Sometimes, pocket diapers such as Bumgenius and Fuzzibunz are sold with their microfiber inserts. And sometimes, some pockets are sold without. Or you’re shopping on Spots or a message board FSOT and the inserts aren’t included. Don’t fear! You can easily make your own from materials you can easily find around the house or buy for very cheap.
Perhaps the easiest inserts are prefold diapers. Take a small sized prefold, preferably the higher quality variety you can find online, fold it into thirds and voila! You’ve got instant insert that is super absorbant.
If you like microfiber, just pick up some cheap microfiber towels at Walmart or Target in the automotive section. You can get a whole stack for a few bucks. Either just fold those into thirds and stuff them into the pocket, or do what I did. I’m not a sewer by any means, but even I was able to fold the towels into thirds and sew across each end. That leaves the middle unsewed so it’s easier to clean and dry but keeps it’s “shape” so you don’t have to fold every time you’re folding diaper laundry.
You can also find some fabrics in the stores or online, such as flannel (or use old baby blankets from around the house!), bamboo fabrics, hemp or whatever you prefer. You can sew them up easily into inserts or just fold them and stuff. Even old bath towels that are bound for the scrap pile can make great inserts!
This also works if you’re looking for some extra stuffin’s to pack a pocket for night time.
You can even mix and match your inserts. I will often take a homemade microfiber insert and wrap a prefold around it for a super-duper absorbent insert. Haven’t had a leak yet!
When it comes to pocket inserts, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and use whatever is handy. Experiment and find the perfect homemade combination that works for you!
My post the other day about Diaper Swappers has sure gotten a lot of attention! I was out of town, watching the comments flow in on my iPhone email client and marveling at the discussion. There is definitely some heated opinions out there about Diaper Swappers.
But first, let me apologize. I knew these heated opinions and I didn’t share them with you in my post. So I apologize for that! Someone had emailed me asking me how to figure out how to sell on Diaper Swappers so my post was answering that, without going into some of the nitty gritty details.
There have been many people who have come forward saying that Diaper Swappers (or more specifically, their ads) have given people’s computers dangerous and destructive viruses. I have not experienced this myself and that could be why I didn’t think to mention it. I use a Mac, Firefox and the powerful AdBlock Plus extension. This means that all ads on all sites are automatically blocked. Even when I visited DS on my old, decrepit Dell with expired and useless virus protection, using Firefox with AdBlock Plus meant that I never once had a virus problem. Phew! But that doesn’t mean that this virus issue isn’t a very real problem for many people. So I would advise those of you who go to Diaper Swappers or want to check it out, to make sure you understand there is a risk and to take the proper precautions. Back up your important files, save your precious photos to an external hard drive and beware!
Of course, the issues with Diaper Swappers don’t end with the viruses. There are also lots of opportunities to get “scammed”. Again, this is nothing that has happened to me, thank goodness, but it DOES happen unfortunately. And some people are of the belief that DS makes it easy for people to get spammed. This is because of the “no bashing and no drama” rules, you aren’t allowed to call out someone who has scammed you on the board or even in private messages in an effort to warn others. There are stories I have heard where these issues have been handled satisfactorily behind the scenes, and stories I’ve heard where dozens of people have been burnt. It’s much like eBay in that you need to heed the “buyer beware” warning and use your best judgment. There are ways to protect yourself when selling and buying and you would be on that.
Other cloth diapering communities can also be plagued by scammers, but the argument is that on those boards, you are able to call out the foul party. Of course, it’s always possible that someone could be wrongly targeted.
There are other places besides Diaper Swappers to sell your used diapers and to hang out and make friends. Many of the commenters in my last post have championed Cloth Diaper Nation. I have yet to check out this site, but have heard many good things. There is also the forums at the Diaper Pin. There are great cloth diapering communities on Live Journal as well. Hyena Cart’s Spots Corner is my personal favorite place to sell things because there seems to be less hassle. If you’re into the fitted diaper craze, there’s even the forum at the Goodmama site, though I’ve heard it can be just as troublesome as Diaper Swappers. There are also countless of smaller, more personal communities. I belong to such a forum, a group that had formed on Diaper Swappers before branching out on our own. Sometimes we sell to one another and sometimes we just hang out and chat. I love these smaller communities because they give you a great opportunity to fit in somewhere and really get to know people.
My big question to all of you now is: What is your favorite cloth diapering community and why? Tell us in the comments, share your favorite sites and why you keep coming back. I’d love to hear from all of you!
So you have decided to cloth diaper your child and you’ve heard a lot about a site called “Diaper Swappers”. Your travels through the cloth diapering community have, more than likely, lead you there more than once. And, frankly, to a “newbie”, Diaper Swappers can be large and intimidating. How do you get started there? How do you buy and sell diapers on the FSOT (For Sale or Trade) forums? Are there any unspoken rules be aware of? What about spoken rules?
Here’s a small and by no means complete primer on the world of Diaper Swappers, so you don’t need to feel intimidated.
First thing to keep in mind when it comes to selling and buying diapers is it helps to not come across as too “new”. This means, you should get at least 10 posts under your belt. Getting ten posts is EASY. Find the “Extra Fluffy” or the Q&A forums and contribute to the conversation and chatter. Once you have ten posts, not only do you not look painfully new, but you are able to post pictures and links, something very helpful if you are trying to sell some of your stash.
Another thing to remember if you’re wanting to buy, sell and trade is FEEDBACK. Do you have any on Diaper Swappers? If not, in your listing (if you’re selling) or in your PM (if you’re buying), perhaps provide links to feedback you might have on other forums or on eBay or Hyena Cart. Also: it’s easier to get feedback as a “newbie” by buying versus selling. Once you have a few positive feedbacks as a buyer under your belt, you’re a lot more likely to be taken seriously as a seller. The bottom line is: people want to make sure you aren’t going to “scam” them, take their money and run. Feedback is a good assurance that you’re good for your word.
This next tip may seem inconsequential, but it can really count for a lot. Update your signature and avatar on Diaper Swappers. People tend to feel a lot more comfortable around those who have “established” themselves in the community and committed to it as well. A good way to show this commitment is to put a little picture in your avatar (maybe of you or your kids? or your favorite diaper or piece of wool?) and a few lines in your signature about you and your family. It’s an easy and recognizable way to share with people who you are. If you leave these two areas blank, you come across as someone who is just passing through, either to scam or to make a quick buck. And those sorts are generally avoided, if at all possible.
When trying to sell, you have to pay close attention to your listing. Make the title of your post descriptive of what you’re selling (and be sure to put it in the proper forum… don’t try to sell pocket diapers in the fitted diaper forum!). Describe the items you’re selling as thoroughly as you can, and be sure to mention any stains or issues. This isn’t the time to gloss problems over. Put up pictures! A lot of people try to avoid pictures, or even link to their Photobucket accounts. You get a LOT more response when you actually post the pictures in the thread. And if you’re uploading to Photobucket, it’s SUPER easy to copy over the image links to Diaper Swappers. There’s no excuse not to! Get good pictures of the outside of the item (and the inside too if it’s a diaper) so people can see what it looks like. Use pictures that are at least 400 pixels wide. Smaller than that and people can’t see the details as well! Also: PRICING. I know it’s tempting sometimes to try to get the most $ for your used items. But if you paid $35 for a diaper and used it three times a week for the last year, do not expect to get over $20 for it. People like to shop FSOT in hopes of getting good deals. You’re going to get better response if you offer a good deal. Cloth diapers are GREAT for getting money back when it comes time to sell, but keep in mind you are selling something USED and price accordingly! Look around on the forum where you are hoping to sell and see what similar items are being listed at. That should give you a good idea of how to price your stuff!
Most of all, be courteous and respond to PMs right away and BE HONEST. Before long you’ll be an old pro!
For more information on protecting yourself, check out this announcement from the mods at Diaper Swappers.
Is it cooling off where you live? It sure isn’t cool here… or at least not as cool as I’d like it! But thoughts are already turned towards fall and winter and the cloth diapering world is not immune!
Since I started knitting last year, and since I’ve “gone into business”, so to speak, work has been steady. There hasn’t been a time that there hasn’t been ANYTHING that I could knit. During the spring and summer, it was all capris, board shorts, shorties, soakers and skirties. But now? Even with the weather still so warm outside, people are after longies!
Everyone is looking to build their winter stash of wool and if you don’t look early, the best slots fill up by September. While I wouldn’t consider myself one of the best knitters out there, I too am full up. In fact, I worry that I’ll have any time to knit some longies for my own daughter! I’m positively swimming in yarn and I’m knitting every spare chance I get!
I can generally crank out a simple pair of medium/large longies in about 3 or 4 days. Maybe more, maybe less. It’s fairly rare lately that I’m only working on one thing at a time. In addition to getting busy, I’ve gotten quick too!
Still, like I said, I worry I’ll have enough time to knit for Evie. If I had been on the ball, I would have nailed down a knitter a couple weeks ago to knit for me. Yes, it’s more common than you think! Knitters often have to send off yarn to other knitters in order to get woolies for their little ones done!
The rush isn’t just limited to wool though. Everyone is looking for diapers to round out their stashes, trainers for their children that are of potty training age, shirts and swing tops to go with all those cute pants! The next several months look to be busy and exciting in the cloth diaper community. Keep your eyes out at Diaper Swappers and Hyena Cart for great deals and cuteness galore. And make sure you’ve got some PayPal saved up too!
We recently got back from a trip that took us far from home for over a week. We were staying in several different locations, none of them with terribly easy (or cheap!) laundry access and not a lot of extra time to spare. We went to Disney World, clear across the country, and then on the Disney Cruise, out at sea. We knew that our cloth diapers wouldn’t be a good solution for us on this trip. It was going to be stressful enough trying to manage two toddlers far from home without having to worry about misplacing a beloved fitted diaper or fighting stains.
We purchased a package of disposables that would fit both children and the day before the trip, I did one last load of diaper laundry and then put the kids in ’sposies (as they’re so affectionately referred to in the cloth diapering community). On the plane the next day (and oh boy, we were on the plane for a loooooong time!), I noticed a smell. I wondered if it was my older son, who these days has an odor all his own. I had recently changed my daughter and surely it couldn’t be her. Maybe it was just the smell of the plane.
The next day, amidst our fun in the Magic Kingdom, I noticed the smell again. I noticed it whenever I picked up my son or daughter from their strollers or when I held them in my lap. It was… the disposable diapers. They SMELLED.
Whenever so much as drop of urine would hit that diaper, the smell would start and it was awful. I don’t know what to compare it to, other than to say that it made me think of a gas station bathroom.
I’d always heard people in the cloth diapering community say that disposables stink and I always thought they were a little nuts. After all, I used disposables on my oldest and used them for two years on my middle child. I never noticed any smell! And if they smelled as bad as people said, I would have noticed that, surely?
Apparently not.
I’m not sure what causes the stink, but my best guess is there are chemicals in the absorption gel in the disposable diapers that react and cause an odor.
I got used to the smell, best as I could, over the next week. But I was so happy to get home and put one of my daughter’s fitted diapers on her again. And my son ran to the changing table and picked out a pocket diaper, insisting I put it on him. I think he missed his cloth too!
The disposables were great as far as convenience went. After all, that is why they were first made, right? So that people would have a simple option when out of the house or traveling. They served their purpose. But I have not been sad to shelve the diapers we had leftover and doubt we’ll touch them until we next go on a vacation like this. And if we don’t go on another vacation where we need to use disposables? We’ll donate them. They’re not that great for everyday use, believe you me.
Has anyone else besides me noticed the ’sposie stink while on vacation? Isn’t it just AWFUL?
