cloth diapering and other stuffz

So we began Val's journey into this world with the ubiquitous Pampers that were given by the hospital. I loved the fact that there was an indicator strip on the outside that showed how many times baby had peed and when it was time for a change. It was nice, especially for a new mom, and also an anxious first-time breastfeeding mom who was not sure how many times her baby was peeing. Soon after a day or two home, we decided to go back to the good ole Chinese cloth diapers but we used Snappi fasteners instead of safety pins that made our job much easier and less scary.
I bought them from Mothercare, but they're also available in Kiddy Palace and the Bumwear shop. Why the switch back to cloth? Well, i was really curious to see when Val was peeing and how much, and felt that having cloth diapers allowed me to do that. Also, it just felt cooler, and kinder on his tiny bum. And with my folks so willing to help out, we decided to use cloth diapers. I really think that using cloth in this day and age requires a lot of support, otherwise, you get plenty of complains of wet beds, and frequent washing! And so from there, we found out that Val would pee many many times right after a feed and then gradually stop after an hour or so, and then the next cycle starts at the next feed. Oh and yes, Pampers is also very expensive! So we began using cloth during the day, and Pampers at night.


When Val was about six weeks, I bought the first Bumwear pocket diaper to try them out. I had read about them and heard conflicting reviews and was curious to see if they work. I bought the petite sized one cos Val was still so small. It's a nice dark purple shade with light purple buttery soft fleece inner lining. It worked quite well, and much better than the OLD versions that had cloth outers that would leak often. (I had borrowed 2 of the old ones from a friend and they were always leaking). But somehow, i was still not as satisfied cos everytime i wanted to change Val, i felt the inner fleece and it was always kinda humid and warm. Surely that can't be very good for his jewels i thought.... hmmm..... the search continued....

Then I spoke to some friends who had also been using pocket diapers and they recommended Happy Heiny's which is one of the many brands sold online at the Whoopee kiddies store. But somehow they didn't appeal to me. The price is also comparable to Bumwear. Then Rani told me that she had ordered some Bum Genius cloth diapers and they worked better than Bumwear. i began to read up more on the brand and from its manufacturers Cotton Babies. The reviews were mostly positive, so i decided ok, let's try some! And so i bought six of them and so far, it's been GREAT! Truly! The inner lining is ALWAYS dry, and the inserts can really soak up Val's pee. But occasionally when i didn't velcro the tabs tight enough, there has been 2 leaks. But other than that, i feel that he seems really dry and comfortable. My only grouses : i dunno how long the velcro tabs will last, and i hate the fact that they only have pastel colours!

I also bought a dozen flannel wipes from Cotton Babies because i've decided that relying on wet wipes is not financially sound! Much as i love the Pigeon Chamomile wipes that dispense so wonderfully and smell so nice, and wipe so nicely, they are just too expensive at $10.10 for 3 packs. I mean, since Val poos such sticky stuff, and i don't want to do a shoddy job cleaning him up, i tend to use quite a few pieces each time. So i decided to see how it would be using flannel wipes and warm water on him instead. So far, so good! I mean, it helps that he now only poo poos 2 times a day so it's not a big hassle soaking and washing the flannel wipes. My grouse: the flannel felt sooo much softer and nicer before they were washed! Now that they have been washed repeatedly, they don't seem to get softer as promised! Oh well.........................

Anyways, these days by using a combination of cloth diapers, Bumwear and BumGenius pocket diapers, we find that we're only using about 1 disposable a day! That's a great reduction of disaposable waste although i don't know whether it translates into actual $ savings since we do use quite a bit of water, electricity and human effort to launder the cloth diapers! At least, i comfort myself that water although scarce is renewable and with Newater technology, haha, we're recycling it while landfills take years and years to degrade and the world is running out of space! That said, you do need patience if you intend to go cloth diapering cos when blowouts happen, and Val's runny poo smears all over your pants, i have to rely on my sense of humour to laugh it off!

As for disposies, i've found that Mamy Poko is a good choice since it's not as expensive as Pampers but just as effective, and it's got a great poo poo pocket that really does trap the runny breastmilk poo very well. Huggies, although an established brand, tends to bulk up and makes Val look err... overly endowed down under. As for the more affordable Drypers - sorry, the sticky tab drives me nuts, so i stopped after the first pack. Since we're down to using only one disposable a day, i've decided to stick to Mamy Poko for now until someone recommends me something better.


***Note: this may have read like an advertorial but it is not! i have not been paid by anyone to advertise their stuff! just wanted to share with others what i'm doing....