Cloth Diapers, Two Years In

Okay this will be a boring post unless you love cloth diapers (insert squeeee here) but I have gotten several emails asking how it's going and for more specific info so I thought I would do a little bloggity update.

Um, okay. I have been using cloth diapers for two years now.  A little more actually. Whoa. I have used them now on all baby ages from newborn to two and a half. And I have used them on multiple kids at once. I don't know everything, but I know what works for us, so... here's what I've got.

Still a yes on cloth diapering? Yes. I am not as excitedly googly-eyed about it as I was at the beginning, but I think that's because the newness has worn off and now it feels less like a hobby, and more like... life.  There are times (like after Charlotte was born, or right after we moved) where I used disposables at least half the time, and I'm okay with that. We now use cloth all the time except 1- when we travel (yes, you can do cloth on the road, we just choose not to), 2- if I get behind on laundry for a day or two (happens once a month-ish), and 3- at night (we just haven't found a good combination of cover/insert that doesn't leak for 12 hours of heavy wetting, and I've made peace with aborting the quest).

Best kind? I am still very sold on BumGenius 4.0 pockets. They grow with baby, they dry fast, they're cost-effective, they come in pretty colors (yes, the cute factor and diaper rainbow still matter to me). BG has also come out with a new all-in-one called the FreeTime which is better than their old all-in-ones because you don't have to buy a specific size; like the 4.0, it grows with baby. Also it dries fast like a pocket.  Basically these have everything the 4.0 has, but you don't have to stuff pockets after you do laundry. They're a stitch more expensive but if I were starting from scratch, I would probably build my stash out of mostly the FreeTime.

Two other all-in-ones I'd recommend are Tots Bots EasyFit and Ones&Twos. Like the FreeTime, they're both also one-size (adjustable to grow with baby) and they both have truly excellent velcro (I still prefer velcro, although I do understand why some moms are sold on the washability and durability of snaps -- but my BG velcro is hanging tough in the "good enough" category, which is fine with me). The TotsBots is a few bucks more, but one of the trimmest cloth diapers I've found. Both of these brands are worth owning a couple of, if nothing else for color variety. :)

Cloth on newborns? Totally doable. I did it with Charlotte about half-time (that's all the diapers I had).  Technically the BG 4.0's (and comparable one-size options) fit on newborns, but I'll be honest: it's really bulky. Under some clothes it works great, notsomuch on others. But hear this: the added bulk is totally worth preventing diaper blowouts. No disposable (because of the lack of elastic in the back) can contain newborn poops like a cloth diaper can. I promise.  If you don't want poop on you, start with cloth as young as possible. Seriously.

As far as type-specifics for newborns, one-size options should start fitting within the first month, but there are a number of "newborn" options available. I had two favorites. First the Tots Bots TinyFit, which is the Easyfit I mentioned above, but in a newborn size. These are tiny-tiny and worked right away on Charlotte, and were trim enough to hold her (tiny) newborn pees without leaking and still fitting under all her clothes without looking cray cray. My other newborn favorite was Happy Heinys mini one-size.  This is better than most newborn diapers, because it's tiny, but it also has some growability/size adjustment. These fit her for almost six months.

In my opinion the newborn cloth diapers were worth buying. I sold them for about the same price I paid for them (secondhand, on diaperswappers, yes there's totally a market for it). But if you can't get it up for buying or at least selling secondhand, it might not be worth it to buy newborn-specific diapers, unless they're the growable Happy Heinys mini ones.

two weeks old -- Charlotte's first cloth diaper!
(she loves it, I promise)

Ick factor? Look, if you have a kid, you're going to come in contact with pee and poop. It isn't exclusive to any diapering system. All will require wipes that sometimes don't seem big enough, and sheets and clothes that sometimes get leaked on. With disposables, you also have to account for the stinky mess permanently residing in your baby's bedroom wastebasket, oh and the aforementioned gross blowouts from the back of the diapers. And with cloth, the grossest part is rinsing off the poop into the potty (I have a diaper sprayer for that, which I only need to use about a third of the time -- most of the time it just dumps in, no rinsing required -- this will vary based on the baby's age and diet).  All diaper changes are gross. Make peace with it now and choose a handsoap you love and don't mind being well-acquainted with. Welcome to parenthood.

How many diapers? It depends on how many kids and how often you want to do laundry (see below).  For one kid, doing laundry every 3rd-ish day, I'd recommend about twenty. You could start with fewer (doing laundry more often) and build your stash up gradually with gifts and such.

Laundry? Okay, a little diaper math. I have two babies in diapers; Charlotte uses about five a day and Anneliese about one (remember they both sleep in disposables, and Anneliese now wears underwear except  for naptime), and about thirty-five diapers. So I do diaper laundry about once a week. They (who are "they?") say you shouldn't wait that long, but I do, and it's never a problem. I should probably do a smaller load twice a week, but... being honest, I usually don't get around to it. One of those things that will get better as I get my life back in order, which is still happening slowly. Anyway.

As diapers get dirty, I put them in  big wetbags (I have one in each of the girl's rooms, and one in each of two bathrooms). I like ones that zip close because it best contains the mess and (for the most part) the smell.  My favorites are Planet Wise which have a snap-handle to hook to closet doors or changing tables or shower curtain rods, etc.

To wash, I use only detergent I can buy at our normal grocery store, and here's how I wash them:
1- cold rinse cycle with a spash of bio-kleen bac-out (find it in the cleaning aisle)
2- hot wash extra-heavy cycle with  liquid costco-brand laundry detergent (yep), cold rinse
3- hot soak (my machine automatically follows this with a wash) with oxyclean, cold rinse, plus extra rinse
4- ten minutes on medium heat in dryer (to soften)
5- several hours outside in the sun (unless weather is bad) (or I'm too lazy to hang them)
If my diapers get stinky (as they do a few times a year) I do something called "stripping" -- my version of which involves washing all the inserts, then bleaching them, then doing about 8 rinse cycles to get rid of any buildup. There are special cloth diaper detergents and soakers you can buy to assist in stripping too, but I have only used them once. Bleach works just as well for me.

Where to buy? I have three favorite places.  The first is Diaper Junction, which does the best test-drive option on the market, for if you want to try out cloth without committing. The only cost is shipping, everything in the program is refundable for a full month. This was a lifesaver to me as I tried a bunch of different brands and sizes before settling on what worked.  I also like Abby's Lane which always has free shipping, always.  And then Kelly's Closet, which carries pretty much all the brands, has a huge variety in stock, and has excellent sales and promotions (lots of free diapers with purchase, etc).

And that's the story of how I cloth diaper.

To see another mom's perspective, read this post which my friend EMU wrote (for me) (kinda) (just sayin) (#namedrop) when I was considering switching to cloth.