Hook & Loop Care

It’s no secret that I’m partial to hook & loop/aplix. It’s actually a necessity with my alligator boy. But hook & loop doesn’t hold up to wear and tear like snaps. There are a few things you can do to help keep your hook & loop diapers stay strong. The most important thing you can do is to make sure the hook & loop is firmly put together on the laundry tabs before putting it in your diaper pail. Don’t put it together all wonky-like. Any hook left unattached has the potential to snag on other diapers in the wash, which will then pull apart from the loop. So not only will your hook & loop show wear faster, but they will also “eat” at your other diapers. Making sure the hook is secure on the laundry tab also prevents lint build up. This can be a pain to clean out, and keeps your hook & loop from being very “sticky”.  Another thing you can do to keep your hook & loop from wearing too quickly is to line dry. This keeps it from tumbling and potentially snagging other diapers while in the dryer. Line drying in general will also help in keeping your diapers from wearing too quickly. The lint you clean out from the lint trap is fiber from your clothes. Having a good size stash also keeps your diapers from wearing too quickly. You may only change 8 diapers a day, but constant washing, drying, and wearing is hard on the hook & loop closures and your diapers as well. {Minimum stash size is 24, if you're wondering.} Basic diaper maintenance and care in addition to using the laundry tabs properly will give your hook & loop a longer life. Yay!

Thirsties Duo Wraps, Fitteds, & Diapers have excellent laundry tabs that work well to keep the hook & loop “sticky”. I have Thirsties in rotation that have been used for over a year and still work great. GroVia has laundry tabs plus a loop to tuck the hook part and keep it hooked. This is a major improvement over the older GroBaby shells. I used to use a lingerie bag with my GroBaby shells inside to keep them from attaching to everything else. It made diaper chains obsolete. I highly recommend a lingerie bag if you’re having issues with your hook & loop diapers making diaper chains in the wash. It will help minimize wear and tear on your entire stash. And a lingerie bag is a must when washing your Bummis Swimmi. It’ll keep your suits from catching on the hook & loop. {Learned that lesson the hard way. Bummer.} At this time I don’t have any use for the lingerie bag for my diapers, but I do use it for BW’s bibs. No more snagged shirts & shorts when I do the boys’ laundry. My sister gave me that idea, and I remember she used a bag to wash tiny baby socks to keep the washer from eating them. So many uses for more than your lingerie.



Thirsties Duo Wrap with Aplix



Thirsties Duo Diaper with Aplix



GroVia OS Shell with Hook & Loop



I have little desire to convert to Team Snaps. Hook & loop is the best choice for me. Even though BW tries to take off his diaper when he’s pantless, he’s mischievous busy like that, it makes diaper changes so much easier for me. A little extra effort to make my diapers stand up to constant wear and tear if definitely worth it. And if I’ve totally turned you off to hook & loop, no worries. I agree with you that snaps are awesome. We don’t do naps & nights without them. I may love the ease that hook & loop gives me when changing a diaper, but I’m not a fool to think that BW would never make a poo masterpiece if given the chance. If you’re a snap lover, Thirsties makes their entire line in snaps {the Duo Diaper in snaps is their newest addition}, GroVia Shells, Newborn, and All-In-Ones come in snaps, BabyKicks 3g & Fitteds are only in snaps, and of course the entire FuzziBunz line is snaps. And if you’re a fan of hook & loop, Thirsties entire line and GroVia Shells come in hook & loop. The choice is yours. Feel free to mix and match to suit your diapering needs.

Alligator Death Roll

Changing a diaper has turned into an Olympic sport.   It’s a difficult wrestling match and only a trained athlete can accomplish the task.  I like to call it the “Alligator Death Roll” competition.  Is it dangerous?  Yes it is. Is it exhausting? Yes it is.  Can you win? Yes you can!!  Let me explain the rules.  Baby arches his back and rolls to the side.  Baby can’t be flat on his back.  Baby also has the ability to swat away wipes, hands, and clean diapers.  Also, baby’s hands can be used to grab their own soiled parts. *gag*  The diaper changer has to avoid all of the obstacles, while baby is trying to complete the alligator death roll and crawl away to safety. 

Now that the rules of the game have been explained let’s try to come up with a winning strategy.  For starters, a novel toy can be placed in the baby’s hands.  More often than not this hasn’t been working in this house. Darn. Strategy #2: whip off baby’s pants and throw them over his face while quickly changing the diaper.  For this strategy, I’m going for the classic blinding the alligator baby to create confusion, but it comes off as playing a lousy game of peek-a-boo.  Often this works if I am fast enough at changing the diaper. Strategy #3: change the darn diaper while baby is on the move.  This is by far the most difficult way to change baby, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  It’s not easy to attach a diaper while baby is in full on alligator death roll maneuver!   

 

A secret weapon should be mentioned.  It is hook and loop or aplix.  While it may not have the durability of snaps, there is a definite need for a H/L diaper when wrestling changing an alligator baby.  It’s always good to have a mix of both H/L and snap diapers in your stash for this very reason.  I for one am not a fan of changing a baby while in the midst of an alligator death roll while out in public or in the middle of the night.  For those occasions, I almost always reach for a diaper with H/L while wrestling changing  my alligator baby.