Changed My Mind About Cloth Diapers...

[cheerfuldom]

Oh yeah, sorry ladies. All in ones and pocket diapers are not the same. Have only used the pocket diapers on my own DS and have tried pocket diapers and the all in ones (I didn't know that's what they were called) and I didn't see the difference. I don't put them together at DC anyway so the DCPs do the work. If they want me to cloth diaper then they must come pre-assembled. If not then I won't use them.

If you do it that way then the amount of time that it takes to change a cloth diaper vs a disposable diaper should be that different, at least I don't think so. But I do agree with Nan that you need to change them more frequently at least as they get older.

As far as the smell goes although it may be true that the poo and smell isn't that bad for breast fed babies when the child starts to eat solids the smell and poo will get stronger and yuckier. Since I require a wet bag instead of putting them in a diaper pail (otherwise I would need a diaper pail per family because they can get contaminated with other children's poo or pee otherwise) the smell does have a tendency to be stronger than when I put the disposable diapers in the diaper pail.

Another thing I don't like about clients using cloth diapers is that not everyone washes the cloth diapers properly. They either use the wrong soap or they don't sun-dry them and the diapers get stains (which is not so bad) or they tend to start smelling strongly even when "clean". I've had some smell so strong that I could smell them even when they were stored away in the child's cubby until the mom changed the soap and started to hang her diapers in the sun to dry (she had been drying them in the dryer ).

I have had the stink issue. Some of the parents do not know how to clean their diapers correctly or do not know how to "strip" their diapers. I provide a handout with the information and let them know that I noticed the diapers are having some issues and I believe this information will help resolve it. Never had anything but thanks for that info and the parent immediately taking care of it. Nice cloth diapers can be expensive so most cloth diapering parents take good care of them!

[cheerfuldom]

And I would just like to say that the ick factor for breastmilk from daycare providers does surprise me. I mean I think all of us have had kids with pee leaks, poo explosions, vomiting, yucky noses, excessive droolers, cuts and bloody noses.....why anyone would be squemish about breast milk surprises me. Its just milk. If a kid urped up formula or breastmilk, I would still just clean it up, maybe change my shirt but not even think twice about it. If you have a tough enough personality to handle all the rest of the bodily fluids that come with taking care of children, why you would even give a second thought about breastmilk is beyond me.

[EchoMom]

And I would just like to say that the ick factor for breastmilk from daycare providers does surprise me. I mean I think all of us have had kids with pee leaks, poo explosions, vomiting, yucky noses, excessive droolers, cuts and bloody noses.....why anyone would be squemish about breast milk surprises me. Its just milk. If a kid urped up formula or breastmilk, I would still just clean it up, maybe change my shirt but not even think twice about it. If you have a tough enough personality to handle all the rest of the bodily fluids that come with taking care of children, why you would even give a second thought about breastmilk is beyond me.

Speaking for myself, it's not that breastmilk is Ick and the rest is not. For me, it's ALL ICK! LOL Just because it's all ick, I still have to do it, it's part of the job. But when I wipe a sh***y a$$ it's YUCK. When I wipe a snotty nose it's YUCK. When formula is burped up all over me it's YUCK. And when I stick my pinky in breastmilk to test it or it's puked up on me it's YUCK. It's ALL gross!

I love my career choice, I love being a small business owner, I love the money it makes, I love being at home with my DS, and I like the kids (usually ) but even though I like them, I've determined that kids are DISGUSTING and generally NOT cute. There's so much ICK about them.

So believe me, I'm not picking on breastmilk, I'm an equal opportunity ick sayer!

[cheerfuldom]

Speaking for myself, it's not that breastmilk is Ick and the rest is not. For me, it's ALL ICK! LOL Just because it's all ick, I still have to do it, it's part of the job. But when I wipe a sh***y a$$ it's YUCK. When I wipe a snotty nose it's YUCK. When formula is burped up all over me it's YUCK. And when I stick my pinky in breastmilk to test it or it's puked up on me it's YUCK. It's ALL gross!

I love my career choice, I love being a small business owner, I love the money it makes, I love being at home with my DS, and I like the kids (usually ) but even though I like them, I've determined that kids are DISGUSTING and generally NOT cute. There's so much ICK about them.

So believe me, I'm not picking on breastmilk, I'm an equal opportunity ick sayer!

ha! well thanks for the clarification. Since I have four young children of my own and my daycare kids, i think i have even lost the ick response. It has to be REALLY bad to get my attention. the rest I just wipe up/clean up without even a second glance. I always try to remember to air out the house before guests come, fearing that i dont even notice nasty poo smell anymore LOL

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Oh yeah, sorry ladies. All in ones and pocket diapers are not the same. Have only used the pocket diapers on my own DS and have tried pocket diapers and the all in ones (I didn't know that's what they were called) and I didn't see the difference. I don't put them together at DC anyway so the DCPs do the work. If they want me to cloth diaper then they must come pre-assembled. If not then I won't use them.

If you do it that way then the amount of time that it takes to change a cloth diaper vs a disposable diaper should be that different, at least I don't think so. But I do agree with Nan that you need to change them more frequently at least as they get older.

As far as the smell goes although it may be true that the poo and smell isn't that bad for breast fed babies when the child starts to eat solids the smell and poo will get stronger and yuckier. Since I require a wet bag instead of putting them in a diaper pail (otherwise I would need a diaper pail per family because they can get contaminated with other children's poo or pee otherwise) the smell does have a tendency to be stronger than when I put the disposable diapers in the diaper pail.

Another thing I don't like about clients using cloth diapers is that not everyone washes the cloth diapers properly. They either use the wrong soap or they don't sun-dry them and the diapers get stains (which is not so bad) or they tend to start smelling strongly even when "clean". I've had some smell so strong that I could smell them even when they were stored away in the child's cubby until the mom changed the soap and started to hang her diapers in the sun to dry (she had been drying them in the dryer ).

You actually can dry them in a dryer and it's recommended that you do so for the ones made with PUL fabric (the waterproof ones that don't require a cover of any sort ... so pockets and AIOs are included). It reseals the laminated fabric. happyface
The smell issues occur when they are either using the wrong soap, too little soap, or aren't rinsing them enough after (to eliminate all of the soap). Sometimes ammonia buildup is helped by a splash of bleach in the load as well. It's how I eliminate the stink issues with toddler pee, otherwise they absolutely reek! If they smell, they aren't completely clean! Tide is fantastic for getting cloth diapers clean. http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/resou...orclothdiapers

If I was having parents supply diapers, I would absolutely require that they be pre-stuffed so all I had to do was put it on the child! There's no reason the provider should have to do that.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I have had the stink issue. Some of the parents do not know how to clean their diapers correctly or do not know how to "strip" their diapers. I provide a handout with the information and let them know that I noticed the diapers are having some issues and I believe this information will help resolve it. Never had anything but thanks for that info and the parent immediately taking care of it. Nice cloth diapers can be expensive so most cloth diapering parents take good care of them!

That is wonderful! I typed up a similar sheet for my friend who just began cloth diapering. It can be so helpful for parents who just don't know. happyface

[Heidi]

I love having mom's send in breastmilk. I am making more money this way, as I don't have to buy formula and I am on the food program, so I get reimbursed for these feedings. Because I have breastfed 3 and pumped (I worked PT), and I am a Lactation Consultant (so I know what is in that breastmilk and not in the formula!) I do everything I can to make it easier on the pumping mother. I let mothers send me their milk in whichever way is easiest. Both moms right now opt to send it frozen in baggies, I do the thawing and bottle prep. There is nothing better healthwise than to encourage women to breastfeed. And support it in whichever way is possible.

As far as the eww factor with breastmilk, sure it is coming from a human body. It is coming from a woman's breast, which is meant to provide a food. Cow's milk comes from a cow's breast, that grosses me out more...

This is me, exactly, including the whole cow's milk thing...although admittedly, I love milk. It IS grosser than human milk, if you think about it though...

Nipple training is a big deal though. In all my years, I had one that came to dc at 4 months old NOT trained, even though we'd talked about it in the interview extensively. She lasted 3 days. No, I can't take care of a 20 pound, 4 month old, breastfed baby ithat she cries all day because she's starving and won't take a bottle...

[Play Care]

If it's not working out for you, it's not working out. I would let mom know that you need x amount of diapers each day and they need to be prepared to be used (you shouldn't be doing anything but putting the diaper on, IMO) If she says she doesn't see the need (total cheek! ) let her know that YOU see the need and therefore there is one. If she is still resistant then I would let her go. It's hard enough to do this job when you do have the proper supplies!

My contract states that bottles must be prepared in liquid form(no frozen bags) and handed to me each AM. In addition I must have 12-16 oz of frozen emergency stash - I make it clear this is NOT something they can count on me to use daily though - this is in case the bottle leaks, breaks, or for some reason baby will be here later than usual, etc. The frozen bags must be dated, and I will swap out the older ones for newer - at that point mom can make bottles with that if she choses. I would try my best to increase times between feedings with distraction - but at the same point if my day became distracting one child then I would have to make some decisions.

[MarinaVanessa]

You actually can dry them in a dryer and it's recommended that you do so for the ones made with PUL fabric (the waterproof ones that don't require a cover of any sort ... so pockets and AIOs are included). It reseals the laminated fabric. happyface
The smell issues occur when they are either using the wrong soap, too little soap, or aren't rinsing them enough after (to eliminate all of the soap). Sometimes ammonia buildup is helped by a splash of bleach in the load as well. It's how I eliminate the stink issues with toddler pee, otherwise they absolutely reek! If they smell, they aren't completely clean! Tide is fantastic for getting cloth diapers clean. http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/resou...orclothdiapers

If I was having parents supply diapers, I would absolutely require that they be pre-stuffed so all I had to do was put it on the child! There's no reason the provider should have to do that.

Yes I have heard that some cloth diapers you can machine dry but this mom was using the one size snap cloth diapers from Bum Genius (cotton babies) which is the same brand that I use and they recommend against machine drying. Some of her diapers ended up leaking through cracks the bum. IDK what soap she was using at home but I recommended the cotton babies brand and that helped immensely. I just used regular Dreft on mine and that worked fine for me. The sun drying on a line WAY helps with the hard to rid stains that bleach can't get out. Good 'ol Oxy Clean helps too on the liners.

This mom I think just really had no clue. I think she wanted to try using cloth diapers but didn't think of the work involved. She bought a whole bunch of cloth diapers and would only wash them on the weekends (supposed to wash Bum Genius every other day minimum) so they would STINK and had terrible stains. She didn't use an extra liner on top of the diaper or a disposable liner so the poo would just sit right in the diaper all week. She tried getting her money back for the cracked ones but Bum Genius didn't honor the 1 year warranty because she was washing and drying them against the manufacturer instructions.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Yes I have heard that some cloth diapers you can machine dry but this mom was using the one size snap cloth diapers from Bum Genius (cotton babies) which is the same brand that I use and they recommend against machine drying. Some of her diapers ended up leaking through cracks the bum. IDK what soap she was using at home but I recommended the cotton babies brand and that helped immensely. I just used regular Dreft on mine and that worked fine for me. The sun drying on a line WAY helps with the hard to rid stains that bleach can't get out. Good 'ol Oxy Clean helps too on the liners.

This mom I think just really had no clue. I think she wanted to try using cloth diapers but didn't think of the work involved. She bought a whole bunch of cloth diapers and would only wash them on the weekends (supposed to wash Bum Genius every other day minimum) so they would STINK and had terrible stains. She didn't use an extra liner on top of the diaper or a disposable liner so the poo would just sit right in the diaper all week. She tried getting her money back for the cracked ones but Bum Genius didn't honor the 1 year warranty because she was washing and drying them against the manufacturer instructions.

That post made me laugh and cringe at the same time. Ew ew ew ew.