Cloth

Posted by  | Tuesday, May 27, 2008  at 8:42 AM  


I want everyone to know that cloth diapering doesn't have to be an all or nothing deal. We really like to talk about cloth-bottomed babies, so as to present another option for families out there, since not a lot of people choose to cloth diaper. For the record, I am not an all-out cloth diapering Mama. I like the practicality of being able to choose a disposable for outings into town, for church, and for trips, especially when I know she hasn't had her daily poo yet. But I also love the fact that I'm helping with the problem of billions and billions diapers polluting our land. 

My husband is hilarious. He has been watching Laney from 8:00-12:00 four days a week while I am a temporary sub teaching Spanish until June. Since Laney has her "doosky-duty" in the mornings, it's an ABSOLUTE MUST (according to him) that a disposable be put on her hiney first thing upon waking up. He DESPISES spraying off a poopie diaper, but will do it if he must. I used to make fun of him because he was very adamant about it, but now it's starting to rub off on me. It's not a bad plan, but it's okay if she poos in her cloth. I mean, c'mon, I don't particularly LIKE spraying off those smelly things either, but it's part of the deal. A handy tip-a-roo is to keep a strip of micro-fleece in the diaper, because poo pretty much falls right off of it, unlike cotton. Disposable rice liners are great as well. How do the two compare? 

Microfleece:  
  • softer on baby's little bum
  • reusable
  • poo falls right off, even without a diaper sprayer
  • inexpensive

Rice Liner:  
  • rough and scratchy like disposable diaper
  • can be thrown away, never to be seen again (good for trips)
  • flushable (from what I've read, but I'm a sceptic with septic tanks)
  • need to reorder when supply is low

What diapers do we use? 
We use several types of diapers from the good old-fashioned pre-folds like our Grandmas used to the new, cutting edge Pocket Diapers. 
1.) Prefolds are reliable, affordable and very absorbent to be a 100% cotton diaper--used with snappi and cover 
2.) Snug-to-Fit diapers -- LOVE them! 100% cotton, fitted, used with a cover 
3.) I also just ordered 2 Pocket Change diapers for Hugh to use with Laney, since Dad's love the diapers that are so easy to put on and take off. (Thanks Tara for introducing me to these.) They are a true "pocket" diaper with an insert that is stuffed into the diaper cover. I like the fact that they came with 100% cotton/hemp tri-fold insert, as well as a microfiber insert for trips or moments when changing her diaper isn't easy (airplane, naps, etc..) Another cool thing about these diapers is that the inserts agitate out in the wash. No need to pull out icky wet liners. Lastly, I can't help but mention that they come in such fun colors. That's what I miss about having just plain-jane diapers. I thrive off of colors and design, so even though they are diapers that go UNDER clothes and nobody really sees them, I still am a big fan of fun, colorful diapers, for Laney looks so stink'n cute in them. I am contemplating dying my prefolds to fun colors. Has anyone had any success with this? I haven't researched it much, so I'm still on the fence. Out of all of these, which one is our fav?

Snug-to-Fit 100% cotton cloth diaper. It looks just like a disposable, with aplix tabs, elastic at the legs as well as at the back of the diaper on top so as to keep all poo contained. We use a Bummi Super Whisper Wrap as a cover for this cloth diaper.

Above is an 11 month baby from Green Mountain Diapers. Click for more pictures and info of this diaper.

Below is Laney:

We also use a diaper sprayer. I blindly ordered the Bum Genius Diaper Sprayer from Cotton Babies without really reading any reviews since there weren't any at the time.  But, I love this diaper sprayer and couldn't live without it. Highly recommend it! 

What I would LOVE to try is the new 100% organic cotton Bum Genius Diaper. The "100% cotton" is the attractive part to me, because those don't retain odors like synthetic diapers do. Plus there's no stuffing inserts into the diaper cover, but still it's a fast-drying diaper, unlike most all-in-ones, because of how they have sewn in the liner. However, the price is STEEP-STEEP!! Whew! Cotton Babies has this diaper being feature. Cotton babies is a great website and they take a percentage of all that they make and give it to Christian missions, which is awesome.  Has anyone tried out these diapers yet???


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is anyone familiar with Happy Heinys One Size Diapers? They are a pocket diaper with a microfleece liner so the poop falls right off. Which seems to me to be a fairly easy to use diaper since I wouldn't have to put an additional liner in it. They come with 2 different size microfiber inserts- are these good? Since I haven't started cd-ing yet (baby due in Sept) I am wondering if this would be a good diaper to invest in? Are they prone to leaks? If anyone has any info/opinions I would love to hear them!!

I love the PoH blog and have gleaned so much info from you gals! Keep it up!

Thanks!
Steph

Christina said...

Stephanie,
I have not used Happy Heiny's, but think they are a great diaper. I have friends that have loved them. I have used (and LOVE) fuzzi bunz which also have a fleece inside. I do sometimes add an additional fleece liner to the inside if we are using diaper cream. Diaper cream can cause cloth diapers to repel (which could make them prone to leaks) when it builds up. I don't want to risk that on our dipes. We don't have to use diaper cream often though...

One size diapers are extremely appealing to me having two in diapers now...maybe I'll try a Happy Heiny one size!! I would recommend not investing in one single diaper until after the baby comes (except maybe prefolds - b/c they are cheap!). I would get a couple different kinds and try them out for a while before deciding. A couple of different websites offer starter packages with different dipes in them.

jilliansdrawers.com offers a package that only costs $10 to try cloth for 21 days. I would recommend checking that out!! Good luck!

Bekah said...

I have tried the new bG Organic AIO:) I like it lots, but I might be biased:0 If the price is prohibitive, you could always lay a cotton liner in another AIO or pocket if you want to have cotton or organics against baby's skin. Just a thought.

Hollie Carson said...

Great idea! Do you work for Cotton Babies?

Alyson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alyson said...

Has anyone tried gdiapers? Just curious if anyone tried them and liked them(or didn't). Also, if you are able to use cloth inserts in them. Thinking about making a switch to cloth to try to save money from buying diapers for two all the time.

Melissa said...

Like Steph I am not yet cd-ing but am researching it and plan to when our baby is due in the fall. I have so very limited knowledge of it other than what I read on cd sites and POH. I was wondering if someone could explain their process of storing until next wash - do you keep them in a diaper pail filled with any specific cleaning agent until time to wash?

Also, after initially trying them out how many would you recommend purchasing for the first year?

Thanks for your post Hollie, it answered quite a few of my questions already!

Jessica said...

How do you wash your diapers? I'm about to start cloth when my boy gets fat enough.

Hollie Carson said...

Alyson,
I haven't tried gdiapers. Where did you hear about them? Let me encourage you to just order a trial pack to see if this is something you're interested in.

Melissa,
Concerning what kind of diaper pail I use inbetween washes. I'm smiling, because it really depends on what is available. hee-hee! Sometimes I have my ducks in a row and I use a knee high "trash can" if you will lined with either a wet bag (you can get from any cding site) or even a trash bag if I have nothing on hand at the time. I have used just the wet bag before and let it sit the in bathtub out of the way of Laney's reach. I've hung the bag on the back of a door before. I usually keep the diaper pail in the bathroom since I spray off the diapers(even wet ones). We have the smallest bathroom ever to exist, so usually, if we don't have company I simply set the trashcan in the bathtub since it's out of the way and it's close to the toilet where I spray the dipes. I like keeping it the bathroom because I can close the door and Laney doesn't play in there like she does in her room. I do not put anything wet in that pail except my diapers. You can drop a qtip dipped in tea tree oil in the pail to keep the odors down. If my covers are not soaked to the bone and/or do not have poo on them, then I hang them in the shower to dry out so I can use them in the next few hours. I wash every two days using prewash, long hot wash, two short rinses to make sure all the soap is out. Soap and urine create build up the ammonia smell that you DO NOT WANT

Bekah said...

Yup, I work for Cotton Babies:) So, of course, bG stuff is my favorite:) but I've used almost everything out there at one time or another since i've been CDing for the last 5 years straight:0

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