Dioxins...Sodium Polyacrylate...Tributyl-tin...Volatile Organic Compounds...What do all of these things have in common? Well, they are all things that could be present in the disposable diaper that 95% of parents dress their baby's bum in. You do not need a chemistry degree to know that these things aren't good. No, I am not here to bust your chops for putting your baby in disposables. I just want to tell you why my family decided that cloth is best for our little nugget.
When I found out I was pregnant, Dufda and I both realized that we had never changed a diaper before. I also was not even familiar with modern day cloth. Entering into the world of babies you will be surprised what you learn. I did know that everyone tells you that diapers are expensive. So, while most of America could careless about what we put in or on our bodies, I know a lot of you do care about where your money is going. Let's look at what someone spends on disposables, usually. Now I know there are coupons and sales, but really, if you are out of diapers you just have to go buy them. It is thought that over 2 years you will average 7 diaper changes per day. Now we all know that there are way more at the beginning, but for the sake of calculation we will stick with this number. It comes out to about $35/ month for diapers. You most likely have some sort of disposal system, let's say the great ole' Diaper Genie. There is an upfront cost of $30. Now that bugger needs refills which are about $7/piece. That is about $1100 over 2 years for diapers. In the little time we used disposables, I had some that tore, that got peed on accidentally before they even were on the bum, and not to mention the increase in laundry because disposable do not even touch cloth diapers when it comes to blow outs. Also, so you plan to have more than one child...you have to do this all over again.
Now on to cloth. This is what I hear from everyone. Don't you have so much laundry to do? What do you do with the poop? They are so expensive? I will start with the last statement first. I chose to use mostly second hand diapers. Now if this sound gross to you, I assure you that there is a huge market for used diapers and plenty of ways to clean them. I scoured ebay and bought an enormous lot of Bumgenius 3.0 pocket diapers for $3.85/diaper. This is obviously a great deal, but you have 10 months to search for great prices. I actually bought 110 diapers at this price. I then sold off the diapers that I did not need for a profit. This actually paid for the diapers that I did keep to use. You'll need two wet bags to put the dirty diapers in, this is about $36. Your water bills might be a little higher, but that is it. We are 100% cloth, so we use cloth wipes as well. I got a whole bunch of baby wash cloths for my shower, spray a little water or wipe spray on that and you need one wipe per change.
As for the poop. This is everyone's concern. The reality is that you aren't suppose to throw human feces in the trash anyway. It should all go down the toilet. While my baby is exclusively breastfed this is not a worry either way. Breast milk poo is water soluble. Just throw it right in the washer. I never have to touch the diapers after I take them off Nugget. When he starts solids, we will do a quick plop in the toilet and be done with it.
How much laundry does cloth really add? Well, how much laundry does having a baby really add? Let's be serious, babies are messy. My washer and I are bffs now. I wash diapers every other day and typically not on the weekends. This will be very dependent on how many diapers you have. We have enough that I could go about 3 days and be fine, I just don't like my diapers to sit that long. After being in cloth for 3 months, I decided to go ahead and "wash" the washing machine. I found several pins on Pinterest that showed this nasty water that came out of their machines. My water was completely clear. All the extra cycles and better detergent are actually cleaning my machine, not making it more dirty. Take that!
One of the great reasons to chose cloth is all the options. I feel that disposables are sort of all the same. I can pick a different diaper for when I go out versus during the day and something else for at night. This gives you the best chance of getting a really great absorbency and fit for what your needs are. We had a great cloth diaper store here in Pittsburgh that you could go and touch and feel the options, but they have since moved to cloth orientations only. I never got to attend one of these but I have heard that they are very beneficial. If you aren't in the Pittsburgh area to attend one of these, I would still head over to Happy Baby Company's website and see their selection. They are a one stop shop for everything cloth and natural parenting. Their customer service is superb, too! Use the coupon code NEW2HBC for 10% off any order over $30.
What we use if we are going out:
AIO's (All-in-one)
This is basically how is sounds. Everything you need in one diaper. It makes for a simple change while you are on the go. Although these are easy, I typically wouldn't grab for them while at home because they have some disadvantages. AIO's take along time to dry, specially cause I line dry anything that has PUL in it, or a waterproof aspect. They also aren't as absorbent as some other options because the absorbency can't be adjusted. My favorite AIO is the newborn simplex from Swaddlebee. This diaper fits up to 16lbs, so it is much more versatile than most newborn diapers.
What Dufda uses during the day:
Husbands may have a hard time getting use to cloth. I know the simpler the better with Dufda. He prefers Bumgenius 3.0 pocket diapers. I stuff these for him before hand, so it is more like an AIO. You can see below, the diaper opens up in the back and you put in the insert.
The downfall to these is that they can get pretty bulky depending on what you use to stuff them with. They hold all the moisture away from the skin though making for a drier feel for your baby. I also like the Fuzzibunz One size elite for a pocket diaper.
What we use at night:
When we first put Nugget in cloth, we were able to diaper him the same at night because he woke up every two hours. Now that he is sleeping longer stretches we needed a good solution for maximum absorbency. A fitted diaper is many layers of absorbent material that needs a cover to make it waterproof.
They are typically bulky, but they sure do their job. You can cover a fitted with a typical diaper cover or you can also use wool, which we just got into. What makes me sad about fitteds is that they are so cute and then you have to cover them up, but definitely a highly absorbent diaper.
What I use during the day:
Prefolds and Covers
When I am diapering Nugget I always reach for a good ole' prefold and cover. I prefer the Jellyroll fold closed with a Snappi. Snappi provided me with their awesome diaper closer to show you how this small device will make cloth diapering so much easier. The Snappi does away with the pins that our parents and grandparents might have used if they did cloth. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, then you know how hard it can be to contain that breastmilk poo. This is by far the greatest fold to do that. You start out by placing your baby on the prefold.
Next you will roll in the side of the prefold until you get to the center.
The tighter you roll, the trimmer your fit will be. You will then take the piece you are holding and spread it out across you baby's tummy.
Then, grab your Snappi and hook it on the left tab of the diaper that is under your baby, next hook the right tab and then pull down and hook the center.
You then add a cover to this to make it completely waterproof. Do you need a Snappi in your life? Enter below to win one!
We have prefolds that Nugget has grown out of, which I can still use by laying in the cover and not using a Snappi. I feel like either option is totally leak proof. The only downfall, which I don't really consider that awful, you do need to change frequently with prefolds because the wetness is right up against their skin. I have read, though that this prepares them to potty learn sooner and easier because they do not get use to being in a wet diaper.
Storing your cloth
As you can imagine, you need a great system to go with this style of diapering. Being that Dufda is a stay at home dad, I need to make sure that everything is organized so he doesn't end up taking a diaper that he doesn't know how to use. I separate them into two categories: needs a cover and doesn't needs a cover. Before I did this, Nugget ended up in a Lil' Joey and cover, but hey at least it wouldn't leak. Dufda only really likes the bumgenius 3.0, so we have lots of them. I stuff them and put them all on the bottom (He actually stuffed diapers the other day, now just to teach him how to wash them). Everything I use is on top and he just stays away from that.
Before Nugget came, we almost didn't get a changing table. I think this is a must if you are using cloth. It gives you a space to sort everything out and also a place to be comfortable changing your dipes. When we went on vacation, I was without a changing table for two weeks and my back was killing me!
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