We have been part-time (disposable at night & when the cloth are in the wash) cloth diapering now for a few weeks and I really love it! I thought I would do a post explaining how everything has been going for us thus far.
I will start at the very beginning. A few months ago a blog I follow,
Miller Musings, posted an awesome cloth diapering series the very day I ordered Shane's $50 monthly diaper supply. I absolutely HATE spending money on diapers just to have Shane poop in them and throw them away. I can't think of a bigger waste of money!!! Not to mention the waste diapers create in lanfills and so on. Jen explained EVERYTHING in her series! Jen was so kind to even run a cost breakdown for me and she found we would break even with our investment after full time cloth diapering in 7 months. That was if we spent $467 ($360 for diapers + $107 for supplies = $467) to build up our stash with diapers and all supplies she had. Shane doesn't go through many diapers a day anymore (about 6) and you need to wash diapers every other day so I don't figure I need more than 12-15 diapers. All of a sudden I found myself thinking that I could
maybe give it a try. I knew my husband wouldn't be excited to change the poop & pee soiled diapers but he would be excited to save some money.
The first thing I learned was that I shouldn't just jump all in and order a diaper stash. Cloth diapering is very expensive if you spend it all at one time and I may hate someone elses favorite diaper.
I have ordered 7 different diapers to see which we like best. I can honestly say that I really like them all! Top row (left to right): BumGenius 4.0, Bum Genius Freetime, Kawaii Bottom row (left to right): BumGenius Elemental, FuzziBunz, Thirsties Duo & Charlie Banana
All of my diapers are one size, snap closure. One size means they will most likely fit Shane until he potty trains. This is what really helped me to decide to give cloth a try. I thought I would be buying a few different sizes and that seemed a waste to me. 4 diapers are pocket diapers-they have a removable liner that you put in the diaper and remove at washing. 3 diapers are all-in-one diapers-the diaper is 1 piece so you just wear and wash. These are thought to be easier because you don't have liners to remove, wash then re-stuff but they take a little longer to air dry. I know I don't have many diapers but it honestly takes me less than 5 minutes to stuff. Not a big deal to me.
This is a
small wet bag that I keep in my diaper bag. It is said to hold 2-3 diapers but I say 2 is the max. I keep 1 cloth diaper in my diaper bag and the rest disposable.
This is Shane's changing area. Cloth diapers are kept in the drawer and disposable in the diaper basket on top. I use regular wipes still because I had already purchased the worlds largest box wipes at B.J's and I just don't think I want to invest the money into cloth wipes too. I dispose of the wipes & disposable diapers in the Diaper Genie.
I ordered a
swing top wastebasket from Amazon and the most adorable
diaper pail liner. I read on one blog to NOT use a diaper pail that is air tight. I guess you want your diapers to be able to breath to keep the smell down between washings. I throw the poop in the toilet when I change a diaper then put the diaper in the basket. Surprisingly the pail doesn't smell unless you put your face in the container, but why would you do that!
I wash my diapers (and pail liner) every other day as directed &I use
BumGenius Cloth Diaper Detergent. When the weather is nice, I hang my diapers on my line that is outside the upstairs bathroom window (also where my washer & dryer are). This works perfect & removes any stains. I have a shelf in my laundry area that I hang diapers & liners on when needed at night or in the bad weather. To wash I run a cold water rinse cycle, wash in hot with detergent then rinse in cold & add an extra cold rinse. I have a bomb washer that let's me program this automatically.
My little diaper dude!
Seriously, how BIG does he look!!!
We haven't had any trouble with rashes or leaking. Shane seems to be comfortable in the diapers too. For us, cloth diapering has turned out to be incredibly easy! I strongly suggest that you give it a try if it interests you. We love it!
Kelly's Closet is offering a great deal today. Free All-in-One diaper with a $27 purchase & free shipping if you spend $50. I ordered 3 (2 BG 4.0's & a Thirsties Duo) diapers for $51.82 and got a free diaper! That's a tad less than $13 per diaper! Booyah!
