Guest Post - Thanks Mama Gives You Tips on Cloth Diapers & Introduces Herself! 1 comment

Cloth diapering is not without problems. Stains, repelling liquid, and diaper stink are issues that a cloth diapering household will likely encounter at least once.

What about stains? In cloth diapering staining does happen. Many cloth diapers are specific in their washing routines so your normal stain protocol for clothing may not work. Some stains will go away with repeated washings. But the most natural way I have found to reduce stains is to use good old Mr. Sunshine. Hanging the stained diapers in the sun for a day or two can make the stains disappear.

What about repelling liquid? Repelling liquid is a problem that can be found with pocket diapers. Pocket diapers are diapers with a waterproof exterior and a layer of stay dry material against the baby’s skin. The absorbent material is then placed in between the two layers. Repelling liquid happens when there is a build-up on the stay dry fabric and the wetness does not go through the material fast enough so it leaks out your baby’s legs. I have had this happen on more than one occasion. To prevent this you need to make sure you don’t wash using too much detergent, fabric softener, or a detergent with additives. When you do have build-up you can remedy the situation by stripping the diapers. To strip your baby’s cloth diapers you need to rinse the dirty diapers. Once they are rinsed wash the diapers on hot with a small amount of regular Dawn dish liquid. By small amount I mean about a Tablespoon in a large load. Once they are washed you need to rinse the diapers until the water runs clear. You want to make sure there is no detergent left in the diapers. If you have a lot of build-up you may need 10-20 rinses to get out all of the detergent. In some cases where hard water is present Calgon Water Softener may be necessary to get your diapers to rinse clean.

What about diaper smell? Diaper smell is usually caused by letting your diapers sit too long before washing, by using a wet diaper pail, and by not using enough detergent. You should wash your diapers every 2-3 days. If they sit longer than that diaper stink can set in. If you use a wet diaper pail, dunk the diapers in the toilet, or if you rinse out your diapers with a diaper sprayer you want to wash every two days. Leaving very wet diapers for more than 2 days can also cause diaper stink to set in. Make sure you are using enough detergent. You want to use half of the recommended detergent. So if you use a scoop of detergent for washing towels, you should use 1/2 a scoop for washing diapers. How to get rid of diaper smell? Well, it may be as simple as using more detergent. But you may need to strip your diapers like you would if you were having repelling liquid problems. In severe cases you may need to use a small amount of bleach. Be aware that this may void any warranties on the cloth diapers though.

Cloth diaper problems do arise, but solutions can be found. Diaper stains, diaper smell, and repelling issues are issues that have visited my home several times and will likely visit your home at some point if you cloth diaper. While there is no cut and dry solution that will work in every instance, the solutions I’ve given should work in most cases.

A little more about Thanks Mama from the woman herself…

Thanks Mama is a family owned on-line boutique that specializes in cloth diapers. We also carry natural baby care products, baby carriers, and reusable products for moms and toys. I am a work at home mom who decided to leave a corporate job when my daughter was born and started to run Thanks Mama from home. Although Thanks Mama is a lot of work, it gives me the flexibility that I need and I love to be able to be in a business I believe in. My customers are parents of young children with a similar mindset to my own family with the same problems and joys. We think cloth diapers are better for babies, the environment and family finances. We do what we can to spread the word about modern cloth diapers and recently started a blog www.clothdiapertalk.com where we post educational articles about cloth diapering and store announcements. We also host cloth diaper giveaways on a regular basis. In addition to cloth diapering my daughter, we practice attachment parenting, recycling, eat organic and local produce as much as possible, and we do not use chemical based cleaners/detergents in our household. I have to say that it would not be possible to have Thanks Mama without great help from my husband who is behind of most of the website look and who helps with much of daily work.

For more tips and ideas for your baby visit www.wishpot.com/registry/baby/!

Guest Post: Thanks Mama - Potty Training! No comments yet

Potty training is something that every child will encounter. When cloth diapering the transition to regular underwear is a bit more natural. I’ve potty trained two children so far with one more little one to train in the next year.

When my boys approached the age of 3 I started the process of potty training by adapting their cloth diapers. I typically used pocket diapers with stay dry material against my toddler’s skin. When potty training approached I would put the insert on the outside of the pocket so my toddler could feel wetness against his skin. After my boys turned three I took several concentrated days where I focused on potty training. I put my boys in sweat pants that were easy for them to pull up and down with no underwear or diaper underneath. I brought out a potty chair into their play area and gave them chances to sit on it. Accidents were common especially the first day. One son caught on quickly and took only a day to figure out what he was supposed to do. The other son took about three days to get the hang of it.

Once the potty chair started to be used for it’s intended purpose we ventured further away from the potty chair. When we were further away from the potty chair I put my son in a cloth diaper training pant. I’d put my son in a training pant like Kushies Taffeta Training Pant or a Bummis Training Pant. I love the prints on the Kushies Taffeta Training Pants. The prints are so colorful and cute and now they have adorable retro colors. I really liked the fit of the Bummis Training Pants. The leg and waist have soft and stretchy lycra to make the pants more comfortable. I would make sure to give my son frequent opportunities to sit on the potty, but used the training pants to help catch leaks. Because we were not near the toilet accidents happened. But scheduling frequent potty breaks helped my son “remember” to go while he was playing. Over a period of weeks we were able to move to underwear. I liked to start out with the Imse Vimse Training Pants. These training pants fit like underwear, but they are absorbent and are a great choice for a child’s first underwear.

Potty training when we were out and about was a totally different issue. When we first started potty training I would put my sons in a diaper when we left the house. Our trips were usually short so this worked fine. Once my boys had success at home and accidents became less frequent we put them in a cloth training pant when we were out of the house. After success with those we moved on to underwear with potty breaks as necessary.

Potty training at night was quite different. I kept my boys in their regular nighttime diaper - a Fuzzi Bunz stuffed with two Hemparoo Fleece Prefolds. I stopped putting nighttime diapers on one son when the diaper was consistently dry in the morning. He was around age four at that time. The second son was not consistently or even often dry by the time he was five. At that point we went cold turkey with the diapers and woke him once or twice a night to use the bathroom. Accidents happened, but with less and less frequency. By the time that son neared the age of six there were no more accidents and no more need to wake him at night.

Potty training has been fun. I was surprised how it was quite different between my two boys. I look forward to training my daughter next year.