Cloth Diapering Question

[Mommy2Julia&Brynn]

My DD is cloth diapered, but I'm thinking that I probably won't have time (or money! Those washers are expensive, especially for all the cycles I'll need!) to wash them while I am at the world. We don't have much experience with disposable diapers on her. She's only used one while waiting for her diapers to dry, only for a few minutes at a time. I'm thinking she may need to use them for our trip, but I was wondering if anyone who has a CD kiddo has any experience with using 'sposies for an extended period? Did their skin get rashes? Did you have to use diaper cream? How long do you go between changes? I think on the plus side she will not be as hot, right? Please give me your opinion--should I go with disposables or make time and money to wash?

 

[taitai]

Hey there.

Traveling with cloth really isn't that bad. A couple thoughts. Have you considered using disposable liners? Imse Vimse makes some good ones...that will ease the laundry a bit. Here is a link....http://www.cottontailbaby.com/item_22/Flushable-Liners.htm
Another thought is to just do prefolds and covers. They wash and dry much easier than AIOs or pockets. Most diapers you need to line dry anyway so laundry will just be the wash portion.

In terms of using disposables. A lot of CD parents do that while traveling. I think your child will get hotter in those than cloth as cloth breathes and sposies most certainly do not. My children got nasty rashes with sposies. The chemicals in them are just awful BUT they do hold a LOT of liquid.

Personally, I would wash but everybody has different needs. Have a great trip.

K

 

[Hannathy]

Disposable do breathe and they wick the fluid away from the skin so there actually are a lot less rashes with them than with cloth.

I can't imagine carrying a wet stinky diaper around the world in the Florida heat until you get back to the hotel. Yuck.

You can go longer because they do suck up and hold the liquid. You wil be able to tell when it is getting full because it will get heavier and of course with a "dirty" diaper you would want to change it right away . You don't have to use creams again because the diaper pulls the liquid into itself. Really kids are a lot dryer.

 

[robinb]

My DD was in cloth diapers until she was about 18 months old and then we moved to disposables because the diapers were too big. We did have to shop around and try different diapers on her. For instance the expensive Pampers gave her a rash while the cheaper diapers like Huggies and store diapers did not. When she was mostly cloth diapered we used Tushies non-gel diapers for our outings at home. I did not want to have to carry a stinky cloth diaper home with me if she needed to be changed. I got the Tushies at my local Health Food store and I suspect that a place like Whole Foods carries a more "natural" brand of diaper like the Seventh Generation brand. I admit that I went full-gel standard disposables when in WDW. It was just easier for me to drive my car to the local Walgreens and buy them there instead of packing dozens of diapers in my luggage.

 

[GoinToDisney]

I've used both and my dd had no trouble going back and forth between the 2. She did seem cooler in the disposables. There was no way I was bringing my cloth diapers to Disney to pick up the remnants of whatever detergents are left in the washers there. We had detergent issues enough at home. Plus, I didn't trust the public washers not to rip them or something. Also, I do not do laundry while on vacation. While you can go longer between changes in a disposable, you don't have to. I can't remember how long I went between changes, as my dd is now 5, but I know I had to change her every hour in cloth, so I'd say I could probably go 2 or so with a disposable. My dd was the kind to pee every 15 minutes, so I couldn't just change her after she went because it would literally be every 15 minutes. I know people go a lot longer than 2 hours between changes, though. In Disney World, I probably did too. I just can't remember.

 

[tloveswdw]

We have CD all four of our kiddos, 365 days a year, trips to everywhere you can imagine. We use FB, (Fuzzi Bunz), and they wash up with no issue. I have tried Gdiapers too, and like them.

I wash every other day. I find it no big deal to start a load at 5am when the baby wakes, get my Diet Coke, and am start the load again at 5:30 ish, and they are dried by 6:15 am... baby and I had some quiet time, nursed, and are waiting for everyone to start the day.

None of my children have needed cream ever; but, my sister swears by Wedela and Burts Bees.

Have a great trip. THe G diapers are great, as you can compost/throw away/ or flush them.

Oh, and the imse liners do help with removing poop.

 

[Erica09M]

We cloth diaper 100% of the time. My daughter has extremely sensitive skin, and CAN NOT wear disposable diapers of any kind. On our trip in May, we will be using cloth. I plan on using pocket diapers (BGs) and making fleece liners that I can throw away after each use (this way the poop is on the liner and not on the diaper... easier to care for on vacation). I plan on washing diapers half way through our trip and the night before we leave. Pockets dry a lot faster than fitteds & AIOs, this is why I'm going that route.

If you're already used to using cloth diapers, it will be normal and part of your routine while you're on vacation too!

 

[Gwen412]

I did Disney with Cloth once - no big deal

 

[Gwen412]

Almost forgot - it stains - but depending if you care about that or not - we LOVE boudrex butt paste - no problems with wicking..

 

[la79al]

We CD but on long trips, I have chosen to use sposies. Easier to pack, easier to carry, easier to clean up. I tried the 7th generation diapers, which were supposed to be better but she got a horrible rash. We generally use the parents choice diapers from Walmart. We have never had to use rash cream. With the PC diapers, I go about the same amount of time between changes as we do with cloth. DH accidently got Pampers Baby Dry last week at the beach and if I didn't change those every hour, her clothes would be soaked. One thing to take into consideration is that sposies make the little butts even littler. We packed DDs 12 month clothes for last weeks trip while she is in 18 month stuff when she's in cloth. I know I personally can't even find time to wash clothes on vacation so trying to do multiple cycles multiple times for diapers would not work for us.

 

[robinb]

I used a diaper service when we used cloth diapers, so forgive me if I don't understand about washing cloth diapers. Don't you need really hot water? How do you know that the water is hot enough? How can you know that you are not leaving bacteria behind in the washer? I would really hate to be the next guest who used a washer at WDW after previously poopy diapers came out of it. I am not a germ-o-phobe by any stretch of the imagination ... but the thought of a load of poopy diapers before my load of colors done on cold skivves me out.

I don't mean to be confrontational but what precautions do you take if you were to wash your baby's diapers in a public washing machine?

 

[taitai]

I think I would be more concerned about detergent build up from other users messing with my diapers than bacteria left behind. There is actually very little poop on the diapers...almost none at all if you use liners. With the double rinses that diaper washers use, it should not be an issue. Probably more on the clothes from disposable users who had a blowout.

However, if bacteria in public washing machines freaks you out (and it does me!), then don't use them. Who knows what was on the underclothes of previous users? What about someone with a stomach flu? If you start to think about it, the list of nasty stuff that can be on people's clothes and underwear that they put in a public washing machine is pretty gnarly. A little baby poop seems pretty tame by comparison.

 

[Mommy2Julia&Brynn]

Thanks for all the input! I'm leaning towards not taking my diapers (I really don't want to chance messing them up in any way, and I'm scared of their washers!) and just getting gdiapers or some non-gel diapers. I actually don't like that disposables wick away so much moisture, cause that is where the chemicals come into play, plus it also takes away natural moisture that's needed; however, I'll have to try. We've never had to use cream with cloth diapers because they're so good on her bum, but I guess I should pack some in case (thanks for the brand recommendations!). I might also pack my cloth just in case. I've washed on vacation before, but it was in a condo that had a washer just like ours, and we didn't have to pay for it or stay by it while we could be out doing things.

My issue was not carrying around stinky diapers (wetbags are for that purpose and don't smell, plus she only has one stinky one a day). And as for leaving behind poop, you empty it into a toilet during the change, and nearly all of it comes off (we use FB and other pockets), plus I do several rinses after I wash to get all the soap out, so I wouldn't be "leaving it behind" for someone, so that's also not a concern of mine.

Still a little torn, but I appreciate all the input!

 

[bumbershoot]

I think on the plus side she will not be as hot, right?

Does she seem hot now?

Plastic-based dipes vs cloth-based...I can't see how disposables would be cooler.

We never did Disney, but we traveled with cloth. Brought half of what we needed...put them into one XL wetbag, brought the other. As he used dipes, put them into the second wetbag (kept in the bathroom, usually on a towel, as we did have weird problems with wicking with wetbags.

We found as time went on that our washing routine was better the simpler we got...hot wash with Simple Green (about a tablespoon for a whole wash) and a handful of washing soda, maybe an extra rinse, that's IT. So washing wasn't a problem while on the road (you could get those 3oz containers at the grocery store, with the ounce label on it, and put simple green in them). Even if you use conventional detergent, you're not supposed to use much at all, so you could probably put it into the container.

I am one of the more vehement about NO disposables, so it was never anything that was going to happen with us. Heck, we camped with cloth dipes.

Disposable do breathe and they wick the fluid away from the skin so there actually are a lot less rashes with them than with cloth.

Oh, that's really not true across the board. Among my friends, all of whom used plastic-based dipes, they left those things on for HOURS at a time, and all had serious problems with rashes. Whereas I changed DS as soon as he peed, and after we had the very early yeast problems gone, never had a rash. The reason I myself was cloth diapered was b/c the disposables gave me a horrid rash.

I used a diaper service when we used cloth diapers, so forgive me if I don't understand about washing cloth diapers. Don't you need really hot water? How do you know that the water is hot enough? How can you know that you are not leaving bacteria behind in the washer? I would really hate to be the next guest who used a washer at WDW after previously poopy diapers came out of it. I am not a germ-o-phobe by any stretch of the imagination ... but the thought of a load of poopy diapers before my load of colors done on cold skivves me out.

I don't mean to be confrontational but what precautions do you take if you were to wash your baby's diapers in a public washing machine?

If you were washing your baby's clothes after they had a blowout poopy diaper...what did YOU do that was special? Probably...nothing? It's no different.

If a washing machine doesn't end up clean, that washing machine wasn't clean to begin with.

The thing with services, and my stepmom had the same issues as you bring up, is that they are dealing with MANY babies, with unknown conditions in their bodies and at home. They *have to* use the scary-hot water, the bleach, etc, to cover their rears. But washing your own, you don't have to do all that.




OP, if there are ick detergent residues in the detergent reservoirs, once you get home you can just strip the dipes and they'll be OK. I had to do it after a visit to my brother's (they use full stinky Tide with softener, and dryer sheets in their dryer), but a few cycles of use/wash took it all out. I would'nt worry about ruining them.

If you are thinking of using the gdiapers, really check out the info on them on CD sites...they always seemed, to me while reading reviews by trusted CD users, to be the worst of disposables and cloth, all mixed up in one.

 

[CLR4321]

I personally would just do disposables for the trip. Everyone will recommend a different kind, so it is really up to you to determine what brand to get. I would definitely suggest bringing rash ointment just in case.

 

[Junebugwv]

We've used CD but chose to use only disposable diapers for travel. We stayed 11 days at FW cabins last August and my only complaint was that the washers only had room temp water. I washed often and never once had hot water.