Heathers Commentary

As Tamra mentioned she and I began our cloth diapering adventure a couple of weeks ago, and in that time we have tested out a number of brands of diapers, detergents, inserts and doublers.

My approach to cloth diapering was to find the CD that took the least amount of work and was very trim under my daughter’s clothes.

So, I ordered two types of All-in-ones…the Bum Genius AIO and the Swaddlebee AIO.

I found the Bum Genius AIO to be fantastic. My daughter is on the thin-side and these diapers fit her very well around her tummy and around her legs. They are very trim and I have no trouble fitting her into her jeans and other pants. They actually air dried very well when left overnight and I have had zero trouble with leakage during the day, but did actually at night.

The Swaddlebees AIO…I’m still washing….trying to get them to NOT leak. They are extremely soft inside and are very trim between the legs, but are a bit more cumbersome on the backside. I have had difficulty getting these diapers completely dry and am still washing them (as I type..) so that the fabric is suffiently puffed up and absorbent. However, the leakage my be a result of me using a “free and clear” detergent, specifically “Ecos Free and Clear”--which I have been told can leave a coating on the diapers that repel wetness and prevent absorption. So, this afternoon I picked up a bottle of the recommended Tide and a bottle of Dawn to strip the coating off and we’ll try again!

Additionally, I am experimenting with using Thirsties Terry Hemp Doublers in both these diapers at night to help with the leakage. I’m still washing these, so we’ll see how they work when I use them tonight.

Finally, today I asked my daycare provider if she would be willing to use the CD’s on my daughter during the day. She said that would be fine, but this afternoon when I stopped by she said that there was a state regulation that disallowed the use of cloth diapers in a group daycare facility. I did a little research and found that in fact Massachusetts DOES allow the use of cloth diapers and here is the section of the regulation that is permissive of such diapering.

Standards for the Licensure or Approval of Group Day Care and School Age Child Care Programs (9/97)

7.24: Care of Children in Group Day Care Programs

(6) (d) 12. Soiled non-disposable diapers are placed in a sealed plastic container labeled with the child's name and returned to child's parents at the end of the day.

So, I suppose I will bring this to the director of the center and see if we can work something out.

That’s it from me for now….