Okay, I'll admit it. When we first found out we were pregnant, Eric suggested the idea of cloth diapering. I wanted nothing to do with it. I completely shut him down, I didn't want to research it, didn't want to talk about it, end of discussion. In my mind, cloth diapering was some hippie-mom trend and I did not want to join the ranks.
So fast forward to September, 2011 and we are using cloth diapers. Why the change of heart? I don't like the idea of paying for things on a regular basis. Okay, well we pay our mortgage, phone bill, utilities so don't worry! But baby stuff ranks up their on things I don't like paying for with pedicures, make up, and getting a tan. So there I was at Target, looking at diapers and the cost. "Wow, $20?" I thought to myself, "How long is this box even going to last me?" So I'm cheap, forgive me I come by it naturally. I have no problem spending $150+ on a good pair of jeans, but diapers? No way.
This is when I starting thinking about switching to cloth. I knew it would be a big investment on the front end, but once you've paid, you're done. So I started researching. In typical Jessica fashion, instead of compiling my own research on the forefront, I let others do the research for me by sharing their cloth diapering knowledge. To be honest, it was Heather and Katie who completely sold me on the idea. They had great pitches, and made it seem not so difficult. Great job friends!
After that, I had the big decision of choosing a brand. and HOLY COW! There are so many brands out there and types of diapers. I didn't want to commit to a brand only to find out it wasn't going to work for us. I'm cheap, remember? So we ordered, several brands, and several types. I'm sure I made a bigger deal about choosing a brand than I really needed to, but hey, at least I was making the switch.
During my "research phase" I discovered a lot of things.
1. Cloth Diapering is no more disgusting than regular diapering. Poop is poop. Either way, you have to wipe it of their little bums. There are ways to make it a little less disgusting like buying a diaper sprayer (which we do not have) or buying liners that catch the poopies.
2. Seriously, it's easy. It is a little extra laundry a week but if you have your own laundry room and are not paying for laundry it's really no big deal at all.
Here is a quick summary of what we tried:
1. I do not like Flips diapers. The idea of flips is cool: no stuffing, the ability to buy disposable inserts, and they're pretty trim. However, on Kendall, they just didn't work. She moves around too much and there is really nothing holding the insert in place. So nix on the Flips for us.
2 Best Bottoms Diapers are similar to Flips and Eric's favorite of all the brands we tried. These are pretty cool, I'll admit it. The diaper shell is waterproof and the inserts actually snap in. So while there is no pocket to hold the insert (and no stuffing), the snaps hold it in. Another cool thing about Best Bottoms is that you can change the insert, but keep the shell on. This works fairly well until the baby poops. If it's a big poop, it gets on the shell and I am not about wiping the shell clean. I'd rather just change the shell and start over.
3. All-in-ones. Sounds pretty neat, right? Basically, there is no stuffing, it's a diaper with no insert. Not for us.
4. We did not try the "pre-fold" diapers. Mainly it is because I am lazy and do not want to deal with all that.
5. Fuzzi Bunz are great. They have perfect size and one size. One size fits from birth to potty training and perfect size comes in small, medium and large so as your baby grows, you need to buy more. The mediums are pretty good though, they fit 15lbs to 30lbs. Anyway, what I really like about the Fuzzis are just how trim they are! All other one size diapers adjust with snaps all over the diaper. With Fuzzis, you adjust the elastic around the legs and waist as they grow.
6. Bum Genius 4.0- this was my other favorite. These are also one size diapers and like the fuzzis, you place the insert in a pocket. The Bum Genius has snaps to adjust the size and are a little more bulkier than the fuzzis but I like them equally as much.
So what did we end up going with?
Fuzzis and Bum Genius! We also have 3 Best Bottomss diapers with three inserts per diaper because they were Eric's favorite and this whole diapering thing was his idea anyway, so he got some that he liked to use.
Getting Started:
Heather offered some great advise about getting 2 diaper pails. I took that into consideration and kept my diaper champ and then bought a hanging diaper bin for the cloth diapers. This hangs from the door knob and I just throw the diapers in there and come wash time everything goes in the wash, including the bag thingy. Planet Wise makes some great ones with cute patterns!
Going out was a big concern of mine. Where will I put the dirty diapers when we are out and about for the day? Planet Wise also makes little wet diaper bags for your diaper bag! So all we do is put the icky diapers in the waterproof bag, zip it up, and we are done. This bag is also washable.
So as you can see, cloth diapering is quite simple. We are not cloth diapering at night yet. I am planning on buying some hemp inserts for night time. These absorb more than the fleece so will be better for night. I have also heard that bamboo inserts work great too, but I don't know whether or not they are compatible if the brands I chose.
So there we have it. The Sunderland family made the cloth diaper switch. Cloth diapering hippies? Not so much.
Here are some great sites to compile your own research:
Have Fun!
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ReplyDeleteI am so impressed with your courage to switch, I never even considered using cloth with my kids. Somewhere I heard using cloth makes potty training easier, hope this holds true for Miss Kendall. Good luck, and love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your experience! I've wanted to switch but haven't done any of the work to research and Jeff isn't sold on the idea. But I just HATE buying disposables all the time and creating so much trash, so for our next baby, I want to use cloth. This info will be so helpful!
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