cloth diapering mamas: throw me a life-line!

Yes, this is a post where I shamelessly ask for advice and help.

My head is spinning and I just need some advice from real moms! I'm having issues with our diapers and have spent hours over the last several weeks scouring the web and trying different things to no avail.

Here's how our dramas started: Levi gets incredible (horrific) rashes when he is teething. They are so bad (bleeding spots appear overnight or within hours) that we have to switch to disposables just so that we can use rash cream to help sooth and heal his sore bum (we use Butt Paste).

But then he started getting the rashes so often that I started to wonder if it was actually the diapers causing the problem (or exaggerating the problem).

We'd been using them for over half a year and I'd never had problems with odor or anything so I had never stripped them before. I decided maybe it was time for a maintenance stripping. It was certainly worth a try anyway, right?!

We use Bum Genius pocket diapers and I meticulously followed the instructions on their website for stripping. When I was finished with the process we tried using them again and he soaked through his diaper that night. The next day, I changed him at all of our "usual" times and every single diaper had leaked. (A few of them I caught sooner.)

His diapers had never before leaked until that day so I'm quite sure that whatever I did to strip them didn't help! (And surely his pee volume didn't change that drastically overnight, on the same night. That is just too much of a coincidence, right?)

Since then I've also tried bleaching them (and then doing 5-6 rinse cycles) and that has not worked either.

So my issues are: 1) they are (potentially?) causing a really bad rash; and 2) more recently (since stripping them), they have started leaking.

Note: My normal wash routine is cold rinse, hot wash with 1/2 scoop detergent, hot rinse, cold rinse, line dry.

Dear cloth diapering friends, help! Do you have any suggestions for me? I really want to solve this ASAP... but I'm at a loss as to what to try next. Oh, and please don't just say "try a Rockin' Green soak." I've not been able to find it in Australia!! 

stumped and feeling defeated,


Update 4/18: I just found that I CAN order Rockin' Green in Australia! YAY!!! I'm pretty flipping happy about it. And yes, I'm hoping they will solve all of my problems. Putting an order in today... I'll let you know if it's as fabulous as everyone says.

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adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
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