the search is over!

I have FINALLY found THE right night time combo for Emersyn.  I have been having issues with this for a month, and believe I have done a couple of posts about it already.  After I started using the Bamboo fleece inserts, it was only a couple of nights before the leaks started again, and to be honest I was close to just giving up and using disposables overnight.  Then one night I dug deeper into the back of the shelf where my cloth diapers were (at my parents, while we were staying there) - and pulled out a FuzziBunz.  I decided it was worth a try, since I have had absolutely no problems with them in the past.

I stuffed the FuzziBunz with a bamboo towelling trifold insert, and then added a pad-folded flat... to be safe I put a Super Brite cover over the top, but as it turned out the next morning, I hadn't needed the cover!  The outside of the FuzziBunz diaper was actually dry - for the first time in weeks!  I tried the same thing the following night, with the same result - and am glad to say that a week down the line it looks like i have FINALLY found the right night time combination!

I think it has something to do with the width of the FuzziBunz - when I put the two inserts in, there is still space between the leg elastics, and the inserts, which I am picking eliminates the potential for the urine wicking into the fabric at the front of the diaper....  Looking at the diapers I've used up until now, when the inserts have been in, there has been no gap between the inserts & the leg elastic, and I really think that the issue was wicking.

Last night I forgot to put a cover on over her diaper, but this morning when she woke up, there was no wet outside-of-the-diaper! 

Hallelujah!

Fluffy Wardrobe - 13 April 2011

Today so far, Emersyn has worn.....

Snazzipants prefold & Bummis 'bloom' SWW
Mint green Itti Bitti - Bitti D'Lish AIO
Snazzipants fitted & Bummis 'ladybug' SWW
Bluberry bamboo fitted & Bummis 'flowers' SWW

to be continued!
(you can tell it was insert stripping day today!)

It's Stripping Time!

Not THAT sort of stripping!

There comes a time in every diapers life, where it becomes stinky & seems to be less absorbent than it should be - and this happens because of detergent build up (and other substances) within the fibres of the diaper (I find it generally only happens with microfiber inserts).  The way to get rid of this general stinky nastiness is through a method called 'stripping'.  There are various ways to go about 'stripping' (and no, none include a pole) - but my personal favourite is just putting the inserts through a decent hot wash & hot rinses, until no more detergent bubbles appear in the water.  I also add white vinegar for the last rinse, because white vinegar is magic - it helps neutralise the uric acid (which leaves the body via the urine) & the detergent residue, while at the same time softening the inserts.

Stripping isn't a fast process, so I will keep updating this blog post throughout the day (with photos too!) as I work my way through stink killer that is stripping.

TO BEEEEEEE CONTINUED!

UPDATE ONE:  Apparently in order to strip diapers (or do any form of washing), one needs to actually have a water supply!  Seems the council have turned off our water in order to do some repairs!

UPDATE TWO:  We're back in business... water is back on.  So here it is, my stripping cycle...

Step 1 - all the (clean) inserts in the washing basket, ready to be stripped

Step 2 - all the inserts in the washing machine, ready to be stripped

Step 3 - eureka!  We have water!  Inserts are put in a HOT wash, with no detergent

Step 4 - rinse cycle - lots of soap bubbles in the water coming out of the machine, keep rinsing until the water is free of soap bubbles

after 3 rinses there are no soap bubbles in the water, just bubbles from the water rushing out of the hose.  You could quite easily finish your stripping cycle here - spin the diaper inserts as usual & then hang them out or put them in the drier

Step 5 - I now add 1/2-1c of white vinegar

Into a final (lower water level) rinse the white vinegar goes...

and then it's done!  The machine stops, the inserts come out & go into the drier.... 90 minutes later they're nice and dry, soft & NOT SMELLY, and get stuffed back into the pockets from which they were removed.

Why I love..... Bummis!

Super Brite

One of the first diaper brands I tried was Bummis... the first ever wraps that I bought were a blue, a green & pink Super Brite wrap, for use over prefolds.  The initial reason I bought them was purely because they looked cute - up until then I just had solid colour diapers, and so badly wanted to get a cute print... I came a cross the Bummis Super Brites on TradeMe & just couldn't resist purchasing them!  You wouldn't believe my excitement when they arrived - actually, those of you who cloth diaper would believe it, but anyone who doesn't - well, you'll be thinking "excited about a stupid diaper.. what the...?".

'Flower' SWW

'Bloom' SWW

After the first use of a 'SB' (Super Brite) I realised just how FUNCTIONALLY awesome the wrap was.  Unlike [most] other wraps I looked at, the SB's have leg gussets, which is a function I believe ALL wraps should have... they make sure that anything that accidentally escapes the prefold or fitted underneath, stays contained inside, but I've also found that for overnight use they cover a VERY bulky diaper easily....  Emersyn (as I have posted previously) is a very heavy wetter at night, and while the Bamboo has helped to improve the situation, I'm still finding that by the time she gets up in the morning she is wet, so have begun putting the SB cover over top... and even if the pocket diaper underneath is wet through, her pyjamas (and skin) are still nice and dry.  This is possibly why she has started sleeping a lot better over the last week - she's a little more comfortable. 

'Jungle' SWW

So I love Bummis [Super Brites] because of their leg gussets, but I also love the prints - particularly the Super Whisper Wrap (SWW) prints.  My first SWW prints I had were 'Jungle', 'Froggy Pond', 'Flower' & 'Celery Dot' - and more recently I have added 'Ladybug' & 'Bloom' prints to my collection.  Dotted around this blog post are pictures of the SB & SWW from the Bummis website - and are examples of the print-cuteness that I couldn't resist!  There are a few other new prints that I'd love to get, but have decided to wait until I have gotten over the novelty of having the new 'Bloom' & 'Ladybug' prints!

'Ladybug' SWW

The only downside for me, of the Bummis SWW is that they don't have leg gussets.  My perfect wrap would be a Bummis SWW with leg gussets..... the ideal combination of cute prints - but also the excellent function that is the leg gusset!  For the most part I have only used wraps over prefolds, but now I seem to be using wraps over fitted diapers more than the prefolds - and am still very impressed with how well they work.

"Eww but cloth diapering is GROSS..."

"EWWW BUT CLOTH DIAPERING IS GROSS!"

... how many times have I heard that since I started using cloth diapers?  I don't know - I never kept count, but it is one of the most common replies I receive, when I say the simple phrase "I"m using cloth diapers".

Cloth diapering + gross don't really go in the same sentence for me, unless it is with regard to teething-baby-poop, or stomach-virus-baby-poop.  I'm not too sure why people automatically think that cloth diapering is gross, there hasn't been one time when I've thought "oh god I wish I was using disposables - this is so gross", well I have said that on the odd occasion - but never seriously.  You try cleaning diarrhoea off a diaper you forgot to line with a liner & tell me if YOU don't wish for just a second you could just wrap it & throw it away!

I guess a lot of people make judgements from their impressions of cloth diapering 'back in the day', when you did have to scrape the poop off diapers and have a bucket of dirty diapers in dirty water, creating a horrible stink in the laundry or wherever they were stored... that said, I remember very clearly my two aunties using cloth diapers (20+ years ago) and I don't remember it being gross.  A little labour intensive PERHAPS, but that was about it.  I used to be fascinated by my Aunty doing a special fold for my boy cousins - up until then I'd only been around girl babies, and found it very interesting that boys needed a different fold!

I find that cloth diapering now - compared with back then - seems a LOT easier.  Simply a case of remove dirty diaper & wipe little bottom, place baby on top of new diaper & snap/velcro/aplix the tabs, remove dirty liner from dirty diaper & dispose of any solid waste in the toilet (often these liners can be flushed along with the poop), then place dirty diaper in 'wet bag' or DRY diaper pale.  When ready put the diapers in the washing machine - then hang them out or put them in the drier.

Yes  - when cloth diapering you do have to deal with poop, but that's the same when you're using disposables... no matter what diaper you use there will always be a bum to wipe, and as far as I can see that is really the closest that cloth diapers become to being 'gross'.  If you use diaper liners most time any poop can be removed from the diaper by simply lifting off the liner... on the odd occasion poop does miss the liner & get on the fabric of the diaper, a quick run under a fast flowing tap - or with a diaper sprayer, and it's gone...  That may be the ONLY positive side there is to disposables.

You tell me - what looks 'grosser', more 'offensive', like something you'd hate to have in your house?

A pale full of used disposable diapers....

Cloth diapers folded & ready to be used

'old school' cloth diapers - aka 'flats'

Cloth diapering has come SO far from 'back in the day' - the cloth that our grandparents & parents used.  Back then the only real option when it came to cloth diapers, was using the flats & pins that we probably all naturally associated with cloth diapering when we were younger.... These are the diapers that were most likely used on us, because going back not so long ago a bulk of babies were in cloth diapers - it was more 'kooky' to use disposables than cloth diapers... go into any backyard and chances are you'd find cloth nappies drying on the washing line, getting ready for their next use.  When it came time to change diapers, the diaper was folded, slid under the baby & then the magical (well to me it seemed that way!) task of pinning the diapers took place - a fluffy cover (if a cover at all) was placed on top & the child was good to go.  Then out to the laundry the used cloth diaper would go - and into a pale of cold, manky, stinky water it would sit until a load of diapers was put into the washing machine & then back out on the line - where the whole process would repeat itself.  In most households in your street - in the street next to you & 50 streets away, THIS would have been the process.  It was just normal!  It was what you did when you had a baby!

Then disposables became more widely available - and cheaper, more parents decided to take the leap & try out the new fandangled diapers to see what the fuss was about... and in the space of a few years suddenly cloth diapers became a thing of the past for most families, and disposables were a regular part of life with a baby.  The history of cloth diapering is something I'll get into another time, but long story short - cloth began becoming somewhat popular again, but this time things had changed.  Cloth diapers were easier to use, more hygenic - and a lot cuter...

Going along with the 'cloth diapering is gross!' theme, take a look at these pictures & tell me which you think is the 'grosser' of the two - which would you sooner put on your babies booty?

A 'MCD' - Modern Cloth Diaper

A disposable diaper

The only thing that is gross about cloth diapering, is the poop aspect, and whether you are using cloth, disposables or eliminiation communication - you are going to have to deal with poop, so if you ask me you might as well make the rest of the diapering experience a darn cute one!

Fluffy Wardrobe - 2nd April 2011

Just for fun...
today Emersyn has been wearing:
- Ecobubs woolen pocket, in baby pink & brown
- Ecobubs woolen pocket, in baby blue & brown
- Itti Bitti Bitti D'Lish AIO in pink
- Snazzipants prefold with blue Bummis Super Brite cover
- MyBaby pocket, in blue - with a Bummis Super Brite cover (for overnight)