...She'll tell you. And she'll blog about it.
This post is more of a how to blog with my personal experience mixed in. If you're not interested - I'd stop reading here.
First of all, full disclosure, I LOVE cloth diapering and I've been planning on blogging about it for a while now. Mostly because I want to a) talk about how easy it is, and b) show people how easy it is, and c) give people a resource for how I do it.
While I was still pregnant I entertained the thought of cloth diapering. I read blogs about it. Read reviews of brands. Watched youtube videos of what to do. And even went to an informal class about the different types of diapers and how to use them.
I wanted simple, so I went for these brands:
BumGenius Freetime - All In One
BumGenius 4.0 - Pocket Diapers
This brand is kind of the Cadillac of cloth diapers in my opinion. The cost runs anywhere from $18-$25/diaper... and I have 42. A quick math lesson will tell you there is a lot of capital to get started cloth diapering... but it doesn't have to be. There are other brands such as Alva which can run in the $5 range. Also, cloth diapers hold their retail value extremely well and you'll see them sold used on ebay for a good discount.
To get the diapers ready - you're supposed to prep them. Basically that means you wash them a bunch so that the fabric is used to taking on liquids. It's kind of like when you get brand new kitchen towels and they seem semi water resistant and you're like, "this isn't what I bought you for!" and then you wash them a few times and they fluff up.
Cloth diapers are supposed to be washed using special cleaners. You can use tide or other stuff from Target but not all brands are cloth diaper friendly. Since I spent a lot of money on my diapers I wanted to keep them in good shape so I followed the KISS method and bought special cloth diaper detergent. I've tried both
Rockin' Green and
Charlie's Soap. I don't have a preference for one or the other, but I tend to buy Rockin' Green because:
The biggest learning curve for me was the fact that I have an HE washer/dryer. It's ironic that to clean cloth diapers it's typically better to have a less efficient washer which uses more water. From the research I've done, the washer will weigh the clothes in the washer and use more water accordingly. Therefore, the tip I've read and will pass on is to do a rinse prior to washing your diapers. This way your diapers will hold onto some extra liquid therefore making the load heavier. The next thing is that I'll run a 2nd wash (no drying in between) using the sheets setting. Supposedly that uses more water so I figured that's what will work best.
I feel comfortable after using this method for a solid 8-9 months and with clean smelling diapers that it is officially working for me.
Now I'm going to take it back a few steps and address the question you've probably scanned this entire blog for. What do you do about the poop?
I'm glad you asked. My 10.5 month old poops like 1-3 times a day so not every diaper is a poopy one. When we do get a dirty one, I use the following things:
BumGenius Diaper Sprayer
Spray Pal - Cloth Diaper Spray Shield
Before you scream because of the sticker price... I have to say worth.every.penny. I sincerely believe these are just as necessary for cloth diapering as a baby butt is. So buy it. You won't regret it. And like the diapers themselves, these typically can be resold for at least 50% of their original purchase price.
So your baby has pooped. Personally I like to put Nolan in baby jail (read: his crib) and take the diaper and spray it down and I bring my cloth diaper "laundry basket" with me so I don't have to carry a soaked diaper down the hall when it's done. You clip the diaper to the spray pal and turn on the sprayer which basically just works like a garden hose sprayer. You get the junk off, you flush it down. Put diaper in basket.
Voila.
When it's time to do laundry - which I do every 2 days - I just take all the diapers down to the washer and throw them in as is. The washer takes care of cleaning the diapers beautifully. Of course every once in a while I'll throw in some bleach to remove stains cuz they do happen. I hang the diapers up to dry and they're usually dry within a day or so.
Meanwhile I still have plenty of clean diapers just waiting to be used.
Notes:
I didn't cloth diaper when Nolan was brand new because of meconium. And then the diapers were too big anyways. Many people have found newborn sized cloth diapers which they like. I'm sure you could find some if you looked :)
I use disposable at night because they appear to be the best way to keep Nolan feeling dry and therefore helping him sleep better at night. I also use disposable when we're traveling. But if I'm just driving around town I'll still use cloth.
I prefer my snaps vs velcro diapers.
My husband supports cloth diapering and I think that has really made all the difference in making this successful. If you want to convince your spouse that cloth is right but they're not really interested in it - I'd show them the bottom line. Even though there are a lot of startup costs, the maintenance costs are low. And eventually you end up saving money that you would have spent on disposables. I think we're now past that point where I've spent less on cloth diapers and accessories than I would have spent on disposables.
Oh, I also use cloth wipes. But that's another story.
If you have a question about cloth diapers, please ask in the comments below!
