Cloth Diapers: 14 month update

Fourteen months in to this cloth diaper journey... and we're loving it!  Here are a few thoughts:


When to buy cloth:

A lot of moms tell me that they're going to start using cloth as soon as their disposable diapers from their baby shower run out.  Don't wait!!

Keep a small pack of the newborn size to get you through the first little bit while you're figuring things out, but return the rest.  You'll likely get a gift card in return for the diapers, so use that on the multitude of things that you'll need for the new little one.  And the money that you're now saving from using the gift card-- use that to start your cloth diaper stash!

I'll admit it, that's what I did.  I felt just a little guilty from returning all of the disposables, but when you really think about it, why did they get me diapers to begin with?  Because it was a practical gift that they knew I would use.  And boy am I using them!


Microfiber:

Each of our diapers came with two microfiber inserts.  They worked great for awhile!  I used one insert during the day & two at night.  But then she started to leak more often & putting two on her during the day was just really bulky.  I looked at bamboo & hemp for a solution and it all the blogs that did comparisons, hemp always won by a long shot when it came to how much they would hold without leaking.  I figured if I was going to invest more in my diapers, then it was going to be something I didn't regret.  And I don't!

I searched around online for about a month to find a great deal.  A friend gave me a gift certificate for Hazelnut's birthday that I used towards some hemp inserts, and then I found a lady selling a ton online & got them for less than 50% of the original price, which was amazing!  Hemp is pricey, but well worth the money, and still cheaper overall than disposables.

Another bonus about hemp?  They can be put in direct contact with baby bottoms!


Diaper Routine:

At first it's super confusing, I'll admit.  But after about a month, it was second nature.  And now?  Easy peasy.  I could do it in my sleep!  Here's my routine:

Pee diapers go straight into the wet bag (I pull the insert halfway out because hemp inserts don't come out as easy in the wash).
Poop diapers go into the small step trashcan in our private bathroom & I rinse them out as soon as I have a few minutes.  Sometimes I forget & do it right before laundry but I always regret it because they're tougher to rinse out then!  Once they're rinsed out I pull the insert halfway out & put it all in the wetbag.

When I'm running low,  dump the wetbag in the washer:
Cold rinse, extra-large load size (Every now & then I'll throw in about half a cup of white vinegar to keep them from not smelling, but I haven't had to do that since using hemp inserts!)
Hot Wash with 2 tablespoons of Original Tide, Extra-large load size
Cold rinse, extra-large load size
Inserts go in the dryer, wetbags & diapers are laid out to dry.


I'll write more on another day, but those are my thoughts for right now!

One Year... We've Survived a Year!

A year!  Hazelnut has been alive a year!  Because I'm a mom with a blog, I have to take a look back & you are forced to go down memory lane with me.  I'll break it into two or three posts to make it more bearable.  :)

 The video below?  My favorite-- it's her heartbeat at our first ultrasound.  It was our first sign of life-- of the excitement.  It was a wonderful moment!  The little flickering is the beating.

Another fun ultrasound picture-- her skull.  A little crazy looking, but for some reason I find it very endearing.

Me, 8 months pregnant.  This was at a wedding I was photographing-- my last before she came.

And her nursery... I love her little place in the world.

I have to say, the closet is slightly messier, but still mostly looks the same-- that organization system has worked great!  And the cloth diapers?  Still going strong!

Okay, more tomorrow!

Why we have a Breathable Crib Bumper.

I try to be a pretty cautious person, so before Hazelnut was born, I was thinking I'd like a Breathable Bumper for her crib.

5 months in, this happened.  Repeatedly.

So I headed out to the store and ended up with the Breathable Bumper... and I'm quite glad that I did.  Hazel loves it and take the breathable part to heart!

Also, a side note: it actually does have some cushioning to it.  It's very breathable, but also provides some protection should she decide to cream her head against the side of the crib.

After having it a month, I'm very satisfied!  The only thing is... when putting it on the crib, I had to watch a YouTube video to figure out how to do it!  The video was super helpful though, so my advice is to just start out watching the video and skip the package directions entirely!

Erin's Story: $75 Cloth Diaper Stash!

Erin is one of my good internet friends.  We met through blogging probably 5+ years ago and have kept up with each other ever since!  A few months ago when she asked me what I thought about my cloth diapers.  She's pregnant with her second child and was considering giving it a whirl.  I asked her to share her story with all of y'all, so here you go:

Not too long ago if someone would have asked if I was interested in cloth diapering, I would have laughed and denied any interest, probably with a grossed out expression.  Cloth diapers meant having to dump a bunch of money on disgusting contraptions that will inevitably result in touching poop.  And really, who wants to touch poop?  That only ever happens on accident and it’s the worst.

In the movie “The Wedding Singer,” Adam Sandler’s character said, in reference to his experience with money, “I’m a big fan of money. I like it. I have a little. I keep it in a jar on my refrigerator.  I’d like to put more in that jar.  That’s where you come in.”

I can relate to this. I’m a fan of having money.  I have a little, and I’d like to do what I can to fill my jar (I don’t actually have a jar of money, don’t bother trying to rob me). That’s where cloth diapers come in. 

I’m pregnant now and I have a 19 month old who was, unfortunately, not born a potty-trained prodigy.  As it turns out, this whole diaper thing was for real and I had to buy them.  I tried to calculate out how much we’ve spent on diapers over the past 19 months but quite honestly, I don’t have the patience or brain power to put together all those numbers in a meaningful way.  So, essentially I’m not going to give an estimate of accumulative cost, but I will say that with my girl’s sensitive booty, we’ve had to stick with a more expensive diaper brand. They ended up costing us a quarter each (more or less, depending on size) and unless I’m in a bind, I refuse to buy diapers without a coupon.  As an infant she would, without fail, wait until she had a clean diaper, then fill the darn thing up.  I could almost hear the quarters dropping.  My husband and I eventually counted our visits to the changing table in quarters. Cha-ching!

We recently moved to Alaska.  This place is fabulous in almost every way!  It’s gorgeous, fresh, and is home to many of my favorite people.  Now, before you go packing your bags to come join me in this amazing place, please hear me, it’s also very, very expensive.  We’ve been here for about three months and I still feel physical pain when I get groceries- Or to even look at them; kiwi for $.78, an unimpressive container of mutant strawberries for $6, or grapes for up to $4/lb.  It hurts my heart, and it really hurts the aforementioned hypothetical jar of money. I want to help provide my family with good things, but the fruit my mouth waters for sometimes is put on the wayside because I’m reserving my quarters for those dreaded diapers!

And you know what?  I’m tired of being a sucker! 

Peeking at the other side of sucker-ville, I’m slowly testing the waters outside of my comfortable box.  I have a tendency to be somewhat impulsive.  Mix my impulsivity with a little peer pressure, the desire and calling to be wise financially and top it off with a high five for green living and I’ve got myself a little cloth diaper stash!  I’m part of a childrens buy/sell/trade facebook group in my area and I saw a post for gdiapers that someone was selling.  I’d heard good things about gdiapers, and I hate to miss a sweet deal, so I snagged it!  I figured that while I’m just getting my toes wet, and I’m not diving in head first, used diapers might be worth the investment.  If I hated it, at least I wouldn’t be sunk and financially obligated to stick with it.  Plus, I’d get to put the sanitary cycle on the washing machine to use.

I can’t fully explain why I figured it’d be ok to get used diapers, when I would never consider wearing someone elses’ undies, but ultimately, I feel confident that I bought from someone who wouldn’t be spreading diseases.

1. Her house, despite having three (soon to be four kids), was immaculate.

2. She rearranged the furniture in her living room within a week between my stops there; A kindred spirit.

3. The poor gal was 9 months pregnant and “needed” to clear things out.  De-cluttering brings me joy, and my helping her de-clutter brought us both joy!

Not long later, the “diaper lady” posted that she had some one-size pocket diapers available.  I had already determined that I wanted to try out a variety before sticking to one kind, so I told her I was interested.  She just had her baby and underestimated the number of small diapers she needed so she offered to trade me some of the smalls for some one size pockets. Easy.  I brought her some smalls and she seriously hooked me up. She reassured me several times that I was doing her the favor, but I still feel a little bit guilty, like I ripped her off. 

So here’s what’s up, from stepping a little bit out of my box, I got a sweet stash of cloth diapers/inserts started for $75, helped a fellow mommy do her best for her kids, I get to save some quarters and a teeny part of the world.  Not only that, but my incoming boy will get to have a cute booty, my “jar” will refill and we will eat fruit till we burst.

So far I just look at them.  I’m still a little intimidated by them, but I’m getting closer.  One toe at a time, I’m testing the water. One day soon I’ll take the plunge and risk possibly touching something with poop on it.  

--

You read that right, she bought her entire stash for $75!

Reasons to Cloth Diaper.

When I was little I remember seeing diaper pins my mom had laying on the dryer.  I loved them & that memory alone has always made me want to cloth diaper.  

Funny thing is, the thought of using a diaper pin scares me to death!  Thankfully diaper pins are a thing of the past.

But there are a ton more reasons to cloth diaper.  Not in any particular order:

1) Cost savings- For disposables, it's expensive to make them, buy them, and dispose of them.

2) Health- Disposable diapers contain dioxin, TBT, and sodium polyacrylate.  Look 'em up.  They're not so awesome.

3) Environment- a disposable diaper takes roughly 500 years to decompose.  500 years.  That's about 20 generations.

My main reasons, other than just because I'd always wanted to, were cost savings & the environment.  I'd like to say that it was for Hazelnut's health... but it wasn't.  I like to save money, & I didn't know about all the health stuff until later.

What I really love is that even using cloth diapers part time makes a huge difference.  How cool is that?

Have you ever considered cloth diapering?  Do you do it now?  What are your reasons?

Pockets & Prefolds Oh My!

I love talking to older generations about cloth diapers (CDs).  They get all excited to reminisce, and then their mind is totally blown when I tell them what CDs look like these days.  Say good-bye to pins and hello to snaps and velcro!  Not to mention the most adorable prints ever.  Here's a walk-through of several of our regular diapers.

 

Above is a basic one size (OS) pocket diaper.  It has snaps and goes on just like a disposable diaper.
Below is the same diaper, but with the snaps opened up so you can see them.  On the smallest setting (above), they fit Hazel, and on the largest setting (below), they will fit Hazel probably while she is potty training.

Diapers like this come with snaps or velcro.  Velcro is easier to put on faster, but also easier for little ones to pull off once they figure that stuff out.  It also tends to wear out faster.  Snaps take an extra second or two, but are nearly impossible for little ones to pull off.

This is also a pocket diaper.  There is a pocket that you put an insert into.  The insert is the absorbant material.  Here's the inside of a diaper:

And here's where the pocket is--- where you put the insert in. You can see the shiny backside of the color part of the diaper-- that is the waterproof part.

And there is the insert as it goes into the diaper:

Pocket diapers aren't the only kind, though...

Above are two covers.  It's just the waterproof part of the diapers, so you have to have something absorbant to go inside.  Something like this bamboo trifold insert:

Then you just put it on the baby like normal:

And finally, here are some different types of inserts that I have.  From left to right: Prefold, trifold bamboo, and microfiber.  The first two can be put directly next to the baby's skin, but never put microfiber next to the skin because it will cause irritation (learned that the hard way).  The microfiber is only used as an insert in the pocket diapers, so that there is a layer between it & the skin.

The prefold can be used by trifolding it and laying it in a cover, or you can get fancy and go old school by folding it around the little one old school style (see below).  But hey-- we still don't have to use pins!  Here is a purple snappi-- it is rubber & has prongs at each end to hold the diaper in place.  It's not nearly as hard as it looks.  Once you're done, you just put a cover on over it (like the purple one above) and you're good to go!

And just for good measure... how cute are these little diapers?!

Inside of the pink guitar diaper is hot pink!

The quick & cheap way to start with cloth diapers.

Yes, I'm obsessed, so get over it.  :)

I have been getting a ton of questions about cloth diapers and since I love talking about them, keep them coming!  But I thought I'd share a quick & cheap way to get started.

Buy 24 Kawaii Pure & Natural Cloth Diapers.  They began fitting Hazel around the 8lb mark and she has pretty average to skinny legs.  At full price these diapers are $6.25.  For 24 diapers, that's $150.  Shipping is free at that point.  :)

*Cloth diapers are not prone to leaking.  However, if they are leaking, it's likely because they're too big around the legs.*


You'll also want to get some diaper detergent- I use Rockin' Green.  It comes in different smells and also has special formulas for hard & soft water.  That's about $15 for 90 loads (about 17 cents a load).

One more thing-- you'll need a wetbag to keep the dirty diapers in.  I got 2 large & 1 small from PlanetWise (total cost: $47.50).  Truthfully, one large (for the house) and one small (for the diaper bag) will do (cost: $28.50).  Or you can go cheaper and get them here for $4.59 each-- but they're smaller so I'd suggest getting about 4 (3 for the house and 1 for the diaper bag- total cost $18.36).

So there you have it... getting started with cloth diapering for less than $200.  And realistically, other than buying more detergent, you'll not have to spend anything else (other than water & electricity) until you need to buy more diapers somewhere after the one year mark (since Kawaii Pure & Naturals suggest that they only last up until 15 months).  By that point, you'll know exactly what new diapers you want!

Cloth Diapers: Laundry Routine

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a little obsessed with cloth diapers.  They are so darn cute & so fun, how can I not be a little obsessed with them?  Plus, people ask me a lot of questions about them and I get great feedback when I do reviews on here, so I figure I'll just keep on talking about them.  Truthfully, I hope they keep making a comeback!

I thought I'd share a little about my laundry routine.  Here is one of my wetbags.  I have two in this size (large) and one smaller.  It hangs on the back of the nursery door, right next to my changing table.  It's completely waterproof.  When I get done changing a diaper, I spray the diaper with a 50-50 mixture of water & Biokleen Bac-Out.  Then I toss it into this bag and zip it back up.  I've never had a smell come out of this bag.  My routine will have to change once she starts eating something other than milk & formula, but for now, I don't have to rinse anything out in the toilet because it's all water soluble.  Super easy!

Speaking of my changing table... these are my diapers inside of it.  This was right before I did a load of laundry, so it's a big wimpy, but you get the idea... lots of pretty colors!

Laundry.... I just unzip the wetbag and dump everything in... I never have to touch a diaper at this point!

Turn the wetbag inside out & throw it in the wash, too!

Pretty colors!  The washcloths you see are my cloth wipes.  I started using them about 6 weeks in and love them!  Pretty simple to use & I just toss it in the wash with everything else.

I do 3 cycles.  Rinse with cold water, wash with hot water, then rinse with cold water.

Before diapers, I had no clue how to just do a rinse cycle on the washing machine!  Yup-- a complete idiot at washing can learn how to wash cloth diapers.  :)

C'mon... how can you not love this little fluffy butt?

Cloth Diaper Reviews: Kawaii

I wrote a review awhile back about the gDiapers.  Now that Hazelnut is bigger, we're using the Kawaii pocket diapers, as well as some Thirsties covers and inserts.  I'll write a review on the Thirsties later, but we've been using Kawaii for awhile now & I feel it's time to review them for you!

Kawaii diapers are cheap.  The first time I went to their website I thought it was some random mom's website where they bought diapers and resold them because it's not Kawaiidiapers.com or anything... it's www.theluvyourbaby.com .  So yeah, it seems sketch, but it's not.

They are pocket diapers.  Basically, there is the diaper with the waterproof outer part, and the inside is all nice and soft for the little baby bottom.  Between the layers is a place for the insert-- there is an opening in the front or back and you slide the insert in.  These are super easy and when you go to change the diaper, it's just like changing a disposable diaper!  Very user friendly.

Most of the diapers on their website are one size (OS) which means they snap to be larger or smaller and can be used theoretically from birth to potty training.  Realistically, they can be used from 10 lbs on.  So I got some of the Pure & Natural style which is a little bit smaller and started fitting Hazelnut around 8 lbs.

Hazelnut in a one size diaper-- a bit big now, but we use it for nighttime.

In short, I really like these diapers.  You can get them for $6.25 each.  I got them on a sale where I bought 12 for a discount.

Here's a little math for you:

$6.25 each- 24 diapers to last about 2 days = $150  (with the discount we got we spent around $120)
At 7 weeks old, Hazelnut would have gone through about 500 disposable diapers.  The cheapest deal I could find on Pampers online shows that if we got the biggest boxes each time (140 ct), and used coupons, we would have spent $100 already.

It's not hard to see how quickly it adds up.  I've saved money already in the first 2 months... and then each month after that is just straight savings!

Yes, it's more laundry.  Yes, it's more time.  But yes, it's definitely worth it!

This is what I live with...

My two favorite people doing their silliness.  I love them.  :)

Product Review: gDiapers

Hi!  If you're visiting from Pinterest or another site, you might be interested in these posts, also about cloth diapering, our routine, etc!  Since writing this post, we've gone to using mostly pocket diapers-- they were a little cheaper & easier for us.  :)

Cloth Diaper Reviews: Kawaii

Cloth Diapers: Our Laundry Routine

The Quick & Cheap Way to Start Cloth Diapering for only $200

Pockets & Prefolds Explained (with pictures!)

Three Reasons I Cloth Diaper

Erin's Story: $75 Cloth Diaper Stash!

------------------------

I have to admit, I never saw it coming.  I'd bought up cloth diapers on sale & was super excited to start using them.  I knew that it would be a trial & error experience, but I never saw myself falling totally in love with gDiapers.  Never saw that one coming!

I'd bought this package 2nd hand from a mom on Craigslist who'd used them for approximately 3 hours.  I know that because 2 of them had stains on them, and the rest hadn't been used.  It had 12 tinypants (newborn size) & 6 gPants in size small.

The downside is that Hazelnut outgrew the newborn size in less than a week, with her weighing barely over 7 lbs.  The good news is, 12 was plenty.  And now we're in the size small gPants... and guess what??  6 is plenty!!  Yes, you heard that right, I'm using 6 diapers for my child, and I'm not doing laundry twice a day.

How?

Most of the time, the actual diaper doesn't get wet or dirty.  Maybe once or twice a day one will get messed up.  I'll rinse it in the toilet & throw it in the wetbag for the next batch of laundry.  I'm doing diaper laundry about every other day.

Let me rephrase that... my mom has been doing diaper laundry about every other day.  But she's back in the real world now, so I'm going to have to start actually doing stuff myself now!  :)

So if you're considering cloth diapers, I absolutely recommend gDiapers.  I'm considering selling my brand new never-been-used stash of one size diapers so that I can go buy more gPants!  If I can recoup most of my costs (which I should be able to, considering they've never been used & have pretty good resale value), then I think I might just do it!

My suggestion to the mom interested in using these:

Buy 6 size small (or medium, or large, if you don't have a newborn).  You can choose either the cloth inserts or the disposable inserts.  The disposable inserts are awesome, but for longevity & cost savings (over disposable), I'd go for cloth.

Spring for the extra snap-in liners-- they will get dirty before the covers will, and it's worth the $20.

Extra cloth inserts: these are the things that will get dirty, so you'll want enough to do laundry about every other day (another 2 packs should do).

Yup... that's my review!  And in case you need to be tipped over the edge, I'm pretty sure there's nothing cuter than this!