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I am, I admit it. I’m a wool lover! I can hardly believe it. I’m having a hard time remembering all of the reasons for my paralyzing fear of wool, but they were definitely there.
Why wool? Wool is breathable and will keep baby’s hiney warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Wool is obviously a natural fiber, and has built in anti-bacterial properties. It absorbs moisture, does not retain odors, and does not have to be washed often.
Seriously, if you use wool covers all day long, you can have a rotation of 3 or 4 going. Change the cover when you change the diaper, just flip the damp one inside out and set aside to dry and you don’t have to wash every 2 or 3 weeks! If it is “soiled” you have to wash it of course!
So, on to the
Kissaluvs cover I bought. (or “butt sweater” if you’re my hubby!)
I chose
this one in particular because it is made with ultra-fine merino wool. I wish you could feel this because it is heaven; I would love a sweater made out of this wool! I chose it also because of the leg gussets, which aren’t as funny looking in person as they looked on their site.
According to the size chart, I should have gotten a medium, which fits 15-25 lbs. The large says 20-35 lbs. My son is only around 16 lbs, but I figured it would be better to buy a large, have it be too large, go back and buy the medium (saving the large for later), rather than ending up with one that is too small. I was worried about fitting it over the overstuffed, fluffy nighttime behind.
It is definitely big!
It still worked wonderfully though! The first night with this wool cover was the first night in a while that he woke up with dry jammies, sleep sack and sheet. I was so anxious to use it that I used it right away and washed and lanolized it the following day.
I’ve been using it for 2 1/2 weeks and aside from the initial wash, I’ve only washed it once. My biggest hang up about wool (the washing) has turned out to be one of the most awesome things about it; it’s so simple.
When I take the cover off of him and it’s a bit damp inside, it will initially have a slight urine odor. As it dries, the smell disappears. If it starts to retain the smell, it’s time to wash.
Washing is ridiculously easy. I put maybe two or so inches of tepid water in my utility sink, along with a dab of
Eucalan wool wash and swished it around a bit. I placed the cover in and squeezed it a teeny bit, then let it soak for 15 minutes. After that, drain the water. No need to rinse.
Click here to request a free sample of Eucalan (SASE required).
To dry, I had ready two sets of two kitchen towels laid out on the counter (one towel on top of the other). I gently pressed out as much of the water as I could, then I laid it flat on top of one set of towels. I rolled the towels and cover up and gently squeezed, unrolled it and repeated in the dry towels. Then I laid it flat on the counter to dry (out of the sunlight).
Next time I wash, I will take photos of the washing routine.
I’m not sure how often to lanolize, so I went ahead and did it with both the initial and the second wash. I know it’s one of those “do it when it needs it” kinds of things, but you know how that goes when you’re learning! Since Eucalan is a lanolin containing wool wash, I shouldn’t need to lanolize too often.
edit: I did quickly find one good tip. When you’re washing, if the water beads up on the wool, you’re good. If it forms some “pools” where the water soaks in, you might want to lanolize soon. If it becomes saturated with water, you definitely need to lanolize. I mean when you first place it in the water. Obviously it will eventually become saturated if you are washing it, LOL
I got a bottle of liquid lanolin in the health and beauty section of my local organic market.
I’ll talk more about lanolin, what it does and what else it’s used for, later. I’ve heard some people say they just use Lansinoh Lanolin to lanolize their wool.
The routine was pretty much the same as the washing (I didn’t let the cover dry between washing & lanolizing). However, I did initially add hot water along with the pea size amount of lanolin, in order to “melt” the lanolin. Then I added tepid water, swished and added the cover.
It took a full day for the cover to dry, I wasn’t able to use it the next night. I’d really like to have a second one, and this time I think I’ll get a medium!
An interesting tidbit on storage, from Kissaluv’s site:
Before storing away, wash the cover thoroughly without lanolizing. Do not fold and put between clothes. Hang it or spread it on the top of other clothes. If WL is pressed for a long time, it may get a bit stiffer like other finer wools.
I wish I had known this. I have a sweater that I loved packed away, since it had not fit me since the winter before I got pregnant with my son. While shuffling clothing around, I handled it, and it felt really strange. Brittle almost. I wonder if there is a way to save it?
P.S. Don’t forget to enter this week’s giveaway here!
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
