We Caved: A Cloth Diapering Post

Here I am doing the obligatory cloth diapering post. I thought I would share our journey to cloth thus far.

At first I was all about going the cloth diapering route. I had many friends who cloth diapered, and since I would be staying home it seemed a much smarter and more economical choice. I had no excuse not to. I did some research and decided to use the bumgenius 4.0s. They are considered a pocket diaper. We ordered 12 of them (we already had been given two at a shower).

Then Anna came along with some unexpected surprises. First, she was TINY. They say those diapers fit any baby 7-35 pounds, but not the case. She actually couldn't fit into them until she was 10 pounds. She wasn't 10 pounds until she was 4 MONTHS OLD!!!!! Plus, she had some GI issues and was pooping 7-8 times a day and going through 15+ diapers. Not very conducive to cloth diapering. So we stuck with disposables. Very easy. We returned the previously purchased cloth diapers but kept the two we had received from the shower.

I became unsatisfied with our diaper situation at around 6 months when Anna had her second yeast diaper rash. Those things are not easy to get rid off. Another reason was we had been fortunate enough to use many diapers received as gifts and ones my mom helped us with while staying with her. Now that we were predominantly purchasing diapers on our own, I realized that if Anna was going to be in diapers until she was 2 or 2-and-a-half we still had something like $1000 left to spend on diapers just for Anna. Not cool. So I decided to rethink the cloth option. Even with the up front investment and with starting at 6 months, the cost would be a fraction of disposables. When you factor in the possibility of using your diapers for future children you really start to save money (I estimate each child would cost almost $2000 in disposable diapers before they are potty trained).

So we tried out the two bumgenius diapers we had. We liked them ok (and still use them), but I figured there had to be something that worked a little better for Anna, so I decided to go for G diapers.

At first I was hesitant about G diapers because I thought they would be more expensive- they have 3 sizes instead of the bumgenius's one-size-fits-all. I figured more sizes means more money. But then I realized that the size Medium G diapers fit most babies for their entire potty training period (Anna will probably never need a Large). You also don't have to wash the diaper cover (called "gpant") every time- you can just switch out the cloth inserts- which  means you don't have to buy 12-16 diapers. You can buy about half that amount and stock up on inserts. All that said, the G diapers actually ended up being cheaper. It was about $200 for 8 gpants and 18 inserts. Around the cost of 4 months of disposables. For future children, I might have to buy a few of the size Small diapers, but that cost would be minimal.

Plus, with a last name that starts with a G, how can you resist a practically monogrammed diaper? ha ha....

Here she is looking super cute.

I found that I preferred G diapers for several reasons. I like that the gpant is natural material, doesn't feel like plastic, and you can wash it with your regular laundry. I like that you don't have to stuff anything like you do with pocket diapers. And as mentioned above, I like that you can reuse the gpant and don't have to change the whole diaper each time you change (saving time and money). It's pretty easy to simply toss the cloth insert into a wet bag and throw a new one in there. I also think they will last longer than if I had to wash them after each diaper change. Aesthetically, they are less bulkier than the one-sizers, cuter (no empty snap holes if you do snaps), and the colors are rich and almost all are gender neutral (sans the one pink).

All that said, how do I feel about cloth now that I'm using it? Well, I'm not as head-over-heels in love as I was hoping. Don't get me wrong, cloth diapering is definitely the right choice for us but there are some personal drawbacks: 1. Cloth diapers aren't meant to hold as long as disposables, so I have to change Anna more often. 2. They do take more time and are not as neat and clean - you have to figure out how to dispose of wipes so they don't smell, throw away/flush solid poop, etc. and while it's not the biggest hassle in the world, it's also not as easy as rolling up a disposable diaper with the wipes inside to contain. 3. It's more laundry (and since we don't have a outdoor clothesline they take longer to dry inside as I don't want to run my dryer all day). I also don't like that I can't wash the inserts with our other laundry (partly because cloth diapers need an additive free detergent and that does not mean simply a detergent labeled "Free"). 4. They aren't as easy to travel with as disposables, and 5. Even with the trim G diapers, cloth diapers are bulkier than disposables giving you that trademark "fluffy bum." While cute, some short onesies or pants may not fit over it. All that said, I am still happy that we made the switch. Staying at home with one baby, I don't feel like I have an excuse not to spend the extra time to save the extra $ (and be a little more responsible with the earth God has given us). Honestly, if I were working or had 4 children running around I would probably stick with disposables.  

 Here are a few things that have made cloth diapering easier.

Rockin Green detergent made for cloth diapers, recommended by a friend. Inexpensive and works. You do not want to use a detergent that is not made for cloth diapers, trust me. Even something like Tide Free can mess up their absorbency because they have enzymes or brighteners in them. Check out this website for a full list of detergent types and whether they are cloth diaper friendly, recommended, and to see their cost breakdown.

Planet Wise wet bag that hangs from your changing table. You don't need a diaper pail if you use one of these. Just throw in the diapers and they stay contained until you are ready to wash them. Throw the whole bag and contents in the wash all at once. Pretty easy.

Imse Vimse flushable liners. I was not about to scrape solid poop off my diapers so it was either a diaper sprayer or liners. I chose liners because of ease with travelling. A friend recommended these ones. At first I thought liners kind of defeated the purpose of cloth diapers in the first place, but they are very inexpensive and WORTH IT. They hold all the nasty poop so you can just throw it away. They aren't meant to keep stuff from soaking onto the insert, just meant to hold the solids. You can also reuse the non-poopy ones for 2 washes before they fall apart, making them more economical. Throw them in the wetbag with the other dirty stuff. We even cut them in half because they are fairly large.

Lastly, I would highly recommend creating a drying rack like Sarah's brilliant DIY. (This is her picture, not ours. But we made one like it and use it all the time). Great post Sarah.

That's all folks. I hope that may have helped some of you considering cloth diapering. Cloth diapering is not for everyone. Each person has a different experience. Overall, I am satisfied with it. Good luck!