Lots of Laundry - part two.

We've been using cloth diapers for 6 months now.  I'd say it's gone pretty well.  I'm thrilled that the weather has turned and I can dry my diapers outside again.  They dry faster, look better and smell great.

During the months of January and February, I was having a lot of problems with diaper rash.  Tillie spent a good amount of that time in disposables while I tried to sort it out.  One thing I did was strip my diapers.  One easy way to do this is to use the dishwasher.  (Wash them how you normally do first.)  Since all my diapers are pockets, I just did this to the inserts.  I placed them in the top rack and ran a normal cycle without detergent.  The water in the dishwasher gets hotter than in the washing machine so it can help remove any build-up on the diapers.  Just be careful that nothing touches the heating unit on the bottom of the machine.  I used just the top rack to prevent any melting.burning mishaps.  I ran the dishwasher twice, using the sanitary rinse.  Then, I used the spin cycle on the washing machine before hanging them up to dry.  This can also be beneficial if you have leaking/repelling issues.

I could tell this helped the diapers, because they were "fluffier" and looked nicer.  But, we still were having some trouble.  I then bought the BumGenius detergent.  I'm not sure that it's making a difference, but I needed more detergent anyway.  We also are using disposable wipes at the moment.  I had been drying my wipes in the dryer, without fabric softener.  But, I'm sure there was some build-up in the dryer that could be causing some issues.  Especially when they were washed with the diapers.  Once we have a clothesline built, I'll try line drying them.  (I really just need to start using wool dryer balls for everything.)

One of the strangest discoveries was that the California Baby Calendula Cream (yes, the one made for sensitive skin and kids with eczema) seems to give her a rash.  The cream dries in a layer on skin that peels off leaving weird flakes and bright red skin that looks to be rubbed raw.  When we stopped using any cream at all, it got better.  (Yes, I know my child is weird, but look at her parents.  She didn't stand a chance.)

And, with that, we seem to be back in business.  And, because I know you come for the pictures of my gorgeous girl, I leave you with this.

 That's Tillie in her Palm Sunday dress. (What? We have a lot of Spring dresses.)