Diapers

From Antivist

cloth diapering

YOU MUST ALWAYS LOCK & SECURE THE DIAPER PAIL

basic needs :

• 36 pairs of Tri-fold / Prefold diapers.
• two diaper pails
• 4 pairs of diaper pins
• Plastic pants: about 18 of each size, they will crack and wear out overtime and use -- mainly little pin holes and tiny crack / tears.
• Wipes: Get any soft flannel fabric available in the sewing / fabric section (inexpensive / close out) See instructions below. Make about 70 squares, from a 45" wide bolt of fabric get 108" in length. Store them in a any old disposable diaper wipe container, covering them only with water. We keep a few dry for clean up purposes. Try to get pre washed fabric to avoid excess shrinkage prior to cutting.
• Diaper Doublers: Get more soft flannel fabric, to make 12, get 144" length from a 45" wide bolt of fabric. See instructions below. Try to get pre washed fabric to avoid excess shrinkage prior to cutting.

How to deal with a Bowel Movement (BM) :

• If Firm: then shake the BM off into toilet and drop the cloth diaper into a diaper pail. Wash your hands.
• If Not So Firm: shake off and the using toilet paper wipe off any excess into the toilet and drop the cloth diaper into a diaper pail. Wash your hands.
• If Oh, My What a Mess: Shake off into toilet bowl and HOLD tightly to a corner and flush toilet, I said hold tightly! Then let soak in the toilet for a while [10 minutes or longer], or until the next Oh, My What a Mess comes along. The best way to let soak is to hang the clean corner over the edge of the bowl and retain using the toilet seat foot/ bumper pad [that little bump on the bottom of the seat]. Lower the seat on the diaper corner and then lower the lid. Then before the transfer make sure the corner is UNDER the bumper and STEP hard on the lid and flush -- trust me, make sure it's under the bumper or you'll be calling the plumber! Then slide over the diaper pail and pick up the diaper corner and drop the diaper into the diaper pail. Wash your hands.
• Comment: We have never had a 'blow out' using these, and our little one's legs are thinner than most. We have had problems with disposables. We have had the BM leak out into the plastic liner, but that is what the pants are for, clean up the major excess using toilet paper and just throw the pants into the diaper pail. The TP goes into the toilet.
• Hint: Keeping your child healthy will help avoid the Oh, My What a Mess diaper - I believe it is one strong motivation! Washing their hands before eating, and making sure they don't put their hands in their mouth unless they've just washed. Yeah, it is really hard and relapses of thumb sucking and finger sucking do occur - almost always followed shortly by a Oh, My What a Mess diaper.

Washing :

• Pour off the soaking water into the toilet, do it very slowly and carefully-- not the kind of mess you want to cleanup even once -- trust me, I'm an expert. [Practice this with clean water first] Pick up the diaper pail and set it on the rim of the toilet, then start to pour out the center spout with the lid closed. I have found the prying the lid up just a little, while still retained shut, allows for a nice clean pour. Sometimes you just don't get a good pour, stop pouring and wiggle / shake the pail a little - a diaper maybe right at the spout and blocking the flow. You don't need to completely drain the pail of all water, just most to make it easy to move to the laundry area. I use a clean diaper to wipe up all surfaces, and use that diaper as the 'pusher' when dumping the pails into the washing machine.
• Pour the pails into the washing machine. Sometimes a whole 'clump' of diapers will stick between the rim and the center agitator, use that wipe down diaper as your pusher. Add a ¼ dose of laundry soap into each pail. Wash your hands.
• NO FABRIC SOFTENERS, it clogs the fibers - making them no longer very absorbent.
• "Pre wash" using the complete permanent press cycle. Hot water and lots of soap, full load of water and soap. Use a full dose of laundry soap.
• "Main wash" using the normal / heavy duty cycle. Hot water and lots of soap, full load of water and soap. Use a full dose of laundry soap. You may want to use some white vinegar in the last rinse. DO NOT pour vinegar into the bleach dispenser! You will make toxic chlorine gas.
• I've not needed to use bleach as it will ruin the fibers. Sun dry with lemon juice, and re-wash the won't come clean "soiled" diapers, about two of those a week.
• If you do need to use bleach, do it in the "Pre wash", so it will be rinsed out in the "Main wash".
• We have an electric water heater -- so the estimated cost for water / hot water and electricity is about 80¢.
• Fill the diaper pails with water to just below the handle hinge, you should of already added a 1/4 dose of laundry soap. We had used our child's bath water (from an inflatable kiddy tub in the bath tub).
• Wash your hands.
• Dryer dry the laundry load on high heat, our dryer requires about 75 minutes for 2 pails and 45 minutes for one pail. Sometimes the diaper doublers are still not dry, so they get hung up with the plastic pants to finish drying over night. Do NOT dryer Dry the plastic pants - it makes them brittle and ruins them quickly.

Making Cloth Diaper Wipes :

• Try to get pre washed fabric to avoid excess shrinkage prior to cutting.
• Get any soft flannel fabric available in the sewing /fabric section (inexpensive / close out).
• Wash the whole batch flannel in hot water and soap, and dry well. Make sure it is not to wrinkled, or you will need to 'coarsely' iron the fabric for easy cutting. This washing will pre shrink the flannel.
• Make about 50-70 squares, from a 45" bolt of fabric get 90"-108" in length.
• Cut them into ~9" squares and double fold (hide the raw edge) + sew the double fold.
• Store them in a any old disposable diaper wipe container, covering them only with water (some folks make an herbal oil mix). We keep a few dry for clean up purposes.
• When on a day outing we still use regular paper wipes (from an abundant supply), and just toss them in the pail too, they wash out very nice --but we still pitch them.

Making Cloth Diaper Doublers :

• For an older child you will need to make Diaper Doublers, these are inserts into the cloth diaper for naps and night time sleeping - used like a feminine napkin, front to back. During the day time, if your child is holding back on urinating long enough to cause a soaking wet diaper then consider potty training. Peer pressure and positive reinforcement is the best motivation. NEVER EVER try to force the issue of potty training, it will happen when your child is ready and nothing you do will hasten the process -- you may end up delaying the process. Be concerned when your child is going to Kindergarten.
• When wetted just the drop doubler into the diaper pail like all of the other items, the diaper, the wipes, plastic pants and now the doublers. If BM'ed then you'll need to soak them see dealing with a BM, a diaperduck link broken will be handy for this operation.
• The sewing is not hard just a bit tedious and well worth the effort. Make 12 diaper doublers from 4 yards of fabric. We had doubled up cloth diapers, but this is hard to do on an older child since the waist is growing in size. Also, a doubler is smaller between the legs. These Diaper Doublers are 3.5" x 12" and made from a 12" by 42" section of soft flannel fabric and folding them so there are no exposed ends to fray. Try to get pre washed fabric to avoid excess shrinkage prior to cutting.
• Before cutting wash the whole batch flannel in hot water and soap, and dry well. Make sure it is not overly wrinkled, or you will need to 'coarsely' iron the fabric for easy cutting. This washing will pre shrink the flannel.
• Folding instructions:

1. Hint: Make the first fold about an 1/8 of an inch shy of the center and the next about 3/16 th and all of the following folds a little bit less (a 1/16 th) than the previous, this will allow for a nice main fold.
2. Lay flat the 42 inch section from both ends fold 7" from each end. Now 28" wide.
3. Fold the end to the middle, now 14" wide.
4. Fold again, now 7" wide.
5. Fold in half - resulting in a single thick fold and two thinner folds on the other side. Now 3.5 wide."
6. Begin sewing. Start with a regular stitch and then finish using a serger like stitch. Sew the thick main fold, making sure you sew the raw edges deep inside- do it three times. Then sew the double fold do it three times. Then sew the raw edges on the top and bottom.

• Wash them about four or five times before the first use - throw them in any load you can, this will soften them up.

links :

• born to love