I feel like when I'm not holding the baby I'm doing laundry and can't possibly keep up. There are the diapers themselves (BG newborn), the cloth wipes, the fleece liners, and anything else that got leaked on. And now I have to go back and strip everything, I'm guessing partly because the Aquaphor we used to clear up his diaper rash is making the diapers repel like crazy. I wish I had the option of disposables even just to get a short break, but his skin gets so angry.
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You could use a paper liner in the diaper...that might help and not react. Otherwise, we did a lot more diapers in the NB days but only do laundry about 2x/week now that she's older. We had lots and lots of diapers and cloth wipes in the beginning and did laundry every other day. Dh usually did it in the evenings
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Laundry slows down SO much when you're out of the newborn phase! We went from like 14 diapers a day to 5-7. We only wash like 3 times a week now. I promise it gets better!
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@blackbird: I must be doing something wrong then, because I'm doing multiple loads of CD laundry every day.
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@spaniellove: disposable liners are great!
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If definitely gets better when the diapers slow down!
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It gets better when the diapers slow down. How many diapers do you have?
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@spaniellove: I agree with @grizz: it really does get a lot easier!! How many diapers doe you have? We have 24 and I'll admit in the beginning I had to do CD laundry everyday sometimes so that the shells would be dry in time, but now at 12 months 24 CDs lasts us 3 days (we use disposables at night). It will get better!!
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@avivoca: 16 and getting 6 more in the mail today.
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@spaniellove: Those extras will help a lot!!
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Have you thought about not using fleece liners and trying the disposable kind? That way you wouldn't have to strip them?
I know you are dealing with some serious rashes, but if you can avoid the diaper creams, that will really help your routine too because then it could all be thrown in one wash/load.
How often are you changing? Do you think its time to go up to the OS where you could add more absorbency?
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@spaniellove: Those extra diapers will help you a lot. If you want to try non-fleece liners, I use Bumkins and they help out a lot. Have you looked into trying a cloth-safe diaper cream? Also, a good stripper is Squeaky Clean by Squeaky pieces.
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@T.H.O.U.: @avivoca: I have disposable liners and was enjoying them until I realized they were sticking to his underside and contributing to yeast. His skin situation is a disaster!
@T.H.O.U.: We're changing every 2-3 hours? He's still too small for OS (just under 8 lbs) but at night we've been using a combination fleece liner/hemp doubler which helps stretch out the changes a little.
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@spaniellove: Hmm, so if he's going every 2 hours, how are you going through multiple loads of laundry in a day (with 16 diapers)? Just trying to understand to give some help!
We have tried several different kinds of disposable liners, and some do seem to stick more (honestly the softer ones like Charlie Banana brand) seem to stick the worst. You could always consider a different brand once you get the yeast cleared up.
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@spaniellove: How do you feel about diaper free time? We used to lay out a spare sheet (folded up) and a couple of cheap towels to let her air out.
Also, what kind of diapers are you using? I've tried a lot of kinds since moving to cloth overnight, and out of all of them, I find that her skin stays the driest with Rumparooz and Applecheeks diapers. She's always very damp with the BumGenius and soaked when I use a cotton fitted diaper.
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@T.H.O.U.: I think it's the combination of washing diapers/wipes/liners, but I can never manage to get everything at once. Since each load needs that whole rinse/hot/rinse thing I feel like I'm always running to the washer. And because I keep buying things in small batches, I constantly find myself with something to prep or strip.
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@avivoca: Fitted/prefolds definitely didn't work. Bumgenius by themselves weren't keeping his skin dry which is why I added the fleece. He started doing a lot better once we did that and slathered him in Aquaphor for a couple days! Now I'm back to just using Grovia Magic Stick and he seems to be doing okay, crossing my fingers!
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@spaniellove: i really love my rumparooz diapers. They are pockets and have a super soft material on the inside that keeps lo dry even overnight. He has pretty sensitive skin but we have never had any issues with them. May be worth trying a couple lil joeys since you wouldnt need the fleece layer. Do you already have your stash for when he outgrows the newborn size?
ETA since lo is 8lbs you could actually use a one size rumparooz. They start at 6lbs supposedly.
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Also, could you switch to disposable wipes? Our lo had a horrible reaction to huggies wipes in the hospital but we switched to pampers sensitive and haven't had an issue since. That would cut down on some of the laundry too.
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More diapers will help! Do you wash the diapers separately from the wipes/liners? I can see how that'd make it much more frequent. Maybe get more liners/wipes, too? A bigger amount will mean less frantic washing.
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@Mrs. Lion: I love my RAR! I wish my whole stash was RAR.
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@avivoca: me too!! I have 9 of them and suppliment with flip covers, but i kinda want to increase my rar stash for the next baby
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@spaniellove: we do a wash daily, first thing in the morning....BUT we were given tons of disposables so we didn't do it in the newborn stage, so maybe your baby just poops a lot? Also, I don't fold/put away my diapers. I line dry the covers & pull everything else out of the dryer into a laundry basket & that's where it stays. That may sound lazy but it helps make them less of an effort.
ETA: we had to use fleece & Aquaphor for the first few months, but nightly baths (at least a rinse anyway, not always soap) & time eventually eliminated the need for that. At 10 months her booty is pretty clear, when at 2 or 3 months she was getting rashes that bled.
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@spaniellove: just as we were getting the cloth diaper thing figured out E got a really bad yeast rash. The pediatrician recommended switching to disposables temporarily as they wick more moisture away from the skin especially in humid summer weather, which yeast loves. We've been using earths best which are chlorine, perfume and dye free (Bambo Nature are too) and trying to change him regularly. Rash is all gone now. Maybe one of these brands might give you a break and not irritate his skin?
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You have received some great advice! I'm going to reiterate that it will get so much easier after the newborn days. My LO only goes through 7-8 diapers a day now (we change her about ever two hours during the day but no night changes barring poop). Do you have a large wetbag? We throw everything - diapers, inserts and wipes - in the wetbag. Every other day, or when we are getting low on diapers, I just toss everything from and including the wetbag in the wash. It's a lot easier now bc I know how many diapers I need to get us thru the time to wash and dry. Do you have a HE washer? If so, check the settings. Ours has an extra rinse option. I do a first rinse and then set up the hot wash and include extra rinse. That saves a step. We use coconut oil or earth mama angel baby cream, which are both cd safe (no liners needed).
Good luck, mama!
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@Mrs. Lion: I do have Water Wipes for emergencies! Sometimes there is no way I'm going to wipe that stuff up with a cloth.
@Mrs. Sunshine: Yup, I think I got lazy (or fell behind) and am now just pulling them off the drying rack as I need them. It lives right next to the changing table downstairs!
@CakeLady: Those were the disposable brands I was considering. We've tried Pampers Swaddlers and Huggies Pure and Natural. But I'm glad to hear from a "real" person that Earths Best is good!
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Multiple loads a day?!??! no no, i don't think you need to do that. So what we did was rinse in cold, then wash in hot. That's it. I washed EVERYTHING at once, too! And we had probably 25 diapers? That really helps
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Just wanted to update! Everyone's responses have been so helpful and I've been able to take a good look at our situation again.
I think a lot of my recent frustration is coming from the fact that I'm trying to squeeze in prepping/stripping in between loads and dealing with the baby. We've also been disorganized about where we leave the used diapers so it seems like I'm forever finding more diapers to wash. Sooo...the additional diapers I got yesterday should help a ton, and trying to round up all the diapers at once so I can wash them every other evening should too. I think we may also try Earth's Best disposables at night.
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