Showing posts with label flip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flip. Show all posts

Friday, March 11, 2011

Travel with Cloth

We, as a family, love to travel and have since the boys were itty bitty. Asia, the Caribbean, the Rockies, the beach, Grandma's house. It is just what we do as a family and how we spend our discretionary income. Often, I am asked about traveling with cloth. After many years and lots of trial and error, I have distilled my answer down to this: It is all about the washing machine.


Its all about the Machine

If the washing machine is one you trust (that of a family member or close friend), then I say go with it and there are lots of things you can do to make it easier. However, if you are relegated to using a public washing machine, I would say “Proceed with Caution.” While some public washing machine are spotless, top of the line, power houses, many are not. There is nothing worse than washing your diapers in a machine with loads of detergent build up or where the water temperature has been turned down to save money. Coming home from vacation with diapers that need to be stripped and smell as they didn’t get clean enough is no vacation at all. It can make even the most amazing trip memories turn sour quickly.


One issue to be mindful of when using a different washing machine is that the diapers might not smell and feel the same way they do at home. Water quality differs across the country. If you have soft water in your neighborhood but travel somewhere with hard water, there may be detergent build up. Perhaps you generally use the sanitize cycle on your washing machine but the one at your destination is more basic and does not have such a feature. Recognize that you may need to do an extra rinse or two and that is simply part of the adventure of travel. Don't forget to bring your detergent. We are big fans of RockinGreen and really love their sample sizes for travel.


What else do you need?

If you do have a good washer lined up and want to do cloth, there are some things that can make life easier. Invest in a great wet bag or for a longer trip, bring along a pail liner. Toss a citrus circle or diaper buddy in there in order to keep the smells down. One or both of these really are necessary for trips. You need a place to store all the diapers and the ability to keep any smells out of the hotel room or Grandma’s guest room. There are many great ones out there with my favorites being the whimsical prints of Leslie’s Wet Bags and the bright fun colors of the FuzziBunz wet bag.


My next suggestion is to Embrace the Disposable Liner. Disposable liners can be your best friend on trips. Being able to simply flush away the solids and not foul up the diaper too much with those can be wonderful. We know some people bring diaper sprayers along with them and attach to the toilet where they are visiting. That is simply too much work for us so the disposable liners are a great idea.


The diapers you bring with you can determine how much work you do. I am a big fan of the new hybrid diapers such as the Flip by Cottonbabies for travel. They offer several choices of inserts with the disposable being the easiest to use for travel. Just take out and toss the insert and put in a new one. Easy. Even if you choose to use the stay dry or organic insert, they are easy to wash and take up very little space in your luggage. The covers can be rinsed in the sink and hung to dry. So simple it is almost fun.


What not to bring?

Wool covers, while great and when properly lanolized, extremely waterproof, are hard to dry. They must be dried flat and can take a long time, particularly in humid weather. They do not tend to be a great traveling option. In addition, we have found that if being line dried, bamboo diapers can take a bit of time to dry in humid weather.


Whatever you do, have a safe and fun trip. Remember, the most important thing to bring is your senses of humor and adventure.


Happy travels!


Giveaway

Of course we have a Giveaway! We love Flip Diapers for travel and want you to try one too! So, a Flip diaper will be given away on Feb 25th to a randomly selected entrant. In order to enter:


- Fan Cottontail Baby on Facebook

- Join the Cottontail Baby mailing list

- Fan the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative on Facebook

- Fan the Cloth Diaper Retailer Cooperative blog


Good luck!

Posted by Kathleen@cottontailbaby.com at 8:01 AM 24 comments
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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Diapering A Toddler

Good morning cloth diapering parents,
I was thinking this morning about how my son has reached toddlerhood (no matter how hard to am trying to keep him my little baby). And how my diapering needs are quickly changing. He is now learning to take off his diapers, he needs more absorbancy, and he will finally lay still for roughly 30 second so I can attempt to change him instead of rolling all over the floor. These milestones mean a change in our diapering routine.

Snaps: my new best friend. Although he still can't get the velcro diapers all the way off yet, it will only be a matter of time. I am careful to reach for my snap diapers like the Happy Heiny pockets, Fuzzibunz, and Flip systems when I know he is wearing an outfit that could lead to easy access to removing that diaper. I am sure in time he will figure out how to undo snaps too--he is after all mommy's little genius! ;) (aren't they all though!). But for now that is my plan. I remember when my older girls (pre cloth diapers) would wake up from their naps in disposible diapers and I would find them and their walls and cribs covered in all sorts of wonderfulness. My second daughter had even mastered getting the diaper off while wearing a onesie! I guess she really just didn't like those disposibles, hey. Too bad I didn't know the wonders of a snapped cloth diaper back then.

Absorbancy: man can organic inserts hold a lot of wetness. Whenever we need to go more than an hour and a half or so I reach for an organic insert. The Flips or a Thirsties Hemp Prefold are my current favorites. Although there are a lot of options out there, these ones work the best for us. I love that they can also be used in a pocket diaper so that he retains that stay-dry feeling even though we have a leakproof insert in there. Another thing the organic inserts can do for every baby no matter now old is reduce the "sponge effect." The sponge effect occurs when there is pressure in the diaper area by a baby carrier, exersaucer, jumperoo that type of thing. That pressure can cause the microfiber inserts to compress and moisture is squeezed out just like if you squeezed a sponge. That can cause leeks in some diapers. But the organic inserts don't usually have that sponge effect, what they soak up stays soaked up.

He lays still, well for a moment anyhow: When Greysen was about 6 months old he started to roll everywhere all the time. Which included diapering changing time. I had to move quickly or I had a half naked baby rolling across whatever floor we were on. That meant all-in-ones or pre-stuffed pockets with velcro closures. By the end I think I had that changing time down to the 10 seconds he would stay still for. But now I can engage him a little more and he understands the need to lay still--for 30 seconds at least--to have his diaper changed so I have a few more options in diapering him these days. And I have found my love for the Flip system. I already talked about the awesomeness of those organic inserts. I haven't really used the microfiber ones much so I can't comment on them, but the Flip with the organic insert is a magical thing. NEVER, EVER, NEVER in the 6 months we have used them regularily have I had a leak. Seriously, not even once! We use them for nap with just an organic insert in there, we use them for overnight with a microfiber tucked inside the organic, we use them for car rides and out and about town... never a drop of wetness out of that system. So this system has been our favorite for toddlerhood. Before about 9 months it was not as good of a fit for my son, the organic inserts were too bulky and I couldn't get the waist tight enough (not to mention he wouldn't lay still long enough to get the liner in position and then snap the system up). But now it is the perfect diapering system for us. I do still love the pockets, especially for the stay dry effect, but right now at 15 months of age the Flip is our go to diaper.

If I had to choose one diaper for the life of my baby it would be pockets, in a mix of velcro and snaps with a few organic inserts thrown into the mix. But one of the joys of my line of work is that I am forced to try out all the wonderful new items for diapering as they come onto the market. Some I don't care for and some I love. But it has taught me that there are subtle differences in diapering products and that each stage of a baby's life may require a little tweeking to your diapering routine. You may have to branch out a little, find something that works for that stage of your babies developement. For me, toddlerhood means something super absorbant with snaps. But it may mean something different for you, so don't be affraid to branch out a little and try new things with each new stage of your baby's development.

A coupon code: use coupon code NEWCUSTOMER on your first order from our store and save 10%. Only valid once per address.
Posted by The Green Baby Store at 6:30 AM 1 comments
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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Flip for the Flip

I have been cloth diapering for almost two solid years now. I use a mixture of different types of diapers, but mostly all-in-ones and pockets. I had not dabbled with prefolds very often until my daughter was born seven months ago. My customers raved about using prefolds with newborns. They are affordable and super easy to use. I gave it a try, but just didn't enjoy the apparant bulkiness they can present. Then I met the Flip system by Cotton Babies! Wow. I really, really like this system!

The day pack includes 2 one-size covers and 6 Stay-Dry, one-size inserts. You adjust the insert by folding the insert down to fit, and then laying it in the cover and tucking it in each end flap.

I was doubtful at first. How much can this trim insert really hold? Then my daughter had what normally would be considered a "blow out" in it. It WORKED! It held everything in.. and it stayed on the insert! How cool is that?

Now when your insert is wet or soiled, you just pull the insert out, put it in the diaper pail, and replace it with a new one. You can rotate covers to keep them fresh. I've found that it's a great solution for two in diapers to help save space in the diaper bag. I've also become a bit lazy with stuffing my pocket diapers and truly enjoy how easy this system is to use.

The other bonuses? Organic and disposable inserts are available as well! All around I give it two thumbs up!


Amanda
Tender Loving Cloth Diapers LLC
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Posted by Amanda at 12:00 AM 1 comments
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