Not that kind of stripping

Well. I'd hoped that since I've been using Lil Outlaws detergent and cloth safe diaper cream, I wouldn't have to strip my diapers.  I've finally succumbed to the microfiber stink!  They weren't particularly offensive, just rather musty smelling.  This particular smell appears to be very common with BumGenius diapers.

To strip diapers, you use the classic blue dawn, or plain ivory dish soap, suds the diapers up, then rinse until there are no more suds.  This can be a lot of rinsing, so I did only 5-7 at a time, since I only have 15.

The rule is, if your diapers smell like anything other than "clean," they're not. My guess is that since I have an HE washing machine, the diapers just weren't quite getting rinsed clean.  Extra warm rinses can get rid of residue. 

If you're fortunate enough to have space and money for a second washing machine, a regular old washing machine seems to be best for washing diapers.  If you're in the market for a new machine, it's something to keep in mind.

For the record, you are not supposed to use any sudsing "stuff" in an HE machine, so if you have an HE, do this in a sink or laundry tub until the majority of the suds are gone.

After stripping, my diapers smelled great.  I didn't even notice any "stinkies" in a fully soaked nighttime diaper.

It really wasn't that big of a deal or that much work, so I'm planning on stripping diapers anytime I notice more than a little stink!

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OK it's been maybe two days since I've written this and I am going crazy!  Yesterday morning I opened up his diaper and I almost fell over from the strong ammonia smell.  I thought maybe it was just because he had been ill the night before, so maybe he was dehydrated & his urine was  concentrated.  Later that day I had another eye watering ammonia diaper, and his diaper this morning was the same way.

It seems to only be the bumgenius diapers.  They are my favorite diapers, but these inserts are horrible! 

Moms in my cloth diaper group suggested RLR Laundry treatment, so I am going to try it.

It irritates me that it's just the BG inserts, especially since they are otherwise my favorite diapers.  If I had the funds, I would buy some Blueberry Combination One Size inserts to use in them, along with a few hemp inserts or bamboo doublers to use at night.  The O/S insert came with the Blueberry Minky diaper I have.  The microfiber quickly absorbs, while the hemp locks the moisture in, away from baby.  It's all one piece to make stuffing easier, but it has a loop design (vs. being "sandwiched" together) for more effective washing and faster drying.  Synthetic fibers supposedly stink more than natural ones, but I've had no trouble with any other microfiber, just the BG.

In my dream world, I'd have a laundry room big enough to house my HE washer & dryer, as well as a cheap, mega capacity, standard washer.  I want to be able to fill my washer to the brim for diapers and other loads as I see fit.  I'd love my HE washer so much if only it had some sort of manual override to add more water.

Time to give the Blueberry another look-see

I've been working on my wish list, not because I think I will get any of it, but because it is fun to window shop and to dream!

In looking, I've been delving deeper into different websites and darned if I didn't find excellent info on the Blueberry diaper insert! 

Isn't their logo cute?

Looks pretty easy, though I will have to look more closely at the illustrations with the insert in my hands, when I am a little more awake!

I also learned that I was supposed to wash and dry the insert 3-4 times separately.  Oopsie.  I was just washing it over & over.  Also discovered that the microfiber portion is to face the baby.

They sell the doublers & inserts separately as well.  I'm thinking one of these might be the ticket to make the Cooshie Tooshie pocket I have work for us.

They also make swaddlebees.  Another adorable logo!

Look, the cute wittle bee is wearing a wee little diaper!  I'm a total sucker for cute-ness.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what the difference between the Swaddlebees Econappi and the standard Blueberry Deluxe diapers are, though Blueberry has a LOT more to choose from (ok I see Blueberry referred to as the "fashion forward" line of Swaddlebees.  Darn, my stupid champagne tastes & beer budget even follow me into the diapering world!)  Swadlebees also has fitted diapers and prefolds, wool diaper covers and wraps among other covers and accessories.  So, a little somethin' somethin' for everyone.

They have adorable little training pants too.

(Squee!  Seriously, how cute are those?!) They look & feel like undies, but have a bit of absorbency.  Way better than disposable trainers, which are really just pull up diapers in my opinion.  Ok subject change, need to stop thinking about having to potty train a boy!

They also sell mama cloth including a stay dry type.  I never, ever in a million years thought I would even consider using that sort of product but, well, the more I learn about it the more interested I am.

This is a good read.  It explains a lot about what Blueberry diapers are made with and why they cost a little more.   I am really glad to know this is a Mommy made company!

I have to say, I have been writing to several companies to ask permission to use their images in my blog for my upcoming "wish list" post, and I have been very impressed with the customer service received from all, Blueberry included!

Images used with permission!.

Not that kind of Blueberry

I was most excited to get this diaper.  The print looked adorable online, and the outside was a soft "minky" material.

In person, the print wasn't nearly as cute as I expected, but it is cute and soft.

I really dislike the insert.  It is hemp and microfiber and I had to wash it numerous times before using, to remove the natural oils.  I found it confusing to snap and fold.  The instructions said to fold it in thirds and snap, but doing that put the microfiber sandwiched in the middle, and I thought microfiber was supposed to be on the baby side inside the pocket.

The other diapers I have used have had the PUL layer directly on the outside.  Since this is minky outside, I think the PUL is sandwiched inside (need to look at it more closely).  Once I had the diaper on him, it had this weird plastic crinkle to it that is hard to explain, but it was as if he had plastic pants on.  At first I thought there was something strange going on with the insert but I am almost sure it was the PUL layer.  Like it was moving around inside?

This seemed to be the only diaper with good laundry tabs.  They remained firmly attached and I actually had a hard time undoing them when it was time to put the diaper on.  The diaper was a member of the diaper chain in the wash though, the hook part of the velcro on other diapers gravitated towards this one.

I have never seen a diaper more expensive than this one.  Between the price, washing issues of the hemp, the weird insert, plastic crinkle and so forth, I would not buy another one.  Plenty of WAHMs make dipes with minky on the outside if that's what you're looking for.

Blueberry has other diapers, some have snaps.  They have several prints that I like and the non-minky diapers are about $5 cheaper, but they are still very, very expensive.  I believe Blueberry is in some way affiliated with Swaddlebees, and I wonder if their diapers are any different, they look very similar in photos online.  I would love to try a different type of Blueberry diaper, but there is no way I can bring myself to pay almost twice as much for one.  I would much rather have two fuzzibunz!

After having used this for four months, I love the insert (just had to figure it out) and HATE those "sticky" laundry tabs.  It's near impossible to rip the velcro off of them, and one of the laundry tabs is shredded and torn almost completely off.  The company just emailed me a virtual *shrug* and said that you can't win with velcro, either it's too sticky or not sticky enough.  The inner is also quite pilly and gross looking.

On the other hand, my Blueberry Bamboo diaper still rocks.  It looks new, the snaps work wonderfully and so on.  I just prefer a stay dry inner, but I can always get a liner for it.

I should have listened to the reviews that said to stay away from Blueberry velcro!!