Cloth Diapers & Babywearing: The 411

The carriers are coming, the carriers are coming!

Boba baby Wrap in Dark Green

Now that our new website has launched (have you visited yet? we'd love to have you by!) we are expanding our assortment. hello Sophie! welcome Jellystone! have you met Driline diapers? And with these small surprises scattered through the store comes one big change - baby carriers! Babywearing is such a natural option for both parents and baby, and we couldn't be more excited to offer this option for IBB families.

Jellystone Owls

There are several brands coming, most of which I'm keeping under wraps (harhar, wraps) until we have confirmed shipping notices. First additions include Ergo and Boba. And stay tuned to Facebook, where we'll announce the latest and greatest.

Ergo in Mystic Purple

Now that you have the skinny - let's turn our attention to the topic at hand - cloth diapers and babywearing! Yes, believe it or not, there are specific types of diapers that work best when babywearing.

Got Compression Leaks? 
If you're baby has ever unexpectedly leaked out of his or her synthetic fiber diaper (typically a Pocket), you've likely experienced a compression leak. Imagine a saturated washcloth sitting beside the sink. Sitting on the counter it is fine, not much excitement. Pick up that washcloth and give it a good wring. Suddenly you've got a decent amount of water in the sink.

This is the same thing that can happen in a synthetic fiber diaper. Microfiber (the usual stuffers in a pocket style diaper) is the most susceptible to compression leaks. The diaper can be decently saturated while your baby plays on the floor and you don't have any issues. Put baby in a jumper seat, car seat or baby carrier, and the direct pressure against the microfiber will squeeze out urine. As the insert is already fairly saturated, there is no where for that urine to go but onwards, upwards and outwards.

Pockets Aren't the Only Culprit
If you are using a synthetic fiber All-in-One or All-in-Two this might also happen. Essentially any time microfiber is at work as the main absorbency material compression leaks will be more common.

So, what now? 

There are a few ways to go -

• Rather than having to invest in a new stash, consider switching out your diaper's absorbency. If you are using Pockets or All-in-Twos, trade out the microfiber inserts for cotton, bamboo or hemp prefolds/inserts. 
• Using All-in-Ones, and cannot change the inserts? Add a hemp or bamboo doubler in to the diaper. These natural fibers are great at backing up microfiber, picking up the compression leak before it escapes the diaper. 

I haven't purchased my stash yet? Anything specific I should look for when shopping? 

• Natural fibers - bamboo, cotton and hemp are not susceptible to the same compression tendencies as microfiber
• Two-piece diaper systems - Fitteds, Contours, Prefolds and Flats - these systems offer two levels of protection - the absorbent piece up closest to baby then the separate waterproof cover. 

Anything else I should look out for? 
Another term for you - wicking. Wicking is what happens when some of the absorbent fabric of the diaper has escaped the confines of the waterproof cover. While baby is at independent play, this bit of errant fabric might not be an issue (though if you ever notice it, use your finger to tuck it back inside). However, if baby is wrapped up snuggly to your chest and there is a 1/4" of fitted sticking out from the cover, this fabric will transmit moisture right up and out, leaving a wet spot on your carrier or shirt.

What about my Wool? The jury (at least, my jury) is still out on wool. I have several customers who report they use wool covers without issue while babywearing. Then I have other customers who report they will only use PUL covers in their carriers. I think the same principles to layering jammies over wool for nighttime applies - if the diaper underneath the wool is adequately absorbent then you can use it without issue. If the diaper's completely saturated in just an hour or two, I suspect there will be some compression leaks. Upgrading to a more absorbent fitted or changing baby more frequently should solve these problems. A sudden issue with compression leaks also can signal the need to relanolize.


So there you have it folks! Feel free to contact me if you'd like any further clarification or help troubleshooting!

Dear Abby, You Need a New Website. Love, IBB Shopper

Did you know? IBB never started out intending to be an online store. True story. I initially saw us (translation – me, myself and I) as a local consulting company, with the intention to host in-home parties for those ready to learn more about cloth. But it quickly became evident we needed a website – people look for an online presence to use for additional research (and late-night fluff-fulfillment!), manufacturers require evidence of a store presence, and, well, if we already had the inventory it would have been silly to just stare at it in our dining room.

Quite quickly the website grew – from five brands to ten to 20 and now we have an exciting 65 in store (soon to be 66, with the addition of Lunette menstrual cups arriving later today). We knew the website had a few hiccups and shall we say, ‘quirks,’ but we were able to work-around them. Unfortunately though, I didn’t realize just how makeshift our day-to-day invoicing and other workarounds had become until late 2011. You might know that feeling, where you don’t quite realize something is about to break until you find yourself looking around for the duct-tape and band-aids. Well that is kind of where our current website has taken us. I love her dearly, as she represents just how far we’ve come, but it is time she be put out to pasture to enjoy her last days trolling the fields for daisies.

So what’s next? In the coming weeks, we will roll out a brand new sparkly website, with several amazing bells and whistles - 

• affiliate links to reward those who love to share the IBB-love
• automated Bitsy Bucks (I can hear your cheers from here!)
• automated registries
• easy-to-peruse navigation complete with search capabilities, breadcrumbs and ‘related items’
• automatic bulk discounts
• coupon code capabilities (double hooray for brand sales and flash parties)
• email addresses specific to inquiry type
• and more (yup!)

Back on the Ranch As I build the new website, please forgive if it takes a bit longer to reply to emails (more on emails in a minute) or respond on Facebook. I’m aiming for the new site to be up late-April, but so far it seems everything takes twice as long as planned.

The store will need to close for a day or two as we transition inventory from one site to another. Once we know these dates we will shout notice from the rooftops, so hopefully any last-minute diaper needs can be ordered pre-closure.

I know what some of you are probably thinking – what about Bitsy Bucks? No, they are not going away, and there isn’t a freeze period for accrual. But there is a temporary freeze on calculations. In other words, effective immediately, all Bitsy Bucks calculation requests should be shelved on ice (exception - any requests already received and pending in my inbox will be tallied as soon as I can). Once the new website opens, and accruals will tally automatically, it will just be a matter of going back and retroactively adding outstanding BB to your customer account.  Closer to the new site release we will announce specifics on how this will all shake out. 

On Emails We learned over the last few days that several customer emails are going MIA – both emails coming in as well as replies sent. The worst part of it all, no one is receiving error messages, so we have no way of knowing what is lost en route. If you have sent me an email and have not received a reply within two business days (business days = Mon-Fri) please resend. Depending on volume sometimes we do get behind and your nudge, and patience, is appreciated. If you still do not receive a reply feel free to post on Facebook that you’ve emailed. Hopefully we can connect on that medium if email is proving unsuccessful. As I’ve always said, I answer every email I receive (sans spamming/solicitations), bar none. 

Thank you! We really appreciate all of the kind words and support our customers have offered over the last twenty-one months. Your patience with our current site's 'quirks' has been much appreciated, and we look forward to serving you at the new IBB online store in the very near future!

Be sure to stay tuned. After all, what is a new website without a party! 

xoxo -