[Contents: poop]
Okay first, can we stop, take a minute, and realize that the Velociraptor is A YEAR OLD ON SATURDAY? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN. WHAT. HOW. WHAT.
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Okay.
Meanwhile, we are still using cloth diapers. Sometimes we even go out in public and use cloth diapers! Usually after we are sure that zie is done pooping for the day.
Why does the pooping matter? Because once your child is eating solids, and no longer has those soft, water-soluble breastmilk or formula poops, the poop has to go in the toilet. I mean it can go in the washing machine. It will also stay in the washing machine, and you know, I don't really recommend that. So while sometimes we are lucky and the poop is just a poop nugget and we can flip it in to the toilet with no effort, sometimes (most times) we are not lucky and removing the poop takes more effort. This is not something I want to engage in in a public bathroom, especially with the terrible toilet tissue they give you.
Oh, so how do you remove the poop? Some people swear by diaper sprayers. We currently rent, have read reviews of all of them talking about eventual leaks even with correct installation, and don't really feel like messing with the old, old, sometimes cranky plumbing in this house. Some folks swear by "dunk and swish", which I'm sure works if you don't have a low-flow toilet (this method relies on the force of the flushing toilet water to remove the poop). We tried using toilet paper to, well, wipe the poop off, and I mean it works? Ish? And will do in a pinch, but mostly we use a little mini rubber cookie spatula that I got from my MIL, because bless her, she tries (I'm not actually mad about it, just bemused sometimes at what she gets), and I was never going to use it for its intended purpose ANYWAY. It sits in an empty Talenti container next to our toilet (so if you've been over recently, yes, that is a poop scraper; welcome!). It works pretty good. We usually take some toilet paper and wipe off the spatula after use. We also have a can of those lemon-scented disinfectant wipes next to the toilet, for any accidental poop-on-surfaces that happens. Finally, we have a wet bag in the bathroom now, so we have to move the poopy diapers as little as possible.
As for how the diapers are holding up, PRETTY GODDAMN WELL. Some of the hook-and-loop on the Flip covers is showing its age; once we use fewer diapers in a day again and I can spare them, I'm going to send them to the woman I found on Etsy who converted a few others to snaps for me. Snaps are really the way to go for most covers I've used. Except for the Thirsties Duo Wraps; all of our size 2 Duo Wraps are hook-and-loop and are fantastic and I love them. We also had one of the Diaper Safari covers delaminate; I tossed it because wev they weren't my favorite anyway. The Bummis Super Whisper Wrap I bought from someone (who said it was new, and I have no reason to disbelieve them) also delaminated, but since it's two layers of PUL facing each other, we still use it and it's fine.
We are still using a mix of prefolds and flats, depending on what fits best in the cover. The size 2 Duo Wraps definitely do better with a prefold in them, as does the Super Whisper Wrap, as do the Diaper Safari covers. The Flips all get pad-folded flats in them. If it's the pre-nap diaper, I try to use a prefold, or a flat with a doubler stuffed in the middle. Now that The Velociraptor usually naps at least an hour and a half, and sometimes three and a half hours, we need the extra absorbency.
Overnights, we are using a disposable. Now that I have bigger prefolds and covers big enough to handle them, I suspect we could try a Duo Wrap and a medium or large prefold in it overnight (daytime use, we are still using just the small prefolds in the covers). Especially since sometimes, even the disposables leak. This is why I have a waterproof pad under the sheets in the crib.
We've also changed our wash routine slightly. Rather than overriding the water level sensors on both the pre-wash and main wash cycles, I only override on the pre-wash. I figure the more we can dilute whatever's in there and rinse it out, the better. For the hot, main wash cycle, I just let the water sensors do their job. I've been doing this... maybe two months now? And we have had zero problems. Diapers still get clean, rashes not appearing.
We did for a while battle a nasty yeast rash, that took over a month and two tubes of prescription antifungal ointment to kick. During this time we used disposables - not that the ointment wasn't cloth diaper safe (it was... more things are than they tell you are, seriously), but because I wanted to bleach the diapers and ensure they couldn't reinfect The Velociraptor's poor bottom. Plus, the ointment itself says if you're using cloth diapers, to not use plastic covers, and uh, hey, yeah, PUL is plastic. BUT we did finally kick the rash, and it hasn't come back TOUCH WOOD, even though we've been back in cloth for a while. So all of those posts that are like OH, NO, BLEACH WON'T KILL YEAST... uh... yeah it will. Bleach kills PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING, WITH SUFFICIENT CONCENTRATIONS THEREOF.
So yeah. Stuff is still holding together and working well, and we're pretty happy. I look forward to letting my child run around in just a prefold and Snappi this summer.
