Cloth Diapers

I've been meaning to write about our use of cloth diapers for a while now, and Delia just reminded me.  We have been using cloth diapers since August.  I really wanted to cloth diaper even when Hayden was a baby, but we didn't until Halle was a few months old. I bought some of these ones:

See info about there here: bumGenius.  They are a pocket diaper.  The outside is made of a fabric called PUL.  It's waterproof on the inside but still soft on the outside.  It doesn't feel plasticy.  It just feels like a durable fabric.  The white inside is really soft.  It's either made of fleece or suede cloth.  Inside the diaper you insert a microfiber insert, which is what makes it absorbent.  These are nothing like the diapers your grandma will tell you about.  I have had my ups and downs with them, but overall I really like them.  Here is why I decided to start:
1 - They save a lot of money.
2 - I really liked the idea of my baby wearing something soft and without the chemicals that diapers have.
3 - I don't mind at all not contributing to disposables that take forever to decompose in landfills.
4 - They are really cute!

Everyone asks what you do with the dirty ones.  I have a garbage can with a lid in the kids' bathroom.  It has a liner in it also made of PUL.  If the diaper was just wet, I close the laundry tabs so they don't all get tangled up in the wash, take the liner out, and put everything in the pail.  If it's dirty, I scrape it off with a plastic spoon into the toilet, take the liner out, and put it all in the pail.  This it the part people hate to think about, and the reason it took me so long to decide to try it.  For breastfed babies, you can skip that part because it's water soluble.  I'm going to be honest, it's not fun at all.  But it's getting better as things get a little more solid.  Also, it just takes a second and overall it's worth it, especially since it only happens every couple of days for Halle. 

Every other day I wash them.  I take the liner off that's holding all the diapers to the washer and dump it in.  I don't touch the diapers at all.  I do a cold rinse, a hot wash, and another cold rinse to get all the detergent out so they stay absorbent.  This part grosses people out too, but those diapers come out clean, and my washer is too.  I either hang them to dry or put then in the dryer. So here is overall what I think:

Pros:

• The bumGenius diapers I bought are one size.  They have snaps to adjust them so that they can fit a newborn to a toddler.  I can use them for every age, and for my next kids.

• The top one is for sure how much money we save (or would have saved if we stopped buying sposies completely).  I bought 14 diapers for $203, a pail(garbage can) for about $10, a pail liner for $17, and a bottle of tea tree oil for $8.  Total is $238.  I calculated that if Halle were to potty train at 2.5 years old, she would be in diapers for 22 more months. (This was in August.)  We went through a box every three weeks, so that would be 29 more boxes at about $20 each = $580.  I can also use these for future kids, so we're saving money there too.
• I can't really explain this reason, but I just like them.  They are soft and cute I get a weird satisfaction of seeing them all clean in their basket.
• People have a hard time believing this one - but they don't stink.  When Halle has a dirty diaper, it's hard to tell sometimes.
• Never having to run to the store for more diapers.
• No red lines on my baby's legs.
  

Cons:

• Cleaning out poopy diapers.  This is no fun, but it doesn't bother me too much.  I have to change her diaper anyway.
  
• We had a little bit of a pail smell issue which I seem to have remedied with some tea tree oil and a scentsy wall warmer in the bathroom.
• You can't use diaper rash cream because it's not good for the fabric.  If I need to, I just put on a disposable so I can use some vaseline.
• Derrick won't touch the things, except to put on a clean one so it's up to me.
  

So this has been our experience.  Honestly, there were times I wanted to give it up but didn't because I spent so much money on them. It took a while to get used to a washing routine and figure out what works for me to clean them. After I got that it seemed like no big deal. I am about to try prefolds, which are the ones that people use as burp rags sometimes.  I was completely out of diapers one day and had to get creative with an old receiving blanket and a towel in a prefold style, and it turned out to work really well.  Feel free to ask any questions if you have them.