New diapers on the way! And how to wash them...

Okay, I did it! I ordered my own set of prefolds! I ordered 30 Bummis organic cotton prefolds.... so luxurious! I also got two more of the strech bamboozles for night time. Hooray! Now let the real fun begin....

So, the washing. People always think it's totally gross to wash poopy diapers in your washing machine, the same machine that your clothes go in. Honestly, I definitely thought it was disgusting too until I started doing it. What you need to understand is that you're not throwing piles of poop into the machine. When babies are exclusively breastfed, their poop dissolves in water, so that makes the first 4-6 months of cloth diapering a breeze. No worries at ALL. Just throw all that into your machine and go. Then, you start solids. Admittedly, it's not as easy, but it's still not very gross. The Eskimo's poop is super solid, so you just shake it into the toilet and you're done. I don't have a fancy diaper sprayer attached to my toilet, I don't have to scrape anything or touch anything. Just shake, and put it in the wetbag. Now, maybe I'm just lucky. Maybe other babies have really nasty gross sticky poop. I dunno, I just have the one baby and so far it's been fine. :)

Here are a few things you need to know about washing cloth diapers:
1. NO FABRIC SOFTENERS - these will do very bad things to both your diapers and your diaper covers.
2. You must use a diaper-safe detergent. This means no dyes, perfumes, or brighteners. Pretty much everything you find at the local grocery store will have these in them. I use Charlie's Soap. I love it. There are a lot of diaper-safe detergents available out there (or you can make your own!), just be sure to do your homework first.
3. Less is more. It only takes a tablespoon or two of detergent. Don't dump a whole cup in there. It collects on the diapers and prevents them from absorbing the stuff they're supposed to absorb.

My routine:
1. Put the diapers and wetbag in the wash and run a cold rinse cycle
2. Start the real cycle, on HOT... let it sit and soak for about 15 minutes then continue on its way. Don't try to wash an entire week's worth of diapers all at once. They need plenty of room to agitate and get clean. Also, be sure to run it on a "Large" load, not small. It takes lots of water to get those suckers clean.
3. Peek in on the final rinse cycle to make sure there aren't any suds. If there are, you've used too much soap. It's okay, just run another rinse cycle until the water is clear. And use less soap next time. :)
4. You "can" dry your diapers in the dryer. But, the sun is the best thing in the world for them. Not only will it remove all those poop stains (and it does, it's like magic), but it will naturally disinfect them. The sun is your friend.

Okay, that about covers it. Questions?

Bamboozled

So, I've been searching for a great overnight diaper for my little man. I usually don't change him from the time he goes down around 8pm until he gets up for the day, around 8am. So, I need a diaper that is prepared for a good soaking. We've tried everything. Snappied prefolds with an insert (I use the g-diaper cloth inserts made of hemp and microfleece) work pretty well. I've also tried a few different pocket diapers, including Charlie Banana and Fuzzibuns with mixed results. Bottom line is, he's usually damp when he wakes up in the morning and that means I need to change his sheets and he can't hang out in his pj's until his first nap.

Well, we may have a game changer here. I tried the Bummi's Bamboozle last night. It's a fitted diaper made of rayon made from bamboo (duh). I used one of his Flip diaper covers over it since we seem to have the best luck containing the super soaker with those. And BOOYAH. His pajamas were DRY this morning! The other exciting bit of news is that the bamboozle has only been washed twice; it doesn't reach full absorbency until it's been washed at least 10 times, so it's only going to get better!

Now, these suckers aren't cheap. Expect to spend about $20 a pop. But if they work, jeez, it's totally worth it. Also, they are one of the softest, cushiest things I've ever felt. :) Hooray!