earth huggy diaper washing information
earth huggy diapers are made with organic cotton as the absorbent material, and because this is an unbleached fiber, it still contains many of the natural oils and waxy substances that are present in the plant fibers (that would be lost in the chemically-intense processing of conventional cotton fabric). i recommend washing your organic cotton diapers a minimum of 4 times before using them. soaking the diapers with a natural citrus-based degreaser, vinegar, or non-chlorine bleach, can help in breaking up the oils, before you perform your 4 washings. do not use chlorine bleach on these diapers, it breaks down cotton fibers, and can seriously irritate baby’s skin! failure to pre-wash these diapers may result in repelling of moisture, definitely not what you want your diapers to do! 
after that, you have a lot of options, and the web is full of advice on how to best wash and de-stain your diapers. wet pail and dry pail methods, single or double wash cycles, soaking and rinsing vs. throwing the whole thing right into the washing machine with your clothes. you will find your happy medium among all the methods.
since you are making the wonderful decision to buy organic cotton to put on your baby, then i recommend considering carefully what products you use to wash those diapers- don’t negate that good choice by soaking your dipes in harsh chemicals! also, be aware that most laundry detergents are very concentrated, and the recommended amount is often far more than is really needed to achieve cleanliness. rather than bleach, pure sunlight is my favorite method for removing stains. to preserve the absorbency of your diapers longer, wash on cold as much as possible (but you will likely want to do some hot washes periodically to freshen them up, especially after illness), line dry as much as possible (though waterproof fabric like the outside layer of earth huggy all-in-ones will benefit from a hot dryer periodically), and use products that are kind to natural fibers (not to mention human beings and the planet).
my personal experience is that complaints of rashes from using cloth diapers usually stem from one of three things- diapers not being removed from baby’s skin promptly when wet, over-use of chemicals that remain in residual form in the fabric and cause a reaction, or synthetic/petroleum-based fibers up against baby’s skin. organic cotton, thoughtfully and carefully washed, and promptly changed, is the best possible diapering choice for even the most sensitive skin!
special note on washing tie dye fitted diapers
the first time you wash your tie dye diapers, some of the excess dye may still bleed out of the fabric. for this reason, please wash tie dye diapers by themselves for their first round of the prep washings. in addition, do not leave the tie dye diaper wet up against any other fabric onto which it may bleed, for the first several washings. i take special care to thoroughly rinse and wash these tie dye pieces, so this extra precaution may be unnecessary, but i would hate to have my artwork spoil any of your belongings, so please be on the safe side for the first round. thanks!
other diaper information
it is important to get the right fit with your diapers, and i strive to make earth huggy diapers as versatile as i can, to fit as many baby body types as possible. there are as many favorite brands of cloth diaper as there are families, and that is a true testament to the diversity of the human body! try different kinds before becoming discouraged with cloth diapering, and you will most likely find your favorite, too. some like a trim fit, some like a fit that reaches high over the belly button. the wideness of the soaker, the thickness of the layers, the snapping configurations, all factor in.
obtaining the right fit does have a lot to do with brand, but after that, it’s also necessary to have the right size for your baby. i provide earth huggy all-in-ones in sizes small, medium and large, and those sizes cover the normal range of baby sizes. using a diaper that is too large can create leaks due to being loose fitting around the legs and waist. using a too-small dipe can cause leaks for lack of enough absorbency, being too tight-fitting to allow moisture to absorb, or not providing adequate cover of the “region”. there is overlap among the sizes of earth huggy diapers, so that there will always be a size that will fit as your child grows.
when diapering with all-in-ones, there is a small learning curve, to getting the proper fit to avoid leaks. the inner, absorbent flannel fabric, must not be sticking out around the edges of the PUL (waterproof) fabric exterior, especially around the legs. leaving a flap of flannel causes moisture to wick to the outerwear fairly rapidly. this user error is the most common reason for leaks with all-in-ones. if you tend to have this problem frequently, you may want to consider using an extra layer of wool (wool covers, longies, shorties) in order to catch any leaks.
as with any diaper, leaks will also occur if a baby is left wet for a length of time. the kindest thing for your child is to remove wet diapers immediately, and it will also help keep rashes from occurring.
earth huggy diapers contain several layers of absorbent flannel, but are constructed with no more than 3 layers of flannel in any part of the diaper, so that your dipes will get dry as quickly as possible. this is always a trade-off with diapering, as the most absorbent materials take the longest to become dry again. by their construction, earth huggy diapers aid in the process of drying, without sacrificing on absorbency. there is a soaker panel in the all-in-one style that is attached only at the back of the diaper, keeping it handy but also allowing the whole diaper to freely mingle in the dryer load. this style requires no additional steps of stuffing, snapping, folding, or anything (that’s why we call them all-in-ones in the trade! ). fitted diapers come with snap-in inserts, constructed of 2 serged 3-layer panels, attached at the end in the case of large and one-size, and one serged 3-layer panel in size small. these snap-in inserts do not have to be removed for washing (they can function just like the all-in-ones in the dryer) but they can be snapped out if you had something different in mind for washing or soaking them, than the outer shell. these snap-ins can also be replaced, or you can add extra ones to your stash for interchangeability. you can even lay in an extra one for extra heavy wetters (contact me if interested in snapless inserts/doublers).
snap configurations on earth huggy sized diapers (small, medium and large all-in-ones and fitteds) involve two rows of evenly spaced snaps. i have found this to be the ideal configuration for avoiding wing-droop and achieving a good fit around the legs and waist. size small fitted diapers come with a snap-down feature that allows the diaper to be pulled down away from your newborn’s umbilical area while it is healing. i do also make one-size fitted diapers available, and these have a different snap configuration to enable the same diaper to be worn from newborn to potty training. in this case, a single row of snaps extends farther across the front of the diaper, with snaps arranged horizontally on the tabs, again to avoid wing droop and achieve the fit around legs and waist. in addition, one-size dipes have a snap-down feature in front to adjust the rise for smaller infants. i also provide snap-guards for the snaps on the outer edges that may become exposed to baby’s skin as she grows- these can simply be snapped in place and kept with the diaper throughout washings. choosing one-size may seem the most economical, but for some families, sized diapers work better. some can get away with only two sizes. it just depends on the way your child is built, how he grows, and your preferences.
just as there is no one right answer for what size each child/family will need, choosing how many cloth diapers you will need is just as individual in nature. take some time to consider how much washing you will want to/be able to do with a young infant (and whether that will change as your infant becomes a toddler). while younger babies soil diapers more frequently, they are much more benign soilings, and can be tossed into the wash with little to no fussing. toddlers on the other hand, go less frequently, but when they go…… well. you know. you might need a bit of soaking- so subtract the ones soaking in the pail from your available number for the following day. i would go through no less than 20 diapers in 24 hours when my son was a newborn. now at age 3, he wears maybe 8 in a day. but every child is different! most kids will outgrow the smalls much more quickly, and remain in larger diapers for quite a while (unless of course you are much more gifted in potty training than i am!) there is also the question of whether you will cloth diaper exclusively or part-time. while i highly encourage all-out cloth diapering for economic and environmental reasons, it is still well worthwhile if you can manage part-time. exclusive cd-ers need more diapers on average. all of these are just thoughts i toss out there, for aiding in your own personal calculations of what you will need- it’s a question only you can answer for yourself. if you are really unsure, buy some smalls and see how it feels, then buy some more. one thing is for sure, you can never have too many, or at least, i haven’t achieved that lofty status yet.
operating manual for your one-size earth huggy diaper; detailed instructions
these are some of the most easy to use one size diapers on the market. still, like any one size arrangement, there are a few extra bits to help you make it through all the stages from newborn to potty learning, and so this tutorial is meant to walk you through your one size diaper and become familiar with its features.
pieces and parts. on the one hand, you are getting your money’s worth- that’s a lot of pieces and parts included in the cost of one diaper! indeed, it ends up acting more like 2 diapers at first if you work it right. on the other hand, what are these little doohickeys for?!?
you get your one size dipe in the mail, hurray! you open it up. you have a newborn baby who loves the feel of organic cotton fuzzy flannel on her/his heiny. you pop out the two littlest doohickeys (in the trades we call them the snap guards- visit that link if you want to purchase additional ones) and you put the little doodads away someplace safe (you may need them later when you have a big toddler on your hands…) you pop out the bigger of the two inserts, and you snap the smaller one in place- it’s nice and narrow and plenty absorbent for a wee one. the large insert is even absorbent enough to act in place of a prefold on a smaller infant, if you have a separate wrap-style cover you can lay it into. sweet! many newborns need to be changed just about every 1-2 hours…. this will come in handy!
for the littlest people, you will want the rise on the smallest adjustment (rise means the vertical distance from belly button to crotch) which is accomplished by securing two snaps on the front of the diaper like so:
next, you put a baby in it. the long line of snaps goes in front, it’s shaped like most diapers with the longer wings coming around from the back. to fasten it, you start with the left side, the wing with “extra” snaps on the outside of it… like this:
that way, when you fasten the right side, it can overlap the left side, and snap into those extra slots, snugging the dipe nice and snuggledy for the little person.
now when your little person grows bigger, and believe me…. she or he will! you pop open the rise for the full height of diaper.
switch over to the larger insert, if you haven’t already, and for that matter, lay the small one in as a doubler whenever the mood suits you, on this or perhaps a less absorbent diaper from another company .
and you wrap it on just like normal, and one day the wings on the side may not even overlap anymore…
and one day they may be stretching out to the sides far enough that the innermost snap on each wing might threaten to poke your little one in the hip. ouch! that is where the snap guard doodads come back into play. (you remember where you put them, right?) snap those puppies back onto the innermost snaps.
now you’re down to two on each side- it’s plenty to hold things in place and now that we’re big, we might be happy to have fewer things to do while someone is trying to wiggle away to play!
if there is any information you don’t find covered here on the website, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me with further questions. earth.huggy@gmail.com
