Mailbox Mondays 8/2/10

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Every Monday I will answer user submitted questions.  They don’t have to be about cloth diapering!  I’ll always answer questions via email, but if you would like your question to be answered in a Mailbox Mondays post, send an email with the subject “Mailbox Mondays” to change.diapers.change.the.world at gmail dot com!

Before I get started, I wanted to remind you that I’m going to be a regular poster at The Village of Moms.  You may remember my guest post series about cloth diapering.  I’ll be posting the first Monday of every month, and today is my first post!  I’ll be writing about cloth diapering, baby wearing, “green” and frugal topics, as well as crafts, recipes and more!  I’d love for you to read my first post, which is about Homemade Kool-Aid Scented Play Dough!

The first question is from Stephanie:

I know you answered a question last week about nighttime diapering, but I’ve got another one.


When it comes to nighttime diapering, I know the words trim and absorbent don’t mix. But, I am looking for a solution that is as trim as possible that will work for a 27lb 20 month old. Having a bulky diaper bothers her and she just cant sleep (I wouldn’t be able to either). She is not a super wetter, but needs good absorbency to make it through the night.


Thanks!


Stephanie
 
Night time diapering seems to be the biggest conundrum in cloth diapering, second only to wash routines!  The solution for your daughter will really hinge on how heavy of a wetter she is.  A pocket diaper with a Superdo insert is the trimmest you will get (in my opinion) and still get ultra-absorbency. 
 
At this point, my son actually doesn’t need that much absorbency anymore.  If your daughter doesn’t either, you might try the Loopydo insert instead, adding a hemp doubler if needed.
 
The flip cover with the organic insert is trimmer than others, and has proved a great solution for many babies.
 
Another thing to think about is using a wool soaker over an absorbent fitted.  My experience has been that the more absorbent fitteds are bulkier, but I’ve recently discovered that hemp fitteds can be very absorbent without the bulk. 
 
I wish there was an easy answer, that I could tell you exactly what to get, but it’s really trial and error!
 
The next question is from Amanda:
 
My little one has had a recurring yeast rash in his diaper area for several months now. We brought him back to the Dr last week and she told me to bleach all my diapers and then do an extra rinse before hanging them in the sun to dry. I am terribly afraid of using bleach on my dipes, especially since many of them specifically say on the tags NO BLEACH. Is there something else I can do to make sure there are no nasty yeasties living in his diapers? We use pockets with a variety of inserts-bamboo, hemp, microfiber and plain old cotton prefolds and all of his dipes have Bamboo or organic cotton lining. HELP!


Amanda
 
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this!  Not fun for you or baby! 
 
There are other things you can try before you resort to bleach.  Around 3-4 drops (front loader, 4-6 for a top loader) of tea tree oil or grapefruit seed oil along with a hot wash, followed by drying in the sun.  Water temps need to be above 122 degrees to kill the yeast.  If you turn your water heater up to wash, be sure to turn it back down afterward!
 
Boiling water is also a good bet, but only on the prefolds.  You can damage the PUL, snaps and aplix on your pocket diapers.
 
I would definitely not recommend bleaching your diapers on a regular basis, however, 1/4 cup of bleach to a load of diapers will be very effective in killing the yeast, and doing this once will be very unlikely to damage your diapers.  Of course, do not pour bleach directly on the diapers!
 
You will want to use liners in your diapers if you are using a topical cream to treat the yeast.  I don’t usually recommend using disposables, but you might want to think about using a few until things are really cleared up.
 
 
As usual, these are my opinions, I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on T.V.  Follow manufacturer’s instructions carefully, I’m not responsible for any damage or injuries.  (There, is my tushie covered?)

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