New to Cloth Diapers and Need Some Help Please

I have some cotton strips that I use when I need to use diapercream. I actually put it on everynight to prevent diaper rash, and it works great. You can just cut up an old t shirt, or use flannel wipes.

What kind of diapers are you using. It is hard to give suggestions without knowing that. I have heard that hemp inserts hold more. My son is a VERY heavy wetter and we use BumGenius. At night we use two normal and one infant insert. By largest possible size, are the diapers sized or one size that adjusts? That could be part of the problem with the leaking, in that the diaper is too big. If it isn't tight around her legs and waist, it can leak, or wick out.

I use the Costco dye free, scent free detergent.

1 - I use a zinc-oxide-based diaper cream like Desitin but I put a paper (flushable or compostable) diaper liner in the diaper in case of a diaper rash, to keep the cream off of the diaper. You can buy them on amazon.com if no one near you sells them.

2 - Consider a diaper doubler. If you are already using a diaper doubler, check the fabric. Hemp is more absorbent than cotton, and I have been told that microfiber is even more absorbent than hemp. Microfiber is supposedly drying against the skin, though, so I have been advised to use it in pocket diapers or in between the diaper and a hemp doubler. Be careful stripping the diapers unless what you are using is specifically designed for cloth diapers.

3 - I use Charlie's Soap, and love it. It is highly recommended for cloth diapers. I buy it from a local cloth diapering store, but you can get it on amazon.com with free shipping. I have heard great things about Rockin Green, which I think is a specific cloth-diaper cleaner, but it's more expensive than Charlie's Soap per load, which is the only reason I'm not really tempted to switch it up. But people who use it love it.

I saw you added more info! I have always done a quick cold rinse, washed on hot, then another cold rinse. The diapers I use suggested washing this way. Something about starting with a hot wash will set in stains and bacteria..?? All I know, is it's always worked for me :) I use Calgon, which is a water softener. It helps with my diapers, a lot! You might try it, it's only $4 at the grocery store.
It does sound like you need a good stripping. And definitely new detergent!! That dreft, is probably the culprit behind the repelling, causing the leaks. I love cloth diapers and I hope you have better luck with them soon!!

No matter how much she drinks, there shouldn't be leaks after 45 minutes!! What kind of diapers do you use? How did you strip you diapers? What detergent are you currently using? What is your washing routine when washing the diapers? Do you have hard water? If we knew the answers to those questions, it would really help! I suspect you may have a repelling issue. There might be enzymes in the detergent you're using, that cause it to repel liquids and also prevent them from getting really clean. As far as diaper cream, I just take cloth wipes or strips of fleece and put it between the skin and the diaper. The cream doesn't get on the diaper that way. Grandma Els daper cream is safe with cloth diapers. I remember seeing some at Target and
Babies R Us.

I use Country Save detergent, which can be found at Sprouts Markets or Whole Foods (in most). Rockin Green is a detergent made specifically for cloth diapers and can be purchased online.

YAY for CD! I'm sorry you're having trouble tho! I also would always switch to disposable anytime we had a rash. I HIGHLY suggest adding a few drops of tea tree oil to your wipes solution (antibacterial essential oil) to prevent future rashing.

1. No idea how to do diaper rash cream and CD at the same time....sry!

2. Dreft is awful for CD. depends on what you're using, but Crunchy Clean and Rockin' Green are voted the best on Diaperpin.com - which I trust with every diaper purchase! I suggest trying one of those. Or you can easily make your own! Also, you probably need to strip your diapers. Unless you have very soft water, diapers tend to need stripping every 2 mos or so. ESP if you've been using Dreft! You can buy a stripping agent in your laundry aisle, or use a few tsp's of original Dawn. If you have a HE frontloader washer check with your manufacturer first. Also, if you're having most of your trouble at night, try doubling yoru insert.

3. Again, check out Diaperpin.com. Three years ago, we used Allen's Naturally, but it is no longer the top rated and quite honestly, except for the seasons when I could line dry, it left an ammonia smell on the dipes from the dryer - meaning it wasn't getting them as clean as it should. We just ordered Crunchy Clean for Hardwater samples (I love all the fragrances you can choose from!) as well as the new BumGenius! detergent as we use BG dipes.

Good luck!!

1 - When she has a diaper rash, use disposable rice paper liners. (They look like incredibly thin paper towels.) Tiny Tush is one brand, imsi vimsi another; online or in stores. You have to cut or fold it to fit the diaper, then it keeps the cream on her and away from the diaper. Use a disposable wipe to clean it off her, then you can clean her normally with a cloth wipe if you like. (I love my cloth wipes.)
2 - I ran into this with my son, who nursed a lot more at an early age than my daughter did. During the day he was okay, but nights--her nighttime diaper lasted just a few hours on him.
What we did was put one of his daytime diapers on, then one of her todder diapers on top of that with a toddler cover. If this is during the day, you might consider getting some larger sizes and trying to put a normal one on (to hold poo, etc.), then a larger one with a larger cover. Change every hour, or at most every 2 hours.
My daughter started rashing up in her toddler diapers overnight (she sleeps 12 hours). I finally switched to extremely absorbent bamboo (Sandy's toddler diaper made by motherease), and the rashes went away. The regular cotton wasn't absorbing quickly enough, so sh'ed rash up. With the bamboo, she's been fine.
3 - Bio-Kleen Premium Powder. I rinse the diapers, wash with the powder and put 1/2 c. of vinegar in the fabric softener slot (helps prevent diaper rash).

I'm not familiar with gdiapers. But 45 minutes isn't very long! I use to be able to go 1.5 hours with my daughter around that age.

I just switched to Rock'n green detergent and I LOVE it.

We use mostly Bum Genius, Fuzzi and I am a recent convert to Romp-a ruz. If I was just starting out, I'd have a whole stash of those! They are expensive but lovely! They even work great as a nighttime diaper, and I usually use sposies at night!

Another suggestions, since your daughter is 16 month, you could start potty training. I started with mine at 16 month and she was in trainers at 18 and finished (night and day) at 22 months. Cloth diapers really help to potty train, so why not use the wet diapers as a way to teach her the first principle of potty training: wet vs. dry.

I have 4 months old twins at home. We do not use cloth diapers, but I think I can recommend some products that will help you.

1 - Neither of my twins have had diaper rash and I believe it is because of the wipes we use. You have to buy the dispenser kit first, but then you can buy the refills and always have them on hand. They smell good and are fantastic!
http://www.amway.com/SwartzMarketing/Shop/Product/Product...

3 - Due to the sensitivity of the laundry detergent and fabric softener we use, we are able to wash the baby clothes with the same detergent we wash our clothes with. We have NEVER had to use sensitive detergent. The detergent lasts forever too and smells so clean and fresh. My sister washed her baby clothes at our house when she was visiting and asked "what kind of detergent is this?" She loved it and now uses it for her family (baby and toddler at home).
http://www.amway.com/SwartzMarketing/Shop/Product/Categor...#

We also use the Tri-Zyme Concentrated Detergent Booster to soak our bibs in before we do the laundry. This keeps the bibs from staining and gets the gross stuff off before we put them in the laundry with everything else. If I were you, I would rinse the diapers to get any major soiling off and then soak them in this detergent booster until ready to do the laundry.

I hope this helps!! We would recommend these products to everyone for their baby washing needs. You order online and they ship right to your house. I believe you get free shipping if you spend $75 or more and there is a 6 month money back guarantee, so we had nothing to loose.

I have used extra virgin olive oil as a diaper rash ointment and it has worked beautifully and is good for their skin.

We found 2 detergents that we like Eco (http://www.ecostoreusa.com) and a store brand called Meijer Naturally Gentle - sensitive. We tried 7th generation but liked these others better.

We also use gDiapers, although mostly for day wear. I have found that my bummi's inserts work better for heavy days inside the gDiaper cover. We use an imsi vimsi, wool or polar fleece cover for nighttime along with two diaper layers to provide greater absorbency at night. The bummi's insert is about 6 layers of absorbent cotton and fits perfectly into the diaper holder.

when i was useing cloth diapers i always brought the plastic covers to go on them too help the leaking- i also did the same with the diaper rash, but i put vasoline then covered it with baby powder. hope that helps a mom to another mom.

I think your problem is the Dreft. It has fabric softeners along with the detergent. I make my own laundry soap now, but before I was using the cheap stuff at Sams club. Didn't have any problems with it, the key is to find a detergent without added softeners and to use less than you would think to use and rinse, rinse, rinse. Less soap, more water.

As to diaper rashes, I bought some fleece from Walmart and cut out liners from them. You can use the ointment with them. What helps a lot is after you wipe, you then take time and dry the bum thoroughly. Then I use arrowroot powder.

I know you have stripped the diapers, but do you have hard water? that can have a factor in how much your diapers absorb. Another way to strip is to use a drop or two of dawn dishwashing detergent, then wash on the hottest setting and rinse, rinse, rinse.

Definately use a different detergent. I have used Charlie's soap and liked it. I recently switched to Rockin' Green and Love it!

Also, when my dd has a rash (rare, but it happens) i put a liner in her dipe. They make both paper and cloth ones. You could even buy the fabric and cut your own liners.

Gdiapers also have the biodegradable inserts as an option to the cloth. You could just use those with the g cover until the need for cream is gone.

Good luck and way to go for cloth diapering!!!!

Hi,
My son has been out of diapers for a long while now, but I used cloth diapers when he was a baby. Here are my suggestions.
1 - When he had a diaper rash (rare), I would temporarily switch to disposables and use Aquaphor on the rash. That stuff is wonderful! You can get it in the baby aisle, or find it a little cheaper in the regular skin care aisle. I bought a tub of it (12 oz. maybe?), and it's still almost half full five years later. A little dab works wonders on diaper rash, and is also good for any other kinds of scrapes, cuts, etc.
2 - For the leaks issue, try using two inserts. You can also buy microfiber cloths in the automotive department at Target (or wherever) and those work great, too... and they're cheaper! Just wrap one around the regular insert for added absorbtion. A friend suggested that and it worked great for us!
3 - I used Tide with our cloth diapers, and it worked fine. One of the diaper websites had suggested Tide as an option, and of all the detergents they listed, it was the easiest to find so I switched to it. Every once in a while I would wash a load of diapers with vinegar to strip them, but not often. Generally the Tide worked well, even with really hard water at our house! I usually dried the diapers on the clothesline, although in the winter I found that a hot dryer worked better.

Hope that's helpful, and kudos to you for going the cloth diaper route! Best wishes to you and your family.

Could you double up on the diapers. We did cloth but the kind we used were gauze diapers that were recatangular. We would fold them depending on the size of the baby. At night I would take a second diaper folded to go into the other as a liner for my sons. We always used dreft. We also had a diaper pail with bleach water in it. That is where we put the diapers then poured the whole thing into the washer and ran it on a short load, then did a second time with detergent.

I have a combination of bum genius diapers and gdiapers. A few things I have learned: the more you wash the inserts, the more absorbent they become. I use Charlie's soap -it's gentle, affordable, and I can pick it up at my whole foods market (plus it lasts a long time b/c you only have to use 1/8 cup per load). I wash on a short cold cycle with half the amount of detergent, then a hot cycle with 1/8 cup, then an extra rinse.
I let my son "air out" as much as possible if he looks like he may be getting a rash and I keep a dry cloth on hand to make sure he is totally dry after I wipe him and before a new diaper goes on. I also use earth's best diaper rash cream (natural and contains no petroleum based ingredients). There are some other good, natural creams as well, but I have not had any problems with the earth's best ruining his diapers.
As far as leaking goes, I have run into this problem too. Obviously, cloth diapers aren't as leak proof as disposables, but it's worth the effort to me. Have you tried the disposable inserts for gdiapers(they come sized as well)? They work really great, prevent more leaks, and are a bit more breathable than a disposable diaper. You can also find thinner cloth inserts that are called diaper doublers, which just add another layer of protection to the cloth inserts you already have.
Hope this helps and good luck