Cloth Diapering Part 2 - Reviews

We have been cloth diapering full-time for about a week now! The rashes seem to be gone; fingers crossed that we found the solution! Hurray for happy baby booty! 

We've added 7 diapers to our "stash" since my last post on cloth diapering last week. In the picture below from top left: Fuzzibunz one size, Kawaii minky pocket, Grovia hybrid cover, Grovia All-in-One, wet bag from PiggleDee, cookie fitted dipaer from MonkeySnuggles, cars velour fitted from SquirrelNOwl, skull "rockstar" fitted from PoopsieDoodles, cloth wipes from SweetBobbins, and charcoal bamboo inserts. 

I have definitely come to prefer certain brands over others. Here's some of what I have experienced with them all so far, including the rest of the "stash"...


Happy Heinys - Double stuffed for overnight and got 7.5 hours no leaks! We woke to a happy, smiling baby!
Bumgenius 4.0 Pocket - No leaks yet day or night! One of my favorites so far, I tend to reach for these ones. The solid colors are nice when Asher is fully dressed and these are also slim enough to not look silly under clothes.
Charlie Banana - Minimal snaps for sizing, which is nice. No leaks overnight!
FuzziBunz - Extra Slim fit = LOVE Even John commented on how much better this style fits Asher than the others.
Kawaii - This is such a soft diaper and the inserts are so slim and soft and seem to be able to absorb a lot!
Grovia AIO - Some daytime leakage, but it may need to be washed a few more times to "break in" the inserts.
Grovia Hybrid - Velcro laundry tabs STAY DOWN in wash! Hurray! Nice to be able to reuse the cover a few times before throwing in the wash, but sometimes you get spit-up all over it anyways... so I have yet to use that feature, lol!

Velcro is great for quick changes but it's so easy to forget to attach the laundry tabs before washing!! Even if you do remember, sometimes they come apart in the wash anyways and you end up with the velcro sticking the everything. Think torn up inserts, pills on covers...ugghhh! Forget that! Laundry bags can help, but then you have to sort through the dirty diapers... not fun.

Too many snaps are super annoying during changes.

The fitteds I purchased from several shops on Etsy are nice when I want his bum to get some extra air. They would need a cover if you wanted to leave them on for longer than an hour or two. That could get bulky, but they are good for tummy time.

The cloth wipes are working out great, but you definitely need a lot of them! I need like.... 30 more, at least!!!

FAVORITES - Bumgenius 4.0 Pocket Diapers and FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diapers


LAUNDRY ROUTINE  (Every 1-2 days)

I'm happy we recently got an LG HE Top Loader which is supposed to be one of the better options for cloth diaper washing!

• Rinse/Spin Cycle on COLD -- No detergent
• Custom Programmed Cycle - BabyWear, HOT, Water Plus, Extra Rinse -- Detergent (Dreft is OK to use or I just got Mountain Green which is supposed to be one of the best) + BambinoMio Cleanser (every few washes)

And of course, here are some cute pics of Asher in his cloth diaper fashions... :) The majority are from my iPhone, but I a few some nice ones with my Canon, too! There are some where you just see the colorful top poking through and there may even be a few mixed in that don't even show the diapers but are just way too cute to leave out!

All are iPhone pics below...

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Cloth Diapering Part 1

I have been immersed in the world of cloth diapering for the past week and a half - what a whirlwind! There really is a learning curve when you decide to start cloth diapering. There is a whole set of terminology, there are so many different styles, options, systems to choose from, there are big name brands or smaller work-at-home-mom businesses you can support... In addition to all the confusing choices you have to make, you never know which one is going to work best for your child until you try it out, so technically its best to start slow, but to full-time cloth diaper you need a pretty good stash to avoid having to do laundry several times a day. If you're fighting recurring diaper rashes in the meantime, it's not easy to slap on a disposable diaper knowing that it is just going to make the rash worse, so you want to have enough in that regard... Phew! Goodness gracious!

WHY CLOTH DIAPER?

1. DIAPER RASHES: For us (yes, us, dear husband! haha), the decision to switch to cloth was initiated by mild, recurring diaper rashes. No matter how often we changed, we were constantly battling annoying rashes. Could it have been the brand or type of diaper? Could it have been the brand or type of wipes? Could a different rash cream have helped? Yes, yes, and yes; but I think we would have driven ourselves absolutely crazy experimenting with brand after brand. The simplest option in my eyes was to eliminate all of the variables and start with a fresh, clean, chemical-free slate.

2. SAVE $$$: The initial investment is pretty hefty for cloth diapering. You need quite a bit of gear to get started. But after your "stash" is built, the savings can be amazing. Here's an example of what's needed to get started:

• Pail liner or laundry wet bag
• Small wet bags for on-the-go
• Cloth-diaper-safe laundry detergent
• Optional laundry sanitizer
• At least 15-25 cloth diapers (give or take depending on how often you plan on doing laundry) 
• Extra inserts, doublers, liners
• Cloth wipes and wipe solution or oils (Cloth wipes sound gross but actually make more sense if cloth diapering. You don't have to separate two piles during your change, you just throw everything in the wet bag or pail together!)

Our "stash" so far... waiting on 3 or 4 more to come in! We have BumGenius 4.0, Charlie Banana, Happy Heinys, Bumpkins, Bummis, Thirsties, Kushies, gDiapers, and several from Etsy!

Goodbye cute baskets :(  ...but hello colorful stacks of diapers! :)

For now, we're hanging the pail liner. If it gets too heavy, we'll get a pail! :)

Because of the sensitive little booty we have on our hands, let's say we started using one of the brands that are free of dyes, fragrances, chemicals, chlorine, etc. That's $0.50 per diaper. If we are at 6 diapers per day, that's over $1000/year until potty training; not to mention the cost of endless diaper rash creams, wipes, etc. And if you reuse the diapers with additional children down the road...

Here's a good breakdown I found of the various options and their costs.

There's no place around here (that I know of) that sells any cloth diapering supplies, so I've had to order everything online. I haven't even received all of our gear in the mail yet, so we are currently part-time cloth diapering. That said, my experience with it thus far is limited and I'm sure in a few weeks my opinions on which brand I like best, etc., will change. And change. And perhaps change again. :)

3. THE SUPER CUTE-NESS!!! Oh my gosh - cloth diapers are so much cuter and photogenic than any disposable diaper. There are so many colors and patterns to choose from and also, they get the funniest "fluff butt" from all the extra padding. So adorable.

Grovia - All-In-One Diaper

Pocket Diaper purchased from Etsy shop Lil Impressions

Diaper cover purchased from Etsy shop Counting the Blessings

gDiaper from Diapers.com

If anyone out there wants to know more about cloth diapering and doesn't quite know where to begin, I found some great videos that help explain confusing cloth diapering - from the different styles to the laundering process. I'm trying to get John to watch and learn... ;)

Cloth Diapering for Beginners
All About Poop & Cloth Diapers :)
Types of Cloth Diapers
How to Wash Cloth Diapers

Once I've had some time to try out the different brands and to get the hang of cloth diapering, I'll be posting an update on what we like best, any tips I've come up with for the whole process, etc. Fingers crossed for a successful migration to cloth! (& a happy booty!)

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