Why Cloth?
It's time to stop spending endless amounts of money on disposable diapers and dig into the cloth diapering system! Did you know that in 3 years time you'll literally throw away roughly $2,400 on disposable diapers (around $2,800 if you use disposable baby wipes as well)?! Why not put the money towards diapers that will not only cost less in the end but will also last for use with multiple babies as well?
Why Pocket Style?
I chose to make the Wonder Under Diapers pocket-style for a few reasons. 1) The pocket design is more sanitary than sewing it all together because the layers separate allowing the water to wash through the inside of the diaper, not just the outside. 2) The pocket design allows you to increase or decrease the absorbent layers to fit your individual needs. This works perfect for night time when baby will be in their diaper for a longer period of time. There is now no reason to worry about leaking while they sleep! Just add another layer to their bedtime diaper and let them sleep comfortably all night long. This is also great if you happen to have a super soaker in the house. 3) Since the inserts are removable, the drying time is decreased significantly, whereas if the layers were all sewn together the drying time would be much longer.
What Fabric is Used?
Wonder Under Diapers are made with a breathable polyester outside layer that is laminated to be waterproof, eliminating the need for plastic covers. This fabric is soft and flexible while providing protection against leaking. The fabric used on the inside of the pocket diaper is 100% polyester suedecloth and was chosen specifically for it's wonderful wicking abilities. By this I mean that the fabric is designed so that moisture is pulled from one side of the fabric to the other, where it is then soaked up by the insert behind it. This keeps the baby's bottom nice and dry. When I first used this on a diaper I made for my son I couldn't believe how well it worked. When I changed him I was surprised to see that his bottom was completely dry. Thinking that maybe he hadn't wet his diaper yet I felt the diaper. It too felt dry. I was puzzled by this as he'd been in the diaper long enough that it should have been wet. When I pulled out the insert I found it was soaked! After that I was completely sold on this fabric! Diaper inserts are what the absorbent layer of the diaper is called. They are made from 6 layers of hemp fleece, which is a super soft and very absorbent fabric that can breathe, making it cool in summer and warm in winter. I absolutely love this fabric! Unlike cotton fabrics, hemp fabrics soften even more with use making them wonderfully soft all the time. Hemp also has natural anti-microbial properties, making it resistant to mold, mildew, rot and degradation by UV-light. When tested by a leading outdoor equipment manufacturing company, hemp has 8 times the tensile strength and 4 times the durability of cotton! Diaper doublers are made from 2 layers of absorbent hemp fleece. They are just like the diaper inserts, only thinner. This allows you to add extra layers to the diaper when you need the extra absorbency...like at night or during nap time. This is also good for if you have a super soaker and need the extra layers all the time.
What is Aplix?
Aplix is much like Velcro in how it works. However, unlike Velcro it is made hold up with constant use and washings. People have been known to cut the aplix off of their diapers when the diapers wore out and then sew the old Aplix onto new diapers...that's how durable it is. I like it better than snaps because it is quicker to do and also easier to get the perfect fit with. This helps a lot when others try to change a diaper for you. I've had people shy away from helping with the diapers that have snaps because they're uncertain which snaps I usually use to make it the right tightness while still being even on both sides. With Aplix, this isn't a problem at all.
How Many Do I Need?
Well, this depends a lot on how often you plan to wash your diapers. I highly recommend that you wash your diapers every other day in order to keep smells from setting in. Most of the people that I've talked to say that 1.5 to 2 dozen is a good number to have. You can use less; you'd just need to wash them more often. You need an insert for each diaper and maybe a pack or two of diaper doublers for night time and naps if your baby tends to soak through during those times.
Caring For Your Wonder Under Daipers
After you’ve removed the soiled diaper from the baby, simply remove the insert, shake off solids into toilet and throw diaper into dry diaper pail. They do not need to be rinsed unless excessively dirty but you can do so if you want to. Since I really dislike having to rinse diapers I have used throw away diaper liners at times. You simply cut a roll of paper towels in half and then when putting a clean diaper on the baby, lay one strip along the inside of the diaper. When changing a dirty diaper simply peel off the liner and throw it away…the mess goes with it. This is definitely a good idea if you are need to use a cream or lotion on the baby’s bottom as a lot of diaper creams will stain or leave an area of oil on the diaper that increases the chance of staining and also causes it not absorb well. If the cream does get on the fabric and you notice it, scrub the diaper with some dish soap, rinse well and dry. That should take care of it. When washing a load of diapers, run them through a cold rinse or pre-wash cycle first. This will rinse out most of the stuff in the diapers as well as any detergent that may have built up from the previous load. Next run the diapers through a hot wash with a cold rinse using ¼ of the recommended amount of detergent. You can also use ¼ cup (if using a top load washing machine you may need a little more than this) of baking soda with about 5 drops of tea tree oil instead of detergent. I do this with mine and it works wonderfully for keeping the odors away. An extra rinse is not a necessity but is probably a good idea. Most odor problems with diapers are caused by a build up of detergent in the diapers. An extra rinse would help avoid this problem. You can either dry your diapers on high in a dryer or else hang them on the line. If you hang them out on the line most of the time, I recommend that you dry them on high at least once every other week as the heat will help to keep the holes made with the stitching sealed so that moisture doesn’t wick through. There are a few don’ts to remember when washing your Wonder Unders: Don’t use any bleach products on your diapers. Bleach is a hard chemical that will break down the fibers of your diaper as well as cause discoloration of the outside fabric. Don’t use any fabric softeners. Fabric softener will coat the fabric causing it to be water repellent. This in turn will cause leaking because of the diaper’s inability to absorb moisture.
Why Cloth?
The benefits of using cloth pads vs disposable ones or tampons are numerous.
- They are economical - Check out the cost comparison chart below which shows the per use cost of disposable pads and tampons versus Wonder Unders cloth pads. The prices below were taken from: www.drugstore.com
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Product Type and Brand: |
Cost per use: |
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Always pantiliner - long |
$0.08 |
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Carefree pantiliner - x-long |
$0.09 |
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Poise pantiliner |
$0.11 |
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Wonder Unders pantiliner |
$0.03 |
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Always maxi - w/ wings |
$0.18 |
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Kotex maxi |
$0.22 |
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Stay free |
$0.25 |
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Wonder Unders 3 layer maxi |
$0.04 |
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Always maxi - Overnight |
$0.26 |
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Wonder Unders maxi - Overnight |
$0.04 |
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Tampax tampons |
$0.15 |
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Playtex tampons - regular |
$0.20 |
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Instead menstrual cups |
$.40 |
*per use is based on you using the cloth pads 2 times per cycle for 5 years.
- They protect your skin - The suedecloth that we use on the inside of our pads helps to which moisture away from your skin. Also, by using cloth pads you are not exposing yourself to the harmful chemicals in disposable pads that often cause chafing and irritation.
- Less bleeding and cramps - Many women who make the switch from disposable pads and tampons to cloth pads report that they experience less bleeding and cramps when using cloth.
- They're pretty
 - Let's face it, it's kind of neat to have pretty feminine pads
What Fabric is Used?
I use the same fabrics for my pads as I do for the diapers. They have a water-proof outer layer called PUL so that you don't have to worry about leaking through. The absorbent layer(s) are hemp fleece, which is very absorbent, and the inner layer (the part against your skin) is super soft suedecloth. After trying out the suedecloth I would never use anything else!! Unlike alot of cloth
menstrual pads you don't feel really wet all the time...this is because of the wicking properties in the suedecloth. Also, the suedecloth is stain resistant so your pads stay looking nice. I've had several people who have tried various other cloth pads give mine a try and come back to let me know that they absolutely love them because they are comfortable and don't stain as easily.
How Many Do I Need?
This will vary from woman to woman as each woman's flow is different. One way to figure it out is to think of how many disposable ones you go through in a day and use that as a guide. For the heavier days you need more, for the lighter days less. Probably the two most important things to consider when deciding this is:
- How often do you plan on washing them? If you plan to wash them day or two than you'll need less than if you plan to wait until half way through or until the end.
- How heavy is your flow? This will affect how often you need to change them and what size you may want to get.
Caring for Your Wonder Under Pads
Caring for your pads is very easy. After use, simply rinse them out and store them in a container of cold water with a little peroxide until ready to wash. These can be washed right along with the rest of your laundry. There are a couple of things you shouldn’t do though. They are as follows:
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Do NOT use bleach on these. Not only would it mess up the color of your pads but it’s also not good for the fabric.
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Do NOT use fabric softener. Fabric softener coats the fabric with a film that will keep it from absorbing as well.
What About Stains?
There is usually little to no staining with our pads because the suedecloth that is used for the inside of the pad is stain resistant. Also, soaking them until you are ready to send them through the wash also helps. One thing that's good to keep in mind is that though the suedecloth is stain resistant one thing that does cause some staining is when blood dries on them. For example, I have a sister who has a very heavy flow and so she changes often. Her pads never stain. I have another sister with a very light flow who would only change her pads in the morning and then again at night. She was having trouble with them staining because they were left too long before being soaked. Once she started changing more often the problem lessened alot. Another way to avoid this (I have a light flow so this is what I do as well) is to choose a colored inside fabric instead of going with cream so that even if it does stain it doesn't really show. (wine is a great color for that! ) This is something to consider when choosing the fabrics for the pads you plan on using for the days when your flow is very light.
What Do I Do When Away From Home?
Our Wonder Under pads are designed to fold up for this very reason. When folded up the only thing showing is the outside of the pad so its discrete as well as clean. When you change while out, simply fold it up and keep it in a small plastic bag in your purse (like a sandwich ziplock or something) until you get home and can soak or wash them.
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