Still Struggling with Detergent

Yeah... I don't know why. Tide seems to work great, but I get hung up on all the "additives" and whatnot. So I've been trying others again. Right now I'm doing mostly Planet. But my diapers come out of the washer looking DIRTY! And I dabbled a little bit in Simply Clean, but again- my diapers just didn't look clean! (Although they smelled great)

I know I want to use a powdered detergent, and I know I need one that is made for HE (front-loading) washers. But other than Tide, I haven't found any that really seem to get the diapers clean. The Country Save was a joke- almost like using water alone.

I really should just give in and use Tide again, because I had NO build-up, NO repelling, hardly any stains, and NO stink. All the scare tactics about ruining diapers by using it seem to be a bunch of hooey. :)

The Fun of Printed Diapers- Matching!

With disposables, you don't really have the opportunity to match your shirts to your diapers- well, unless you want your baby wearing lots of white! ;)

With cute printed diapers, you can match them to the baby's clothes. Or, in my case, you can make some shirts to match the baby's diapers! I really wanted some, but didn't want to shell out the money to have someone make them for me. So I just bought some plain t-shirts and sewed some of the fabric on them. Voila! Matchy-matchy! :D

Diaper-Safe Fabric Softener

I don't know how I've survived this long without using Ecover. Really. I thought crunchy diapers were a part of using cloth!

Now that I'm line-drying, especially, my diapers tend to get hard and kind of stiff. I will throw them in the dryer with my dryer balls (8 of those, by the way) to soften them up a bit after line-drying, but they are still kind of crunchy.

Well, I FINALLY found Ecover locally, and snatched it up right away. I put a cap full in the detergent compartment after taking out my covers and AIOs (it's not recommended for PUL) and the softness of the diapers when they come out is AMAZING! They're just squishy soft like when they're brand new!

If you haven't tried Ecover yet, you've got to get some! It was just over $5 for a bottle, and the bottle should last a LONG time, given the small amount I use. But what a difference it makes in the softness of the diapers! :D

Pins, Snaps, "Snappi",Velcro- Or all four!

With all types of diapers- prefolds, fitteds, pockets, all-in-ones (or twos), and covers- there are a variety of closure options you can choose. There seems to be a variance on personal preference when it comes to these choices!

Snappi fasteners can be used on prefold diapers or fitted diapers that don't have snaps or velcro. The "teeth" are very sharp and can grip the fabric. They are NOT to be used without a cover, because the baby could grab them and get poked by the very sharp prongs, and believe me- it hurts- I learned from experience! But they're quick and easy once you get the hang of them. Here's a link to a Snappi:
http://www.bananapeelsdiapers.com/catalog.php?item=286&catid=101&ret=catalog.php%3Fcategory%3D101 (Thanks Heather at Banana Peels!)

Pocket and AIO diapers either come with velcro or snaps. Velcro is more adjustable in most cases, but tends to wear out faster. And then there's the issue of "diaper chains" where the velcro comes undone in the washer and the diapers all stick together and become a chain. But velcro is easy for dads and babysitters and anyone else who prefers to put a diaper on quickly without hassle! It's also easy for toddlers with busy hands to figure out, so there's always that chance of having a little diaper-free streaker running around your house! :D

Snaps are on some pockets, AIOs, and fitted diapers. The benefit of snaps is that they last longer than velcro, and also are harder for babies to learn to take off. The drawback is that on some diapers, it's hard to get a good fit if the snaps aren't placed well- one setting might be too loose, but the next setting is too tight, so there isn't a good adjustment- which can lead to leaks. I personally prefer snaps to velcro, but my husband gets frustrated by trying to put snapping diapers on- and on more than one occasion, I've had to re-do the snaps on diapers my husband has put on. ;)

Pins are used for prefold or fitted diapers. There is something so wholesome-feeling about using pins. If you get the hang of them, they create a very customized fit for the diapers. The drawbacks... well, the fear factor! The fear of sticking the pins into your baby or into your hand can be hard to overcome! But hey, for reasons that are hard to explain, pins just make me happy! :)

I have diapers that have velcro, some that have snaps, and some that I use pins with. Having a variety keeps me from getting bored... or something. ;)

BumGenius Organics w/Snaps + Stacy = Happiness

First off, looking at that picture, I realize how HUGENORMOUS my son's thighs are! ;)

Okay, on with the show. I wasn't a fan of the BumGenius pockets, so I didn't have high expectations for the organic snapping all-in-ones. But everything that made me NOT like the BG pockets was eliminated in these new diapers! The icky aplix was replaced with adjustable snaps. The yucky microfiber inserts were replaced by organic cotton inside. Even though I'm not a fan of mainstream diapers in general, I'm willing to make an exception with these, because they're awesome!

These are my new go-to, trim diapers for going out or for putting on him when he's going to wear jeans other trim pants. I even sold all of my Bum-Ware Extremes to buy more of these! BWX are still great diapers, but these are ORGANIC! ;)

I have to say... I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like these. Spendy little buggers, but worth it, in my opinion!

Wagon? What Wagon?

Wagon? Waaaaaagoooooon!!! Has anyone seen my wagon? I seem to have fallen off of it and lost it... If anyone sees it, will you push me back on it, please?

It's just that with cloth diapers, any time you want to buy something you can't afford, you just have to sell the things you don't love as much... So it's really easy to fall off the wagon. It's a lot harder to get back on once you've lost it!

But I can't wait for my new fluffy mail... It's a clean habit, at least, right? (Well, maybe not always clean... sometimes it's downright messy!) :D

On the Wagon

Well, I'm on the wagon! No more buying diapers for me. I have a bunch of packages coming in the mail- new fluffy stuff to play with- but I can't buy any more. Getting hit by the economy, which isn't so bad.... at least I already have lots of diapers to tide me over and get me through- and it means I don't have to buy disposables if our situation gets worse! :)

Still.... It's every cloth-diapering addict's biggest nightmare- no more diaper "fixes"!!!

Must.... stay..... CLEAN!!! LOL