Special needs Diapers

Nov 29,2010 / By Maria / 4 Comments

It’s Monday, so today I will answer user submitted questions! If you have a question, email maria at change-diapers.com and put “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject. Questions don’t have to be about cloth, as long as you’re nice. (e.g. don’t ask me why I’m so dumb or why my nose is so big!)

Carrie says:

Hi Maria!

I have a question for you about older kids. I have an almost-4-year-old who is potty-trained, but still has occasional accidents at night. We limit the drinks before bedtime and make sure he goes to the bathroom one more time before getting in bed, but still there are accidents. I know all the disposable diaper companies make nighttime “underwear” for big kids, but I was wondering if you could recommend any cloth versions. I didn’t start cloth diapering until my third who is 12-months-old now so I don’t really know what to do about big kids.

Thanks!

Carrie

Good question Carrie! Though I’m not there yet myself, I’ve been keeping a look out for these. It doesn’t sound like you really need the absorbency (or want the look) of a diaper. For those who do, Fuzzibunz mediums are huge, so I don’t doubt for a second that their larges will fit a 45 pound child, as they estimate! They also sell an extra-large, to fit children over 45 pounds. They seem to be harder to find though. I believe they may actually be made to order.

Mother-Ease has some specialty products that include training pants for kids up to 60 pounds (the largest size holds only 6 ounces, so not diaper absorbency. Their bedwetter pants fit up to 65 pounds, and hold 21 ounces!

Bumbledoo sells cloth training pants that look more like undies, can be ordered in custom sizes, and are quite absorbent.

Super Undies makes night time undies look like underwear, are quite absorbent, and can be used with step-up inserts for extra absorbency. These look best to me for a big kid!

Happy Heinys sells Pocket Trainers that come in larger sizes (up to XL/55+ lbs) and of course, are stuffable to customize absorbency. Snap-EZ has a pocket trainer too, but they are going out of business!

I haven’t personally tried any of these, since my son isn’t quite there yet, but they are what I’ve found and been interested in thus far.

Hannah says:

Hi Maria,

I’m using cloth diapers for my special needs little brother. Due to some medical issues, he is really susceptible to diaper rashes and when he does get a rash it means his entire diaper area is fiery red, raw and bleeding. I’m also thinking that some pull-ups we used during a recent hospital stay may have helped to cause the rash.

I’m wondering if you have any suggestions for diaper rash creams that would be strong enough to actually do something to help heal his bottom and keep the rash away.

My second question, in your cloth diaper search, have you come across diapers for Special Needs kiddos other than the two big diaper companies, FuzziBunz and Happy Heinys? I’m always interested in finding more companies that support cloth diapering for Special Needs children.

Thanks!
Hannah

Well, I actually got this submission after I had typed the answer to the first one, and had it ready to publish. Since I found myself wandering from night time potty training to special needs kids, I thought I may as well combine them!

Hannah, I am thinking the mother-ease “bedwetter” pants or even the super undies with some additional inserts would be nice. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for others!

You can use any diaper rash cream as long as you use a fleece liner to protect the cloth diaper. I had great luck with Boudreaux Butt Paste when my daughter was little, and I have heard many, many Moms say that Triple Paste is excellent for the really bad rashes. Luckily, my son has a little redness from a dirty diaper at the worst, and a little Grandma El’s or EMAB bottom balm clears it right up. His rashes from disposables never actually bled, but they sure were close. I’m not sure Grandma El’s or EMAB would work for a bad rash, but once you get it cleared up, a thin, preventative layer at each change would likely work wonders.

Sorry I wasn’t more help, I will definitely be on the lookout for any larger, absorbent diapers!

How about you, readers? Have you found a night-time trainer that you love? Anyone found great special needs diapers? Have you ever battled bath rash with cloth? What worked for you?

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Flip H&L Cover & Organic Insert Winner

Nov 28,2010 / By Maria / 1 Comment

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I was actually surprised to see so few people enter this one! I am guessing it’s because it started and ended on a weekend, with the holiday in between there. I am sure people have been busy!

In any case 133 people entered with 241 entries total. The winner is # 219 which is Rebecca Huss.

Congratulations Rebecca, I’m emailing you now!

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Weekly Friday Giveaway Roundup for November 26th, 2010

Nov 26,2010 / By Maria / 4 Comments

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If you’re like me, you’re staying far, far away from stores today. Before you fall into a turkey leftover coma, take a look at some of these awesome cloth giveaways! Every Friday I round up cloth diaper, accessory and baby wearing giveaways that I’ve found, or that have been submitted.

I’d love submissions if you’d like your giveaway highlighted. Just send a description, link and photo (if applicable) to maria at change-diapers.com. I like to keep the roundup to cloth, baby wearing etc. but you can put anything family friendly in the linky. Just please, no “adult” stuff!

This week’s giveaway finds:

My Flip H&L Cover & organic insert giveaway ends tomorrow, 11/27

My Rockin’ Green Funk Rock/Mighty Mighty Marshmallow giveaway ends 11/30

Mother-Ease Sandy’s Fitted Diaper and Cover from Marlie and Me (ends 12/10)

Thirsties Duo Wrap and Stay Dry Insert from Makobi Scribe Mandatory Facebook “like” (ends 12/5)

Snappi from A Heart for Home (ends 12/3)

Bootyful Baby Diaper from Cloth Diaper Addiction Mandatory GFC follow (ends 11/29)

Boba Baby Carrier from Baby Dickey’s Giveaways (ends 12/4)

$10 Squishy Tushy GC from The Cloth Diaper Report (ends 11/29)

Beco Gemini Carrier from Sugar Pop Ribbons Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/11)

$25 Applecheeks Gift Card from Confessions of a First Time Mom Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/4)

Thirsties Duo Wrap and Stay Dry Insert from A Heart for Home (ends 12/6)

Doopsy SD Diaper from Goodbye Disposable, Hello Cloth Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/6)

Doopsy SD Diaper from Biehl Adventures (ends 12/1)

Bumware AIO from Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique and Dibs TWO mandatory Facebook “likes” (ends 11/29)

$350 Fuzzibunz Kit from Kelly Wels Giveaway is run on Facebook, mandatory “like” (ends 12/21)

Tiny Tush Elite Diaper from Liz Has a Life (ends 12/14)

Bummis Wet Bag from Life with my Littles Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/7)

Comfy Rumps Pocket Diaper from The Cheap and Choosy (ends 12/23)

Nifty Nappy Super Duper Soaker from Biehl Adventures (ends 11/30)

Katydid Cloth Diaper from A Heart for Home (ends 12/8)

GoGoGreen Pocket Diapers from The Cheap and Choosy (ends 12/26)

Bummas Wipes from Heavenly Savings (ends 12/7)

Bum Essentials Diaper from Momma in Flip Flops (ends 12/8)

ErgoBaby Doll Carrier from One Savvy Mom Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/21)

Comfy Rumps Diapers from Chubby Cheeks Thinks 2 winners, open to the U.S. and Canada (ends 12/15)

Bumkins Dr. Suess Bundle from Knocked up and Nursing (ends 12/9)

Giveaways still running from last week:

Zizzies and Izzies Fleece Soaker from Marlie and Me (ends 12/1)

Funhog Felts Wool Dryer Balls from Marlie and Me (ends 12/2)

Bummas Wipes from Marlie and Me (ends 12/3)

Pooters Pocket Diaper from Marlie and Me (ends 12/4)

Kawaii Snazzy minky Diaper from Life of This SAHM (ends today, 11/26)

Babykicks 3g Pocket Diaper from Baby Dickey’s Giveaways Mandatory GFC follow (ends 11/27)

Planet Wise Medium Wet Bag from The Not So Secret Confessions of a First Time Mom Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/4)

Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag from Bum Covered Diapers and It’s Me Melbie Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/2)

Happy Heinys Pockets Diaper from Nature Bumz and The Cheap and Choosy (ends 12/12)

Applecheeks diaper from Life With My Littles Mandatory GFC follow (ends 11/28)

Kawaii Pocket Diaper from Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique and The Cheap and Choosy (ends 12/15)

GoGo Green Wet Bag from Mommy’s Blessings (ends 12/3)

Baby K’Tan pink baby carrier from Mama to 4 Blessings Mandatory GFC follow (ends 12/11)

Doopsy SD Diaper from Life with my Littles Mandatory GFC follow (ends 11/30)

FuzziBunz Perfect Size Diaper from Thanks Mama and The Cheap and Choosy (ends 12/17)

Babee Greens Organic Cloth Diaper from Children Teaching Mama (ends 12/6)

Thirsties Duo Diaper from The Cheap and Choosy (ends 12/5)

ErgoBaby Doll Carrier from A Mom’s Balancing Act (ends 12/3)

ErgoBaby Doll Carrier from Thanks Mail Carrier (ends 12/3)

Boba Carrier from Born 2 Impress Mandatory GFC follow (ends 11/28)

Thirsties Duo Wrap and stay dry insert from A Mommy’s Blessings Mandatory GFC follow (ends today, 11/26)

FuzziBunz Diaper from Cake Blast (ends 11/29)

Babykicks 3G Pocket Diaper from Chubby Cheeks Thinks (ends today, 11/26)

$10 GC to SweetBottoms Baby Boutique from Chubby Cheeks Thinks (ends today, 11/26)

$11 GC to Wee Little Changes from The Cheap and Choosy (ends 11/29)

Katydid Cloth Diaper from The Cheap and Choosy (ends 12/2)

Kissaluvs Marvels AIO from Hip Tips For You Mandatory product review OR Facebook Comment (ends 12/1)

You may enter any family friendly giveaway in the linky below. The form Blog name – Giveaway Item – Ending date works well. At a minimum, please include the item and end date, and link directly to the giveaway.

Please view my post on where I list my giveaways to find more great places to link up!

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Cloth Diapering

The future of Cloth, Part III of ? Types and sizing

Nov 25,2010 / By Maria / 2 Comments

>This is part 3 of my ramblings on the future of cloth. See Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them!

As modern cloth evolves, I expect to see more “hybrid” diapers like the Amp Duo Diaper and the Softbums Omni. Diapers that allow you to use them as a pocket diaper, all-in-two, or a cover with prefolds. So you don’t necessarily have to choose and invest in just one type. We’ve already seen a pretty big boom with the hybrid/all-in two styles with wipe-able shells like the Best Bottom Diapering System, the Flip and others.

I also hope/expect to see even more insert options, more natural fibers, trim inserts, perhaps combined with a soft, wicking fabric on top, like microfleece. I think if there were even more disposable/flushable/compostable inserts available, it would help people test the waters with cloth, and realize that washing the inserts really isn’t a big leap!

One-size diapers have gained enormous popularity in the past few years. When I researched cloth in 2004 for my daughter, I don’t recall seeing any pocket diapers with the “snap down” rise one-size feature that is so common today. Bumgenius was founded in late 2005, but I don’t know who was the first to do this style. I believe the “one size” fold down rise that’s common on fitted diapers today, was introduced by Mother-Ease.

While they are great, in the future I see more companies considering a two-size system like the Thirsties Duo Diaper. I didn’t start cloth diapering my son until he was about 14 pounds at 4 months old, so I don’t have experience cloth diapering a newborn. Many “one size” diapers claim to fit starting at 6 or 8 pounds, but I hear many say they didn’t fit well until about 10 pounds, and I don’t at all doubt that is truth. This means that most people will need to purchase newborn/extra-small diapers, unless they plan to use disposables in the beginning.

On the other end of the spectrum, Moms with larger babies or late potty trainers (learners) say the “one-size” diapers didn’t fit through potty training. Not only that, but you can’t necessarily expect a diaper that’s been in constant use for 2 1/2-3 years, to last through another child.

The two size diapers seem to be the perfect compromise between sized and one-size diapers. No need to buy newborn, one-size and extra-large, or newborn, small, medium etc. Two sizes truly cover the range from newborn to potty training. it seems like such an ingenious idea to me, I’m surprised more companies haven’t caught on. I am still hoping that Bumgenius will come out with a mini-one size pocket diaper!

I think I’m going to stop here since I’m trying not to make these posts tl;dr worthy (too long, didn’t read!) I have more on my mind about the future of cloth, so stay tuned!

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Rockin Green Funk Rock & Mighty Mighty Marshmallow Classic Rock Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 11/30)

Nov 24,2010 / By Maria / 10 Comments

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In my opinion, wash routine and detergent are the biggest hurdle in cloth diapering. My personal motto is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” If you have a detergent and wash routine that are working for you, stick with it. After trying many different detergents, I’ve been using Tide powder, with an extra rinse and an occasional bleaching.

So why am I messing with it? I was sucked in by the new Rockin’ Green Funk Rock Ammonia Bouncer, thinking that maybe by using it, I could eliminate the monthly/semi-monthly bleaching. I decided to also buy a bag of the mighty mighty marshmallow classic rock detergent to use along with it. Lucky for you, I bought an extra bag of each to give away to a reader!

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