Now open for Business!

I am now officially open for business!

I carry Mother Ease, Swaddlebees Blueberry and Rump a Rooz.  My first demonstration will be at Silverlake Yoga on Sept 17 at 2:30pm. I will be teaching Parents. to. Be the basics of cloth diapering, and all of the different kinds of diapes. Wish me luck.

Katrina

Just opening up

Hi my name is Katrina, and I am just about to open up for direct sales and online sales next month. Here are some things you may want or need to know about cloth diapering. It may seem scary, but really it's not. It is just as easy as disposables. You can even wash the diapers when you wash your child's clothing so you don't have to do an extra load. I am available to do demonstrations to show you all of the different types, and how to use them. Below are some tips to get you started on the knowledge you want to know about cloth diapers before you start.

Wash and Care

Washing and caring for your cloth diapers is much easier than you'd think, and if you wash & dry them properly they'll last for multiple children. The basic washing routine is as follows:

1. Short rinse on COLD with no detergent.

2. Long wash on HOT with a diaper safe detergent (see below).

3. One to three short COLD rinses to wash away all detergent residue.

* The most important thing about washing cloth diapers is to use a diaper safe detergent.

Most name brands are absolutely NOT safe for cloth and will cause odor problems. Even natural and green detergents without fragrances, dyes, enzymes, etc. could still cause problems. The reason is that most detergents leave a residue behind. That's fine for clothes, but it can affect the absorbency of diapers and can also build up in them, causing odor problems down the road. So which detergents are safe then? There's a terrific cloth diapering resource site called Pinstripes and Polka Dots that has lists of safe detergents. Click herefor High Efficiency washing machines (front-loaders) and here for top-loaders. I currently use Ecos which is all natural, and can be used with TL (top loaders) or HE known as front loaders or (FL). 

What about diaper rash creams? Again, many name brands will coat your cloth diapers and make them repellent. That's bad. Click here for a list of creams rated for cloth diapers.

More dos and don'ts:

* DON'T USE BLEACH ON YOUR DIAPERS. Bleach will simply wear them out and it's not needed. Since it's such a harsh chemical with detrimental effects on the environment, it's best to avoid it. Grandma may protest that you won't be able to clean the diapers well without bleach, but that's just not true anymore. The proof is in the pudding; if you consistently wash your dipes properly you won't have problems. I'd say the only exception would be with all-cotton diapers that haven't been washed properly in past, and even then, you should only do this once.

* DON'T USE FABRIC SOFTENER. It will coat the diapers, again causing it to repel moisture.

* DO WASH AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK. My routine was to wash every other day and this worked really well.

* DO RINSE OFTEN, especially if you see suds coming out of the diapers during the first (no detergent rinse). That means that you used too much detergent in the previous wash or didn't rinse them well enough.

* DO USE THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF DETERGENT. As a general rule, use HALF, YES HALF of what is recommended for clothes on the label for your type of washer. 

*DO DRY ALL-IN-ONES FOR LONGER. They're very thick in the middle and just need the extra time to dry. If you line dry them, always finish up with a 15-minute run in the dryer. You want to make sure they aren't moist in the middle. Some AIOs will turn inside out. They'll dry faster if you do this.

Wait a minute  Katrina, what do I do about the poo?  Isn't it gross to put that in your washing machine?

Two comments on this, each appropriate to the kind of waste in question:

1. Exclusively breast-fed infants have very benign and runny waste. It will completely wash out all in the first rinse.

2. When a baby starts eating solid food, the waste changes and so should your diapering routine, but only by a little. You do want to cut down on the solids that go into your machine as much as possible. Here's some tips:

   * dump as much as you can in the toilet and flush. If you get about 80% off the diaper, you're good to go. Put it in your pail. It will rinse out fine in the first rinse. That percentage isn't scientific, just from personal experience.

   * use a diaper sprayer. It's like a small, white, hose with a sprayer attachment that you  connect it to the back of your toilet. The pressure of the water rinses a lot of the solids into the toilet. Then put the diaper in your pail. 

   * use flushable liners. Bummis makes one called the Bio-Soft Liner

Diaper Covers

If you're cloth-diapering with prefolds or fitteds, you need a cover. However, you don't need as many covers as you need diapers, because covers that are only wet (not soiled) can be reused several times. For most families, 6-10 covers is enough. How to decide? If you want simple and cute, go with covers from Bummis or Thirsties, shown below:

Thirsties Cover

Cloth Diapers 101

If you're new to cloth diapering ("CD" for short), you're probably overwhelmed by all the styles, fabrics, brands, covers, and systems to choose from. There are four main types of cloth diapers:

1. Prefold and cover: This is the most basic and economical CD system. It consists of a rectangular diaper that is folded onto baby and then wrapped with a cover. Prefolds are usually made of cotton, and organic cotton is quite affordable. To get started, you need 18-24 prefold plus about 6 covers. Covers that are wet only can be used several times before washing.

2. Fitted and cover: This system provides a bit more convenience than a prefold and cover. It consists of a diaper with elastic around the legs and waist, thus providing a better fit than a prefold. It is secured with snaps or velcro, and then wrapped with a cover (you can use the same covers used with a prefold). Many fitteds come in a "one-size" option, meaning that they can be adjusted to fit baby from birth to potty training! 

3. Pockets: Pockets are an extremely convenient CD option.

A pocket diaper is one diaper that has sewn-in waterproofing on the outside, with no need for an extra cover. The diaper is "hollow" on the inside, allowing for absorbent material to be inserted. After use, you simply pull out the cloth insert, and wash both the pocket diaper and the absorbent insert. The great thing about pockets also is that you can put any insert in there that you want. Have a heavy wetter at night? You can stuff the pocket with a prefold, baby buns stay dry from the pocket liner, and the prefold absorbs all the moisture from over night. If you are in a tight spot, you can even stuff it with a menstrual pad or even a towel. 

NEW TO CLOTH DIAPERING?

Cloth diapering is CHEAPER, GREENER, and most of all CUTER. We offer a variety of cloth diapering solutions and personal consultation. Please see the blog posts to learn more about cloth, about upcoming free demonstrations