My Recent Experience with FLIP Disposable Inserts

Last week, I did a strip or "deep clean" of all our diapers. 

(I talked about that a few posts down for anyone that would like to check it out) 

But since I wanted to do all of our diapers, I had to find an alternative while they were "out of commission". I didn't want to buy disposable diapers, so I instead went on the hunt for disposable inserts. After looking at a couple different ones at Mom's Milk Boutique I decided to go with the FLIP brand. I have FLIP covers, so I guess it made sense to buy their brand. 

At first they seemed very large, but I soon realized they are quite thin and trim. I would almost consider them like the disposable pads they give at the hospital for after you give birth. They don't contain any of those yucky gels though. The absorbency comes from wood pulp. They also contain bamboo viscose and a starch-based glue to hold it all together. You can buy them from Mom's Milk Boutique here. They are quite absorbent despite being so thin, and they are very soft. Not scratchy like I expected them to be.

Here is one laid out next to a FLIP cover on the medium setting.

And here it is inserted into the cover.

I folded the ends folded over slightly to make it fit. 

Still VERY trim.

And here's a close-up of the insert itself. 

It's got almost a silk-like feel to it.

I used them for a day, and had no problems with leaks or any type of rash on my sensitive skinned baby girl. They do fit a lot trimmer than cloth inserts, 

so they would be ideal if there was a need for a not-so-fluffy bum. 

I think if we ever take a trip where I don't want to worry about washing diapers, 

I will use these. I hand wash my covers already, and hang them to dry,

 so it wouldn't be a big deal to do that at a hotel or something.
So basically, I love these!
And I will purchase again in the event that I need a disposable option!

Frequent Questions About Cloth Diapers

What do you do with the poop?
If your baby is breastfed, the diaper goes right into the pail. No rinsing is necessary as poo from exclusively breastfed babies is water soluble and will come out in the wash. If your baby is formula fed or on solids (which mine is both) the poo will need to be dumped into the toilet. Washing them out in the toilet is usually not necessary, unless it is particularly messy. Then just hold by one end and either use a diaper sprayer or hold it in the stream of water that flows into the bowl when you flush. I don't have a sprayer, so when needed I do the latter. Most people don't know, but all poop is supposed to be dumped into the toilet and not thrown into the trash. That includes disposable diapers. Think of it like this, would you poo in a trash can? Neither would I ; )


Where do you put them until you wash them?
Most use the "dry pail" method, which is just a container of your choice that you put the diapers in until you're ready to wash. Some use a plain trash can, some use a large "wet bag" which is just a reusable waterproof bag that can typically be hung up. I have a can similar to the one on the left. You can also purchase a "pail liner" which is almost like a reusable trash bag, to put in the trash can. But it isn't necessary. 

How often do you wash them?
This mostly depends on how many diapers you have. Some wash every day, where others only wash every 3 days or more. Less frequent washing will cut down on the wear of your diapers, but there isn't really an exact frequency that everyone should follow. It's whatever works for you and your family.

But don't they stink just sitting?
Typically, no. I could leave my pail open in my kitchen and never notice. Part of this is because anytime there is a poopy diaper, the poo is emptied into the toilet.

I don't want to use diaper pins on my baby, I'm afraid of poking him/her!
Well, good news! Diaper pins are no longer a necessity! There have been major advancements made in the world of cloth diapering. One of which is the Snappi. It's a nifty little device used to secure prefold or flat diapers before putting a cover on your baby. Here is a snappi on my daughter with a prefold diaper.

Another option of fastener is the new Boingo's. I haven't used them before, so I can't give personal experience on them. But here is a photo.

Most diapers won't even need any added closure, as they come with them now in the form of snaps or aplix (velcro). Here are a few examples of those. These are simply examples, as there are many many more brands available.

Don't cloth diapers leak?

Nope! My daughter is even in cloth diapers for 10-12 hours at night, and no leaks at all! When she was in disposables for the first few weeks she would have leaks on a daily basis and almost every single night. We never have "blowouts" (poo messes) either. Everything is contained very well. If your baby has especially messy poo, use a diaper or cover that has double gussets. Gussets are the elastic bands around the legs. The Bummis Super Brite cover I pictured above is a great example of double gussets.

How often will I need to buy diapers?
After you have enough diapers to last your desired time between washing, you should only have to buy more when it's time to move to the next size. One-Size diapers can help with not having to buy as many diapers over the course of your baby's time in diapers. They typically fit babies from about 8-10lbs up until potty training, or close to it. My personal experience is one-size diapers are quite bulky on newborns (my daughter was about 6.5lbs at her lowest weight). So I would suggest if you have a smaller baby to go with newborn sized diapers for the first few weeks or so. After that you can choose to go to one-size diapers, or use specific sizes.

But they're so much more expensive than disposables!
At first, yes. You might pay $10 for that small package of disposables, and a new cloth diaper might be $12-$15. But if you think about it, the cloth diaper will last much longer than those disposable diapers. In the long run, you will save your family a decent amount of money by using cloth. Not to mention it's better for the environment and your baby!

How do I wash them? Do I need special detergents?
There are numerous washing options for your diapers. The best advice is to do what works for you. Some cloth diaper users have great results from Diaper-Specific detergents. These can be purchased online or at cloth diapering stores. They are typically comparable in price to name-brand detergents. I personally use Tide detergent on my diapers, and know a lot of parents that do so as well. It's more readily-available to people that don't have a cloth diaper store or order online regularly. One general consensus is that regular fabric softener is a big no-no. It contains surfactants that will attach to the fibers of your diapers and stop them from absorbing. There are some brands that are okay to use on cloth diapers, and the one I use is Ecover. I only use it every few washes, and only on my natural fibers. I don't use it on my diaper covers or diapers with waterproof materials built in. 

What if my baby gets a diaper rash?
I have had a couple of issues with diaper rash since my daughter was born, and there are a few options. One is to use a regular diaper cream like Desitin or Boudreaux's and use a diaper liner to keep the cream off of your diapers. They can stain your diapers or cause repelling issues causing the diapers to leak. There are disposable liners, as well as reusable ones. 

An alternative to using liners with typical diaper creams, would be to use creams that are safe for cloth diapers and do not require a liner. My personal choice is CJ's BUTTer, but I will include examples below of others as well.

I think I've covered most of the frequently asked questions, but if there's anything else you'd like me to discuss please just let me know! Happy Diapering!

Mrs. Myers Clean Day Dish Soap Rave!

So, during our usual weekly shopping trip I remembered we needed dish soap.
Every "Natural" one I've tried, my husband has complained about.
One he even said smelled like vomit. So I went for my usual, name brand soap.

Then I saw the Mrs. Meyer's Dish Soap sitting there. I opened the lid, and smelled it. It was their Lavender Scent. I loved the smell, but wondered how well it would work at actually getting everything clean. So I decided to give it a try. And I'm so glad I did! Everything came so clean, and my hands actually felt nice after doing the dishes! Not dry and scratchy like they typically would. So, I'm sold! 

So happy to finally find a Natural Alternative to something I use on a daily basis!

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Dish Soap

New Product Review
Allen's Stink Out Laundry Additive

I received this product for review from a local retailer Mom's Milk Boutique
I have to say I am thoroughly impressed.
We had been having some issues with our cloth diaper laundry having buildup and "stinkies". Ours was due to buildup in the diaper fibers from a detergent I tried instead of our usual. So I did a "strip" or treatment with RLR Laundry additive first. It seemed to pull some of the buildup out, but the water rinsed clean after just two rinses. And I could still smell the stinkies in the diapers. So I tried the Allen's Stink Out. It smelled amazing coming out of the bottle. Think a citrus clean smell. There were so many bubbles created from the 1/2oz I poured in, so I knew it had to be doing something. Here's all the bubbles created from that small amount.

And now here's what it looked like at the start of the second rinse with the Allens...

So clearly they got a good deep clean from it.

And now, my cloth diapers no longer stink! They actually smell like....NOTHING! 

Even despite the rather strong smell coming out of the Allen's bottle! 

There is no scent to them at all, which is amazing!

Thank you Allen's for saving our Cloth Diaper stash from the stinkies!!!

Any negatives?
Well, it does take several rinses to get the water clean, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That just means it's getting all the "yuckies" out of the fibers!

So there you have it! Allen's Stink Out gets an A+ from me!

New Product Review and Giveaway coming soon!!! Stay tuned!

CJ's Giveaway!!!
Begins at 12:01 EST June 20th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For those of you who have never heard of CJ's before, 

here's a quick run down of just SOME of the uses for this amazing product! 

This is from the CJ's website, which can be found HERE

Called a”A Miracle in a Tube” by some, CJ’s BUTTer® has been used on adults and children to help relieve …

eczema

rashes

dry/chapped skin

rug burns (sore ‘crawler’ knees)

mechanics’ hands and cuticles

hang nails

Lacerations and abrasions from rock climbing

rub a small amount on your hands and use as a leave-in conditioner for your curls

More uses for CJ’s BUTTer® include:

Use it for black/mixed hair!! Leaves hair soft, shiny and helps alleviate those ‘owies’ when trying to separate locks!

Melt a dollop under running bath water for a relaxing, soothing, and anti-inflammatory soak–provides relief for post-partum soreness and hemorrhoids!

Provides protection against windburned cheeks/face and helps to relieve windburn!

Promotes healing and provides a non-stick barrier when used after a circumcision.

It's Review Time!

The wonderful people over at CJs sent me some goodies to review for all of you!

There will be a giveaway shortly following this review!
Be sure to subscribe so you can enter to win!!!

Lavender & Tea Tree Carcass Cleaner

What I liked: Nice dispensing, and a good clean feel on my skin.
Did note decreased redness of breakouts on our skin.

What I didn't like: Too strong of a medicinal smell for us. 

I did try their Warm Vanilla Cake scent of this as well, and I enjoyed it a lot better. 

So the scent might just be a personal choice. 

We have been using the Warm Vanilla Cake Scent for a while now, and love it as a wipes solution and as a quick clean up for both kids.

BUTTer in Blueberry Crumble and Intrigue Fragrances

What I liked: Everything. The texture is wonderful.
It performed amazingly as a diaper cream for our daughter,
and caused no issues with her cloth diapers at all.
Also works wonderfully for dry skin!

What I didn't like: Nothing. This truly is an amazing product!

BUTTer Lip Balm in Dreamsicle

What I liked: Nice, moist feel, without greasiness. It also smells absolutely amazing.

What I didn't like: I wish it would taste more like it smells, but that's just me. 

I prefer strongly flavored lip balms.

Overall, I really like the CJ's lines of products I was given to review.
I would definitely recommend them to my friends and family!
(I actually do already!)

Here is their website to try it for yourself!!
I doubt you'll be disappointed!

http://www.cjsuniqueboutique.com/