Diaper pictures

More pictures downloaded to check on the photos my dad wanted. All those diapers I spend so much time writing about.

Here's the newborn diaper stash in the top drawer of Eve's dresser.



You can see half of the small prefolds generously loaned to me by my friend Betsy. Oh how am I going to keep them so sparkley looking?! She also loaned me a few wraps, but those are toward the bottom of the pile of wraps you can see in the lower left of the photom, because of the slightly larger size. I think I have about 6 wraps to use for the newborn period... a few that only go up to 10 lbs and others that go to 12. The top one in the pile has a cute little notch for avoiding the belly button stump. so tiny. Eve prefers these sizes for use on her dolls. :)

You can also see the like-new Kushies all-in-one I found for cheap on the ill-fated Seattle shopping day at the top left of the photo. Just beneath you can see a big zip-lock bag full of some of the cloth wipes my friend Gina gave me. I'll try to remember to get a shot of the really pretty ones she made for me before I use them. ;)

Yay for friends! :)

Here's the rest of the fitted and all-in-one diapers I got when shopping with my mom.



All but the light green one to the very right should fit Peanut as soon as he passes the new-born stage.

The lion one and the green fleece are just diaper wraps (at least, I think so...can't figure out anything about the lion one...no brand or anything, but it doesn't seem to have any absorbent layer inside, just a cotton knit lining. I only bought it because I think it's really cute. well, that and it was cheap and my mom was buying. :) That's a view of the back of it, won't it be cute on a little baby behind?)

The yellow one has an adorable monkey print on the inside, but it's the one that took forever to dry...forever. It's some kind of name-brand, but the logo tag is simply a baby looking through his legs with "CB" on the cloth diaper he's wearing. Can't figure out what the brand actually is. Shrug.

Over to the far left, top of the pile is a Mother-ease fitted one-size. It looks too huge to fit a tiny tiny baby, but we'll see how it goes with a 12 pounder. Beneath that is a "Kooshies" fitted... I'm not sure if Kooshies and Kushies are related.... and then beneath that is a nameless fitted that I probably should have passed up as it's pretty worn out. However, it was a buck and a quarter...and again, my mom was buying... and this was at the beginning of the trip before I realized that it wouldn't be the only fitted diaper I saw all day. :)

I am all set for laundering diapers. Well, almost. I have a cheap additive-free liquid detergent. Should be good for avoiding buildup on the diapers. I have vinegar (I bought two gallons at Costco to start making my own cleaners. I used it all over the kitchen on Friday in a half-water, half-white-distilled-vinegar spray solution, and it really seemed to work well. Quite happy with myself.) and I have a huge bag of baking soda (12 lbs, Costco again, and again, initially intended for non-laundry cleaning purposes. I haven't cleaned my own shower since purchasing the bag (yay for friends!), but that's my main intention with it). I also have a small bottle of dawn dish liquid for the occasional stripping, but since I've already done it once, and intend to do all the recommended things for avoiding build-up in the future, I don't think I'll use dawn too often in the wash.

And...my sister is giving me a fairly new washer and dryer set!!! Now Tom and I just have to figure out a way to move it from Sequim where it's stored on the second floor of a storage barn up at her place. May be difficult, since Sequim is not a short trip and moving a washer and dryer down stairs, not to mention into someone's truck, is not exactly a task just anyone can help us with. Then there's the fact that whoever does help will essentially be doing it all by themselves, as Tom can't do it in his current injured state, and I could never do it, even if I wasn't 38 weeks pregnant. But, I'm totally excited, as our dryer is quite worn out, and our washer is pretty darn old. Yay for sisters!

I have a feeling we will have the baby before we have the washer and dryer, but that's okay, I can be patient, for a little while. :)

so...

I feel like this is becoming a cloth diapering blog... ha ha. Obsess much?

On Tuesday I had a somewhat bad shopping day with my mom. She was really sweet and generous, and basically bought me anything I even remotely showed interest in at the various children's consignment stores we rushed to and from.

She bought me a changing table that I do not love. It will certainly do, which is why I allowed her to buy it for me, but...it's just not my style. Then again, I'm not certain changing tables fit in with my style, period. Eve just had a dresser and a changing pad secured to the top. I used it all the time (even after she fell head first off the thing) and loved it, so I know I'd have a hard time transitioning to the "pad on the couch (or bed)" or "floor changing" that I know many people go for.

She also bought me a small, simple diaper pail (since I'm pretty sure my fancy and worn out diaper disposal "system" won't really do with cloth). I have since decided it's too small...as there's no way it will hold a whole load of diapers...but I'm sure I'll find a use for it. And, it was as pricey used as it is new on Target's website...so I guess we saved on shipping.

However, I'm not sure it was worth it, considering the pain and suffering of the day. Parking lots and small fender scrapes and whatnot...:P

Eve was great, though she did get hurt and that made the last stop a little less fun.

She also picked up an assortment of all in one diapers, a few pocket diapers, and wrap covers. They were all used and all pretty cheap, but not in bad shape. I'll probably take a picture of them in all their newly-pristine glory to show you all soon, I know you can't wait. I "stripped" the diapers with Dawn dish detergent last night, requiring 3 rinses to get all the suds out! And then had to dry them all on low, since most of them say to dry on medium and my dryer only has low or high. This took 3+ cycles. One of the all-in-one diapers finally was simply hung out...because it *still* wasn't dry (I've heard this is an issue). My dryer is so lame, I think this means that I should definitely stop pining away for all-in-ones for Tom and make him buck up (or hope for some miracle from heaven of a better dryer and/or pocket diapers.

I think washing the Polar Babies wrap in the hot water with the rest of the stuff was a bad idea, as it now is all bunched up on the inner lining. On the plus side, Eve likes that one quite well for her doll, so it will be put to good use no matter what.

I got one pocket diaper that is big enough for Eve, or an even bigger kid, I would imagine. It's a "FuzzyBunz" and...ha ha, works quite well! Eve wanted to wear it really bad, and since it was all nice and clean, and the baby won't be in that size for a loooong time, I figured it couldn't hurt. I told her to pretend she was wearing big girl panties, and to proceed accordingly...She must have thought I meant to forget going potty on the potty, because she promptly tested out the capacity of the thing--and it did great! So, I guess that's a good thing. Too bad I didn't find the thing in a small size, 'cause by the time the baby wears something this big, Tom better be able to handle folding a simple prefold--seriously.

Pampers or Huggies?

Okay, so maybe the world of disposable diapers is not that simple, but it is much more so than the world of cloth diapers.

Sure, there's a few less popular brands, and many store brands, and personally, I've found myself delighted with Costco's Kirkland brand. If you buy a package you don't like from, say, Walmart, you only have to live with the mistake for a week or so, and then you go buy a different brand.

Cloth on the other hand? There are (maybe literally, who can tell?) thousands of different kinds of cloth diapers and accessories.

It's really overwhelming. Now, the cheap way to go is with prefolds and simply plastic covers or wool covers made from old sweaters (or hand knit ones, if you happen to knit--which I don't, sadly). Prefolds are what you think of when you think of cloth diapers. There are also tons of different kinds of covers to use... ones that Velcro in a manner similar to disposable diapers...probably more comfortable and way more cute than plastic pants.

But then, there are All In Ones, and Pocket diapers... and these look like mana from heaven to me. As easy to use (washing, of course, is a different matter) as disposables, because they are one piece...and even cute! Like these and these and these. Even you who think cloth diapering is crazy (I hear you, I do.) can't deny how cute these are!

And, then, there's a world in between...diapers that are not rectangle, but rather contoured, and then fitted diapers that are contoured and self-securing (with Velcro or snaps) with elastic around the top and legs to prevent leaks. There are liners and doublers and soakers and inserts, and a hundred brands of every type of item I just listed...how can one make a good choice? The cost of a bad choice is much higher than having to finish off a package of less-than-ideal disposables. When you drop 20 bucks plus shipping on one diaper...and it doesn't fit your kid or it leaks or it's just too difficult to use... then what? Not to mention... when you go with a 20 bucks a piece diaper... are you really saving over disposables? Maybe in the long run, since the diapers are very re-usable--even on to second and third children, but in the short run, that's the cost of a large package of disposables... sigh.

And then there's endless discussion on laundering techniques...I can hardly even bear to go there.

However, on the positive side of all of this, I did find out that Viva paper towels work very well as liners to prevent staining... yay! I was going to buy old sheets and cut those up and just throw them away anyway... this seems not much worse as far as waste is concerned. I guess we'll see...philosophically, I suppose this may not be very waste-not-want-not of me...but not having to worry so much about stains? That just might be worth it.

Diapers are so much better than when I was baby

Guess what?

I'm going to cloth diaper this baby!

Yikes, what am I saying?

How did I come to this place from my beautiful world of vastly improved disposable diapers that make life so darn easy?

Well, to begin with, cloth diapering is not just a historical thing in my world. I have the pleasure of having many friends who don't just go with the flow of the modern world and wrap their kids in the latest diaper technology available. They have expanded my horizons. In fact, I have quite a few friends who eschew diapers almost entirely, and instead live a diaper-free existence through a practice called Elimination Communication.

In point of fact, I'm also considering EC, but find myself somewhat overwhelmed by visiting the potty with a newborn who has to go every 20 minutes--especially as I'm in the middle of attempting to potty train Eve. Add to that my squeamish germophobia, and the idea of having little potties all over the house where toddler hands can find them, I'm just not so sure. At least, I know I will wait until 6 weeks or so, and re-evaluate then.

And who knows, after that many weeks of doing my own diaper laundry, I may just be ready to switch to an alternative!

What? No diaper service? No, you see, that's the *actual* motivation behind my plan to cloth diaper. No money! I think I previously mentioned that Tom will be recovering from surgery during my maternity leave (which I really do hope to make permanent, but I'm not going to get my hopes up too high until we see if we can survive that way. It's never worked before, and our financial situation has taken quite the hit since Tom's accident, so we're already starting from a difficult spot). With the loss of my income and living on disability for a month at the least, we'll be at about 50% our previous income. the cost of a few extra loads of laundry a week should be significantly less than either the cost of a service or the cost of disposables, and therefore our most affordable option. The alternative is putting disposables on credit--not cool.

Of course, cloth diapers and covers are not cheap. Although I did find a great resource for making your own at very little expense, I can't really spend any money on something Tom's not convinced we'll be able to sustain. Some very kind friends have offered to loan us all we will need to cloth diaper a newborn. What a huge blessing! And, if I decide cloth diapering is sustainable for our family, but decide against EC, I can probably afford to slowly build a stash of home-made larger-sized diapers and covers to take us through the baby's diapering year(s).

A couple added bonuses:
uh...the crunchy creds and props from my cloth-diapering friends. ;)
No worries about chemicals (with unknown consequences) lying close to my baby's skin 24/7.
Feelings of pride associated with clean laundry (Did I tell you how happy it made me to get Eve's training pants pristinely clean after a soiling accident a week or so ago? I was in alt), conquering a new challenge, and attaining a new skill.
And of course, being a good steward of the environment.

I'll have to say, the worst part about this is the laundry. Not only do I not relish the idea of rinsing diapers in the toilet (ew. eww. Thank goodness I bought a huge stash of disposable nitrile gloves from Costco a few months ago--is that like totally against the cloth diapering code? Maybe I should buy some rubberized kitchen tongs or something for the purpose? and a leak-proof transfer container too. Drips...*shudder*), I already hate folding laundry. Really, aside from putting laundry away, it's my absolute least favorite chore. Yes, I prefer scrubbing toilets, baths and showers, and getting on my hands and knees to hand-mop my kitchen floor to folding laundry. I guess I should be grateful that the diapers should be a lot easier to put away than clothes generally are, but the complicated folding ritual may make up for that.

I'm trying to build enthusiasm in my mind for this. When Cloth diapering was simply something friends did, I could admire it, and imagine myself doing it if need be. Same with EC. But now that I'm faced with actually doing it, I'm a little overwhelmed.

It sounds like so much work, and I'm worried I won't be able to wash the diapers clean enough for my own standards or those of the diaper owners (I had hoped that our last tax return would finance the purchase of a more energy/water efficient front loading washer and a dryer that doesn't take two cycles to dry a load of anything but delicates (you know, the ones you don't put in the dryer?), but we were looking and waiting for the right deal when Tom had his accident, and kept it as a stash for emergencies. We finally used it up in the last financial snafu. So I'm left with a washer that I feel doesn't even clean Tom's work jeans well enough, let alone a load of wet and soiled diapers that I will put back on my baby, and eventually return to their rightful owners.) Plus, I'm not a huge fan of the mondo-butt look so many cloth-diapered babies sport.

Wish me luck and perseverance. I'm gonna need it.