little feet, big sky

As happy as I am with cloth diapering, there’s been something that’s bugged me for weeks. I finally found a solution to the problem though…

The easiest way to cloth diaper with a wrap is to fold the prefold into thirds and lay it into a diaper wrap. Unfortunately, this method also often results in a poopy wrap. Poopy wraps mean they have to be washed and dried, and since I’m a lazy one, this means with the next load of diapers, though more enterprising moms could easily hand wash and line dry them. The most poop-proof solution is to secure the prefold with pins or a snappi and then secure the wrap. I don’t remember a single poopy wrap while using this method. However, the downside is the extra step needed in pinning or snappi-ing, especially when in a rush, in the middle of the night in an almost dark room, or in the back seat of a car on a wriggly baby. :-) I tried the trifold-layed-in-wrap for just these situations, but they seemed to make the problem worse; it’s incredibly frustrating to have a messy, leaky poopy wrap to clean up and put away when you’re on the road.

A few days ago, I tried a new fold: the bikini twist. I thought it seemed really flimsy when I first looked at it, but it works great! You simply lay the baby on the prefold, bring the front up between their legs, twist it 180 degrees and voila! I keep the wraps & prefolds ready to go, so that I can slip them under her bum at the same time and just close the wrap to secure without pins or snappis. The twist forms a “poop pocket” in back that keeps the poop in the prefold about 90% of the time, which is pretty good, and the twist in front fits trimmer between the legs with more absorbency than a newspaper fold.

I wish I’d thought of this ages ago! :-)

So the gDiapers with cloth inserts didn’t really work out for Spice. In fact, the gDiapers themselves haven’t really worked out, sadly. They’re okay for wet ones and super trim, but leak consistently with poopy breastfed blowouts. The worst part is the cleaning; toss the insert, either handwash the liner and wait for it to dry, or wash it with cloth diapers and have it be out of commission until the next load. God forbid it leaks, ad then you have the cover out for wash, too. None of which sounds impossible for the average cloth-diapering parent, until you factor in that you should have about 4-6 covers on hand and that they cost about $12 – $18 each… about the same or more than a quality cloth diaper cover! (A bumGenius one-size AIO is $18.)

I now have a great stash of Thirsties and Litewraps which are working out fantastically. I have a ton of gDiaper inserts left over, so I cheat and line a cloth diaper with one at night for better absorbency. I noticed that lots of people trifold the prefold and just lay it in the wrap, but this ALWAYS ends up in a poopy wrap for us, so I do a newspaper fold and snappi, then put the wrap on. If I’m good with my folding, I only have to wash a cover every 2 days. :-) Maybe later today I’ll try a jellyroll fold. I have two steel stepcans next to the changing area, a small one for the gDiaper trash and a large one for the cloth diapers. We have a large stash of cloth wipes, a wipes warmer and use Kissaluv’s Diaper Lotion Potion, with good results. Cloth is just so much easier! Spice hates being wet, so frequent changes happen anyway.

If you’re thinking of trying cloth diapers, I can’t stress enough the need to try out different brands of wraps, pocket dipes and AIOs. For example, Bummis are really well reviewed everywhere, but I hated them; they felt plastic-y on the outside and the velco was rough and dug into Spice’s legs. The Proraps were almost as bad and just felt cheap. On the flipside,Imse Vimse is the softest one I have and the Litewraps second. Getting one of each let me try them and figure out which to get more of. I also wouldn’t recommend buying up sizes in advance. The bumGenius 3.0 (one size) we have worked great when her poop was tiny, but it’s leaked twice with blowouts, so it’s at the bottom of the stash right now. I’ll try it more as her pooping schedule lightens up later. My sister gave us some Kushies she had never used, but those also leak a little on blowouts. I’m learning not to trust anything that doesn’t have a leg gusset!