I never really even considered the possibility of cloth diapers until my first born was about 18 months old. We had diaper rash after diaper rash, I guess we have sensitive skin problems more then I realized. So I started looking into cloth diapers, after all who wants to wear paper pants anyways?! I had no idea how many cloth diapering options there were! I was so overwhelmed with the variety... not to mention the price. I tried a few prefolds with covers and absolutely hated them so we continued with the "sposies" (so called to the cloth diapering community)... and the diaper rash battle continued.
When my second baby was born, I decided to start with cloth diapers from the beginning. I spent many months obsessing about which combination I would use. I was a regular poster to the diaperswappers website... and my husband was so excited that all of our conversations regularly revolved around diaper talk. When my little guy was born, we adjusted to the scary proposition of full time cloth diapering, and after 9 months now of this life style I have to say... I LOVE it!!
My baby has NEVER had a diaper rash, the diapers that I use are a bit bulkier then regular disposables, but most of his clothes still fit. Now that it is summer, he looks super cute in just a cloth diaper and shirt anyways. I wash my diapers about every other day, store them in a "dry pail" or what is called a "wet bag" and just keep them at my changing table until they are ready to be washed. Obviously they go straight to the wash if it is a super skinky diaper!!
So once you dive into the world of cloth diapers, make your decision about what type to use and make your purchase... its not too scary. But "what kind of cloth diaper should I buy?" I can't simply answer this question for you, but I can tell you what has worked for me (after trying everything to get to this point). I have tried all in ones, all in twos, g-diapers, prefolds with covers, wool, covers with my own hand made doubler, and various types of "pocket" diapers.
I LOVE pocket diapers. They are the easiest transition for somebody who is used to disposables. Quite honestly I still can't figure out how to fold and snappi a prefold so that it actually fits inside a cover. I don't have a lot of patients for squirmy babies and a diaper with a learning curve. My biggest recommendation is Fuzzi bunz diapers, they are the best. They are a pocket diaper, which means they are single use, they have a water proof outside portion, and soft fleece inner that touches the babies skin. Then they have an opening in the back where you stuff a piece of absorbant microfiber (too absorbant to touch the babies skin directly) and that is it! Ready to go! Pocket diapers either have snaps or velcro (aplix) on the outside to close the diaper. Most people prefer the snaps because they last longer, but personally I don't really care if it is aplix or snaps.
Bum Genius also make a really nice one size diaper that I use in addition to my fuzzi bunz. I should have started using the Bum Genius right from the start, but I figured a one size diaper would be huge on my preemie baby. I was wrong. They snap down trimly and are not a problem with small babies.
In my diaper stash I also have trim fit contoured Swaddlebees diapers. They are actually not that much bigger then a disposable, however they have to be changed about every 1-2 hours. My fuzzi bunz (which I usually stuff with the insert that comes with them in addition to a smaller newborn insert made by Bum Genius) and my Bum Genius can last for 3-4 hours before they need to be changed. Who wants to sit in a dirty diaper for more then 3 hours?? Not my baby!
So that is it! Not too hard right?! When I wash my diapers I do a cold water wash or soak (if they are really dirty) followed by a hot water wash with free and clear detergent (I use Purex Free and Clear because it is cheap and readily available). Then I follow with another rinse and spin and dry for one hour on the low cycle. Never use fabric softener, bleach or scented detergents with brighteners, these will break down your diapers in no time. My diapers never have any stains or smells, and it is not like I am swishing them around in the toilet or anything disgusting like that! If the baby poops I do shake it out into the toilet... don't want that going in my washer! No big deal! I don't know why there isn't more demand for cloth, we should be mass producing these and selling them at Walmart in my opinion... maybe then they wouldn't be so expensive!! Although still cheaper then sposies in the long run, just remember that there is actually quite a resale value on these diapers. Well taken care of Fuzzi bunz and Bum Genius diapers run about $18 a piece and can be sold at diaperswappers for $12 per diaper. I need about 30 of these diapers so at $6 a piece that is only $180 for a few years of cloth diapering... not bad!
At a rate of 500 years for disposable diapers to decompose in a landfill...
You can feel a little bit better that you are ...saving the world one diaper at a time...
Diapers, diapers... cloth diapers
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Posted by Meg at 10:02 AM
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