our diaper story
This goes out to those mommies to be who read my blog. I wanted to describe our many adventures with cloth and disposable diapers to help you make your decision. Basically there are three choices: disposables, buying your own cloth diapers and getting a diaper service. Of course the downside with disposables is the pollution due to manufacturing and disposal of the diapers, as well as the cost (the brand name ones are almost twice the price of the no-name ones, which are not very good). Other less obvious disadvantages include the chemical used to wick up the water and the paper/plastic combo (would you want to wear underwear like that??) and the fact that babies don’t feel wet. I’m of the opinion that if babies feel wet they start to understand the whole process and it should make potty training easier (all this is theoretical, as I haven’t tried potty training yet!). The disadvantage to buying your own cloth diapers is that it can be expensive and you have to do the washing. The disadvantage to the diaper service is that you only get flat diapers (more on this below), the diaper pail sits for a week in your place, and you have to arrange for pick up with the provider. It also tends to be a bit expensive these days.
Let me just explain something about baby poo. I used to babysit kids and when I changed diapers the poo was always solid. Obviously I never babysat very young babies so I had absolutely no idea what it was really going to be like. Until babies start on solids the poo is runny, yellow and mucousy. It also tends to exit with surprising force. Keep this in mind when I discuss the cloth diapers below.
So we decided to go with the diaper service since the whole cloth diaper thing seemed a bit intimidating. With the service I used, I was provided with about 80 flat diapers each week for about the first month, then about 60 per week after that. There is no clean up at all, just put the diaper in the pail and forget it. That’s really nice, as baby poos are quite a challenge to deal with, especially at the beginning. Arranging for the pick up was relatively straightforward - she always came Tuesday afternoons and I just left the pail in the hall if I went out. I prepaid for several months so I didn’t have to worry about having exact cash on hand. The two disadvantages that I found were this 1) at first I rented the diaper covers, but it was a bit expensive compared to buying them and the velcro on some was quite worn out. Evelyn kicked some of them open (and that happened to be when she pooed of course). 2) the diapers provided are flats (it would be prohibitively expensive if fitted diapers were provided) but we found flats didn’t really contain poo all that well. Each baby is different; some are super-poopers and will go 8 times a day, others once every other day. If you have a super-pooper, then it becomes quite challenging to use flat diapers since in our experience the diaper cover ended up covered in poo and had to be washed. The whole idea behind separate covers and diapers is that the covers are only occasionally washed to make them last longer. Sometimes we would go through 8 diaper covers in 2 days, which meant I had to run a load of laundry just to wash the covers. This kinds of defeats the point of having the service do the washing!
Another side effect of the exploding poo is that with flat diapers, the main thing keeping the poo inside the cover is how tight the elastic of the cover is around the legs. Even a very well done cover will leak if there is enough force and material. So one of the worst side effects is that poo can come streaming/flying/leaking out. This might not be exactly what you wanted from your little bundle of joy, especially if you are holding him or her on the bed or couch or happen to be carrying him or her at the time. And that stuff stains big time. Imagine going out with your baby in a carrier or sling and ending up with poo all over your shirt and pants in public. Lest you think that this is only a problem with cloth diapers, allow me to tell you what happened at a restaurant near our place. We went out to grab a snack in the evening and put Evelyn in disposables, probably because all the covers were dirty. I was holding her over my shoulder and all of a sudden I saw a jet of yellow come flying out and down the front of my shirt. Evelyn had somehow managed to land some poo in my bra. I ran to the changing room and discovered that our changing pad was missing (Dan lost it the day before) and there was no room to change her. It’s funny in retrospect. Yeah.
As Evelyn got older and her legs grew we were able to do a good job of keeping the poos contained with flats and covers, but still had the occasional escape. However, I got fed up with washing the diaper covers so often and worrying about leaks that I finally decided to buy my own fitted diapers this past week. There are two different styles I investigated that are available in retail stores in Montreal: the Annie Marie Padorie covers and diapers available at the Azurewraps boutique on Sherbrooke street (NDG) and the Kissaluvs ones available at Bummis (Mount Royal just west of St. Laurent). Personally, I like the look and snaps on the AMP covers better (they are available in lots of very cute colours), but the big downside for me was that there are only two sizes and when I decided to buy the diapers Evelyn was just on the border. I didn’t want to take my chances getting the big ones in case they were too large and leaked but I was also worried that the small ones wouldn’t last too long. Also they are $17.50 each, and considering you need to buy at least 24, it’s quite an investment. So I decided to buy the Kissaluvs at Bummis, $13.50 each. The Kissaluvs are offered in three sizes: 0 (5-15 pounds), 1 (10-26 pounds) and 2 (26 pounds and up) so I bought the size 1 diapers. Fitted diapers of all kinds are very elastic and allow for a lot of growth, so Evelyn will be in them for a while yet. With those diapers on, she fit the medium Bummis covers. I have now tried the three main types: the Bummis original, the Super Whisper Wrap and the Super Snap. Overall the best choice seems to be the Whisper wrap since it is the most adjustable, although the downside is that it uses velcro so eventually it wears out if washed too often. Also they are available in some cute patterns. The Super snap is ok, but doesn’t look as nice as the AMP ones and tends to bunch a bit at the front. Probably the worst luck I have had is with the original cover, which seems to be really gappy around the legs and hard to adjust. One nice thing about buying covers at Bummis is that they have ’seconds’ available for half price. These covers have minor defects although still work as well. Personally I don’t even see what is wrong with them and can’t tell apart the full price and the seconds that I bought.
With all that said, Evelyn had a super poop yesterday in the new fitted diaper and there was NO leak. Seriously, not even a drop got on the cover. Now that’s a poo containment system! So my advice would be to bite the bullet and buy fitted diapers if you can afford it. Because it can be expensive and a fair bit of work, many people choose to use disposables for the first month or two and then use cloth after that when the baby grows into the next size. If I had done my own from the beginning I might have gone with the AMP diapers instead since they are so cute, but the Kissaluvs just happened to be the right size for Evelyn’s weight and age. They require a bit of special care since the elastic in the leg can wear out, but if properly cared for they should be able to last for at least 2 babies.
Also don’t forget that these two boutiques have other great baby products. Another piece of advice I have is about pyjamas. Rather than buying lots of sleepers with legs I would recommend buying pyjamas with open ends and then putting on a pair of leggings or pants. The reason is that the PJs with legs don’t allow for much growth and we found Evelyn only lasted about 2 weeks in any given PJ set, whereas the open PJs that Dan’s family gave to us lasted for 3 months and then it was the arms and chest that got small. At Bummis they sell some really nice open PJs for babies up to 3 months as well as leggings. Bummis also has the most extensive collection of Bravado nursing bras I have ever seen and they just now started carrying Didymos slings too. Azure wraps has some very nice one piece outfits (Kate Quinn organics) and nice changing pads. Both stores have a selection of other baby carrying methods and accessories such as hats. So make a trip to your cloth diapering store, even if you don’t plan on buying diapers!
