I WILL miss the storage uses of your jumbo boxes, but Mr. Elias has decided he doesn't need you anymore. Well, he'd kind of like to keep pooping in you, but he has reluctantly reached the conclusion that once you're in underwear, you can't demand a diaper solely to.... Well anyways. Enough said. But how awesome is this!? The kid just woke up and decided to wear underwear and has had like a total of TWO pee accidents in five days. That's pretty remarkable, no? He's even been fine out and in public, with the exception of a disastrous playdate with our neighbors that ended in him and me rushing back to our house for a quick BATH and a change of clean clothes. Like I said, less enthusiastic about using that potty for number two than number one. But we're getting there, and he is not even three yet, and also the whole child-led potty training thing actually does WORK for some kids! Before they're five years old! How 'bout that?! (Today, knock on wood, there have been ZERO accidents of either kind, a successful, uh, deposit on the potty, AND a trip to Dairy Queen in which he even used the regular old toilet without qualms! And WHY am I still talking about this? Good grief, parenting makes you way too invested in other people's eating and eliminating habits.)
Also in diaper news: I think we might be cloth diapering this one. Gulp. Now that I've actually said it out loud to several people, I feel scared. Can't back down now, or those wadded plastic, two-hundred-years-to-decompose diapers are going to feel even worse on my conscience. But! I've never done it before! And we only have one bathroom! And how can I possibly do this without it being REVOLTING? Don't you need, like, a whole room of your house devoted to haz-mat once you decide to cloth diaper?!
Well. First can those of you who do cloth diaper or who have in the past, tell me exactly, step by step how you go about it and what supplies you need? And maybe give me brand recommendations and tell me how many I need of each size and all that? Oh, AND make the whole laundering part of it magically seem less daunting?
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I think you're super great and all, but this post makes me hate you just a little bit. I cannot get Maddie to potty train to save my life. You know how EVERYONE says "don't worry about it... no kid ever went to kindergarten in diapers!" Well, my kid is going to be the first.
Very impressive on the potty training already!
I'm thinking about cloth diaper for our next one too. It scares me to no end. I've heard it is not that bad so I'm eager to hear what others have to say.
Way to go, Eli! I am so way interested in other people's kid's potty training statuses! I am!
Good luck with the cloth diaper thing. I did it for a while with Child #1, then lost the stomach for it.
Yay Eli!!
I'll fill you in on the cloth diapering scoop. Just come on over and I'll give you lessons :)
I cloth-diapered all three and it wasn't difficult at all. I had enough diapers for at least two days' supply (I had a lot for Maggie, just because I kept adding to my stash with each new baby). I only used two brands: Kooshies and Motherease, but there are lots of good brands out there. I also had a bunch of "Chinese prefolds" that someone gave to me that I used to either double-up overnight or in emergencies when I ran out.
The laundering is fine if you keep up with it. Once they were on solid foods, I used flushable liners that allowed me to flush away the solid matter. I found that I did not like the traditional diaper pail - the smell was awful. Instead I put the wet diapers in a cloth bag on a hook - the diapers dried out and odour wasn't a problem.
Seriously, it's not hard or even gross (at least not any more gross than regular diaper changes!) I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have.
No advice about the cloth diapering, just seething jealousy that you've got a 2-year-old boy potty-trained. (Meant in the nicest way, of course.)
That is great about the potty training! I'm thinking (hoping) my second will be like that too. Samantha was a nightmare but Ella who is almost 22 months tells me when she has to go potty and then goes a minute later, in her diaper, because I am not ready to be running to the bathroom again. So I'm hopeful, maybe I should stop avoiding the issue but she is still way too young.
Anyway, cloth diapering. I cloth diapered Samantha from 12 mos. on. I used bumgenius and loved it. I washed every other day, had a diaper pail. If you keep up with it, it's fine. I put her in g diapers with the flushable liners when we were out in public. I couldn't figure out how to use cloth diapers in public, saving them in the siaper bag just seemed gross.
With ella, I bought more bumgenius and planned on cloth diapering her. However, she would get the most awful diaper rashed from day one. The cloth just didn't pull the moisture away enough, even if I was changing her every hour, she had terrible rashes which needed prescription diaper cream. This rash problem I'm sure is not common, she also has exzema so she just has some skin issues.
I can try to dig up some diapers if you'd like. I can't remember if I gave them away or not. I loved the bumgenius though, they were cute and very easy to use. I used them with inserts.
IF I have another child, I'm thinking seriously about cloth-diapering. I think you just do it and have to get over the deep fear of poop. We'll see.
Congrats on the potty training. That really si the way to do it.
omg - C did the same thing!! Neither of my other 2 boys did that so I was SHOCKED! Isn't it the best?!
I cloth diaper. My faves: Swaddlebees pocket diapers
Laundering really isn't that difficult:
cold rinse
hot wash with a teeeeeny bit of detergent
cold rinse
line dry or tumble dry
Also, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. We use disposable when we go out and at night.
The hardest part about washing cloth diapers is getting up the gumption to take them and put them in the machine. After that it's easy, not like you have to beat them on the rocks or anything :) I do the same as Devan and have for the past 5+ yrs too. I have enough to last me 3 days (I wash on the 2nd day you need something to use while those are in the wash) My favorites are fuzzi bunz pockets and sposo-easy or oso-cozy all in ones. Though I did go 2 years using nothing but prefolds and covers.. For some reason it doesn't smell nearly as bad as a trash can full of used disposables. The only time I smell it is if I stick my head in there. Oh and get a pile of at least 40 cloth wipes, or baby washcloths.
Yay on the potty training! What a lovely gift for you. I think it's a sign that it's time for this baby, because you will still only have one in diapers.
Courtney did the same thing... She announced that she was a big girl & big girls wear panties. End of discussion. I don't recall any accidents but it was more than 20 years ago
Jilliansdrawers.com has a trial package where they send you about a dozen or so different kinds of cloth diapers, you try them for about three weeks, and you can either decide you hate cloth diapering and send them all back (laundered, of course) and get your money back (all but $10 for shipping), or keep them and buy more. Its a nice way to figure out if you like pocket diapers, all in ones, prefolds, etc, without investing a ton of money into a kind you later decide don't like.
I was used disposables on my first one and also on my second till about 6 months. Then I bought TWO Bum Genius 3.0s. I quickly discovered that IT WASN'T THE HUGE DEAL I thought it was going to be. I still use disposables when we're out running around, but I use the cloth at home almost exclusively. I have 14 Bum Genius 3.0 (I'm a freak and must have all the same). They're supposed to fit from 5 pounds to 35 pounds ("only cloth diaper you'll need"). I use my old diaper pail. That's it. If I did it exclusively, I would probably have 20 or 24 diapers and do a load every other day. Cloth diapers aren't as picky as all the sites want you to think. I use All Free & Clear on them and throw in some baking soda and vinegar or (gasp) bleach if they seem to be a bit stinky. No big deal. You might be surprised. (For the record, I have a very LOW pee and poop tolerance, and I find it NO BIG DEAL.)
Oh, also, if was cloth diapering exclusively, I would invest in a few "wet bags." You can store the dirty diapers in there when you're on-the-go (or use a, umm, evil plastic bag, which I've done). The wet bags are reusable - just toss them in with the diapers.
The liners are also a good recommendation, but I prefer just getting a wad of toilet paper and scraping it off. The liners are also good if you're using creams on the bottom. Again, I'm lazy and I don't - I just use the cream sparingly.
I am using (and loving) bumGenius Flip diapers--I like them much much more than the pocket-style that you have to stuff with an insert.
my 2-year-old is absolutely not interested in the potty so we'll see how that plays out . . .
for cloth, we did the newborn package from Green Mountain diapers online. I LOVED cloth diapers. I was just packing all ours up in the basement wondering what I was going to do with them yesterday. we finally stopped because making sure to get them to and from daycare just turned into a pain for some of us to remember. we did dry bags and just soaked in the machine (dispose of "solid matter" beforehand). I would soak on cold and then wash, then wash again in super super hot water. It really helps to have enough for at least a few days. my favorite wraps were the organic imse vimse wraps - they were quiet, soft and fit the best. also liked the bummis. ok - getting too long here but email me if you want more info
I've got two in cloth now and also did my oldest. Yay!!
I'd second the Jillian's Drawers thing. Also, if you're not squeemish about second hand, go check out diaper swappers.
I'm a big, big, big pocket fan. Some of them seem incredibly expensive, but considering how much you'd pay a month on diapers, they'r enot bad., I'd suggest buying one a month or so until the baby is born and you'll have a nice little stash of NICE diapers and the cost won't seem so crazy.
Prefolds and covers are nice for the newborn days but you actually have to buy quite a few to get through a full two days.
Rockin' Green Soap is a great natural detergent that is specifically made for cloth diapers.
My favorite brand diaper is a tie between Apple Cheeks and Rumparooz. Love them both.
Keep in mind that you're definitely allowed :) to get more than one type. That's part of the fun, finding cute patterns and types to use. For the record, they all catch poop :)
Oh, and pocket diapers, for the most part, allow solid waste to roll off into the toilet with minimal effort. If you're squeemish, a diaper sprayer can be fashioned with home depot materials.
Dude, if you want to email me with questions, you totally can. I just set up two good friends with cloth diapering.
(Cloth diapered bottoms are so dang cute)
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