Disenchanted with Diapers

I don't know if it's because I want Eloise to potty train or because I am just bored of dealing with poop, but I am so disenchanted with diapers.

Our stash of cloth diapers has dwindled, many of the covers requiring new velcro tabs and elastic after being used and laundered every other day for 22+ months. Some of our diapers have held up better than others, but our heavy wetting kid requires a super diaper for naps and nighttime and we now have a limited few that do the job. Honestly, after too many leaks and wet beds I've succumbed to disposables for sleep. But guess what? We've discovered Eloise leaks through disposables too!

All this aside, we've had a wonderful experience with cloth diapers and I wouldn't change a thing. I have my favourite diapers and tools to make cloth diapering easier, so once again, here is what has worked the best for us.

Blueberry One-Size Pocket Diaper with hook/loop
I always recommend these diapers because they are a great fit and the quality is also unbeatable. Our Blueberry Diapers have been laundered the same way as every other diaper we own but they look nearly new. The elastic has stayed stretchy and tight and the hook/loop (aka velcro) is still sticky.

bumGenius Freetime All-in-One One-Size Diapers with hook/loop
We discovered these diapers too late because they are awesome and so, so easy to use. The liner is attached and does not need to be stuffed into a pocket before use, they simply fold one on top of another and boosters can be added for more absorbancy. My only concern with bumGenuius diapers is that the elastic and hook/loop have failed on many of our 4.0s which means a lot of fiddly repair work before our next child.

Wool Soaker
We need a wool cover for naps and bedtime because Eloise is a super heavy wetter. These covers absorb wetness and keep both Eloise and the bed dry, in theory. In reality, Eloise is such a heavy wetter that many mornings she wakes us with a wet diaper, cover and bed. These covers worked better when she was small and would be excellent for babies with more chub.

Wipes Warmer & Cloth Wipes
If you are going to cloth diaper it makes no sense to use disposible wipes. Actually, even if I didn't use cloth diapers I think I would still use cloth wipes because they are just that good. Think about it, if you have a spill and can either use a half piece of paper towel or a dish cloth, which is going to do a better job? The warmer itself acts as a storage container for wipes moistened with a solution of olive oil, baby soap and water, ready for clean ups. Plus, wouldn't you prefer a nice warm wipe at 3am?

Diaper Accessories
We have a few wet bags in rotation and they've been both good and bad. We started with two Kissaluv pail liners but one de-laminated so we replaced it with a Bummis wet bag, which also de-laminated. I can't say if one is better than the other but maybe the Kissaluv solely based on length of use. Our take along wet bags have been consistently great; we use one by Itzy Ritzy, and one by Bummis.
 

Gwoss

In Eloise's words, what I'm about to write about is "gwoss" so feel free to stop reading now. But if you're a mom (or not squeamish) then you too are well versed in the following:

I'm talking about pee and vomit.

Eloise, I'm sorry to divulge information on the internet that will embarrass you as a teen, but you are a heavy wetter. You also have a tendency to vomit everywhere if we put you in your crib and leave the room rather than rocking you to coma-sleep. It's not that we're okay with you throwing up and sleeping in it, but after a few hours of trying to get you to sleep in your crib we are exhausted and two minutes of crying really shouldn't be such a big deal. You do always manage to sleep through the night and wake up cheerful the next day. The surprise for us in the morning is a urine-dampened and/or vomit-scented baby which results in an immediate load of laundry, crib and carpet clean and a bath. (As a result Eloise's Piglet, her bed sheets and her hair are quite possibly the cleanest ever.)

Back in January we were having problems with Eloise waking up often because she was wet. We experimented with different diapers and ended up using wool diaper soakers which worked like a charm. Until now. Since Eloise sleeps 12, sometimes 13, hours a night we find that her diaper and soaker just can't keep up so we've been experimenting once again with different combinations. So far a Blueberry or bumGenius pocket diaper with two bamboo liners, an additional bamboo-terry liner and the wool soaker have worked the best but after a wet week we're back to the drawing board.

I did some research and heard about the great absorbancy of Tots Bots Bamboozle diapers so I ordered one from New & Green and a Bummis Super Brite cover for on top since we had so much success with these covers when Eloise was small (not even one newborn poop blowout!). We used a wool soaker on top of it all and I am pleased to report that Eloise and her bed were totally dry when she woke up this morning.

Unfortunately, we let her cry for a few minutes after a marathon bedtime last night and though she may not have been wet from pee, she had thrown up everywhere. Gwoss.

Cloth Diapering Momma

Cute AND functional.

Call me crazy, but I'm looking forward to becoming a cloth diapering momma.

When I learned that disposables produce 3.4 million tonnes of landfill waste every year and that each one of those diapers takes about 500 years to decompose, I knew that this was not something I could contribute to. What's more, harsh toxins found in disposable diapers like dioxin, a carcinogenic by-product of the bleaching process, and sodium polyacrylate, the chemical that makes up those 'super absorbent crystals', are not something that I want next to the perfect skin of my baby. To top it all off, using cloth diapers will be much less expensive and by the time our babe is potty training we will have spent a third less than diapering with disposables.

In November Chris and I took a totally empowering cloth diapering course from New & Green Baby Co. which helped us demystify some of the cloth diaper jargon we'd been struggling with. We learned that cloth diapers are not what they used to be - not a safety pin in sight - and that cloth is really user friendly with so many diapering options available today. Thanks to this very informative seminar, we also figured out just what we want and don't want in a cloth diaper, which is always half the battle.

All skeptics aside (*ahem, you know who you are), I know that cloth diapers are the right choice for us. Now comes the hard part: choosing our diapers!