Cloth Diapering (The Illustrated Edition)

So a few people have been asking how cloth diapering is going and I have to say...  it's super easy.  Like no problem at all.  Like I can't believe everybody who has a washer and dryer doesn't cloth diaper.  It's THAT easy.

(And remember, I am easily grossed out.  For example:  I had to pick up Cooper's runny dog poop on a walk the other day and I started gagging and then full-out dry heaving because it was so liquidy and David finally grabbed the bag of poop from me and left me retching curb-side as he pushed the stroller away, pretending he didn't know me.)

There are MANY kinds of cloth diapers, all with various pros and cons, so I'm just going to tell you what we do and how it works for us.  In detail.  With photo illustrations.  My dad's here, so I have some time.  Feel free to skip this post if you're bored already.

This is where the magic cloth diapering happens.  Observe the crazy monkey. He's always climbing the palm tree!  Caro thinks he is hilarious.

Caroline wears Bum Genius 4.0's.  They are not the newest model, but they were the newest model when we bought them for Eliza (almost two years ago).  We also have a few Fuzzi Bunz that were hand-me-downs from a friend, but those are still a little too big (they leak around the leg holes).  So right now we are exclusively using Bum Geniuses.  Ours are one-size-fits-all diapers with snaps that adjust as the baby grows.

Close up of the snaps

(We have a couple of velcro fastening diapers, which I love for ease/convenience, but I've read that the velcro wears out so we decided to invest in snaps since these diapers will grow with this baby and hopefully be used if we have any baby ducks in the future.)  We did use disposable diapers for the first few weeks until Caroline got to be around 10 pounds and the Bum Geniuses fit better around her little thighs.  We also used disposables when traveling over Labor Day weekend.

Our opinion?  Cloth diapers rock.  Disposables are lame.

Caroline's face demonstrates her opinion of disposable diapers.

Ours are also "pocket diapers" which means the outer shell is your basic diaper-outer-layer (with a cute colored outside and microfiber inside) and there is a pocket in which you put an absorbent insert (or two as baby gets bigger and pees more).

Here you can see the absorbent insert (on the left) outside of diaper with pocket peeking open.  This picture is for demonstration only, as we store the diapers ready to go with the inserts in them.  And Caro is kicking her legs in excitement because she loves cloth diapers or possibly because that damn monkey is climbing that tree and it's still hilarious.   

The diapers each come with two inserts, the basic one is extra-long and made so that 1/3 of it gets foldered over (you can see that in the above picture as well).  The folded portion goes in the front for boys and in the back for girls.  The additional insert is a flat piece the same size as the folded insert (but without a fold).  It can be added later when you need extra absorbency.  Right now those are just stacked in her dresser drawer since we don't need them yet.

Voila!  Insert in the pocket.

We have about 30 diapers total.  That's a big investment when diapers run about $20-25 a pop, but we saved on them by buying a lot of them gently used from a local cloth diaper store for closer to $10 each  (Cotton Babies for those of you in STL).  We also received a lot of them as shower gifts and I know you can buy them in bulk and save as well (Cotton Babies has a great website).  Plus, you only have to buy them once!  (Everytime I threw away a disposable diaper, I felt like I was throwing a quarter in the trash.)

Plus these are so CUTE!  And don't have stupid cartoon characters on them.

We also use cloth wipes.  At first I wasn't sure that we would want to because somehow it just seemed gross.  We thought we might stick with disposable wipes even after we started using cloth diapers.  But we got some of them for a shower gift for Eliza, so we decided to give them a try.  And they were LIFE CHANGING.  Seriously.  They are so soft and gentle on the baby's bottom and it only takes ONE (maybe two) to clean up a really messy diaper that would require several disposable wipes.  They just do a much better job.

Out of the wash and ready to go

Our favorites are the Thirsties brand which are microfiber on one side and fleece on the other.  They are a bit pricey, but worth the investment since you only have to buy them once.  We keep the wipes damp and ready to go in a wipe warmer.

wipe and warmer

People swear by the Prince Lionheart brand of wipe warmer, but my mom got us a fairly inexpensive wipe warmer (possibly from Wal-Mart?) and it works just fine (I taped the lid down where you'd pull the disposables through and we just lift the whole lid each time).  The wipes fit in there perfectly when they are folded in half.  When they come out of the wash, I don't bother to dry them.  I just fold them in half, stack them, and re-wet them thoroughly, then wring them out before sticking them in the warmer.  They stay nice and warm and don't get dried out.  And we wash them right along with the diapers.  We don't use anything but water on the wipes, but I did buy the Bum Genius Bottom Spray and I spray that on the wipe for really messy clean ups.

The washing situation is, of course, the grossest part of the whole set up, but it is seriously no big deal.  We got this diaper pail from Cotton Babies.  It's just a plastic pail with a liner.  (And we bought an extra liner to use when one is in the wash--an extra $20 but a necessity).  The "special thing" about this pail is that it has a carbon filter and an air-freshener insert to help with stink.  So far, breast milk poops don't stink much and odor hasn't been an issue at all.

the pail - nothing fancy

When we change her diaper, we throw the dirties (and the wipes) into the diaper pail, removing the insert from the pocket before dropping it in.  With 30 diapers, we have enough that we can wash them every other day.  On wash days, I pull out the entire liner bag from the diaper pail, carry it to the washing machine, and shove it in, leaving everything in the bag because it will come out in the wash cycle on its own (no touching the dirty dipes once they are already in the pail).

Dirty diaper, insert, and wipe in the pail.  You're welcome.

We use Charlie's liquid soap in our front-load washer.  I order it from Amazon (or from an affiliate who sells through Amazon).  The price fluctuates and different places offer free shipping, so it pays to click around a bit before you order.  I've been able to find it for around $25/gallon with free shipping and you only need a tiny bit for each load (plus you save money because you don't need to buy fabric softener).  One gallon washes 128 loads, so it comes out to around 20 cents a load.  I suppose you could save more making your own detergent... but then you'd have to make your own detergent.

So I just use Charlie's for everything--our clothes, towels, sheets, baby clothes, and diapers.  I started using Charlie's since I was pregnant with Eliza and I've been really happy with it.  It doesn't require any fabric softener (so no chemicals on baby's skin) and it doesn't really have a scent so our clothes just smell clean without a fragrance added to them (I confess, I miss the smell of Downy, but I'm getting over it.)  To help with static issues in the dryer and improve drying time, I use dryer balls like these.  (Tip:  At our Target, these dryer balls are sold in the closet/organization aisle instead of the laundry aisle.  No idea why.)

So when I put the diapers in, I follow Cotton Babies's recommendation and run them through on two full "heavy" cycles.  First, on cold, with just a little bit of detergent to loosen the gunk.  Then again on hot, with a normal measurement of detergent and the extra rinse option turned on.

In case you wondered what diapers in the washing machine look like - and you can see we do not have a large or fancy washing machine but it gets the diapers clean just fine!

When the diapers are finished washing, I pull out the diaper outsides, the wipes, and the diaper pail liner.  The wipes I'm just going to re-wet and put in the wipe warmer, so I don't bother to dry them.  The diaper outsides and the pail liner go on the drying rack to air dry.  Since it's been nice outside, I put the rack out on our deck to dry in the sun, which removes any stains that may remain on the diapers (we've had just a few of those and the sun totally gets rid of them like magic).  The absorbent inserts go in the dryer on high for an extra-long cycle to get them thoroughly dry.

glorious diapers drying in the sun!

A few hours later, everything is dry and clean!  The diaper outsides dry very quickly, which is good since drying on the deck probably won't work in the winter months.  The inserts sometimes need an extra short cycle in the dryer since they are thick.

Once everything is dry, I throw it all in a laundry basket and David and I restuff the diapers (putting the inserts in the pockets) while we're watching TV.  It takes just a few minutes.  The ready-to-go diapers go back in her dresser drawer and that's all there is to it.

ready for baby bottom coverage

After using disposable diapers over Labor Day weekend, David and I could not believe how much we prefer the cloth.  I think they are gentler on her skin, they are WAY less likely to have leaks or blow-outs, and they are truly just as convenient (as long as you have easy access to a washer and dryer, obvy).  And (eventually) we'll save money.  Yes, there's extra laundry, which could get more annoying when I go back to work, but we'll figure it out.

As for being out and about in daily life, I just carry a wet-bag in the diaper bag, which I then empty into the diaper pail when I get home (so far we haven't had stink issues... of course that could change, so we're exploring our options with Flip disposables and the diaper liners).

We have only had to use a diaper rash cream occasionally (it's my understanding that babies have fewer rashes with cloth diapers, but I don't really know if that's true), and I read that some creams can stain cloth diapers, so we just browsed the shelves at Target for one that said it was cloth diaper friendly.  We went with California babies, which is also the baby wash that we use.  It smells nice and we've had no issues with it so far.

I do realize that things will get, uh, ickier when Caro starts eating solid foods.  To deal with the solid-poo issue, we purchased a little sprayer that hooks up to the toilet.  My understanding is that once the poo gets more solid, you shake it off into the toilet, then give the diaper a little spray if it needs some help, and wash the diapers the same way. And we could always use the diaper liners on a more regular basis if we need to, which peel away from the diaper and can be flushed.

Overall, I'm VERY glad we did the cloth diaper route.  I know it's not for everybody, and I'm totally NOT judging those of you who are single-handedly destroying the environment by filling landfills with disposable diapers (kidding!  really).  But it's been a good system for us and really even easier than I anticipated.  (And I am lazy, for realz.)

Cloth diapers rock!

So that's how it works at our house.  Anybody else using Bum Genius 4.0?  Anybody using the fancy all-in-ones where you don't even have to stuff them with the absorbent insert?  Anybody doing old school cloth diapers with pins?  Anybody now totally convinced they should convert to cloth diapers?  Anybody still think I'm crazy?  It's ok.  You can say so.