You say granola, I say green.

OKIE DOKIE- well we have been cloth diapering for 48 hours now and for the most things have gone very well.
Things I've loved-
* In 48 hours we have had ZERO blow outs! Before we were having at least one blow out a day. We have had several blow out worthy poo's but no blow outs. Which is great because poo is hard to get out of her outfits.
*I have already washed a load and they came completely clean! No stains at all-I was very impressed
*The wet bag situation was MUCH easier than I thought it would be. (A wet bag is what you put your dirty diapers in when you are out and about)
*At night when she goes the longest without being changed (around 5 hours) her bum was dry! The fleece insert really does a great job at pulling the moisture away from her body. This is a HUGE improvement from old school cloth diapers
*I don't care at all if I change her and about 25 seconds later she poops or pees. That really was annoying with normal diapers because I just see money being flushed down the toilet! Now I hear cha-ching, cha-ching. (See cloth diapering is green in TWO Ways! Reduce waste, save some moolah!)
Obstacles-
* I washed the diapers in too much soap so she got a diaper rash. At first I thought it was something I ate or maybe the diapers themselves, but after talking to a friend who cloth diapers her daughter she said her daughter got a rash at first too and she found out it was because she was using too much soap. (You have to use a special soap on your laundry when you cloth diaper because oils can break down the absorbency of the diapers.) After we discussed how much soap to use I am guessing that was the problem.
*Since she now has a diaper rash I had to Re-rinse all the diapers and figure out a cream for her bum..
*You CANNOT use diaper rash cream with cloth because like normal detergent it will make the diapers less absorbent- So what you have to do is put some type of barrier between her bum and the diaper OR use disposable. We have done both. We used disposable last night and today have been using a barrier-

Speaking of barriers

I had to cut up an old t-shirt to put between her bum and the diapers to avoid getting the cream on the diapers today. (YEP- I know you all are saying "YOU ARE CRAZY!! JUST USE DISPOSABLE!") Since we have committed to doing cloth we need to find a solution and not just run out and buy disposable diapers anytime the kid gets a rash. (I'm not that crazy- We will use disposable if she is on an antibiotic and will be pooping 100 times a day, or when we travel)
*Another issue I ran into is wipes- When we are home, using regular diaper wipes is fine because we can just throw them away- however when we are out we have nothing to put the dirty wipes in (usually you just put them in the diaper and toss both!) So I am considering using some of those t-shirt squares as wipes when we are out and about. Because that way I CAN just tuck them in the diaper and wash them like I would the diapers.

So we had a little sample of Burts Bee's diaper ointment however, we ran out of that. So I found a recipe to make my own ointment. I am going to be mixing it up as soon as I post this, so I will have to see how it works. The first things the doc's in the hospital order for diaper rash is nystatin which is an anti-fungal. So this cream includes a barrier, an anti-fungal and a "relief" ingredient. If it works well I will post the recipe.
And lastly- here is a cute pic of my ever-growing gal. (I know she is always in those jean shorts, but they are just so damn cute!)
Love,
La