Re: Off list topic - diapers

[Guest guest]

We use cloth. I have used the natural disposables and they just leaked and

were terrible. We have also used plenty of regular disposables.( We were

living with my parents for a year and my mom did not want cloth diapers in

her washing machine.)I love the cloth diapers and would use them even if it

wasn't saving us alot of money every month. It really isn't any more gross

than disposables. We are even using them at this point when we go out of the

house. I don't think they really are alot more time consuming to put on

either.

My youngest is breastfed with no real solids so there isn't anything to

shake out of dirty diapers. My oldest is 20 months and when his diaper is

dirty I just shake the " contents " into the toilet and toss the diaper in the

pail, no ringing or rinsing it out. If you are on sewer you can use

disposable liners (they can actually be reused and washed with diapers as

long as they are not soiled)and just flush with contents when soiled. They

help keep the diaper clean. Some don't even bother to dump the contents of

dirty diapers they just put the diapers on a rinse cycle when they first put

them in the wash. That is gross to me personally. I have tried it and don't

find it too much effort to shake a diaper out a couple of times a day. You

also don't need to bother with soaking diapers they can go in a dry pail.

There are alot of fancy diapers out there the fitted all in ones that don't

require a cover, the fitted ones that do require a cover and then there are

the normal prefolds. I have fitted and prefolds. The prefolds are a few

extra seconds when changing. I don't think the fitted are worth the $8-12 a

diaper new even though you can get them in s fabrics to match your

babies clothes. If you get chinese DSQ prefolds they are the best absorbent.

I really like these. They are the most versatile though your child doesn't

need spitup cloths at this point I am sure:) And nobody here has gotten

stuck with any pins either. I have some fitted dipes I got for about $2 a

piece, not much more than a prefold. Velcro closing diapers and covers are

horrible. They are a nightmare in the wash and drier and I am sure you can

figure out why. The fitteds with snaps aren't actually alot quicker than

using pins in my opinion but the fitteds are nice for going out because they

are less bulky.

As far as covers. I think plastic pants (whether pull on or snap)are really

just as nice as the fancier stuff and alot cheaper. I do recommend wool and

fleece covers. They are expensive but allow a babies bottom to breathe so

well. I would recommend an Aristocrat wool cover at night with doubled

prefolds. You won't get any leaks with that though your childs butt will be

HUGE! lol And for buying the stuff, check out ebay. I would check out a

bunch of sites and then do a search on ebay for them. You can find alot of

new stuff on there. A great site with some of the best prices new is

http://www.weebees.com She also has alot of info on " how to " . When it warms

up I plan on putting my boys in only the fleece and wool covers and just a

t-shirt at home. This only adds up to an extra load of laundry for me every

other day. My husband and I both find we get alot of satisfaction using the

cloth diapers particularly knowing how much better they are for our boys.

Hope that helps. If you have any more questions just ask.

Marcella

>From: " Dana Milmeister " <danamilmeister@...>

>Reply-

>< >

>Subject: Off list topic - diapers

>Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 23:27:31 -0800

>

>Admission time - I use Huggies disposable diapers (well, I don't personally

>- my toddler does). During my surfing session tonight (web surfing) I came

>across some sites that made me feel like a * & ??!! idiot for putting them on

>my child - all the chemicals and junk, sort of counter-productive

>considering all the work I put into what goes into her from the top end. I

>didn't really focus on what I was putting in through the bottom end via the

>diapers.

>

>Anyway, I remember way back when she was born, we tried the " natural "

>disposable, and it was just yucky. Bulky, not too absorbent, etc. I want

>to try cloth, but, well, the thought of even trying is yucky. Does anyone

>on the list use cloth? How do you like it? Have you used disposable? How

>do they compare? I'd like to try cloth with my toddler, to expedite potty

>training (I learned through my research that cloth-diapered children potty

>train on average one year sooner than disposable-diapered kids). Any

>comments, suggestions, and shared experiences would be appreciated.

>

>Thanks

>

>Dana

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I forgot to tell you part of what is so great about the wool. It is

antibacterial and the covers don't need to be washed till they are soiled.

They won't smell of urine. They do need to washed by hand but it doesn't

have to happen all that often. This is the cheapest place I have ever seen

them new. Wool are the only covers I would use velcro because you are

washing them by hand.

http://www.binary.co.nz/babyw.html

Marcella

>From: " Carmen " <ctn@...>

>Reply-

>< >

>Subject: RE: Off list topic - diapers

>Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 09:47:40 -0800

>

>Hi Dana,

>

>Old timers used a thing they called " soakers " , which are made of soft wool.

>They put these over the cloth diapers. There are people still making them

>and using them. In fact I have a friend who uses them. I've seen some on

>the

>web made by a lady who cranks them out on her knitting machine. I don't

>have

>the website marked, but if you're interested, I'm sure a search will bring

>up something. If you're a knitter of course you could knit your own!

>

>Carmen

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I used cloth diapers with all four of my children. I *much* prefer cloth

to disposables even if it weren't for health and economic and

environmental issues. I mostly used prefold diapers (some of them would

be diaper service quality and thickness) which I would double, triple, or

even quadruple layer on the child depending on their age and how much

they would wet! I used Gerber plastic pants which worked quite well. I

bought a wool diaper cover once (for megabucks!), but then it seems that

the current toddler in diapers at the time either soon outgrew it or got

potty trained, so it ended up being moth food! Sigh! I hung onto it for

a long time thinking that I would mend it for another baby, but

eventually I threw it away. :-( After that I just stuck with Gerber's

even though I would have liked to have used something else.

One thing that lots of people don't realize with disposables is that you

really need to dump out the contents of the diaper if it is dirty (other

than little totally breastfed babies where there really isn't a way you

could do that), so that the waste isn't going into the landfill. With

cloth diapers that were dirty I would rinse them in the toilet.

I used diaper pins with my oldest, but she got poked with the pins a

couple of times while she was wearing the diaper and the pin popped open

--yikes! Then I discovered Di-Di-Clips, small metal clips that you

fasten the diapers together with. So that is what I used with the

younger 3 kids. I'm not sure where you can get them now, though. I have

seen big bulky plastic clips at places like Wal-Mart (although that was

even several years ago) which looked like they would be uncomfortable,

but the Di-Di-Clips I got by mail order.

With my two oldest I used disposables when we went out, mainly because at

first it just didn't occur to me that it would work to take cloth with

us! Duh! (What did they do before disposables were invented!?!) Then I

saw two people who used cloth even when they were out and about and I

figured I could do that, too, but I waited til my oldest was potty

trained and I only had one in diapers before I attempted to make that

change (no pun intended!). Once you have your system figured out, it

really isn't much of a problem. With my youngest I even went on two

trips to visit family and friends and just used cloth. It was a little

bit harder than at home, but wasn't bad. I always used washcloths for

wiping instead of storebought wipes (the stuff in them isn't so great for

the baby either and they are so small, IMO), and I would just wash them

with the diapers. I would just buy packs of 10 or 12 at places like

Wal-Mart or K-Mart for fairly cheap. (You don't want the real heavy

type.)

As far as potty training goes-- Cloth diapers don't necessarily mean

potty training happens earlier! (Or maybe our family is just a weird

case!) I actually used disposables to help get my oldest potty trained!

For her, wearing disposables was a treat, so I would tell her she could

wear a disposable as long as she kept it dry! (After a while the tape

stuff on the diaper would be losing it's oomph after a few times of

taking her potty, so then I would put masking tape on the diaper or else

just throw that one away and put a new one on her. Disposable pull-ups

were*not* good for potty training in my experience. I used them with my

oldest at an earlier age and found that it seemed like it wasn't a big

deal for her to go in the pull-up because everything would be absorbed.

My kids' potty training occured anywhere from 22 months old to 40 (!)

months old. With the last one, who potty trained at the oldest age

(that's a bit past 3 in case your math isn't working), I used the method

described in Toilet Training in Less than a Day, which I got out of our

public library. I had read it with my first child, but at that time the

method wasn't something that I felt like I could do. But with the last

kid, we were getting ready to go visit family in FL, and I was determined

that I wasn't going to have a 3yo on that trip who was *both* still

nursing and in diapers! LOL! So the diapers had to go, and the method

in the book worked in about an hour. (This was a child who had never had

the patience to sit on the potty for more than a minute or two waiting

for something to happen and didn't seem to have a clue as to what it was

all about--she is really smart as can be, but just couldn't get it with

potty training before that.)

Well, I guess that is all my diaper rambling for now! :-) Hopefully,

there might be one or two things that I said that might be of some help.

Bonnie in NC

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[Guest guest]

My kids are in their forties now, but I used cloth diapers all the time,

even when we lived out in the country in Africa. No problem. I had some

very nice little diaper clips that made it very easy to put them on and take

them off, not having pins to worry about - I don't suppose they are

available any more, but they were handy. I'm sure I still have them

somewhere around the house. ONly problem was they were small and smooth

enough to swallow when closed, which one of the kids did one day. It was

retrieved a day later in his diaper, and I solved that problem by fastening

them together with a 6 inch length of blue ribbon, which was dandy because

they were easier to keep track of then.

To keep the wet diapers from getting too raunchy before they got washed I

put water and a little bleach in the enamel diaper pail, and then I always

put a little bleach in the wash water, which killed the bacteria that

otherwise would survive the washing process. They were always white and

fluffy that way. I don't remember much about dealing with stool, but maybe I

used a little paper diaper liner you could buy.

Peace,

Kris , gardening in northwest Ohio

----- Original Message -----

From: Dana Milmeister <danamilmeister@...>

< >

Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 2:27 AM

Subject: Off list topic - diapers

> Admission time - I use Huggies disposable diapers (well, I don't

personally - my toddler does). During my surfing session tonight (web

surfing) I came across some sites that made me feel like a * & ??!! idiot for

putting them on my child - all the chemicals and junk, sort of

counter-productive considering all the work I put into what goes into her

from the top end. I didn't really focus on what I was putting in through

the bottom end via the diapers.

>

> Anyway, I remember way back when she was born, we tried the " natural "

disposable, and it was just yucky. Bulky, not too absorbent, etc. I want to

try cloth, but, well, the thought of even trying is yucky. Does anyone on

the list use cloth? How do you like it? Have you used disposable? How do

they compare? I'd like to try cloth with my toddler, to expedite potty

training (I learned through my research that cloth-diapered children potty

train on average one year sooner than disposable-diapered kids). Any

comments, suggestions, and shared experiences would be appreciated.

>

> Thanks

>

> Dana

>

[Guest guest]

Blame it on the coffee I guess, but my brain is storming again.

Has anyone who has used cloth diapers tried attaching one side of some snaps

to the diaper and the other side of the snaps to an elastic band and buckle

arrangement? The elastic band/buckle would then be removable; no pins or

swallowable fasteners to worry about, and it would still be adjustable...

It's been a long time since I've changed a diaper...and even longer since

I've dealt with cloth, so I'm probably not thinking of something that would

be problematic about the arrangement I'm envisioning...

Minneapolis

[Guest guest]

We use cloth diapers on our son, and I highly

recommend them. (In fact, I find disposables to be

gross - cloth is much more asthetically pleasing in

addition to all the other benefits.) I know they seem

expensive at first, but we *love* our Mother-Ease

one-size snap diapers and snap covers (velcro sucks).

The diapers are a bit bulky on a newborn, but not for

long, and at 28 months they still fit him with room to

grow. We've never had problems with them gapping at

the legs or leaking. We tried a few other brands of

fitted diapers, but none fit our son as well as the

ME. Different brands fit different shaped kids

better, though.

We also used DSQ (diaper service quality) prefolds for

a while and liked them, but found them to not be as

absorbent as the ME and since they're not fitted

around the legs, no matter how practiced you are at

putting them on they can always gap and let contents

escape.

We also like Fuzzi Bunz, they hold a prefold diaper

between two layers of poly fleece . I was skeptical

of the concept at first, but they really do work like

they claim. We have an earlier version, I think the

fit has been perfected by now.

We also use cloth wipes (cheap washcloths). Just wash

the wipes with the diapers. We use a dry pail method,

and the washing part is not gross to me. WeeBees has

good washing instructions on their website. I find it

much more disgusting to think about how long

disposables will sit in a landfill without breaking

down, and all the chemicals used to produce them.

We've never had a problem with diaper rash.

He's in the process of potty training now, so it's not

early, but we didn't push it at all and he decided on

his own to start using the toilet more in the past

couple weeks.

We've always used cloth when away from home, too.

From observing friends who use disposables, the cloth

is no more hassle to use when out and about. I'm sure

it seems like a big step to switch. I can't say

whether it will make potty training your toddler any

easier, and fitted cloth diapers may seem like a lot

of expense for possibly only a few months of use, but

in general I highly recommend cloth diapers and

Mother-Ease in particular. All my friends who have

used them love them, too.

Aubin

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Dana,

Old timers used a thing they called " soakers " , which are made of soft wool.

They put these over the cloth diapers. There are people still making them

and using them. In fact I have a friend who uses them. I've seen some on the

web made by a lady who cranks them out on her knitting machine. I don't have

the website marked, but if you're interested, I'm sure a search will bring

up something. If you're a knitter of course you could knit your own!

Carmen

[Guest guest]

Do they still make the ME's? I thought they didn't. I would really love to

try those fuzzi bunz. I have put fleece diaper liners in my sons diaper and

they help keep him so dry. I would like to get a fuzzi bunz to try and make

a copy of.

Marcella

>From: Aubin Parrish <aubinparrish@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: Off list topic - diapers

>Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 09:41:11 -0800 (PST)

>

>We use cloth diapers on our son, and I highly

>recommend them. (In fact, I find disposables to be

>gross - cloth is much more asthetically pleasing in

>addition to all the other benefits.) I know they seem

>expensive at first, but we *love* our Mother-Ease

>one-size snap diapers and snap covers (velcro sucks).

>The diapers are a bit bulky on a newborn, but not for

>long, and at 28 months they still fit him with room to

>grow. We've never had problems with them gapping at

>the legs or leaking. We tried a few other brands of

>fitted diapers, but none fit our son as well as the

>ME. Different brands fit different shaped kids

>better, though.

>

>We also used DSQ (diaper service quality) prefolds for

>a while and liked them, but found them to not be as

>absorbent as the ME and since they're not fitted

>around the legs, no matter how practiced you are at

>putting them on they can always gap and let contents

>escape.

>

>We also like Fuzzi Bunz, they hold a prefold diaper

>between two layers of poly fleece . I was skeptical

>of the concept at first, but they really do work like

>they claim. We have an earlier version, I think the

>fit has been perfected by now.

>

>We also use cloth wipes (cheap washcloths). Just wash

>the wipes with the diapers. We use a dry pail method,

>and the washing part is not gross to me. WeeBees has

>good washing instructions on their website. I find it

>much more disgusting to think about how long

>disposables will sit in a landfill without breaking

>down, and all the chemicals used to produce them.

>

>We've never had a problem with diaper rash.

>

>He's in the process of potty training now, so it's not

>early, but we didn't push it at all and he decided on

>his own to start using the toilet more in the past

>couple weeks.

>

>We've always used cloth when away from home, too.

>From observing friends who use disposables, the cloth

>is no more hassle to use when out and about. I'm sure

>it seems like a big step to switch. I can't say

>whether it will make potty training your toddler any

>easier, and fitted cloth diapers may seem like a lot

>of expense for possibly only a few months of use, but

>in general I highly recommend cloth diapers and

>Mother-Ease in particular. All my friends who have

>used them love them, too.

>

>Aubin

>

>

>

>__________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

--- Marcella Mathewes <honoraholmes@...>

wrote:

>

> Do they still make the ME's? I thought they didn't.

http://www.motherease.com/ Yes, they still make them.

I think there was a flap a while back with some of

their distributors where the company pulled the

products from them or something, but you can at least

still get them directly from ME.

> I would like to get a

> fuzzi bunz to try and make

> a copy of.

They used to sell a pattern so you could make them at

home, don't know if they still do or not.

Aubin

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

--- In @y..., " Dana Milmeister " <danamilmeister@y...>

wrote:

> Admission time - I use Huggies disposable diapers (well, I don't

personally - my toddler does). During my surfing session tonight

(web

surfing) I came across some sites that made me feel like a * & ??!!

idiot for putting them on my child - all the chemicals and junk, sort

of counter-productive considering all the work I put into what goes

into her from the top end. I didn't really focus on what I was

putting in through the bottom end via the diapers.

I say:

Why use diapers? For generations, my family has used this:

http://www.natural-wisdom.com/

http://www.timl.com/ipt/

http://www.timl.com/natec_1.htm

Works.

[Guest guest]

Thank You for the great info! I'm pregnant and was thinking of trying cloth

again. I tried with my first born but found it to be a hassle. I didn't try

it at all the second go round. But I think maybe I might try it this time,

with a new determination.

Thanks,

Kareemah

[Guest guest]

http://www.diapersewing.com/mothereeze_sandie.htm

for patterns like Mother Ease

~ Carma ~

To be perpetually talking sense runs out the mind, as perpetually

ploughing and taking crops runs out the land. The mind must be manured,

and nonsense is very good for the purpose. ~ Boswell

Carma's Corner: http://www.users.qwest.net/~carmapaden/