Back to Earth

I have ammonia problems again. I had stripped all my diapers and thought I solved the problem, but apparently not. I was feeling very frustrated that I couldn't solve the problem. I know many CD parents like the challenge of determining the problem, and then fixing it, but I don't. I don't want stink issues.

I even gave a fleeting thought to throwing in the towel...

Then I had a blow out. I put one disposable on Little Man while I stripped my diapers again, and he had a blow out. Poop up his back, down his legs, all over his clothes. I had forgotten about blow outs - we don't have them with cloth.

And so I was brought back down to earth. Yes, there are sometimes stink issues and problems to overcome, but I don't have blow outs, I'm saving money, and I'm not leaving mounds of disposable diapers in landfills for years to come.

It's nice to be back on Earth.

Snaps vs Hook and Loop, yet again

Wow, I didn't even realize I've been off the radar for about a month. Life sure does have a way of scooping me up and carrying me along without my even realizing time is passing.

I know the Snaps vs Hook & Loop debate rages hither and yon. I'm not sure I have anything new and valuable to add to the discussion, but I think I am a classic example of how one can go back and forth on the issue. I've been a fan of hook & loop from the start, but I can see the benefit of snaps. I've even been buying snaps when I buy large diapers, thinking I'll need them as Little Man becomes better at removing his diapers. Then he entered the squirmy phase. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get his diaper changed and if it's snaps - forget it! The rolling and tossing and crying make it very difficult to secure the snaps. 

Thank goodness for hook and loop...until the next phase...

Stripped!

Update on our ammonia stinkies: all diapers are stripped and doing well. 

I have added an extra rinse back in and I think we are good to go. I do think, however, that next time I buy detergent I will get the Hard Rock. We get soap scum build-up quite quickly, so hopefully that will help the diaper routine.

Did the cats pee in here?

The ammonia nasties have hit our house. With only a few hiccups in the wash routine, everything was going so well when bam! - ammonia stink. I hadn't read much about the ammonia problem because I wasn't having it. I had ignorantly thought I would smell it on washed and unwashed diapers. Now I know the smell comes out when combined with urine. I don't even know how long I've been having the problem; it was my mother who noticed it when watching Little Man this past week.

It's interesting that the ammonia smell can come from detergent residue not rinsing out, as well as from not using enough detergent. How's a mom to know which one is the problem? I'm first tackling the problem as if it were residue not rinsing out and if that doesn't work I'll go for the not enough detergent.

Two days ago I Rocked a Soak for 60 minutes and ran them through a hot wash without detergent, plus a couple of rinses. No dice. Last night I Rocked a Soak overnight, ran them through a hot wash without detergent, and rinsed a couple of times. They are now in the dryer while I'm at work. I was hoping that would solve the problem, but now I'm thinking I need to strip them more.

I thought running them through the wash and rinse without detergent was stripping them, but as I read up on stripping diapers, I see that I should rinse in hot water too. I don't have a hot rinse on my machine, so I will have to do a warm rinse.

I am also going to add an extra rinse to the end of my regular routine. I was doing one for awhile but have been lazy and cutting it out.

I think for now I'll stick with the amount of detergent I'm using and add back in the extra rinse. We have hard water, and I'm using 2 scoops of Classic Rock with the highest water level possible. If this next stripping doesn't work, I will try 3 scoops.

I guess the cats didn't pee in here after all. My apologies to Shepherd and Figaro for jumping to conclusions.

Nighttime Diapering: Foiled!

We were good to go with our nighttime diaper. We've been using several different kinds of diapers with their regular inserts, plus a Loopy-Do. Everything was working fine, until...Little Man started sleeping on his side. Side-sleeping changes everything.

So back to the drawing board. I know I've read posts and reviews out there about side-sleeping solutions, so I'll be on the lookout for those again. For now, I admit, we're using disposables at night. I think I may even stick with that for right now, before I go on a hunt again. We are having some sleeping issues, and while I tackle that, I don't think I want to add the dryness hurdle.

To the Beach with Cloth Diapers

We have gone away for long weekends since I've been cloth diapering, but this is the first time I will be gone for a week. Our condo has a washer and dryer so I'll just have to tweek the wash routine a bit to get it right, and we'll be good to go. We're not allowed to hang out anything on the balcony, but I'm hoping putting a drying rack out will be allowed.

Whether or not I was using cloth diapers, I'm thinking about the regular diaper to swim diaper switch...keeping a swim diaper on for an extended period of time wouldn't make a lot of sense to me. But then again, do you make the switch just when you think you're heading down to the water? I have 2 swim diapers, and I know some Moms use their pocket covers as swim diapers, so I may try that too.

Here's to a fun-filled first Ocean experience for Little Man!

Spray that Poop: Musings on a diaper sprayer

When I started using cloth diapers, my son was still exclusively breastfed, so his poop washed right out so easily. When we first started solids, the poop was still washing out easily, and I still didn't feel the need for a sprayer. As days of solids moved into weeks of solids (and more food actually went down the hatch than on the floor) I started to see the benefit that having a diaper sprayer might have. Someone referred to it as peanut butter - stuck on that diaper, making your wash routine work that much harder to get those diapers clean.

I caved in, admitting I needed a sprayer, and spent the money. As I waited for the sprayer, I still wondered how a light spray would really help get that poop off. And then it arrived...

Holy Batman, that thing can spray! I quickly learned to hold the diaper as far into the toilet as I could after I ended up with poop sprayed all over the toilet, on the floor, and on me. I try to hold all the ends of the diaper together, as if making a parachute, and then spray as close to the water as I can. Sometimes I still have to wipe around the toilet rim, but that's better than around the bathroom.

No more poop languishing on diapers in our house - that diaper sprayer is a magic wand.