Cloth Diapers - 2 weeks in...

So, first off - cloth diapers are addicting!  Once you make the switch and get into the groove, you want to add to your stash and try different things out (well, I do at least).

We're two weeks in and doing great!  DH's even stuffed a diaper or two and voluntarily put it on Noah! What's even more surprising is that he changed a poopy diaper and actually rinsed it out instead of leaving it for me!! I'm floored!! And as if it couldn't get any better, I went to change him this AM and realized that he had cloth diaper on him when I didn't put one on him at the start of the night.  DH did it all by himself!  (Noah ended up in a disposable because all the cloth ones were in the wash).  So, needless to say, things are going well!  Daycare has even commented on how easy these diapers are!

Our stash is almost exclusively BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers although I ordered two MonkeySnuggles one sized, three MonkeySnuggles fitteds, and a FuzziBunz one sized and am waiting for them to arrive.  Plus we have a few gDiapers floating around here with reusable and disposable inserts. I still need to get a cover for the fitted diapers and I hope to one day know how to knit well enough to knit a wool soaker or two for little man (basically wool covers which breath better than the waterproof ones do - great for summer time here at home to let his little bum get some air)

Half of the stash - the other half is in the wash or at daycare!

So, in case you're still not convinced that cloth diapering is easy and worth a shot think about this.  Aside from the obvious green benefits there's a cost benefit too to cloth.  Figure it this way (i'm calculating based on Noah's average right now)

We use 7 diapers a day (give or take 1 or 2) x 365 days a year = 2555 diapers a year! (yea, i realized the heft of that when I was walking a 10lb bag of diaper trash to the can every week!)

If I get my disposable diapers on sale they're about $.20 a piece.  So, 2555 x $.20 = $511 in diapers for the 1 year.  Multiply that by the 3 years he'll probably be in diapers and we're $1533 in diaper costs - for one kid!

For the stash I have now here's the run down:
12 BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers @ $18 each = $216
2 MonkeySnuggles one sized @ $18 each = $36
3 MonkeySnuggles fitteds (seconds) @ $18 each = $54
1 FuzzyBunz @ $18.00 = $18
5 Hemp inserts for my gDiapers (which were all gifts) = $25

Grand Total = $349  for his life time in diapers (plus maybe hundred or so for replacement soakers etc down the road)! You can even do it cheaper than that with exclusively prefolds and covered or getting more used.  I went for the more expensive yet more convenient and more like a traditional diaper with the pocket diapers.

Not to mention the space in a landfill you save and the fact that I can use these for our second child and then sell the ones that are in good shape when we're done using them (yes, there's a market for used cloth diapers and it's not as gross as you think!). 

 I just wish I'd done this sooner! I can't believe how many disposables we've gone thru (at least 500 in his first 12 weeks) and how much that has cost us (over $150!).

Dryer balls...

So, in our journey to cloth diapering I've learned that you shouldn't use fabric softeners and/or dryer sheets because it can stop your diapers (and your dish towels for that matter) from absorbing. So I was on the hunt for another way to keep my diapers nice and soft while not affecting their absorption.

Enter the dryer ball.  There were two options for dryer balls - the plastic PVC ones with nubbies all over them or all natural wool dryer balls.  Since the plastic ones can give off chemicals when heated I opted for the all natural version.  I searched around the web and found lots of options on etsy.com.  However, they were expensive - about $20 for three balls and you'd need 4-6 for a normal sized load of laundry I read.  Being the crafty (or wanna be crafty) gal that I am, I asked Mr. Google how to make my own wool dryer balls and voila - the Goodmama had a spectacular tutorial to guide me along!

I followed her instructions pretty closely and am very happy with the results.  You can see in the pictures below the balls ready for their first felting.  I actually ran them thru two hot washes and then dried them.  That got them felted up nice and tight.

The image below is the after the final felting before I started using them.  They're about the size of a softball, maybe a tad smaller.

I've been using them for a week now and have noticed a difference in my drying times.  Plus, my clothes are as just as soft and static free as if I was using dryer sheets.  With smaller loads you do notice the bumping of the balls as they tumble in the dryer but I just close the door to the laundry room and forget about it.

I used 100% wool yarn I found at Michaels (Lion brand) and one skein was $8.  I made 2 balls from one skein and still have a bunch left over (so much that I think I might get another ball or two out of it).  So, for $8 and a few hours of work I have 4 dryer balls (I of course wanted different colors so in reality I spent $24 on yarn - but I have enough to make many more balls or even a woolie soaker once I figure out how to knit!) 

So there you have it!  It's a definite worth while DIY project! Especially if you're a knitter already and have scraps avail!  Then you really get to use everything up and get your money's worth!

(i must mention of course the best way to dry your cloth diapers is on the line outside but as a working mom that's just not practical for us except for the weekends)

The diaper question...

Before Noah was born I went thru all my options for diapering.  I'd always liked the idea of cloth diapers because for every diaper I reused, that was another that was kept out of the landfill. However I just couldn't get over having to put poop into my washing machine and without a utility basin that's basically what I'd be doing.  So, when I found gDiapers I thought I'd struck gold!  The gDiaper is a hybrid system with biodegradable disposable inserts and the reusable outter shells (i've blogged about them here, here, and here).  I really like them because they were the best of both worlds. However, after using them for a while I've found that for the work involved I think I'm just as well off doing full cloth.  Don't get me wrong, I like my g's (once they fit Noah) but for poopy diapers I had to rinse out and then wash the liner anyways so why not just go full cloth and keep everything out of the landfill (plus I finally got over poop..)!

Off again I went to research what type of cloth I wanted.  I wanted something easy like a disposable so that hubs would buy in and that we could get our daycare to use.  Lucky for me cloth diapering has come a long way from the days of my parents!  There are a plethora of choices ranging from All-in-ones (AIOs) that have an outer shell and absorbent center all sewn together to traditional cloth diapers with covers, wool soakers, and the like.  Since I was looking for something simple the AIO's appealed to me a lot.  However, I read that they don't withstand the test of time because the waterproof outer cover wears out over time and you can't replace it.  Enter another hybrid called a pocket diaper!  It consists of a waterproof outer cover that has a pocket in it where a super absorbent soaker is inserted to catch the liquids and what not. 

Most cloth diapering mammas recommend a combination of systems depending on the situation (night time vs. day time, day care vs. home care etc...). However, since I'm just trying this out and haven't yet committed to all cloth diapering I settled on the bumgenius one size option for now.  It's a pocket diaper that has adjustable snaps that "grow" with the baby so you only have to buy one set of diapers (unlike other cloth options where the covers are sized). You do have to "stuff" them but you can adjust the absorbency by adding more soakers.

Today was our first day using them and everything went well - although I discovered that it's really nice to have a wet bag instead of using the sink to store the rinsed out but still not clean diapers - off to diapers.com I go!  They are a bit bulkier than the gDiaper and certainly more bulky than a disposable but nothing to the point where I'm putting him in a size up clothes to accommodate.

They absorb just as well as our disposables and don't leak either (and Noah's a heavy wetter!)  I was a little concerned that it kept his skin damp but I supposed that the lack of chemicals that you find in disposables out weigh that point.

I know I have a few followers that are debating right now so I wanted to put this out there.  The upfront cost of cloth seems huge but if you consider the number of disposables you go thru in a lifetime you'll save yourself a ton of cash in the long run!  You can also build your stash slowly...like I bought 3 to start with and just ordered 5 more to add to the stash. I'll mix g's, cloths, and disposables as necessary.  Ideally I'd be using cloth only but there are situations that disposables are just plain easier.  I want to get to the point where we're primarily cloth and only using a disposable in an emergency (or a very long car ride:) ). 

Anyways, I've gone on long enough. You can be sure I'll continue to talk about this as we get deeper into it.  As for the resources I found when looking I found some great info  here , here, and here during my search.