Covers question

[the2amigos]

I'm relatively new to CD. My son is 5 weeks old, we've been using cloth for the last three weeks and I love it! The only time we have had blow-outs have been in disposables!

I am using either Kissaluvs 0 or CPF - snappied - with small proraps. This works ok, no leaks or anything, but I'm finding the PUL so warm and "suffocating", also it leaves a little pink around his thighs. I tried our Aristocrat wool cover last night and am confused. He stayed dry, but the cover was damp on the outside in the back - and his diaper wasn't even really that wet there - the front of his diaper was soaked through and the wool was dry there?!?!? What's up with that? Was it just sweat in the back?

I have a small Fuzzibunz that I like on him. I'm thinking of branching out into more wool or fleece but don't know where to start. What is your favorite wool/fleece cover? And do I wait 'til he is a little bigger so I don't have to go through so many sizes? How do you measure for rise and thighs, etc? He is tall and a bit chunky I think for his age. I really liked the wool cover on him last night, no red marks on thighs and was so soft on his skin!

Another silly question - why don't some like hemp? The stink? What causes it to stink?

Sorry so many questions and thanks! I've been searching through the archives and you could spend days reading all the posts about some of this stuff - you guys are a great resource!!

[mudder17]

Congratulations on your newborn! It's very exciting to have them in cloth, isn't it? I also used Kissaluvs and snappi'd PFs. But I was changing her so often (plus she was born in the winter) that I didn't have problem using PUL covers, although some of them did leave red marks around her legs. Did you lanolize your Aristocrat wool cover? I suppose it could be sweat, but I'm not sure why it would be wet in the back with the diaper being dry in the back.

I actually stuck to PFs (except the inital K0 stash for her newborn stage) because they are so forgiving in size and shape and contained her BF'd poop so well. I didn't branch out into other things until she started solids and I didn't have to worry about finding a system that would work with leaky poop.

Do you want to use fleece/wool covers 24/7 or just at night?

Personally, I would suggest using fleece with a young babe because even with snappi'd PFs you get occasional leaks of poop onto the cover. Fleece is so much easier to wash than wool. So for the breathability and gentleness option, I would try some fleece covers. For a really simple pull-on fleece cover that's pretty inexpensive, you can check out Angelluvs.com. Other people seem to like sugarpeas fleece covers. For a good nighttime cover, I have a fleece cover from Cosmic Baby Shop. I don't have a huge amount of fleece covers, so others may have better suggestions.

Some people don't like hemp because of the stink. The stink is usually caused by one of two things--build-up of detergent, or not enough detergent (so the diapers aren't getting clean). Any diapers can actually have this stink, but hemp is more prone to buildup (I think), so they tend to get the stink more. Kaya really needs hemp because she's a supersoaker, and I really don't have big problems with the stink. It's true that after 13 hours in her hemp overnights, they do smell like ammonia but it's not enough to make my eyes water or anything like that.

I need to cut this short because I'm off to DD's 12 month appt. Hope this helps a little!



Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya, www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040222/0/0/1/-5/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif Breastfed 1 Year -- Woohoo!

[brigmaman]

Congratulations! Eileen answered most of your questions better than I could have.
My dd is now about 4 months and we CD'd from birth. We also used Kissaluvs and PFs w/Proraps and Bumpys in the beginning. Bumpys seem to breath a bit better and aren't as plasticy. Apparently Litewraps are also not as plasticy and cost less than Bumpys. We've never tried those, though.
We branched out pretty quickly into fitteds and other covers fairly quickly. For fleece, we have Sugarpeas 1 layer and 2 layer covers. I love these-especially the 2 layer- but beware, they run huge.
I use wool as well. For now we have merino pants (so easy-no extra cover needed), and a wool jersey cover from www.bijoubabygear.com.
At night I have been putting dd in a very absorbant nighttime diaper and just putting her in her fleece sleepsack. I don't always use a cover. The fleece has worked fine.
As for hemp-it all depends on the factors that Eileen mentioned. We haven't had any problems and LOVE our hemp.

[tarahsolazy]

You can get nice and affordable fleece covers at www.loveybums.com and the Calico Baby, www.thecalicobaby.com I think. I agree that fleece is easier cleaning than wool at that age.

[brigmaman]

Ok, I was curious...so Calico Baby is...http://www.thecalicobaby.com/store/Default.asp
And they have free shipping w/those prices!
I can't wait for Loveybums to restock. They look cute!

[tarahsolazy]

I like both, but I found both to run a tad small. I ordered a Medium fleece from Calico Baby, and it doesn't cover fitteds at all! Works great for trifolded pfs, though. The Loveybums large I have barely makes it over fitteds, but is great for premium pfs, snappi'd, or trifolded. I'd like a large CB and an extra-large LB, but I need more covers like a new hole in my head. However, the LB large wool jersey I have (Limeaide color) is wonderfully trim, stretchy, well-made, Applix-YAY, and has plenty of grow room. I actually got it over a snappi'd Toddler pf, which is a bulky dipe, for Fory's nap yesterday.

[mudder17]

Okay, I would get a large CB, but I too, have too many covers, especially if I get the BJM soaker. Oh well, pull-up covers work better with a wiggly babe anyway! :)


Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya, www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040222/0/0/1/-5/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif
12M checkup: 31", 18.8 lbs, 47 cm head

[mommyj_2]

If you want to try nylon, Bummis whisper pants work great over Kissaluvs and snappied CPFs. They breathe a lot more than PUL, and they're great for sensitive skin. They're also only about $5/each. I actually preferred these to wool for the nb stage, because they go through an explosive poo stage where the poo tends to get on the covers. I think it happens at about 2 months, but I can't remember. Anyway, that's why I liked nylon, even though I love wool for older babies. I don't know much about fleece, since my DS got rashes from it.
HTH

[mudder17]

I didn't realize that nylon breathed more than PUL. That's great to know. I did not realize that Bummis also make pull on pants (I had the BSWW). I'll have to file that information away for future babies. :) I have a SEZ nylon cover that works pretty well, especially when I need the combo to be more trim. I'm glad to know that I can use those and not worry about it exacerbating her rashes.


Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya, www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040222/0/0/1/-5/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif
12M checkup: 31", 18.8 lbs, 47 cm head

[ktshea]

Congrats on the new baby! I can't answer most of your questions, but I can tell you about my wool experience. My DD is 3 1/2 months old and we just branched out into wool. She was having some major rash issues and so I thought I'd give it a try -- wish I would have done it sooner like you're contimplating. Like pp said, it can be a bit of a hassle to wash the wool covers b/c of the runny nature of newborn poo, but IMO it's worth it.

I have two Sugarpeas wool jersey covers and I LOVE them. We use them with snappi'd IPFs and prefitteds. I do have to wash the occasional poosplosion out of them. Naturaralbabies has the wool jersey covers in an orange color. Because of its color it doesn't show stains when it gets dirty, which is pretty darned convenient. :) I end up having to wash them just about every other day, but her bum is doing much better since we switched. And they're really not that hard to wash. Just put 'em in the sink, let them sit, give a few squeezes every once in awhile and take them out. I don't know what DD thinks of them, but they seem like they'd be more comfy to wear than PUL.

Good luck!
Katie