FlatsChallenge Precursor!

This past week I had a small glimpse in to what my life will be like the week of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. I packed up the kiddos and headed north to Bloomsburg where Hubby was staying for work. I had decided that this would be a great time to try out my Camp Style washer and we went with cloth for the trip. I left the house with maybe 4 disposables total in my diaper bag and we came home with two of those.

 What I packed

We all stayed in the hotel from Wednesday to Sunday. Knowing that I was going to be handwashing the diapers, I took mostly flats and covers with the exception of my Rumparooz diaper and my one Rocky Mountain diaper. I figured I would probably end up using these during the nights. I also had on hand a bunch of my boosters just in case. Oh and as a side note, I packed all of my diapers and boosters in my washer. The only thing that didn't go in there was my case of cloth wipes and the solution. See, more than one use for a camp washer! It was perfect.

 Camp Washer parts before it was a washer

So, how did we do?
Well, I did learn one (and a half) lesson(s). I needed to do my diaper laundry at night before bed and the half lesson was that drying diapers in your hotel bathroom takes WAY longer than it would at my house. I ended up using the hotel's dryer each time I washed my diapers because I didn't quite have enough at day's end and we were going and going and going until the bitter end each night, so I wouldn't do the wash. Since the diapers took longer to dry in the room, I would practically run out of diapers before my wash had dried completely, leading me to take damp diapers and covers to the dryer on site. I hated to do it, but I needed my diapers!
I also learned another useful tidbit for my little girl. I so like the flats, but when we are at home and not doing the challenge, they will be mixed with our other diapers. Almost every messy diaper leaked on to the cover (not on to clothes). I have not had a blowout with cloth luckily. Also, it seems that stay-dry liners are a better thing for my girl. For most of our trip Baby C was red in the creases where leg meets diaper area. Hubby though maybe it was the yeast returning, but I thought maybe not (also I just did not have any barriers to put in my diapers to keep them safe from the medication). When we left to come home, I put Baby C in a disposable and she ended up with two or three 'sposies in a row and the rash was almost gone. I put her back in cloth with stay-dry inners, and she was fine. I think the flats keeping the moisture so close to her skin gave her the rash. It is a lesson learned. I am also thinking that I may just make a few stay-dry liners to put in her diapers when I use flats or prefolds. Easy fix really.
I think the time going with cloth diapers full time and using a camp style washer for it went pretty well. I do love having my snappi to use on the flats to help keep them in place, but I have found that I don't always have to use it. Sometimes I just put the cover on and things went just fine.
Was I happy to get home to my regular washer? You bet!
Am I excited for the Challenge coming up? You bet!

My last question is...
How many of my readers are participating in the #FlatsChallenge?

Until next time... Happy Diapering!