The Smell is GONE!!!!

So, I finally got rid of the ammonia smell in my diapers.  After trying Blue Dawn with a little bleach (note to self...admit that you can not use bleach with your kid's sensitive skin and we'll all be better off) with many many many rinses, vinegar rinses, and Rockin' Green's "Rock the Soak" (none of which worked) I have solved the problem!!!

I did A LOT of research and discovered that my problem was hard water build up.  Yep, the hard water (which I knew I had) has mineral deposits in it (which I also knew) that apparently build up over time in your diapers.  That I did not know!  So using Dawn, bleach, and vinegar till the cows came home wasn't going to do a darn thing for me.  It also let me know that the Rockin' Green wasn't the problem.  So, how did I solve the issue you may be asking?

Calgon.  Yep!  Calgon.  1/2 a capful of Calgon, in a load of already cleaned diapers per my usual routine, with my inserts and covers in a HOT wash and WARM rinse.  Followed by another WARM rinse.  Voila! Smells be gone.  No more ammonia smell, no more faint poopy smell...perfect diapers.  :)  I have decided to start doing a Calgon wash once a month to keep the stinkies at bay.

Keep in mind there are MANY reasons your diapers could have an ammonia smell: concentrated urine, too much detergent, too little detergent, non-CD friendly diaper rash treatments, using a fabric softener, and hard water mineral deposits.

Here is the website I used to help resolve this issue.  I hope you find it helpful:  http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentbasics.htm

Operation: fall in Love with Rockin Green

I know.. I know.. I have been letting Amanda do all the writing, but here I am!

I spent 1 month with my whole mission being to fall in love with Rockin Green Laundry Soap. I bought a big bag of the grape soda (yum! I have a love of Fanta Grape so that is why I chose that scent).

pre-month: I stripped all diapers so I could start fresh. (with RG) I followed the instructions on the card that the soap came with.

week 1: I soaked all my diaper loads of no more than 10 diapers in 3 Tbsp of RG and scalding hot water mixed with boiled from stove top and hot from the tap. I did this because I was told by many that the reason the first time I tried RG was because I didn't have hot water to my washer and it requires hot to activate. Well, all week I activated that crap and still, the diapers smelled like crap. Oh, so I did the soak with detergent, then wash then 2 rinse cycles.

week 2: Maybe I need a smaller wash cycle. So I did 120 degree water with 6-8 diapers and repeated wash routine from week 1. result" crappy smelling diapers.

week 3: the way to get hot water out to my laundry room became a serious pain in the ass. So I returned to my cold water and put in 8 Tbsp. of RG. Well the diapers didn't smell crappy anymore but they did still have a dingy look to them.

week 4: went out and bought Tide regular because I ran out of RG and voila! my diapers were clean, white and fluffy.

I made up my mind!!! And it will surprise you...

So, after tons of research, opinion gathering, and talking things out with my husband I have decided how I will diaper 2.0 (the new baby) for the first 4ish months of life.  :)  And I think the results will surprise you.

For the daytime I have a few options for myself:

1 SoftBums cover with 3 inserts, and 1 Flip.  These are mostly to try out and see how I like them for as the baby gets a little older.  But, I want to have them on hand to try and I plan on testing them on my son first.

Now...take a seat, because this will shock you.  Are you sitting now?  Good.

24 infant prefolds!!!!

I know, I know.  You can't believe it right?  Well, here are my thoughts.  After doing lots of research on sizing and pricing I just couldn't find THE diaper I wanted (not that I knew what that would be) for the money I wanted to spend.  This time in a baby's life is so short I didn't want to spend a fortune on expensive diapers.  I'll spend more on the diapers 2.0 will use for the remaining diapering time.  So, prefolds were economical and I convinced my husband that he could do it.  :)  12 of my prefolds I bought on a swap board for $13.  They are unbleached OsoCozy brand.  The other 12 are Little Lions Infant Seconds that I got for $13 as well.  I use their prefolds in my son's pocket diapers and love them.  So soft.  Now I am skipping over newborn prefolds but that is because I would rather fold the front down a smidge and use something longer than have a prefold that will only work for a couple of weeks for me.  We plan on using sposies until the umbilical cord comes off anyway...especially for a boy because he would be circumcised and I don't want vaseline all over my fleece barriers.

I still have yet to get my covers, but I'll wait until we find out if the baby is a boy or girl.  I plan on getting 6  or 8 covers.  2 for daytime each day and 1 or 2 for nighttime.

For nighttime:

I will not be prefolding at night though.  No way.  Too exhausting.  And I know my husband would refuse to help out in the middle of the night if that was his only option as well.  Therefore, I have ordered 12 Cozy Cub Fitteds by Little Lions.  $99 for 12 fitted diapers!  I was hard pressed to find as high a quality diaper for that price anywhere else.  Green Mountain Fitteds came close, but I think the materials in these will be softer and more absorbent in the long run.

We also have 1 bumGenius AIO size small that we will be using at night.  If you're looking for a good deal on bumGenius hop on over to Kelly's Closet and click on the link at the top of the page for the BG coupons.  That's how I got my AIO.  And I bought the Flip diaper as my purchase item.  Not bad to get 2 diapers for the price of one, or 10% off the one-size bg 24 pack.  :)

-Amanda-

You tell me...

So...being the "newbie" (*** I think our first commenter misunderstood as they do not frequent this blog.  So, for new people...welcome, and I am not new to CDing.  Just to CDing a newborn.) on Fluffy Bums I have not ever CD'd a newborn.  My lovely husband begs me not to do it until we start solid foods, as that's when we started our son.  A BIG part of me agrees with him.  But, maybe that's because I've never had to CD a newborn before???

So lets say this...for the first few weeks I am using disposables.  Heck...with lack of sleep and washing my son's CDs I will deserve a few disposables in my life.  lol

But, what's your advice.  What do you recommend? I don't want tons of fitteds for newborns.  Not gonna happen.  But, what diapers do you like for small babies into the toddler years?  Yeah, that's right...OS diapers.  lol  Does such a thing truly exist?

-Amanda-

Review: GroBaby (a.k.a. The Diaper I Wanted Desperately to Love)

Diaper:  GroBaby - $24.95 (This gives you 1 shell, one soaker pad, and 1 booster)

Materials:  Outer layer PUL, is a mesh with snaps for attaching the inserts, Velcro closure, one size adjustment on the outside of the diaper, Organic Cotton 6-layer elasticized snap in soaker and booster.

Fit:  8 - 35 lbs.

How it works:  GroBaby diapers are a hybrid, or AI2, diaper.  This differs from most of the diapers that we have reviewed because each diaper is a shell that has a front and back snap on the inside.  An insert snaps into the shell.  This allows you to remove an insert from the shell, and to replace it with a new insert thus reusing the same shell multiple times throughout the day.  No stuffing of pockets with this diaper, and the inserts supposedly dry faster than an AIO diaper system.  GroBaby diapers are a OS diaper with snaps on the outside of the shell.  The insert is elastic so it stretches as you "up-size" the diaper.  It closes with a hook and loop closure, but unlike other diapers the velcro on the tabs attaches to a soft loop fabric rather than your traditional strip of female velcro on the outside of the diaper.

Thoughts from Amanda:

Aesthetics -  The colors are very bold (well, aside from vanilla of course and they have a few prints.  However, color selection and print selection is VERY limited.  In the end this shouldn't really matter though because you will be reusing shells throughout the day.  You may only need 3-4 shells in the beginning (newborn) and fewer possibly as your child grows.  So, if you want to look at a variety of cute diapers in your stash this type of system may not be for you.  I also found them to be nice and soft.

Functionality - These diapers are HIGHLY functional.  The system itself is very user friendly.  Prep your shells by snapping in inserts.  When it's time to change a diaper simply remove the insert (or shake/rinse off poops first if necessary) throw it into your diaper pail or wet bag and do one of the following:

1) If only a poopy diaper and the poops didn't get on the shell, snap in a new insert and voila...re-diaper the baby and you're done!

2) If the diaper is wet, and it got wet enough that the shell is a smidge damp on the inside, no worries, just remove the insert and toss it in a wet bag or pail.  Lay the shell out to dry and it will be ready to use again at the next diaper change.  Simply use a new diaper.

I cheated when I was out and about.  I reused the shell, and simply wiped it out with a wet wipe. Yeah, sue me.  lol  But, it sure made being out a lot easier.  Just carry a little ziploc of inserts and use the shell your kiddo is wearing.  If you're in a runny poop stage though...I'd carry along an extra shell as well though.  :)

Now...why this is "The Diaper I Wanted Desperately to Love."  I LOVED the GroBaby!  Truly I did. I promise.  Are you convinced now?  Okay...here's where it went wrong for me.  It did bother me that the insert got damp and that was touching my kiddo's little bum and private area.  Easy enough...toss on a fleece liner.  But, for me...it was the fit.  There was NO way this was going to make it to 35 lbs. for my kid.  And knowing what a big wetter he is, I must say in the end it wouldn't have held up well to his high volume of tinkle either.  It appears as though on their website that have added some more heavy duty soakers, but I still think they could have even more absorbency in their soakers.  Now, you could add in your own, but that would potentially mess with the snapping system.  

Please, please, please keep in mind that my son is a ridiculously heavy peer.  I have only met a couple of moms who are dealing with the same wetting issues I am.  So, most likely your kiddo is of average wetting and this shouldn't be an issue for you.  But, size was the biggie for me.  So, I sold them.  Part of me regrets it because I could have toyed with it more, but I was desperate at the time.  I plan on trying this brand out, plus some newer versions on the market with the same concept with the baby on the way.

Durability -  I have read some complaints that the velcro on these wears out, or that the wings start to curl.  I never had this problem and the velcro was very sticky.  I did have issues with diaper chain in the washer with these.  But, they held up very well.  The stitching on one of my soakers was pulling away a smidge, but that would have been an easy fix.  All in all I highly recommend GroBaby diapers to average size kids and average wetters.  :)