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I'm seriously thinking about cloth diapering, and have borrowed some MEOS from a friend to try out. When I change my son, every square inch of the diaper is soaked. I'm thinking that's normal. What I'm wondering about is making sure he's clean. Do I wipe every bit of skin that that diaper touched to prevent rash etc? I've heard some people who don't wipe at all if it's just a pee diaper - is this okay? Do you have to bathe your kids more often? Disposables are just totally different - I've never had to wipe the outside of his legs by his hips before!
Secondly, I'm looking for ideas. I don't have any counter space in my bathrooms, so I'm wondering what people do at their change tables if using wet cloths to clean. Is there a way of wetting your cloths without running to the bathroom first? With warm water?
thanks,
you can sure tell I'm a newbie at this...I don't even know any of the "shortform" words you all use? sorry  |
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Hmmm, well it's not really normal for a daytime diaper to be totally soaked like that (a nighttime one yes). Cloth usually need to be changed a little more often than disposables, maybe aim for every 1.5-3 hours, depending on how old your little one is (actually a disposable should be changed just as often for sanitary reasons but because they absorb so much many people get away with far fewer changes). A good average is about 2 hours or so. It should be and feel wet of course, but there should still be some dry spots at the wings/sides for example.
If you already change often enough then it's possible he might need more absorbancy in the diaper (ie a liner). It's not the norm but it's possible for some heavy wetting toddlers to need a bit of a boost in the One-Size (the Sandy's are a little more absorbant).
For cleaning really you shouldn't need to do anything different. Although disposables may feel drier, there's really still just as much urine in the diaper. The skin has had just as much contact with urine it just feels a little dryer (dried on urine most likely, the pee hasn't disappeared it just doesn't feel wet). Once you change more often or add a liner for more absorbancy you'll probably feel less need to wash more.
Personally I never usually wiped after a pee only diaper (wether cloth or disposable) except if it was a nighttime diaper. As long as you clean well for poopy diapers and give a bath every few days (honestly, they truly don't need actual baths any more than that) it really shouldn't be necessary.
For your change table it's up to you really. Warm water isn't really necessary, but if you prefer it there are options. You can use a wipes warmer (just wet cloth wipes and put them in the warmer), just make sure not to put too many because it might get musty (a day's worth or so should be fine I think). You could also use a thermos filled with warm water or just go to the tap for every poopy diaper. I did that myself and it's really not as bad as it sounds. Many also just keep a water bottle at the change table and then have room temperature water.
Karen.
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Thanks Karen.
He's three months old, and I do change him frequently, so I'll try the liner idea. I am impressed with the covers - as wet as he is, he hasn't leaked yet!
I gotta say that I think this forum is so cool. I learn so much by just reading old posts! |
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For wipes, we use a container purchased at Ikea that has brackets so you can hang it on the side of the change table. We fill it with water so we can wet the wipes one at a time as needed. I used to wash and refill the container every morning, but now that my son can talk, he'll sometimes ask for warm water (when it's cold in the house) so I'll go fill up the container with warm water.
I never bothered with wiping more than the usual area with my son, and I'll sometimes skip the wiping when he pees again not long after he was changed. But then, the diaper is not usually completely saturated - except in the morning, and then of course I wash more thoroughly.
Good luck and I hope you give cloth diapers a real shot - once you have a new routine installed, it's really not much work. As for this forum, a lot of us don't really need it anymore and come here just because it has become a bit of a hobby... Be careful, it's addictive! |
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I do a general wipe-around after a night diaper, mostly because that pee tends to be stronger and stinkier (with an older child). Otherwise, I generally wipe only for poopy diapers unless those are rare. I just use room-temperature water in a little tub by the changing table. When I used more wipes, I'd put in about a day's worth of them at a time to absorb most of the water in case DS decided to shake the table. I suppose room temperature water in the morning in the winter is a bit bracing, but my boys didn't seem to notice. Only now, at just 3, my second son is cringing a bit at his morning wipe-over (he's potty-trained, but still needs diapers at night).
Some people will keep a thermos of warm water by the changing table, although I'm not sure how the logistics of that work so as not to spill. |
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| We use a wipes warmer with our cloth wipes. We just unplug it in the summer. It holds about 2 days worth of terry cloth washclothes that we have run under the tap in a bunch of about 10-12 and loosly wrung them out before putting them folded in half into the warmer. No muss-no fuss. |
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| Wow, what a wet guy! I change my DS pretty frequently so his diapers are never that soaked. At 9 months, I still wash 6-12 diapers. I keep a little Glad container of soap water mixture at my change table and my cloth wipes go into the diaper pail. I wipe him after each diaper change. I don't have much counter space in my bathroom, especially now that he's bigger. I used to use disposable wipes and they were never warm so I don't think it matters that the water is cold. |
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