I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting when I decided to give cloth diapering a try. I guess I was thinking that it would be a lot more work than disposable. That the cloth would leak and be smelly to keep around the house. Wrong, wrong and wrong.
I started out using handmade fleece and microfiber diapers, and they worked well, but they were size-specific and the peanut out grew them. I bought a handful of fancy pocket diapers, which I love and use almost everyday now. I have a few BumGenius diapers and a few FuzziBunz diapers. These are called "one-size" because they are adjustable so babies can use them from birth to potty-training...or so they say.
I like that the BumGenius has an adjustable "rise" using snaps, but it was pretty bulky when Peanut was really small. And I don't think they would have worked in that itty-bitty-just-out-of-the-hospital size. These have "hook and loop" closures (Velcro to those of us who don't have to worry about brand names) so they are really easy. They are bright and cute and have nice fluffy microfiber inserts (the absorbent part) that come out for washing. This helps everything get cleaner and cuts down on drying time. My only complaint is that I thought the "hook" tabs could have been bigger for more grab, and be serged around the edge instead of glued, which would make them softer on baby's tummy. Also, when he hangs out in just his diaper, he can pull the tabs off really easily. (When wearing clothes this is not a problem.)
The FuzziBunz are also great. These have adjustable leg and back elastics, so you can cinch the diaper to fit the baby. They also live up to their name because they are super soft! Who wouldn't want cuddly fleece on their most sensitive parts? They are also cute with bright colors and they close using snaps. The inserts come out just like the BumGenius, and they are smaller, so the diaper is trimmer, but might not hold as much. (No biggy, because the Peanut doesn't like sitting in wet diapers so I'm changing him pretty frequently anyway.) The snaps are nice because he can't take the diaper off, but they take a little longer to fasten on a squirmy baby.
I also received a gift of some hand-me-down diapers, which was amazing! (18 Kissaluvs fitted diapers...probably worth $250 new!) A few of the elastics are starting to give out, but the diapers are in pretty good shape. This kind has elastic around the leg and back and fastens with snaps, but they don't have the waterproof layer like the pocket diapers I have, so they need a cover too. They were too big for the Peanut before, (they're for older babies and toddlers) but he is just starting to grow into them, and they work great.
I bought a waterproof bag to hold the soiled diapers, and it's washable so I just toss the bag in with the diapers at wash time. (Really cute from Planet Wise) Basically, I remove wet diaper, replace with dry and drop the wet one in the bag. (No stinky pails of bleach water.) As long as I wash them every second day or so, there is barely a smell. (I once forgot about a bag for a week, and that was pretty overpowering when I opened it, but the ammonia smell came out in the wash.) Poopy diapers add one more step, which is to grab as much poop as I can with a wad of toilet paper and flush it, putting the diaper in the bag with the others. (No need to rinse it or swish it or anything.) Because the inside of the pocket diapers are a soft, polyester material (so the pee goes right through and leaves it feeling dry on baby's skin) they don't stain like cotton might.
Over the past few months I have been using cloth at home and disposables when we are out and about and also at night. Every single messy leak (code for when poop comes squirting up the back or out the legs...or both) has been a disposable diaper. The cloth diapers never leak. (Honestly, how hard would it be to add a little elastic at the waist? Come on, Luvs, get with the times!) A messy leak in the middle of Walmart kind of negates the "convenience" of disposables, so I'm thinking about trying to use cloth more, even when we are out of the house.
To sum up, cloth is:
- easier (an extra load of laundry every other day instead of a trip to the store with an infant)
- cheaper (I have about $150 invested total and I probably won't need anything else until he's in big boy underwear)
- more comfy (fluffy fleece instead of scratchy paper)
- work better (poopy leaks are a pain in the @$$)
Not what I was expecting at all, but it makes me so glad I decided to give it a try!
(The picture above showes a Kissaluv fitted, a Bummi's cover, a green BumGenius, a light blue FuzziBunz with a white microfiber insert, my wet bag from Planet Wise and the Peanut modeling a BumGenius.)
