Cloth Diaper suggestions and a few thoughts about diaper rash

Jody - posted on 01/30/2010 ( 2 moms have responded )

I used cloth diapers on my babies because they were all that was available then - 50 years ago! The disposables were being worked on and I did get a sample to try. It felt like a heavy, rough paper towel. There were no fasteners so I used my diaper pins and they just ripped the paper as baby moved around. The sample lasted about 20 minutes.
My babies all had strong BMs and they made stains in the diapers. I had so much trouble trying to get those stains out. I tried soaking the diaper in vinegar, baking soda and detergent, and finally pure chlorine bleach. The stains never really came out. I didn't want to be embarrassed when I had to change a diaper in public, or worse yet, in front of my Mother in Law! so I did some very creative folding that hid the stains pretty good. LOL
Urine contains ammonia and that can burn baby's bottom if the wet diaper is left too long before changing. Each of my children got diaper rash at one point of their diaper years. My daughter was the worst! My sister-in-law was a Pediatric Nurse and she was so concerned when she saw my little ones bottom. She gave me the best advice. Keep a small lamp near the changing table Remove the shade and each time you change the diaper, before wrapping the clean diaper around the baby, hold the lamp about 6 - 8 inches from the sore little bottom for a few minutes. Using corn starch to keep the area dry is a wonderful idea too. The last advice was to let the toddler walk around the house with no diaper. Let that hurtful area "air out"! You have to be diligent during that "airing out" time so baby doesn't leave any surprises on the carpet, but 30 minutes after each changing shouldn't be too difficult for a few days if it lets that diaper rash dry up.
If I were to go back and do it again, I would definitely go with CLOTH DIAPERS!! The money you save over disposables is a good incentive, but the bonus I liked the most was when a diaper had done its duty for baby, it makes the BEST dust rag!