Suki - Diaper Question

[Josie]

Are you going to disposable or cloth diaper? For whichever, why?

If you are going to cloth, are you making your own?

I'm asking because we recently switched from disposables to cloth and the start up costs are :yociexpress06:

I actually traded two of our bookshelves and a VCR for something like 10 used diapers. Yep, they that 'spensive! *cries*

If you're making your own, I'll kiss your tummy if you send me the pattern :)

Anyone else who wants to post, go right ahead, but know that this is *not* a diaper debate thread. If you disposable, great. If you cloth, great.

If you'd like to list your own personal reasons for whatever your diapering choice, that's fine, but just none of the :khi7h: nonsense about how stupid someone else is for not being just like you.

[Ms. J]

I chose not to have children - I'm scared of them and even more scared when they become adults. But this may be of some help:

www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm

[Ms. J]

www.diapersewing.com

[Josie]

I chose not to have children - I'm scared of them and even more scared when they become adults. But this may be of some help:

www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm (http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm)


this is *not* a diaper debate thread.


www.diapersewing.com (http://www.diapersewing.com)

Yes, it's pretty easy to find diaper patterns online. I asked because I don't understand sewing lingo, nor do I own a sewing machine yet. That will come later, after I move.

If she did/does have a pattern she'd share, I could ask questions, ask for definitions, etc.

[mcsmc]

My aunt and mother made diapers together for a younger sibling of mine. My aunt's a seamstress, and a good one at that. She was the one with the pattern and list of best materials to use.

That was many many years ago... I'm not sure if she'd still have the pattern/list of materials, but I know that what you use for the elastic for the legs, and velcro for fastening, are both paramount in how long they last. Of course, she (my mom) had to use the rubber pants with them... I don't know, it seems in my opinion the best leak proof option is disposable, sadly enough.

[Josie]

My aunt and mother made diapers together for a younger sibling of mine. My aunt's a seamstress, and a good one at that. She was the one with the pattern and list of best materials to use.

That was many many years ago... I'm not sure if she'd still have the pattern/list of materials, but I know that what you use for the elastic for the legs, and velcro for fastening, are both paramount in how long they last. Of course, she (my mom) had to use the rubber pants with them... I don't know, it seems in my opinion the best leak proof option is disposable, sadly enough.

Actually, the gPants used with cloth liners instead of the disposable ones work just as well. I highly doubted they would, but MAN can those things hold some pee!! The snap-in liner holds all the moisture long enough for it to find somewhere to be absorbed, so there have been times when I've changed his diaper, only to find that the cloth was COMPLETELY soaked (regular fitteds will soak through before ever getting near the butt area) and no leaks.

Shocked, I was. And happy. :yociexp77:

Disposables are pretty convenient though, and it's easier to tote around more of them at a time. I think I may have to do that on the flight up to AK. :( Poor kid. Those things irritate his bottom somethin' fierce.

[suki]

actually, I'm glad you brought this up.

I haven't decided yet.

considering as I'm uber crunchy...I'll probably try my best to find an environmentally sound diaper service in the area...

but i'm almost certain I won't be using disposables (other than for trips and whatnot)...

I couldn't even bring myself to use (and throw away) regular pads and tampons...and instead (ha! I made a funny, cause some of the cups I use are called "instead") use cups.

why did you decide to switch?

[suki]

on second thought...

there are no diaper services in my area.


gah!

I foresee massive water bills in my future.

[Josie]

why did you decide to switch?

Several reasons



I was HOPING it would be a little cheaper, but that has yet to be seen.
It helps with potty training because they can feel when they're wet much better- and anything that will help in this area, I'll try. My 17 month old is DEATHLY afraid of the potty and any potty chair. We've tried three. One toilet-looking one. One super kiddo-fied pooh bear one that has a nice little flusher on it that makes noise (he, of course, thought THIS was cool), and one really soft and squishy "big boy" seat that is ONLY cool when it's not on the toilet.
He has SO many freaking allergies that his tummy is always in distress (and half the time we can't figure out what the hell it was), so his poops are acidic, causing diaper rash... which is only aggravated by all the chemicals in the disposables, so he would tear at his bottom until he'd scratched it so much he was bloody. *edit* With cloth, this is sooo much more manageable. The only thing I'm fighting against is the poo now! muahaha no bloody butt.
It *might* be more earth-friendly than dumping paper and plastic into landfills as much... I'm not sure I buy this though. As much detergent (Charlie's even) and water as I'm fucking going through, I don't see how the "cloth and proud of it" bitches can tell me this is more "green". I'm only proud of my cloth diapering because it's turning out to be the best for my kid and... well... I'm trying to make my own. So when (if) either of my kids wear one I made, HELL YEAH, I'm gonna flaunt it! lol

[funeeman]

Hes a boy and its getting warmer. Teach him to pee outside. Make it a game like watering the plants or flooding the ants. Then there's no pressure to "hit" the toilet or to squat when he pees. Once he has that down then start working on #2 and sitting on the thrown. The other option is to put him into rubber britches and let him piss all over himself for a couple of days. That usually does the trick. But its much more fun to teach him to drop trow in the middle of the yard and wave at the neighbors.

[InterStella]

^^^ Hey Funee.... I think she's referring to the 'unborn' son, not the home destroying, 17 month-old, paddy-throwing, diaper-avoiding, whinge-bag that'll chuck a juice cup faster than you could bowl a cricket ball, just 'because'.

Or.... that might be just in my house. Hmmm.


Anyway.... I use disposables. I know, lazy. But I have to say that I was chatting recently to another mum who bought the washables, and she said that they were amazing. Yes, the initial layout seems excessive, but in comparison to what you would spend on throw-aways in a year, it's a good buy.

ALSO.... when her little girl was poorly, they bought disposables to save time (they were up all day and night for almost a week) and she got the most terrible nappy-rash. Whereas, they had never even had the need to use any creams on her bottom before while using the washables.

Good luck making your decision.

[suki]

17 months old and petrified of potty seats?

easy.

put them away for another 6 months.

he's trying to tell you...he's just not ready. SOME kids can be potty trained wicked early (I think 17 months is wicked early)...

some cannot.

he'll let you know when HE'S ready...and unfortunately...

he won't give two shits about whether or not its convenient for you.

aaaaaaaaahahahahaha

face it. you're gonna have TWO in diapers.


...or one severely emotionally scarred and anal retentive.

[Bunnee]

I use disposables, simply because its easier.

The initial costs of cloth are horrible. Although I can understand that the ongoing costs tend to run cheaper.

I had 3 in diapers.

Toby was FOUR by the time HE decided he was 'ready'. But it only took 6 weeks to fully train him. It really depends on the child. Sadly you cant force them to go potty.

Im training Abby as we speak, and shes 3. Shes doing well.

Jess, well who knows if she will even train. She has issues with the toilet.

[Josie]

face it. you're gonna have TWO in diapers.

Guh, I'm slowly but surely coming to terms with this. :khi2d:

[Josie]

I use disposables, simply because its easier.

The initial costs of cloth are horrible. Although I can understand that the ongoing costs tend to run cheaper.

I had 3 in diapers.

Toby was FOUR by the time HE decided he was 'ready'. But it only took 6 weeks to fully train him. It really depends on the child. Sadly you cant force them to go potty.

Im training Abby as we speak, and shes 3. Shes doing well.

Jess, well who knows if she will even train. She has issues with the toilet.

I can't speak for having three little ones, but honestly, I was surprised at just how easy cloth diapering is. I actually find it just as easy, if not easier than disposables.

I can see how the diaper laundry ON TOP of the regular laundry for three kids could be exhausting though. Some days it's a bit difficult to keep up with just my one.

[Firestorm]

I can't speak for having three little ones, but honestly, I was surprised at just how easy cloth diapering is. I actually find it just as easy, if not easier than disposables.

I can see how the diaper laundry ON TOP of the regular laundry for three kids could be exhausting though. Some days it's a bit difficult to keep up with just my one.

Cloth is easier if you do two things. First, buy a ton of the damned things (they make very handy burp rags too) and get velcro covers or wraps, fuck safety pins. Forget diaper compnies, by the time you add up cleaning and delivery, you're better off to just buy a bunch of your own. Two, get a large, deep sink installed in your laudry room, prerably with a direct line to the sewer and a spray nozzle. This makes "pre cleaning" formula and other rancid diapers very easy.

Ok, a third thing that will help. Buy a decent washer and dryer. We bought super capacity units so we could reduce the diapers to every other day and front loaders are great for going from the sink right in to the machine. Are you going to use more water? Sure, but in the long run, more water use is better than a disposable that takes 100 years for the gel to decay.


Just the two cents of a dad of 7.

[KommieKat]

For my 3 children, in the early ages, we used the cloths with Velcro.
The reason: It was explained by the maker/inventor of these diapers and his sales point being that Kids will have a fixation on that area of their bodies because of the uncomfortable feeling that plastic ones present.
Kids should be using and developing the mind and not thinking about the warmth and uncomfortableness (new word?) of throw-aways.

Later when they were about to grow out of it, we switched to plastics, being easier to manage and they were about finished in the phase anyways.

Why my 3 cents worth? I have had my share of changing them, most likely more often the the other daddies.

[Shade]

Why my 3 cents worth? I have had my share of changing them, most likely more often the the other daddies.

I actually respect that alot. Especially when you change the sick milkshit phase. fucking horror storys i tell you! But your right not alot of guys do it, they just put it off on the ladies

[Josie]

Cloth is easier if you do two things. First, buy a ton of the damned things (they make very handy burp rags too) and get velcro covers or wraps, fuck safety pins. Forget diaper compnies, by the time you add up cleaning and delivery, you're better off to just buy a bunch of your own. Two, get a large, deep sink installed in your laudry room, prerably with a direct line to the sewer and a spray nozzle. This makes "pre cleaning" formula and other rancid diapers very easy.

Ok, a third thing that will help. Buy a decent washer and dryer. We bought super capacity units so we could reduce the diapers to every other day and front loaders are great for going from the sink right in to the machine. Are you going to use more water? Sure, but in the long run, more water use is better than a disposable that takes 100 years for the gel to decay.


Just the two cents of a dad of 7.

I reallllly don't like using prefolds as an actual diaper (aka, the kitchen towel). I much prefer the fitteds, pockets, all-in-ones, and my brand of gDiapering (This is what I use the prefolds for).

The fitteds (no cover) are great for when he's just running around the house. He doesn't wear clothes at home, so I don't worry about bulk. We use the Kissaluvs fitteds, and I add a hemp prefold doubler to it and rarely have a problem with wetting through before I check him.

At night, I use the AIO's or pockets and LOAD them to capacity.

When we're out, I use the gPants with the cloth insert instead of the flushables. This makes it so I can take three pairs of the gPants (in case he soaks through two) and six pre-loaded snap-in liners. Whip one off, whip one on, just as fast as a disposable. Then, if it was just pee, I can flip the prefold into the wet bag, reload the snap-in liner with another prefold, through it back in the diaper bag and we're off!

:yociexp77:

I love gDiapers!

As for needing to spray diapers... they offer a diaper sprayer that attaches to your toilet, but I prefer to just buy the rolls of BioSoft liners that you lay in the diaper. When he poops, all the juices pass through and are absorbed, but the chunk(s) of poo stay on the liner so you can just flip it into the toilet, let it sit for a couple minutes (to break up the liner) and flush.

In this way, I never have to come into contact with poo. :D
___________

However, all this could only be great for toddler stuff... I'll have a whole new learning curve with a newborn.

:yociexp37:

On a side note.. I do have to plunge the toilet a lot more now.

My son takes big huge, manly dumps... and often they get lodged and clog the toilet.

:yociexp34: