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!