Flip Diaper Review

Hello!

I am going to do my first review on here for the CottonBabies Flip Diaper. The Flip is a hybrid diaper which means it has a disposable liner and a reusable liner. This is my out and about diaper as it does not take up a lot of space in my diaper bag and since the cover is reusable by just wiping it out I do not have to take as much stuff with me. This is one reason I use them while out and about. Now, the Flip diaper does have the disposable liner, but I personally have never used the disposable liner so I am going to just review the cover and the reusable liner for right now.

First, for the One-Size Flip cover.


This is a one size diaper cover that fits from about 7-8lbs to about 35lbs. My toddler has used this diapers since she was about 9 months old until now (she is 2 and weighs about 32 lbs), and have been very impressed with the fit. Here is a photo of the smallest setting and the largest setting. 

My two favorite features about this cover are the snap system and the inside flaps. The cover has two snaps on each side that are vertical to each other. This is very nice because the snaps are customizable! My toddler has chubby legs and a skinny waist, so I put the snaps at a bigger setting for the lower one and a smaller setting for the upper one.


Because I am able to do this I get a good fit around her tummy and waist which prevents any leaks or blowouts (I have never had none!). Now, if your baby has skinny legs you can do exactly the opposite of what I do to get a nice snug fit around the babys legs and waist.
The other feature I like is the inside flaps.


The reason I really like this is because that makes the diaper easy to stuff and prevents urine from seeping out the front or the back. I have used this cover with both the stay dry insert and with a cotton prefold and it works just fine, like I siad before I have never had a leak!

Next, the Stay Dry Insert.


I normally use the flip cover with the reusable liner, or it is better known as the stay dry insert. The insert creates a very trim fit and is extremely absorbant. This particular insert is one-size, just like the diaper cover.


There is a small, medium, and large setting which you get by folding over the insert at the appropriate line. The insert fits very well inside the Flip cover and is easy to put in because of the inside flaps on the cover. When I leave my husband watching our two year old I can just have this cover ready to go with the insert and he has no stuffing or folding to worry about, so even he will cloth diaper! :-)
The insert is made up of two sides, it has a microfiber and a stay-dry suede. The stay dry side goes against the babys bottom to wick away urine and keep the babys bottom from getting a rash if they end up sitting in the diaper for longer than expected. No, this does not last as long as a disposable, but will last longer than a prefold. That is another reason I use this as an out and about diaper, if we are in the car longer than expected it is not such a big deal. I also recently have tried using this at night with my daughter (she is a heavy nighttime wetter) as the top to a prefold, and also folded and fastened (with a snappi) inside of the prefold. I have been very happy with the results and my toddlers bottom is not as damp in the morning when she gets up.

Overall I really like the system, my only two complaints about it are no double gussets, and the insert (at least for me) seems to soak up more detergent and then gets that ammonia smell. The double gussets really are not that big of a deal because of the way the snap system works with it being customizable. With the insert it could be the way I am washing it, but how I have resolved that is by running a special load with all of my microfiber inserts and stripping them about once a month. It is a little more work for me, but I like the system so much that I do not really mind the extra work.     
(This is my toddler in the diaper, she was not too into posing for a picture so sorry about the poor quality :-/)
Well there you have it, my thoughts on the Flip Diaper! I am off to finish my laundry and take a quick rest, have a great day!

~ Kym

Todays verse: Isaiah 1:16-17

Weekly Wipe Solution Recipe

The cloth wipe solution recipe for this week is:

Chamomile'n' Honey

Brew the tea, add the honey, and drink any leftovers!

1 chamomile teabag
1 teaspoon honey

1 cup boiling water 

After I made this recipe I soaked one-two days worth of wipes in the solution and then put them in my wipe warmer. 

Look back next week for another wipe solution recipe!

~ Kym

Today Bible verse: 1 Peter 5:10

Refreshing Cloth Diapers - Putting on Snaps

Now, as some of you may know, cloth diapers do not last forever. Because of this they sometimes need a facelift. :-) My BumGenius pocket diaper were not bought new. I got them for between $12-15 a diaper at a big used children stuff sale. So, after about 6 months of on and off use and 2 months of solid use the diapers are starting to fall apart in the velcro department. I personally am not a huge fan of velcro, but I do feel that it does have its place in the cloth diaper world. Velcro works great when it is new, and is an excellent option for tiny babies simply because they do not hold still for diaper changes as well as older infants. But, once the velcro wears out it has to be replaced. I decided because of the velcro was wearing out on my pocket diapers that I would try and change the velcro and refresh my diaper stash. Now, BumGenius sells diaper refreshing kits, but these do not include the velcro strip on the front of the diaper and the ones I had were completely ruined and pilled. So, I opted to just try and figure out how to fix them myself. :-)

I started by pulling off all of the velcro pieces on the diaper, here is the comparison of the diaper with velcro and the diaper without velcro, and also the pieces of velcro I took off the diaper.


After I accomplished that I did some test runs in my mind and I also did some consulting with my mom on how I was going to get velcro back onto the diaper without ruining it completely. I looked at getting fabric glue and gluing the velcro on then hand sewing it to the front panel and tabs, I looked at just sewing the velcro on with my sewing machine, I looked at not removing the front panel and hoping that it would just work to replace the side tabs... You get the idea. I was not really happy with any of these options because any one of them could completely ruin the outer PUL (polyurethane laminate) layer and make the diaper unusable. Once I got to the craft store (I personally like Hobby Lobby because they always have an online coupon) I looked at what they had for all of these options. Now, I have 5 of these diapers I need to fix, so I wanted something that was not going to be expensive, but be able to last a very long time (or at least for two more kids). To my surprise the velcro was not cheap and I could not find the right size. So I kept looking down the isle for more ideas on how to fix the diaper that was now unusable because it had no velcro on it. :-) I ran across the Babyville Boutique brand on my way out of the particular isle I was in. Babyville Boutique sells PUL fabric, plastic snaps, velcro, fold over elastic, and everything you would need for making cloth diaper covers or anything waterproof and baby. One of their items is snap pliers and plastic snaps. Since I had a 40% off coupon I decided to go ahead and try changing the diapers from velcro to snaps.
Once I got home I looked at the other Cotton Babies diaper items that I had in the house. One of my favorite items that I have is the Flip diaper cover, and after turning both the Flip cover and the 3.0 pocket inside-out I found something interesting.


They are both of the same. So, I just copied the snap pattern from the Flip cover and put it on the pocket diaper.
After following the directions on the snap pliers and putting on all of the snaps I have a diaper that should work for another couple of kids!


Now, this was a very easy process once I got all of the pieces figured out. The total project cost me about $22 and took me 45 min (but most of that time was figuring out how to use the snap machine :-D). For me this was more cost effective than doing the refresher kits because of how bad my diapers were getting.

If you have any questions about more details on what I did please ask!

~ Kym

Todays Verse: Matthew 5:10

Washing Cloth Diapers

Washing cloth diapers happens in several steps for me: rinsing, storing soiled, washing, drying. 

First, for the rinsing. When a child is only breastfeeding the diapers do not have to be cleaned out before washing them, but once they start eating solid food the dirty diapers have to be dunked or sprayed off. Right now I only have a toddler and so I have to rinse off all of the poop before going to the next step in the washing process. What I personally do when my toddler has a bowel movement is dunk the diapers in the toilet to get off all of the solid pieces and then scrub the diaper in the sink or bathtub to get the rest of the poop off. Now, this is not the only method to cleaning off diapers. Right now there are several diaper sprayer systems out there, and if you have ever heard of a bidet they are quite similar. The diaper sprayers attach to the toilet and have a on/off valve, then when you want to use them all you have to do is take the dirty diaper, put it low into the toilet (to avoid any type of spattering), turn the valve on, take the wand of the system and spray off the poop into the toilet. This is much easier than dunking and scrubbing the diapers, and makes cleaning them easier. I personally do not have one of these systems yet, but I do look forward to hopefully getting one soon.

Next, storing the soiled diapers. I use a plastic trash can that has a cover on it and a diaper pail liner in the can to help keep the smell of the diapers out of my bathroom.

This is where I keep all of my soiled diapers, and unless it is absolutely stuffed I do not smell the diapers. I also put an Arm and Hammer deodorizer into the bottom of the can just to make sure the diapers do not make any extra stink (the people who live in my house do not like dirty diaper smell :-)).

Next, washing all of the stinky diapers. I take my diapers, can and all, to the laundry area in my basement. I then set my washing machine to a super sized load and hot water and run the machine on a rinse without anything in it. Since one of the people using the washing machine uses about two times as much soap as needed, sometimes it leaves a residue in the machine after he has used it. I had been skipping this first step, and after a couple of weeks my diapers smelled like ammonia and were starting to burn my toddlers bottom (not a good thing). Cloth diapers are not meant to be washed in regular detergent, they need a detergent that has no extra chemicals in it like: Nellies All Natural Laundry Soda or Rockin' Green Detergent. After I get my machine ready, I put my diapers in with half a scoop of soap on a hot regular wash with an extra rinse. Even tho I do not have enough diapers to fill a super sized load, I go ahead and leave my machine on this setting to soak the diaper a little bit before they start washing. That, along with the extra rinse makes the diapers come out of my wash smelling and feeling extremely clean.    

The last step to my cleaning process is drying. I do this one of two ways. The first way is to toss the diapers into the dryer and dry them on high heat for about an hour. The second way I do this is by hanging my diapers on the clothes line outside in the warm air. 

However, I live in Michigan, so this is not always an option. My preference is to hang my diapers out on the line because the sun naturally bleaches them and takes out any and all stains that my diapers might get. Also, it saves me some money because I am not using the electric dryer. :-)

The one other washing that cloth diapers need every few months is called stripping. What happens with cloth diapers is they loose their absorbency over any continued washing time just because (no matter how hard we may try) chemicals get into them. chemicals are everywhere, and whether it is from the water we are using or from extra unneeded soap in the washing machine, it happens. Stripping cloth diapers is really easy, all I do is put all of the diapers in the wash on a full load setting, then I stick a couple of squirts (not too much or this will make too many suds) of dawn dish soap in with them and let the washing machine do the rest on a normal cycle. After I wash the diapers with dish soap I then run the washing machine on two more rinses without any type of soap or detergent (or until I see no more suds). Ta-dah! The diapers are now stripped! Very simple. :-) Like I said before, it is good to do this every few months so that the diapers will stay absorbant and ammonia free.

So there you have it, my whole cloth diaper washing routine. If you have any questions about this I would love to answer them for you, so please ask!

~ Kym

Todays Bible verse: 1 John 4:7-8

  

Cloth wipes and more

Today is one of the days that I am grateful for cloth diapering. Josie (my 2 year old) has had diarrhea this morning. In a regular disposable diaper we would have had leaks galore, but thanks to a good cover (Thirsties Duo Wrap) and a properly folded prefold, we have had no leaks and a lot less laundry. :-) 

I am all for using cloth wipes. Since I have only recently started cloth diapering I had some (a lot) of open disposable wipes. So, after using all of those up we are now using cloth wipes. I have several types in my litte stash: homemade flannel wipes, baby washcloths (I have no idea on the brand), and Ikea kids washcloths. The homemade flannel wipes and the baby washcloths work great for not so messy messes, but the Ikea washcloths are for the dirty work. I store my wipes in a wooden box (it was something that I had around the house) along with my wipes solution and a bottle I can put warm water in if I need it.

 One reason I choose to use cloth wipes is how easy it is with cloth diapering. Instead of having to keep a trash can full of dirty stinky wipes near the diaper changing area, the cloth wipe just goes right into the cloth diaper bin along with the soiled diaper! Easy, simple, and straightforward. For storing my wipes solution I use a spray bottle I have in the house. After throughly cleaning it out it was ready to hold whatever I wanted to use for a wipe solution.

For my wipe solution this week I used a simple 3 ingredients that required no measuring and I had everything needed already in the house. I started by mostly filling my spray bottle with warm water, then I added a squirt of baby shampoo and a squirt of baby oil (I only had the gel kind in the house, so I am hoping this will work). I then gave my spray bottle a generous shake and it is ready for when I need it!



You can also, if you prefer, measure everything, put it in a mason jar and mix it that way. That is also very easy to do. Here is the recipe for the week in measurements:

Basic Wipe Solution

This basic recipe can be adapted by changing the type of soap or oil.
1/2 cup baby oil
1/2 cup baby wash
2 cups water

If you are having trouble deciding if you should use cloth wipes my recommendation would be to go out and buy wipes, or just use whatever baby washcloths you have around the house, and try it. If you can make your own wipe solution then it will possibly not cost you anything! I was able to find everything I needed around the house for cloth wipes, so it is a very cost effective choice for me.

Enjoy using this weeks wipe solution, and look back next week for another one!

~ Kym

Today's verse: Ecclesiastes 11:5

Starting Cloth Diapering

My personal goal with cloth diapering is finding a natural and cost effective solution for diapering two kids. 

Or that is what it started out as...

I now know way more about cloth diapering than I ever thought possible, and I have only been cloth diapering for a month! The biggest gap in cloth diapering that I have found is just simple information on how to and what to use for basic cloth diapering. So, that is what my hope is for this cloth diapering blog. I (Kym) get to tell you what I am finding out and what I have learned from doing cloth diapering with my girls, and you all can have a better understanding of what is available in the cloth diapering world.

For this post I will briefly explain what I have in my diaper stash, and how I use it. My stash is a basic starter stash with some used and some new diapers. I tried to cloth diaper when my older daughter was about 10 months old, and it just did not work. Between diaper rash from chemicals in my detergent and a poor diaper stash I was going crazy. Now that I have done more research, and have a better understanding of how cloth diapering works, I have changed my diaper stash to accomodate everything I personally am wanting out of cloth diapers. Here is a list of what I have in my stash right now for cloth diapering my two year old, Josie (I am still currently pregnant with my second daughter). 

4 BumGenius pocket diapers (these I bought used, I think they are 3.0)

3 Flip diaper covers

2 Thirsties Duo Wrap size 2 diaper covers

1 Thirsties Diaper cover size large

1 Bummis Super Brite diaper cover size large

15 Indian Cotton Prefolds

6 Flip stay dry inserts

2 toddler size Snappi's

1 Planet Wise pail liner

1 covered plastic trash can

Nellies All Natural Laundry Soda

As you can tell I have 3 different diaper types in here: pockets, prefolds with covers, and the Flip hybrid system. I use my pocket diapers only at night, I do not have diaper sprayer, so trying to get poo out of the cover for a pocket diaper is a little bit of a nightmare for me. Durring the day I use my prefolds with a cover, I go back and forth in-between using a snappi and just folding my prefold in the cover depending on what I am needing (I will talk more about that in a later post on prefolds). When I am out and about I use the Flip hybrid system with the stay dry insert, Flip does have a disposable insert, but I find it is just as simple to put the stay dry insert in and and once it is soiled put it in a plastic bag and then wash it when I get home. Right now I only have one diaper pail, and that sits in the bathroom for ease of cleaning up poo filled diapers. Nellies All Natural Laundry Soda is what I use for washing, and I have been very happy with that so far. I am wanting to further expand my diaper stash, but what I have right now works for what I need. Once my second daughter is born I will write another post on what I use to diaper her. :-)

Well my daughter Josie just woke up from her nap and I need to go put my cloth diaper laundry into the dryer. So, this is going to be all for today. Be sure and check back frequently as I will be posting lots of information on here every single week!

~ Kym

Verse of the Day: Ephesians 5:1-2