Wednesday, October 18

bye, bye Luvs...hello poopiness

As a baby shower gift, we recieved some of the fabulous one-size pocket diapers by BumGenius! that Tricia drew to my attention way back when I was pregnant. We've decided that we're going to give them a trial run to see how they work for us. We only have seven of them, which won't last too long. We have some money set aside for more, however at $18 a pop, the trial run is essential to make sure these diapers are going to do the trick on our son's little bum. Even better is that they are on sale right now for $14 each!!

They're in the washing machine right now...

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about this venture. I am very used to the convenience of throwing away the used diapers, but there are so many plusses to cloth diapering that I am pretty sure I can get used to the slight inconvenience. Especially since we also got as a shower gift...the wonderful diaper sprayer which will, no doubt, make life easier!!

The biggest thing I'm nervous about is that Aaron is a poop-saver. Yep, he waits 2-3 days, then poops more than I ever thought possible for such a little guy. We are talking total blowouts. One Sunday at church it was all in his pant leg and sock and down the front of mommy. Fun times.

Today, we're up to 5 days. I called the doctor, actually, because I was nervous. They told me to give him a glycerin suppository. I DON'T THINK SO! I've read too much about breastfed babies and how it's not possible for them to be constipated to think that a suppository is the answer. The nurse also said I could do some "rectal stimulation" with a thermometer to try to motivate a little action. After I called the doctor, I read some stuff online that says anywhere up to 10 days can be normal, and Aaron seems to be his normal happy self today. So, I think I'll just wait a couple more days.

I'm open for comments! Anybody have a poop-saver and/or done cloth diapers?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I used cloth diapers on all of our kids. I thought it was wasteful (no pun intended) to throw away money on the disposable diapers. Now, yes, I would consider using disposables, but I didn't think the cloth ones were bad at all. I didn't like the ones with the tabs, because they seemed to leak more; I could pin the plain cloth ones much tighter. The plastic diaper cover pants did a pretty good job of keeping their clothes nice. I do have to admit that the disposable diapers keep the baby's skin drier. That is a plus. It also allows for the jokes about diapers for up to 14 pounds or more(weight of the baby, not a full diaper.) ha ha
Anyway, good luck. I do think you can save money on the cloth, but sometimes convenience is worth the extra pennies.

Oh, by the way, I took a look at the diaper sprayer. It looked funny to me, because I usually plopped the whole diaper into the potty to wash it off. I think that it would be a useful item for those who take care of individuals who have trouble with diarrea or with keeping their balance when sitting on the pot.

Love ya, Mom

Anonymous said...

Take AAron to the chiropractor we use to do that with my Nephew when he would not go you might think that will hurt him but no way it is really good for him like when he has a cold and for any thing. but when my Nephew would not go man look out when he got done with them we went threw 3 or 4 dipaers right there in the office . so try that.

LMLogan said...

I've seen those cloth diapers - very interesting! ok so here's the debate:
cost more for disposable?
cost more to wash?

anyone know? I am very interested (no, no baby on the way!) :)
mom logan used cloth diapers and said she would use them again too...

Jenny said...

Well, we figured out that if we bought 36 of these diapers and used them for 4 months, we'd break even on cost of diapers, so I imagine that the cost of washing those same diapers until the kiddo is potty trained probably wouldn't equal the cost of disposables. And our diapers aren't the most economical option for reusables. My hat is off to the ladies that buy the prefolds and plastic pants. (GO, Alicia!)

LMLogan said...

man some of this terminology is alien to me - guess I have plenty of time to study up though!! :)

sounds like cloth diapers are the way to go (at least by expense!)

Tricia said...

Hey Jenny,

I happen to have experience in both areas! =) The cloth diapers are still working out great for us and we only have 12 of them. By the way, they are on sale right now, a couple bucks off per diaper but every bit helps. They've done a great job on containing the not solid you-know-what in my opinion better than disposables.
Also, on the constipation thing, he should be just fine. Calvin would go at least a week if not 2 weeks- I think I remember 10 days not being unusual at all for him - that being at around 5 or 6 weeks -earlier than that it can mean that they are not getting enough to eat.
Anyway, just thought I'd give you some reassurance. Hope everything else is going well.

Tricia said...

Sorry Jenny, I just glanced back at your post and realized you already knew they were on sale. Please excuse the repeat info! =)

Tricia said...

Ok, I apologize for adding another comment, but I just wanted to ask if you had heard anything about what detergent to use with cloth diapers. I used the wrong stuff at first and it did not go well...problems with detergent build up and leaking. The good thing is that the cheap stuff works best on them. If you haven't already check out the site www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm Getting the right detergent made a huge difference in my cloth diapering experience.

Unknown said...

YAY! Welcome to the cloth diapering club! You and Tricia make me a bit envious. Somedays when Chloe's in a good pooping mood, I'd give my right arm for your deluxe-o bum-genius diapers. And that diaper sprayer looks very cool. [warning: gratuitous poop description coming up] After 14 mos. of shaking poop off pre-folds though, it doesn't bother me enough to have to use a sprayer. And I certainly wash my hands VERY thoroughly now - 30 seconds is my minimum.

We currently do a cloth/disposable mix. I've never perfected using cloth while we're out and about (one time I even left a dirty cloth diaper in a plastic bag in Chloe's nursery cubby bin). Any suggestions, Tricia?

I know you're a LONG way away from this (unless you are an infant-potty-training fan) but using cloth is supposed to make your child potty-training-ready much earlier than the recent averages. Can you believe that kids used to be potty-trained by 18 mos. before disposables were invented?!? The whole feeling-you're-wet sensation of cloth is supposed to help the process. Chloe is now 14 mos. and she already knows what the potty is and how to flush it. I'm tentatively (and optimistically I might add) planning on starting the training process next spring if she seems ready.

The other cool thing about cloth is that they can adjust for sizes much better than disposables. Chloe is VERY big for her age now and there's only ONE disposable brand that makes diapers large enough for her that aren't training pants. Cloth diapers and plastic pants can go up to size 3T (yes, that's the size we use for our monster child).

This post is almost as monster as my child so I'll stop here. Know that there's so much more I could say about the cost and stewardship benefits though. :)

Tracy said...

Jenni,
I had the same problem with Lydia. She would go 1 - 2 weeks without having a bowel movement (even though I was nursing). At first it was normal, but after a while it was obvious that she was constipated because she was actually developing hemroids. I tried giving her juice, and the doctor even prescribed a laxative for her. I finally just started giving her one bottle of soy formula a day, and that regulated her better than anything else.

I'm not suggesting you start supplementing, but wanted to share what I ended up having to do. Hopefully Aaron is just going through a phase.

Anonymous said...

Jenny,
Probably never thought you'd here from me, but actually we enjoy looking at the blog spots we find from CBC folks - kind of keeps us in touch with home, kwim?

Must say, it has been lots of fun reading about your new experiences as a mom... it is wonderful, isn't it??

Cloth diapers - I've got lots of experience - working on cloth diapers for children #6 & #7 right now. I prefer them, even though they are more work, and don't let anyone convince you that they aren't. It does get worse (yuckier) as they get older (cleaning out the diapers, I mean), but I'm convinced that kids do potty train earlier and they are more cost effective. I usually use disposables at night as they get older - or I'd have to double and triple diaper to contain all the liquids, and still wash sheets almost every day, too.

All of our kids have been daytime potty trained before the age of 2, except for our first one. And, I didn't switch him to cloth diapers until he was over a year old. Sometimes, it is more convenient to use disposable when we go out, but I don't most of the time unless I'm leaving them in nurseries where others might have to change them.

As far as being a poop-saver - so far he sounds quite normal to me and we've had both extremes here. I prefer it your way than having to scrub out every diaper.

One other thought - if using cloth and baby gets some sort of gastro-intestinal sickness - use bleach or switch to disposable until well to prevent reinfection - that is the voice of experience, too.

Keep on enjoying your little Aaron. He is a cutie!

Jen said...

My little one had severe trouble with constipation. We finally figured out she was allergic to milk. We tried bottles of prune juice even to no avail. Even switching to soy didn't help. We had to give her apple & orange juice with calcium to give her her daily allotment. We eventually had her on a laxative perscription and a little after the age of 3, she had grown out of her allergy to milk and no longer needed the laxative.

Anonymous said...

cloth diapers? seriously, you should try using walmart or target brand. they are about half the price of pampers or huggies and they work almost as good. right now, i have three in diapers, plus one that wears pull ups to bed. my kids aren't "savers" they poopie out a few pounds every day. well, have fun!