17 July 2009

Cloth Diapers!

Sometimes, I think I many be crazy. This is one of these times. I mean, really, who thinks, "I know, lets start cloth diapering when I'm 11 weeks pregnant, so I can spend more time around poop!" Well, I do and here's why:

First off, they're just stinkin' cute! I'm serious! Look... Okay, so some of that maybe my beautiful child but still... So let's run through some pros/cons.

Pros:
~I don't have to buy disposables. Seriously, after 2.5 years of that, I'd so tired of running to the store and agonizing if I should really spend that much for diapers because I'm a diaper snob and will only buy pampers. We're already saving tons of money.

~They are really REALLY easy! I bought two different brands of cloth diapers and they are both known as pocket diapers. Both diapers are also a "one size fits all" and "grow" to fit a growing baby. I'll explain more about that later. With pocket diapers, they go on just like a disposable would, only both the brands we own use snaps instead of velcro. They're called pocket diapers because they have a lining that you stuff inside the diaper to make it more absorbent. If you're worried that the child will pee through the diaper (like overnight or on a long car trip), you can just add another lining and boom, problem solved.

~They are really easy to wash. One of the "scary factors" for me was trying to get diapers washed every 2 or 3 days, depending. I'm awful at laundry (which I won't elaborate on, so as not to embarrass myself.) Honestly, its not that big of a deal. The diapers use the same laundry soap our clothes do, and it uses WAY less than a normal load of laundry. Plus it really doesn't take that much time to stuff the diapers again and put them up, so the burden isn't as bad as it would seem.

Cons:
~And this I feel, so far, has been the only con. Its dumping the poop into the toilet. Really, it only happens once or twice a day, and its not so bad. Sometimes though, poop is really stinky or sticky. Most of this problem is because Sariah is older. I've heard that with little breastfed babies, you don't even have to worry about the poop. But, as every parent knows, once they start eating solids, poop get stinky!

So like I said earlier, we own two differnt brands of diapers (I had orginally bought 3 kinds, but I didn't like the bumgenius ones & sold them to a friend.) In the picture below, Sariah is modeling a Fuzzibunz.
Fuzzibunz adjust for size by using adjustable elastic around the legs. (Think of those adjustable waist pants you can buy now days.) The lining is a soft microfleece. (The only downside to that is sometimes I've seen a bit of a heat rash if we've been outside playing for awhile.) Sariah really likes this red diaper, and she'll often ask to wear it if its clean. After the diaper is used, you just shake out the lining, which is really easy.

The other brand we bought on my Sis-in-law, Jodi's, recommendation is Smartipants. They're a pretty new diaper on the market, but I love them. First off, you don't have to worry about shaking out the liners, they come out in the wash. They adjust with snaps on the front of the diaper to make it smaller or bigger. The lining isn't as soft, but poop comes off WAY easier. Another big plus is they are cheaper than most other diapers on the market.

So in conclusion, we really like cloth diapering. It was just a small experiment to try it out before the next baby arrives, but I doubt we'll stop doing it with Sariah until she potty trains. I say this mostly because she throws a huge tantrum if we try to put a disposable diaper on her. So I guess they're here to stay!

6 comments:

Lisa said...

I do the shaking-into-the-toilet now, with the disposables. It cuts down the smell and volume in the diaper pail.

Now I want to do cloth even more. I already did, but you're liking it so much (and I already do most of what it takes) that now I really, REALLY want to. Stupid cheap apartment with no w/d. *grouch, grumble, gripe*

How many did you buy to have on hand? And would it really be more cost effective if I made my own...?

Marin said...

Lisa: I have 8 diapers right now, but I've got 3 more Smartipants on the way, so we'll have 11, which is great for Sariah. With younger kids, esp. babies, they recommend having 18-20, I'm def. going to buy more once I figure out what the gender of Swarley is going to be.

I've seen patterns for making your own online, but I'd be worried that I got the wrong kind of fabric or whatever. I bet if you knew what you were doing, it would be more cost effective...

Alan and Denise said...

Interesting. Cloth diapering has embraced technology as well. I used cloth with all of mine, but they were certainly different. . .

Hannah said...

Perhaps the novelty will wear off. I am so tired of having to wash diapers I could scream! And I don't know where you read that you only need 18-20. I really think that if you only have that many then you will have to be washing diapers on almost a daily basis. We have about 150, and I am still washing every 3 days. Although we do mostly the prefold ones, so that may be different. I do however LOVE the 2 pocket diapers we do have. Good luck with it!

Jenny said...

I've seen those new kinds of cloth diapers and thought they were kind of interesting--definitely a lot easier than cloth diapers used to be. But I just don't want to do that much laundry.

The Hof family said...

I think I had around 20 diapers in the newborn size that was enough for me when Melissa and Jacob were newborn. I washed them every other day. I can sent you info, what material do use if you want to sew it yourself. I have a friend here, who sews them. What laundry detergend are you using on yours? I'm glad you are liking it. For the solid poop of the older babies they have these showers you can install on the toilet, I think I'm going to get one for Melissa.