Cloth diapering during our vacation- tips/suggestions?

[Erica09M]

Are there any fellow CDers on here?

We're planning our trip for next May, and my little one is exclusively cloth diapered. Disposables are not an option, as she has extremely sensitive skin (to the point of a bleeding rash) if her behind goes into a sposie diaper.

I will HAVE to do diaper laundry on our trip (at least once, probably twice). I can't let a weeks worth of wet diapers sit in the pail in our room, nor do I want to fly home with dirty diapers.

I'm definitely okay with doing coin-laundry, as I'd prefer to do this so I know they are getting washed the proper way.

I was wondering if any other CDers could chime in and tell me how their vacation was with their little one in cloth diapers (we haven't vacationed since she was born). Any tips, suggestions, advice would be welcomed!

Also, here at home we have a sprayer connected to the clean water supply on our toilet for spraying off dirty diapers before putting them in the pail. Will the resort be okay with us connecting it to their toilet? I really, really don't want to dunk and swish!

 

[sohappy]

I have not CD on a Disney vacation, but I did CD. My son got a rash that wouldn't go away until we went to cloth. We were able to go to disposible if we were away for more than 3 days.

I would think that you would want to stay somewhere that had a laundromat handy. I am not sure which places have that. I would also think that you would want to make mid-day trips back to the room to drop off dirties and get some fresh dipes.

I don't think that they would be OK with anyone messign with their plumbing. Is there anyway of using sposie liners? my kids always had solid poop, so I didn't have to rinse.

Good luck.

 

[taitai]

When we traveled with cloth, we generally stayed in condos so the washing wasn't as difficult.

I would absolutely bring your sprayer. Hook it up. The worse thing that could happen is they ask you to take it off. You could even just hook it up every evening, spray and then take it off again. A pain, but an option.

Have you ever used the Imse Vimse liners? They might be a good option as well.

Bring a couple wet bags for the parks and I would stuff at least one diaper buddy in each one. Will help with the smell.

In terms of laundry, I guess I would just bring lots of quarters so you can do a couple rinse cycles. Good luck with that.

taitai

 

[snoopy5386]

I would look into disposable liners or alternatively fleece liners for disposable diapers. Really, by next May your little one could have outgrown their sensitivity to disposable diapers. You never know.

check out the diapering forums on mothering.com for more advice.

 

[trnorbrn]

Sure, we had to do this all the time before disposables. I would stay somewhere with a W/D so I could wash and hang dry everyday. The vacation home we stay in provides a drying rack for clothes in addition to the dryer.

I would use cloth liners. You can cut up old t-shirts for these and just toss them as you use them. Re-use the ones that are only wet but if you get a messy poopy then you can throw it out. Alternately you can buy terry washclothes and use them as liners folded as a tri-fold liner. Often Wal-mart will have these cheap like $5 a dozen. You can also buy a few yards of diaper flannel and cut with pinking sheers to the size you need. I make my own wipes too. Soap and water is much nicer to the skin than baby wipes. Disposable baby wipes leave bacteria behind on the skin that can lead to rashes.

Now you can buy nice wetbags to keep things in for the day but we used to just recycle empty bread bags before those were invented. You can just throw them away at the end of the day.

 

[bumbershoot]

We never took a longer trip to a hotel, but we did vacation. Disposables were not an option for us, either; good to meet another one, though for us it was a choice, not a rash thing, b/c DS wasn't in a disposable long enough for us to know if he was sensitive (as I was as a baby).

You know we got one of those sprayers and never even hooked it up. Until his poops become solid and "ploppable", the only time we ever messed with the dipe was when he had rotavirus. All the other washes we didn't spray, rinse, dunk, or any of that...we just trusted the washing machine.

One of our longer trips was to my brother's house...he and his wife are blissfully childfree, so I asked if I could use his washer or if he could find a laundromat for me...he told me that he trusts his washer. If he started not trusting that his washer would clean clothes and then be clean at the end of the cycle, he'd get another washer.

I did buy some liners...I could send them to you if you'd like. I have an Imse Vimse brand and some other brand...one's in a roll like TP, the other is in some other way of containing them. I found them ridiculously difficult to work with, and used maybe 5. Then DS got ahold of them, LOL, and some others disappeared.

When we traveled, we took both Jumbo wet bags. Put the clean ones in one bag, and as the dipes got dirty put those in the other bag (put this in the bathroom! Do NOT put it on your luggage or the carpeted floor, trust me. Then wash when needed. Easy.


Have fun! Oh I love those CD'd bums!!!!!!

 

[dezimber]

I saw your post on the other section. You mentioned using AIOs. The coin washers and dryers were I live perform ok but don't offer the options that are sometimes needed for cloth like a second rinse. Also, I found that my heavier weight items like jeans need more quarters to get completely dry or I will plan on letting air dry the rest of the way. Maybe do a trial wash at a local laundromat to see how it goes. Prefolds and flat will dry quicker so if you have some it might be worth taking along. I'll be there in May too.

 

[Stellapedia]

I've never used a sprayer in one exclusively CD birth-PT and the second one now six months and exclusively CD. I wouldn't bother with it, they're not necessary and don't get diapers any cleaner anyway. I just take some TP and scrape off what I can, and then wash.

I'd not do AIOs, too much effort and too difficult to clean with a washer you don't know. Prefolds and wraps would be my first choice, followed by pockets with MF inserts. You can buy MF inserts 24/$11 at Costco.

When I travel, I generally prewash wet diapers (pockets with MF towels) in the sink, and swish a poopy one (though I never swish at home), then wash every 2-3 days. I'd reallyreallyreally try to get a place with a w/d already, so you don't need to go to the laundromat.

Rice paper liners are useless. They don't work, they're uncomfortable for baby, and they're a PITA to operate. I have, however, used disosable diapers doublers as pocket inserts in the past. Works fine. I've also sink washed my pockets with MF towels when my son was only peeing in them.

I'm traveling next week with my older son for 5 days. At 3.5 he is long since out of daytime diapers but still ocassionally pees overnight. As we're staying with friends and family, I'm not going to risk him wetting the bed. I'll take a single pocket and some disposable doublers. If he pees, I'll hand wash the diaper and chuck the doubler.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

You could try 7th generation diapers. They are disposables but have no chemicals in/on them. They have not been bleached etc. They sell them at BRU.

 

[laceemouse]

We did cloth diapers just because we wanted to, but I have a friend who has a daughter who is very sensitive like your child. She did find disposables she could handle, they are all cotton, die free, etc. Have you tried them? I would think they would be great for traveling at least, so much easier.

I have done laundry at Disney, at the Poly one day the place was packed, I waited in line for washers. I think most people are going to freak when they see you putting diapers in the washer.

I did laundry one night at Pop, the middle of the night and only one other lady was in there. It was much easier but I was tired the next day.

 

[agnes!]

I'd get a condo/vacation home/DVC unit so a washer/dryer dedicated to my family's needs was always accessible, especially if I were travelling with multiple small children.

A couple of thoughts...

Have you all decided if you're staying on-site or off? Off-site condo/vacation homes are cheaper, but sometimes not as convenient as staying on-site.
Your baby *might* outgrow this allergy, maybe ask your pediatrician/dermatologist about it.
The frequency of soiling/wetting the diapers might get less frequent as your baby gets older. How many diapers you're going through *now* could change in a year...meaning that you might not have as many diapers to clean as you do now.. just something to think about as you plan.
How many diapers do you think your baby will be going through in a day/week/for the length of your vacation? If you want to be really wasteful, take old diapers with you and just throw them away as they are soiled (especially with BMs). You don't *have* to re-use them, especially if they are getting a little worn-out.
If you're renting a car and after washing can't get those diapers dry enough in whatever facilities you have access to, you can always lay some in the back-window of your rental car. *Seriously*, this is a great way to get swimsuits or whatever completely dry, solar power at its finest. Just put whatever's still damp on some clean towels, those cars get HOT even in the winter.

agnes!

 

[TRICKY_TINK]

I 2nd, 3rd or 4th the liners. I use fleece. I just bought a yard of it and cut a ton of liners to the size of my diaps. poo just falls off them! worst case you can toss them. We will be using the chlorine free's for our trip this month to Marthas Vineyard cause I was told I may not wash diapes in the machine where we are staying. I sure hope he doesn't have any issues with spoosies! I haven't decided if we will use cloth for our Disney trip?? I think having used the machines to clean/dry clothes at the values it might be cheaper to just buy a pack of spoosies. Good luck Mama!

 

[carmiedog]

Just sent you a PM from the closed thread in the resorts forum before seeing this thread. Will c/p part of it here:

I haven't CD'd at WDW, but I have on roadtrips. Even back with the thick WAHM diapers that took forever to dry - it's much easier with pockets and thinner AIOs. Someone else suggested liners and I strongly agree. We used rice paper liners (these worked GREAT for us; a PP didn't like them) so it was easy to just dump the poop in the toilet. No rinsing needed. I always used the dry pail so I wouldn't have to deal with the extra weight, and had no trouble with getting them clean or additional odor.

The laundry room at WDW is pretty empty early in the morning, so I would get up before the rest of the family and go load our clothes in the washer, go back to the room and take a shower, then go stick things in the dryer. I didn't get to sleep in as long as everyone else, but that's something we're used to as moms. Don't know if this schedule will work for you so you don't miss out on time with the kids later.

(echoing poster 2 posts above me) Since the trip is a year from now, at least your little one won't be going as often (don't think I'd try travel and CD with a newborn!). By then, her skin may not be so sensitive and you could find disposables that work, even if they're not an option right now. A lot changes in a year! My kids' bums became more tolerant as they got older. We switched to disposable for travel for out toddlers/early preschoolers. But there's no reason you HAVE to unless you just want the convenience.

Hope your trip goes well and have fun planning!

eta: just read previous post - fleece liners worked well for us, also. Forgot about those. We've been out of dipes for over a year now.

 

[bellebud]

when i cd'd my babies, i used fuzzy bunz, and I always wiped the poop off the diaper w/ either toilet paper or wipes right when I was changing them (whether flushable wipes or just baby wipes that went in a garbage bag instead of down the toilet). I remember seeing the sprayer thing and thinking about it, but I found wiping great because it worked no matter where I was (the mall, friends houses, etc). I never had to wait till I was home to 'wash' the poopie off the diapers. The dirty bag of poopie diapers never smelled much because 99% of the poopie was gone before I put it in the dirty bag.

just wanted to offer another idea to you. boy, I miss those cute cd's!!!

 

[Erica09M]

We've tried every sposie diaper out there, including 7th gen., Earth's Best, etc. and none of them work for us. We tried them because my husband wasn't a fan of nighttime cloth diapering because he is/was sleep deprived and couldn't figure out the snaps for our fitteds, then would forget to put wool or fleece over them, and well, that didn't work out too well.

Our decision to cloth diaper is because she has such sensitive skin/allergies, we had made the decision to cloth from birth. However, upon trying sposie for a nighttime solution, we've found that they do not work for her and cause the nastiest irritation (to the point of bleeding). So even if she were to outgrow this allergy, we'd still be using cloth. I'm not interested in using sposie diapers, not even on vacation. We love our CDs.

As for the diaper sprayer, I do feel it gets them cleaner than just using toilet paper to remove the solid matter. When I'm done spraying, there isn't a single speck of solid matter left on the diaper, therefore nothing solid goes into the washer. When I've used toilet paper before, I couldn't get it all. Sorry for the TMI poop talk LOL

Anyway, I made my original post to see if others took a week worth of diapers with them, if they had experience with the washers/dryers, etc. I'm thinking I'll try to take a weeks worth of diapers with us (yes, we have a ton of diapers LOL), and do one big load before we leave. And maybe I'll use pockets, instead of AIOs... they dry a million times faster.

And there is no reason for people to freak out, if a child has an accident in their underwear during potty learning, doesn't the parent clean out the accident and wash the underwear? Same concept here.

Anyhow, thanks for the suggestions this far, I believe I've figured out what my plan will be!

 

[Manda]

I didn't CD at Disney, but I can't really imagine anyone even noticing that you were washing cloth dipes in the washer/dryer really. I'd just carry the wet bag in there and dump it right into the washer - it's not like anyone would see what you're dumping in. My only concern would be the lack of options on the washer. I'd probably run two cycles - one full hot wash with soap and a second wash with no soap. Just because (especially with a sensitive skin kid), I wouldn't quite trust an unknown machine to rinse well enough. And all CDing Moms know how important it is to get rid of all the soap residue. The biggest draw back is that you'll be in the laundry room for a while. It's about 30 minutes a cycle. And I doubt one cycle in the dryer would get an AIO dry. We used Fuzzi Bunz almost exclusively after the newborn stage and they dried really quickly though. I'd hang the FB and dry the micro-fiber inserts.

With your trip being a year away though, you've got soooo much time to figure out the best traveling dipes. That, and toddlers generally don't poop near as often or make near as much of a mess of it.

 

[J3nn78]

Another CD user here. I actually love it so much I started my own retail business selling them, but that is another story,

Anyway, I have not CD in Disney, but have on other trips. I don't see why it would be much different to wash them. Be sure to use the same detergent and routine as you do at home.

I do not recommend the disposable liners. They are awful itchy and scratchy feeling. I would never want them on my bottom. I suggest getting some fleece and cutting the liners yourself. No sewing involved as fleece will not fray. Fleece is cheap enough that you can toss it while on your trip. I always use them at home too, when I need to put on some diaper cream

I would get a couple Wetbags to take along. The Wahmies All Day Bag is all I use at home. It holds 2-3 days of dipes for me and hangs nicely on a door handle.

 

[bumbershoot]

People have a good point that her diaper usage is going to be much different than it is now! DS was starting to use the potty (for poops only) at 18 months (on his own, though of course we did buy it to have around, just in case he got interested, LOL), and a year before that I would NEVER have thought it possible.

I'm not sure I would gamble on keeping a week's worth of dirties around. That's going to get heavy, especially with the extra water in time from rinsing.

TRICKY_TINK, you might want to ask the owners of the washing machine where you should wash poopy clothes from the blow-outs you might have, using unfamiliar diapers?

 

[trnorbrn]

Who cares what is washed in the machines? If you can wash underwear then diapers are not any worse. If staying at a home and it grosses people out a cycle can always be run empty with soap to sanitize the machine. I have never done dipes at a laundromat but if I had to I would do a second wash with water only or water with a cup of vinegar to be sure to rinse out all the soap.

I forgot about fleece liners, that is a good idea, I woke up this morning and thought about flannel and it will fray even if the edges are pinked. Just trying to offer some cheap solutions to the need for liners.

 

[Erica09M]

Definitely remembering the fleece liners. We actually had to use them a few months ago because my little one got really sick and had diarrhea for a week. Her poor little bottom The Rx cream the doctor gave us was not compatible for the diapers, so I took some fleece and made liners and then threw them away.

I didn't even think about that as an option for traveling so that things weren't so "messy" (for lack of better words, since I don't think CDing is messy at all).