What's the deal with pocket diapers?

Recently I had a client ask me, “Why use pockets?” For a moment I thought, “Yes, why use pockets?” At first glance, it does seem like the most difficult option compared to an All-in-Two {AI2} system, and All-in-One {AIO} system or even prefolds. With pocket diapers, you have to stuff the pocket and then pull out the insert before putting in the pail. Seems like a lot of extra work doesn’t it? Have I turned you off from using pocket diapers? I hope not. Here are a few reasons why I like pocket diapers…

o   Easy to clean. The absorbent part of the diaper washes separately from the PUL or TPU cover, which helps to ensure a good deep cleaning of both parts of the diaper.

o   Dries fast. The insert dries separately from the cover, so both parts of the diaper can dry thoroughly without being attached. The covers can air dry quickly, and the inserts can be thrown in the dryer if need be. I air dry pretty much anything, especially pocket inserts since it doesn’t matter if it stays soft or not because it doesn’t touch skin. But in a pinch, it’s nice to have the option to use the dryer.

o   Customizable absorbency. You can stuff anything inside a pocket. Hemp, microfiber, prefolds, or anything else you can think of that is absorbent that you wouldn’t mind your little one making a mess on. You can add as many inserts as you’d like or as little as one. {This is my fave reason for using pockets. And not to mention a great way to turn any pocket into the perfect nighttime diaper.}

o   Deep cleaning. If the inserts, whatever you may be using, have a funk, it’s very easy to wash/soak the inserts without having to worry about damaging the PUL or TPU cover. {Prolonged soaking of covers isn’t recommended and may damage them. Also, keep in mind that frequent soaking of cotton is harsh on the fabric.}

o   Some don’t even require stuffing. WHAT?! It’s true. BabyKicks 3g diapers don’t need to be stuffed. The hemp/cotton insert can be placed right on top and be used without stuffing. {I’m traditional when it comes to pockets, so I stuff my 3gs. Don’t ask me why.}

o   Some don’t even require unstuffing. HUH?! You heard right. Thirsties Duo Diaper is a sleeve diaper. There is a pocket opening at the front and back of the diaper. The insert comes out in the wash. Really, it does! {I do that all the time now. So easy.}

Does all the talk of stuffing and unstuffing still seems like a hassle? What about all the time spent organizing and stuffing the diapers? Isn’t that a waste of time? Nope. Even if you have one system, {I so wish I could pick one & stick with it} you still have to fold or organize your stash. Prefolds require folding ahead of time. AIOs still need to be folded neatly together before putting away. AI2s need the inserts snapped in covers to prepare them for use. So with any system there is organizing of the stash on laundry day. Now the question you may be asking is, “Doesn’t this take a lot of time? Shouldn’t using cloth be fast & easy?” My answer is this…it doesn’t take a lot of time, and it is easy. Maybe not fast, but it is easy. My time organizing my eclectic {sounds so much better than random} stash takes place on the floor in the play area. I sit and work while the boys play. Sometimes I’ll even read stories or sing songs while I work. I enjoy the time I get to sit and watch the boys play. And right now I’m using the diapers to help teach BW his colors. CW even gets involved in the process by doing a big boy chore of taking the diapers off the drying rack and bringing them to me in the play area. It teaches him how we work together to do our chores, and we can still have fun in the process. The fun part for him comes when he throws the diapers on my head while I sit and wait for them. Makes me wish that every day is laundry day!

CW is my happy helper!

Looking to increase your stash and want to save some $$? From now until Sept. 30, 2011, FuzziBunz are buy 6 get 2 free. As an ex-math teacher and a full time bargain hunter, this is an awesome deal. You can mix and match One-Size FBs and Perfect Size FBs. The 2 free diapers will be mailed to you after filling out a rebate form. 1 free diaper will be a solid color and the other free diaper will be a mystery print. For more details go to the online store http://www.greenbabyelephant.com/ Hurry for the best selection of colors and sizes!!

Nighttime Diapers

If you’ve been following my blog at all, you know by now that my transition to cloth was slow. And of course I blame this on my inexplicable dislike to change. *ugh* As I moved to cloth from disposables, daytime diapers quickly became easy for me. Nights scared me. {No really, I don’t like the dark. I still require a nightlight. I even take one when I travel.} I was worried about using cloth at night with BW. Finally, when he was about 3 months old I began using cloth at nights. My first system with him consisted of 2 microfiber inserts. It worked wonderfully. {Note to self: Change is good. I seriously need to tattoo this on my forehead.} It worked so wonderfully that I began using cloth on CW at nights. At that point he was 2.5 years, and fully potty trained in the day. It was very reassuring that CW told me that he liked his new cloth diapers better than the paper diapers. It was no big surprise to me. Who’d prefer paper to cloth? But it was so nice to hear it from him. Anyways, both boys were using 2 microfiber inserts. After a few weeks the boys began waking up soaked. No leaks. Just sopping wet. First it was CW. No surprise there since he’s much older, but when BW was soaking wet in the mornings I knew I needed to find something else. Desperate to find something for nights I did some research. The answer I was looking for was hemp!

Both CW & BW wear diapers at night. CW has been potty trained during the days at about 28 months, but he still needs a diaper at nights. He’s now 3.5 years and 38 lbs. Finding a night diaper for him has been challenging. As of right now we’ve been using  FuzziBunz Perfect Size Large with a Thirsties Prefold and the FuzziBunz insert. Is this bulky? Yes! Does it work? Heck yeah it does. He doesn’t mind it, and tells us how comfy it is. I’m hoping it’s not too comfy because I’d love for him to wear his big boy underwear at night. But I know that will come eventually. He’s insanely proud when he has “dry pants” as he calls it. And of course I am too. Before we used FuzziBunz on him at night, we used the BabyKicks 3g with an extra insert. This was amazingly trim. He loved it! And we liked using the 3g on him. I was secretly hoping that the wetness he’d feel in the diaper would wake him, which would lead to quicker night training. It didn’t. Oh well. And he grew out of it. The night he couldn’t fit in it any longer was not pleasant. He carried on about how he wanted his red diaper. It was a sad night in the GBE house. Now he has a new red diapers {with some other colors to mix it up a bit}, and I’m so glad I found one that fits. It’s not easy to find a diaper to fit after the OS diapers are outgrown. {And I will be stocking FuzziBunz Perfect Size Large diapers this month!}

After a lot of trials these are the nighttime diapers I have used or am currently using on BW:

FuzziBunz OS with 2 inserts. {He’s now moved on to hemp.}

FuzziBunz OS with a Thirsties hemp prefold

Thirsties Duo Fitted with a Thirsties Hemp Insert and a Thirsties Duo Wrap

Thirsties Duo Diaper with an additional Thirsties Hemp Insert

So I rotate with whatever is clean at night. The one common denominator is Thirsties hemp for both boys. Honestly, it doesn’t hold tightly to ammonia odors, which can be a problem when using hemp at nights. When using cloth at night, please remember that stash size is so important. Nighttime diapers take a beating with all of the urine they hold. It is essential to not skimp with 1 or 2 night diapers in your rotation. And to help battle the ammonia beast I’ve taken to rinsing the diapers in the toilet briefly before tossing in the pail. No need to even break out the sprayer. Just a swirl and squeeze in the toilet. It has made a huge difference when it comes time to wash!

Everyone swears that they have a super heavy wetter, and you can find all kind of advice online. But here’s the best advice you’ll find anywhere, the key is to find what works best for you. {pssst. It will probably involve hemp.} Just like there is no perfect diaper for all babies, there is no perfect night diaper for all as well. Yes, it may suck the first few times you try a diaper at night and it doesn’t work out. I’m not going to lie about that. But chances are if you include hemp in your nighttime diaper, you won’t have a problem at all. If you already cloth diaper and need a nighttime solution, I’ll be more than happy to work with you to find something for your baby. There’s a good chance we’ll find something that will work with what you already use. If you haven’t started cloth diapering at night, go ahead and give it a try. I’m here to help.  

~~Tonya~~

Washing Tips

My last post was about washing routines, care, and instructions. Now I’d like to discuss some tips that I’ve learned when it comes to washing & drying cloth diapers. A common theme that runs through all the tips will be trial and error. It’s normal in the beginning to have washes not turn out clean diapers. Find what works for you! Different machines, water types {hard/soft}, detergents, and diaper brands will all create different wash routines for different people. And from my experience sometimes even a good wash routine may fail. My biggest problem…broccoli. The boys love it, but when served at dinner, I expect horrid diapers in the morning. I now know that a pre-rinse with the sprayer before putting the diapers in the pail does a lot of good. And I also can tell when our water softener needs more salt, because more soap is needed. So be flexible with your wash routine, and hopefully these tips will make wash day so easy it won’t even feel like a chore!

·         Detergent Amount: Use enough detergent. How much is enough? Your diapers should not have any stink smell when coming out of the washing machine. If they smell stinky, re-wash. It’s also a good idea to check if there are any suds in the final rinse cycle. Too many suds means too much soap. Run another rinse cycle, and use less soap next time.

·         Proper load size: Too many dirties and too few diapers will create havoc. Too many and they won’t come clean. Remember, HE machines don’t use a lot of water. Too few diapers, and they can’t “scrub” against each other very well when washing. There isn’t a magic number, but 18 diapers is a good number to work with. Have I washed more than 18 and less than 18 in loads? Yes. It’s all about being flexible. Adjust soap and wash cycles as needed.

·         Rinse: Rinse the poo! A diaper sprayer is a must. Rinse all the poo off that you can. Less poo on the diaper while in the pail, means less poo in the pre-rinse cycle, and hopefully no poo in the wash cycle. {Please note that breastfed poo is exempt. This rinses away without the need to spray in the toilet.} Rinsing also helps to keep staining at bay. {Confession Alert! I rinse during naptime and after bedtime. Too many “helpful” hands and people in the bathroom while I work. I flick what comes off easily into the toilet and close the diaper up until rinse time. Gross, but effective.}

·         Trick your washer: I have read about, but never used the “Towel Trick”. It consists of adding a towel in your load during the sensing part of the cycle {the beginning} and removing it before the water & soap is added. I have often times poured large bowls of water over a load before the pre-rinse to make the diapers heavier. HE machines go by weight to determine how much water to use. My reasoning is that half dry diapers are only half as heavy. So pouring large bowls of water will make them heavier, and then more water will be used by machine. It’s ok if the water drains out, this is just to get your diapers wet and heavy not to add water to the cycle.

·         Hang dry: Hang drying means less wear and tear on your diapers. Lint is the breaking down of fabrics. Anything that is microfiber hang dries in my house. No need for it to be soft and fluffy since it never touches skin. Pockets and covers are also air dried. Anything that is cotton and touches skin gets dried on low heat for 15-20 minutes before hanging out. Or a good shaking out helps soften up the fabric after air drying.

·         Sun: The sun is the best sanitizer and stain remover. Be sure to Practice Safe Sun.

·         Large Stash Size: This is probably the least mentioned and most important tip when it comes to washing diapers. It is essential to have a good size stash {over 24, closer to 36 + diapers} to keep your diapers functional. Repeated washing of a small stash will wear out your diapers faster. I guarantee it! You will not save money by having a small stash, because they will wear out quickly and you will have to buy more. A large amount of diapers will keep them rotating through less frequently, and will make them last longer. The diapers will then wear and tear at a slower rate, and since they will last longer you will get your money’s worth. They’ll be sure to last for more babies or will be acceptable condition to sell to others. As with any fabric, repeated washing & drying will wear out the item. Think of your fav shirt. You’ve probably had it for years and wear it in high rotation in your wardrobe. Does it have holes? Is it frayed? Is it super thin and faded? Yes, yes, and yes. You love it, but it’s not a “functional” shirt to wear outside of the house. At least mine isn’t. The same will happen if you have too few diapers. Be sure to invest in your diapers and make them last through potty learning and then some!

~~Tonya~~