Thursday, June 6, 2013

On Cloth Diapering




As I have mentioned before on the blog we're cloth diapering Micha.
(I don't have any links for you because I can't find the posts that I wrote on cloth diapering) 
We're big fans of them and I thought I'd share my experience so far with them.

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- We started with cloth diapering when Micha was about three months old. 
His little bum was to small for them before that, and I thought I had enough on my plate in regards to all the new things I was experiencing.
I'm so glad we chose to do it like this, because when we finally started I was super pumped and had enough energy to really make it work. 

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- We use secondhand BumGenius 4.0, with velcro closures, and new Flip diapers with snap closures.

I prefer using the Flip diapers, because of the snaps and because it's not a pocket diaper like the BumGenius, that needs changing of the whole diaper every time baby so much as pees.

The Flip has fleece lined inserts that just sit inside the waterproof cover and therefore the whole diaper only needs changing if the cover gets dirty or wet.
But usually the insert absorbs all the pee and the cover is still perfectly clean. 

This way I usually only need about two cover changes a day(whenever there's a poop in it) and all the other times I just change the insert. 

This makes cloth diapering with Flip diapers cheaper than with BumGenius diapers. I need less of the expensive covers and the inserts for the flip aren't that expensive. 
If I'd go all BumGenius, I would need more diapers, and that would make it a bigger investment.

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- For nights and weekends away we use disposable diapers.
 I don't feel like changing M's diaper in the middle of the night, which would be necessary with cloth diapers because they are a bit less absorbent the disposables.
And when we're a weekend away I don't want to stress out about taking all the necessities I need for cloth diapering, like wet bags and special detergent etc.

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- It doesn't seem like I'm doing more laundry because of cloth diapering. 
I'm doing a lot more than before baby anyway, so an extra load of laundry every three days isn't a biggie.

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- Speaking of washing the diapers, this is how I do it:
*I wash them every three to four days(depending on how fast they go)
 *Before I put them in the diaper pail I make sure there's no solid bits (sorry TMI) on them anymore. 
I just shake out the soiled diapers above the toilet and flush the stinky's down. (so much better than a smelly diaper in the garbage pail)
* I put them in the washer and put them on a rinsing cylcle.
* Then I wash them in a cold cycle with a tiny little bit of special cloth diaper detergent,
* then a warm cycle with some more detergent (again, only about a tbsp),
* then another rinse,
*and they're done!
This way they always come out smelling fresh and clean. 
Whenever I can I lay them out in the sun to dry, that way any lingering stains get sun bleached away.

...and some more reasons why I love cloth diapering:

- It's not that much more work than using disposables. 
I'm so happy that I don't have to haul smelly bags of diapers to the garbage area in our apartment building.

- It's so much better for the environment.

- It's much cheaper than disposables in the long run. 
Yes, it is an investment, but a really good one!

- Micha has never had diaper rash issues, and I'm positive it has to do with cloth diapering.

- I just love the look of his fluffy bum in his diapers. 



All in all, we're pretty happy with cloth diapering and I would recommend it to everyone!


Hope this was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions.




Love, Maria




9 comments:

  1. Hurray for Flip covers!!
    We bought lots of second-hand BG pocket diapers before Katherine was born because that was what seemed to be the general consensus on the internet, but in practice... our very favorite diapers are the flip covers with any random insert... for all the reasons you mentioned. So glad it's working for you! They are SO MUCH CUTER than disposables!!!

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  2. I love Flip diapers and all the fun colors... I have used them with both of my kiddos and will use them for this one probably around the 3 month mark like you did because that is when my other 2 grew into them. On the night time thing-- it is bulky but you might try doubling up the inserts. That is what we did and it always worked. If you try it just make sure the cover is fully covering the inserts because with the added bulk it doesn't always seal like it should on it its own.

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  3. Love cloth diapering! We use BG's and fuzzy bunz but I've heard flip are good too! We do it over night thought and never have leaks! BUt last night Tindra was in a disposable over night for the first time since like 2 months I think because I was stripping her diapers and she leaked through!! And I'm with Savanna- double up on inserts at night in the BG's and you will be good to go! BG's are our best night time diaper. Fuzzy bunz doesn't really work with two inserts

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  4. Love these readymade clothdiapers! I used handfolded cloth diapers with my oldest two, because someone had been so kind to donate loads of them and it was cheap, and I'm still recovering. ;)
    Still despite al the fuss, one of my favorite memories is going camping with Jan when he was 3 months old, and the sight of all those freshly washed cloth diapers billowing on the tentlines in the sun: Great times...!

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  5. I was thinking the same, Evelene, I used those oldfashioned clothe-diapers on all our seven children. Only not on vacation!!! It was a lot of work, and there were rashes (too bad!) but, I still miss the diapers hanging in the sun on my long, long, long laundryline, in Canada and Australia! Really, I mean it! All those memories bring me good feelings right now, but ofcourse there were days that I did not have those feelings in those fargone days...But I do miss those days anyway! Love you all, MamaMarijke

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  6. Also potty training seemed to go easier when kids are in cloth diapers, because disposable have dry layer so they don't feel so yucky when they're wet. I say yay for cloth diapers too - I had the Velcro kind, found second hand.

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  8. i haven't thought much about cloth diapers but like reading about them! I've had a few friends that have done it!

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  9. We use prefolds. For night time I found early on that the Thirsties hemp prefolds are amazingly absorbent and last the whole night. And my 6 month old sleeps 12 hours. We cloth diapered with my first and did disposables at night but this time I was determined not to.

    Also, with the bum genius, and any pocket diapers, you can reuse the diaper if there is just pee. Just let it dry out before adding another insert. After a few times wearing it they will start to smell. But that way you don't have to wash it every single time baby wears it. Just some of my tips ;)

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UPDATE: I'M GOING TO BE USING WORD VERIFICATION FOR A BIT, THE SPAM WAS GETTING OUT OF CONTROL! SORRY!

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