Trying to make the switch, but SO befuddled.

[emistarlight]

Hi everyone. I have read through weeks of posts and many articles and I just don't know what to do.
I have a fourteen month old, very active, super-soaker, multiple poops-a-day, baby boy. I would really like to make the switch to cd now that I have a washing machine that is accessible, but I just don't know which combination is best for my little super-soaker, blowout boy. I also am somewhat limited by my financial situation- I really liked Bumkins AIOs that I saw a friend of mine use, but they are pretty cost-prohibitive. So, if there is a great leak-proof pre-fold option, I would love to know it.
Any direct advice is very much appreciated. Thank you so much.

[mudder17]

Hmm...okay, for affordable, prefolds would probably be the best option, but they're not the most absorbent. However, you could add a hemp doubler or two and it would probably be absorbent that way. You could also maybe get some prefolds and have some WAHM convert them to prefitted (or you could do them yourself using these instructions:[link:www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=60&topic_id=26193&mesg_id=26193&listing_type=search|converting to prefitted]. They will make diaper changes easier for an active baby and you can easily lay in a doubler or two. With a cover with gussets, the most you would do is get poop on the cover, but those can be easily washed off and it's much less of a pain then getting poop on clothing, sheets, carpet, etc.

For a super soaker, anything with hemp or hemp fleece, etc., is probably a must (it is for my super soaker), but you can also get MF towels (from automotive section of Target or Walmart or Costco) to act as boosters. The combo of MF and hemp seems to work very well for Kaya.

I have no idea how much Bumkins AIOs run, but my friends use Kushies AIOs and have gotten a large number for their twins. You might check those out if you really want to try AIOs.

Good luck! Hopefully we can help you find a system that works for you!

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[writermama]

I have one Bumpkins AIO and though I like it -- it's very trim and is a cute print -- it's not terribly absorbant. It's one of the few diapers that I've had leak even with an added sherpa or microfiber doubler (because we didn't change it more frequently than every 2 hours) and my child IS NOT a super-soaker. A supersoaker might soak through a Bumpkins in an hour or less.

I don't know many AIOs, but there are better options in fitteds and pocket diapers for super-soaker babies -- most of which will involve hemp fabrics. However, fitteds and pockets will cost more than prefolds. And if your boy has messy blowouts, a snappied prefold may be the best answer for containing the poopsplosions. Fitteds with covers might also do the trick, but pockets may not work as well for that issue.

If you sew, there are patterns available and online shops that sell absorbant diaper fabrics such as hemp fleece so you could make your own fitteds or pocket inserts.

Hope this helps,
Karen

[eznomore]

I’ve been really happy using premium prefolds and proraps. My guy’s not a super soaker, but in the beginning I was nervous, so I used a hemp doubler with my premium CPF. Xavie barely dampened the lot, so you might do well.

I’ve never used a snappi with my proraps, which might be a plus for you and your active guy. One less step. (For a good non-snappi’ing folding demonstration I’d suggest you go to www.naturalbabies.com, click on ‘prefolds’, then click on ‘angel fold’.) And I’ve never had a blowout with proraps. They have elastic and gussets in all the right places.

Good luck on making the transition!

[emistarlight]

Thank you all so much. All this advice has definitely clarified the situation. I am definitely looking into using prowraps because the ease-of-use factor is high and they look pretty simple to use. The hemp absorbancy sounds like a good route too.
I am still trying to figure all of this out, so more advice is definitely welcomed!

[Puddy73]

Welcome to the world of fluffy butts! I started CDing my super-soaker, poops-a-lot DD when she was about 14 months old. I agree with the pps that prefolds or fitteds with covers are the least expensive option. For my DD, they also proved to be the best fit. I like some of the pockets that we have (Snap-EZ and Angeldry), but because she is a super soaker, we have to use several inserts and that can mean poop leaks around the legs - yuck! I don't think that we have ever had a poop leak with a fitted and a cover. For nightime super soakers I highly recommend mother-ease air flow covers, which are available at www.mother-ease.com/. They have an introductory special where you can try a one-size diaper, doubler and cover for about $17, including shipping.

I have one Bumkins AIO that is trim and cute, but not very absorbent. The flannel lining has also started to pill, which seems like it would be uncomfortable. Pockets and AIOS can be expensive, especially when you are trying to find a style/brand that fits your DC's build. Is your DS on the chunky side, or a string bean?

Jennifer
Mommy to Annabelle 9/03 & a little pumpkin due 10/05

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

[emistarlight]

My ds is probably more on the chunky side. I have been looking into the prowraps vs. the bummis whisper wrap. Is one better for activity than the other? I like the contour diaper thing better than the prefold idea because I don't know if he would sit still long enough for me to get a prefold set up in the wrap! contours are like fitteds without the snaps, right? The kissaluvs look like they would be really nice, but it is so hard to gauge.
I like the hemp doubler or mf towel as extra too.

any more advice from what I just told you?

Thanks.

[nitaghei]

I'd skip the Kissaluvs - they are really bulky, and not very absorbent. For something similar to contour diapers, I love prefitteds. I have prefold fears that I never got past. We've been CD'g since DS was 8 months old, and I've never actually folded a prefold. I recently tried the prefitteds with a snappi and covers, and they work really well. Fairly easy to get on my wiggly toddler, too. I actually prefer these to most of my fitted dipes. For naps, I add a hemp doubler. I got mine from Janette at
www.growmearainbow.com
A couple of mamas on these boards make something similar - Shandelle (todzwife) of Funny Farm Creations and Kathryn (seekermage) of Warmfuzzies.

I never cared for the proraps cover for my DS - it left really bad red marks (but he has very sensitive skin). But if they work for you, they are a very nice option.

Disclosure: We're mostly about AIOs and pockets, since DS is in daycare, and they can't handle anything more complicated that that.

Nita (fleece is my friend)
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a PWD and a cocker (at the Rainbow Bridge)

[eznomore]

I’d suggest that you get a few ProRaps and a few Bummis SWW and try them on your son. Both have great resale on eBay, so you can’t go too wrong as you can just sell what doesn’t work for you. I tried both and had an awful experience with the Bummis. Don’t know what was up … most folks LOVE their Bummis. But it made me a ProRap convert. (My son’s not too chubby, just average, so my experience could very well be different than yours.)

I’ve also been using both contours and prefolds. You named one advantage of contours – you don’t have to go through the folding (though you’ll find you get VERY fast at folding!). The set up between the two feels about the same to me. I just get the layers put together before I remove DS’s current dipe. I really love my contours. They’re hand-me-downs, so I can’t tell you what brand they are or where they were purchased, but they’re flannel and THIRSTY without being too bulky.

Nita mentioned prefitteds. Thanks to our fellow CDing mommas, I’ve learned that there are directions for making your own. I’m going to give it a try. And I’ve got my kool-aid all ready to go to do a bit of dying. Wish me luck! But here’s the link. If it doesn’t work, just do a search. The subject is ‘prefolds to prefitteds…a pictoral…’

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=60&topic_id=26193&mesg_id=26193&listing_type=search

Experiment and have fun!

--Eileen, Momma to Xavie

[emistarlight]

Okay, so which are the most absorbant pre-folds? I have been looking at Chinese, Indian and Hemp and I just don't know which to go with. Hemp seem pretty expensive, but if they are very very good, I found a deal for 5.00 each. but, if I could use one of the others in the premium weight with a hemp-fleece doubler without it getting too huge, I would rather go that way for cost. How much more absorbent is the hemp?

I am going to try both the whisper and the pro wraps.

[mudder17]

Bummis also did not work that great for Kaya in that we tended to get poopy leaks just around the leg. Not huge, but still, and they also left red marks around her legs. Proraps, Literaps, and Bumpy's all worked better for containing the poopy leaks. With the next baby, I'm thinking of trying the Bummis Whisper Pants.

As for the hemp, I haven't used Hemp PFs, but they are definitely more absorbent than regular prefolds. Maybe you could get a couple for night time and then get regular PFs for the rest of your stash. Indians are a little more absorbent earlier on, and a little softer as well. But after many months of use, they're both reasonably soft. I still think the Indians are more absorbent, but the Chinese are bigger (they don't shrink as much). If you get them from Teresa Smith on ebay (just e-mail her), she'll let you mix and match Indians and Chinese. You can also check if she has Hemp, but what you found sounds like a pretty good deal. For the day, the premiums with a doubler, hemp or not, work okay. With hemp, she'll last 2 hours, but w/the regular doublers, I probably have to change her after 1-1.5 hours.

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[emistarlight]

Thank you so much. That all makes a lot of sense to me. So, it sounds like the prowrap/bummis whisper wrap just depends on the kid- is that right? The other wraps you mentioned I have not heard of. I will definitely look them up.
Thank you so much for all of the help. I will look up that ebay person for the prefolds, as I have not yet found the 'best deal' on prefolds.

Are the rice paper inserts good? I have heard that they make poops really easy to deal with.

[emistarlight]

btw, how do you email Teresa Smith? What is the address/website to see her stuff?

Thank you!

[mudder17]

You can e-mail Teresa at Teresa.Smith at rocketmail dot com.

Oh and Kris uses the rice paper liners and likes them very much. I believe Andrew's poop is much mor predictable these days so she uses them for the poopy diapers. I wish Kaya were so predictable! She poops once, twice or three times depending on what she's been eating. Very rarely does she go a day without one.


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[shburks]

I started a little late to CDing (right about 8 months) and could not live without the rice paper liners!! Makes poo so much easier to deal with imo. :)

Susan