Diapering and Elimination Communication

I thought I would give an update on how EC is going for me so far.  I have found that unless I am super vigilant I still miss a bunch of pees.  Some days I do better than others.  I've had days of only getting a couple of pees (those are usually the days that I am not holding her as much or paying as much attention).  I've had days of catching 90% of her pee.  I have found that when I take her to pee, if she doesn't go within a minute or two, she is usually not ready.  That's nice to know so I don't waste a lot of time trying to catch it.  She will often pee right after I cue her.  I still go through a lot of diapers; mostly because I am more aware of when she is wet (because I take her to the bathroom and she is already wet - sometimes she will still go again.)  The thing I am most excited about is that I have caught (when I say caught, I mean "cued her and she went in the toilet") all but two poos!  Only two poopy diapers in this whole time (threeish weeks)!  It is worth doing it for that right there.  Usually if she is acting fussy and I can't figure out why, she has some poo that needs to come out.  Sometimes it takes a few tries before she is ready to get it out, but it generally fixes the fussiness.  I really feel that she prefers eliminating outside of her diaper.  Sometimes she has to squirm for a while before I clue in, and then as soon as I give her the cue she lets a ton out.  Check out this site about EC.

Now, because I am still going through quite a few diapers, I wanted to get some cloth that would fit her.  I don't like the expense, waste, or possible health issues arising from using disposables.  Like I mentioned earlier, I have some diapers - even one-size-fits-all diapers, but on Baby's 7 lb 10 oz frame, they are just too huge.  I wanted something that would work for her now; but since I don't know how long she'll be this little, and I don't know whether or not I'll ever have other babies this size, I didn't want to spend too much money.

Options for covers:

1. Vinyl.  Yes, you can still buy these.  They aren't really breathable.  You also have to pull them on and off, which can be a pain sometimes.  I think there are better options out there.

2. Wool soakers.  Sometimes called "longies" for pant length or "shorties" for regular diaper cover length.  When you see the "rise" measurement, that should be the measurement from the top of the front, under the crotch, and up to the top of the back.  If the rise is too low it won't cover the diaper.  I have tried a few different wool soakers, and so far (in general) I like the ones that are more expensive over the hand knitted ones (although I do like to use those too, they just don't work as well for heavy wetters).  The expensive ones seem to be felted and thicker, which would make them more absorbent.  I like to use my "longies" as pants (pajama or daytime) on top of all my other diaper stuff as an added layer of protection.  My two biggest issues with wool are that 1) they take forever to dry (of course, that means they are absorbent, but I couldn't just get by with a couple)! and 2) they seem to have a stinky woolly odor when they get wet (maybe it's something I'm doing wrong?).  Also, they can leak...even the heavy duty ones.  You also have to lanolinize them and you are supposed to hand wash them (although I admit to throwing them in the washer on a gentle cycle from time to time.)

3. Polyurethane laminate a.k.a. PUL.  This is a waterproof material that is usually on the inside of a cover or sandwiched in the middle of other fabrics, usually some sort of polyester.  There are a ton of different brands out there that make PUL covers.  I have used Mother-ease (which I loved and thought they were the best, but then I started getting some leaking from the seams - of course that is after using them for 9+ years :))  I still use them for Jack and Pie, and I am still pretty happy with them.  I have not had any "blow out" problems with my Mother-ease.  For Baby I decided to try Bummis Super Snap.  I've been reading so many good reviews about Bummis products, and I thought that this may be my only excuse to try one.  I should have bought a newborn size, but being the frugal person I am, I figured Baby is so close to fitting in a small, that I would make do with that.  It fits great around her waist, but the leg openings are a little big for her.  I only bought one, and that has been enough for now, but if I buy another one, I'll probably try getting a newborn size.  Although, with my doing EC, too big of leg openings shouldn't be much of a problem.  I was even considering not getting a cover so I could be even more aware of when Baby wets, but then I decided to do prefolds so I kinda needed a cover.

Covers can come in three types: pull on, hook and loop (also known as velcro or aplix), or snap.  Here is my opinion on the three.

Pull on:  The biggest advantage is that you don't have to worry about snaps or velcro digging into baby.  Wool covers are usually pretty nice for this reason.  However, you can't adjust the openings.  Of course the other types may not adjust big enough or small enough either, but there is usually some room for adjustment.  My biggest problem with pull on covers is that when you try to pull it off, sometimes the diaper comes with it.  If there is poop in there, that could be a problem.  Also, if you need to change the cover for some reason, you can't just lower the pants and whip it off.  If the child is wearing pants and shoes you have to take it all off.

Hook and Loop:  The plus side is that they are easy to put on, so if you are half asleep and it is dark, it is not a struggle.  They are also usually pretty adjustable.  The disadvantages outweigh the advantages, in my opinion.  Velcro can wear out (I have some diapers that will hardly stay on anymore because the velcro won't hold), it can scratch baby's skin (some covers are better than others about how they put on their velcro, but I had one velcro cover... can't remember the brand... with Louie that had a sharpish edge and a big tab that rubbed all over her poor fat belly.), and even with the washing tabs to keep velcro secured during washing, can snag (which seems to wear the diapers out faster).  It is a pain to have to be picking lint and strings and hairs out of the velcro.

Snaps:  They aren't as fast to slap on as velcro (and I guess if you want to adjust it to something between the snaps you are out of luck).  If you have it on too tight, the snaps could dig into baby's skin.  Snap covers are usually pretty adjustable, pretty sturdy, you don't have as many seams to worry about moisture wicking, and you don't have the disadvantages of velcro.  If I had to choose only one of the three, snaps would be it.  Velcro would be out.

One thing that it took me a while to figure out is that any cover WILL leak if you have the diaper poking out of it at all.  I know, duh!

Okay, it's super late.  I'll finish the thoughts on diapers at a later time.