I Love Cloth Diapers!

Andrew's first cloth diaper...BumGenius 4.0

To my complete surprise...I have come to absolutely LOVE cloth diapers. I was sure that they would disgust me...and the washing routine would just gross me out, but quite the contrary!! After doing a ton of research and reading of reviews, I decided to stick to two brands of cloth diapers: BumGenius 4.0 and Flips. I went in thinking that the Flips would be my favorite because I didn't think that they would take up as much space in my diaper bag, I imagined that changing them would be pretty easy and I didn't think that I would have to handle much of the "mess" of a dirty diaper with the flips...however, it turns out that I am in favor of the BumGenius 4.0 much more.
First of all...let me explain why I am in love with cloth diapers. To begin, Andrew's birth weight was 6lbs 12oz. I felt that he was just too little for the cloth diapers, so we started off with disposables. To be honest, I also needed to get used to the change of having a new baby before I started the change of a new diapering system. Once Andrew started to chunk up, I slowly started to use the cloth diapers. The biggest difference between the disposable and cloth diapers that I noticed right away was the main reason that sold me on the cloth diapers...the disposables kept on sticking to Andrew. Every time I changed his diapers, with the disposables, he would just start screaming...no matter how slowly I opened up his diaper. The darn things just stuck right on to his little man parts, it looked horribly uncomfortable peeling it off each time he needed to be changed. Now, with the cloth diapers...they were just so soft on his tiny bum. There were absolutely no tears when opening his diaper (using cold wipes is another story though)
As far as the gross part...changing a dirty diaper and actually having to handle the ickyness...IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL (I'll have to give my opinion again, once Andrew starts eating solids, but for now it really is not a big deal at all) For the BumGenius diaper, the opening of the pocket is in the back of the diaper and opens up easily by bending the diaper back. Then all you have to do is find the edge of the insert and pull it out and place both pieces into the diaper pail. I separate the inserts before placing it in the pail rather than when it's time to the laundry, that way I don't have to dig through the dirty diapers. For the Flips...it's even easier because the insert is sitting right there in plain sight, you just take the cover, with the insert laying inside of it, and place them into the diaper pail...the insert will just fall out by itself.

When it is laundry day, I just simply grab the liner out of the pail, and dump all of the contents in the washing machine followed by the liner itself. No icky mess, no dirty hands (don't get me wrong, I still wash my hands or use hand sanitizer because, let's be honest, there is nothing sanitary about changing a diaper whether it's disposable or cloth). I have a newer high efficiency top loading washing machine and matching dryer set. The wash cycle that I finally settled on for the cloth diapers was: I do a cold wash first without any detergent. Then I do a regular cycle, with HOT water, followed by an extra rinse. So far I have only used the Rocking Green detergent for the diapers and I have been totally happy. The diapers come out clean, no stains, and smelling fresh. When it's time to move everything to the dryer I pull out all of the covers and hang those to dry in the bathroom and then transfer all of the remaining inserts and pail liner into the dryer.
Once the inserts and covers are all dry, I stuff all of my BumGenius diapers before placing them back in Andrews changing table. I can't tell you how much easier it is when they are pre-stuffed rather than having the stuff the insert when Andrew is laying on the table ready for his change. When they are pre-stuffed the changing is exactly the same as with a disposable diaper. I get the clean cloth diaper and place it under Andrew's bottom before removing the dirty one. I open his dirty diaper, wipe things up as best I can, and then pull out the dirty one, place it to the side while I quickly snap his new clean diaper in place. Once everything is covered up (I can't tell you how many times I have been tinkled on during a diaper change...changing a boy's diaper is a totally new experience for me) then I take the dirty diaper and remove the insert, if it's a BumGenius, and then toss it all into the diaper pail.
I have been doing diaper laundry every 2-3 days now and I cannot believe that the diaper pail does not stink at all...Andrew's room, our house...none of it stinks like dirty diapers. I am the kind of person that likes things to smell good when I walk into the house. If I can smell my animals in any way, the house is going to be turned upside down until that nasty smell is gone (rarely does it smell, but on occasion my cat can do a number in her litter box...Lord help us!!!) So, I am thrilled that switching over to cloth diapers has not in any way added a funky smell to our house. My mom and I made a promise to each other to tell the other one if their house ever smelled bad (since we both have animals...you just don't want to become oblivious to the smell), and she hasn't said anything yet.
Now, as for my reason for liking the BumGenius more than the Flips, it's simply because the their are no moving parts with the BumGenius when actually changing the diaper. The BumGenius is easy to change, just like a disposable. The Flips, you are given the opportunity to change just the insert rather than the entire diaper. The concept is great...I just need to get used to it because it is a little more challenging for me to get the insert in the right place while removing the dirty insert...all while trying not to get tinkled on. I am getting better at this, so I'm sure that this won't be an issue for me in the near future. On the other hand, the really nice thing about Flips is that the insert does lay nicely on top of the cover directly in the middle, whereas with the BumGenius, you have to place the insert inside of the diaper and make sure it is all the way to back and laying flat...which, when you have a lot of diapers from the laundry to put inserts into, can be a small pain in the butt...very small!!!

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My Decision To Use Cloth Diapers

To cloth diaper or not to cloth diaper…that is the question!!! Craig and I have decided that it is best, on so many levels, for me to be a “stay-at-home-mom” for one year. So, the first fear that rips through our mind is…$$. How can I save it? How can I make it? My main course of action is to look at our budget and figure out all of the ways that we can save money, and with a baby on the way…I have to look at upcoming expenses that will be ADDED to our budget.

Two years ago, I had one of the most amazing student teachers with me from PLU. She has blessed me in so many ways (more than she will ever know) one of which was introducing me to the “ease” of cloth diapers. She has a sister who uses cloth diapers full time (you can find her AMAZING blog at: www.thatmamagretchen.com) and so she would share with me how great and easy they are. When I found out we were pregnant…I was so intrigued to look further into the cloth diapering system. Does it really save you money? It seems so disgusting!!! How easy could it really be?

I did a lot of research, read a TON of reviews, and talked to a handful of friends who were already cloth diapering their little ones. Personally, I know that money wasn’t my ultimate priority for the simple fact that it is a nice lump sum up front to cloth diaper and if I didn’t think I would actually keep it up…it would be a huge waste of time and money. Now, cloth diapers have come a long way from the time my mom cloth diapered me! Cloth diapers, first of all, are SUPER CUTE…cute colors, and cute fabrics. (Yes, that’s important to me!!!). In all of the reviews that I read, it seems that most all “first-timers” had the same fears as I do/did about cloth diapering and they were ALL relieved of their fears and weren’t thinking twice about turning back to disposables. Everyone that I have talked to said that it is super easy, not as gross as you think it might be, and a huge money saver…all of my requirements in order to commit to this new lifestyle.

So…with research out of the way…it’s time to commit and start making some purchases. If I start looking for diapers early, then I have time to be patient and wait for sales. I also looked a lot on craigslist, and found a lot of great deals for diapers that have been barely used, if at all. From the reviews that I read, I felt that I would be most happy with the bumGenius 4.0, and the Flips diapers. Honestly though, I’m not 100% sure about the pocket system (bumGenius) but it has the best reviews by far…so clearly there is something about it that everyone loves, and since I haven’t a clue about cloth diapering, I’m going to put a lot of trust into these reviews. Now, as for the Flips diapers, I love the idea of using inserts in the diaper and when they get wet…I don’t have change the entire diaper, just the insert. I am thinking that these will be the diapers that I will use when I go out of the house, that way I don’t have to pack my diaper bag with a handful of cloth diapers…just my Flips inserts.

Now, remember, I haven’t used these, and so my thoughts are just that…thoughts. Who knows what my opinion will be once I start using them.

So, to start my cloth diaper stash…I really don’t want to have to do laundry everyday. I would love to be able to stretch it to every 2-3 days if I could. With that said, they say that a newborn needs to get changed an average of 10 times a day. So I found a GREAT deal on bumGenius 4.0’s on craigslist. A mother was trying a few different brands, bought stashes of each brand, and favored one brand over the other…so she sold all 12 of her bumGemius 4.0’s, along with the two inserts that came with them, at a great used price…even though a handful of them were never truly used. As for my Flips stash, cottonbabies.com was having an amazing sale on those (buy 2 get 1 free) so I bought a handful of those as well. Then I have some randomly purchased diapers (staying with the two brands that I have previously purchased…I just like some of the fancy fabric options), and inserts (I bought about 10 used Flip inserts from craigslist, and then a two different brands of organic inserts from cottonbabies.com). So my final stash is as follows:

13 - bumGenius 4.0

     13 - 4.0 Newborn Inserts

     13 - 4.0 Regular Inserts

11 - Flips

     19 - Flip Inserts

     6 - Flip Organic Inserts 

     6- Econobum Inserts

1- Mustache Pocket Diaper (Gift from Etsy)

1- Bummis Bio Soft Liners (100)BiodegradableInserts

In addition to the "diapers", I also have 2 "Planet Wise" diaper pail liners. I just bought a regular trash can from Target with a lid that flips up by pushing a button. When it's laundry day, the liner goes in the washing machine along with all the diapers, so I don't have to reach in and handle all of the dirty diapers.  The last thing to get me started...are the "Planet Wise" wet bags. I purchased three bags to rotate in my diaper bag: 2 mediums and 1 small.

There you have it...we shall see how this all works out once baby Andrew arrives. I so hope it is as easy and basic as everyone says it is. I have a lot of convincing to do for my husband to be sold on this...because Lord knows I will never hear the end of it from him if he doesn't have a change of heart once we start putting all of this into practice.

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