If you are new to cloth diapering, or if you have grown children and you cloth diapered, please be aware that cloth diapers have evolved at light speed over recent years. My go-to cloth diapering website is Green Mountain Diapers which is comprehensive in regards to discussing different types of diapers and how to care for them, as well as selling the diapers and accessories for proper care. If you are interested, go to the site and bookmark it for safekeeping. I found them initially when searching for a DIY explanation for a diaper sprayer after being too cheap to buy the ones sold by the cloth diaper companies. (I probably spent just as much, maybe a little less, but oh, the *satisfaction* of a DIY sprayer!)
When pregnant with Elena, I thought cloth diapers were all about a triangular piece of cloth with those big diaper pins. I thought of diaper services--any type of service implies speaking to someone on the phone or in person and then paying for it, and that didn't appeal to my shy nor my frugal side (Josh still teases me about my reluctance to order a pizza years ago). A friend of mine from college, however, told me about gDiapers, which have flushable inserts. I watched the video, which of course makes using gDiapers look as easy as wiping your own bum, and thought, "I could do this..." I asked a colleague from the integrative medicine fellowship about gDiapers. She was cloth diapering, and replied, "I just feel like if you're going to cloth diaper, you should go all the way." She didn't like the flushing, I guess. I can't remember if I asked her which diapers she used, or how the conversation got started... I think I posted a random Facebook question about cloth diapering and went from there.
One friend offered to send me her Bumkins all-in-ones, which I gladly accepted. Someone had mentioned BumGenius, and I thought the name was clever--besides, who wouldn't prefer baby products bearing the word "genius"? I bought one to try, and liked it, but asked the Facebook world for more guidance. Another friend (Melissa) professed her undying love for FuzziBunz, which I'll admit I put on the back burner temporarily because I am that fastidious when it comes to spelling and grammar (though I know my grammar isn't always perfect.... as Josh reminds me every chance he gets!). I read a bunch of reviews on either Babies R Us or Amazon, and decided to trust my friend's devotion to FuzziBunz because in the meantime I wasn't super impressed with the all-in-ones, and I could see where reviewers were coming from with the velcro on the BumGenius having the potential to deteriorate.
I also now love FuzziBunz. These things are so easy. They a super branch off point in the cloth diapering evolutionary tree: The Pocket Diaper. But I messed up. I should have fully followed Melissa's advice, but I didn't. Melissa advised washing the diapers only in either Charlie's Soap or Allens Soap. To my credit, I did go downtown to The Co-op, but couldn't find either of the aforementioned soaps. My "mommy-brain" must have been mom-i-fied in full effect, because it didn't occur to me to look online to purchase either. Maybe I was too impatient. Or maybe I was too offset by price because Charlie's is sold in bulk, and I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that I would have saved a bunch by buying it in the first place. Instead, I did the best I thought I could in the moment and purchased some biodegradable eco-friendly stuff. I didn't really understand the importance of residues left behind by other detergents, but after our inserts got funkdified, I am well aware of the residues and the stank-havoc they wreak.
So I am awaiting my delivery of Charlie's. I hope good old Charlie can solve all my problems, though I've been losing sleep over the fact that it doesn't work that well in hard water. Apparently we live in a zone that has "moderately hard water". But, hey. Charlie has a product for that! I'll keep you all posted as to how well it works for us--I'm waiting to see if we can get away without the booster.
Well, I got my cloth diapering world rocked by Tiffany and Michele. We went to FuzziBunz when Elena was around 7 months--after solids were introduced and the poops weren't runny anymore. (Yet another friend had helped me to justify disposables by saying that breastfed baby poop made cloth diapering messy.) Tiffany and Michele cloth diapered from the get-go, using refolds. Tiffany got me started with some Thirsties covers (and OMG--I just realized they now have an owl print cover!!! I *need* that!) and Snappis, but I stalled on getting the cloth inserts... Honestly, aren't you a little overwhelmed at the above information? The thought of learning a new system with a newborn and toddler who is still in diapers was just a little prohibitive. But I ordered the cloth prefolds, and then went buck wild and bought a lot of other stuff that the woman who runs the Green Mountain Diapers website recommended.
Let me just say, I got my cloth-diapering butt kicked. I am a complete novice when it comes to prefolds. I think Josh has done it twice--once with me explaining/showing him how to use the prefold/Snappi combination, and then a second time only because he couldn't find the new box of disposable diapers that was hiding in the closet. So here I am, once again debating whether or not I've pushed things too far trying spare the landfills. Please, cloth diapering moms, tell me prefolds get easier. And did I get the right size? They seem a little long for her, but not wide enough. Am I not pushing the limits of the Snappi? It seems like sometimes they're almost digging into the tops of Nina's thighs.
Just when I thought I had understood both infant feeding AND pooping...
I cloth diapered two kids for two years each, using pins and nylon covers. Cloth diapering is not difficult, perhaps just unfamiliar to you. But it seems like the whole process has been made more difficult by these wraps that are intended to make the process more like using a disposable. Sometimes "new" isn't an improvement. I hope you've been able to get the hang of it by now.
ReplyDeleteMichelle