Over the past few days, Michelle has been working hard to create a lot of lovely items which will go on sale at 2 pm.

Recently, I’ve been asked what I love and hate about cloth diapering four years later. Here is what I came up with.

The things I like/love about cloth diapers:

• Overall, I still believe they’re healthier for a baby, and better for the environment.
• They’re (usually) more comfortable than disposables.
  I can’t imagine sitting in paper and plastic pants 24/7. Cloth is much nicer to sit on :)
• They’re cute.
• The selection is amazing.
• They’re breathable (at least the ones I use are).
• They don’t normally stink like disposable diapers do when wet.
  If your cloth diapers smell really bad right after a pee then you probably have a residue problem.

The things I dislike/hate about cloth diapers:

• I still don’t love snaps, velcro, pins or the snappi.
  Basically, I don’t like any cloth diaper fasteners that I’ve used so far. This is partly why I prefer to use snug-fitting pull-up wool trainers with a special insert most of the time.
• Getting the poop off the diaper is not something I like, so I’m adding it to this list.
  This is a slight dislike though because you do get used to it.  Since I’ve figured out how to use my diaper sprayer so that it doesn’t shoot poop onto the bathroom floor or wall, I haven’t found it a problem. We’re supposed to be flushing the poop that’s in disposable diapers before throwing them in the garbage anyways, so we all have to deal with the poop, whether the diapers are re-usable or disposable.
• Cloth diapering at night can be a pain.
  If you have a heavy wetter or a child who is very sensitive to wetness, then it’s not fun trying to find a night-time cloth diapering system that works for your family.

Most people who do not cloth diaper would probably wonder why I didn’t include diaper laundry on the “dislike” list. Well, I didn’t include it because I don’t hate it.  Every couple of days, I take a few minutes to put the diapers in the washer, do other things while they wash, and put them in the dryer once the wash is done.  I don’t consider that a lot of work.

Four years later, I must admit I still get a little excited at hearing news of a new cloth diaper coming out.  I do use disposables (corn-based ones) at night and sometimes when going out.  The main reason why I use disposables at night is that my son wakes up frequently and is sensitive to wetness.  Because he’s so sensitive, I have to change him every time he wakes up wet when in a cloth diaper.  When I change him he screams almost at the top of his lungs which stresses me out.  I don’t want everyone in the house to be woken up by that. So, to keep me sane and to keep him and the rest of the family happy, I’m using Nature Babycare disposable diapers at night.  I might try cloth diapering at night again in a few weeks, but the last experiment a few nights ago was a big FAIL.

Have you been cloth diapering for a few years? Do you still love it years later?  

SERGED FITTED DIAPERS

Pros:

• Serged diapers always seem stretchier to me than T & T ones (assuming they’re made from the same type of fabric).
• Serged diapers are faster to make, unless you’re having trouble with your serger or have no idea how to use one.
• I find that the elastics in my serged diapers are gentler than those in T & T ones.
• Fabric in the leg area dries faster than in a T & T diaper because you usually have only 2-3 layers of fabric instead of 4-6 like in a T & T fitted diaper.

Cons:

• The serging doesn’t look as neat as top-stitching.
• The thread used to serge with can be irritating to some babies. I find that woolly nylon is the gentlest thread.
• The ruffles can make the diaper look bigger than it really is.

T & T FITTED DIAPERS

Pros:

• T & T diapers look neat (assuming they’re good quality).
• Might be better if your little one has eczema high on his/her thighs.
• Some of the most creative/artistic cloth diapers that I’ve seen were T & T diapers.

Cons:

• I find that the fabric in the leg area wears out faster than in serged diapers. The diaper shown in the second picture above has been washed less than 20 times and is already showing a lot of fading in the elastic area (not as clear in the picture). Also, the fabric is getting a little bit thin there, so I expect that some holes will be forming there soon.
• The fabric in the leg area takes longer to dry than in serged diapers because of the extra layers.

If you’ve tried both types of diapers, which one do you prefer and why?

Here are a few things that you can try to get the best results when using soap nuts for your laundry:

• Place the soap nuts in an old sock (without holes) and crush them with something, so that they break into smaller pieces. Unfortunately, if you have sticky soap nuts, this won’t be that easy. You’ll have to breaks/rip the soap nuts into smaller pieces with your fingers.
• Soak the little bag with soap nuts for 3-5 minutes in some hot/warm water and then add the bag and the water into the washer’s drum. NOTE: Always soak the soap nuts before doing a cold wash.
• Make soap nut liquid and use it like regular liquid laundry detergent. To make soap nut liquid boil 12-15 soap nuts with 6 cups of water for 30 minutes. I usually bring the water (with the soap nuts) to a boil and then lower the heat, so that the liquid doesn’t overflow. After the 30 minutes, you’ll have less liquid than you started with, so you can add some water to bring it back to what it used to be, or you can just leave the liquid more concentrated. Once the liquid has cooled, remove the soap nuts, and pour the liquid into glass jars (or airtight plastic containers, if you wish). The liquid can spoil after a few days, so try to keep it in the fridge, or use it up within a couple of days. Experiment with how much liquid to use in a wash. I use 1/4 cup, but you might need more or less depending on your washer and your water type.
• Set the washer cycle to “heavy soil”. The cycle is longer, giving the soap nuts more time to release the saponin.
• Add some oxygen bleach such as, Oxy-Boost or Nature Clean Oxy Stain Remover, to the detergent drawer before starting your wash. Please check whether you can use oxygen bleach with your diapers. Some manufacturers might void warranty if you do.

When the two WI2s arrived, I was very happy with the quality. The wool was very soft, stretchy and not too thick, making the diaper very trim. The workmanship was impressive. I was a very happy customer :)

My son is now 12 months old, and I was able to use and wash the diapers a few times now. Since my son was big at birth and grew quickly, I wasn’t able to use the small WI2 for very long, but the medium one lasted quite a bit longer. He can still fit in it at 24 lbs, but the rise is starting to get a little short. Unfortunately, my medium WI2 does have some holes on one side where the leg elastic is. I’m not sure if it’s because of my washing routine or if there was something wrong with the fabric. I would suggest washing the covers less in the machine and more by hand.

Pros

• High quality product.
• Laundry tabs work well because of the different design (see photo above).
• Very trim diaper.
• Very breathable.
• Machine washable.
• Very soft wool.
• Good price. Not sure if they’re still as affordable as a few months ago because wool prices have gone up and so has Chelory’s popularity.
• Don’t have to wash the cover frequently.

Someday Sarah Wool Dryer Balls

I’ve been using Sarah’s dryer balls for a few weeks now and I love them. I just keep them in the dryer at all times. They work great, but to see a significant decrease in cloth diaper drying time, you need a few wool dryer balls, so I decided to make four balls myself. They aren’t as nice as Sarah’s, but they work fine. By using the six dryer balls (most of mine are quite big), I was able to decrease cloth diaper drying time by 20 minutes!

If you’re interested in trying Sarah’s wool dryer balls, just write her a message on her Facebook fanpage wall or contact her through her Etsy store.

For more information about their sale, please read their newsletter here.

Question from Chandra:
Hello. I was wondering how many layers of bamboo fleece you would recommend using to make inserts? I have bumGenius 4.0s.

Answer:
Hi Chandra,

The number of layers of bamboo fleece you need will depend on a few things such as, fabric weight/thickness, whether your baby is a heavy wetter, and the bamboo content in the fabric. The standard bamboo fleece fabric is approximately 16 ounces per yard and is 70% bamboo, 30% cotton (usually organic cotton). If you’re planning to make an insert that can be trifolded before use, and you have a light wetter, then you might be able to use only two layers (the insert would then be 6 layers when trifolded). If you have a heavier wetter, then you can make a rectangular doubler, 2-3 layers thick, and wrap the insert around that doubler, or you can attach the end(s) of the doubler to the insert by either adding snaps or by sewing.

During the day, I usually use a two-layer insert that can be trifolded, but I change my son’s diapers frequently (i.e. after each pee). When going out I usually use 7-8 layers in case I can’t change him after only one pee.

Most bamboo fleece AIO’s that I’ve bought in the past have 7-8 layers of bamboo fleece. One had 7 layers of bamboo fleece and 1 layer of bamboo velour. So, for a pocket diaper you might need at least 7-8 layers.

Keep in mind that the less layers you use to make an insert, the easier it will be to wash and dry the insert. So, it might be a good idea to use a two-layer insert and just add a 2-3 layer doubler. At night, you might want to use two of the two-layer inserts and see how that works. My daughter was a heavy wetter when she was a few months old, and we used 11-12 layers of bamboo fleece at night, but we used bamboo fleece fitteds with wool covers which are more absorbent than pocket diapers with 11-12 layers of fabric.

In addition, before using the bamboo fleece inserts to go out or at night, make sure they’ve been washed a few times. Some people say that it takes at least 6-8 washes for bamboo fleece to reach its maximum absorbency.  If you’re making the inserts for yourself and not for sale, then I would recommend washing the fabric on hot at least a couple of times.  I usually wash mine 3 times before cutting.

I hope this helps!