I know a lot of you out there are successfully cloth diapering. This is something that I am really interested in. I love the idea of the cost savings, fewer rashes and blow outs, and helping the environment is a happy side effect. Not to mention that they are so darn cute!
I have borrowed a stash of pockets from a friend, and I have four bum genius all in ones, two elementals and two freetime. So far, for me, the freetimes are my favorite. They fit well, and wash and dry well. Being that's its winter, we're not well set up for line drying outside, so the cotton is taking forever to dry. The pockets work really well, but I am planning to go back to work four days a week. L will be in daycare three days and they are willing to take cloth. But once in working, I can't imagine taking all the extra time for stuffing pockets, and the thought of unstuffing pockets that have been sitting all day is less than apealing.
Ok, so the dilemna...I keep giving this a try but have yet to make it through an entire week because after two days, L keeps getting a rash! It's basically redness in the area of his butt crack with sometimes a small line if red bumps right at the edge if the redness.
We've used a lot of balmex preventatives, and it seems to me that he is just really sensitive to poo and needs to have a barrier all the time. My mom tells I was this way too. So, we go back to disposable and balmex until it clears. This round, I'm trying coconut oil while he's in cloth and using a disposable with balmex over night. But the rash is back! I'm going to give the coconut oil a few days. And then I'm not sure what to do. Also, I don't think its a detergent rash because its so localized. But I'm using bum genius and started using half as much to see if that made a difference. Thoughts?
My other concern, aside from solving the rash issue before I actually invest in my own stash, is keeping up with laundry when I go back to work. I would love some feedback on whether or not this is feasible while working, or am I crazy? Especially since we all know I actually am a but crazy and need to deal with that too?!
As for my last post, thanks for all the great support! It's really helpful to know that people out there really get it. I called the office I was referred to an am waiting to hear back from them after they evaluate my issues and find the right person for me to see. I should hear back by the beginning of next week at the latest. Waiting is frustrating! I just want to feel better already! So I think L and I are going shopping this afternoon for a little retail therapy.
I have a few cloth diapers sitting in my diningroom to try out as soon as my boy (and rest of the family) is over this awful cold we all have. I look forwards to reading what others think of this rash. I will be back for sure to see what people say. Hope you are feeling back to your usual self soon Jen. And retail therapy is great! I just wish is wasn't so cold outside.
ReplyDeleteI'd actually talk to a ped (if you have a good one) about that rash as sometimes a rash/red around the anus can be a dairy allergy! I'm hyper aware of anything that can be a dairy allergy as it led to weeks of hell for me, so I'm just throwing it out there for you! As to the diapers I knew I wasn't going to be interested in stuffing and unstuffing so I have the Bum Genius AIOs and I love them. If I was working though I don't know if I'd keep it up, it IS a lot of laundry but as you've pointed out if your little one gets rashes easily they are definitely supposed to be worse with disposables. I say invest in some AIO's and give it a go!
ReplyDeletehttp://kellyann317.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteKelly is an amazing cloth diaper mom who might be able to answer your questions? Diaper rash is the worst, poor little guy and mama going through this!
So I was planning to cd my son but never fully committed to it as I went back to work part time and just couldn't deal with it all. We had some GDiapers that we used from time to time and one BumGenius 4.0. After our daughter arrived though I was laid off and am home so am mostly doing CDs- put her in a disposable at night and sometimes when we're going out somewhere. I haven't found the laundry to be all that bad really- as long as I remember to do it! But I do dislike the stuffing a lot. I have a few of the Flip diapers which I really love- you can use cloth inserts or disposable which might be handy. I know there are liners you can add to your diapers (both disposable and washable) to act as a barrier or to protect your diapers from diaper rash cream- you might want to check those out! Maybe just do it on the weekends to save yourself some time and stress during the week? Remember- it doesn't have to be all one or the other!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the disposable vs cloth question, but we use Triple Paste for rash. My SIL's both swear by it and so far it clears everything up pretty quickly. The pharmacist also said it was the best. I put it on at the smallest sign of redness as preventative, then really slather it if any bumps appear.
ReplyDeleteWe are just trying out cloth diapers (trial pack should arrive today and we are taking a class tomorrow). Chloe has had diaper rash off and on pretty much forever so I hope we don't see it flare up again. And the laundry is my biggest worry too! Hope you get into a routine that works for you (and me too) and that rash clears up soon!
ReplyDeleteYay Steph! I hope it goes well. I would have loved a class!
DeleteAs a working mom who does the CD thing and a son with very sensitive skin, I can tell you that stuffing/unstuffing diapers isn't an issue. It really doesn't take all that much time. My DH and I stuff them 2x a week; it takes about 10 minutes. No biggie.
ReplyDeleteWe have a mix of BumGenius 4.0s and Bummis AllinOnes. I prefer the Bummis as they are softer and easier to stuff/unstuff. Honestly, pulling out the wet insert is nothing after dealing with all of the bodily fluids you get accustomed to with a newborn... Also, we use disposable liners so solids can get flushed and the diapers rarely need any additional scraping.
My son also gets diaper rash if poop sits on his skin at all. Barrier creams didn't work for us (and aren't useable with cloth). Our solution is to use the Huggies Overnight disposables at night and slather on a combination of Weleda diaper cream and Triple Paste. This combo works beautifully and much better than just using one.
Good luck!
Yay for trying cloth! Feel free to email me if you wanna talk fluff.
ReplyDeleteWe use the BG 4.0 pockets. Stuffing takes no time at all really, and honestly, you can usually shake the inserts out when washing. I use ECOS detergent that has no fragrance or dyes. Maybe L is having an issue with the fragrance in the detergent you are using? Or like the other poster said, a dairy or other allergy.
No advice on the cd route but most blog moms I know of who made the switch are glad they did. We've had good luck with no diaper rash so far (knock on wood) and I credit the cream we use. Good luck, let us know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteA couple of things..
ReplyDelete1. Yay for cloth!
2. You are right it doesn't sound like a detergent issue bc that should be all over. Sounds more like a wetness issue.
3. My fave diaper is the Freetime. There are lots of reasons for this. I like all-in-ones. It doesn't take near as long to dry as other all-in-ones. I throw them in the dryer occasionally too..on low for like 20 minutes. Then air dry until they are completely dry. I probably do this every 3rd wash...or when I'm feeling lazy. No issues and we are 1 year in.
4. I am not sure about the BG all-in-ones but the Elementals are natural fiber so they feel wet when they are wet. The Freetimes have stay dry fabric against the baby so they don't feel as wet. I had one Elemental and B couldn't wear it...it made her super red. So when I invested in my stash I bought all diapers with stay dry material against the baby.
5. My stash is about 1/2 pockets (a mix of Fuzzibunz and BG 4.0's) and 1/2 all-in-ones (a mix of Thirsties and Freetimes). I don't know about working and stuffing pockets since I stay at home but it really doesn't take any time at all. I wouldn't think that would be much of an issue. I like both types of diapers...just depends on price and what you prefer really.
6. When B was L's age I used coconut oil at every single change. At first I didn't think it helped but over time it definitely did. We also did nakey time quite a bit just to prevent rash.
7. I do use a disposable at night. If she is any kind of red (pretty rare) then I lather on the desitin. My main reason for this is that she pees all.night.long and I just didn't want to rinse the overnight diaper...it was soooo stinky!
8. I don't know if you have checked out the cloth diaper board on baby center. There is a lot of good info there. But I will warn you...people post there when they are having issues with cloth...so don't let all of the negative posts scare you!
Hope this book of a comment helps!
I don't know much about the rash dilemna, but a couple months ago my son had been having a bad rash on his scrotum that wouldn't go away and turned out it was thrush.....so if the rash keeps coming back I would maybe have his pedi take a look.
ReplyDeleteI was also worried about the laundry commitment, especially because we don't have our own w/d. Before I went back to work, I made sure to stock up on enough diapers to go at least 3 days between washing. For daycare, we use pockets (my faves are BumGenius and Happy Heiny), and at home we use OsoCozy prefolds with Thirsties and Blueberry covers. We also use disposables for overnight. And now that he's a little older, he's not going through nearly as many diapers as he used to.
Good luck!
My son has never had diaper rash and we use disposables. We use Dr Smith diaper cream after every poop diaper regardless if a little redness. At night, I put Dr Smith on first and then cover with Aquaphor as a protectant. He is 2 and this has always worked for us. He wears Huggies Movers during the day and Huggies Overnights (a size bigger) at bedtime. I am a full time working mom. I can barely keep up with cooking, keeping a clean house and laundry. I wanted to do CD, but decided against because I didn't want to add more laundry to my plate. I would rather spend that extra time with my family. I would say start back to work find your new normal schedule and then decide if it's something you want to try with L. But, don't feel guilty if you can't find the time!
ReplyDeleteFigured I'd add my 2 cents. We did CD at daycare with pre folds and bummis covers in large part because they dry faster than pockets or AIOs. I started off stuffing covers for daycare but they got the hang quickly so I stopped. If you don't see a rash in disposables, try ironing the cloth and see if it helps. Otherwise I'm not much help!
ReplyDelete