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.
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.
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.
