About Us
Autumn Beck is a 31 year old SAHM to 4 gorgeous children. She has been married for 11 years to brilliant internet marketer and even more blessed that he works from home! Autumn began cloth diapering in 2005. Over this time she has made mistakes and learned the secrets and strategies to successful cloth diapering. Her interests include homebirth, breastfeeding, homeopathy and shopping…shopping for cloth diapers that is!
This is a picture of Autumn and her mom. Cindi is the artist for Rustique Art and works behind the scenes at All About Cloth Diapers.
She was part of the inspiration for Autumn having the confidence to cloth diaper because of the stories Autumn heard of being cloth diapered herself.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Autumn,
I have been reading (and enjoying!) your blog for awhile now. We are currently trying to get rid of some MAJOR buildup. I have been using the same set of Fuzzi Bunz for about 10 months. We use Bac-Out regularly and ocassionally do an extra-long, super-hot wash with extra rinse. However, we have been having a lot of problems with leaks and now realize I should have been more regularly stripping my diapers. I have two questions I was hoping you might help me with.
1. I tried hand washing with Dawn (I have a front-loader) and then a hot wash with no detergent and extra rinses. The diapers are better, but still not great. Any suggestion which method I might try next? [Also, it is possible for diapers to get too old or too much build-up? I'm worried we waited too long and I won't be able to fix them.]
2. I have been using Crunchy Clean for awhile now and really like it. One of the reasons I switched is because it is supposed to be cleaner rinsing (thus less chance of buildup). But…I see now on one of your posts that Crunchy Clean can actually be worse for build-up?!?! Should I switch back to the Kirkland eco-brand?
Thanks so much for any help you can give me! (and for the blog…I have learned so much!)
Best wishes,
Sonya
Sonya, a couple of questions: why do you think it is from build-up? where is the leaking occuring? what type of inserts are you using? microfiber inserts can wear out and need to be replaced. Crunchy Clean is a great detergent for many families. I don’t think it worked for our water. For hard water I suggest Rockin Green detergent. I use Kirkland’s eco brand with huge success. love it. Your FB aren’t “broke”. Pockets are great like that, they last for years. It’s the inserts that stop working.
I had to give up cloth diapering because at 9 months, my daughter suddenly started breaking out in terrible rashes with just one or two wearings of her cloth diaper. She had worn them since birth and had been fine. I didn’t change detergents. I tried stripping them, using different detergents, but nothing has changed. I prefer prefolds with a wrap cover but also have BG all-in-ones. With disposables, she does fine. I don’t like to use them but I can’t let her have terrible rashes. Any advice?
Resa, did you notice if she reacted to the prefolds or the bg? If prefolds, it could be due to the wetness. If BG, it is the suedecloth (a common allergen).
It’s been with the prefolds. The BG were leaking so I used her smaller size prefolds as inserts. I’ll try again and change her more often and see what happens. Thanks!
Autumn,
Have you tried the cutie poops diapers? I was wondering how they were I need to order some new diapers and am frustrated with all of mine and want to try something new. I have a chubby 5 month old and a 2 yr old who has decided that she’s unwilling to go in the potty anymore so I’ve been trying to get by with 6 med Fuzzi Bunz for 2 kids. It’s very amusing. They are the only ones that still fit her (23 lbs) and the only ones that don’t make him red since they keep the moisture away! So I’d really like to stay with a pocket diaper. Tried the thirsties and didn’t like them they leaked every time we used them. Also wondered about the Happy Heinies. I’d love some help!!
Thanks,
Kristy
Kristy, I’d go with a one-sized diaper. Some great choices: softbums, bum genius, fuzzi bunz…so many! I liked Happy Heinys when my oldest son was in diapers. Never heard of cutie poops.
Hi Autumn! I had a huge (HUGE) mess this morning with a disposable diaper. I’ve been CDing for almost a year now and have learned lots from your site (I even won a giveaway!). About a week ago my ds started waking up every morning completely soaked on his entire front because his diaper overflowed. So I researched hemp and bamboo inserts (I would love to have your opinion on those, btw) and while we waited for those to arrive my husband and I decided to put him in nighttime disposables when he slept (I can just picture the look you’re giving me right now
. This morning my hubby opened our son’s sleepsack and found that the diaper had exploded–there were clumps of gel crystals everywhere!! It was so disgusting and reaffirmed a million times over our decision to CD. I have pictures if you’d like to see them! Or to use on your blog, if you like. We are fb friends, so shoot me a message with your email 
Thanks for all you do on your site!!
Theresa Anderson
Hi Autumn,
I feel so lucky that I stumbled across your website today! I have been cloth diapering close to a year, my daughter will be one on the 18th of this month. We have used bum genius since she was about 10 weeks old (kissaluvs after birth) and love them! However, in the past two weeks she has been leaking out of the bg. I mean SEVERE leaks – we are going through a least 3 outfits a day and too many diapers to count. I was changing her every 2 hours but now she needs change every 30 mins – hour. I was just using the bg insert but have added the bg diaper doubler and she is still leaking through. Do you have any suggestions? Is this a common problem when kids turn one?
Oh, nighttime is still going well – we use the insert, doubler, and hemp babies insert – she goes about 10 hours without a leak.
THANKS so much! I would love any insight you can give me.
@jess, I would first strip the inserts. You can do a vinegar soak (use the search box for info). Microfiber has a life of about a year it seems. Kim of Rockin Green detergent did an experiment with her old mf inserts. She soaked them overnight in Rockin Green detergent and they regained their absorbency!
http://rockingreensoap.com/?p=367
http://rockingreensoap.com/?p=393
How many diapes do your babies go through? I put a cloth diaper on my 7 week old and in 10 minutes he’s all wet. I go through 20 disposables or with cloth, many more. Are their cloth diapers that don’t get the entire diaper wet with one pee?
@Sharon, can you tell me what cloth diaper brand you are using? There are many different absorbency levels in cloth diapers. Something that works for one baby won’t hold half a pee on another.
My 1 year old pees through any micro insert. I have learned to double stuff all of her diapers. I just add a thin hemp insert (we like Thirsties) and a micro insert to every diaper. At night, we add two hemp!
Hello,
thighs outgrew the diapers. I turned to indian prefolds and sbish covers (LOVE them), unfortunately after months of successful use she is starting get red chaffing marks when her dipe gets damp. It is related to movement and only happens when she is awake. Even with hourly changes! Is there a different type of flat/prefold that may prevent this that you are aware of? Any advice would be wonderful! Thanks!!
I stumbled upon your website several months ago, and I absolutely love it! Thank you so much for posting so many great reviews. I have cloth diapered my 16 month old daughter since birth. We started with BG 3.0, but at around 9 mo. her generous
Have you looked into bamboo prefolds. They are pricey but are much softer than cotton. What type of fold are you using? Maybe a different fold would work. Have you checked out the sustainable babyish snapless multi fitteds? They are a great diaper! Until January 16, 2010 use the coupon code “SNAPLESS” and get a FREE snapless multi when you buy a 6pack! That is an awesome offer.
Hi Autumn,
What do you recommend using with newborns until they reach the “one-size” fit?
Thanks!
Liz, I recommend a nb sized fitted until they grow out of those then you can choose any diapering system.
Hi Autumn,
I have been reading your blog since the begining of my pregnancy, and now can’t wait for baby to get here to try out my new cloth diapers! Thanks for all your great advice.
I have a question, though. I have come across several mentions of “you can’t put microfiber up against babies skin”. Why is that? Are these comments from folks who practice “organic only”, or have particularly sensitive skin? Or is something really awful going to happen if I accidentally put my Flip Staydry diaper insert in upside down? Please help! I need to know, and I prefer not to find out the hard way! Thanks.
-Carisa
Microfiber is so absorbent it will strip your baby’s skin of it’s moisture. One slip up isn’t going to cause a major problem (unless your baby is very sensitive) but doing it often or leaving it on your baby this way for a long time will cause a skin problem.
Ok, I just stripped all my pocket diapers with Dawn in my washing machine. They were dirty when I put them in there. So are they now considered “clean” or do I need to do another wash with Charlie’s Soap before putting them one my babies?
Ashely, I’d wash with detergent and make sure all the Dawn is out.
Hi Autumn!
I don’t know if this is the appropriate place to reach you. I’m thinking of switching to cloth. My DS is 15 months today but I’m a little overwhelmed! I’m leaning toward BumGenius but then I also am attracted to Flip because we’ve got major budget issues to deal with in my household. Then there’s GAD. Those are my top 3 choices. DS has eczema, which is exacerbated by disposables—I honestly did not know of the chemicals in them or I would have started with cloth. He is 31 inches, 22 lbs—the doctor says he’s on the slim side. I know it’s not much info but which do you think would be best for his size and budget?
Thanks for your time—I really appreciate it!
Best for budget and great diaper would be Flip. Sterling is slim and they fit him great.
Autumn-
Hi, I need help! I have loved cding for the almost five months I’ve been doing it but suddenly am having problems.
My daughter is suddenly getting bad diaper rashes. They started when she started eating solids so we thought it maybe was the introduction of solids. We put her in disposables for a week and the rash cleared up while still eating a reduced amount of solids. I “stripped” her cloth prefolds, covers and inserts using very hot water and lots of rinses. I finally put the cloth back on her last night and she already has a rash again! I’ve been using Charlies Soap. Never had a problem until recently. Do you think using Rockin Green would strip my diapers and get them back to normal? Or could there be a different problem?
Rockin Green is awesome at really cleaning diapers after a good soak. Are you only using prefolds? Perhaps she is reacting to the moisture. You might try laying in some fleece strips to provide a stay dry barrier. Also, Charlies Soap has been known to cause rashes. Body chemistry changes, especially when introducing new solids, so while she has been fine with Charlies in the past it may not work now.
Hi Autumn,
Any secrets to drying the BG Organic AIOs? They seem to take way too long to dry in the dryer. Thanks for the excellent blog!