The Cloth Diaper Whisperer: 2010-10-03

I am looking for some been-there-done-that advice. I am pregnant with my third baby, but only my second to be in cloth diapers. I started my daughter in cloth at about 4 months and feel as if I have tried just about everything under the sun when it comes to cloth diapers in the 16 months that she’s been in them. However, I’m anxious to get this new little one into cloth as soon as possible and the newborn cloth diaper thing is brand new to me. Therefore, I’m looking for some advice and input when it comes to your experience with newborn diapering. I’ll fill you in a bit on my preferences:

I definitely prefer pockets.
Although I know so many others who really couldn’t care less, a huge bulky diaper on a little baby drives me insane. Obviously there’s no getting around it with a little 6-8 pounder, but I want to reduce the bulk as much as possible.
I’m not a huge fan of fitteds and prefolds with covers, because of the convenience factor, as well as the aforementioned bulk.
I love my Bum Genius, Fuzzi Bunz, Blueberry, and Smartipants diapers; they are all at the top of the list for me.

With all of that being said I have made some early purchases (okay, VERY early, but hey, I just found out I’m having a little boy after two girls so I’m excited to get some blues and little boy prints). I bought a couple of different varieties and brands and have done a preliminary assessment.

Kissaluv Size 0: The first bit of advice that I received was that the Kissaluv Size 0’s are wonderful for newborns, so I purchased a couple of those and a Thirsties cover. But I thought I just said I’m not a fan of fitteds? Exactly. These diapers are soooo super soft and adorable, but they seem like they will be so bulky with a cover on top of them. I am most skeptical about these, but wondering what moms’ experiences have been with just fitteds and no cover on a newborn? Is this possible or do they leak right through immediately?

Lil Joeys: It was love at first sight with these little beauties. So tiny, so soft, so adorable. I’m tempted to buy twenty of these and call it a day, but I’m not sure how long they will last being that they are so small. I’m also a little wary of AIO’s. I have had bad experiences with sewn-in AIO’s and odor retention.

Tot Bots Tiny Fit Easy Fit: This is another really cute diaper, slightly bigger than the Lil Joeys so I don’t think I’ll be using it immediately. Love, love, love the design of the AIO with the insert that comes out, but stays attached. The inside seems like it will be so soft against the little guy’s bottom.

Fuzzi Bunz X-Small: Fuzzi Bunz have been a staple in my cloth diaper stash since the beginning. Contrary to many other opinions, I find FB’s to run a little bulky, particularly in the rear and lower back area, but they are soft, leak-proof and wear well. Again, this one is slightly bigger so I think I’ll have to wait a little while to get it on him.

I would love to hear what other moms of newborns think of the purchases I’ve already made and/or what other diapers they think I might like for the very beginning. I’m also thinking of trying a Blueberry Mini Deluxe and have heard wonderful things about Flip Organic Cotton inserts so wondering if I might be willing to try those with a cover or in a smaller pocket??? What advice can you guys give me? Just as I was ready to shed my Newbie title I’m feeling lost all over again. I will keep an eye on the comments and thank you in advance for any and all suggestions!

By Jennifer

Newborn Diapering

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Fluff Friday
2-Tot Bots One-Size Easy Fit Diapers in NEW PRINTS!

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Fluff Friday 100

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This week's Fluff Friday winner is Colleen M!

She will receive:
2-BabyKicks 3g One-Size Cloth Diapers in new Chocoholic Series!
(exclusive to DiaperShops.com!)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! Please, contact us ASAP so we can get your winnings out to you!!!

Fluff Friday 99 Winner!

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Have you ever wondered what your FuzziBunz diaper color symbolizes? I’d like to break down what some of our popular FuzziBunz colors mean and what they may say about you and your baby too!

Grape: Grape FuzziBunz are a rich shade of purple. Purple is made of red and blue hues. This color is associated with royalty and nobility and some say surrounding yourself in shades of purple brings peace of mind, calmness and even a little mystery. Wear Grape on days of celebration for your little one.

Cotton Candy: Cotton candy is a light, pastel pink. Pink is formed from a combination of red and white. The more red that is added, the more pink the color becomes. Some say pink diffuses aggressive behavior and can bring about calmness, relaxation and contentment. Wear pink on lazy days inside to bring calmness and tranquility inside the home.

Big Sky: Big Sky is a light shade of blue – and it truly is as blue as the sky. Blue gives off a cool vibe that can improve energy flow and create a peaceful environment for days you feel you need a little inspiration.

Apple Green: Green is the color of nature, earth, fertility and sustainability. It is the most restful color and is worn by those who seek balance in their lives. Green is known to offer protection from anxieties, so wear Apple Green on days that may be long and stressful.

Watermelon: Watermelon is a rich red color. Red is known for being the warmest color of all and symbolizes many things. Red often shows off a fiery side, and the Chinese believe red is the color of joy and prosperity – that is why they often paint their doors red. Wear Watermelon on days you need to give your baby an energy-boost or days where she’s being a fiery little tot!

White: White shows off wholeness and completion as well as clarity. White often symbolizes purity and a new beginning, as brides wear white on their wedding days. Where white when you’re looking neutralize the day or on special occasions for your baby’s life, like a religious ceremony.

Choco Truffle: Brown is a mixture of red, blue and yellow and has become known as a stabilizing color. It’s not fiery like red, or calm like blue, rather it’s a color that can blend in with the background. Brown often gives off feelings of wholesomeness and a connection with the environment. Wear it on days spent at the park.

Mac N Cheese: This color is a bright yellow which symbolizes the blazing sun. Yellow bring about creative energy and also symbolizes wisdom, joy and clarity. Wear Mac N Cheese on days spent doing art, music or dance.

As you can see, the color diaper may suggest a thing or two about your mood – or your baby’s mood. These color suggestions are just that, suggestions. I personally liked to coordinate the color diaper with my baby’s outfit – but I’m now giving new thought to what color to dress my baby in each day! Enjoy!

Known as the “Mother of the Modern Cloth Diaper,” Tereson Dupuy invented the cloth diaper that started the entire modern cloth diapering movement more than a decade ago. She later turned her invention into what is known today as FuzziBunz cloth diapers, a popular brand of cloth diapers since 1999. As an inventor, business owner and mom to three, Tereson has many years of personal and professional experience in the cloth diaper industry, and she's excited to work with The Cloth Diaper Whisperer to offer her perspective on cloth diapering trends and insights.
By Tereson Dupuy

What Your FuzziBunz Diaper Color Choice Say about Your Mood

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I started my cloth diapering stash with a good cross-section of styles, fits and brands to determine what I liked and didn’t like about cloth diapering. I felt that even if I wasn’t crazy about any of the diapers I tried, I would at least have some direction as to what I liked and didn’t like and could then go from there to find “the perfect diaper.” However, in my experience thus far, there is no perfect diaper because your (and your child’s) cloth diapering needs change with each stage. I have found what I thought were the perfect diapers only to have something change with my daughter that sent me reaching for something different in my stash or a new purchase all together. Allow me to take you on my journey.

I started with a Perfect Size Fuzzi Bunz, a Bum Genius 3.0, a Bum Genius Organic AIO and a Happy Heiny. From the very beginning the Bum Genius 3.0 was my absolute favorite. It was easy to use, didn’t leak and was trim and adorable. The Bum Genius Organic AIO worked well and was easy to use, but I didn’t like the fact that the moisture stayed close to my daughter’s young, tender skin. The Fuzzi Bunz was cute and didn’t leak, but seemed bulky and the Happy Heiny, though I really liked it, leaked often.

Fast forward about 6 months (my daughter was then about 10 months old), I had introduced some new diapers to the mix and shifted my go-to choices around a bit. The Bum Genius 3.0’s were still a heavy favorite. Fuzzi Bunz became her naptime diaper because they don’t leak and their inner lining is a soft fleece that just seemed like something I would want to be wrapped in while sleeping. Since my daughter was a bit older and a little more rough-and-tumble the moisture against her skin bothered me less so I really came to love the ease of use of the Bum Genius Organic AIO. I introduced a couple of Blueberry diapers with snaps which I loved because of their designs, fabrics and bulletproof wear, but I still really preferred aplix over snaps on a squirmy baby.

By the time my daughter was about 16 months things took a dramatic turn! She discovered the fun of aplix and diaper removal! Even with pants on over her diaper she would undo the aplix resulting in either the best case scenario of Mommy discovering a diaper peaking out at her ankles or the worst case of leaks and messes when I didn’t discover it soon enough. Thus began the search for any and all diapers with snaps. I added a Smartipants and a Kissaluvs Marvel AIO. At this point Bum Genius hadn’t come out yet with snaps and I was eagerly awaiting them! I sadly shelved my BG 3.0’s and relied solely on my snaps stash. I really like the trimness and functionality of the Smartipants and they have a great price point, but I would love more color options and prints. The Marvel AIO is a solid diaper, but it can be a little bulky in the rear and, though minor, I just don’t like the tag sticking out in the back. What I will say about these two diapers, however, is that I LOVE the fact that I can toss them in the wash without pulling out an insert. The laundry feature of the Marvel AIO, in particular, is incredible. It combines the best of a pocket and AIO, by turning itself inside-out in the wash eliminating the need to remove the insert to wash AND having the insert still attached so you don’t have to search for it when it comes time to stuff. In the beginning this seemed like it wasn’t so much of a big deal, but a year and a half later, and who knows how many loads of laundry, this seems like sheer BRILLIANCE!

A year and a half later my cloth diaper journey continues. I have just ordered the new Bum Genius 4.0 and I will be trying a Rumparooz G2 for the first time. I’m excited to see what they have to offer, but my laziness has me searching for that diaper with the easy wash-toss and re-stuffing capabilities. I haven’t tried it because it only comes in aplix, but if the Tot Bots Easy Fit came in snaps could it be the one? I’m still hopeful that I might just find “the perfect diaper” to take us through the various stages and issues that can pop up, but in the mean time I have built a very diversified stash that can handle just about any obstacle that comes my way.

By Jennifer G.

My Cloth Diaper Journey

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Finding a cloth diaper to fits your baby perfectly can often be a hassle. When you use Rumparooz One Size diapers, you will never fuss over ill-fitting diapers again. Rumparooz are manufactured to be four diaper sizes in one.

About Rump•a•rooz
Rumparooz One Size diapers were created by Julie Ekstrom when she needed to find a cloth diaper method that was suitable for her baby's sensitive skin. After trying one diapering method after another, she was unable to find a diaper that would fit her baby properly. Leaks, stains and frequent messes required Ekstrom to pack a whole wardrobe of clothing and diapering supplies when she would leave the house with her baby girl. Frustrated over all of the hassle, Ekstrom decided it was time to pull out all of the stops and begin designing her own cloth diapers.

Ekstrom's diaper pattern fit her baby girl perfectly. She began using a variety of fabrics in bright colors and adorable prints. Soon, other moms wanted Ekstrom to make cloth diapers for their babies. Ekstrom began to take orders and eventually Rumparooz One Size diapers became so popular that local retailers began requesting the cloth diapers for their stores.

Rump•a•rooz Diapers
Rumparooz One Size diapers are four diapers in one. They feature rise snaps on the front of the diaper to allow it to be adjusted to fit babies of all sizes. With most cloth diapering methods, parents have to wait for their baby to gain a little weight in order for the diapers to fit flawlessly. Rumparooz One Size diapers are the first diapers that will fit a baby as tiny as six pounds and continue to fit until potty training.

Each diaper is equip with a “6-r soaker.” This soaker has six absorbency and size settings to provide a customized fit for your baby. This soaker design also increases the function of the diaper and it is superb for preventing leaks and spills. Rumparooz One Size diapers feature a patent pending gusset which also helps provide leak proof protection against the biggest messes.

Rumparooz One Size diapers are reusable cloth diapers perfect for babies of every size. They are designed with style in mind. Cute prints and comfortable fabrics are not only ideal for soft, sensitive baby skin, but they can be coordinated to match any outfit. Plain, boring diapers are a thing of the past. Rumparooz One Size diapers are both fun to wear and easy to use. They are manufactured to be durable and sustain use over long periods of time. Rumparooz One Size diapers are guaranteed to be made at the highest quality that they can even be passed down from one baby to another.

Stay tuned for some great new prints and new Rumparooz products being launched this fall!

By Kelly- aka “The Cloth Diaper Whisperer”

Rump•a•rooz One Size Diapers – Four Diapers in One

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While standing in our darkened laundry room, my husband and I shine a flashlight through the front window of our HE (high efficiency) washing machine. We smile and give each other a high five. How did we get to this point? Our story starts about eight months ago when we purchased a new washer/dryer for our home. At the time, I was seven months pregnant with our first child and cloth diaper laundry wasn’t even on our mind. I was still one of those people who thought cloth diapering was a crazy reality I wasn’t ready for, but that’s another story. We’re both engineers who study each purchase we make, but leap at the introduction of new technologies. We were excited to buy a new HE front loading washing machine that promised to be a wizard in our laundry room.

The machine performed above and beyond my expectations. I could wash two full sets of bed sheets in one load! In March, our daughter was born. By May, I became curious about cloth diapers, and by June, we were cloth diapering full time with only two regrets. My first regret was why had I not started cloth diapering sooner? It was so easy, totally cute, and saved us money (my husband’s favorite reason). My second regret was purchasing the HE front loading machine 6 months earlier. Yes, I could wash a huge amount of clothes in one load within the minimal water requirements of the machine, but, and this is a critical exception, one load of diapers became one huge problem for those minimal water requirements. I searched the far ends of the internet and read all kinds of tips to trick my machine into adding more water. As suggested, I added wet towels with the intention of adding more water to the process. I tried different settings, even adding water to the wash basket while interrupting the cycle. I wanted a flowing river and all I could get was the equivalent of the little stream that runs through my backyard after a rainfall.

As engineers, we saw this problem as a challenge. And as new parents, we were anxious to save our budget-minded investment in cloth diapers. After exhausting all the tips online, I decided to call the manufacturer. I spoke with a nice man who informed me that my HE machine weighs the load and then adds the minimum amount of water for that load. Yeah, I already knew that! I informed him that cloth diapers like to suck up water, leaving no measure of rinse water available to them and requiring more water than the usual load of laundry. Obviously, we and many other frugal parents were in uncharted territory with no help from the manufacturer.

Finally, one frustrating evening, we decided to pause our wash cycle and manually dump water into the machine. Of course, we could only add water until it reached the lip of the front door seal. As expected, the diapers came out slightly cleaner than our previous washes. Empowered by our small victory, my husband suggested that we find a way to add larger amounts of water without opening the washing machine door, thus allowing us to avoid water spilling out the front of the machine. My husband had already modified the plumbing in the bathroom to accommodate the addition of a cloth diaper sprayer, so why not modify our washing machine as well?

The next evening, my husband purchased a short hose meant for dehumidifiers for $5.98. He attached the hose to the sink in our laundry room and then positioned the other end into the soap dispenser on the washing machine. I’m sure that the manufacturer would frown on our modification of their HE machine, but water already flows through the soap dispenser at the beginning of the wash cycle, so I felt certain that we weren’t asking too much of the system. We turned on the faucet and watched as a river of water flowed into the wash basket.

Since we started adding water through the soap dispenser, my baby’s cloth diapers have never been cleaner! We’re proud of our search to find a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem and happy that it didn’t deter us from cloth diapering. And every once in awhile, I still turn off the laundry room lights, shine a flashlight into my washing machine, and watch happily as a river of water flows onto my cute cloth diapers.

Please research any methods of modifying your washing machine to make sure warranties are not voided.

By Natalie J.

$5.98 Changed My Washing Routine

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Solving a Yeast Diaper Rash with Cloth Diapers
When my son got his third ear infection by six months of age, our pediatrician decided that the normal amoxicillin routine wasnʼt going to cut it anymore. He prescribed a stronger antibiotic which did completely clear up the infection, but unfortunately also gave my son a terrible yeast infection. At ﬁrst I wasnʼt sure what the raised red spots were, and by the time I had done some internet searching and saw pictures that looked exactly like what he had, the rash had grown and gotten a little out of hand.

All the cures I read about involved more prescriptions, more creams, more things that I couldnʼt use with my cloth diapers. I am committed to cloth diapering, but I donʼt want my fun hobby (isnʼt that why we all do this??) to go so far as to interfere with what my son needed to cure this rash. However, we had just moved and didnʼt have a pediatrician yet in our new town to give a prescription. Plus I was just a little sick of all the prescriptions weʼd given him already with his other issues and I was ready for a natural cure.

Yeast thrive in a certain environment and if you can change that environment to be less hospitable, they die. So how to kill them?? (Cue the release of mama bear.)

Four key elements to our ﬁght against the yeast:

1. Probiotics. By introducing “good bacteria” back into his system, it helped his body ﬁght the yeast on its own. I found a brand at Whole Foods that is specially formulated for children and has age-appropriate dosing information. For my seven month old son, we gave him 1/2 tsp once a day, mixed in with his food. He also willingly took it off of my ﬁnger, but that was more time consuming.
Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE): This is a natural antimicrobial concentrate that you must dilute before using on babiesʼ skin. I used it in a wipe solution - 10 drops per 1/4 cup of water. I got the wipes really saturated so that there would be plenty of GSE getting to his skin with each diaper change. Itʼs important to air dry the skin before putting on the next diaper. (Incidentally, this is how my son learned to blow through pursed lips! He saw mama doing it a lot!)
Tea Tree Oil: Also a natural antifungal and antibacterial agent. We tried adding it to his bath water, but it didnʼt really do much other than make the whole upstairs of our house smell very medicinal. Ultimately what worked best was adding about 10 drops to the wipes solution and then applying 2-3 drops directly to the rash itself with each diaper change. Put the drops onto your ﬁnger tips, and then rub into the skin. Also allow to dry before putting on the new diaper. There shouldnʼt be any oily feeling to the skin, or else you might cause wicking on your diapers.
Sunlight and Air: Yeast loves dark, moist places, so bring on the breeze. We joked about “where the sun donʼt shine” actually getting some sunlight! Most mothers are so afraid of the sunʼs rays touching their baby that the idea of putting your baby in direct sunlight unprotected by sunscreen is shocking! I only gave him a couple of minutes at a time, legs spread out and rash exposed, in direct sun each day. Then I let him hang around inside without a diaper for an hour or two in the afternoons. Some instructions said to not put any diaper on for several days, but that wasnʼt practical for us at the time.

Another very important element to ﬁghting a yeast rash while using cloth diapers is to kill all the yeast that might have been transferred the cloth itself. You can put 10-20 drops of GSE into the wash and add vinegar to the rinse. I got sort of desperate and it made my conscience feel better to add 1-2 capfuls of bleach instead. But check to make sure you wonʼt void the warranty on your diapers by doing that. Also, use very hot water in the second wash and of course the cloth diapering mamaʼs best friend: line drying in direct sunlight!

Diaper rashes should be treated according to your pediatrician's recommendations. Before using any type of product to clean your diapers we recommend checking with the manufacturer of the product to be sure it is safe to use.

By Stephanie G.

Got Yeast?

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