Then and Now: 18 Months of cloth diapering in review

This morning, as I was sitting at the kitchen table stuffing diapers, I got to thinking about when I first decided to use cloth diapers. Back before my son was even a glimmer in my eye, I always knew I'd use cloth. My mother has always told me how she had to use cloth with me because I was horribly allergic to disposable diapers. I'd just always assumed that if I had been allergic, my child would probably be allergic as well, so it made more sense to start with cloth instead of risking a nasty reaction.

At some stage, W and I were chatting about kids and I mentioned my cloth diapering inclinations. W, having two daughters from a previous marriage that he had seen through diapers and toilet training, raised an eyebrow and let out a somewhat patronizing chuckle.

"They don't work", he stated, simply.

"Oh no? What were people using up until 30 years ago then?", I said.

"Yeah, exactly- so let's be thankful for progress. I just don't see how they can be absorbent. The pee and poo will just get everywhere", he said.

"I just don't see how you can think that a few layers of paper and plastic could be more absorbent than CLOTH!", I sort of shouted.

"Ok baby- you use cloth and I'll use disposable. I guarantee that after one week you'll be over it", he said, chuckling away.

Well, as anyone who knows me can attest, the best way to get me to do something is to tell me that I won't, or worse, can't do it. Yes, I do love a challenge. Truthfully, I was a bit surprised and annoyed by W's reaction. It wasn't until I got pregnant about a year later that I realized how common his viewpoint actually is. A lot of people seem to scoff at cloth. I hate to point a finger, but the majority of scoffers were already parents. Parents. Man, they used to really get on my nerves back before I became one of them. During pregnancy, there were a lot of instances where I started a sentence with the phrase, "When I'm a parent, I will NEVER ". Nothing seems to irk an experienced parent more than when a soon-to-be parent makes all sorts of lofty assertions in front them. There was a lot of, "Ok honey, you'll see" followed by knowing chuckles and smarmy smirks. It seemed to me that the smarmiest of smirks were garnered by talking about cloth diapering ("You're going to touch the POOP?!", "You think you're going to have time to wash diapers?!", "Yeah...that'll last..."). No one seemed to really think it was realistic, except my mother, who came from the pins and rubber pants era and STILL thought it was a breeze. Looking back, I have definitely had to eat my words on a few things- but not cloth. A load of dirty cloth diapers is truly the only load of laundry that I'm NOT annoyed to have to do. In my household, laundry needs to be done every day, so I really don't find washing diapers to be an extra task- it's just part of the mix. I really love cloth diapering my son. I love the money that I've saved (literally thousands), I love the community of cloth diapering in Hamilton that I've become part of, I love how incredibly cute the darn things are and I LOVE that W has transformed from nay-sayer to unwavering advocate.

By the time my due date was looming, W was pretty much on board with the cloth thing. He struggled a bit with the newborn diapers (as we used flannel fitteds that were secured by pins with a cover over top- a bit daunting for me as well), but by the time sweet baby was four weeks old, we were into the bumGenius pockets and it was smooth sailing from there on out. A couple months in, sweet baby developped a rash on his bottom. It took forever to figure out that he was sensitive to vaseline and our diapers needed to be stripped, so in the mean-time, we used up a stash of disposables that had been given to us. A few days in, sweet baby had a major blowout of a poop. It was all up his back and down into the legs of his sleeper. W was cursing away under his breath and as he was cleaning up sweet baby, he said to me, "Baby, we have to get the cloth thing sorted out because these things are just...CRAP!".

Oh, sweet, SWEET victory.

Now here we are, 18 months down the road and still loving our bumGenius. About a month ago, I noticed some cracking in the PUL and was really concerned that the diapers were wearing out and I was going to have to replace my stash. Twelve of my sixteen diapers appeared to be affected and that adds up to roughly $300- so it was looking pretty grim. I sent off an email to Cotton Babies (the makers of bG) and they responded immediately informing me that although my diapers were past their one year warranty, they would do me a one-time customer service of replacing all affected diapers. Joy of joys! I sent away my damaged diapers and my new ones arrived this past week. Nothing gets a cloth-loving mama more excited than fresh, fluffy new diapers. Cotton Babies also sent me ten of their Refresher Kits to replace the worn elastic in the legs of my older diapers so I can spruce up my existing stash. Comparing the diapers side by side has prompted this then and now post. I actually had no idea how worn the elastic had become until I compared my new and old diapers. The good news is that even though the diapers are pretty dingy and the elastic was pretty worn in the legs, I've never had any issues with the absorbency. In fact, they were still working perfectly. Reading over the information that Cotton Babies had sent me, I realized that I've committed just about every crime on the "Do not" list. Adding vinegar or baking soda to the rinse? Check. Soaking the covers? Check. Even the most heinous of crimes, putting the covers in the dryer? Sadly yes, I did it for months before I figured out that it was bad for them. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to ask Cotton Babies directly about how to care for the diapers- I'm a little embarrassed to say that I truly never thought of it and instead went onto various diaper forums to ask my questions. Diaper forums are enormously helpful, of course, but the fact is that not everyone is using the same diapers and therefore the care regime is different for all the different types.

Well, lesson learned. I've got a second change with these new diapers and I'm confident that they'll last through to the next baby. W and I made the trip out to Ikea to pick up some stand-alone potties for sweet baby and we hope to have him out of diapers in the next six months.

Stay tuned for my next photo-post comparing a brand new bG diaper to one that's been beaten up for eighteen months.

Cloth for Mama...and beyond!

Long ago, in the days of my girlish youth before I became a mother (read: about 2 years back), my sister and I got into a real bout of giggles.

What were we giggling about?

Well, she had been perusing online knitting/crocheting patterns and happened across one for tampons. Yes, you read that correctly, a woolly, little, handmade tampon. It seemed weird. It seemed silly. It even seemed... gross. We got a good laugh out of it and boy, the jokes were endless. We always try to make or bake as many Christmas gifts as possible, so we were saying how funny it would be to give out those goofy, little tampons as Christmas gifts to our girlfriends. I mean, who on earth would wash their own tampons???

Even after becoming a mother, it was still funny to me. I'd still think to myself, who makes those? Who USES those? I'd ponder these things to myself whilst standing over the laundry room sink scraping poop off of dear baby's diapers with W's trusty "shit stick" (which is, in fact, an old Home Depot paint can stir-stick- very classy). Eventually the irony sunk in, you'll be glad to know.

The home-made tampons were still a bit of a turn-off, but mainly for comfort reasons. I did, however, look a little more closely at the "For Mom" section of my local cloth diaper retailer, specifically at the washable feminine pads. What's funny is that a few of the brands that make cloth diapers for babies also make washable feminine pads for mommies. I thought it might be cute to be wearing the same brand as dear baby. It made me think of how modern cloth diapers are always advertised as "not your mother's cloth diapers"- well they may not be, but she sure could wear them when the tomato truck comes to town!

But I digress.

At first, I was a little offended by the price of these washable pads, but then I sat down and did the math. I have always felt that I am forever buying tampons and pads. Every month I go out and get that jumbo box and then when the next month rolls around, I have to go and do it again. That's the nature of the beast, I suppose. So I would spend maybe $15 per month on supplies. Obviously it didn't take long for me to realize the long term savings.

The two brands that I looked at were Fuzzibunz and LunaPads. The only reason I went with Fuzzibunz was because they popped up on Eco Baby Buys for half price. A 3-pack of Fuzzibunz washable feminine pads will run you about $12.95, so half price was a real steal (so obviously I bought three). When they arrived in the mail a week later, I was super excited to try them out. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was so excited for my period to hurry up and happen, except for maybe the very first time it happened. I'm happy to report that I am very satisfied with my Fuzzibunz pads. It really makes sense for a cloth diapering mama to use cloth feminine pads if she's inclined to do so because you're already washing diapers every second day anyway. I just give mine a good rinse and toss them in with the cloth diapers. It really couldn't be any easier and it is saving me $15 per month! I passed on my love of having fuzzy bunz to my sister and she has since ordered some as well. Who's giggling now?

So since Fuzzibunz was giving me such a thrill, I decided to take it a step further. I'm sure that many of you have heard of the The Diva Cup. I've seen and heard of it many times over the years but never really understood what the deal was. Evidently, they are small, silicone cups that you fold up and insert like a diaphragm. Every few hours, you pop it out, give it a rinse, and up she goes again. They have recently come in stock at my local diaper retailer and just as I was thinking of heading over there to check it out, BAM, it went up on BabySteals last night for less than half price. As a lover of deals, I couldn't let a lack of education get in the way, so I naturally ordered one. My BabySteals purchases have a bad habit of taking forever to arrive, so I'll probably use that as an excuse to allow my blog to fall into woeful neglect for another 6-8 weeks. But seriously...stay tuned for a review!

Diadima xo

Get the funk out

There comes a time in every cloth mama and papa's adventure when you need to address a little thing known as "the stinkies".

Oh, yes.

The stinkies.

If you're wondering what the stinkies are, then you're still safe. Trust me, when it happens, you'll know. When dear baby wets his diaper, you'll notice it's quite smelly when you take it off. When you crack that diaper lid on wash day and your eyes start to water as if you're dicing an onion, you know you've got the stinkies. For whatever reason, it seems to be more of an issue for microfiber inserts. Not surprisingly, synthetic fibers trap the ammonia smell more intensely than organic cotton, hemp or bamboo fibers.

There are a few things you can do to get the ammonia out of your diapers. Washing them frequently, adding vinegar to the rinse cycle and storing your diaper pail in a relatively cool spot (warmth increases the intensity of the ammonia smell) will all help the problem.

I have used vinegar in the rinse cycle a few times and it works well, especially for prefolds. However, if you have hard water, vinegar may not solve your problem. Also, microfiber can be a tough nut to crack when it comes to ammonia, so if you feel that you need something a little more aggressive, I would recommend that you try a product made by Rockin' Green detergent called Funk Rock Ammonia Blaster. I personally have had excellent results with this product. I've mentioned Rockin' Green in previous posts; their detergents are made with all-natural ingredients and THEY WORK. As I've said, they aren't cheap- but then again, neither are your cloth diapers and you want to keep them in good condition so that they will last from infancy to potty-training. The Rockin' Green website describes their products perfectly, so rather than losing some of the beauty through paraphrase, here is what they have to say about Funk Rock:

"This 100% natural compound is unlike anything you've tried before. It targets funk at the source and leaves no prisoners. Just four tablespoons is enough to de-funk up to 20 diapers in one sitting. Add a little to your pre-wash to keep the stinkies from coming back. That's right, one little bag will keep the diaper funk away for over a month!"

So there you have it, folks. You can attack the funk and stay green while doing it.

Diadima xo

Getting Started With Cloth

A lot of parents are interested in using cloth to diaper their babies, but aren't exactly sure how to get started. If there's one thing that the world of cloth diapering isn't lacking, it's choice. Even just a tiny peek into cloth diaperland can be intimidating. There are so many different types of diapers and the culture-specific lingo can be a little dizzying. When I first started researching cloth diapers, I didn't know a pul from an ao1 and it seemed like many of the sites were offering information based on the assumption of pre-existing knowledge.

The fact is, whether you are looking to cloth diaper full-time from birth, part-time in combination with disposables, or switch from disposables, your basic set-up and equipment is the same.

What you need- The basics

A diaper pail - you need somewhere to toss your diapers until laundry day. Most stores that sell cloth diapers also sell diaper pails with special locking lids. It's not truly necessary to buy a special pail, a simple garbage can with locking lid from Walmart will do the trick.

2 Large Wetbags - A wetbag is a cloth sack with a waterproof, anti-odour lining and zipper or drawstring closure. You line the diaper pail with one and, on laundry day, turn it inside out and wash it with your diapers. I always recommend that people get two, so you've got one in the wash and one in the pail at all times. If you're cloth diapering part-time, one bag will probably be fine. They range from $18 - $35, depending on how fancy you go. I use a GroVia Pail Liner, which retails for $18.

Small Wetbag- This one is for travel. Whenever you leave the house, you need somewhere to keep your dirty diapers. You could always use a plastic bag in a pinch- but these small zippered bags keep the odour contained very well. They also have a lot of secondary uses- you can use them to store your wet swimwear or gym clothes once the diaper days are behind you. I use a Bummis small wetbag which retails for $12.99 as well as a PlanetWise medium wetbag which has a handy extra pouch for dirty clothes and retails for $25.99. Again, if you are only using cloth diapers at home and disposables when you go out, you can safely skip this item.

Diaper Liners - These are disposable liners that help extend the life of your diapers and make clean-up a breeze. They contain most of the poopy mess and protect your diapers from any creams or ointments you use on dear baby's bottom. There are quite a few brands to choose from. Bummis Biosoft Liners are a favourite of many- a roll of 100 liners costs $6. I personally found the Biosoft to be too flimsy and so I use AppleCheeks biodegradable/flushable liners, which retail for $8 for a roll of 100 liners. There's also the option of using washable liners- Kushies makes good-quality cotton liners- a pack of 10 liners will cost you $12.

Some Extras:

Diaper Detergent - Cloth diapers are a lot of things- but cheap ain't one of them. When you're spending hundreds of dollars on diapers, you want to protect your investment. While it is perfectly acceptable to use a small amount of regular detergent on your diapers, you may find that the chemicals deteriorate the fabric more rapidly and, over time, can cause a build-up that reduces the absorbency of your diapers. To extend the life of your diapers, I recommend that you invest in a detergent which is specially formulated for cloth diapers. The two most widely available brands are Rockin' Green and Claudia's Choices. Both brands are ultra concentrated detergent powders that get the diapers clean without the use of phosphates, bleach, dyes, sodium chloride, sodium sulphate or optical brighteners. Claudia's Choices is also fragrance-free and is hypoallergenic. A 3.5 kg pail will run you $30. CC has a pail recycling program (return the pail, get $2 off your next pail) that many retailers honour. Rockin' Green comes in many cool fragrances and is therefore more expensive- a 45 load bag will run you $20. If you have chosen to use wool diapers, that's a whole other culture that I unfortunately know very little of. I do, however, know that there is specific detergent available for wool diapers. Eucalan Wool Wash can be found at your local diaper retailer for $11 per 500ml bottle.

Dryer Balls - Ideally, cloth diapers should be hung to dry. However, in the real world, a cloth mama may sometimes find herself strapped for time and so her diapers will inevitably take a turn in the dryer. Fabric softeners (whether liquid, dryer sheets or stick-on dryer bars) are totally forbidden. Fabric softeners leave a filmy build-up that clog the pores of cloth fibers rendering your diapers completely useless. If you put your diapers in the dryer, a good alternative for taming static is tossing a few dryer balls in for the cycle. I use Nellie's PVC-free Dryer Balls, which retail for $24.99 for a pack of two.

Boosters/Doublers - If your baby is a heavy wetter, you may be interested in increasing the absorbency of your diapers by adding what is called a "booster" or "doubler". These are thick liners, usually made of hemp, bamboo or cotton and you just lay them across the diaper for added absorbency. I find them to be particularly useful for naps and overnight. Just about every cloth diaper brand out there makes a booster/doubler. I use GroVia Organic Cotton Boosters. A 2pk retails for $10.

I feel like I'm forgetting something...
Something important...

Oh yes, the diapers!

Of course, you will need to choose a brand and style of cloth diaper. Here is VERY brief run-through of the styles.

Sized vs One-size: Sized diapers offer the benefit of a perfect fit as they are designed for specific weights. Sized diapers are remarkably trim and have the best fit under clothes. If you go this route, you will need to purchase 20-25 newborn sizes, 15-20 infant sizes and 10-15 toddler sizes, which can get pretty pricey. With one-size diapers- the rise and waist are adjustable to grow with your baby. The benefit is that you only need to buy one bunch of diapers to last your baby from birth to potty-training (usually 8lbs-35lbs). As many cloth mamas will tell you, those estimates vary greatly and, as a general rule, one-size diapers are far too big for babies until they are about 10lbs. BumGenius, which is the brand that I use, offers BOTH sized and one-size diapers. Go to their website, http://www.cottonbabies.com/ for a comparison.

Snaps vs. Aplix (velcro): Most cloth diapers fasten with either snap closures or velcro closures. Nowadays, many brands offer both options. It's up to you what you prefer. Velcro has greater adjustability, however, they tend to lose their "stick" after a couple months in the dryer. I personally prefer snaps because when I used velcro on my dear baby, I found that the edges scratched his delicate skin and irritated his cord. Also, in the dryer, those darn velcro tabs stuck to everything but the dryer tabs that were supposed to keep them tamed.

All-in-one: Just as the name indicates, this diaper has it all going on. Layers of absorbent cloth, with a waterproof (PUL - polyurethane laminate) lining contain even the messiest of baby messes. AO1's are by far the most daddy-friendly style on the market, there's nothing to them- you simply put it on baby just as you would a disposable with no muss, no fuss. The downside of AO1's, typically, is that because everything is sewn into the diaper, they usually take quite a long time to dry and can be overly bulky under newborn clothes. BumGenius All-in-one's range from $20 for their sized diaper to $29 for their organic one-size.

Fitteds: This is the same idea as an AO1, minus the waterproof (PUL) lining and therefore much cheaper. As they are generally made of 100% absorbent materials, you need to use a cover over them. Covers are a lot of fun because they come a seemingly unlimited amount of colour and pattern. Fitteds come in both sized and one-size. I used fitteds for my dear baby when he was a newborn and still too small to fit into his BumGenius. He wore Kissaluv's fitted cotton fleece diapers in size 0 with Bummis Super Whisper Wrap diaper covers, Bummis Super Brite diaper covers and Thirsties Duo Wrap diaper covers. Motherease is a local Canadian company that has perfected the one-size fitted diaper and their products are incredibly economical.

Pockets: Pocket style diapers are very convenient for the cloth mama who doesn't have time to wait all day for her diapers to dry. The diapers consist of a waterproof outer layer with a microfleece lining. At the back of the diaper, a pocket is sewn in the lining and you stuff the pocket with an absorbent insert (generally made out of hemp, bamboo or microfiber). BumGenius and AppleCheeks are examples of pocket style diapers. The upside, as mentioned, is quick drying time as the diapers are washed and dried apart from the inserts. The downside is that you have to pull the dirty, stinky insert out of the wet, poopy diaper before you toss it in the wash. AppleCheeks solved this problem with their "envelope-style" pocket diaper. The pocket is strategically placed in the center of the diaper and the inserts magically pop out during agitation in the washer. For my dear baby, I use BumGenius 4.0 Snap Closure diapers so we are definitely a pocket-style household.

Cover + Insert Hybrid: This is the best way I could think of to describe the Flip Hybrid diaper. Made by the same company as BumGenius, Flip diapers look almost identical to BG's, minus the microfleece lining. Instead of having a lining stitched into the diaper, the fleece is stitched onto one side of the insert, which you lay across the cover instead of stuffing into a pocket. The upside here is that you can re-use the covers multiple times before tossing them in the wash. The Flip diaper system is called "hybrid" because it bridges cloth and disposable. Flip diaper covers are sold bundled with either Microfiber or Organic inserts and packages of disposable inserts are sold separately. This system appeals to people who are travelling or simply on the go because you can use cloth inserts at home and disposable inserts when you are out.

Flats and pre-folds: This is the old school. Your nana's flat cotton diaper that is folded to fit baby and fastened with pins. These days, there's something that has knocked pins right out of the park and it's known as a "Snappi". Operating on the same principle as a tensor bandage closure, Snappi's are t-shaped closures with little "claws" that stretch to fit over cotton flats and keep them together. Pre-folds are essentially the same as flats, only they conveniently fold into thirds and can be easily laid across a cover and used like an insert. Pre-folds also come in different sizes according to your baby's weight, but they are so darn affordable that you won't mind purchasing all different sizes. Bummis brand pre-folds are pretty much dominating the market and they use an excellent quality organic cotton fiber. Kushies also makes flat diapers which you can buy for a song at their factory outlet store in Stoney Creek, Ontario. Keep in mind that pre-folds and flats are made from 100% absorbant fibers and therefore require diaper covers as well.

Once you have your diapers picked out and purchased, you will want to wash them several times before use. Cotton and other natural fibers become softer and more absorbent over time. Depending on the brand that you purchase, you will want to wash your cloth diapers 4-7 times to really boost their absorbency before you put them on dear baby's tush.

And there you have it! I know it's a lot of information, but the bulk of it is really in picking out the diaper style that best suits you and your baby's needs. Once you have that figured out, it's just a matter of acquiring a few accessories to make life easier and that's it!

Next time on Natural Mama...tackling the dreaded microfiber stink...Stay tuned!

Diadima xo

Welcome to Natural Mama!

I am a twenty-something first-time mama. My little boy stepped onto the scene sixteen weeks ago and it's been a non-stop adventure ever since. Labour was...arduous to say the least. It took 25 hours of mind-numbing (unfortunately the ONLY thing that was numb) back labour- but, as every mother knows, it was more than worth it. We've cloth diapered since his first day of life, making many changes and learning a lot along the way.

I had made the decision to use cloth diapers well before my son was even a twinkle in my eye. I remember telling W years ago that the two things I knew I would do as a mother were cloth diapering and breastfeeding. I was cloth diapered as a baby and my mother had always sang its praises, so it seemed a natural choice for me. W was resistant in the beginning, having diapered his two daughters in disposables, he questioned their absorbency and convenience. On the question of absorbency: of course they are absorbent! I have no idea where this rumour of leaky cloth diapers came from... it's just plain silly to think that three layers of paper and gel is more absorbent than layers of cotton flannel. On the question of convenience: Today's cloth diapers are not the intimidating flat cloth and pin combos of yesteryear. There's no trick to it anymore. Most diapers have either snap or aplix (velcro) closures and have the same fitted look as disposables. The only real difference is that you toss one in the trash and the other in the washer.

Even though I always knew I'd do cloth diapers, I was in no way expecting the overwhelming number of options that I'd have to sort through. It was truly shocking! As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I started researching and shopping around. I had no clue how many different brands, styles, sizes and systems there were. My first trip to the store had me standing in the aisle completely paralyzed by choice. It was like I'd just been sent to the store to pick out shampoo for the first time. There were fitteds, all-in-ones, pockets, envelopes, pre-folds, flats, organic, bamboo, stay-dry, microfiber, covers, wool, hemp...it went on and on. Then on top of that were all of the accessories: diaper pails, pail liners, diaper liners, wet bags, special detergents, boosters, washable wipes, etc. In no time at all, I was completely obsessed with cloth diapers. It was the only thing that interested me. All I did all day was read reviews and watch how-to videos. I scoured websites for deals and sales. W often pointed out how it seemed that all of my nesting instincts had manifested in the form of my cloth diaper obsession.

Through the course of my pregnancy, I narrowed down the brands and styles that I wanted to try. After much consideration, I decided to use Kissaluvs Cotton Sherpa fitted diapers for my son's first weeks of life. Once he had outgrown his Kissa's, we switched to bumGenius and Flip which we have used exclusively ever since. It was a long, windy road to get here and I've learned a TONNE about CD's along the way, which is why I am here. Two weeks after I discovered I was pregnant, I found out that a friend of mine was also pregnant. Three months later, another friend became pregnant. Two months after that, another friend from University confided that she, too, was expecting. In my seventh month of pregnancy, my sister announced that she was pregnant! And now just a couple weeks ago, I received an email from a blogger-friend that she was a few weeks along and interested in cloth diapering. We're talking six pregnancies all falling in the same year! As the first of the group to deliver, I often find myself giving tips and advice, especially when it comes to the uncharted territory of cloth diapering.

So here we are now! I've started this blog so that I can share as much information about cloth diapering as possible. Anyone who has any questions that aren't addressed on the blog, feel free to email me and I will be happy to answer to the best of my ability. In addition to cloth diapering, I'll be addressing natural pregnancy and birth, as well as breastfeeding. As many of my friends and family know, breastfeeding has been a struggle for me from day 1. It took twelve weeks (yes, that's right!) to establish a breastfeeding routine that worked for me and I did just about every single possible thing to get there.

If there's one thing I've learned in the past sixteen weeks, it's that motherhood is one hell of a wild ride! At least with all these layers of cotton flannel and microfiber, I always have a soft landing.

Diadima xo