Cloth Diapering

I read a couple different blogs of friends and a few are blogs that I have come across while searching DIY projects. Well, it seems like there are quite a few of the DIY groupies that are also cloth diapering parents. They have all posted about cloth diapering so I figured I might as well do the same! In fact, before I was even pregnant I wanted to cloth diaper. Today there are several makers of cloth diapers and it is very easy and convenient to use. When I told people that I planned to cloth diaper, those that had never tried it all said, "Wow, you are brave!" or "Good luck trying that," or even, "Won't that be gross to wash them in your washing machine?" First off, I'm not that brave, because I chose the easiest cloth diapers to deal with. I am using mostly BumGenius diapers in the one-size-fits-all. Basically it is built with a waterproof shell and cloth inserts. There are snaps that allow for a snug fit and get adjusted as your baby grows. The pictures included though are of a Fuzzi Bunz brand, which would be my second favorite cloth diapers. Secondly, I did a lot of research ahead of time to be sure this was what I wanted to do so I did not have to rely on luck. I didn't want to invest a couple hundred dollars if I was just going to quit, so I took a lot of time to be sure this was the right decision for me. Lastly, the washing machine does a fine job. I would like to think that if I had diarrhea or vomited all of myself that it could clean up those messes, so why not some baby messes?

Here is how it all works for us. I keep the diapers ready to go next to his changing table. I bought about 30 diapers, which allows for a few days of wear before doing a load of wash. About every third day I empty my covered plastic trashcan (next to the changing table) which is filled with diapers. I have a waterproof and washable liner which acts as the carry all bag. I basically turn that inside out into the washing machine and run a sanitary cycle with an extra rinse at the end. Sometimes I will also do a pre-rinse. Then the inserts are put into the dryer and I air dry the waterproof shells. I use Green Shield Organic Detergent (since it is free of dyes, enzymes, etc). Super easy and I can even add his cloths into the cycle so I'm not really doing that many more loads that normal. I love it and Jack's bum looks so cute in the cloth diapers.

It took a bit of talking to convince Joe that this would work, but the funny thing is now he absolutely loves the cloth diapers. On a recent trip for the weekend Jack had a terrible blowout diaper which I think was only bad because it was a disposable diaper. Joe just kept mentioning that this would not have happened in cloth diapers and I think he is right. (On trips we always use disposable for convenience and ease. It might be difficult to lug around dirty diapers and ask family or friends if we can wash them.) And Jack never gets diaper rash unless he is wearing disposable diapers, which makes for another reason that we love to cloth diaper.

It is a simple process and I'm so glad that I was determined to try cloth diapers. When I first told my mom, she thought I would give it up, but we are still going strong and loving it more everyday. I love that I have only bought one package of diapers for traveling. It saves us a lot of money and that was really my big reason for trying this out. I read that the average family spends about $3000 dollars on diapers per child. I spent less than three hundred (some diapers were gifted to us) and plan to use these for our second child as well. And even though I was a bit nervous about how it would rinse in the washing machine, it works just fine. In fact, right now since he has not had solids yet the poopy diapers are very runny and easily rinse out. It is no worse that cleaning up baby clothes that got poop or pee on them. When he starts eating solids we will install a diaper sprayer to our toilet to remove the nastiness. And it doesn't really stain, but if there are some stains then I put the shells out in the sun and everything is bleached out. So easy!

I don't know if this will help anyone thinking about cloth diapering or maybe it will convince other that they should try it, but I highly recommend that they do. I mean, who really reads my blog anyways? It was much cooler when I was traveling, but cloth diapers is a close second, right?