Hot off the presses

[norsegirl]

New cloth diapering products that my fellow cloth diapering mamas may be interested in.



Sweet Pea has just introduced a new line of covers that rock my world. They are "one size", which I think means they wouldn't be great for small babies, but at 6 months they are a nice fit. The big plus is that they close by snap! All my velcro is wearing out on my other diapers, which is driving me nuts. Also, they are cheaper than other covers. Down here I can get any other brand's cover for $12.25, but these are only $8. I've been testing them out for a few days now (they only launched this week) and so far I am in love. No leaks at all and easy to put on. I still have to see how they wash up, but I'm loving them so far and I had to share. Call your local specialty retailer and see if they have them in stock! They are also going to be releasing an "all in 3" that looks a bit like the Gro-baby concept. I'll be interested to try this when it comes to a store near me.

Other cloth diapering goodness... I have found the best diaper rash treatment EVER! Lanolin. You know, that stuff you were putting on your nipples before they got used to nursing? Creates a barrier, heals and protects, doesn't damage cloth diapers, and we all remember how soothing it was going on, so I'm sure baby likes it too. All I do is apply it once a day and diaper rash just doesn't seem to happen any more. Not that we ever had it bad, but we have had two breakouts now in our 6 months. I've been using the Medella one as I prefer the runniness of it over the more solid Lansinoh lanolin.

Reviews of the diapers I've tried so far:
Covers:
Bummis super whisper wrap - works just fine, but the velcro is giving out at 5 months of use
Bummis super brites - works fine, same problem with the velcro and the edging on the gussets stain and look nasty. Some people have said the fit on these is narrower than on their other covers. I haven't noticed much of a difference.
Thirsties wraps - works fine, fits a little larger than the Bummis, so the size cut-offs are at different ages, which makes using a combo of the two varieties interesting. Haven't had the problem with the velcro yet, but also haven't owned these as long. They are more plasticy so they dry faster than the bummis, which I think is good. Same yucky edging problem on the gussets but the staining is not as dark as on the Bummis. I also love the pretty range of colours I can get these in.

All-in-ones:
Bum Genius - These are EXCELLENT. Lots of absorbancy, very soft and I like the stretchy tabs. It makes it easy to get a good fit. I am a little worried that the velcro may eventually fail in light of the issue with the Bummis, but so far so good. One caution, if you get the bright pink "Zinea" colour, it comes off on other diapers in the first few washes, so all your other covers will have a pink tinge forever. I imagine the other dark colours may have the same effect but so far I've only used the bright pink.
Fuzzi Buns (have sized and one-size versions, I have tried both) - I want to like these. They're not as hard to stuff or take apart when wet as I thought they might be. I love that they close by snap instead of velcro. I hate that they leak after about 2 hours. The cheapo prefolds and covers are outperforming them and the Bum Genius are blowing them away. Maybe they just need more washes so the inserts are fluffier, but so far I'm not loving these.
Dream-Eze All in Ones (there is a fitted one that you have to get a cover for as well and I have not tried them) - These are without a doubt the best overnight diaper ever. Assuming you have them put on right (Jason had a problem with lining them up at first and kept leaving a bit of plumber crack hanging out at the back which was no good at all) there are never any leaks. We just bought the next size up and they are just as good as the smalls. Also close with snaps, so durability win. We've been using them for months now and they still look like new.

Diapers I have just bought and not tried yet:
Gro-Baby - Georgia is napping away in her first Gro-baby. These have an odd snap-in liner and you are meant to re-use the cover. The closures are a special industrial velcro. I can't wait to see how these hold up. They are also supposed to be one-size and they do look like they would do the full range acceptably. I'll update when I have a better idea on the performance. They are by the same company that makes Dream-eze, so I have high hopes. I have only washed them once rather than the recommended 3-5 times before first use, so I will have to be forgiving for the first few wearings unless I just want to surrender and wash them more before trying again.
Sweet Pea all in ones They look a bit like Fuzzi buns, but I'm hoping their inserts are more absorbent. I LOVE that they come in black. I hope they eventually have covers in black too (so far my local store only had green, blue and white).


How have your cloth diapering adventures been going? What would you recommend and have you tried anything that just didn't work at all?

Comments

[hel_ana]

I'll have to try the lanolin. Thanks for the tip!

As far as diapers proper go, I'm a pre-fold girl all the way. Overnight, I put a bamboo fleece liner in. I have a half-dozen Kissaluv's Contours, but I haven't tried them since she was about 3 weeks old and they completely swam on her. I'll have to give them another try.

As for the covers, I hate.hate.hate the PUL that the Bummis SWW and SB have. It's so stiff and crinkly. I use the Thirsties when I need a back-up, because they're relatively soft, but they do occasionally leave marks on her legs.

My first love, however, is the Booroi. Beautiful, saturated colours, snaps with good adjustments, lovely soft PUL.. I just love them. They're sized, but the ranges are pretty large (the woman who owns my Favourite Local Diapering Store is still using a medium cover for her 18 month old daughter). There've been leaks onto the cover (but never outside, even with bad ones), but I haven't noticed any staining, probably since the trim isn't white.

I'm making my own diaper wipe potion, with lanolin, glycerine, baby wash, water and tea tree oil, which works beautifully (need to make up a batch tonight); I put it in the peri bottle the hospital gave me and spray it onto a bum cloth.

We use disposables when on the road, because I don't like the bulk that the cloth causes; it results in a 2 inch difference in how tight I can get the car seat harness, and I'm not ok with all that potentially compressible material.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

Which is your "Favourite Local Diapering Store"?

[hel_ana]

The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe. :)

What I love most about them is that if I go in there looking for something to solve a particular problem, and they think there's a way that I can solve that problem more cheaply with stuff I already have or can get easily, they'll tell me about it rather than sell to me.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I love them, too!

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

The Booroi looks neat. I might order a few online and try them out.

I haven't been using diaper wipe solution. I made wipes out of plain white flannel (just like white toilet paper, it's easier to tell when you're done) and I keep them neatly stacked on my change table. Then I have a container of water and I just dip them as I use them in the plain water. It's cheap, it's easy and even the man can figure out how to refill it ;)

I think the Kissaluv's are made here in Texas. I don't get fitted diapers. All in ones make some kind of sense to me being expensive but practical and less scary to non-clothies, but I just don't get the idea of an expensive diaper that I still have to use a cover on. If I have to fumble with a cover I want the cheapness of a pre-fold.

[hel_ana]

Well, the Contours aren't fitted, exactly.. just shaped.

I got them because I figured they'd be easier for Id, but it turned out they were way too big for my tiny little baby. Looking at them again, I think I'm going to try putting them into the booroi to see whether that works.

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

I found me some M Boorois in the sale bin at my local diaper store. Old versions, so the colours are kinda sucky (white, baby blue and baby pink) but for $8 I'm not going to complain. Can't wait to wash them up and test them out!

[hel_ana]

Keen! I hope they go well for you.

How big is Georgia now? I was surprised to see that you need mediums, and then I looked and realized that I don't think I believe them about the sizing; Merritt's still on the smallest snap settings on the small boorois, and she's between 12 and 12.5lbs.

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

G is creeping up on 15lbs (14lbs 12 oz) but at this stage I'm reluctant to purchase a size she's going to be out of relatively soon. Better to get something a little too large and save it for later than use it for a brief time now. Though honestly I didn't even find the size labels until I got home. They looked about the right size and they were certainly the right price so I got them.

[hel_ana]

That makes total sense.. I guess part of it was the shock when I realized that Merritt's been in the same size, on the same snaps, since she was 8 pounds.

Babies grow weird

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

Georgia is also on the same snaps and the same spots on the velcro as she was weeks ago, but she's getting longer in the rise so things aren't fitting as well as they used to. We were getting plumber crack in the Bummis so we retired them even though she's not yet hit the top weight for them. She's definitely slimming down, which is the normal pattern of growth for a breast-fed baby. Right now she's dead-on average for her height/length. It will be interesting to see how that continues to change over time.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

I love Bear Bottoms the cloth diaper service out of Baden that we've been using. It's nice to get clean diapers every week and be able to trade them all for the next size up when necessary. I have had a few leakage issues, but not that many, and not anymore so than my sister or sisters-in-law have had with either disposables or pre-folds.

We've travelled with Alexander three times (major trips, not just SCA, or weekends up to Nan in Southampton). The first two (to Missouri and to Seattle/Vancouver) we used disposables, but the third, when we were staying at the farm for 10 days over Christmas, we took the packages of Kushie's all-in-ones that Jay's mom had given us. I was pleasantly surprised by them. They were dead-easy to use, didn't leak and dried a lot faster after washing than I was expecting. I just don't like some of the designs on the covers.

I'm currently rotating through three diaper cover for the most part:

A Sugar Peas wool cover that I absolutely love. Unfortunately, I think this style (a two layer, woven wool) has been discontinued. I bought a second Sugar Peas cover just before Christmas because I like this one so much, but was so disappointed I stopped using it. My first one never leaks. The second one was like having no cover on at all.

A "Thirsties" Duo Wrap. This one is Size Two. It's my second favourite. I had a couple Size Ones, but he outgrew them. I never had any trouble with the velcro, but it seems as though the fabric started giving out. They weren't as leak resistent toward the end.

A "Bummis" Super Brite. I like the gusseted leg and I haven't had any problem with either leakage or staining. Of course, if anything leaks out onto the edging, I always immediately rinse it in cold water and then plop it into a basin to soak until my next load of laundry.

At night, I've been using the "Aristocrats" wool cover my sister gave me. It's great, but a little too bulky for underneath day time clothes. Sleepers are a little more forgiving.

When he was younger, I found I needed more covers. I also had a couple "Stacinator" wool covers (also from my sister) that I loved, but he outgrew them. I tried a "Motherease" Rikki wrap. I didn't like it when he was a newborn (rode too high on his little belly), but it wasn't too bad when he was about 3 months old. The Bummis Original was alright when he was a newborn, but I didn't like it when got older.

I also have a stack of hand-me-down Bummis Super Whisper Wraps fom my friend Robyn, but I really don't like them that much and only use them as back ups.

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

I've tried both the standard and duo-wrap versions of the Thirsties and have found they both stood up pretty well. Did you actually use the snaps on the front to adjust the rise? We didn't because by the time I bought them they fit just fine so we didn't need the snaps (I just paid the extra 50 cents for the duo wrap because I couldn't get lime green any other way and I have a thing for bright green right now). I'm thinking maybe the pulling on the fabric to use the snaps might cause wear?

I don't think I'd like a diaper service. By day 3 her diaper bin smells pretty ripe so it's better if I can wash every 2 days and not have it sitting around. What have you been using to keep the stink down?

[hel_ana]

This was one of the problems I went into the local diaper place to solve.. they have this Rockin' Green shaker that's supposed to keep the stink down, but the girl there told me what she did, and it works reasonably well:

mix baking soda and water until it's a thick paste. Add several drops of tea tree oil. Spoon into muffin tins (I use candy moulds because I didn't already have muffin tins, and the candy moulds are cheaper at the bulk barn than muffin tins.. on the down side, they're smaller, so I have to use more of them "per bag" -- I'm using a fuzzibunz zipper bottom diaper pail bag). Wait for them to dry, then pop them out of the tray. Use as necessary.

Baking soda's hella cheap.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

I really haven't had much of an issue with diaper stench. Perhaps my baby is Denny Crane (OK, a joke you'll only get if watched Season One of "Boston Legal" and were paying attention to throw away comments).

The diaper pail that comes as part of the diaper service has some kind of carbon in the lid that is supposed to help and as far as I can tell it does. They also send a bottle of "Bear Spray" to spritz the pail with. It has some combination of enzymes and essential oils. The instructions said to use a spritz daily, but I find I only use it once or twice a week. The bottle is supposed to last a year. We're seven months in and I've used only about a third of it.

Of course, between three and six months, he didn't really poop much. Just wet diapers. It freaked us out at first, but the doctors (yes, we talked to more than one) all said it's a fairly common occurence in breast-fed babies. Their little digestive systems are highly functioning and mother's milk is close to perfect, so there is very little waste, so to speak.

Fixing the Sugar Peas cover

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

Have you thought about lanolinizing it? It might wreck it, but since you're not using it anyway there's little risk. It's what people do when they recycle wool sweaters into diaper covers. There's a wool diaper group on yahoo if you're interested in more info on this.

[rectangularcat]

I gave up on cloth diapering and sold most of my stash. Elise needed changing every hour no matter the diaper. And I'd forget until she was soaked.

[eve-the-just.livejournal.com]

Awww, sorry to hear cloth didn't work for you. I found it didn't work as well at first either and has gotten much better as Georgia has aged. I'm not sure if she pees less, or less often, or if the diapers got more absorbent as they were washed. Or maybe she just grew into them so there was less gaps and leaks.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think cloth does become more absorbant the more it is washed.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

Parents' First Rule: It's the diaper. It's always the diaper :)