodlez Wipe Cubes. These wipes did not break out my boys, but I did not like the smell of the cubes. I also did not feel like they got their bums all the way clean because after getting wiped up, they would still smell.

At the end of the day, I would not buy the Monkey Doodlez Wipe Cubes again. I do like the the Honey Bun Drops a lot and I would buy them again. I think I will stick to the solution I created for now.

You can purchase the Equate Brand of Cetaphil and the fast absorbing baby oil at any walmart.

Go to http://www.rgnaturalbabies.com/i_181/Monkey-Doodlez-Wipes-Cubes.htm to purchase the Monkey Doodlez Wipe Cubes.

Go to http://www.chubbycherubsclothdiapernaturals.com/c_92/Cloth-Wipe-Solution.htm to purchase the Honey Bun Drops.