Diapering Update

Cynthia Rowley's new disposable Pampers for Target debut this month!

I think it is time for an update confession on my diapering. One question that my friends who follow my mommy antics often ask me is "are you still cloth diapering?"

The answer is yes and no. Allow me to explain.

It all started when Olivia started peeing through her cloth diapers in April (8 months old) at bedtime no matter how much I doubled them up. We moved to using disposables only for bedtime, so I had to buy them in larger quantity than when we just used them for travel and outings. With a larger quantity of disposables at-hand,  the nanny rejoiced! She had been trying to convince me for months how cheap disposables were at Sam's Club and now at last she had them and didn't have to deal with poopy pants every other day. haha! I would tell her I didnt't want her using them all day and she tells me "Oh, Miss Marina I just use them for her morning poo and then I put cloth on her after her first messy diaper." This was true for about a month, but keeping up with both disposables (one bin) and cloth (another bin) is Annoying. You really have to be all-in --one way or the other. So, the next thing I know, Olivia is wearing disposables all day long and a cloth with me (the cheap skate) and daddy (who never noticed we stopped using cloth during the day in the first place) but at bedtime (just 2 hours after I get home from work) we went right back into disposable for leak protection.

Soon, I rationalized using disposables on weekends to save myself from having to do a load of laundry on Sunday night of the weekend's poopy pants. The next thing you know I am buying bulk disposables on a monthly basis with tons of coupons and CCD is asking me at the store, "I thought we're using cloth diapers?" Embarrassed and defeated I would respond, "yes we are babe, but these are on sale and I have coupons, and we use them on-the-go and weekends." Basically I was lying to myself.

Today we only use cloth diapers on occasion, such as the brief period after Charm City Baby wakes up and gets her first bottle before its time to get her dressed for the day, or just playing around the house, and (most often) when we are out of disposables. They are still great and fit wonderfully!

So we have completely reversed and are back to disposables--where we started when she was a newborn. We had a good 6 month sprint of cloth diapering which undoubtedly saved us a lot of money, but exclusive use of cloth diapers is now over.

Maybe we will revisit them when its time to potty train. I will not commit this time. Instead I will just safely say, we'll see.

Let's Potty!

Five months into motherhood and three months into cloth diapering I've definitely formed my preferences on what I use and when I use it. Here goes...

1. gDiapers - Great hybrids for travel or excursions when you don't want to carry around soiled cloth diapers. Sleeker, more fitted than pockets or all-in-one's (hence great for newborns) but there are drawbacks when explosive poos happen. This diaper has never leaked on us, but the disposable liner often cannot contain all of the #1 or #2 and the plastic pocket holding it as well as the cloth cover often become the 2nd and 3rd lines of defense and end up soiled as well. So you will find yourself changing the entire set, not just the disposable lining as intended. These diapers are very expensive and no cheaper than disposables. Olivia outgrew the smalls, and I am reluctant to buy medium covers and liners to start over again.  Also *clears throat*, I do not recommend flushing these "flushable" disposable liners even in big commercial toilets. One Sunday, Charm City Daddy and I were in tears from laughing so hard about the hurting we put on a brunch buffet, and the punishment Olivia did to the bathroom of the same establishment. Ahhh, our happy little, destructive family.

2. Giggle Infant Bath Seat - Olivia took her first bath in this little seat (which sits in the big tub) and will still be using this seat until she is at least 7 or 8 months old. It allows baby to lay back with head support and the seat has a hole that allows it to fill with water to immerse the vital areas.  I wrote a review on the Giggle website months ago that says it all.

3. Giggle Organic Pre-Folds - Thick, soft, absorbent, washes clean and easily the best pre-fold on the market. They make other pre-folds look like 1-ply toilet paper. I used these more when Olivia was on the small side--between 8-10 lbs, but keep them around as emergency backups. I wrote a review on the Giggle website for these as well. Five Stars! Use with Snappi Diaper Fasteners.

4. BumGenius 3.0 Cloth Diapers - Easy to use. Easy to clean. Easy to size (adjustable). I just said easy three times! Each time they come out of the wash, I am always amazed to see how clean they get considering the damage Olivia can do. I must admit Olivia moving to solids has taken cloth diapering to a new level. I mean, you can't really look at poo as poo anymore. It's more like play-doh or something. 

Also Great: A&D and Balmex Daily Skin Protective Ointment for when we use disposables while traveling or when Olivia needs a little added moisturizing, protection.

I hope these gear reviews are helping gift givers, moms, and moms-to-be out there! I know I read lots of mommy blogs and reviews (still am!) gearing up for Olivia.

*I was not compensated or gifted any of these items for the purpose of this review.

Cloth Diaper Update

Since I mentioned cloth diapers in the last post about the washer/dryer, its probably a good time for a cloth diaper update.

Report: It's going well! And get this nearly 2 months in... ZERO leaks. ZERO diaper rashes.

We're completely off disposables (unless we're visiting grandma) and using cloth wipes as well.

I am still using disposable wipes in addition to the cloth wipes b/c let's face it the poo gets messy and I want to make sure she's clean!

 Charm City Baby (Week 9) modeling her bumGenius in pink!

I primarily use the bumGenius 2.0's, and when we leave the house (shop, restaurant, church) I put her in G diaper hybrids as they take up less room in the diaper bag and I don't have to carry around stinky soiled diapers. I also use these super wonderful pre-folds and Bummis Super Whisper covers and guess what I really like them too.

We're doing laundry every other day and that seems to be working fine too. Sometimes we wash major explosions right away, if it makes sense. At first I was pre-rinsing the poo diapers, but now I'm just throwing the whole mess in the washing machine and they are coming out beautifully fresh and clean.

I'm glad we're being eco-friendly but mostly I feel good about the money we're saving, particularly since we're all the way into using formula and I find myself stockpiling coupons for my bimonthly Babies R Us visits.

At first, Julia, the nanny wasn't too keen on using them. She kept telling me about Costco specials on bulk disposables, but I think I've converted her as well.

So! We forge ahead and we'll keep you posted!

The "Po-Po" Explosion...

Good Morning!!!!!!! Thanks to Cafe DuMonde coffee from our New Orleans trip, I've been wired ALL morning! yeeehaaww!

I just had to post this morning that since Olivia has made it up to 12 pounds (with a major growth spurt where she can handily chug down 5-6 ounces) we debuted our cloth diapers for the first time last night for bed. And yes they are sooo cute on her little bum, although she had J.Lo booty with the doubler in there.

We made it all night with no leaks of "Chi-Chi" (which means Pee Pee according to the Columbian nanny). And then this morning for her first feeding she let out a "Po-Po" (pronounced Poe-Poe) explosion in that there BumGenius 3.0 that made me regret my whole life!

It was massive and it did stay nicely contained in the diaper but THEN I had to clean it! O.M.G. I don't think anything short of a power washer could have remedied that awful, grainy, yellow mess (that continues to haunt my memory).

I put her little tail right back into a disposable diaper this morning. I'm not ready yet.

What will we do when she starts eating solids? Adios Mio.