But, I got to thinking, since this is a hang out for Missionary Moms (duh, right?), what if we started a discussion about all things kid related? So as we go along with this series, because I am so under qualified, I am begging you all to jump in and help in the comments! Seriously, think of this more as a discussion starter and less of a "Liz knows so much about raising kids on the field".
Alright, now that we've gotten that out of the way...
Lets kick this series off with a conversation about something I am qualified to talk about. Cloth Diapers.
Wait...What?!? What does that have to do with Kids on the Field?
Ok, let me explain.
I am not going to pretend that we researched this all out and thought long and hard about the benefits of cloth diapering before we had Forrest. Truth is, one day when Forrest was about 4 months old, my sister in law emailed me and said "hey, do you want our Fuzzi Bunz?" And I said, sure, why not.
But the more we used them, the more we realized they fit very well into this missions in the Global South life. And they really weren't that hard. And if I am being honest here, washing diapers is one of my favorite chores.
So here you go, Everything I Know About Cloth Diapers.
Let's start with what type. We have used Fuzzi Bunz and Bum Genius. Why? Because that's what we were given and what we found used for a great price. When it came time to enlarge of stash (yes, that is the technical cloth diapering terminology for your cloth diapers) we went with what we knew. We had the old style Fuzzi Bunz, and they are mediums and larges. If you are only going to buy one size, get the mediums. My boys wear them from the time they were four months old through potty training. The Bum Genius ones we have are a one size fits all.
Both of these brands are what's known as a pocket diaper, meaning you don't need rubber
pants on top, it's sort of an all in one sorta deal. We use terry
cloth liners. Really, this aren't your grandmother's cloth diapers.
During nap times, I sometimes double the liner up.
Someone asked me if I thought about making diapers, which I am sure work great, but that was just further down the road than I was willing to go. So sorry, not much help on that front.
As far as night time use, well, we have never had good luck with that. I wrote about that here once.
As for care...well, we just have a trash can with a lid. We through the dirty ones in there (after dumping off whatever can be dumped) and wash ever couple of days. In the states, I would rise in cold water, run a hot cycle with a bit of All free and clear and occasionally some oxiclean, and then another cold rinse cycle. I have always hung then up to dry, either inside in the winter, or outside on the porch in the summer. The sun does wonders for the stains.
Here, we don't have hot water attached to our washing machine, so we just do cold. I am trying to run them through two full cycles now because of that. And yes, they get hung up on the line. During rainy season I have thrown them in the dryer (espeically the liners because stuff can take 4 days to dry here.)
As for other bits and pieces, we have two wet bags to contain dirty or wet diapers in the diaper bag. We tried a diaper sprayer once and well, while it worked well for about three weeks, it then exploded all over the bathroom. But I have hear bidets help very nicely in this department.
Ok, so how about you? Do you use cloth diapers? Got any tips for us on how to make it work for your family on the field?
We used cloth diaper with our twins from we arrived back in West Africa with them after birth (six months old) until they potty trained day-time. Diapers are crazy expensive here, and very hard to find. In our town, they only sell poor quality stuff that doesn’t hold things in. So, we went cloth too.
ReplyDeleteBut we do not have a washing machine. We only have generator power a few hours a day, and do not own such a wonderful machine. So everything gets hand washed. Maybe there are others out there in the same predicament, and honestly, it can be done. It’s just a little more work. But nothing that generations of mothers haven’t managed before us, before there were washing machines and hot water heaters. (yeah, we don’t have that either).
We kept a bucket with a lid by the changing table, and all number 2 diapers got rinsed off before going in there. We also used rice paper religiously, and even recycled the ones that only got wet. It helped keep the rinsing a little less messy.
When I remebered to, I filled the bucket with some water to dilute the smell of ammonia that comes after a day or so with a wet diaper or ten. I learned quickly not to inhale as I removed the lid, the ammonia was quite overpowering!
We boiled water for the washing, and to remove the soap, we used vinegar in the rinse water. It is amazing. Vinegar is cheap, readily available, and it does a trick on soap that makes it totally dissolve and leave the cloth in no time. A second and third rinse water after with no vinegar, and there is no smell. The vinegar also helps soften the cloth. We used just any vinegar we could find, ours is the light brown color. No need to worry that you can’t get a certain kind. If you don’t have vinegar, you can use lime or I presume, another kind of citrus juice with a high acid content.
After this, I have always used vinegar as a rinse in our clothes too. It really cuts down on the amount of work you have to do to hand rinse clothes and get the soap fully out.
I think one of the big pros I took away from cloth diapering was the fact that they breathe. We used folding diapers mostly, with either just a cotton pant over top, or a Thirsties PUL cover. I loved just using the cotton pant, because it allowed the kids to crawl around with air all around. It really helped cut the diaper rash, and since I could see right away if they were wet, I knew to change right away too, so they didn’t spend more time than necessary wearing a wet diaper.
For nights and for travelling, we have always used disposables. We are not religious about cloth at all. But it is nice to have less garbage. In a town where there is no public garbage collection, this is really a big pro for us.
Tanja!! I was hoping someone would jump in and explain how to do this without a washer! I knew it could be done, just haven't had any experience with it. And yep, we use disposables for night (all my boys leaked through at night, no matter what I did/do) and traveling.
DeleteTanja, I have a very similar story, except not with twins. Wow. We have always used cloth at home, like you. We didn't get a washing machine until our third baby. With the fourth baby, we got a Cotton Babies diaper grant! Life's luxuries. :-) Before that, we used prefolds and the cheapest, plainest covers that I could find.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, for me, I find it easier to use cloth than disposables. My babies were weirdly shaped or something, but disposables were almost guaranteed to leak for them, and cloth didn't. Also, when we ran out, it was often easier to wash a few diapers--even by hand--than to run out to a store. And I love the benefit of early potty training that seems to come with cloth.
Each mom and each family needs to figure out what works before for her and her situation, of course.
I love the idea of this series, Liz! Great idea! And Tanja, though my situation is different than yours, what you shared about the vinegar was really helpful! I'm going to try that to strip our diapers of soap buildup.
ReplyDeleteWe received the Cotton Babies diaper grant, so that is how we stared using cloth. I highly recommend applying for the grant if you are pregnant or have a baby and are a missionary. I have never heard of anyone being refused and have heard of lots receiving the grant. It was mostly a financial decision for us to use cloth because diapers here are quite expensive. We did disposables with our first 2 kids and then I heard about the grant while pregnant with our 3rd (and also at a time when our finances were tight). They have been a huge help. We're now using them on baby #4!
I agree that they aren't that much work. I was a bit nervous to try them at first. We are blessed to have a washing machine and even just recently were given a dryer, but I have used cloth with no dryer for almost 3 years and haven't thought it too much trouble. I think they look cute all hung on a rack, so though I usually hate having laundry constantly hanging in our house, I don't mind looking at the cute colorful diapers. =)
Some things that I've done is add about 5 drops of tea tree oil with the soap. It really helps them to smell nice and fresh. It has anti-microbial properties too. It is very easy to find here. I also add 1/4 cup of bleach to the wash about once a month to help keep them fresh as that is what our diaper instructions said to do. I've also used diaper liners when the mess gets stinkier (after introducing solids, that is). Those are great. I've actually cut them in half to save money (they still catch the mess), and then even wash and re-use the ones that were only wet. I can make a role of diaper liners go a long ways between the cutting in half and washing/re-using! I once tried to install a diaper sprayer, but like you, Liz, but in the process of the "simple" installation I managed to cause the toilet and the sprayer to leak, and to totally mess up the plumbing running to our washing machine. 4 hours later, I got everything back to normal (minus the washing machine) and decided to forget that idea.
As for containing dirty diapers before the wash, I just put them in a plastic shopping bag on our balcony (much of the year they actually freeze out there, but so far it hasn't damaged them and they don't stink nearly as bad. If they are really frozen, I let them thaw a bit so they don't crack.). Then I just toss out the plastic bag with each load.
For those in my part of the world (I think this would include Russia and Europe and maybe beyond), I have found that Persil Sensitive soap does a good job if you're looking for a good soap. I was really afraid of using the wrong soap after reading online about how particular it should be, but this soap seems to do a good job and hasn't damaged our diapers.
I LOVE diapers on the line!!! LOVE it!! I could just stare at laundry on the line all day...and yes, all these photos are mine because I also like taking photos of diapers on the line :) I actually had to cut down on the ones I shared in this post Ha! Great recommendation on the Soap!! Here I invest in imported Tide (at something like $25 for a big jug!!) because even the Ticos say the soap here destroys clothes...
DeleteAshley, I love the look of cute colourful diapers, too! :) I've stopped using detergent on my diapers and started using soap nuts. They are nuts from a tree that have a natural surfactant in them. Much cheaper because you can stretch them a ways before throwing them out. Occasionally our diapers still need a wash with Persil non-bio detergent, though.
DeleteWondering how many diapers you were given through the Cottonbabies grant? We are applying at the moment, but wondering if we will need to purchase others in addition. :)
DeleteAs I remember (but my "baby" is 5 years old) it is enough, if you wash pretty much every day.
DeleteWe got ours from the cotton babies grant, too! It was such a blessing. I love drying our diapers on the line whenever possible. I've been known to leave them up for a day or so too. :-) Something I've done is put 2 or 3 drops of lavender oil in the wash to help with the smell. You can also put it in your wipe solution if you're using reusable wipes too. It supposedly helps with diaper rash.
ReplyDeleteGood tip about the lavender oil! And yes, I always dry outside when I can! Inside in the winter in Michigan worked well too...and helped put some moisture back in the air. Here, we don't have a problem with a lack of moisture in the air! :)
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Delete:-) Such a fun post! We cloth diaper here in South Sudan and I have found hand washing to be a relaxing part of my day...weird I know. I love seeing all the clean diapers on the line and really haven't missed my washing machine like I thought I would (but I do miss my toilet for soaking diapers in...the pit latrine just isn't the same for me...)
ReplyDeleteNot weird at all! I totally get cha :) And yes, I think I would miss a real toilet too :)
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Deletewe cloth diapered 8 (combo of in the states, quebec for language school and w. africa) - and i bought most of our stuff gently used to begin with, so by #8, i was doubling and tripling, especially for naps.
ReplyDeletewe also "discovered" the vinegar trick and i still use it... baking soda and lemon juice also deodorizes if you can't get the sour smell to leave. lemon juice and the sun together is an incredible whitener... i couldn't believe some of my diapers had been used for 8 years when i gave them away to friends once the last one potty trained.
i also adopted the nigerien ladies' way of potty training... quite easy to do on tile floors... basically, during the day, i let the kids run around without anything and kept a potty chair close by. they were all pretty reliable, even through the night, by about 15 mos with no pressure and no battles of will.
i always did have a washing machine... so unless there were electric problems or technical issues going on with the machine, i didn't have to wash diapers by hand.
in the states, we used disposables when traveling or when someone else (i.e. grandparents) was caring for our gang. otherwise, we were mostly always in cloth.
I wonder, do all countries (except America!) potty train that way? It's pretty much the same here, and it has worked beautifully for us, too.
DeleteI'm impressed by those who can have their children potty trained by 15 mo!! The British have a similar approach to potty training to Americans.
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