14 months of Cloth

**warning - this blog post contains references to poo and pee. please refrain from reading if you have a sensitivity towards discussions of this nature**

Excluding the first months when we were on the traditional white nappies, we have been cloth diapering now for 14 months in total. Unlike the traditional white nappies most of us grew up in, these modern cloth diapers are quite a different creature - they are a little more complicated to clean, but manage to stay on JWs bum for a little longer compared to the white nappies.

Its been a long and interesting journey, tears and sweat, satisfaction and contentment. Many efforts in getting the laundry process right; bearing in mind rigorous washing required to clean out poo and pee wears out the material and elastics. Yes - not all of our cloth diapers survived, but we are happy to report that we have managed to keep our modern CDs and our son's bum quite clean.

There is no doubt that disposable diapering is the most hassle free way of diapering. And on the days when life just gets too too much, or if we have a few days of watery poo, then we have no choice but to disposable diaper. We simply don't have enough modern CDs to deal with days such as these.

On all other days, CDs are our preferred choice. Somehow after getting into the routine of washing, drying and putting them on JW for 14 months, it seems like the right thing to do. Seeing a whole bag of dirty disposables go out to the rubbish bin at the end of the day just seems so wrong now. Nevertheless, it is a matter of perspective and what one gets use to.

So, did we save much money in the decision to use cloth?

The jury is out on this. Given the cost of damaged CDs, washing & sterilising/ strip washing (in electricity and water) and special detergents, it is hard to say whether the savings are huge.

In the monetary sense, I would say we are no worse off, even after taking into account the high start up cost in these modern CDs. From an environmental point of view, just on the feel good factor alone, we are glad to have taken the more sustainable route. We certainly hope we can sustain cloth diapering!

How to Sew a Cloth Diaper

Now... if only Mrs Kong had a sewing machine!! :) (*hint hint Mr Kong!)

Other great links for homemade diapers:

free diaper patterns
how to replace the elastics on a worn out cloth diapers (Mrs Kong will be attempting this soon..)
cloth diapering for the frugal

Sizing diapers for a prewalker and worn out cloth diapers

I suppose this question is of less consequence if one were diapering on disposables but a little more important for cloth diapering, given the huge "sunk costs" involved in cloth diapering. Hence, the incentive to get it right.

So it seems, as we have discovered in the past couple of weeks, that pre-walkers slim down after they start to take their first steps. Mrs Kong did not realise this when she wrote the blog post on getting larger diapers, but is glad now that we did not jump the gun into buying more in the larger XL size. JW, which we anticipated would hit the XL soon, is now hovering at the L size since starting to walk. His is now trimmer, looks taller, though not any lighter. The conclusion is really to avoid sizing up a chubby pre-walker because there is a high possibility that they will slim down!

We have however worn out our Cloth Diaper Wholesale diapers, which have run loose on the elastics. It really is about time as these diapers have worked overtime since we got them in May this year. They don't even "rest" for 24 hours after they dry before their are pulled off the clothes line, and put onto JW's bum. The same goes for the fitted diapers in our stash, now that the CDWs are out of commission. Suffice to say the CDWs have paid for themselves many times over.

Meanwhile we are surviving on the minimal number of diapers, supplementing with the traditional white nappy when it rains, or we just plain run out of cloth diapers.

Our workhorse diapers:

4 Dream Eze fitteds;
2 Baby Beehind Bamboo fitteds;
2 My Precious Baby by April fitteds;
3 Bum Genius one size pocket diapers.
1 Starbunz AIO (which we really don't use at all);
2 wool covers.

As you can imagine, they are getting worn out real fast given we use an average of 5 diapers a day. More if we are on the traditional cloth nappies. Time to break out the new diapers!

Modern Cloth Diapers - a useful glossary

Mrs Kong found an excellent cloth diaper glossary! Takes the mystery out of modern cloth diapering. Perfect for the clueless like present.

Wool at night - Part 3

Our experiment ended at 3am, without a puddle of baby pee:

The BBH bamboo fitted cloth diaper was soaking wet at the tummy and groin area, but ok otherwise. It could have easily lasted another 2 hours if the right stay dry liner was correctly put in place (that in itself is another challenge given JW's recent aversion to having his diaper changed! It just takes so much longer and it so much harder. It would be quite a challenge getting the liner to stay in the right position). JW's bum was not sweaty which was a huge relief given that everything was wrapped under layers of the bamboo fitted diaper and the wool cover.

Mrs Kong did a quick diaper change at 4am, after realising that something was indeed bothering our guy. He feel asleep again soon after that.

Cloth diapering mission: stay dry liners and larger ones please to be able to cover the tummy area as well.

Wool at night - Part 2

It has taken a lot of research and convincing for Mrs Kong to use a wool cover over JW's cloth diaper at night. The reason being - its use is not completely intuitive - to someone who lives in the tropics anyway.

When the weather is hot, and all one does is sweat away one's body heat in the middle of the afternoon, it is hard to believe that wool can actually be cool! Of course, it can't be any worse than the plastic covers our mothers used to use on us over night. And is there any reason at all that it might worse than a disposable?

Tonight, after much thought and deliberation, Mrs Kong has decided to brave the wool issue again. Wrapped tight in a bamboo fitted diaper, with a liner and a BBH wool diaper over it, JW is sleeping his way through the night. Hope he sleeps through the night in the comfort of the cloth diaper. Hope we won't wake up in a puddle of baby pee!

My Precious Baby by April - love these diapers!

My Precious Baby by April diapers...

Mrs Kong went on a cloth diaper shopping spree a few months ago and got a whole lot of modern cloth diapers for JW. Yes, it is a little mad, but its a choice we gladly make. Admittedly, its not a choice for everyone, especially for super busy parents, but I suppose this is a choice we are most comfortable with. 6 months into cloth diapering (excluding the first 2 months of JW's life where we used the old fashioned nappies), we are pleased we took this route.

Anyway, JW is now growing and growing. We don't know where the weight is going, but he is certainly changing. Once again, we find ourselves in between sizes... L and XL. He still fits L but its a snug fit. Mrs Kong is bracing herself for another buying spree (don't worry, they pay for themselves as we save by buying less disposables). In the meantime, what do we do with the brand new Ls which have yet to be washed and used?

These are the L diapers Mrs Kong has yet to put into the wash for use. Use for JW or sell? hmmm. Are they not gorgeous?

Wool at night

JW in the Baby Beehinds Wool cover.

It is suppose to be cooler than PUL (Polyurethane Laminate); and to that Mrs Kong can testify. We have used it sporadically for a few nights now, and am glad to report that it is true. Hard to believe but true. It also manages to keep the smell of the pee in better, compared to the nights when we used our PUL pocket diapers. And surprisingly, turns out odour free after it dries out in the sun without frequent washing.

Cloth Diaper Wholesale - CDW

... is a brand of cloth diapers we recently acquired at just RM35 each from Tiny Tapir. JW has worn these for about 4 weeks now, and they have been used very frequently.

We love the cut as in many ways, its a better fit than the Bum Genius 3.0 on JW. Light and in white, it feels less "hot" compared to the Bum Genius. Since JW is on solids now, and has more solid p**s, leakage is not so much of a problem.

However, as a long term investment, the CDWs may actually turn out to me more expensive.

Firstly, the care instructions differ from other cloth diapers. That is, lukewarm water is to be used for washing. This is cumbersome on a few fronts. While washing a whole day's load of cloth diapers is already a chore of some proportions, separating out the type of cloth diaper for washing would involve additional use of water! We have been doing lukewarm in anycase.

Secondly, as recently observed, the PUL on our CDWs have separated from the cloth. They look as normal from the outside but it is looking a little precarious from the inside. With our vigorous washing (mostly to remove poo and smell) its just a matter of time before a tear occurs!

We will still use these of course, given the initial investment but will probably move to using more fitted diapers.

Will be writing a review of the Dream-Eze fitted diapers once we have pictures of these!

Cloth Diapers

JW wearing the Bum Genius 3.0

Is that or is that not a cute little bum in the Bum Genius 3.0?

This is Mrs Kong's current obsession. .. and I mean Obsession with a capital O! Its a day and night obsession even Mrs Kong does not understand how this has come about. Never would have expected such an obsession given Mrs Kong's OCD for cleanliness. Perhaps its the benefit it does for the environment, or the money we save (doubtful on the latter). Maybe its the fact that the lack of chemicals (from the disposables) is better for JW's skin. Maybe its the colours, designs and prints. Maybe its how cute JW's bum looks in them.

We started off with the Bum Genius 3.0 pocket diapers (ie super absorbent inserts with outer shell made with PUL laminate) and the Cloth Diaper Wholesale pockets in white. Mrs Kong has just purchased more inserts for the diapers to ensure that we have enough to use during the day (admittedly, Mrs Kong perhaps went a little overboard on this)

So now, the hunt is on for a good fitted diaper. .. that will suit JW. Who knows.. we might even find one good enough to use at night!