Seventh Generation Diapers and Other Brands

Hi M.,

I use Seventh Generation diapers and wipes. I love them! I use them when I need to have disposables on hand. I also use the g diaper and love it!!! The g diaper is the most environmentally friendly you can get. While disposables take over 500 years to break down in the landfills, g diapers break down in 50-150 days! You can flush a g diaper down the toilet, throw it away (guilt-free) or compost them, they're awesome, and non-irritating to baby's skin!! They are also chlorine free like Seventh Generation.

I should say I haven't put my son in a g at nighttime yet. Seventh Gen work great for nighttime though.

Best,
J.

If you're up for it, the best thing is to use cloth wipes. You can wash and reuse these. What you do is put a water bottle near by and when it's time to change the diaper, you spray the cloth wipe with water and use that. It helps reduce diaper rash and is the best for baby. Try this website to read more about it.
http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=110

We've been using Seventh Gen diapers for a while now, after discovering that my son was allergic to every other brand out there. He also would get a rash - like a quarter sized circle in places on his butt. Since we've switched - no more rash. I love love love those diapers and would never go back. We've never had a problem with leaks or fit, either.

I have used the diapers and wipes on my twins and they work great

Hi M.,

I have a 19 month old with terrible eczema and have always used the seventh generation diapers. They work great. I also run a small daycare and two other children I watch use the same diapers and love them. i think they are better than the pampers, huggies, etc.... The cheapest place to get them I have found is 1800diapers.com. (I also buy diaper cream, lotion, and bodywash here) You can order by the case at 41.99 for a case of four packs. Shipping is free on orders over $50 and I don't think I get charged tax. They deliver in a couple days. Way better than Whole Foods prices. As for wipes, the best ones I have found are the Pampers soft cloth unscented. Target makes a great knock-off. They are alcohol and fragrance free and really soft. Almost like a tissue. I didn't have good luck with any of the green brands when it comes to wipes. The kids either break out or the wipes kinda fall apart mid-wipe. Hope this helps!

We got the seventh generation diapers as a gift with both of my daughters and I have to say they have come a LONG way and sometimes I even like them better than Huggies!!! We were also given diapers that have you only change the liner kind of like a pad but we have not tried those yet but that is also a more "greener" approach. Good luck!

We have used 7th generation diapers since my son outgrew the preemie diapers. We love them, and hate to use anything else not only for the green aspect but because the namebrand diapers smell. We've found that the other diapers and their fake powder scents begin make the urine and stool smell worse. We also use their wipes.

I recommend purchasing them by the case on Amazon. 4 packs for $41.99. (case of wipes-960 ct. in 12 refill packs for $36.99) Amazon is by far the cheapest. If you spend enough, shipping is free and they usually deliver within 2 days (even with the free shipping) because there is a Chicago basd warehouse We love it.

I also thought I'd mention that we never have problems with leaks. Our son now uses the 2T 7th gen pullups, and they are awesome too!

Good luck!

Hi, I am a HUGE fan of the new cloth diapers, I am not sure if you have seen them or not- they're not like what we used to wear!

Thankfully I had friends who used them who have less of a tolerance for ickiness than I do who demonstrated them for me. They are WONDERFUL: super absorbent (we change her half the amount of time than we did with disposables) and very easy to use, even my husband washes the diapers, and he was very hesitant about this. The ones I have will last her I believe up to 35 pounds or so (toddler-hood). I don’t have to buy disposables (though we have a few left over from shower gifts), there’s no impact on the environment, and I’ve NEVER had to treat her for diaper rash or use a cream/vaseline to prevent it- MUCH to my mother’s disbelief- though she understands them better now as well.

I bought the diapers here: http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=98&amp... There is a pretty cool product info page and it looks like they are on sale, as the new version has come out! Also- you should search around online, if the new version has come out, lots of places should have the 2.0 on sale. Also, you can click on a clearance or bargain basement or re-use section of websites- people will sell back diapers and inserts that are still in peak condition and you can get them much cheaper. Ebay may be great as well. As a side note, it looks like they are now being sold with inserts as well. I use the inserts they give you with the diapers to “double her” up at night. I bought the inserts I use normally in the diapers here: http://www.babycottonbottoms.com/inserts_and_doublers.htm

as I have found that the curved shape absorbs a bit better. I also bought diaper pail inserts and totes at this site. larger ones go in the pail, and the smaller one go in the diaper bag so you have somewhere to store the diaper until it comes back home with you when you are out and about.

What to do with the poop- I know that was my first question- no WAY did I have the time or tolerance for being bent over a toilet bowl- ICH! There are two answers, the first is that you take a wipe, swipe the diaper with it and then toss that in a garbage pail. The diaper will be smudged, it will be okay, I promise. You then separate insert from diaper, and throw them in a dry pail. Wash every day or every other day, depending on how many diapers you have. I wash once on a cold cycle, again on a hot cycle, and dry as usual.

The second answer is to use a flushable insert- I like the Kushies inserts, you put it in the diaper on top of the lining. The best value I’ve found so far is here: http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constra... The poop stays mainly on the inerst, which is flushed or tossed. When she was on breastmilk only, we tossed ours- as I refused to carry a “loaded” insert from her room, across the hall in the bathroom, but now that she is on solids, I don't mind. If you toss them, they break down in the earth in about 10 days, again, minimal impact.

Soap for diapers (though we now use it on all of our laundry) is here: www.charliesoap.com- It’s biodegrasable and it's concentrated, so a little bit goes a long way. I am only halfway through a gallon and have been using it for 4months now.

I hope this helps!

There is actually alot of information about antifreeze in alot of the products we use, not just baby wipes. It is in our toothpaste and shampoos as well. Check out http://www.ahealthcafe.com/positions and sign up for the free e-class Go Green, or Clean Up Your Act. Have you looked into making your own wipes. You would just need some essential oils. I bet you could find a recipe somwhere. You may also be interested in going green with some of these products at http://www.saferforyourhome.com. Take care and good luck!

Hi M. - We use the Seventh Generation diapers and wipes for our 14 month old twins. We like them a lot. We were using pampers, but switched to Seventh Generation. Before we switched my husband did the research and found several good reviews on the diapers. We've been using them for several months and they only leaked if they had a bad BM (same w/pampers). We buy ours on www.diapers.com. They have a 'discount card' for 7th Gen for 10%. So their diapers come to $35.69 Case of 4 Jumbo Pack (same price for the jumbo pack of wipes). If you want another discount, you can use coupon code 'KAAT', that will get you $5.00 off. To healthy and green living! A.

Hi M.

we tried the 7th generation with our son, now almost 3, and had terrible luck with them. it seemed like we were changing diapers constantly to avoid leaks and if we didn't change him like every hour, then we had leaks all over the place, especially during naps and at nighttime. it was so frustrating that we went back to pampers. some friends of mine with a girl loved the whole foods brand diapers, but we never tried them. I'm expecting a 2nd child this july and we're going to try them and the target natural diapers too.
as for wipes, I didn't like the 365 whole foods brand or the 7th generation. we've always had great luck with huggies wipes and they do not contain alcohol. I haven't heard about this antifreeze business though. I'll look into that. that's frightening.
I should also mention that our son has super sensitive skin and ecsema... and we've had no issues at all with the huggies natural care wipes. they are awesome.
good luck!

If you are thinking of going greener or worried about chemicals, a good site to check out whether baby supplies are good or bad is
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

It has some good info on the chemicals in all baby products from wipes to lotions and shampoo's. Good luck and congrats on your second!

I know it may sound like more work, etc., but I switched to cloth diapers with my second baby and her bottom was so much happier than my son. Potty training was a breeze too! It really isn't that much more trouble and I used the "greener" disposable when we went out on errands just for the convenience. Oh, to have a load of clean diapers to fold! It was truly relaxing. I know that may sound a bit strange, but I thought the cloth diapers were such a better experience all the way around. You can even buy the Nikki covers and it is almost like the disposable.

Have you thought about trying Arbonne baby products for your son's sensitive skin? It is amazing and really works. Check out my website www.healthyoptions.myarbonne.com You can order at wholesale prices (35% off) or take advantage of my sale: buy $100, get $100 free through Feb. 28th). Their products truly work and they are guaranteed. Call me if you have any questions ###-###-####. You will love them and your baby will thank you! No more mineral oil! YUK!
C.

Yay for going green! If you are not open to cloth diapering (it saves so much money in the end!), you can also try G Diapers at Whole Foods. They have an insert that can be flushed, but the cover is reusable. They are a great, responsible alternative. Check them out at http://www.gdiapers.com/. I know many people that use them and love them.

T.

We used the 7th gen diapers for our daughter for a few months about 1 1/2 years ago. She is also very sensitive with eczema and food allergies. She had a spot on her lower back that would not go away and was gone within a day or so of switching over to the 7th gen diapers. As someone mentioned earlier, they are not as absorbent as other diapers and I remember the tape being kind of a pain. We only had to use for a couple months since she was then potty trained. I definitely recommend giving them a try. I too ordered on Amazon and saved money.

I use 7th Gen diapers and like 'em as well as other products of their's, but I make my own disposable wipes. I use an all natural baby soap, a few drops of grapefruit seed extract (for an antibacterial) and a couple tbsp olive oil in about 2-2 1/2 cups water, depending on how big your container is. Then, I fold about 5-6 ft paper towel into the container--I like the Select-a-size Viva brand as they don't tear easy, but the perforations are closer making the wipes last longer. I pour some of the liquid to slowly and evenly wet the wipes as I go about every 10-12ft. Using a previous wipe container, you can still pull them through the hole although that's not necessary. Hope this helped:)

Hi M.!
First of all, congrads on your brand new baby! Hope everything is going well for you! Any ways, in regards to the 7th generation diapers, I love them! I switched with my 18 mo. old daughter because I heard that regular diapers have chlorine in them. She has not gotten any diaper rash since I switched. In regards to wipes, I have not used the 7th generation, but I do use the Parents Choice Organic wipes from Walmart. They are incredibly soft and I think that they're pretty green too! These wipes are actually cheaper than Huggies and Pampers which is nice too. So, hope all of this helps! Good luck with everything!

I use Nature Babycare from Target for my youngest and love them. I think they work great and visiting their website I'm comfortable using them for their "green" ways. As far as wipes go, I usually just buy the Target brand wipes. They work fine, they have no odor, and I'm comfortable using them. Other moms I know simply use water and cloths. I'm not positive, but I thought I've heard that the antifreeze story is a myth. You may want to look into that...I'm going to now that you said something b/c I've heard that before too....I just also heard it was a myth.

Hi M.,
Great thinking on going "greener." I use cloth diapers on my son, but at night and when going out for a while or going out of town/vacation, we use Seventh Generation. I have been very happy with them. With all the stuff that is in the bleached diapers, I feel very happy about our decision.

One night last week, he slept for 14 hours at night and I was sure that he would be soaked. Nope. The diaper does definitely look different when its saturated versus the "other" diaps, but we've been very pleased and haven't had had nay leaks.

I have not tried the wipes, but my guys have pretty sensitive skin and we use Huggies Natural Care unscented. Price wise, they are pretty good and there hasn't been any skin irritation.

I hadn't heard about the antifreeze . . .I will have to look into that.

Congrats on your new little guy!
B.

Not to change the subjuect,b ut where did you hear abut the antifreeze being in the Huggies wipes at. I was just wondering because I am using it on our daughter who is now 3 months and loves the Huggies wipes. The best one I have used because of the thickest with them.

I have three sons all with extremely sensitive skin. I have never tried the seventh generation diapers, but after reading some of the posts I am going to give them a try. I do make my own wipes and those are the only ones that I can use on my kids and they won't break out. They are very easy to make: 1/2 of a Bounty big paper towel roll (or which ever brand you choose, I just find that they are more absorbent), 3 cups water, 2 tablespoons baby wash (which ever brand you use, but the creamy ones don't mix in as well Burts baby bee or Johnsons work for us) and 4 tablespoons baby oil. Put the rough side down first let it soak up and then flip it over. After soaking for about a half hour the cardboard core comes out easily. Also, we use Aquaphor after each diaper change which helps with excema. Sorry, so long winded.

I have wanted to go "greener" myself. I haven't changed diapers, yet, but these are sites for green diapers, that I jotted down.

fuzzibunz.com, bumgenius.com, kissaluvs.com, happyheinys.com and gdiapers.com.

I'm sure that there are wipes available off of one of these sites. I used to make my own wipes. I would take a diaper container (at the time it was the round tubs with the pull out wipes). I would cut papertowels in half, put them in the container, (I think it was) 1 cup warm water 1 tsp baby oil and 1 tspn Johnson's baby wash. One of my Dr.'s recommended doing this. My daughters bottom was so sensitive. I know it's not "green", but it's gentle on bottoms and saves you money. I do doubt that wipes are made with antifreeze. You may want to research that or call Kimberly Clark, etc.

Good luck, M..

I use seventh generation and love them. Only thing is I do put a Huggies nighttime diaper on her at night. But that's it. I've never had problems otherwise. Just that nighttime 12 hours; nothing else worked! Good luck and that's awesome that you are focused on being "greener"!!
mom to four great kids

You can make your own baby wipes with paper towels and Basic H2 from Shaklee. Basic H2 is Non toxic, completely balanced to the skin and you can use it for all sorts of things. That's what I do and it's so easy.

I like the Nature care wipes and the seventh generation wipes but the nature care is cheaper majorly. The diapers from seventh generation are terrible for new borns. I use them now and hate them. They hold no BM inside and I am even using the size bigger than her usual because the regular 2's are too snug and barely fit on her when the regular non "green" 2's are fine on her and hold it all in. SO, if you can go with the nature care one size up or best yet, go with cloth. That's my next option.

I just switched to the SG diapers and love them! I think they are at least as absorbant as Pampers, and maybe even more so. My 7 month old daughter wears them for 10+ hours at night, and we haven't had any problems with leakage yet. We use the Amazon Subscribe & Save, and now with the diaper price increase, they basically cost about the same as regular price premium diapers at Target, although those can be cheaper with coupons. Plus they come with free shipping, and they come right to your door.

I've been going greener, too and have tried a bunch of these greener brands. I'm not impressed w/ performance compared to Pampers. So, I went cloth (just this week)! I did some calculations: http://www.diaperpin.com/calculator/calculator.asp

...and found we'll save $300-$400 w/in 15 mos. Any diapering beyond that is additional savings. My DS (3) still wears 1 diaper at night and I hv a DD 9 mos old. I ordered from a local WAHM in Oswego that has a great website (www.teenibanini.com) and got BumGenius Diapers (latest version, 3.0). The diapers work just like disposables, they're so easy! Easy to wash and dry. If you contact her, i'm sure she'd make an appt to show you her assortment and educate you on what you need (a sprayer on a toilet to spray off poop, if you don't have a wash tub in your laundry, plus some inserts for the diapers for night time, etc.). It's an expensive outlay to get started $200+, but will save down the line. PLUS, if you have more kids, you'll already be set! OH, and the great thinga bout the bumgenius is that they're onesize fits up to 31 lbs, so you don't have to keep buying them as the baby grows. I got some blue ones for DS and he's all excited. So no more disposables for us!
:-)
Best of luck.
Jen S. (Naperville)

I remember with both my babies (and the first one was born almost 8 years ago) both hospitals recommended against commercial wipes. I used them anyway, since I'm lazy that way, but you can google for instructions on how to make your own wipes. Here's one: http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/diapering/ht/wipes.htm

I actually wish I had been less lazy about it - wipes are expensive, and my older son has pretty bad eczema, so who knows if a gentler start would have helped.

Try cloth! Cloth diapers today are nothing likethey usedto be! CDs are easy to use, and your baby will have no allergy problems with cloth. Check this out for more info on how easy cloth is -- http://raisinggabeandhope.blogspot.com/2008/01/it-aint-ov...
Or check out www.happyheinys.com/ or www.greenmountaindiapers.com. www.lovebugsco.com is owned by a local mama.
I know it seems like cloth diapering would be time consuming, but it's not at all! We love cloth diapers!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Seventh Generation. As others have said, you can save money by getting them through Amazon. Even better, "subscribe & save" knocks another 15% off the price, so they end up around $35 for a box of four packages. If you're in a pinch, you can also get them for $12 at Babies R Us.

IMO, 7th Gen holds better than Huggies. My son has only blown out three or four 7th Gen, as opposed to a Huggies leak with any oversize BM. You can definitely tell if the diaper is wet because it gets all puffy. This is good: it pulls the wet away from baby's skin. Also, they don't stink like the major brands.

I saw somewhere that 7th Gen changed the diapers so they're better than before. I didn't use them before, so I don't know how much difference there is. I did notice that the moms who said they had trouble with these diapers used them a while back, before the reported changes.

My son had terrible bad rash for a while as a newborn (he's 4 months old now), and we switched to 7th Gen and used cotton balls dipped in plain water to clean him. The NP had us use Triple Paste (expensive but worth it--can find on Amazon or at Babies R Us) and some cream with silver in it that is used on burn victims. When I tried Huggies on him, the rash flared up again. Now that it's healed, I still only use 7th Gen on him. We can skip the Triple Paste some now without the rash flaring.

We now use the 7th Gen wipes on him, also through Amazon. They do cost a little more, and they smell different, but they work great, and they're easier on my hands than other brands. If you do try the wipes, buy the refill packs of 80: it'll save you money, and they have recloseable packaging. **I just try to tear a wipe apart and could not. They are strong!**

If anything is wrong with the products, 7th Gen is quick to make it better. A few days ago, I called because over half the diapers in one bag had a defect (the velcro tab on one side was applied wrong so that it popped off the diaper entirely), and they're replacing the entire bag.

My daughter also uses the 7th Gen training pants. She pees through them, but she is older (autistic 5 yr old) and pees through any pull up if we don't catch her.

Hope this helps.

**I have absolutely no connection to 7th Gen other than as a customer. I just love their things--well, the non-chlorine bleach isn't so great, but the diapering products rock!**

Hello,
I've actually had really great luck with Seventh Generation, and have had only a few blowouts that no diaper in the world would hold in. My daughter is 14 months now, and was 9 pounds at birth; the newborn size only worked for about a week and we immediately switched up a size. They are softer than the nature care ones (we just tried those). When her poo's were runnier when I was breastfeeding, the extra flap area on the backside worked to hold them in if I folded it inward. I should also mention that my daughter is tall and thin for her age, as that might affect the overall fit. That said, we babysit a chunky 9 month old, and she wears the same size and hasn't had any trouble.
I think the Seventh Generation wipes work great, but they definitely have a weird smell that I found distracting. We splurged and used the Mustela ones for a year because the smell was nice and they really worked, but are now using the nature care ones as I don't find the smell to be offensive at all.
Hope that helps a little!
Jen

Hi there, I am a Pediatric RN and saw your post. Some babies are sensitive to certain diapers, some are sensitive to certain wipes or baby bath products or even diaper rash salves. I need to know if the rash has been there since birth or lately? If the rash has always been there in some capacity, it could be diapers, wipes (always get the unscented or sensitive skin), also be sure you ask your MD about the rash, just in case it is actually a fungal infection. Usually a fungal infection is bright red and weepy looking. It would probably draw a lot of concern- you would definately sound much more desperate in your post :-) . Also, babies have sensitive skin, so just ordinary soaps that maybe they are sitting in when they are bathing in their baby tubs, that maybe dont get rinsed can cause concern. Another tip, if you can't afford the upgrades to more expensive, hard to find diapers (unfamiliar with 7th heaven) you might stay with the normal Huggies, Pampers, etc. Many times they are so hard to find that many mom's end up back at the pampers, luvs, etc, and find that their babies do fine. So, they wonder then if it was necessary to go to the expensive one's right off the back. How much fun are you having! I had three children and the oldest were 20 months apart. It really was easier with them than when i waited four and a half years for my third! Enjoy!