Rash - Cloth Diapers??

Hi There,
My son gets that too on occasion, by not nearly as bad as you described. It is from the friction, becasue they are moving so much. Try putting a generous amount of baby powder or vaseline in those spots a couple of times through the day and that should help cut back on the rubbing/friction. I hope that helps!

Our eldest was allergic to disposables for the last 6 months she wore diapers. We ended up getting cloth, since there was no other alternative. I washed them myself, and it was not as bad as you might imagine. She was also easier to potty train, since cloth really feels wet when it is.

Updated

Our eldest was allergic to disposables for the last 6 months she wore diapers. We ended up getting cloth, since there was no other alternative. I washed them myself, and it was not as bad as you might imagine. She was also easier to potty train, since cloth really feels wet when it is.

Cloth diapers on an older baby are really not the problem you would think they are. The trick is to use special flushable liners that catch most of the poo. You lift the liner out of the diaper and toss it or flush it. A diaper sprayer can be handy to spray off anything that might be left and you toss the diaper in the diaper pail. On laundry day you dump the diaper pail liner and all the diapers in the wash. Don't have to touch a thing! You can use one-size all in one or one-size pocket diapers that are very similar in style to disposables to make life easier. There is a learning curve to cloth but well worth it in savings and baby's skin health.

If you'd like more info just shoot me a message! I've been cloth diapering my 20 month old since she was 4 months old and we are still using the same diapers. Talk about savings! And they could be used for another baby (if I could talk hubby into it lol!).

And my 20 month old has been potty training since she was 17 months old! It really does help with the potty training because they can really feel when they are wet and dirty.

The best advice is toilet train him ASAP. At 2 1/2 he is ready to begin the process and once he figures out he feels better with no diapers, he will learn fast. Buy the thick cloth training pants and NOT PULL-ups. He might be allergic to something in the factory diapers material.

Maybe check out this site. http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/
They offer cloth diaper trials and tutorials on how to do cloth. There is a learning curve to them as far as washing but it is worth it. My son is almost 2 and we started cloth diapering him at about 5 months. As far as poop goes, disposable liners are a great option. Bumkins ones are pretty soft. (I started with the Imse Vimse brand and they seem a bit rough to me.) However, I don't usually use the liners unless we are going out or if we have to use a cream on him that is not cloth diaper safe (ie desitin will make them smell like fish). We used an online tutorial and built a diaper sprayer and just spray off the poopy ones. The soiled diapers go into a waterproof pail liner that I have inside a plastic lidded trash can I got from Walmart. Smell isn't an issue unless I forget to close the lid. Every 3 days I take the liner out and dump it out into the washer and wash it all. I think the cloth has saved his skin. He still will occassionally get a bit of redness/rash but disposables really seem to exacerbate the problem.

I don't know if I would go with a Bum Genius for a kid that big. They are good diapers and they say they fit up to 35 lbs and they might, but it is hard to tell. A site I got a lot of info from was www.diaperswappers.com. Good luck!

I would try to change the alkalinity of his diet, if you can. Less acidic fruits, for a start, and increase the veggies and legumes. We used cloth on my dd for 3 yrs., w/nary an accident. My son was potty learned early, but we never had an issue with him or his blow outs in cloth, either.

My never fail system: daytime: Motherease diaper with one fleece(hemp backed) extra laid inside and a super whisperwrap cover like one of these

http://www.babyearth.com/bummis-super-whisper-wrap-diaper...

At night we used wool covers like these

http://www.diaperjunction.com/kissaluvs-wool-diaper-cover...

and I used a full prefold diaper inside a mother ease diaper. Just fold it into thirds, lay it inside, and then snap up the ME diaper. I used this system during the day too, if I knew we were going out for a few hrs., and wouldn't have a place to change wet diapes (obviously not for poopy ones, those are deal breakers lol!).

My little guy loved the longies, too http://www.diaperjunction.com/wool-longies.html

You can find these all over the web, even 2nd hand on ebay. Diapers are $$$ and if you are not planning to have more kids, or are short of funds, you should get them 2nd hand. MotherEase does have it's own forums where you can find them 2nd hand. I recommend getting about a dozen of their one size (not all in one or Sandys), which are snap together and VERY easy. MY husband loved these. And get the bummies super whisper wrap covers - also very easy, super easy and fast to wash/dry, and they WORK. Wool covers, you'll need at least 2, but 2 should do it. If you get used diapes, you can do the whole thing for about $125 or so.

http://www.mother-ease.com/wwwboard/messages/Default.asp/... This is the sort of thing I'm talking about! That's a great price! Also, if you ever get to feeling crafty, these diapes do dye beautifully. When I was using them I'd dyed them all colors of the rainbow and tie dyed some too!

Hi D.
I am sorry you have had so much difficulty.
It sounds like you are struggling with what to do next.
I can only tell you that I would potty train. If I had to stay right with him talking to him every second. I would start with this rash has to be very sore. Make sure you let it be sore. Then I would go to big kids don't have sores because they stay dry. Slowly talk him into wanting to be potty trained.
All my children were trained by 2, and some earlier. As soon as they could talk I started talking about staying dry.
I use those chemical balls not detergent. Before I got them I washed all clothes in All free and rinsed them once with white vinegar in the water and then a second time through the cycle with nothing in the water. My kids, all 4 were very sensitive. Have you looked to see if the outer edge is rubbing as opposed to the diaper material? Try folding it back so it doesn't rub. I used plain vaseline too, but I found that an udder product in a square metal tin worked amazing as the kids got older. If you are interested write me in the meantime I will be thinking of the name of it.
It has been awhile-- my kids are 38,34,and 19.
God bless you and give you answers

Hi D.,

If you are using baby wipes, I would stop immediately. They are extremely harsh on sensitive skin. My doctor suggested the same for my daughter and it has worked wonders.

I would also try Pure Cornstarch Baby Powder. It works much better than any regular powder with talc, which is terrible for your child's lungs.

Good luck, and I hope your son feels better,
L.

We have used cloth diapers since my first daughter was 5 months old. They are great for sensitive skin, but if the rash is caused by acidic foods in the diet (as happened with my daughters) then it goes beyond the diaper. If it's happening mostly on the thigh area, it could be irritation from the diaper.

Diaper sprayers and diaper liners make it easy to take care of messy bowel movements. A lot of people are worried about that aspect of cloth diapering, only to find that it's easier than they think.

Please let me know if you have any diapering questions!

I use BumGenius 1 size fits all (not all in one). I have used them since my son was 2 weeks and he is not 22 months, and just starting to tell us when he is poopie and wet. I have never had to spend another penny on diapers (although I will with the next because we don't have enough for 2!).

I know that that isn't why you are going this way, but it is just an added benefit. My son was actually allergic to the disposables too. As far as mess, since I have been doing this from the beginning it really isn't a big deal for me, but others may disagree. (and my husband does it, so it can't be too bad!)

For wet diapers, it is no problem, when you take off the dirty you tug the insert most of the way out, and drop it in. For dirty diapers, if it is a "puck", I actually just turn the diaper over in the trash and plop it out. For messier, I use a wipe and just scrape it out into the trash. Letting the air circulate around the diapers and trash has actually limited the smell, but I know that some people still opt for the toilet.

Washing is also really simple. You turn the pail liner inside out to dump all the diapers in, then do a rinse cycle, a wash cycle, and a rinse cycle, then dry. No more running out to the store when you get low.

I would be happy to answer any questions that you have, and actually have some older versions of the BumGenius (2.0) that I have never gotten around to posting on Craigslist if you don't want to invest in the newer ones. Good luck.