After jumping back into the cloth diapering arena once again, I thought that I should come back and update you on how things are going.
For those just coming into the conversation, I cloth diapered my first three children. There weren’t too many options at that time, just flats, pre-folds, and plastic or nylon pants to cover the diapers.
Poor quality of water (rust) and cost (moving from well to city water) caused me to change to disposables, and once you are in the rut of disposables, it seems hard to make the leap back to cloth.
Didi’s post and conversation encouraged me to head back to cloth. The reasons were four-fold:
- Save money. (We figured the cost of disposables for one child last night. It is around $500 a year. Multiply that over the cost of the time a child is in diapers, and wowzers! Instead of getting a part-time job, maybe a mama could just cloth diaper to help the family save money! Add in cloth wipes, and you’ve got some real savings!
- Cloth diapers are just softer. If *I* were a baby, I’d want soft micro-fleece. I’m just sayin’….think of the sweet baby’s bottom!
- No heaps of diapers in the landfill.
- There are some very cute options (as Didi highlighted in her post.)
I began with my two month old. I had some pre-folds, some friends sent me a few of their favorites to try out, and I bought a couple of the high-quality diapers to get started. I had a good array. Since I was already doing cloth with the baby, I decided to make best use of my time and put the 22 month old in cloth as well.
The biggest leap, girls, is mental. The brain says, “I don’t want to deal with this. I don’t want to rinse out a diaper.” Once you jump in, it isn’t bad at all. Our grandmothers down thru the ages used cloth and didn’t think a thing of it.
Maybe I’m a sicko, but I am finding great pleasure in using the cloth diapers once again. There’s nothing more basic than changing a baby’s diaper, than washing them with soft cloths and restoring them to clean and dry status. It’s how mothers show love. (Have you ever watched a man wash, dry, wax and buff a car? It’s sort of the same, but better.) I find that I change cloth diapers more regularly – which IS an interruption to the day, but mothering takes time. This ensures that you are regularly getting touch time with your infant, talking to her and interacting as you change her. That is healthy!
As far as types – I still like the vintage charm of a pre-fold with pins and a diaper cover. I purchased some little pink and blue metal pins from Nikki at Integrity Diaper. They are so cute and have locking heads so baby won’t accidentally get poked. (Nikki is wonderful to work with, by the way, and carries some very nice soft and natural pre-folds that I love!) If you are wanting to diaper inexpensively, you really can’t go much cheaper than this. (Well, maybe you could, if you used all recycled products.)
The diaper wraps are easy peasy to use. (Something like a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap or a Thirsties cover.) No pins. Just fold a pre-fold into a rectangle and stick it in the wrap.
The Fuzzi-Bunz are great. I just love them. My friend Shelly is having trouble with leaking, but her little boy is in between sizes so perhaps that is the problem. They are so cute, and fairly trim, and just…fun.
I must admit that I think the BumGenius is, well, brilliant. It folds down and snaps to be a nice fit on Mariam, but it fits on Benjamin too. (He is over 35 lbs.) This is one diaper that will go a long way…I usually pack it in the diaper bag for when I’m out. I’m fairly confident that it will hold what it needs to for a three hour outing.
As far as laundering goes…it is not really any big deal. I had a sample of Charlie’s Laundry soap, and just love it. It really gets the stains out. With free shipping, it doesn’t cost any more than buying the detergent in the store.
There are so many cute covers, WAHM diapers, all-in-ones, etc. that I have not checked out so can not review. Over all, though, I can give my recommendation for trying out cloth diapers. After an initial investment, you will save money. I know that I cringed at first at the thought of any expense associated with cloth diapering, but the bottom line is, you are going to be buying diapers anyway. For me, it came down to…”why not buy something that lasts?”
For me, it’s even a little bit fun.
January 26, 2008 at 11:19 pm |
Thank you for all of these posts on cloth diapers- I am so excited to begin doing this from here on out!
We (Kev and I) have enjoyed your “green” posts, and are also completely ready to jump into some of the simple changes you suggested. Your light is shining, friend- and it’s falling on us- so thankful! (((Holly)))
January 27, 2008 at 1:25 am |
Thanks for reviewing, Holly! My gifted disposable stash is running out so just yesterday I was re-reading yours and Didi’s posts and picking out a dozen prefolds from Green Mountain and a thirsties cover. It is very encouraging to hear that your return to cloth diapering is going well. Also cool to hear that you started your toddler back in cloth after being awhile in disposables. I guess I sort of thought I might be behind the game starting my baby at 7 months. Silly, I know.
January 27, 2008 at 1:41 am |
I’m so glad you are enjoying CDs. I used them on my last 2 and I honestly feel that it was an addiction! A good addiction! After my first child in CDs potty trained, I actually cried! DH had said NO to more children and I loved the routine of CDs that we had become accustomed to! I held on to most of my stash, just in case! I’m glad I did. We were blessed with one more child and he was CDd from day one!
There’s just something about using cloth diapers. Especially when the sun is shining and I was hanging them out on the line. It made life seem so simple, like all of life’s stress and problems were washed away in the rinse cycle.
When someone would give me that ‘look’, when they found out that I used cloth diapers. I would just tell them that until they experienced ‘folding therapy’, they wouldn’t understand!
You know you can get some good deals when you subscribe to the email lists of some of the cloth diaper makers! I loved getting seconds for next to nothing! I didn’t care if a snap was out of place……that’s why I had snappis and wraps, right?
January 27, 2008 at 3:02 am |
Holly, your timing is providential. I have recently decided to pass on my stash of cloth diapers and wraps/covers which I had brought over from NZ. I’m a huge fan of cloth diapers but Handsome and I have decided for my mental well-being we’re going to stick with disposables with our last one. So, would you like all my cloth diapers? I have about two dozen, plus six microfibre, brandnew white ones that I thought I’d use with our latest baby but it just never happened. I also have several Eenees, which is an Australian brand which I found fantastic. Those are the outer wraps which are waterproof.
I thought about selling them on Craigslist or Ebay or whatever, but I would rather give them away as most of them were given to me as gifts.
If you want them, or know someone else that would benefit from them, just give me an address and I’ll post them off next week. michele AT philoxenos DOT info
January 27, 2008 at 3:03 am |
Just a further comment, I said this baby is our last one, but I don’t actually know that.
Just a point of clarification.
January 27, 2008 at 3:30 am |
Kasi – I love how you say that…folding therapy.
I like folding them, too. Strange! 
January 27, 2008 at 3:30 am |
Possibly, it is because they are rather uniform, not like socks that need to be matched…
January 27, 2008 at 4:28 am |
Yay! I love to hear people talk about their positive cloth experiences. I’m glad you’re getting into the groove of it, Holly.
Elissa, I think you’ll be really happy the the gmd diapers and covers. Please update us once you start using them!
And Kasi, I can totally relate! There is something calming about the whole routine. I have my diapers sunning right now, actually!
I also think, like Michele, there is a time for disposables. Yep, it’s great to create less waste (and have fun enjoying the simple pleasure), but sometimes it is just not the right time.
Oh, and one more thing ladies…I have just discovered bamboo velour/terry prefolds. OH MY goodness. These are amazingly soft and absorbant. I think I need some!
January 27, 2008 at 6:39 am |
Definitely a time for disposables.
January 27, 2008 at 8:09 am |
Holly,
Please keep us posted with pictures as you finish more cute diapering things…soakers…pretty prefolds…..
I may try my hand at knitting that wool soaker you posted, one thing I didn’t understand is sizing. Does it make more than one size? I have only knitted one thing so maybe I should not attempt a cover. And I have never bought yarn……..maybe this is a hobby I should not start. Ha! : )
~Nikki
January 27, 2008 at 8:58 am |
Ah, and I should have added that Ben quickly decided that potty training would be a good idea…so the nice stack of pre-folds that I have sitting beside the changing table are just sitting there…waiting on Mariam, I guess. I’ve saved them for quite awhile already. I’m certainly not complaining about a child wanting to be taught to use the potty!
It fits right in with the cloth diapering, though, because he has lots of accidents, and the training pants are easy to throw in the washing machine with the diapers. I still use the plastic pants over the pull up style cloth trainers.
Sorry that I did not make that distinction in my post. Sometimes I assume that all of you just “know” these things.
January 27, 2008 at 11:03 am |
Call me sick and twisted, but I love hosing off the poop! Okay, I’ll clarify. A WAHM (and D) business – The Potty Pail – sells cloth diaper sprayers (I got mine through Ebay). It’s awesome!! And, fun. I couldn’t wait for Phoebe to, well, do her duty, after my husband hooked up the hose (to the toilet), which took maybe 5 minutes. And, I can adjust the pressure! And, I can turn it OFF (which is good, on account o’ my 3-yr.-old)! Can you tell I’m excited?! (It came in the mail this week.)
Didi recommended the Thirsties cover, which I ordered from Nikki’s Diapers, and I LOVE it. The cheap Gerbers from Walmart work fine, but those Thirsties, among many other great qualities, sure don’t hold the stinky smell like the Gerbers.
I make my own fitted diapers, but I do have Gerber pre-folds which I use with a Snappi. And, I do still buy a package of disposables on occasion, for outings when my daughter will be in someone else’s care, even if briefly. ‘Gotta have a little mercy, I guess.
January 27, 2008 at 7:51 pm |
I think this is so cute! Obviously with 4 teens in the house my mind is not on diapers, but I think it is so sweet and indicative of our mommy natures that we get excited over the details…like diapers. Nothing says love like a clean, fluffy diaper. Well, you know what I mean. Sometimes it really IS the little things that matter most.
January 27, 2008 at 8:08 pm |
I never had one of the sprayers. My neighbor did and loved hers. I just had the diaper duck, which really comes in handy also!
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. I never really thought about why folding diapers was so therapeutic. Maybe it is because you don’t have to match anything, or think about who’s pile is where. I could just sit and fold soft, fluffy, fresh smelling cloth.
January 27, 2008 at 9:04 pm |
Awesome wrap-up…thanks for your conclusions so far. I read this after I had just posted a comment on your first post about cd’ing (look at me…I’m already using some of the abbreviations…hee hee hee).
Anyway, thanks so much for all this info….those of us who just happen upon your posts are much enlightened. Also have loved reading your other stuff. Thanks.
January 27, 2008 at 9:24 pm |
Welcome, Michawn.
Nikki – as for sizing on the cover…I’m not sure. I’m about half way done with it. It says that there are two sizes 0-10 months and 10-24 mnths. I’ll let you know. It is a super easy pattern, really, once you look it over.
Sheila – you’re cracking me up! I’m going to have to check in to a sprayer now!
January 27, 2008 at 10:25 pm |
I am so thrilled about these recent posts about cloth. I had decided a few months back that we needed to switch before we move, but have been putting it off…
I have had stacks of T-shirts and sweatshirts (thrift store clearance) ready to make into diapers (ever seen that site with instructions about these?) AND several wool sweaters that have already been felted just sitting…waiting…
Your pictures of the wool soakers have absolutely INSPIRED me to hurry up and get the things made! Thank you for the pictures, and the easy instructions.
P.S. I have always wondered about the potty training thing… My first three were in cloth, too, and I can hardly remember potty training them…it was quick and uneventful. But the last three (that have been potty trained) have taken much, much longer… is that because they were in disposables, and it just didn’t feel as uncomfortable to be wet? What’s your theory?
January 28, 2008 at 12:41 am |
That is my theory, too, Julie, that and trying to start a little earlier than I actually *think* they are ready.
I know the books say to wait for specific signs…but after potty training six children and working on the seventh, I find they don’t necessarily always give you those clues. I have had a wide range of ages within the potty training realm. (Oh, and, it’s not called potty training any longer. (Big GRIN!) It’s potty teaching. ) Yeesh. Okay, I’ll go with it.
Re: the thrifted materials to make the diapers. YES! I love the Fern and Fairie site. So clever! The wool works so well, Julie. It truly retains a lovely smell (and I am NOT kidding!) time after time after time. So cool, so economical!
January 28, 2008 at 3:53 am |
I’ve also heard it called “potty learning” or pl’ing for short. Funny how these things change.
The rebel side of me still calls it “potty training”. Heaven forbid we train our children.
January 28, 2008 at 4:38 am |
Didi-Where does one find Bamboo Velour prefolds?
January 28, 2008 at 5:46 am |
If I tell you, please don’t blame the addiction on me!
Here are some popular ones right now, pb&e being really hard to get:
hyenacart.com/pbellie/index.php?viewall=1
http://hyenacart.com/BagshotRowBamboo/
http://hyenacart.com/RamieBabyDesigns/index.php?category=1
I just got a custom order through pandatushies.com. The website isn’t that great, but you can email her (Melissa) for a custom order. Mine are en route and they are just $6 apiece. Several people on diaperswappers have raved about them. PB&E is quite expensive, but wow, are they nice. You can also get bamboo velour and terry by the yard from Panda Tushies if you want to make your own prefolds! Hope that helps!
January 28, 2008 at 10:15 am |
Ahh…potty training (I’ve never even heard of those other silly terms…why change the name for heaven’s sake?). O.K., so I’ve only potty trained 2 kiddos so far, so I by far an NOT an expert like you mothers of many are, but we don’t potty train until really late in some people’s minds. Of course, like I said before, we’ve moved and travelled alot. That, at first, were major influences in our decisions about the when. But, after doing it this way (my first was 3 years 2 months, my second was 2 years 9 months), I’m not sure we’ll ever do it differently…esp. if we cloth diaper from now on.
We did the whole “potty training in one day” thing…and really it only took one morning. It was seriously done in ONE day…less than really. Of course we’ve had a few accidents, but really only the kind where they are “too busy” to go potty (you know how they do). Anyhoo…that’s been my experience and I love it that way. We’ll see if that changes with the other children.
January 28, 2008 at 11:47 am |
My last two little boys almost potty trained themselves, and that before two years of age. When that happened, I wasn’t ready. It was never convenient….like in the middle of a move! I’m thinking…”You can’t do this! I can’t do this right now!” But…sanity prevailed and I realized…if they are ready, then they are ready! Don’t stop them!
But I’ve had others who were slooooooooow…at least 3 years before I even started. I guess I’ve not had a real methodology up until these last little boys…but they have made me re-think what I thought I knew.
Barbara Curtis – mom of 12 – says that children have a window of opportunity where they are interested, naturally, at 18 months. She is really gentle about it all, but she says that after that they are harder because you have passed the time of natural inclination. At the time I read that, I disbelieved. But now…I’m beginning to think that it might be true.
Bottom line…I think each mom knows her child best!
January 28, 2008 at 11:52 am |
Didi! Stop it!
Those pre-folds look wonderful! Now I understand why you said you want one…for you!
I want one for me, too! 
January 28, 2008 at 10:37 pm |
I recently (actually, I guess it’s been about ayear now – time flies!)switched to cloth; we treid Fuzzy bunz & had leak problems on both my guys, so I decided to make my own ‘fuzzy buns’ custom suited to their tushes. we LOVE them! if ever I put a disposable on them (which is quite rare!) they ask for a fuzzy bunz!
when we were in the ‘trying out cloth’ stage, I’d put a paper diaper on my 3 yr old, the same diaper that, up till 2 days prior, was all he’d ever known, and before I even had it taped shut, he says, “WHAT are you putting on my bottom?!”
January 29, 2008 at 12:51 am |
He has a very discerning bottom, Tracy!
January 29, 2008 at 10:28 am |
[...] making the diapers before he was ready for them. And THEN solid food poops just gross me out. But Holly and Didi and others have inspired me to at least finish making these. What will happen to them once [...]