Yeast! #clothdiapers

Last year, I noticed my (then) new baby had a heck of a yeast rash from my cloth diapers. Most of my cloth diapers were purchased used and have served both of my children, meaning: at least 3 kiddos have donned these well loved nappies.

To clear H's rash, I found a great article from The Cloth Diaper Whisperer: Got Yeast ? The advice really seemed to do the trick and H's rash cleared up in no time.

Earlier this week, I found myself battling yeast again and took to my laundry room to solve this ongoing battle. I used much of the advice from the article linked above, but added my own spin to it. Should you find yourself battling yeast, I hope this routine can be of use to you:

Cold soak all diapers in liberal amounts of: tea tree oil (TTO), grapefruit seed extract (GSE), vinegar, and baking soda. Soak overnight if possible.

Then do a cold wash in: vinegar and baking soda with your usual detergent.

Next do a *hot, hot, hot* wash with: TTO, GSE, and usual detergent.

2 extra rinses for good measure.

Finally, line dry. Alternatively, if you cannot line dry and your yeast persists, you may want to consider taking your diapers to the tanning bed. (for real) The UV exposure does wonders!

This whole process only took me a day and a half and I immediately saw results. I did use probiotics once daily as well because yeast issues in diapers rarely exist unless the wearer has an issue as well.

Lastly, to treat the rash, use coconut oil (or breastmilk!) on the skin and either leave the baby with a nakey bum or use prefolds/fitteds/contours without a cover.

I have also altered my usual wash routine a touch to keep the yeast at bay. Prior to washing, I do a quick cold soak with a touch of GSE and vinegar.

Hope this helps and happy diapering!!

Converting Aplix to Snaps

The old bumgenius diapers I purchased in May of 2008 had shown some wear and tear by May of 2010. Mainly, there were serious issues with the aplix (and honestly, much of that was due to poor care on my part.) After some research on the internet, I invested in snap press and decided to convert my aplix to snaps. (I also committed on ONLY purchasing snaps from here on out purely for longevity's sake.) Since last summer, I have been slowly working at seam ripping and awl poking and snapping aaaaallll of my cloth diapers with aplix. It's an arduous process, but well worth it. Above is H, wearing my handy work. Not bad (if I do say so myself) for a lady who hates crafting!

The tutorial I used is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RDBHWULTIs

I prefer it because of the double row of snaps. It takes a little more time (and uses more snaps) but the fit is definitely worth it: especially on an overnight or heavy wetter diaper.

Some other good resources are-

http://clothreverie.blogspot.com/2010/06/converting-velcroaplix-diapers-to-snaps.html

http://www.kamsnaps.com/gDiaper-Snap-Conversion-39.html

If you also dare to brave the battle of snapping, good luck and happy diapering!

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Cloth Diaper Blog Hop

Attention crunchy peeps: here's blog hop for lovers of fluff! All cloth diapering related posts are welcome, but here are some ideas to get you started:

1- What was your first cloth diaper?

2- What is your favorite cloth diaper?

3- What does your ideal stash look like (and how many kids are you diapering)?

I started cloth diapering L when she was 14 months old in an effort to reduce household waste. I purchased a 3 pack of bumgenius 3.0 and was forever hooked. I still have those first diapers I bought and have since converted them to snaps.

H (10m) is in diapers full time and we mostly use prefolds. My stash is ever changing and growing and my most recent purchase was a 4 pack of earth, mom, and baby bamboo fitteds. Fitted diapers tend to be my favorite, tho I have been discouraged with sizing and durability of elastic in the past. We are using prefolds now because maintenance and care are less and they can be used for other things in the future.

The things I like most about cloth diapering are the household waste reduction, reduction of chemical exposure for the kids, and the general cuteness factor!

My favorite diaper is a bumgenius bamboo fitted and my ideal stash would be about 15 of the same diaper- a one size fitted most likely. My newest purchase (earth, mom, and baby) is a likely front runner, but I've also had my eye on the bumgeinus elemental in the past. Ultimately, tho, all cloth diaper addicts know: there will never be a perfect stash. More fluff is always required!

Cloth Diapering Update

Top: Early in my cloth diapering days. L in her 1st BumGenius 3.0 at 14 mon. Bottom: H in (likely) same diaper at 4 mon.

I've got diapers on the mind. Several things are going on right now and rather than just solve the problem, I feel like I should sit down with some coffee and whine (aka blog) about it....

First- my stash is quite large and I have decided to consolidate. I have already sold some on craigslist and have some more to liquidate. It is bittersweet for me, as I (strangely) have emotional attachment to these diapers. It was a hard decision to make, but it is what is best for us right now AND maybe I can slowly work NEW diapers into my mix!

I'll ship if you're intersted! http://pennstate.craigslist.org/bab/1992114994.html

Secondly- H is getting a pretty unattractive rash these days. I had previously solved this problem by adding vinegar to my laundry routine, but it seems my hand-me-down purchased used diapers are riddled with yeast and bacteria. L recently got a terrible rash when I switched her back to cloth at night and has since been using disposables overnight. (Boo.) I found a blog post addressing this issue and hope to implement some good changes.

http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/2010/10/got-yeast.html

Third- L (as mentioned) is using disposables at night and I am annoyed every time I wrap her little butt in paper. Even more annoying is tossing the diaper in the morning and smelling it in the trash thru the week. She just barely fits into my BumGenius 3.o for overnight coverage, but can't use them currently due to the rash. Ultimately, I'd like to purchase her a pull-up type replacement to wear, but am not sure what there is out there. I'd need a heavy wetting option, as she often sleeps 12+ hours. (She could teach her brother a thing or two about that...)

Fourth- I am dabbling in making some diapers. I sold one set on etsy and have a few more to post. If I had diapering to do over, I would start with these. It is a decorated prefold with snaps. I am currently troubleshooting a one size (or at least multiple size) option.

Fifth- Fall is here and the crappy weather came with it. Line drying outside is increasingly difficult as all the laundry around here is getting ahead of me. We got a wood burning insert for our basement fireplace and are needing to fire it up overnight. I am considering moving a drying rack down there for diapers over the winter. No benefit of sunlight unfortunately, but less energy usage.

Sixth- I have high hopes of converting all my aplix to snaps. It has turned out to be a very time consuming process but is highly needed if I don't want to replace my entire stash anytime soon. I had purchased a snap press a month or so ago thinking I'd like to try converting and since it's purchase, my diapers have started to suffer the wrath of aplix that is wearing out.

Lastly- Wondering about wool. I am preoccupied with the thought of ALL the chemicals that are being used in many textiles (and toys and food and cleaners and, and, and) and I think wool is a natural option. Many cloth diapering moms tell me wool is wonderful and highly recommend it. Is there a wool overnight for my 3 yo (L) or a one size option for H?

So, those are the woes of a cloth diapering mama. I suppose it's time to start remedying my multiple situations.

Cloth Diaper Addict

I cloth diaper.

I started thinking of using cloth diapers sometime after L turned 1 and I am not sure why. I think it was primarily an eco-friendly decision, but also financial and (for lack of better description) it just felt like the right thing to do. I researched and researched and finally decided on testing some Bum Genius 3.0.

My first impression of these was good. I did not like having to use special detergent and it was hard for me to tell if/when they were wet, but I felt good about using the diapers and soon decided to purchase more. I found some Motherease fitteds at a local consignment shop and soon began to like those more than the Bum Genius. L was adjusting very well to the new arrangement and I was soon cloth diapering full time.

L began to develop diaper rash almost immediately after we took up cloth full time. I decided it was due to nighttime use because she sleeps close to 14 hours and switched back to disposables at night. We continued this way (cloth all day and 1 disposable overnight) until she potty trained and her brother was born. Somewhere along the way, I picked up some Bum Genius 2.0 size M (because it turns out stuffing pocket diapers is not for me) and some Growing in Greens one size fitteds. And because I was feeling quite apt at diapering, I picked up some random diapers on craigslist as well as some prefolds with snappis.

When I was pregnant with H, I decided to start with cloth ASAP. I knew the pockets weren't for me and thought the one sized diapers would be big on a newborn. My daughter was 6 lb 14 oz at birth and wore premie clothes for the first month of her life, so I assumed (despite my belly telling my otherwise) that I'd have the same experience the second time around. I purchased 12 Bum Genius 2.o in the XS size and picked thru what I had that I thought could work early on.

H arrived almost 2 weeks late and weighing in at an astronomical 9 lb 6 oz! Those tiny (and expensive diapers) only lasted a few weeks. And I squeezed him into them at least a week past when he'd outgrown them just to try to recoup some of the wasted money. I cruised craigslist once again and found some Bum Genius bamboo fitteds for a reasonable price. H is still wearing those and I absolutely love them. They are super soft and cute. He's outgrowing those as well, so I picked up some homemade microfleece/PUL diapers at the local consignment shop.

Soon after I was cloth diapering H full time, I began to *hate* disposables. I hated the thought of wrapping my children's bottoms in paper. I hated seeing and smelling the disposables in the trash can. I hated thinking of them in the landfills for the next hundreds of years and decided to try to switch my daughter back to cloth at night. Rash ensued. I did some research and it turns out they just needed to be stripped. Thru the advice of some online mamas, I ran the entire lot thru the washer on hot with some vinegar instead of detergent.

Upon loading my washing machine with ALL my diapers, I realized 2 things:

I own no less than 100 diapers.

I am a cloth diaper addict.

Many of my diapers have been used for both kids and some have faired better than others. The Growing in Greens (while super cute and well fitted on a newborn) wore out fairly quickly and needed replacement elastic. The Bum Genius have held up, but I realize now that snaps are much better than Aplex for the long haul. The Motherease are nice, tho bulky and too big until about 13 lbs in my opinion. Prefolds are cheap and easy and are my go-to diapering in a pinch. Imse Vimse makes a great cover, but I'd steer clear of the Gerber covers sold at most department stores. I have also tried many other diapers, covers, and accessories. Any questions, just ask!

Long story short, I love cloth diapering. I recommend it to all my friends. It is increasing in popularity and with good reason. No more butts wrapped in paper for us. Hope you'll join me if you haven't already!