When you wait years and years for a little one, you have a LOT of time to do research! ;) One of the things I researched was cloth diapers. After using them for about 3 weeks, I am by no means a pro, but I thought I would share some reasons why I chose to cloth diaper and what is working for us at the moment. Any other cloth diapering moms out there? I'd love to hear your take on things!
Reasons why:
#4: Less Waste!
I'm not huge into environmental issues, but I do feel it is our job as Christians to take care of God's world. So less trash is a good thing. I also just didn't see the point of pouring resources into something that couldn't be reused. Just didn't make sense! (This goes closely with number #1... so hang with me.) ;)
#3: SO CUTE!!
I mean, really!! How stinkin' adorable is this? (Ok, poor choice of adjectives...) ;)
I'm very much a texture/tactile/sensory person. (Part of my reason for my knitting love...) And I love the thought of these soft cotton/fabric diapers. (Especially when you think of what is in the disposables!)
Edit to add:
#2: Safer
One of the huge things that I like about using cloth diapers is that they are a lot more natural! There aren't any crazy chemicals in them. I'm not a mom that has to have 100% pure natural or organic. BUT I do think that there are so many chemicals that we don't even think about that we are daily in contact with. Using cloth diapers helps reduce that a bit. :) Edited yet again to add: One particular brand of disposables actually burned my poor baby. Enough of THOSE! :/
#1: Saving Money!!
Yep, this is the number one reason!! I can hardly stand the thought of using something I am just going to throw away, when there is an option of me just washing and reusing it. (Told you this went with #4!) And the more kids that use these, the more savings we will have! We know one family who's fourth child is using their cloth diapers. Imagine the savings!!!
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| Colorful fluffy shipment!!! |
What works for us:
This is what is working for us now. Things may change - as they are very likely to with a little one. Right now, obviously we are on formula so dirty diapers are pretty (ahem) consistent. I know there will be some adjustments when we introduce more foods into Joy's diet.
We have seven
diapers and more on the way... seven doesn't work. I am doing a load of diapers every day - ok if I am home every day to do laundry, but it gets a little old and doesn't seem to be a good use of resources. I'm thinking 12-15 diapers will be a good number for us. You don't want to go too long between washes anyway. ;) (and I just use Tide Original - I read that many CD moms like it just as well as the fancy stuff.)
I have one
diaper pail liner - and another on the way. One wasn't enough. (ETA: I wrote this last week. Since then I got another liner and also realized that it is ok to throw the liners in the dryer...ON LOW HEAT! So one is probably sufficient.)
It takes a while for them to dry and about the time it's dry, it's time to do laundry again! I think two will be perfect. I also have a
small wet bag and a
medium wet/dry bag on the way. The small one fits about three (very squished) of her diapers when we are out and about. I think the medium will be just right. (ETA: Got the medium! I LOVE having a dry section in my bag... I keep the wipes and clean diapers in the dry section and then wet in the waterproof side. Kindof a mini diaper bag - easy to grab and go!)
Right now we are using disposable wipes. But why buy wipes when I can (once again) wash and reuse something? So I have cut up some old stained knit and plan on keeping a few at a time damp in her wipe warmer ready to use. We'll see how that goes... :) (ETA: I love using cloth wipes. SO much easier just to throw them in the wash with the diapers than to have to throw them into a separate trash can. I just dampen them as needed - although I have kept them wet in the warmer as well.)
As for the
diapers themselves??? WOW. You can't imagine. I am so impressed with the quality, and we have yet to have a dirty blow out. (Some leakage when she's been in a wet one overnight, but nothing nasty.) Yesterday we had a nasty disposable - and one of the top brands too. Let's just say, I'd rather rinse out a diaper than a very nasty onesie that I have to pull over her head. The ick factor of the diapers doesn't bother me a bit right now. (Like I said, that may change when we diversify her menu.) The wet ones just go in her pail with the wet bag and I rinse the dirty ones before putting them in as well. No biggie. (eta: with milk only babies rinsing even the dirty ones isn't necessary... the wash takes care of any issues. Later "big productions" will go into the toilet before the wash.) :)
ETA: I also wanted to add that Mark has no problem changing the cloth diapers. I have still done the washing out on the dirty ones. But there really wasn't much of a learning curve for daddy to still do diaper duty. (And yes, I know I'm very blessed to have a hubby who will change diapers!! We both have much younger siblings, so we've both had lots of experience!) ;)
Initially I thought I would use prefolds mostly at home and save the all-in-ones for daddy and out and about. (Someone gave us a huge stack of prefolds.) But she feels icky so much faster in the prefolds and cover than she does in the all-in-ones and I had to change quite frequently. The all-in-ones are very absorbent and the layers help pull the moisture away from her skin. So, yes, I'm a fan!
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| My first box - including supplies for using prefolds. |
Negatives? Yes, I must be balanced... but really I can't think of many for us. Like I said, right now, the ick factor isn't an issue for me. I love that we are saving money (especially when we are hoping to get a house soon.) The diapers are rather bulky, so we have probably gone up a clothing size a bit faster than we would have, but really she's growing quite fast anyway... ;)
Do I think cloth diapering is for everyone? Nope! It works well for us - I am a stay at home mom and a bit more diaper laundry isn't a big deal. (Love a pile of clean diapers!) It may not work into someone else's schedule or lifestyle. OR you may be one of those coupon queens that can get disposables cheaper anyway. BUT I do think that cloth diapering is an awesome thing with the amazing diapers that are available now. (Yes, I've only tried one brand, and I know there are other awesome ones out there. ETA: I've tried a couple other brands and the BumGenius Freetime are still our favorite and hold up the best.) I just think that it is something that most moms don't often think about and maybe after reading this you might see it as an option! :) I'd love to hear from other cloth diapering moms or even if you've chosen not to!
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PS- None of the links or mentioned brands are asking me to advertise. They don't know I exist. I'm just sharing what is working for us.
