Cloth Curious?

My Cloth Experience

What people still use cloth diapers??

Yes they do and I am one of those people. I actually know several mommies my age that use them as well. There are several reasons why I made the switch from disposable to cloth. These reasons include, cost, environmental impact, baby's sensitive skin, and they're just plain adorable.

Cloth it turns out are extremely less expensive in the long run than disposables. We haven't had to buy diapers in months and I can not imagine what it would be like having to run to the store for diapers every few weeks with the schedule I have now.

Cloth diapers are so much better for the environment and baby's skin than disposable diapers. It takes a disposable diaper over 500 years to decompose when it is not in a landfill (laying out in full sun exposure). I always hated finding those little gel balls on my baby's skin from disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers are stinkin' cute. They come in so many different colors and prints. I loved shopping for diapers and I still "window shop" diapers all the time even though I now have a great stash built up.

When I started researching cloth diapers I was completely overwhelmed with all the information available on the net complete with jargon that I had no idea how to translate and companies just trying to sell sell sell. So I had to ask around and finally got some good information I could understand and was able to make my decisions.

First I learned the jargon:
Cloth diapering vocab-(The ones that apply to my experience)

Pocket Diaper- includes a stuffable pocket allowing you to control the absorbency.

AIO- All in one, the "insert" is already attached and you have to do no prep.

Prefold- traditional diaper which many would recognize today as a burp cloth.

I wasn't sure what type of diaper would work best for us so I bought a few of each to try them out.

Then I made a list of all the things we would need if we switched and how much each would cost.

My list looked something like this:
9 pocket diapers
9 inserts
3 doublers
5 liners
flushable liners
12 prefolds
3 snappis
2 covers
2 large wet bags
2 travel wet bags
15 reusable cloth wipes.
wipes solution
diaper detergent

with different prices all over the place being compared to each other.

So after I figured everything out and found the best prices I bought everything we would need until Elijah was potty trained. I bought most of the supplies from Amazon.com. I love that website. They have a program you can use to purchase baby products and not have to pay shipping. I also bought a few wonderful homemade items from etsy.com, another website I'm in love with. It ended up being about the same price for 4 months of disposable diapers. Keep in mind these diapers could fit a baby from birth to potty trained without needing to be replaced.

Another great place to look for diapers that I realized after my initial diaper purchase is ebay. I have used ebay exclusively to build up my diaper stash! Yes you can buy used diapers but if this grosses you out, listen, you can also find diapers that have never been worn and are brand new with tags at extremely low prices!!

Once everything arrived we finally started our new adventure in cloth diapering. We did run into a few problems along the way. Dads and prefolds do not mix well. We had parts of diapers hanging out of covers all over the place. But, with kind and patient tips and teaching from Mama, he eventually got the hang of it. This video was also helpful>

The biggest problem we had was with rashes. Elijah has eczema and very sensitive skin. He kept getting rashes and I couldn't figure out why and was getting very discouraged. Then I finally figured it out after googling the problem. As a new mother I am so thankful for the internet!! I immediately found information on cloth diaper rashes and a little thing called bac-out. Bac-out is a stain and odor eliminator with live enzyme cultures that I use in the pre-wash rinse. These live enzyme-producing cultures attack pet stains, organic waste, and odors naturally which is awesome except that they also attack baby's skin! Once I figured this out I stripped all his diapers (washing them with no soap to remove all residue including the bac-out)and the rash went away.

I have since started using bac-out again because it just works so well but I now do a soap free wash afterward and baby's bottom is still fine.

Here are the brands I use:
FuzziBunz (pocket)
AlvaBaby (pocket)
Thirsties (cover)
Econobum (cover)
Motherease (AIO)
Sunbaby (pocket)
Marvels (cover)
Fluffy's diapers (cover)(etsy)

FuzziBunz are very popular and they really are a good diaper, not only are they one size, but they are adjustable at the waist and the legs. Others are only adjustable at the waist which hasn't been a problem so far. They are however a little pricier than the others I own at about 18-20 per diaper (less if you buy in a bundle). Alva baby diapers are in my opinion just as good as FuzziBunz but at a fraction of the price ranging at around 4-6 per diaper with more prints and the very soft minky outer. Another thing, I only bought diapers with snap closures. I hate velcro and did not want anything to do with it! haha!

As for the covers, They don't really vary in my opinion, although, the Fluffy's diaper covers are far better than any manufactured cover I have used and much cuter!

We have ended up using our prefolds only at night and in between washes if we run out of pocket diapers. Snappis are wonderful little inventions that hold the prefold together.

All of our wet bags are from etsy sellers.

Another thing I was apprehensive about was the washing. Flushable liners decompose within 28 days and make clean up a breeze. They cost $7 for 100. Here is my washing routine:
I do a rinse with bac-out. Then a wash with Charlies Soap. Followed by a soap free wash. I like Charlie's Soap so much that I now use it for all of our laundry! It cleans so well, it is great for Elijah's sensitive skin, and all our clothes have a fresh clean scent. Oh it's awesome for the environment too, made from natural biodegradable ingredients. Bonus!
I only do 3 diaper loads a week, not a big deal at all. I hang dry all the diapers.

One more thing, clothe wipes and wipes solution. It is just easier to use cloth wipes when you're using cloth diapers, just keep them in the diaper and wash with them.

I have only used two solutions: Kissaluvs diaper lotion potion and a homemade version. I really like the Kissaluvs, it has a nice lavender scent and all natural ingredients. I like making it myself too, because I can customize it to Elijah's skin. Here is the recipe I'm currently using.

Aloe Vera Recipe

1/4 Cup Aloe Vera Gel
2 Drops Tea Tree Oil
2 Cups Hot Water

Stir or shake until this recipe is well mixed. Don't use until the mixture cools. Spritz on wipe before using if in spray bottle. Swish solution around over wipes if using a wipes box.

I really hope this has been helpful to someone! Happy diapering!!

love,
Jessica