We acquired a set of gDiapers, and today was the day to try them out. They bill themselves as a hybrid between cloth and disposables giving you the best of both worlds. They have cloth covers, and a nylon (waterproof) snap in piece that holds a cellulose based flushable liner (now available in reusable cloth). The idea is that you pull out the flushable liner, swish it in the toilet and flush, then wash the rest with your regular laundry. The liners are completely biodegradable, and they suggest composting wet ones instead of flushing. I wouldn't recommend that unless the compost is for flowers only, not for food.
In my test, the diapers worked well. I would say as effective as disposables. We had one minor leak out the leg, which might have been due to operator error since I intentionally put the diaper on backward (they velcro in back, and I thought it was inconvenient). There were some much juicier diaper changes later which didn't leak, and likely would have blown out the back with 'sposies.
The diapers look pretty comfy. The cloth is stretchy around the legs and waist. I don't think pooh could travel far up the back because of the nice waistband, even if it did try to escape. It velcros in back so baby fingers can't pull them off, but this isn't a problem until the baby becomes a toddler. The back velcro is somewhat awkward at first. The diaper in the photo is on backward quite by accident, but no leaks that time.
I also give the diapers points for cuteness.
I opted not to swish the liners since we have a septic system, so I just separated it into the trash. This is my complaint with the diapers. I think if I'm gonna go cloth, I should just do cloth and save myself the trouble of dismantling a gooey mess. I think the cloth inserts might make more sense for my application. Maybe I'll try putting a cloth doubler in instead of the disposable liner. If I do, I'll let you know how that goes.
If any of you are interested in trying the gdiapers yourself, I could pass them along. I have 7 covers, and 75 liners in size small (8-14 lbs).
I've been getting inquiries about cloth diapers. Since I took the time to type in all this stuff, I"ll post it here. I'll get back to vacation pics soon.
I didn't ever intent to use cloth. I was willing to compromise my environment ethics on this one. I remember my mom rinsing diapers in the toilet when I was a kid. I didn't want to have anything to do with it. But with Jackson, I spend so much time scrubbing blowouts out of clothes that I decided to take the advice to switch. I don't really handle the pooh anymore with cloth than with disposable. I used disposable on vacation. After a few days, I was longing for the cloth and the nice wipes. I don't like that the disposable silica crystals escape and stick to Jackson's skin. Plus there's the guilt of being responsible for some of the vast disposed of diaper landfill wasteland.
First, some notes on the ick factor. For the first 6 months, don't even worry about the pooh. breastmilk pooh goes right in the washer and dissolves away. No chunkies in the wash, no stink, no problems. When you start feeding solid foods, I recommend diaper liners. These are just cellulous papers that go between the diaper and the baby. There are a couple of brands. Imse Vimse makes one. Prices are about $13 for 200 or so. They're advertised as "flushable", but there's a warning about not being liable for sewer problems. Since we have septic, I throw the soiled ones away. If they're just wet, I leave them with the diaper, wash, and reuse. You could also get a sprayer that connects to the toilet plumbing. I haven't bothered.
My stash:
2 dozen unbleached Chinese or Indian prefolds. I use the newspaper fold. Lay the baby on, fold the front edges over the middle (in thirds). Pull it through the babies legs, fold the top in (below belly button). fasten with Snappi. Cover. When you get these, you have to wash 3 times in hot water (no soap). Dry in the dryer between each wash. This will cause them to shrink and thicken up. Don't skip this step. I have heard of boiling them then drying, but that seems to be for people without running water and a washer. 1 Kissaluvs contoured diaper. This is a nice diaper, but they're kinda pricey. It snaps together, but a cover is still needed.
16 diaper covers. I have Bummies Whisper Wraps and Proraps. Plus one other. I prefer the Bummies fit, but they are made of a nylon that absorbs odor. At first, I tried to reuse covers without washing since that's what I read about doing online. It was smelly. Now I always wash them. The Proraps are made of PUL plastic. They have leg gussets, but they don't cover Jack's chubby thighs very well, this is annoying but it doesn't impair the function. But both brands do the job well, very few leaks!! Be sure to tuck any exposed diaper into the cover. The other one is a WAHM. It has snaps instead of velcro and is great, except I would switch the direction of the snaps.
10 Dappi diaper covers. These are the plastic pull on type. They're ill fitting and can be difficult to remove on a dirty one. However they're small and super cheap. I keep them in the diaper bag with a spare diaper to be used for emergencies. If all my good covers are in the wash, I'll use one. Otherwise they just sit there.
1 BumGenius. This is a pocket diaper with snaps that allow you to adjust the size. It's supposed to be good for newborn up to 30 pounds! I just got one. I really like it. I never used it with a newborn, though. Note--the velcro on this one is irresistable. Keep pants on your baby, or you could have a streaker.
Diaper liners for easy removal of solids. See comments above.
Snappi fasteners. These are great. They're stretchy silicone fasteners shaped in a T that hold the same way elastic bandage clips do. Love them! (no pins)
Diaper doublers. I have one hemp doubler. One Bum Genius doubler. A bunch of made at home doublers--I had gotten several hemp diapers early on. I didn't like them as diapers because the Snappies wouldn't stick in the fleece. I cut them into thirds, sewed the 2 edge pieces together (the middle is OK alone, leave the seams on the middle) and use these as doublers. They're twice as thick as the regular doublers, and just right for us.
Wipes. I use target baby washcloths. I think they came in 6 packs. I probably have about 3 dozen. These are the perfect size and weight. Soo much better than disposable wipes.
Old wipes container. Mine is from a generic brand that has a big opening (unlike the Pampers containers). I fill it with water and sometimes add Tea Tree Oil. I used to add a squirt of California Baby baby soap, but I no longer bother. Plain water is OK. I don't recommend adding wipes to the water. The combination will get the dread funk overnight. I just dunk, ring out, then use. I usually dunk 3 or 4 just in case, the unused ones sit out on top of the wipes container and are good for next time.
Bummies Diaper Tote. 1 extra-large (This is my at home diaper pail. It could rest in a garbage can, laundry hamper, or whatever is convenient)
1 medium (rarely used. I used to use it for a 2nd changing table, but I don't anymore. Good size for daycare)
1 small (kept in the diaper bag, sometimes used when we don't use a baggie)
These bags are fantastic. They are PUL plastic with a drawstring. I usually just lay the top together at home. This bag is odor proof!! However it is not beagle proof which has been a problem for the last few months.
Garbage diaper pail. I have the Diaper Dekor. It doesn't sequester odors. If I were buying now (which I should be) I would get the Baby Trend Diaper Champ. It has a lid with a big flip handle, so only 1/2 liter of air is exchanged per use. You use your own bags. Retail establishments like Babies R Us and IKEA have this one in their changing rooms. I know 2 people with them. They're smell free from my experience.
For the diaper bag, we use storage baggies (these are maybe gallon size, no zip top. We put in the diapers, tie a knot, and go) We should use the small Bummies Diaper Tote more, but these are convenient and easy to stash a bunch in the bag at the time.
I also bought a reusable cloth swimsuit from Target. This was great. I now have one of the Kiss-a-luvs swim diapers. I guess its OK, but its not very boyish. Also, there isn't much thickness for absorbency, so I don't know how effective it really is. Follow-up comment. Had a puddle develop next to the pool with the Kiss-a luvs, and it wasn't chlorine water. Sorry fellow swimmers.
Here's a photo of my setup. From left to right: water, wipes, covers, reused liners, creams (butt paste is very good!) and random accessories.
Below the shelf hangs an L-shaped toilet paper holder (open on one end). It holds the diaper liners.
To the right is my diaper stacker loaded with cloth diapers folded in half.
Extras and doublers are in the bottom drawer.
To wash: I dump the bag of diapers in the wash and follow with the bag itself, inside out. If you stick the velcro over on itself, it won't get flotsum (our velcro is no longer pristine). I prerinse with 1/4 c of white vinegar, then I wash. I use Method detergent--but I don't really know how this ranks on the scale of which detergent to use/not use. You can find tips online somewhere. Do Not Use Softener. The oils with reduce the effectiveness of the diapers. I line dry the covers and bags. The diapers, wipes, and liners go into the dryer. Sometimes I hang dry outside. We have one of those little round popup laundry lines on a center pole. We set in in the patio table where the umbrella usually goes. It's a little ghetto, but its super convenient! The sun does actually get stains out (its crazy, I know). But I couldn't do that in the winter, so I've been living with the stains. Line drying results in stiff diapers, and I'll usually put them in the dryer after to soften up. I wash 2 loads a week.
After a while, my diapers started to hold onto some smell which comes out when they get wet. Its faint, but still. I tried stripping with Vinegar or OxyClean. Now I'm using bleach. I do it every 2 months, but should probably do it monthly. Wash in very hot water once with soap, then rewash with bleach, then rewash a couple more times with plain water.
Other stuff I've had but don't like: Some home made A-I-O (all in ones) bought off of eBay. These have PUL inside, but are fleece covered. They look nice, but its a continuous piece of fleece from inside to out and wicks moisture, so they leak badly.
A pocket diaper with fuzzy fleece lining and with nylon outer. The fleece is seemed at the edge to the nylon, and again, moisture wicks out. This is the same brand as the WAHM cover which I really do like.
Hemp prefolds. I didn't like these as diapers, but pieced into doublers, I love them! (see above)
I experimented with cutting a strip from the top of my too long prefolds and sewing it into the center (one one side only) as a permanent doubler. These were great! But like everything else early on, Jack outgrew them pretty quickly.
If I were starting over, I would get more BumGenius. I bought the prefolds because I thought it would be cheaper, but since I need so many covers, it ends up being $13-$15 per set (diaper and cover). The BumGenius are $17-$18 each. So the cost wouldn't be much more. But the prefolds are fine. Something to keep in mind if you use daycare is that they are generally more receptive to the one step diapers than the prefolds.
I've also heard good things about FuzziBunz brand pocket diapers and Thirsties brand covers.
Plan to get clothes a size larger to fit over the cloth diapers.
Here's Helene's put:
In terms of pockets, I prefer snap diapers--the velcro diapers fray a lot and Marika can take those off (although she doesn't try all that often). But Reed likes the velcro and probably likes our bumGenius one-size pockets the best. I like GADs (Green Acre Designs) and Blueberry Diapers the best (the BBs are expensive but they have sales about 3x a year). I've found that anything with a print wicks if you're using pockets, so my advice would be to stay away from those. I really like the Thirstie's AIOs. For fitteds, I've just used the Thirsties (but they're not that absorbant) and a couple Blueberry one-size. For covers I love the Thirsties. Now I don't have experience using cloth before 4 months, but from others I've talked to, it's probably easier to just use prefolds until they get into mediums--they're so easy to change when they're little that prefolds are easier than when they're older. Just warn them that getting a routine down with pockets/AIOs can be a pain in the butt. But overall it's easy. We're trying to do some early potty-training and one of my motivating factors is that I don't want to have to buy large diapers. :) Marika is outgrowing some of her mediums and is on the last snap setting of some of them.
Lately, I find myself humming the Oompa Loompa song (old, Gene Wilder version). You see, we've switched. We are (mostly) free of the disposable diaper and dependant on the cloth diaper. I have a few comments to share regarding this transition.
First, I feel a little better about my impact on the world. I've had increasingly strong feelings of guilt about the impact of having a child on the size of the landfill. First all the gear entering our home requires packaging. We've gone through as much cardboard in the last 3 months as we did in our last move. Then there's the guilt of the impact of disposable diaper heaps on the world. I know the diaper industry wants us to believe that the impact of cloth diapers is the same, but its not. We also have taken some steps that skew things further in favor of natural fibers. We went with unbleached cotton and our wash water doesn't come from or feed into sewer treatments plants.
I had these other negative experiences with the disposables: I was finding little bits of gel stuck on Jackson after a change. I found them to be a bit too absorbent, so that if we didn't change a diaper right away (like overnights), the solids would be glued to Jackson's skin. The diapers just weren't cutting it! We had atleast one horrifying blowout everyday (again, I apologize, Nicole) not to mention the wet leaks.
I didn't plan on using cloth diapers since I have unpleasant memories of my mother using them, but the lady at the store swore it wasn't like that anymore. The diapering systems are much better than before. They are more effective than the disposables. Ease of use has improved, both for putting the diapers on and for cleaning them up after. As long as the child is consuming only breast milk, they can go straight into the wash. The environmental impact is less, both from the landfill perspective, and from the manufacturing. So, I decided to give it a try.
We went with the Chinese prefolds and separate covers. This is supposed to be the most economical way to go. The diapers cover a large size range, so there's less to buy. I found a nice sample pack with 6 diapers (unbleached Chinese cotton prefolds), 1 snappi (pin free fastener), and 2 Bummi's covers for $38. That's enough to get through most of the day and get a feel for whether you'd like to continue or not. We are continuing and have added some Indian prefolds (I think I like these a bit better than the Chinese), some smaller Chinese prefolds, some smaller hemparoos, and more of the original supply. Here are some of my thoughts on the process:
1-I've found the cloth diapering crowd to be nuts--completely gungho on the fabulosity of fabric. There's an entire dictionary of new vocabulary and acryonyms to be learned. Mother's have made a cottage industry of making their own diapers and selling through boutiques and eBay. I appreciate their exhuberance! Special thanks to some woman named Karen who has posted great info on how to fold the "prefolds". http://diaperpages.com/
2-Cloth diapers are much larger than regular diapers--hence the Oompa Loompa theme. Jason pointed out rightly that Jackson is more like an [overgrown and swelling] blueberry, especially in the outfit above. The size range of these diapers is 15-30 lbs. We started using them right on the lower cusp. We since acquired some smaller ones, but they're still big. I took some photos showing Jackson lying on the diapers for scale (they're bigger than he is), but I can't find them. I may take some more a slip them in later. There is a shot of how much a diaper shrinks in the wash--they have to be washed repeatedly before wear.
3-Effectiveness: They're right. In 2 weeks, we haven't had any orange escapes. It frequently gets to the cover, but not across the line. There have been a couple of wet spots around the legs, but only after extended durations or extenuating circumstances (see 4, below).
4-Hemp diapers sound like a great way to go. I found they're not the panacea I'd expected. They're 2-3 times the cost of cotton, and while they are very soft, they weren't as absorbent. We've suffered a couple of short duration leaks with the hemparoos--I report with regrets. Also, the snappi doesn't catch on the fabric. I had one come loose and push into Jackson's thigh. Snappi's are optional anyway.
5-They're right about a couple of other things as well. We can and do just toss the whole mess into the washing machine. It all dissolves away. That was a surprise. I was also shocked to find they were right about the stains. Set the diapers out in the sun, and blotches fade away. The power of fusion--if we could only get it to work cold...
6-The cotton prefolds are not inconvenient. Folding is easy once you see the tips (see Karen's site above). However, I'm not thrilled with the system of re-using covers. I'm planning to get many more so I don't have to. This will make the economic advantages disappear vs the pocket diapers.
7-Notes on folding. My sources of info like either a simple triple fold or a bikini twist. In my brief experience, I found the prefold to be flirting with danger. There are no edges to keep things in place. The bikini twist is trim between the legs, but the folding makes awkward pockets, and the edges are questionable. The jelly-roll has nice edges, but its difficult to perform. My money is on the angel wing. It has nice thickness up front (especially when the diaper is way too long for the baby) and sufficient edging around the legs.
8-Stock up on cheapo baby washcloths from Target. These are great for whipes. There's a risk of having disposable wipes disintegrate in the wash and contaminate the diapers, plus why not lessen our environmental impact further. At first, I put the washcloths in an empty wipes container with water and a few drops of tea tree oil to ward off fungus. We got mildew after a few days. Here's the improved system: I'm keeping water with a few drops of tea tree oil and a small squirt of natural baby wash in the wipes container. The washcloths are kept dry in a bin next to it, then wetted on demand. This is working very well.
So that's plenty of info. This looks long. I'm also hearing cries from the bedroom and I have to work in the morning. Goodnight.
