Cloth Diaper Update

Evelina sportin' her Tot Bot Easy Fit Fruit Diaper

It's been about 8 months since we started cloth diapering Evelina and I still love it!!  We hit some road bumps along the way, but overall it has been a great experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who is remotely considering it.  I think we have finally reached the point where we've broken even with what we spent for disposables initially and the cost of all of the cloth diapers.  It really has been quite nice not having to order/run out to get sposies on a regular bases. 

Our stash includes:  

Grovia All-in-2 Hook and Loop Closure - These are by far one of my favorites.  The organic cotton insert is super absorbent and we rarely have any leaks (unless we wait to long to change her).  They fit Lina's skinny frame very well and they are easy for Chris, Mimi and Lina's teachers to use thanks to the hook and loop closure.  We have 3 shells and 6 inserts so each shell can be used for 2 diaper changes (unless there is a real mess).  You can also buy a disposable insert to use with these shells which work great.  We brought a few with us when we went up north over the Summer.  The only con about this diaper is that the hook and loop is starting to break down slightly so it doesn't hold as well.  

Fuzzibunz All-in-One Pocket Snap Closure - Unfortunately, these make up the majority of our stash.  When we first started cloth diapering, this was the go-to diaper, I LOVED them!!  Well, now I wish I hadn't purchased so many of them.  They worked well for the first few months, but all of a sudden they just started leaking constantly.  I tried modifying the fit, stripping the diapers since I wasn't sure if they had build-up causing them to not be as absorbent, and I even purchased some new inserts, but nothing solved our problem.  There are still a few in our rotation but I only put them on Evelina when I know we will be home and I don't care if she has a leak.  I'm disappointed in these dipes.  I think the sizing mechanisms may be too complicated so getting the perfect fit isn't easy. There are many websites that cater to selling used cloth diapers, so I may post these and see if I get any hits. 

Charlie Banana One-Size Snap Closure -  Very similar to Fuzzibunz and we had the same issues with these diapers that we experienced with the Fuzzibunz.  Currently, we don't use these dipes which is a bummer since I LOVE the butterfly pattern. 


bumGenius All-in-One Pocket Snap Closure - Originally, I wasn't a big fan of this diaper but the more we used it, the more I liked it.  We still only have 1 in our stash but it is a great go-to diaper.  We've never had a leak with this one and it fits her a lot better now then when she was a smaller baby.     

Rumperooz All-in-One Pocket Snap Closure - A great diaper and super absorbent.  The fit is similar to the bumGenius pocket diaper but the inside of the diaper has gussets which help prevent leaks and the fleece lining is so soft. So much more comfortable than a disposable.  We have 2 of these in our diaper supply and I love the owl and kangaroo designs...too cute.  

Flip Diaper System with Organic Cotton Inserts Snap Closure - GREAT diaper!!  Similar to the bumGenius, I hated didn't really like this diaper in the beginning since the fit was awkward. When the Fuzzibunz diapers started leaking I decided to give this diaper another try and it didn't disappoint.  The organic cotton inserts are incredibly absorbent and unless the diapers isn't snapped correctly, we haven't experienced any leaks.  We have 2 shells and 6 inserts so each shell can be used for 3 diaper changes. 

Tot Bots Easy Fit Diaper Hook and Loop Closure - This is another one of my favorites.  It is a pocket diaper but has an interesting tongue design so the insert is always attached to the diaper which makes it easy to stuff.  The hook and loop is super strong, the fit is trim and the diaper is super absorbent.  It doesn't hurt that they have some cute designs as well.  We currently have 3 of these nappies and would probably have more if they weren't so pricey.  

Soft Bums Echo with Super Dry Touch Pods Hook and Loop Closure - This diaper is just okay.  When our Fuzzibunz diapers started leaking I researched other diaper options and a lot of people seemed to like these.  They are very absorbent and we haven't had any leaks, but the fit is kind of strange since the super dry touch pods are kind of bulky. The good news is that we can use the super dry touch pods in the Flip diaper shells and the Thirsties Duo Wrap as well.   

Thirsties Duo Wrap Hook and Loop Closure - I purchased one of these to be used as an additional cover over the Flip diaper organic insert and the Soft Bums super dry touch pods.  It is an okay cover.  The pattern is cute but the fit just isn't great on Evelina.  We only use this as a last resort. 

Many people who cloth diaper use a diaper sprayer to clean up any dirty diaper mess.  Instead of using a diaper sprayer, we use flushable diaper liners. They have worked great for us.  Whenever Lina has a dirty diaper, we just remove the messy liner from the diaper and flush it. It really isn't THAT gross.  I would much rather flush the mess then lock it up in the Diaper Genie only to be blasted with the stench during the next diaper change. 

We still use disposables in certain situations: 

1. At night - I tried a few different cloth options for night-time but Evelina would always leak.  I don't think she is necessarily a heavy wetter but either way, she would leak and I wasn't able to sleep at night wondering if she was leaking!!  So we use a night-time disposable with a cloth diaper cover over top.  This helps curb any disposable leaks and reduces the number of sheet changes.  
2. In the morning (on school days) - Chris isn't as much of a fan of cloth diapering as I am so I give him a free pass on school day mornings.  We use Target brand disposables.  They are cheap, absorbent, and don't let off any weird chemical smell like we noticed other disposables do.  We only buy one package every month or so.   
3. If Evelina has a bad case of diaper rash - Most diaper creams aren't cloth diaper friendly so in the event of a bad diaper rash (which is infrequent these days), we've found only Triple Paste to really do the job, in addition to a mixture of Lotrimin, Hydrocortisone and antibiotic ointment with a disposable.  If she has a little rash or redness, we will continue to use a cloth diaper with CJ's BUTTer.  It is great stuff!!
4. Vacation
5. If I behind on diaper laundry :-o 

Here is a re-post of Evelina's first time in a cloth diaper.  Her "chubby" face was too cute.  

That, my friends, is where we are at with cloth diapering.  It is just the normal for us now and I'm much more confident with it than I was in the first few weeks (and so are Evelina's teachers and maybe Chris).  Hopefully it will aid with potty training since Evelina will feel wetness more than if she were wearing a disposible.  One can hope. 

Finally, a beautiful Friday and diapers to be laundered.  The perfect sunny Friday chore.

Bye bye stains!!

A Weekend of Cloth Diapering

Before I got pregnant, if someone told me they were using cloth diapers or were considering using cloth diapers on their children, I thought to myself, these people have GOT to be crazy!! Who wants to deal with messy #2 in the wash? Just use a disposable, it seems so much easier and cleaner. I had visions of white diapers being loosely draped over babies secured with big diapers pins, leaks everywhere.   

Then, I got pregnant and within days, I began to research anything and everything related to pregnancy, in addition to all I could about baby gear and baby care essentials.  Throughout my research, I kept coming across articles and blog posts about cloth diapering and the benefits of using cloth over disposables. I mentioned cloth diapers to Chris and he looked at me like the crazy pregnant lady that I was and secretly hoped that I would forget about the option.   

The options related to cloth diapering are endless and the more research I did, the more overwhelmed I became.  Considering I had my hands full focusing on the rest of my pregnancy and ultimately taking care of a newborn, I put my thoughts about cloth diapering on the back burner and embraced disposables. Most likely for the better since Evelina was tiny (and I'd read that many cloth diapers don't work as well on smaller babies) and we went through 12+ diaper changes a day for weeks...the laundry would have been never ending.  

As Evelina grew, I would say to Chris that I really wanted to research cloth diapers again and visit the Somerville Diaper Lab for a trial, and again, he looked at me like the crazy sleep deprived new mom that I was and secretly hoped that I would forget about the option.  

Then, a few weeks ago, I was reading a couple of my favorite blogs and they were both raving about their love of Fuzzibunz.  I thought, what the heck, maybe we should give them a shot (since the likelihood of actually finding time to visit the Diaper Lab was a pipe dream). I focused my research on Fuzzibunz and comparable diapers and decided to pull the trigger and buy a few to try, which is exactly what we did over the weekend (against Chris's will...haha).  

Our weekend stash included:  

FuzziBunz One-Size - So far, these are my favorite.  They are super adjustable and fit Lina's long skinny body well.  It was tricky to figure out which row of snaps would be the best for her waist but I think I figured it out. 

bumGenius 4.0 One-Size - I like these but they are not as trim between the legs and made Lina more bow-legged. They are easier to put on then the Fuzzibunz since the snaps aren't as complicated.  
 

GroVia All in 2 - I like the concept of these since you can just remove the insert, put in a new one and reuse the shell (less laundry) but the shell still seemed to get wet which kind if defeats the purpose in my opinion.  I got the hook and loop closure in this style and it was definitely easier than the snaps of the other diapers but I've heard that the snaps are more durable and child-proof.  I am going to give Flip diapers a try and see if these may be a better hybrid option. 

Evelina experienced no leaks or blowouts in any of the diaper styles. I was wary to try a cloth diaper for nighttime in fear of leaks but picked up a few hemp liners and tried one in a Fuzzibunz.  She didn't have any leaks after about 9 hours (I usually don't change her diaper at night but on this particular night she was in belly hell-y so I thought I would be kind and change her).  The diaper was just so big and bulky with 2 inserts and I can't imagine it was very comfortable for her so I'm not sure if we will keep up with nighttime cloth diapering. Perhaps the bumGenius would be better fitting at night.  I may give it a try. 

In addition to all of the styles being super cute and soft, they didn't give Evelina as big of a Kim Kardashian badonkadonk as I thought they would, and she was still able to fit into her outfits comfortably.  So cute!! She even had a mild case of diaper rash prior to Friday and it was pretty much gone yesterday without the use of any Desitin.

Chris (and my family) think I am a loon for wanting to give cloth diapering a shot but the pros definitely seems to outweigh the cons.  It isn't that much more work then putting on a disposable once you get the hang of it. Granted, I will have to do a few more loads of laundry a week but it really isn't so bad.  The only clincher may be our top loading HE washer....it doesn't get the best reviews because it uses less water but I'm hoping it won't be a problem.  So far so good but only time will tell.

I must say that each time I put a cloth diaper on Evelina over the past few days, it just made me feel good. Happy to be doing my part to protect a little piece of the environment, happy to put something soft and non-toxic against her sensitive bum, happy to know that it was one less disposable that we had to purchase.  I even came across this challenge over the weekend as well and it made me feel even better about the 14 or so disposables I saved in 3 days.

Evelina's daycare supports the use of cloth diapers but currently, none of her "friends" are cloth diapered.  I am sure her teachers are going to hate me for changing their diapering process with her but we will just have to see.  I am certainly not against using any disposables but if we could avoid it, I would be happier (for now)...especially since we started putting her in size 3 Pampers Sensitives and they release the most funky chemical scent. Not pleasant.