DayCare's & Cloth Diapers

I have had many customers interested in converting to cloth diapers ask me if their Daycare Center is going to accept them using cloth diapers. My initial response is that it is up to each individual daycare and I know of no law that prohibits them from accepting cloth diapered babies.

So a couple days ago I got the idea to call a few local daycares in my area and ask if they will or will not accept babies or toddlers who wear cloth diapers. Below are the results of my top-secret investigation...lol

1. B. Patch DayCare- Receptionist placed me on hold and returned with a simple NO. She vaguely described some type of health issue and tried to lead me to believe there is a law against cloth diapers.
2. Kids Pl.- Receptionist admitted that they have never had any children in cloth diapers before, but said she'd have to call the Sanitation Department to make sure it was ok. I didn't feel like arguing or I would have explained that the Sanitation Dept is responsible for garbage removal, not health codes.
3. W. Academy- NO.
4. B. Bears- Only after the child is 12 months of age?
5. S. Petite Academy- Absolutely, no problem! :)
6. K. Care- No one had ever cd'd before, would have to ask the director. Please check back.
7. Doorway to L.- Yes.
8. Country B.- Does not accept children under 2 yrs, but cloth diapers on a 2 yr old wouldn't be a problem.
9. C. Choice DayCare- An at home daycare, said "No."
10. E. Coast- "Sure why not?"
11. JB Junction- Yes.
12. L. Explorers- Receptionist seemed a little confused, said "sure" and then asked if cloth diapers were waterproof?
13. D. Road Disc. Center- "Sure, I guess so."
14. Sunshine & S.- "No problem."
15. ABC Acad.- Never have had anyone use cloth before, would have to check into it.

**So the verdict seems to be that people at day care centers are pretty receptive to the idea. Besides a couple of snippy comments made by uninformed employees, it sounded to me like people have no idea how far cloth diapers have come and how convenient they can be.

If you are considering approaching your child's daycare about whether or not they will change cloth diapers, I would suggest you bring in a couple to show them and ask them in person. Make them aware that they do not have to use pins, they do not have to dunk and wash the diapers, and show them your wet-bag and how they'd just simply toss the dirty diaper in for you to take home and launder. Just as easy as disposables if not easier, in my opinion!

Good Luck!

Why Wool?

Why is wool so popular as a diaper cover? and how does it work?

Wool is a naturally waterproof fiber and can hold up to 30% of it's weight in liquid before feeling damp to the touch. It is a tough, durable, stretchy, and naturally anti-microbial and anti-bacterial it is the natures perfect solution for a diaper cover.

Experiments with Overnight Solutions

Well since I have two babies in cloth, this means I can try two different nighttime diapering routines each night and see which works best. So here I will document my different nighttime experiments on 2 male babies age 10 months:

Experiment #1: Fleece Pocket stuffed with a tri-folded premium infant size pre-fold and a hemp/terry doubler. 9:00pm-9:30am. No wicking or leaking overnight, exterior felt dry to the touch after baby woke up. After carrying baby on my hip and after him sitting down, compression dampness occurred.

Experiement #2: Thirsties Cover with a tri-folded regular pre-fold, pre-fold folded down in front for extra coverage and added a hemp/terry doubler. 9:00pm-9:30am. Absolutely dry when baby woke up, even after sitting down cover remained dry. After about an extra hour the white FOE (fold-over-elastic) around legs and waist felt wet and cover began to wick around the aplix.

Experiment #3: DryBee's Green Retro Flower Print PUL Pocket with Wahmie's One-Size Microfiber Insert. 9:30pm-8:00am. Diaper began to wick around the front if waist and around aplix at about 7:00-8:00am. May not have had a problem if baby hadn't slept on his stomach. Some compression dampness did occur and sheets got a little wet.

Experiement #4: DryBee's Blue Polka Dot Print PUL Pocket with Wahmie's One-Size Microfiber Insert and an added hemp/terry doubler. Same time frame as #3 but much less wicking occurred, could be due to the use of the doubler or he possibly slept on his back more than his brother.

Experiment #5: Solid Color Mommy's Touch PUL Pocket with a tri-folded pre-fold as an insert. 9:15pm-4:00am. Had to wake up at 4:00am to change the diaper due to a lot of wicking, especially around the leg openings. A doubler may have helped or the problem may be that the diaper is an older style Mommy's Touch purchased off the FSOT and it's possible the PUL is wearing thin from too much wear.

Experiment #6: Raspberry PUL Wonderworks Pocket stuffed with a folded Gerber pre-fold and a homemade microfiber 2 layer insert (the kind of micro from Wal Mart). 9:30pm-1:30am. Woke up completely wet with a big wet spot on the sheets. The Gerber pre-fold had pretty much no holding power. Put baby in a Thirsties Cover with regular tri-folded pre-fold for the duration of the night with no leaking.

Show me your Diaper Diva fold!

Thanks to everyone who responded!

Stinky Diaper Remedy?

My diapers smell clean when they come out of the laundry but after being worn, and especially after overnight, they have this awfully strong odor? How can I keep this from happening?

Well I don't think there's a cloth diapering mom out there who hasn't had smelly diaper issues at some point. I personally wash my diapers almost every day and they had still been getting pretty smelly after having been peed in. So I decided to try using a wet pail for a change. I put my diaper pail in my utility room where there would be no risk of drowning, and filled it half way with water. Then I added a squirt of BioKleen Laundry Liquid which has Grapefruit Seed & Orange Peel extract in it. I submerge each diaper in the water to soak and when I have about 10 or so diapers in it I dump the diapers and the water into the washing machine. I turn on the washer with either hot or cold and add another ounce of BioKleen, I let them soak for an hour and then let the washer complete it's cycle.

This was my first couple days trying a wet pail. The first couple loads after having soaked in the wet pail with baking soda and/or a squirt of Blue Dawn DishSoap smelled clean but did still produce a strong odor after being peed in and after over night. After my first soak and wash with the BioKleen Laundry Liquid, this morning when the babies woke up the odor was almost 95% gone. It really is amazing. I need to experiment some more to find out if the BioKleen works as well on diapers that sat in a dry pail, or if it is the combination of them soaking in the wet pail with the BioKleen and washing them with the BioKleen that did the trick.

Soon I hope to retail the BioKleen products in my store, but for now you can find them in your local HealthFood store.

The Diaper Diva Fold

What is the Diaper Diva Fold?

Detailed photos show Shana, The Diaper Diva in action. From laying out her supplies, placing the baby face down on the Pre-fold, tucking the sides, using a snappi or a pin to fasten it, and finally tucking around the legs for extra coverage, this technique is not only easy to learn, it's cute and practical too! Great for use with or without a cover or soaker. Thanks for sharing Shana!

How do you make baby wipes?

How do you make your own baby wipes?

There are many ways to make your own disposable or re-usable baby wipes and baby wipe solution. One that I just came across on momadvice.com is:

Homemade Baby wipes

Ingredients

• Strong paper towels work the best (for example, Brawny).
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup of baby oil
• 1/2 cup baby magic baby bath

Directions

1. Cut one roll of paper towels in half.
2. Take out the core so wipes pull out of the center.
3. Place 1/2 roll of paper towels in container.
4. Pour solution over towels.
5. Store in container. Makes 2 1/2 rolls.

Another method is to take flannel receiving blankets and cut them into squares. Pre-wet them each day with enough to last that day or keep a spay bottle handy with your favorite wipe solution and spray them at each diaper change.