Thursday, June 12, 2014

Wash Routine

Different people have different wash routines and I get tired of looking through everyone's opinions online about what works and doesn't. This page is dedicated to telling you exactly what I do and why. This won't work for everyone. A lot depends on the water in your city - and water hardness/softness can vary even then.

What to do with Pee and Poo Diapers
When baby pees, the diaper and insert are thrown into a wet bag (inside a trash can with a lid). If he went poo, then I rinse the poo out with a diaper sprayer down the toilet (many times the poo just falls off into the toilet without the sprayer). That poo diaper goes into my wet bag also.

Wash Cycles
You must wash your diapers at least every 3 days.
First, I do a cold wash/cold rinse cycle.

  • This can be done with or without detergent. 
  • Using hot water will lock the smell and poo stains into your inserts. 
  • You want to dilute the pee out of your diapers. 
  • In the least do a cold soak.

I followup with a hot wash/warm rinse cycle.

  • Add detergent here. 
  • The hot water cleans your diapers. 
  • The warm water is great for washing away any extra stuck on messes.

Load Size
I don't overfill my washer. If I have a few diapers, I do a mini-load. If I have 3 days worth (which is still not too many because I only have one child in diapers), I do a medium load.

Detergent
I use a homemade detergent (suitable for cloth diapers, not regular laundry). If you don't want to make your own, do some online searches - most detergents shouldn't be used on cloth diapers. See if your regular detergent can be found on this chart that gives a detailed rating for cloth diaper friendliness. I use the recipe found on this mama's blog.

Drying & Fabric Softeners
I dry on medium...and I put everything in there together (you should really hang dry your covers though because the elastic will break down over time). DO NOT use fabric softeners. Instead get wool dryer balls, tennis balls, some other natural alternative or nothing at all.

Common Issues:
We just started solids and this poo isn't just "falling off" into the toilet like I read it would.
This is referred to as peanut butter poo. Buy a spatula from the dollar store and keep it by your toilet brush. Yum. This stage will probably pass quickly and soon you'll be able to just give your diapers a little shake.

My diapers are giving baby bad diaper rash. I don't know if they're really getting clean.
Strip them first (wash a bunch of times in super hot water - the first time with detergent and about 6-10 more times without). Be sure that you have enough water in your washing machine (front loaders are notorious for not adding enough water because they are trying to be eco-friendly, you may need to do it manually if you can't change the setting on the machine). Also double check that no fabric softeners are being used.

Can I use cloth diapers even in the first day when dealing with meconium?
Yes! As a matter of fact, if you exclusively breastfeed (no formula, no food), then you don't even have to rinse your diapers before tossing them into the wash. Woohoo for you, Natural Mama!

Types and Sizes of Cloth Diapers

Types of Cloth Diapers (CDs):

All-in-One (AIO) - Insert (the part that absorbs pee) is sewn between the inner and outer fabrics.
  • Wrap, snap and go! Easy to put on right out of the dryer.
  • They can take too long to dry, depending on how thick the insert is OR
  • They need to be changed more often because the insert is so thin (faster drying = less absorption).
All-in-Two (AI2) - Insert sewn, snapped, or layed on top of the inner fabric.
  • Normally stays put together throughout wash cycle so you can have a thicker insert, but it's still ready to go out of the dryer.
  • Looser poo gets under insert and is messier to clean up. 
Pocket - Insert is stuffed into a pocket opening between the inner and outer fabrics.
  • You can stuff a HUGE insert(s) into a pocket diaper for a long-lasting diaper.
  • You have to stuff these every time they come out of the dryer - ummm...that's a pain.
  • You can find these relatively inexpensive, and they are cute!
Prefold, Flat, Fitted - These must be covered with a diaper cover. They are NOT waterproof.
  • Prefolds are the cloth diapers you get from the store and use as burp rags.
  • Flats are large squares of fabric that can be folded any variety of ways to wrap up baby.
  • Fitteds are diapers with elastic and all, but they don't have the waterproof layer.
Covers - Use over prefolds, flats, and fitteds. This is the waterproof part.
  • Normally one layer of PUL (the waterproof fabric).

Sizes of Cloth Diapers (CDs):

One-Size (OS)
  • Snap adjustments are placed vertically (in columns) on the diaper.
  • These are advertised as being for "birth to potty-training".
  • They normally don't work for birth to potty-training, depending on your child.
    • If they are small enough at birth, they won't be big enough at potty-training.
    • If they are too big at birth, they'll probably fit through potty-training.
Duo-Size
  • Provide more use of a diaper without looking HUGE (like the OS do at first on newborns).
  • Newborn-Small: Pair this with a one-size diaper system (unless you have a whopper like my baby)
  • Sizes vary depending on maker (i.e. NB-S, S-M, M-L, L-XL) 
Sized
  • These diapers fit baby "just right", and (in my opinion) are cuter when you want to show off your baby's diaper to the world. :)

Cloth Diaper Quick Start

This page is here if you are looking for a simplified start to cloth diapering. This is what I would recommend if you don't want to do (what can feel like) never-ending research. This is also probably one of the most inexpensive ways to start CDing.

You'll need:
- 24 prefolds    (absorbs the pee)
- 4-5 covers     (keeps you and everything the baby touches from getting wet)
- diaper pail      (holds the diapers, can be a trashcan)
- pail liner        (keeps the diaper pail dry, made of same fabric as covers)
- wetbag          (like a pail liner for your diaper bag)
- Snappis        (fastener to keep the prefold wrapped around baby)

You can find all of these items new, here and used prefolds and covers, here. If you have a new baby, I recommend buying small (yellow-edge, if you're purchasing from these sites) prefolds. You can wrap and fasten them together with a Snappi and once they are outgrown, you simply trifold them and extend their use into the toddler years. Don't stress over finding "the perfect" diaper cover for your baby. Every baby is different, so you're just going to have to guess which one you want and hope for the best. Get a couple different brands.

Wipes
You can use disposable or cloth wipes. Surprise, disposable wipes can actually be thrown into the diaper pail with a dirty diaper, washed, and thrown away after drying. They don't disintegrate in the washer.

Cloth wipes can be extraordinarily good at getting poo off of a bootie - much more efficient than disposable ones. For cloth wipes you will need a wipes solution. You can use just water or (my favorite) a bottle filled with water, a tablespoon of olive oil, a squirt of baby soap, and a couple drops of tea tree oil.

Detergent
There is a lot of conflicting information about what detergents can and cannot be used. It all comes down to your water and your washing machine. Tide Original works for me. All Free & Clear works for me. A homemade mix of OxiClean, Borax, and washing soda works for me. I say start with the easiest thing and work your way through other detergent options if you begin to have laundry issues.

You basically want to steer clear of enzymes, brighteners, dyes, fragrances, softeners, and bleach (yes, I know that is all the good stuff that makes your clothes feel clean and happy on you). DO NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENERS ON YOUR DIAPERS.

Alright! I'm going to stop now or this is going to become a little deeper than a simple start for you! You WILL have more questions. Ask your friends, ask your mom, ask me! Thanks for letting me help you.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Finding a Blessing in Obamacare

While there are many things to complain about regarding Obamacare, I've come to appreciate some little-known facts that help me find a blessing in all of it. Here, I present to you a handful of things to be thankful for when you find yourself frustrated with our health system:
  1. Free breast pump and lactation consultant services - When my baby girl was 7 months old, I stumbled on a website that mentioned this coverage. I called my insurance the next day, got connected to the medical supply company that I was approved to use, and had a brand new pump within a week. I only wish I had known about this when she was first born so I could utilize a free appointment to help encourage my breastfeeding journey! 
    By the way, the pump my insurance provided was an
    Ameda Purely Yours double breast pump*.
    While it's not the best pump on the market,
    it was perfect for my needs and definitely not a cheap-o.
     
  2. No co-pays at wellness visits - I was so excited when the receptionist told me she didn't need a payment at Baby Girl's 9 month checkup! The ACA just saved me $20 at every routine visit. In fact, your insurance covers 50 routine screenings* that you shouldn't be paying for out-of-pocket.
    This is seriously how I felt that day...
    if you've ever followed the routine newborn check-up
    schedule, you know how it feels like you're at the doctor
    every other week.
  3. Children's dental, vision, and medical all rolled into one - Dependents, 19 and younger, get 2 visits to the dentist, an eye exam, and glasses or contacts every year. That's automatic* - no additional payments, no extra enrollment. I haven't utilized this perk yet, but it's just waiting to remind me of how blessed I am one day while I sit in a smelly, fluoride-filled waiting room.
  4. Medical cost-sharing programs - If you seriously loathe all things Obamacare and you really want to find a way out of it, there is another option for you. If you enroll in a cost-sharing program (ministry), you are exempt from the whole "get unaffordable insurance or be fined for not being able to afford your affordable insurance" catch 22. Medical cost-sharing kind of takes the whole idea of "the church caring for one another" to another level. You send in money (not considered a premium) every month, and it is distributed among the members with medical costs. Obviously, it's not that cut-and-dry, but it's a valid option to look into. There are three main companies in this arena that I've heard good things about: Christian Healthcare Ministries, Samaritan Ministries, and Medi-Share.
There you have it! Some little blessings buried in the 11,000 pages of confusion that now regulate our health-care system. Hopefully you or someone you know can enjoy at least one of them!

*Be sure to talk with your insurance provider to find out specifics on your coverage. While all of this is part of the law, many of the regulations are vague and therefore subject to interpretation by your individual carrier.