To anyone out there thinking of using cloth diapers, do it! I can't even begin to tell you how much more enjoyable cloth is than disposables. The first month I was using 'sposies diaper changes were something to be done quickly and gotten over with. Buying them was depressing, and heaven forbid the baby pooped right after a change, there goes $$ down the drain. Cloth though? Wow! Changing time is so fun, picking out a diaper to match the days' outfit, accessorizing with some cute Babylegs, maybe even go for gold and match it all with your diaper bag ;) Shopping for diapers has become an addiction. I found myself stalking new posts on Diaperswappers waiting for someone to sell the coveted Blueberry Minky OS at a cheap price. (Which I did finally find, yay!) I love that it doesn't matter how many diapers I use a day, or how many wipes it takes to clean up that poop explosion, because it's all going into the wash and not into a landfill.
Places to shop:
A few of my favorite places to shop for dipes, both practical and cute.
Diaperswappers.com - A forum for parents to buy, sell and trade.
Etsy - For all things handmade
Hyena Cart - Cloth diapering mecca
Side note, some of these great shops take Revolution Money Exchange (RME) like Paypal, but without the fees. Sign up now and get a free $25. That's free diapers!Wash routine:
Here is how I take care of my diapers. It's really much easier than you would think. When you take off the dirty diaper, toss the whole thing into your wetbag and forget about it 'til laundry day. If your baby is exclusively breastfed, it's all water soluble. Just use an extra rinse at the beginning of your wash. (Another great reason to breastfeed!!! By all means, if you've got questions about breastfeeding, please contact me) Once your baby is 6+ months old and you've added solids to their diet, you can purchase a sprayer that attaches to the toilet to get the solids off. None of that toilet dunking you may have heard about! Eww *wink* My wash day goes like this:
- Dump all the diapers out near the washer
- Turn on a cold rinse
- Remove inserts from the diaper, toss it all in
- After that rinse, start a hot wash/cold rinse
- Add 1/2 a capful of detergent (See this site for lists of cloth diaper safe detergents, a great source for cloth diaper information)
- After that's done, run one more cold rinse to make sure the detergent residue is out
- Dry on medium heat
And that's it! When they're dry I stuff my pockets so they're ready to go when I need to change a diaper. It couldn't be easier.
I'm a big fan of "one-sized" diapers that grow with your baby, but there are also great choices that are sized. Like these: Green Acre Designs. To learn how to measure your baby, click here.
And finally, I'd like to share a couple photos of my "stash". Thanks for reading!
GADs:
Blueberry Minky OS & Mother's Touch OS
Twilight Bumgenius 3.0
White Bumgenius 3.0
Grasshopper Bumgenius 3.0
Butter Bumgenius 3.0
Babylegs:
