Thursday, October 29, 2009

We're wild about wool!

Let's cut to the chase, wool is fabulous. The natural properties of wool make it ideal for use as a cloth diaper cover: wool is breathable, naturally anti-bacterial, and it will hold up to 30% of its weight in liquid before feeling wet. When we sing the praises of wool at our stores, people have a hard time imagining how something that feels so soft and squishy could be waterproof, however, before we had access to all the technical fabrics available today, wool covers were a staple of any mom's diaper stash -- there's a good chance your parents wore wool diaper covers!


For the reasons already listed, a lot of our customers choose to use wool covers overnight. When your baby is going to wear the same diaper for 10-12 hours, breathability is important. Likewise, when your baby is going to wear the same diaper for 10-12 hours, absorbency is important. If you choose to use a wool diaper cover at night, go for something that is constructed from two layers of wool. Aristocrats wool pull-on soakers have a reputation as the tank of night-time diapering -- they are bulky, but the additional bulk translates into additional absorbency.



Night diapering aside, wool covers are also great for clearing up diaper rashes, due to their breathability. If your baby gets rashy (less likely in cloth diapers), nothing clears it up like air (have I ever mentioned my uncanny knack to talk customers out of a sale?). Through the day, you can give your baby some diaper-free time on an old blanket or a waterproof mattress pad (you may want to put a facecloth over baby boy's bits!), when baby has to be in a diaper, a wool cover is the next best option.

There is a perception that caring for wool diaper covers is hard because they must be hand-washed. Fortunately, wool is naturally anti-bacterial, so you only have to wash it as needed, which is usually only once every couple of weeks, or when it's been soiled with poop. For practical purposes, we do not recommend putting a newborn in wool when they are still pooping every 5 minutes -- not because of the hand-washing, but because wool takes 1-2 days to dry (for this reason, it's a good idea to have two covers in your stash). If you want to use wool covers with your newborn, plan to have extra covers on hand.

Hand-washing wool diaper covers is actually quite easy:

  • put the cover in a sink with enough warm water to cover it.
  • add some baby shampoo or woolwash to the sink, and massage the cover a few times in the water. Let the cover sit for about five minutes in the water.
  • let the water drain out of the sink. If you washed the cover with baby shampoo, rinse it under running water. If you washed the cover with woolwash containing lanolin, do not rinse the cover, you want the lanolin to say in the wool, it's what makes the cover waterproof!
  • gently wring as much water out of the cover as you can -- the more water you can get out, the faster the wool cover will dry. You can put the wool cover in your washing machine's 'spin' cycle to get more water out, or you could wrap it flat in a towel and sit on it, transferring the moisture from the cover to the towel.
  • To dry the cover, lie it flat -- if you put the cover on a rack over a warm air return, you can decrease its drying time.

See, easy-peasy! If hand-washing still makes you nervous, we sell felted wool covers which can be laundered in your washing machine's 'delicate' cycle.

Wool covers contain lanolin, a naturally occurring oil that makes the wool waterproof. Your wool covers will need be re-lanolized periodically, moreso if you choose to wash them with baby shampoo (if you wash them with a woolwash that contains lanolin, you will be adding lanolin to the cover every time you wash it). If your wool cover starts to lose absorbency, you likely need to re-lanolize it.

Lanolizing is another easy process, you likely have what you need already. Many moms tend to have a partially-used tube of PureLan or Lansinoh, medical-grade pure lanolin that is used to treat sore nipples in those early days of breastfeeding (seriously, has anyone ever used a whole tube?) -- you can repurpose what you have left to lanolize your wool covers:

  • fill a small lidded container (like a clean baby food jar) with boiling water, about 3/4 full.
  • add a glob of lanolin to the jar, and a squirt of baby shampoo or woolwash, put the lid on, and give it a good shake to melt and disperse the lanolin.
  • put your cover in a sink with enough warm water to cover it, and pour the lanolin mixture into the water. Massage the cover well to ensure it soaks up the lanolin, and drain the water (do not rinse).

Alternately, you can rub some lanolin between your palms to soften it, then massage the inside of your wool cover, working the melted lanolin from your hands into the fibers of the wool cover. If you don't have any lanolin around the house, we sell liquid lanolin and spray-on lanolin (yes, a shameless plug!).

When you make the switch to wool, it may take some getting used to. Some tips to make the transition successful:

  • do not pair a wool cover with tight onesies, pants, or pyjamas. They will apply pressure to the cover, resulting in 'compression wicking' whereby moisture is basically squeezed out of the cover, resulting in damp clothing or pyjamas. For the same reason, wool is not ideal on long car trips.
  • at night, ensure you are using a wool cover with an adequate diaper. A wool cover will enhance the performance of a good diaper, but it will not compensate for a diaper that is not absorbent enough.
  • rotate between two wool covers to ensure covers dry completely between uses. By allowing two days drying time between each use, you will ensure your cover stands up to night-time use.
  • if you're using a wool soaker or wool pants, turn it inside out to ensure it dries fully. I actually reverse the soaker every time I use it. Yes, that means I use it inside out, but don't knock 'til you try it!

If you're concerned about the scratchiness of wool, you can rest-assured that most wool covers are quite soft, and they get even softer as they are broken in. If you're concerned about temperate, rest-assured that wool is self-regulating, it's warm in the winter, and cool in the summer - your baby will always feel comfortable in a wool cover!

You don't have to buy wool covers, if you (or Grandma!) know how to knit, there are plenty of free patterns online, check out our DIY section for some great links. We're holding wool soaker workshops at our stores, the Waterloo workshop is filling up, details for our Ottawa workshop will be posted shortly.

I used wool diaper covers (old school Sugar Peas wool jersey, if you must know) on a regular basis with our second daughter, she was a peeing machine at night! I have recently been reacquainted with wool after Gracie battled a mean bout of diaper rash. It took a while to figure out the culprit, but we've narrowed it down to a new pair of footed fleece pyjamas that, combined with a pocket diaper at night, proved to be too warm for Gracie. She woke up with 30-50 fluid-filled blisters on her bum. She's back in cotton pyjamas at night, and we're pairing a wool cover a cotton prefold -- a simple, but effective combination!

I want someone else to feel the wool love, so I'm offering a start-up wool package with 2 (two!) Baby Beehind wool covers of your choice and a Sheepish Grins lanolin-rich woolwash bar. If you want a shot at this giveaway (contest open to Canadians only, eh?), simply leave a comment at the end of this post -- tell me what diaper combination you're using at night right now, I'll pick a random name on Friday, November 6th).







32 comments:

  1. Okay so I'm not using anything at night right now because both my girls are toilet trained but I'm expecting number 3, so that qualifies me to enter right? When I was nighttime diapering, I used a Fuzzibunz with a thick hemp insert. Still smelly in the morning though. I want to try wool this time and see how it works. Any tips on knitting some? That could be fun!

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  2. Thanks for the great post on wool covers. I use mine at night with prefolds. But how do I get stains out of my light coloured soakers-especially when there is an absence of sun? I have a pink one in particular that is starting to look quite disgusting.

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  3. I'm using a blueberry pocket diaper with the insert it came with. The only problem is that it feels wrong to use such a pretty diaper at night!

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  4. We use an AMP pocket with bamboo insert and hemp doubler. It works well most of the time, but we still get leaks around our little one's waist about once a week. Sounds like I'm missing the boat by not using wool at night!

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  5. My youngest is only 4 months old, and since he's not wetting too heavily yet, I can still get away with a BumGenius stuffed with both inserts. I've been dying to try wool after hearing such great things about it from some of the lovely people who work in your store!

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  6. At the moment my little guy (6 months) is in a Motherease Sandys, with a Thirsty cover, and an added piece of fleece against his bottom in the hopes that will help with feeling dry. We have been fighin' the diaper rash battle for the last few weeks - so I'm really, really, REALLY, liking the sounds of wool for night time.

    During the day we use a mix of FuzziBunz + ME Sandys.

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  7. At night we are using a prefold with a hemp insert with a prowrap cover. If she is anything like her sisters, I'll have to add another insert when we move to the next size. I'm thinking wool might help to prevent the additional insert :)

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  8. Thank you so much for this!!! I was trying to explain wool to my husband the other night and he totally didn't believe me. I'm going to send him the link to this post! I so love your blog and your K-W store. It's my go-to place for all things cloth!

    I've never knit before, can I still participate in your wool diy class?
    Thanks :)

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  9. Oh, I forgot to say that right now we use a pocket (BG or FB) with the regular insert plus a hemp insert at night. Seems to work well, but super heavy in the morning!!

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  10. I love wool (and any customers who've spoken to me about it will know that! LOL).

    I just wanted to add that the easiest way I've found to clean poop off a diaper is to let it dry completely (no rubbing or scraping away the poop), then brush it away with an old toothbrush or fingernail brush (Lee Valley sells them). Follow with a regular washing/lanolizing routine and it's good to go! In a well lanolized cover, I've found that there generally isn't much of a stain left behind at all, but anything that is left is easily taken care of by sunning -- either outside or (in winter) spread out in a sunny path on our bed.

    Wool's a lot easier to use than you think and it has so many rewards!

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  11. We're currently using prefolds and covers (mostly Thirsties, as well as Gen-Y, and Bummis SuperBrites). When my little one does sleep through the night (which no longer seems to happen...) an extra doubler helps to keep her dry, but not always. I've been dying to try wool for a while, but have always been deterred by the handwashing. Now with the Baby Beehinds it's not so much an issue. I'm wondering about sizing though - I've read that they're fairly low rise and that going up a size might work best for taller thin babies... What do you think? My little one is only 18 lbs, but 29 inches. Medium? Large?

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  12. I use a Bamboozle bamboo diaper, sugar peas soaker and as So Simple Stacinator or, just purchased, a Baby Beehinds diaper pant, which we are loving. Though we have not yet tried to wash it.

    Jennifer

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  13. My daughter is 18 months and either wakes up with a dry diaper (if she pees a few times on the potty before bed) OR a very soaked diaper. I use either a ME Sandys or Kissaluv with a bamboo insert and a PUL cover (either Bummis, ME or Booroi). I bought a pair of Llamajama wool longies at the KW diaper swap and have been meaning to try them out at night...

    Kelly S

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  14. Ive been too scared to try Wool.
    Right now we are using prefolds with duowrap thirstie covers. Sadly my staple stash with Lilly, doesn't work for Lukas. :(

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  15. We have a 2-week old, and bought a stash of Gro-Baby diapers for him. I really like them, and appreciate how simple they are to use - but they are too big for our newborn (even though he was born at 8.5 lbs, and is a long one!). So in the interim, we are using prefolds with Thirsties covers - they seem to be working well, and Johannes seems to be very comfy in them! I like the idea of wool, though.. I will check them out next time I walk down the street to the Kitchener store!

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  16. I'm not in need of covers as Aemilia is trained - I just wanted to share my nightime solution. I used a Fuzzibunz one size larger what she would wear, and I stuffed it with it's insert wrapped up into a large prefold. Talk about bulky... but did it ever leak??? NOPE! I also used wool when she was infant at night and loved it!

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  17. for our 10 month old we use any fitted with a wool cover. or any pocket diaper with one microfiber and one hemp. shes not an overly heavy wetter at night, yet so this has worked great!

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  18. Thanks for the info! I can't wait to try wool with baby #2 (due in 6 days but who's counting??). With our Grace, we just did Fuzzi Bunz with one regular insert - she never was a big pee-er. Since this soon-to-be-baby very likely being our last, I plan to have fun with cloth diapers this time, and try all sorts of different kinds. Best wishes! see you at the Ottawa store! Arwen

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  19. My youngest is only 4 months so we can just use a BG with a regular insert and hemp doubler. I just bought a baby beehinds cover and can't wait for the real test at night when he starts wetting through the BG.

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  20. First, congrats Bronwyn! Can't wait to meet Johannes. :)

    With my 2 year old girl, we use a ME Sandy, with a large hemp (Jamtots) insert - yes, the big one (or a hemp/fleece contoured liner in a pinch), plus a ME cotton liner with stay-dri liner on top to keep the worst of it off her, since she does rash if she's very wet. We top it all off with an Aristocrats wool cover.

    She wakes up VERY wet most mornings, but we have NEVER had a leak - even when you could literally wring out the diaper (sometimes I can smell the ammonia when I walk in the room - wool is breathable all right!). When she was smaller, she could barely sit up it was so bulky, but she has slept through every night for the last 9 months or so, so it must be working.

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  21. This post makes me feel like going out and buying wool covers for my son. At the moment I am using Bum Genius (regular insert) with 2 newborn inserts. Even though he wakes up 5 pounds heavier (from so much pee) - it doesn't leak through. I started doing this after reading your post about using cloth diapers overnight (rather than disposables).
    Please have a workshop for knitting at the store - I would love to join it.

    Belinda

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  22. I've been using cotton prefolds and either a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap or Wonder Wraps from Natural Baby Co. on my 16 month old twins; they sleep in Grobags. We just tried a selection of pockets and AIO for daytime use and bought some GroBabys which we've yet to use as we're fighting a nasty rash from the prefolds, blisters and all. I called the Ottawa store today and heard all about wool, so I'm really interested in knowing if this will work. I'm also eager to hear about the knitting workshop. Thanks for the great info.

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  23. I definitely want to try wool! Right now I'm using prefolds with a MotherEase cover. My daughter does have rash problems so I need a new solution!
    Amanda

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  24. We are using One size Bambou from MotherEase with a Thirsties cover. As nights are getting a little longer now, something a little more leak-proof might be necessary, wool seems like an obvious choice now.

    Marie-Claire H.

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  25. I'm using a Kissaluv diaper with three inserts and a MotherEase cover.

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  26. We just started nighttime diapering after 6 months of daytime cloth diapers and EC. We have been having some success with bamboozles diapers with a pul cover (bummis). However the diaper smells quite bad in the morning of urine, so I would love to try wool. Presently don't have any wool covers and love the design and colours of the baby beehinds! (also love the name) My baby was a bee for Halloween too.....
    Paula from ottawa

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  27. I promised you a random draw, and you're gettin a random draw, courtesy of a random number generator (who knew such a thing existed?). Amanda, you win! Call the store at 613.321.7249 to arrange your covers and woolwash.

    susie ;)

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  28. I won! Thank you so much! I can't wait to try the covers!
    Amanda

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  29. The blog is quite awesome that has provided me the best knowledge.

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  30. Its great post !!!
    It gave me a lot of useful knowledge

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  31. Great share info. Thanks for your useful post.

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  32. Thanks for the info! Thank you so much! I can't wait to try the covers!

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