|
Bracken
Family
|
Parents
Page Diapering Cloth Diapers We were delighted to get a month’s diaper service when Jessica was born, courtesy of a friend. We were signed up with Tiny Tots Diaper Service, and the way it works is that you buy the diaper pail and a couple of diaper covers, and they provide all the cloth diapers. Each week they take away them away in a plastic bag to be cleaned, and they give you a fresh supply. After the month was up, we decided to buy our own cloth
diapers. It seemed the least expensive
way to go and we’d heard that cotton diapers are good for the baby as
well. And perhaps we’d save a few
trees from being cut down to make disposables. It turned out to be pretty easy – not as
much trouble as you might expect.
Here’s the procedure we follow: 1. First we shake
the unwanted material into the toilet.
We’ve started using rice paper liners, which makes this task a little
easier. 2. Then we throw
used diapers in a plastic pail half filled with water, with one or two cups
of vinegar added. 3. When we’re
ready to wash, we drain the excess water from the diapers before putting them
in the machine. Then we use the spin
cycle on our machine to drain the diapers a little more before washing. 4. Next we empty
the waste water from the diaper pail into the toilet, and re-fill with garden
hose. 5. Now we’re ready
to start a hot wash with a cold rinse.
We use a mild detergent with chlorine-free bleach. It’s good to have a washing machine for
this step. We use the Gerber
diapers which are ‘diaper service’ quality. The other flimsier ones are not worth…;
well let’s just say they don’t do the job.
Whether you use cloth or disposable, you’re probably looking at an
average of ten diapers per day. At the
beginning it will sometimes be a little more; maybe 12 or 14. Towards the end of the first year you might
get away with about 9 a day. I know
that seems like a lot if you’ve never thought about it before, but you don’t
want to leave the baby for too long in between changes, or else you’ll end up
with worse problems – like diaper rash.
And that’s no fun for anyone.
Speaking of which, don’t forget to get some zinc oxide cream, like Desitin. Diaper Covers If you decide to use cloth diapers, then you’re going to need diaper covers as well. We chose Bummi originals, or Bummi cotton pants, having tried quite a number of others. The Bummis are nice and lightweight, and waterproof, with Velcro fasteners. We’ve used other similar diaper covers, like the Dappi ones, but given the concern about vinyl in kids’ products, we finally settled on the Bummis. You can buy the Dappi covers at Baby Best Buy, and we bought
the Bummi covers from Green
Mountain Diapers. Swim Diapers The other nice thing about the Bummi cotton covers is that you can use them as swim diapers as well. Otherwise, the swim diapers from Blue Penguin seem to be pretty good. Snappis You’re also going to need a way to secure the diapers. You could use pins if you want, but we prefer the snappi clips. You can get them from Earthbaby, or from Green Mountain Diapers. Disposables Having said all that about cloth diapers, I should point out that we also use disposables – the ones that give extra overnight protection so we don’t have any accidents. We only use disposables for night time, and when we leave the house. When you’re on the move, it’s not always possible to do a diaper change right away, and a disposable diaper will keep the baby drier. Despite the claims of the more conservative cloth diaper people, disposables are a whole lot more convenient when you’re not at home, so when necessary, we go along with the other 95% of the parent population. Wipes When we’re at home we just use moistened cotton balls, and some of the lighter weight diapers for drying. But for the more difficult cleaning tasks, we have a box of wipes handy. We generally use the Target unscented ones, and we have a little travel box as well, which is handy for carrying around in the diaper bag. Changing Diapers We’ve always been more comfortable having the changing mat on the floor, having heard stories from other parents about kids falling off changing tables. Jessica wriggles a lot and often protests when it comes to diaper changing time. The best way of calming her down is to sing a song. She enjoys that. In the first few months, we had a little chart near to the changing station with lots of black and white squares and squiggles for her to look at. For some reason, babies seem to be fascinated by these sorts of patterns. Maybe it’s the sharp contrast or something. Things to buy Diaper Bag Try to get a big one. You’ll need it to carry diapers, a small changing mat, wipes, some cotton cloths, a couple of plastic bags (to put the used diapers in), diaper cream, sun block, blankets, bottles, toys, moistened hand wipes, and perhaps a change of clothes, (for the baby that is). Links A good place to go for diapers, diaper covers and snappis. The service is pretty good too. A site
specializing in natural products. Lots
of diapering and other stuff. I think
the name is pretty cool too. The service is very good here too. We were surprised at how quickly they ship their products. Baby’s Enchanted
Garden Another
site offering natural products. Lots
of interesting things apart from diapers.
This is where we got the nursing necklace. Natural
products for babies. You can tell
we’re fond of these ‘natural’ sites.
This one is good because it has a lot of interesting FAQs and
information about diapering and other stuff.
These people are very strong advocates for cloth diapering. If you’re into cloth, this is the site for you. It’s also a very good site for breastfeeding information. This is a great place to start if you want to investigate cloth diapering. There’s advice on diapers, tips and techniques, and a very good cloth diaper directory. I like this site because there is a string of little yellow stars that follows the cursor as you move it around the screen. Apart from that, they are a good diaper site, and it’s also a good place for nursery linens. Environmentally conscious diaper products. They have some nice swim diapers. |
Last updated: 07/04/02,
13:11 Pacific time.