For the love of…..STAINS! What a headache!

I am so obsessive about stains and my diapers its ridiculous, a few months ago I tried everything!  Here is what worked and what certainly did not work.  Well, as I said a few months ago I was having crazy issues with stains and I became determined to get them out of my precious diapers.  I tried sunning them in the winter months, which didn’t really work but now that its summer and 1000 degrees, it seems to be working miracles.  I tried peroxide, bleach, lemon juice, soaking, I mean everything.  All those did was make some of my diapers elastic go bad and some of the PUL of others to separate so now the diaper is useless.  In my trial and error I found what does work safely.  I took my Rockin’ Green detergent and added a little water to a tablespoon until it made a paste texture and put that over the stain.  I set it over night and washed like normal with my dirty diaper load.  TaDa  the stain came completely out!  Best of all its completely safe to do this unlike all of the harsh ways that I have tried in the past.

In the summer months though, save on your electric/ gas bill and hang up outside to dry, it increases the life span of the diapers and naturally makes them really white…I love doing this now, the diapers come out looking great and smelling clean 🙂

FuzziBunz

Alright here is my review on FuzziBunz I received these through another bargain website called  Eco Baby Buys.  I got a package of two for $21.00 regular I think 17.95 a piece so it was a good deal, if you keep your eyes peeled you can find these deals, you just have to be patient and this website Baby Deals Dujour has a list of most of the bargain websites and what their deal is at that moment, its very helpful!  Anywho, these are a good diaper.  I like the fit and they are very easy to put on and take off.  The only problem I have really had was the PUL from my green flowery one separated from the fabric, which I think was my fault because I used bleach to try and get out stains, my advice do not use bleach!  I learned the hard way.  I love the inserts to these diapers, very absorbent and they are dependable.  I even use them on my daughter for bed time, I stuff it with two inserts and use a BumGenius doubler and works perfect, no leaks.As you can see where as the EcoBumz did not have the stitching around the legs these do so it keeps all of the inner fabric on the inside, so that means no leaks.  I personally suggest buying a couple of these diapers, they are trusty and many moms and dads agree.  The inside gets a little piled but not bad.

Over all I give these diapers a A-

Pros:

1. Bright colors and prints
2. Trusty, great night time diaper.  My daughter is a somewhere in between wetter, not too heavy, but not light.  These diapers last her a full night, no problem, I just use a Hemp babies doubler and a thick heavy duty insert.
3. You can always find a sale on FuzziBunz, or find them on bargain websites for half off.  I would at least have a couple of this brand in your stash.
4. Fits very well along legs and waist of my daughter.

Cons:

1. The inside stains alittle too easily for my liking, but usually suns out after a few hours, at most 2 days.
2. The inside PUL on the inside of my red one is starting to separate, but it still has some life, and the inside of my green daisy one completely separated.  However, I think it was my fault.

EcoBumz

Alright, my first review will be the very first diapers I have ever used EcoBumz.  I recieved these off from a bargain website called Mama Bargains.   They are a website that has items that go up a few times a day with up to 60% off the retail price.  They were $27.00 diapers that were up for $12.00.  I just caught them by chance and quickly ordered 4 before they ran out to give cloth diapering a try.  I had so many questions before receiving them in the mail.  What to do with the inserts, do they go in the pocket or directly between the baby and the diaper?  How to wash, what to use?  Well since these diapers are organic, and bamboo the prepping takes alittle longer than lets say a FuzziBunz.  You have to break up the natural oils or your diapers will leak.  Its recommended to wash abou t 7 times, and dry about 4 of those times.

When I got these diapers in the mail, I noticed how soft and fluffy they were, I was excited to give cloth diapering a try and I got them all washed and prepped it took me all day but I did it 🙂  I went out and bought a pail to put the dirty diapers in and some Tide Free and Clear.  Well, the first night we put my son in them they leaked all over the place, and same with my daughter.  I looked up to see what I did wrong.   As you can see by this picture…

The natural liner (bamboo on the inside) has to be tucked all the way around because for some reason they did sew an extra stitch around the legs so keep everything from moving around, you will see what I mean when you see pictures of the BumGenius and others.  So its a process to make sure all of the inner lining is not showing, a process I have grown to hate.  Needless to say, I was looking at how much it would be to purchase a dozen of these diapers because our taxes were coming in soon and I wanted to cloth diaper full time.  I am glad I didn’t a bulk supply.  This is what I mean when I say when starting out don’t get all of the same kind, because if I would have got all of these I probably would have stopped cloth diapering all together.    Anyway, I don’t hate these diapers but I don’t love them.  They are soft and trusty during the day and around the house, but after a year of using them the liner is starting to get thin like an old tee shirt.  The Apix one doesn’t have laundry tabs on it, which makes it a pain because the diaper chain and the snaps are exposed to the baby’s skin which is not really a plus.  As I said though around the house they are a trusty diaper, just not one of my favorites, mainly because of the design.  Right concept the diaper itself just needs tweaking.

Overall I give these diapers a B-

Pros:

1.  They are oh so soft
2. They are for the most part reliable, no major leaks or wicking
3. No problems with the PUL

Cons:

1. No “extra” stitching around the legs to keep the bamboo tucked inside
2. Wing drop, no extra snaps to hold the “wings” so they don’t drop down
3. Customer service was something to be desired.  I think the company did some rearranging and I haven’t ordered anything since, so it might have improved.  I hope so.
4. Very expensive when I purchased, 27.00 regular, but since they feature a new design the price has dropped.

Check List of Items You Will Probably Need on your Journey! :)

Things you will need with any diaper you choose:

1. Wet/Dry Bag or a Plastic Pail: for soiled Diapers, putting soiled diapers in a pail with water is no long suggested, it decreases the life span of the diaper and is kind of gross.  Using a wet/dry bag for diapers is the best way.  It locks in the smell and you can simply dump all of you diapers in the wash along with the bag.  My suggestion is either a Paddle and Quack bag, or a PlanetWise.  Prices Vary depending on sales and how big the bag is.  I bought my Planet Wise large bag that holds 15 diapers on sale for 16.00.  Medium will hold about 8 and a small is mainly for travel or when going to the babysitters and that will hold 4-6.
2. Diaper Sprayer:  This is not a necessity, but its convenient if you don’t like the idea on splashing in the toilet.  I personally don’t have one because I don’t get grossed out easily but if you do I suggest getting one.  Prices vary anywhere from 30-45 dollars depending on what brand.
3. 12-15 diapers: to start with.  I personally started with only 4 that I got from a bargain website (a great place to go for good deals but you have to be patient because they don’t have diapers all of the time but when some pop up its good to grab a couple)  I wish I had started out with more though, simply because you have to wash several times a day and they get stinky fast.  Its suggested to wash at least 10 at a time, so they can help wash each other.  However, I do not suggest buying all of the same brand all at once.  I was thinking about buying all of one particular brand and I am glad I didn’t because I found out after using this brand a few times, I didn’t really like them and I liked other brands alot better for the same price.  Shop around and try different styles and brands.  You don’t want to spend several hundred dollars on something you don’t like.  There are plenty of sites that have sales and specials that make this easy to try out different things and see which one fits your babies needs and your needs better.
4. Detergent:  As I suggested Rockin’ Green is my choice but you might find something that works better for you, there is several other brands like LuLus Glamor Wash, Crunchy Clean, and Charlies soap (which caused Olivia to get a big time rash and several other families reported the same issue). Some bloggers and websites suggest Tide Free and Clear, but I personally hated it.  My diapers ended up stinking and repelling urine, not fun and if this happens you have to “strip” your diapers and that is an all day process.
5. A Cloth Diaper Safe Rash Cream:  You can’t use basically anything you buy at Walmart because of the ingredients that they are made of.  It will make your diapers stink and stain.  I suggest using CJs all natural BUTTer.  They have many different smell good scents.  My favorite is “Love Spell” you may recognize that name from the Victoria’s Secret bath line *my favorite smell ever* When I ordered this BUTTer I never thought it would actually smell like that but it does!  I also use their Carcass Cleaner in a spray bottles mixed with warm water for Olivia’s cloth wipes, and use it on myself for a body wash/ facial wash and works great!  They have many more scent though and are fairly good with prices.  One of their small BUTTer tubes has lasted us for months and it was less than 5 dollars.  Another is Grandma Ells Natural diaper rash cream its about 9 dollars but it left stains on one diaper of mine but other people have had luck with it.  After not using what I used to now that I use cloth instead of paper, I have realized all of the literally crap that goes on our kids skin and in their bodies and right now it makes me ill thinking that I never thought about it.
6. Tea Tree Oil: You can get this right online or at Wegmans, its a natural oil that is used to kill yeast.  Put only a couple of drops of this in your rinse cycle not every time but maybe once a week just to kill whatever bacteria is building up.
7. Cloth wipes: if you decide you want to use them.  I personally love using them because they clean so much better than the others.  It only takes one wipes to clean the nastiest poop.  I use a spray bottle of either BumGenius Bottom Cleaner or that solution with CJs Carass Cleaner spray that right on Olivia’s butt and wipe and wash the soiled ones and the diapers all in the same load.  You can get specialty wipes like 6 in a pack for 9 dollars usually Thristies is a great brand.  Or go right to Walmart or wherever and buy a bunch of baby washcloths and use those, each of those work well.  The washcloths however are cheaper just not as soft.