Washing Cloth Diapers

We have been cloth diapering for a few weeks now, and I have to say that I like it. I FINALLY got my diaper stash and all my accessories situated and it's going really well! I am looking forward to making money now!

I have had a few inquiries about my washing process, so I thought I'd share! All the credit goes to Bethany, who helped me out first.

There are other ways of washing your diapers, like soaking them in buckets, but poopy water really grosses me out (and I don't even want to THINK about what hubby would do). Not to mention the drowning hazard of having buckets of water sitting around.

First, there are a few accessories that make the washing process easier:

1. Diaper sprayer: Not a neccessity, but really easy to use. Spray the dirty diaper off into the toilet and flush away. Diapers are virtually clean before they even go into the washing machine.
*Side note* It was very funny to see the look on my husband's face the first time he used it.

2. Wet bag: More of a necessity, but some people just use plastic grocery sacks. The problem with a grocery bag is the smell can get out and you can't throw it in the wash with the diapers. I tried and tried to find a Fuzzibunz wet bag, but they are incredibly hard to find right now. I settled with a Planet Wise wet bag and I am totally in LOVE. It hangs on the door so I don't have to deal with a diaper pail, zips to lock in odor, has a separate zip pouch for dry things, and I just throw it in with the diapers to wash. Seriously, LOVE.

3. Cloth diaper-safe detergent: If you've done any research into cloth diapering, you know you can't use regular detergent. If you haven't, YOU CAN'T USE REGULAR DETERGENT!! Best detergents for cloth diapers are free of enzymes, dyes, brighteners, scents, and fabric softeners. All of these additives can cause buildup on your diapers affecting their absorbancy.

Here are charts that compare almost all detergents. Pick one that's right for you:
http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm
http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

You're gonna spend $20-$30 on detergent, but here's the thing: you only wash your diapers 1-2 times a week, and you only use 1/4 - 1/2 the amount the box recommends. It's going to last a lot longer than you think.

I ordered mine from diapers.com for about $20. It was a 2 pack, so I'll have it a while.



Okay, here's the washing process:

Wet ones go directly into the wet bag. If dirty, spray it off with sprayer before putting in the wet bag. **If you're using pocket diapers, you may want to un-stuff it before putting it in the bag.**
When it's washing day, All diapers and wet bag go into the wash.
  1. Rinse cycle with cold water - NO detergent
  2. Regular wash cycle with HOT water - detergent
  3. Rinse cycle with cold water - 1 or 2 - make sure all the suds are out
  4. Hang to dry  **Some people use the dryer (which can shorten the life of your diapers, be sure to NOT use a dryer sheet), some line dry outside in the sun (a great stain fighter), and some just hang dry. I haven't tried outside yet because it's been a bit cold, and we have some wandering cats in our neighborhood. I'm a bit afraid they'd rip them to shreds. So I've been hanging them inside. The laundry room looks crazy when its washing day.

It really doesn't take that long. I've pretty much gotten it down, but I need a few reminders, so I made some directions for myself.

 

Here are my directions to follow.

 I added stickers so I would remember where to turn the knobs.

 Ta-Da!!

It's totally overkill, but it absolutely works. And it's good on the VERY off-chance Wes has to wash diapers. I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, I LOVE my cloth diapers. They work really well and we've had lots of success. My only complaint is how bulky they are. I mean, seriously...

But I love them.

I have also started dabbling with cloth wipes. So far I like those, too. Disposable wipes are really cheap, so it's not really an economical thing, more of an environment/convenience thing. It is so much easier to wrap the wipe up with the diaper and put the whole thing in the wet bag. I didn't figure that out until we'd been cloth diapering for a few weeks.


Enjoy!

The Turners

 

Tired

So, I had several posts in the works, but was totally thrown for a loop by Reed's sudden desire to NOT sleep.

2 1/2 weeks ago, Reed FINALLY started sleeping through the night. Praise the LORD!! I was thinking it would never happen, and was starting to feel really excited the 5th night he slept for at least 11 hours. The next night, everything changed...

We have been living through almost 2 weeks of very little sleep. At first, of course, we thought it was just a fluke. After a few nights, we consulted our doctor to make sure he wasn't ill. We got some antibiotics for possible sinus infection/nose gunk stuff, and hoped that would do the trick. 5 days later, we're not sure that was the problem. He is definitely less gunky, but the sleeping has not improved.

Here's my theory (which is probably wrong, because I feel that everything I think/do right now is wrong):
He was genuinely upset/uncomfortable the first night or two. He then got accustomed to getting to sleep with Mommy or Daddy, so he continued to wake up. We have now trained him to expect us to hang out with him all night. As much as I LOVE my baby, this is not good for our family.

So we're back to the dreaded cry-it-out.

It doesn't just break my heart, it rips it out, stomps on it, and tears it to shreds. UGH!

I know I don't deserve it, but please Lord, let my baby sleep!

Enjoy!

The Turners

 

HE FOUND THEM!!

29 days later, he found them! But not because he noticed they were gone.

So who blabbed?

The Blog


Wes doesn't like Facebook or social media, but he gets the itch to see whats 'going on' every few months. Apparently this also goes for my blog.

He's in the study doing homework and reading, or he's supposed to be, when he comes out of the room waving his arms in protest with the 'I've found you out' expression on his face. I'm not really sure what is going on until he says "You took my shirts?!"

Uh-Oh

He makes a bee-line for the closet with me half-laughing, half-pulling on his arm, saying "Which ones did you give away?!"

He stands in the closet staring at his clothes still muttering to himself, desperately trying to figure out what's missing.

We stand there for a good 5-10 minutes.

He had no idea what was gone.

I then confess that I haven't given them away, they're still in the house. I tell him where they are and he rolls his eyes, growls, and marches to the guest bedroom.

He stands there, lovingly touching each shirt, reminiscing, as if to say "We have so many good times left. Don't go!"

Okay, maybe not, but he spent way too long looking at these shirts he hasn't worn in a LONG time. Hence the fact that he didn't know they were gone.

Point proved, shirts given to loving homes.


Enjoy!

The Turners

 

Adventures in Cloth Diapering

In another attempt to save us some money, we have jumped into the realm of cloth diapering. An added bonus to cloth diapering is saving hundreds of diapers that would have gone into a landfill.

Another added bonus:

How cute is his little tush?!

After tons of research and recommendations, we went with the Fuzzibunz and Bumgenius diapers. I like the Fuzzibunz because they are pocket diapers and you can stuff them with extra inserts. I like the Bumgenius AIO because you DON'T have to stuff them. They're both super cute.

We also have experimented with gDiapers. I was originally drawn to them because of the hybrid system. You can use cloth or disposable inserts (with are biodegradable and flushable). I also liked the idea of not having to wash the whole diaper. You can re-use it and just replace the insert. After using them for a few weeks, I think I like the regular cloth diapers better BECAUSE you can just throw the whole thing in the wet bag and slap another on. You don't have to touch a dirty insert or inspect the cover to see if it got dirty, too. I was kinda bummed, because I really wanted to like them. There's still some hope, but I may end up selling them.

Speaking of money, I found a lot of my diapers and accessories on Ebay. You can find a lot of brand new stuff people bought and washed then never used, or only used it a handful of times before deciding it wasn't for them. It saved me quite a bit of money doing it that way, but it takes some time and patience. I also looked for things that were offered with free shipping. I was surprised by how many items on Ebay I could get for free shipping. Anyway, if you're serious, Ebay is great.

Diaper sprayer is installed. It only took 6 hours longer than anticipated. This is only because in my attempt to install it I stripped the threads leaving Wes to replace all the toilet innards.

I felt bad.

But anyway, LOVE this. I highly recommend it.
















I'm still waiting on a few things to get here, but so far I'm excited!

In other exciting news, we have a sitter!!

AND a future crawler!

Have a good one!

The Turners

Diapers, Diapers, Everywhere!

So, I had this post ready to go with cute pictures, then it erased. Ugh...



Diapers are expensive! Whether it is cloth or disposable, you're going to shell out quite a bit of money (although WAY more if you're doing disposables). In the research I have done, you can spend over $2000 diapering one child from birth to potty training (with the most expensive diapers). Yikes!!!

In an effort to save some money for our one income home, I decided to do an experiment.

I gathered these diapers:
Pampers
Huggies
Luvs
Wal-Mart 'Parent's Choice'
Target 'Up and Up'
Kroger 'Parent Comforts'

I used the entire packages with Reed over about a month. There was equal day-time use and night-time use with each diaper. Here are my findings:

Cost:

Winner - Wal-Mart at $0.15 a diaper

Pampers is about $0.27 a diaper. Almost double!


Absorbancy:

Winner (Night-time): Pampers hands down

All other diapers leaked over the 12 hours my little love slept on his tummy.

Day-time was a toss up. The only diaper that leaked (wet) was Kroger. But I'll pick a winner anyway:

Winner(s) (Day-time): Target and Wal-Mart. They cost just about the same, look just about the same, and have the same patents, so I'm convince they actually ARE the same thing, just sold by different stores.


Overall Thoughts:

Day-time use: Wal-Mart or Target. I never go to Wal-mart, so I wouldn't make a special trip just for diapers. But I am ALWAYS at Target, so that makes more sense. Like I said, they are the same diaper.

Night-time use: Pampers all the way. You get what you pay for.



All of this is a moot point for us, though. We have just jumped into the world of cloth diapering. I feel more posts coming on!

Enjoy!

The Turners


Day 18: If you've been following, he still hasn't missed them.