Cloth Nappies #181

[ezymay]

Just a quick pop in (after posting on Facebook) to wish CM a happy wedding day for tomorrow!!!!!!!!! Tho I doubt you'll be in here chook!!! I hope it goes beautifully!!! I'm sure it will!!

[lilprecious75]

Hi All,

So DH is totally on board with the cloth nappies (he really is the BEST) but he still cracks me up!

I have four Bummis Super Brites covers in size small and they are a tad big on DS but they work really well with the cotton prefolds we are using in the newborn, scrawny bum, chicken leg stage.

But they aren't fool proof and Thursday we had a big blow-out poo that required a complete clothing change as well as nappy change.

This prompted DH to ask why I spent heaps of money on all these whizz bang nappy covers if we are still having leaks now and again!

I just laughed and told him that NOTHING is 100% foolproof!

Not much else to report! We have Jeremy's dedication service at church on Sunday and he will be wearing all white so I hope he doesn't have a blow out poo at church and ruin his outfit. The only white nappy covers I have with leg gussets are a couple of pro-wraps so they had better do the job!!

We have had some unsettled nights the past few nights which has me wondering if I should keep a food journal to see if anything I'm eating is affecting him (I have been craving chocolate like MAD since giving birth) but tonight seems MUCH better so far. I wore Jeremy in the Hug-a-Bub from 10am until 5pm (except for feeds and nappy changes) and he was asleep by 8pm and in his cradle by 8:45pm (we both fell asleep in the rocking chair) and it is 10:15pm and he is still asleep!

WOHB: prefold with pro-wrap cover

[Ella]

Heidi- you just DH that we used sposies for DS when he was new born and still had clothing change worthy blow outs. When they are that little it happens no matter what you use!!!!

I've been trialing the controlled crying thing for 3 days now and bubby went to sleep in 2 minutes last night!!!!!! So very different from the 45 minutes it was taking me when I was feeding to sleep. Thanks yet again Belly Belly, until I came on here I didn't know there was another way to do it. It has given me some night time back with DF!

Oh and instead of sleeping 7:30 till 4:30 am he's now sleeping 6:30 till 6:30am!!!! Yay sleep ins for me!!!

[maz]

Fluff hon Id say $10 for the BBB.....have you seen any one buyforbaby lately?? we had a cull a while ago not that you can tell

shell - that should fit easy babe

Heidi - I hopeyour havent sent the bamboo as yet...im not going to have time to make the prefolds any time soon now...not with my stocking only 2 weeks away and going on a holiday for 2 weeks next month I hope tomorrow run's smoothly for you hon

CM - Happy wedding day babe! I hope the weather is as gorgeous as it is here your way

piltchers...

everyone ive missed...have to catch my dame cat so he can get his shot's. then I finally have a doctors appointment and then off to the post office.

WOMB - auriel fitted and 2 up cover

[lilprecious75]

Question for the cloth nappy gurus (aka Maz, Gigi, Nelle, etc)

I know that vinegar in the washing machine is bad for PUL so I've only been using some washing liquid and nothing else.

But can I put some eucalyptus oil in the final rinse instead? Or will that degrade the PUL as well?

I've just been noticing that the nappies and wipes smell a little so thought maybe that would keep everything smelling fresh and nice?

MAZ: I haven't sent the bamboo yet - was actually going to ask you for your address tonight as I think the budget this week would allow postage of everything but if you aren't going to have time to make them I'll hang on to everything. When would you like me to send it to you??? When do you get back from your holidays?

I'll try to post again tomorrow night to let everyone know how the dedication went. I'm sure it will be fine - I'm not nervous or anything as we are keeping it low key - I'm more excited than anything else as we have invited lots of family and friends.

I just hope Jeremy sleeps somewhat tonight as he had a VERY unsettled day today and was awake from 8am until 7:45pm tonight!!!!!!!! Then he woke again at 8:30pm and I fed him and he was back in bed by 9:30pm and is still asleep! I should think about going to bed myself I suppose!

[Gigi]

Lil Precious

are you using washing up liquid for EVERY wash, or are you doing a STRIP WASH just the one time?

Usually, people do a STRIP WASH, with about a 20cent piece's worth of the MILDEST dish washing detergent they have, either handwashing with it (if you have one or two mcn to do it to), or a machine load's full, if lots of the mcn are affected.
You keep rinsing, until there are NO MORE SUDS.

You would generally do a STRIP WASH, if your nappies have stopped functioning as they should.
e.g the PUL is no longer acting waterproof
e.g the bamboo/hemp inserts are no longer acting absorbent

this often happens if there is a BUILDUP of either washing powder (too much, too strong) or a BUILDUP of nappy rash barrier creams.

so, the STRIP WASH, STRIPS the fabrics of the buildup, so the fabrics can RETURN to acting as they should (waterproof or absorbent).

other than needing a stripwash, no other reason i can think of to be washing with dishwashing detergent. Maybe i have read your post wrong?

----------

if your mcn are smelling a bit off, here are some troubleshooting ideas for that specific thing:

- do you already wash in hot water e.g 60 degrees? if you normally wash in cold, experiment with doing at least ONE hot wash per week.

- look at how much detergent you use (wash machine powder), washing MCN needs very little, if you use too much, i would reduce it.

- try doing a daily machine wash, if you normally leave it for a few days

- do your wash in the morning, so night nappies don't get a chnace to marinate all day long

- wash the nappy bucket out every time you put a washload on

- which washing powder are you using? and how much of it per nappy wash?

- sometimes bubs have VERY smelly urine around teething times

- are your mcn predominantly in ONE sort of absorbent fabric? i noticed for us, microfibre "held" the wee smell noticeably. For others, it can be other fabrics.

- do a "de-smell" wash on the offending items.
use half a cup of bicarb soda (where wash powder goes)
use half a cup of vinegar (where the fabric conditioner would do)
wash at 60 degrees

just some ideas, i'm sure the others will send more ideas your way soon. hth.

[Gigi]

I have four Bummis Super Brites covers in size small and they are a tad big on DS

But they aren't fool proof and Thursday we had a big blow-out poo that required a complete clothing change as well as nappy change.

WOHB: prefold with pro-wrap cover

You said it yourself
they are too big
buy even ONE newborn sized cover and see the difference (goodbye leaks).

anythign too big, you get gaping, that equals leaks.

i know from experience, all i had was SMALL covers to begin with.
one week of being pooed on every hour, (i was changing MY clothes many times per day, PLUS bilby's clothing) was enough for me to eat humble pie, and go buy newborn covers. the leaks stopped immediately.

i was dead against buying nb sized covers
i thought it was too extravagant
i thought bilby was too big (3.79kg at birth)
i didn't think the amount of time she would fit them, would warrant the money.
i was wrong.

[lilprecious75]

Gigi:

Sorry! I just re-read my post and I see where I have totally confused you so I will ask my question again!

Thus far I have been washing my nappies with 1/4 recommended laundry liquid and I use Green Care!

What I was asking is can I put some eucalyptus oil in the place where fabric softner normally goes to freshen up the nappies a bit? Or does the oil degrade PUL like vinegar does?

I'm only using cotton pre-folds at the moment, one Peep-O bamboo fitted, and my long bamboo inserts from my BBH bamboo nappies to boost the cotton pre-folds at night. I haven't needed to use any nappy cream so don't have any build up and so I don't think I need to do a strip wash yet.

I haven't been washing out the nappy buckets when I wash though so I will start to do that and I've been washing nappies every other day so I don't think they are sitting too long. Jeremy is only 4 weeks old so no teething issues yet either!

As for the covers - yes I suppose I should see if I can find some more newborn covers with leg gussets!

And just to add another question - how frequently should I be changing a newborn nappy when I'm using cloth? Obviously every time they poo - which is frequently for Jeremy - but in the odd periods when he doesn't poo for several hours how often should I be changing? Every two hours?

WOHB: cotton prefold with pro-wrap cover

[maz]

Heidi - i put in a little eucolyptus disinfectant every now and then for the same reason...im pretty sure Nelle said she puts eucolyptus oil in every wash. Im not sure on the oil thing hon...id be worried it would leave a barrier being oil rather then the elastic IFYKWIM.

Hold onto the bamboo babe...im leaving in 2 weeks and I wont have time..I have a stocking next week so am extremely busdy atm.

I dont know what thehell it is...but Mateauz just has the worst smelling poopya out of all 4 of my kids. Thank god Im not pg cause I would be spewing everytime I would change him.

Arimeh - not long now hon until your move...getting excited yet or chringing??

everyone...sorry its short and sweet...little boy has to have x-rays on his hips today to see if he need's shunts...over it!!!!

WOMB - sunshine GF to bring us luck

[Olive]

heidi given jeremy is a little bigger now, if your going to buy a newborn cover get the imse vimse newborn one as it fits longer than say the motherease newborn,

[NaNa]

Heidi - I would be really cautious of using any essential oils in the wash for MCN. They are extremely concentrated and even tiny amounts of oils like tea-tree and eucalyptus can be caustic on fabrics and plastics, and also can cause skin sensitivity if used for prolonged periods, especially for such a new bub. A couple of drops of lavender, tea-tree or eucalyptus in the nappy bucket when you wash it out would be enough. Otherwise, I would just get the nappies out in the sun and fresh air as often as you can. UV is the best sanitiser and freshener! I'm only being extra cautious because my mum's an aromatherapy lecturer, and I know the effects of some essential oils can be quite strong. HTH!
I have a couple of x-small and small Thirsties covers if you want! LMK.

maz - good luck with the x-rays today, hun. Hope it's all positive news for you guys!

Gigi, you are a nocturnal creature, aren't you?

WOAB: newly elasticised BumG.

[Arimeh]

We're in sposies Most nappies are packed.

Its depressing.

Maz - stressed to the max my love.. stressed out.

[Kitt3n]

hey guys! there is a bubblebubs garage sale on today - looks like a bunch of seconds etc - some bargains there!!!

lil precious - occasionally i add a little tea tree to the rinse and I wipe out my nappy bucket with it every time - tea tree is water miscible but euc isnt so I would stick with tea tree. I dont know if it has an effect on hte PUL but I only use it maybe once a month...... i have also found that ECO STORE powder is the BEST for nappies, NO SMELL in them after a hot wash in that! nothing else works as well hth!!!

wohb - blueberry

[briggsy's girl]

WOW - 10 hours without a post - where is everyone??? lol

i'm just popping in to say that i'm in LOVE with nappies i haven't even laid my hands on yet! Back in April i got a dress in a GD stocking - with some encouragement, i emailed lesley (cherubs kiss) to ask if she'd make a matching nappy. she replied that she was pretty busy but would see what she could do. seeing it was so long, i figured it was a no go and pretty much forgot until she emailed me early in the week. after a few emails back and forth, she's made TWO customs to go with the dress. they are gorgeous (check out CK blog - the ones with stars/denim). now i have to wait for the poppet to grow into them - dress is a size 2... i just couldn't pass it up - our nursery is decorated in stars...

WOEB - ummm, i think she's got a HH sherpa and MAL cover - how bad is it that i can't remember?? lol

[lilprecious75]

Okay - let's see how well my brain is working - I'll try to remember who all I wanted to reply personally to!

MAZ: Just let me know when you are home and want me to send the bamboo! If I haven't heard from you in say a month, I'll remind you again!

NaNa: I sent you a PM!!

Hmmm - my brain has already forgotten who else I wanted to reply to personally! Sleep deprivation is taking its toll!!

Jeremy slept 4hrs and 15mins straight last night (for his first sleep) but I didn't sleep any of that because I was expecting him to wake up in 2 hours so did a bunch of stuff and then just stayed up for the rest of it.

Not sure how tonight is going to go - he was awake from 2pm until 8:45pm! He is exhausted and falls asleep easily but just can't stay asleep. At the moment he is sound asleep in my DH's arms on the other lounge (DH is falling asleep as well) and I'm seriously tempted to just let them sleep together until Jeremy wakes up.

Okay, back to nappy related stuff...

Thanks everyone for the info on the eucalyptus oil! I think I'll go with washing out the nappy buckets thoroughly and then wiping them down with tea tree oil and just letting the sun and fresh air do its work on the nappies and wipes. I will research the Eco Store stuff that was mentioned and if the price isn't too prohibitive I'll give it a try.

WOHB: sposie unfortunately - I'm alternating as I need to wash nappies in the morning so need to make the last of my stash last.

[briggsy's girl]

hun ecostore is relatively cheap. we get it at woolworths, a small box lasted 12weeks doing e's nappies and her clothes/blankets, plus all the prewashing - and a lot of my stuff that e is in a lot of contact with (bras, breastpads, shirts etc). you use half the amount they say (at most, i think i use less). i dont find it any more exxy than most other powders

[teruteru]

totally nappy-unrelated...

anyone know hows the triplets & the mum doing? (i cant remember who it was...)

[leckert]

Nappy rash seems to have settled down again but the last week have been using up the last pack of disposables that we have - DS nearly out of them in the weight range already (4.9kg at 6 week check up) and I don't want to have to store them somewhere or try and find someone to use them. I want to go fulltime to MCNs. (DH thinks he wants to go with sposies when going out but only cause he hasn't changed many of our MCNs yet - mostly the sposies.) We've mainly used the sposies for going out and at night (and when having nappy rash )

Night nappy question:
Anyway overnight what sort of nappy should I try using? Or how should I put the o/night nappy together?
DS has one sleep around 5-6 hours and 2 sleeps around 3-4 hours overnight. This is at 7 weeks old. He has been a reasonable wee-er overnight so far - sposies have been quite heavy when changing them. We have a range of MCNs - (BG, GK, Popin, CT) which are pockets and a few others that are fitted AIOs. Have also got bamboo & microfibre boosters/inserts that can be used (and silk liners bought to avoid/reduce nappy rash)