Q and A

Q- My sister-in-law is planning on doing cloth diapers and wipes. She is planning on using a wipes warmer like you and has asked for advice. For me, I just spray solution on the wipe when I need to use it. What do you do with the warmer? Are the wipes always soaked in solution? How much solution do you put in? What do you do for the diaper bag?

A- Depends on the day ;)
Sometimes I simply run the washcloths under water and put them in the wipes warmer. If I feel that I need to wash out my girl's crevasses, I use the peri wash bottle, from the hospital, with a mixture of water and tea tree oil. My baby is prone to yeast infections and tea tree oil kills and prevents it.

The other way I do it is to soak the washcloths in the tea tree oil and water mixture then put them in the wipes warmer.

I mainly use commercial wipes for the diaper bag. Planetwise makes a small wipes bag for on the go. You could also put them in a ziplock bag (not sure if this would leak). Another option would be to carry dry wipes and a spray bottle in the diaper bag.

Hope that helps :)

Q and A

I've gotten several questions from Facebook. So, I'll post the questions and answers here on the blog.

Q- Sarah! I have a quick question.... I need to buy more dipes. So far I have a stash of bum genius, Flips, and Charlie Banana. They are all sold at the stores I have gift cards to, so I want to buy more of one of those brands. I think I want more Flips because I like the idea that you're washing the inserts more than the shell. A little less laundry, getting to re-use the diaper covers. Do you have or do you know of anyone with experience with Flips? I hate to stock up on one brand with out being able to try them first!

A- I used a stash, I got the for the diaper bag. I just wasn't using them often enough, so I sold them. I did like them. I like them b/c they are one size. They would be easier than the fitted diapers and a cover. When I reuse covers I rotate between two during the day. ( if no poop on cover) I wipe one down with a wash rag and let it dry until the next change, and keep rotating. I think you'll be safe with the Flip. Only down size you can't stuff extra liners like you can pockets for night time.

Reselling

Personally I wouldn't buy a used diaper from a stranger. I might borrow from a trusted friend, but diapers are kinda like underwear to me, they should have one owner. Now with that said, there are plenty of people who do buy secondhand diapers. I have no problems making money off them! I've had great success selling diapers on ebay.

Some diapers I sold were never worn. In this case, I ordered and tried a particular brand in medium, didn't like it and had a bunch of larges on my hands. Lucky for me I got them deeply discounted and actually made money.

Barely used diapers hold their value as well. Much the same scenario, tried a diaper and didn't like it.

I've sold well used diapers, to trim my stash. (I also sold with the intention of using the money to buy different diapers ;) ) Those don't make you as much money but still sell.

I'm honest in explaining the condition of my diapers, how I've used/not used them, and am specific in how I wash them. I've had good results this way.

Anyways, if you want to try several brands, never fear, you can make some money back on the ones you don't like.

Poop and Washing it

The last one for tonight. This full time working mom is super tired and I'm sure my grammar and spelling are suffering. Oh and the pic is to show that sporting a cute birthday shirt and a pink diaper, is completely adorable for cake time on your first birthday party.

My baby was exclusively breastfed until 6/7 months old. Those poopy diapers go right into the diaper pail. I use PlanetWise liner bags. (Always making sure that all Velcro tabs are put in place BEFORE you throw them in the pail.) Every other day( can go a day longer, but this routine helps keep me on a schedule), I empty the diaper bag into the wash and then throw the bag into the wash. I don't touch them :) The liners have always come out of the pockets during the cycle (I have a top loading machine).

When she had formula and solids a diaper sprayer is handy. Mine wasn't that great. Spray the poop and then put in the pail. Most of the time I can "plop" it into the toilet.

I use the Bumgenius detergent. I bought a case on sale and still have 4 boxes left and baby is a year! I wash one cycle cold and then a hot wash with an extra rinse. I usually do a scoop of detergent in each cycle. You may not need to do that for the first wash, but you need it for the second. I skipped the detergent on the second wash and my diaper smelled bad!

I have a few wet bags with zippers from PlanetWise for the diaper bag/church and Weekday School. It's good to have two, one to wash one to "wear" (I use this theory for everything not just diapering).

Hang to dry in the sun when at all possible! It helps get rid of stains, bacteria, smells and yeast.

Types of Diapers and Brands

For the first 2 months or so we used a combination of Newborn kissaluvs and disposables. These are fitted diapers, and are great for tiny babies and have a fold down for the belly button. The covers we used were the fitted Thirsties diaper covers. Around 3 months we used one size Bumgenius diapers and the newborn fitted diapers.

Now that our baby is bigger we mainly use one size Bumgenius diapers and fitted Kissaluvs with Thirsties diaper covers.

At night time we add a Hemp Babies liner to the pocket of the Bumgenius. In the Kissaluvs I put the hemp and a Kissaluv doubler on top. I just think the hemp is scratchy.

I order everything I can from CottonBabies. They have free shipping, and they have been good for when I needed refunds and questions in customer service.

First in a Series

This will be first in a series of posts about cloth diapers. In the past year I've told many friends our story of cloth diapering our baby girl this past year. We've even converted people, which makes me happy too. My husband keeps referring to this blog I'm going to start on these things, so here it is. I'm only going to post about what our family does. There are tons of blogs and websites who are dedicated to the subject, and I'll let them go into all the crazy amount choices and advice.
So this post is a quick list of things you'll need to start.

1. 12 newborn diapers, 4ish covers (Really we could have used more, and I might get more for our next baby, but this cut down on disposables for the first 3 months)
2. 24 one size diapers
3. 6 fitted diapers, 2 covers
4. 2 swim diapers
5. diaper sprayer
6. diaper pail
7. 2 diaper bags for pail
8. 2 wet bags for diaper bag/church/day school
9. wipes warmer
10. cloth wipes (Get as many as you can get your hands on, they seem to disappear like socks. We use flannel and cheap baby wash clothes from box stores)
11. cloth diaper friendly detergent

Long time

I realized the blog has been totally neglected, yesterday. One of the girls at church asked if I was going to have a family blog. I said I did, but was unsure what or how that would be different from posting on facebook, and then the whole privacy thing. One of my friends does a blog/website through shutterfly.com, I'm thinking about that so family can order prints of pictures. Just some of the things I pondering as I wait for our little one to arrive... hopefully the luck of my husband, that his dad swears about, will come into play soon and she'll be born sometime this week :)