Day 1 of Cloth Diapering down

Just in case people are wondering how the diapering is going...or not going. So far, I'm pleased. Yesterday was our first day of using them, and they're in the wash right now this morning.

First of all, my order came in just after a few days (and I did not pay anything extra for faster shipping, just the regular method). The prewashes were a bit painful. I opened the packages and was so ready to put them on our little boy, but I needed to do 3-5 prewashes. I admit it, I only did 3. The covers are so cute! Being inexperienced, I thought the snaps were going to be like the metal snaps (sort of onesie like), but they are plastic. I hope they last well. They seemed to take forever prewashing, just because I was excited. The prefolds got nice and soft and "bumpy" or wavy. The inserts fluffed up. Besides having to wait till the prewashes were completed, we needed to wait because our little boy was still dealing with that terrible rash. I ended up taking him to the Dr last week to get a prescription cream. All seemed to be well a few days ago.

When I got Stevie up in the morning yesterday, I put him in a Flip cover with a disposable insert a bit after 8am . (Side note: the night before we put him in a cover with a disposie insert...2 different times. No leaks, but those disposable inserts smell really bad after peed on and don't hold too much.) I wanted to change him again before we left for a garage sale at 9:40ish, so I chose a disposable. The snaps were easier than I expected. In fact, I didn't even think about it till later, wow, not bad at all! There were no leaks, no problems. I wiped down his cover and put a stay dry insert in (though the cover was still a little damp inside) before we went out. It went great...true test, going out and about. We went to a garage sale, came home, he went down for a nap (still no change), and around noon, I changed him. No leaks. Just fine. This time when I changed him, after I wiped out the cover, I put it aside to air dry a bit...the pee does get on the inside of the cover and it takes a bit to dry. So, I rotated 2 covers through the day, but reused them. I tried the Econobum cover with a flip insert this time. It worked ok, but the Econobum seems a bit smaller, and I think would work better for smaller babies. My boy is not small. (He wore a 24 month shirt yesterday and is outgrowing the 24 month Gerber onesies.) Anyway, the Econobum is a bit different in that it doesn't have little flaps in the front and back as the Flip does. He did leak a bit up the front. It could have been a newbie error in putting it on or maybe he's just too big for it...or maybe he should've been changed sooner. It had been about 3 hours. That was the only leak for the day (the Flips did fine). We put him in a disposable overnight diaper for the night. Oh, and he didn't poop till night time, so we'll see how that goes with these diapers. I've been using the reusable fleece liners in the inserts...to keep the inserts whiter and to shake it off into the toilet.

Stevie had a little bit of rash on his leg again this morning...so I went back to disposable for now. I just want to make sure it's not left over fungal before I continue using his cloth diapers. (Yes, I'm cringing that I used some already if this really isn't gone.) I do wonder if it's food related at this point. When we do use them again, I will be trying the prefolds under the covers too. The prefold from the Econobum diaper is smaller. The prefolds I ordered separately are really big (as I was warned). I thought I needed big for my big boy. I hope they will still fit fine inside the covers.

Overall, it was an easy day. Matt even changed his diaper once, and he didn't have any complaints. They're in the washer...and due to their recommendations of the 2 washes and extra rinse, it does take longer, but it's not any more "work" for me. Oh, and we don't have a pail yet. We are using a mesh laundry bag (we already had) hanging on Stevie's door. We just tossed the inserts in during changes. To make sure there isn't any "drippage" (which...the inserts are pretty hefty, so I don't think it would happen...but anyway) through the mesh, I placed a target plastic bag on the floor to protect the floor. It doesn't look cute, but it's what we have, haha. And in case you're wondering, because I wondered, there was no smell!! I thought surely the hallway would reek of urine. It did not. I only left them in there for the day yesterday and all night and washed this morning, but there was no smell in the hall or room. I even asked Matt if it smelled. Nope.