Brad Pitt did an interview with Esquire where he says the following:

The Ultimate Diaper-Rash Cream: Shiloh is six weeks old now. She’s got horrible diaper rash, poor thing. Same with Zahara when we picked her up in Ethiopia. She had such a bad rash, it looked almost disfiguring. We’ve tried everything?every cream, every salve, every natural product. We haven’t found the magic ointment. Yet.

Brad. Naked butt time. That’s my personal vote.

I’m not sure why we haven’t had diaper rash problems, it seems like everyone else does. Maybe it’s because we use cloth. Maybe we’re just lucky. Maybe Boo has a butt of steel. I dunno. I do know that we tried to use diaper rash cream on him early on, not understanding what we were doing and what it was for. We used baby powder early on too. Pretty quickly we stopped using them. I STILL don’t understand how to use these products. I have them tucked away just in case, but really, I don’t get it.

The one diaper rash we had (when Boo was in sposies for a day) I used a salve from Northern Essence and it cleared up pretty quickly with lots of air from naked butt time. I really think just getting their poor skin some air and not being surrounded by wetness helps the rash to go away. I mean it makes sense, doesn’t it? Or maybe it’s just me…

Annoyingly, we’ve had some leaks going on lately. The change the sheets in the middle of the night kind of leaks. I can’t remember the last time I had to do that, if ever in fact. Cloth just rocks in that regard. Most of the time.

We generally use pockets at night, and Fuzzibunz are what we have the most of (4). There was one period a while back, like a year ago, when the FB leaked a few times. He was at a wierd growth stage and in between sizes and they just didn’t fit for a few weeks. But then they did. Fine.

Now, they are leaking again.

Boo has been at the cusp of the medium to large sizing for a while now. Larges look way too big on him, but the mediums are clearly getting too small. So time to size up.

The thing is, we’ve been using these FB for something like 18 months. Seems like forever! And the elastic is totally shot (another reason for the leaking probably). I tried replacing the elastic on one pair, but it didn’t go too well. I couldn’t match the lines back up completely right so there are holes in the main part of the diaper, which isn’t brilliant. Hasn’t been too problematic, but still. Generally not a good idea to have holes in the waterproof part.

I COULD try and replace the elastic on the other three… or I could just size up and not worry about it anymore :D Thing is, I’m not sure I want FB again.. we’ve probably got another year of diapering and I don’t want the elastic to go again. You hear about some brands that people use with their kiddos literally for years through several children. One of these brands is Motherease, which we have some and they ARE brilliant. Showing hardly any signs of wear. The tags are falling off but that’s it. FB? Totally falling apart. So I don’t think I want any more FB. Question is, what to get?

I could make some but to be honest we need to replace them NOW (I still can’t believe I had to change that sheet last night!) and I am sloth-like in my sewing at best. I also would need to order more fabric and lord knows I have enough fabric as it is. So I think it’s more prudent to just buy a couple new ones. Boo doesn’t need to be changed in the middle of the night as much any more so I think it’s okay to just get a few. Plus I finally found a diaper that works under soakers (YAY!) so I should make more of THOSE because I have plenty of that kind of cloth, and finish that nighttime soaker I’ve been working on.

I think I’ll get some Snap-EZ. I wasn’t sure about this brand when I first got one, but only because the large seemed huge, I don’t like the insert, and they’re a bit pricier than the FB. It fits better now, and they claim to use only the best supplies (thus the price) so hopefully the elastic won’t go on them if it’s better elastic than what FB use. And you don’t have to buy their insert. So… seems like a good idea. Hmm.

FINALLY I may get to go to a Real Diaper Circle meeting! I have missed every single one since we moved in for a variety of reasons. For two months I was on vacation that Saturday. Another month we were having a passport crisis. And so on and so forth. This month? I totally want to go to.

Unfortunately it’s at a very bad time for us — Boo will totally fall asleep on the way there. Although that might be a good thing because we’ve also been invited to a birthday party that afternoon. Hmm. We’ll see if we can make it! Because not only do I want to meet these folks, I really want to use that snap press!

I made my first cloth diaper in a while tonight. Actually the fabric has been cut out for a while but my serger was on the blitz.

Even before we started having trouble with stinky pockets, I wanted to move to cloth under wool soakers at nighttime. More breathable and hey, cuter. Soakers are great :)

Problem is hardly any of our diapers are suitable for true nights except the pockets. I have some cotton pockets that I made but I can’t seem to stuff them enough! Either that, or my soakers aren’t thick enough.

So! I am knitting a super thick soaker, and I just made a nighttime diapers as suggested at sewdiapers.com. Basically it’s a fitted diaper with an external, super thick (two layers of thick!) soaker. And then the whole thing plus the soaker is fleece lined. Ridiculously thick really! Two layers in the body, 3 layers in each soaker for a total of 6 in the soaker, which makes 8 layers total. I used hemp fleece to boot, hemp being lovely and absorbant.

SO! As soon as I finish the super thick soaker, we’ll see how it goes! If all goes well, I’ll need to a) make another soaker and b) make about 5 more diapers. H will be pleased — he’s been harassing me to use up my cloth stash!

Other diaper projects on the go… Recycled diapers with the pattern from Fern and Faerie. I have lots of denim and t-shirts waiting to be converted instead of being donated to Goodwill! Plus they’re not only cute, but the denim is so thick you often don’t need a cover.

Cloth diapers, that is …

Boo’s diapers are stinky. Not just regular stinky but something wrong with them stinky. They didn’t used to be stinky. Now the ammonia smell is wafting out of the diaper pail and that’s not cool. In fact they are stinky when they’re ON and that’s equally not good. In fact, probably worse.

I know there’s something called stripping which you do to remove detergent buildup on diapers. I suppose this is what I have to do. But I also know you’re not supposed to boil (the only method of stripping that I know) diapers with snaps, which all of these have. So I’m not entirely sure what to do!

I’m also not sure WHY. I read here that my detergent (All Free & Clear, cheaper than Tide Free which I used to use) can eventually cause a buildup of optical brighteners (whatever the hell those are) and you have to strip those out as well to get back to normal. Eventually being the key word because hello, we’ve been using these for well over a year if not more. I lose track.

Anyway, there could be other reasons… For example we took our nighttime dipes to the UK with us and I was worried about the detergent there. They all seemed to have extra crap in them and I wasn’t sure what those would do. The nighttime dipes are the ones I am noticing really smell. Or it could be Seattle’s water is just harder than Louisville’s. (Hard water is notiriously hard to get detergent out of.) On the other hand, Boo could just have really smelly piss. I doubt it’s that though, I mean the ammonia smell is POWERFUL.

Anyway. I need to figure this out pronto. Grr! Aren’t you glad there’s an option for tucking some entries away now? :)

There’s a new forum at sewdiapers.com with tutorials, reviews, and most importantly HELP for sewing cloth diapers! And not just the Very Baby patterns either (there used to just be VB tutorials there) but any pattern can be discussed, I believe.

This is really cool because I, for one, can get lost in non-specific forums. It’s not that I get lost, it’s just that there’s so much to look at I lose focus! That’s why I’ve never visited mothering.com. There’s probably a few other sewing diaper forums out there, but I will definitely be visiting this one. Plus Jessica at Very Baby practically bends over backwards to help a girl out.

Now, I just need to take some piccies of my rainbow AIOs so I can show off!

I got some gDiapers today. These are the new flushable diapers. Basically it’s an insert made of the same stuff as disposables that you put into a cloth, waterproof, cover. Cool idea. But does it work?

I’ve heard lots of back and forth. Some people like ‘em, some don’t. I’ve only used two to test it because they’re kind of expensive (slightly less than, say, Pampers, but considerably more than the el cheapo disposables we buy as backups) and I want to save the inserts for the best times to use them, but so far they’ve worked really well! I’m very hesitant on the flushing as we’ve had toilet problems, but even then, no problems to report. Very easy, and certainly no messier than cloth. In fact should a #2 happen, I suspect it will be easier.

Going from cloth to these is certainly easy. I think it would take more used to if you were going to disposables to these. I love love love the idea of flushing. There are *so* many reasons one might prefer cloth diapers and the environmental factor really appeals to me, being the wannabe tree-hugger that I am. I also LOVE the covers! They are very soft, and brilliantly they velcro in back! Since Boo can take off his current velcro covers I wanna see him tackle this one! I wasn’t thrilled at first with the material of the liners, but then I realized it’s the exact same stuff as the original cloth diaper covers we had, so then it didn’t bother me quite as much. Usable if not ideal. I want to try them out with a prefold stuffed in there.

And as far as the inserts? Well, to be honest, while I try to limit exposure to “bad stuff” I don’t think disposables are really all that bad, especially when used in moderation and you make sure you continue to change the diaper often. I certainly put Boo in them a few times a week, at least. Many of us, probably most of us, survived quite well in disposables although you never know what the future may show (i.e. some people claim that disposables in boys cause infertility, etc.). I think that for the most part they are okay. I’m happy we don’t use sposies full time, but I’m reconciled to the times I’ve had to. I do like how they keep Boo drier than cloth when he’s going to be in one for a while (like a car trip) where I can’t change him as often. I do not like throwing them away. So, as far as the chemicals go, the inserts are okay. I’m thinking there are two times I would use these — out and about, and maybe even nights.

Nights are a funny issue with us. For whatever reason, Boo is particularly sensitive to being in a wet diaper and we still change him once or twice at night. Totally looking forward to potty training/learning. Anyway! I’ve wondered if using TWO of these inserts would help him not wake up wet?? I doubt it, but it may be worth a shot. I think he’d sleep more at night if he didn’t wake up wet. Lord knows I’m ready to sleep through the night, myself. So will probably try that, but am not holding my breath.

And one other bright side! They totally have these in stores now where I live! Hurrah! So I don’t have to pay shipping. LOVE that! Taking into consideration what these are and what they’re trying to achieve, I think they’re great and give them two thumbs up!

I recently got an email (from an email list that I’m a member of) that said this:

Do you really want any of this stuff anywhere near your children’s
genitals? http://www.camd.lsu.edu/msds/s/sodium_polyacrylate.htm
I most certainly do not.

It really pissed me off. And I LOVE cloth diapers. I get distraught when someone acts all high and mighty about their cloth diapering, as if they are morally superior than someone who, say, doesn’t have a washing machine. Maybe they can’t afford the initial outlay (and it is a good chunk of change to get started). Maybe their child is in day care and day cares tend to not be willing to do cloth diapers. Maybe they just LIKE the ease and convenience of disposables because, lets face it, parenting is hard enough. Why the hell do some people have to act like someone who uses disposable diapers are BAD PARENTS for doing so? That really helps the cause, people. Attitude is always helpful.

The funny thing is the topic of email was gDiapers, a new system that uses a disposable-like insert in a waterproof cover, and then you can flush the insert. I think it’s a fab idea and I am looking forward to trying it out. I do, for the most part, use disposables when out and about but I hate throwing them away. I love the idea of flushing. It is even compostable, not that I have a compost heap any more. So there someone is out there looking for a more ecologically friendly alternative, and then this person disses them for using chemicals.

And that’s the worst part, I guess. How “pure” does one have to be to get credit? Do they only eat organic foodstuffs? Do they only wear organic cotton or other sustainable fibers? Do they live in a house with no paint, carpet, cleaning products, shampoos, or other conveniences of modern day living? So seriously. Save it. The rest of us are just trying to get along the best we can.

So I’ve finally found some time to make some new diapers, which is good because Boo keeps growing! Imagine that. Here they are:

What’s wierd, of course, is that they’re made from the same pattern but one is clearly larger than the other. V. strange. Oh and the dragon one is waterproofed. That way I can do this!

Don’t you wish YOU had flames on your ass?