Cloth Diapers

When we were still living in China, I decided I wanted to cloth diaper. Its now becoming the "it" thing to do. I remember going to my baby shower and telling family I was going to cloth diaper. They said "really?!" - "Goodluck!!!- haha". I was a little nervous after these comments but did more research and Curtis and I decided that we wanted to do it and could do it.

Everyone has their reasons for cloth diapering- save money, enviorment friendly, natural, fun, the "in" thing, everyone else is doing it, just wanna try it and so on....

The reasons we decided to do it were:

1. We would literally save thousands of dollars if we did it. On a friends blog she calculated the total amount JUST in the first year for disposables was something over $2,000. Whereas using cloth would just be an initial investment of around $200-? (some moms gets little crazy).

2. If our parents did it- we could too.

3. Enviorment reasons- diapers are not biodegradable- lol

4. Baby's are to have less rashes and such with cloth

5. Baby's potty train faster and easier

When we started cloth diapering I knew of NO ONE that was doing it. Now it seems everyone is going to try it, which is awesome! And its fun to hear why they are doing it. I heard some stories of a mom going to a cloth diaper club and making their own and going all out, which is awesome. Not sure how they have so much time to do it but more power to them. For me, that didn't make sense. The goal for us was to save money, so to purchase all the materials and whatnot just wouldn't have agreed with our goals. However, with the next baby (depending on time) I would like to try making them and having a little more fun with it....we'll see.

With that being said- there are MANY different ways to cloth diaper and many different items to use. (I'm sure if you have ever done any research on the matter you have already figured that out). I will just share with you our experience and what we use. One of our main goals was to keep it simple- the kid poops and pees all over them anyways so why do they have to look pretty? Plus, they are covered up by their clothes.

There are 4 different main items we use:

Cloth diapers- we used prefolds from walmart and target. There are the thinner birds eye ones and the thicker ones (don't remember what they are specifically called) I would get both. More of the thicker ones though. You would probably estimate 8-10 diapers a day and need about a weeks worth- this would be the minimum I would say. Here is a picture of just one load after a few days...

Diaper covers- after ALOT of time researching covers I decided to try the cheaper, simple ones and if they weren't cutting it, then I would invest in the more expensive ones. I also followed the suggested amount of about 5-6 covers of each size. Since simple was in my mind set I tried the "one-size fits all" kind. They have buttons to snap and make them smaller and larger. I also tried one of the premium wool ones just to see if there was a difference. I concluded that if you are changing the diaper after the child pees or poos then it doesn't matter what kind to use because the covers shouldn't get that wet and it shouldn't soak through.

Here's a picture of the diaper covers I use:

(Left to Right) Wonder Wraps. We have 2 of them I. LOVE. THESE. They may have been the cheapest and they are all the one-size fits all and I have used them since he was newborn to now, ten months old and walking. They are by far my favorite and if I were to purchase more I would ONLY purchase these ones. They adjust great, hold tight and definitely don't make the bum look like a balloon. The middle one is a Polar Bummis, it works- they are good. We have 4 I think? Don't have to much to say about them. They do their job. The one of the far right is an example of the color/patterned ones you can get. Someone gave us these (used) and they worked fine when he was little. They had a hard time retaining wetness but it may have been from how much (and how they were treated) before. These are Super Whisper Bummis. The wool one isn't pictured here because it was for when he was smaller and is now packed away for the next little one. From what I read THOSE are the best and best material agaist your child's skin and if we hadn't just come back from China with little money I may have bought more.

Diaper Pins-

Hard to find and not necessary but I used them when he was a little one. While he was still nursing, his poo was quite runny (like all baby's) so I wanted to make sure the cloth diaper was snug on there so there wasn't leakage. Then I would wrap the diaper cover over. Now that he is older and his poo is a bit more solid (sorry for the descriptions), and because he is constantly on the move, I don't use pins anymore. I just put the cloth diaper on him and wrap the cover over.

Bucket-

I'm not sure what the 'in' thing for this part is but I just asked my parents and did what they did. Filled the bucket below up with water and put a little oxy or bleach in it and put the dirty diapers in it. When the bucket was full, put it in the washer and wash away. Make sure and use hot water.

That, folks, is the basis of what I do with Samuel. Really simple and cheap. Oh, and carry old plastic grocery bags along with you if you are out and about to put the diapers in if they need a change.

I probably am forgetting some things- Any questions?! Hope this helps some people. Like I said, when I started no one I knew was using cloth or thinking about it....So there are A LOT of other ways to do this.....and I could probably still learn some things about it.

One more note. Some may have seen us using disposable diapers. We don't have anything again disposables. We had some friends and family buy us some and we used them. When they ran out we went back to cloth diapers. If people buy them for you, its good to have around for when friends or family babysit and don't want to deal with cloth (or don't know how) and if you just need a "break" or want to try them. I don't feel disposable are "easier", they are a bit faster though.