DIY Cloth Baby Wipes

We have been cloth diapering Alexander since the beginning. With Ava we didn't switch to cloth until she was close to a year. This time around I have also started using cloth wipes. We still have disposable wipes because Aaron likes them, but I use the cloth. You almost always need only one wipe because it's so thorough. I stocked up on Bumpkins flannel wipes and they're so soft!

My dilemma was how to use cloth wipes easily. I thought it would be easy to spray a solution from a bottle onto the wipe before each use. But I thought the wipes weren't wet enough. 

So I came up with a new idea. I use an old disposable wipe container and put the wipe solution with the cloth wipes in the container. It lasts me about 2 1/2 to 3 days. Alex is a heavy and frequent wetter so we're doing tons of diaper changes at his stage. But he is a newborn so it's expected. 

DIY Cloth Baby Wipe Recipe:

2 cups distilled water (or boiled water cooled)

2 tbs Dr. Bonner's Castille Soap 

1 tbs oil of choice*

2-3 drops essential oil (Mellaluca or Lavender)

Measure ingredients in a quart Mason jar using a funnel. Put the lid on and swish to mix. 

I like the Honest Company body oil for this, but just purchased Apricot Seed Oil which is good for hair, skin, and cosmetic uses. 

Use the mild Castile soap scents and match the scent with the essential oil. Mellaluca and Lavender oils are great for baby's skin. 

I mix the solution and keep it in the bathroom until I need it. 

Fold the cloth wipes in half when you fold the diaper wash so they are ready to go. I have about 48 wipes which is plenty for rotating through the wash. 

Just take about 5 wipes at a time and pour the liquid into the wipes container to saturate. I just add until I run out of clean wipes. I typically have leftover solution for the next round. 

It's comforting knowing that the wipes are all natural and so gentle on the baby's skin. And when you're changing the baby's diaper you can throw the soiled wipe in with the dirty diaper. 

Here's the original wipe recipe that I modified. http://www.thepurposefulmom.com/2014/11/diy-cloth-diaper-wipe-spray.html

Got Cloth Diaper Stink? Time to Strip!

Check out the clean diapers! I stripped the cloth prefolds and my all-in-one diapers.

Last week, I had enough of the diaper funk! One of Ava's caregivers has mentioned recently that Ava's diaper is very foul after it's wet. And last week she had a diaper rash, though probably unrelated, but who knows! After doing some reading on the cloth diaper websites, I felt it was time to strip the diapers of the build-up. Cloth diapers get build-up from a number of factors such as diaper creams/oils touching it directly or residue from detergent. In our case, we have a HE washing machine and hard well water. I suspect that our diapers have a build-up from the hard water more than anything. We struggle with residue in our coffee maker and kitchen. Recently, I bought cloth diaper fleece liners in case Ava needed barrier cream for a diaper rash to help protect the absorbancy of the cloth. Usually when we're home and Ava has a sensitive bottom, I add baking soda to her bath water and it really helps. Going diaper free for awhile helps too!

We do the basic fold (in thirds) inside the Bummis diaper covers.

The stuffed diaper. I send them like this to daycare.

We switched over to cloth diapers when Ava was about a year old and it's been awesome! We've saved so much money and it's really cool to save the environment's resources. The laundry duties isn't bad since we have a brand new appliances and the laundry room is on the second floor. Ava likes to help too!

I've never had to strip them until now. Some people strip them as often as every week or once a month. I plan to wait until they get build-up again.

I asked my Facebook Land for some suggestions. Lots of moms jumped in with advice of the methods that worked for them. I found a couple of sources that said the same thing that really seemed to work for my friends. So last night after daycare, I did a marathon of diaper washing! This morning, I finished with one more cycle of rinsing and drying. They smell great! Right out of the wash, the cloth diapers never smelled dirty. It was just after the first pee that the diaper smelled funky.



Diaper Stripping Method (cloth inserts and all-in-ones):

• Step 1: Wash diapers normally (cold rinse, then detergent wash with extra rinse). On my machine, we use the whitest whites cycle. I removed my diaper pail liner, cloth wipes, and covers from the wash to dry at this stage.
• Step 2: Optional to remove oil residue. Wash diapers with some dish detergent (Dawn). For HE machines, use 1 tsp. I did this on my whitest whites cycle.
• Step 3: Bleach on whitest whites (hot wash + extra cold rinse). Yep! Bleach. It's old fashioned, but it works and you do lots of extra rinses afterwards.
• Step 4: Rinse 3-4 times until there are no more suds. I used the Rinse Drain and Spin setting.
• Step 5: Dry diapers.

Drying diapers in the sun will also help disinfect funk, but I live in Indiana and it's winter. Ok, and I need to install a clothing line! :) I think Aaron would call us Amish if we did. He grew up in the Amish country and they line dry their laundry all year long.

It would be easier to do this on the weekend or a day that you're at home. But, I spread it out over Friday night and Saturday morning because I worked in the office yesterday. While we had the cloth diapers in the wash, we used a few disposable diapers left over from our trip to Portland. When we travel by plane, we switch to disposables. But if we're visiting my in-laws or traveling by car, we launder the diapers before/after the weekend or ask nicely to use their washer and dryer.

Resources:

• Great blog post with instructions from myfirstbaby.com. 
• I loved this video from the Mama Natural Blog. Her husband, Mike, runs through a tutorial of how they strip their diapers, which is the same method from myfirstbaby.com.

PS... I love that Mike is doing the diaper wash in the video. I need to show this video to Mr. Berkey to see if he's inspired to do diaper laundry! 

Cloth Diaper Plunge

Last month, we took the cloth diapering plunge! We love it! I wanted to do it from the beginning, but I my daycare provider told me that I couldn't. Then after witnessing the mounds of diapers in the last year go in the trash, I realized that even if we did the cloth diapers at home, it would still be better. To be sure, I asked the daycare director to confirm and to my surprise, they allow cloth diapers and she apologized that I was told the wrong information when I started. I wish I had asked her instead of the caregivers from the beginning. That sealed the deal! Aaron and I are always looking for ways that we can recycle, re-use, and reduce our waste so he was on board.

I called my friend, Jill, who sells cloth diapers as part of her natural parenting business. I love her hilarious blog post when her family made the big switch to cloth diapers when their daughter, was the same age as Ava is now. Like Jill, I was a bit hesitant at first handling the poopy diapers, but it turns out that now that I'm a mom I seem to be immune to tackling clean-ups of all kinds related to my daughter. Maybe it's that sweet smile and loving snuggle that makes me forget that I have snot, drool, or throw-up all over my shirt.

Exclusively breastfed baby poop is even easier. You can toss the entire diaper right in the wash because it's water soluable. Now that Ava is eating solid food, I have to do a swish in the toilet for her bowel movements. Aaron's idea is the best. We put the diaper in the water as we flush and the gush of the water is good enough to take care of the clean up.

We got two different organic cotton styles from Bummis to try them and see what we like best before making an investment. Jill told me that I'd like different diapers for different occasions and I agree. We have the covers with the cloth prefolds inside, which are great for home and the all-in-ones are easy for on the go since there is no fiddling. And the diapers are so cute! Lady bugs, flowers, stars...how can you resist?

We still have disposable diapers to use up so we're going to finish them at daycare. At home we use cloth diapers. I take a wet sack to daycare, which they use for her soiled cloth diaper from her first diaper change at daycare. My daycare gave me a list of cloth diapering guidelines. Basically, I have to provide a clean diaper, including the cover for each diaper change. So eventually I'll need to add a lot more covers to current stash of 3. One of the La Leche League moms has lent us a bunch of prefolds and some covers. For now, we're the only cloth diapering family, but I suspect that I'm starting a trend. Another breastfeeding mom at my daycare asked me about it this week.

Cleaning the diapers isn't bad at all! I got an antibacterial cloth diaper pail liner, which I wash with the diapers. They should be washed every 2-3 days so we do the diaper wash 3 days a week. There's little folding involved so it's no big deal! Before you use the diapers for the first time, you need to wash/dry them 3-8 times to help boost the absorbancy. When you're washing soiled diapers, you run a cold rinse cycle and then a hot, extra rinse cycle with soap. On my HE washer, the whitest white cycle is perfect. You can't use commercial laundry detergents because they decrease the absorbancy. I use a couple tablespoons of the Rockin Green and it works like a charm! Remember not to use a fabric softener. For drying cycles, sometimes it takes more than one cycle, but I can add a towel to help bulk up the dryer. My dryer seems to work better with more in it. So far, they've been coming out really clean and even fresh smelling.

Besides the eco-friendly and cost-savings benefits, many of cloth diapering friends believed potty training was smoother because they could feel the wetness in their diaper. The toddler feeling a wet diaper can start to realize what's happening easier.

The one downside to cloth diapering is now Ava's tush is so much bigger and some of the clothes she has are too small. Disposable diapers are trimmer under pants. I have to account for that when we're getting her dressed. The LLL moms warned me that onesies can be too tight for cloth diapers and may cause leaks. They suggested to dress Ava in regular shirts and the baby leg warmers are fun when we're home!

Our next adventure is food composting at home. Aaron is going to create a container system for the yard that we can use for the composting. Since we have a lot of land, it won't be too smelly - we hope!

Cloth diaper resources:

• Washing info
• Cloth diaper FAQ