She Loves Him: September 2012

PREFACE:

We are a cloth diaper family.

I love it.

One of the best decisions we've made.

Now that Mila-bird has made her debut, and now pushing into her fifth (what!?) week of life, this mama gets a lot of questions about how we tackle this.

When I was pregnant I debated whether to start cloth diapering from the second she was born or wait until we came home from the hospital. I'm REALLY glad I waited until we got home. Having to deal with an unplanned c-section and a long hospital stay (and almost an even longer one for Birdie) would have made diapering more tedious. Who wants to come home with a ton of laundry, anyways? So, her little booty stayed in disposables for four days.

Honestly, it was a little ~~challenging?~~ ~~Difficult?~~ Strange... getting started once she was home. Each baby has their own shape and unique "way" of ...er... going... so getting the right fit and diaper type can take some trial and error. During this time, since we were exclusively co-sleeping, I kept a little piddle pad underneath her while she slept.

WHAT WE SPENT:

24 Diaper Service Quality cloth diapers: $40

3 Snappi's: $9

6 KaWaii diapers: $35

9 Baby City diapers: $20

6 Fuzzibunz diapers: $86

7 (gently used) ProRaps covers: $15

48 baby wash cloths: $12

2 small spray bottles: $3

2 wet bags: free, thanks to grandma

1 trash can: $15

1 travel size Dr. Bronner's lavender soap: $3

TOTAL: $238.00

WHAT WE USE:

(Thanks a heap, blogger, for not letting me rotate.)

What we use: (clockwise from top)

Yellow- KaWaii Heavy Duty one size diaper

White- Fuzzibunz one size diaper

Pink- Baby City one size diaper

White- ProRaps newborn cover

Note: "one size" means it will fit a baby from birth (or about 8-10lbs) until about 30 lbs. They cost more but are a better investment in my personal opinion.

When Mila came home 99% of the time she was in a traditional cloth diaper (think of a traditional spit up rag but higher quality) with a ProRap cover. In the picture you can see the the cover has a little notch at the top that prevents the diaper from touching little belly buttons. Whenever she was soiled the cloth diaper would go into the pail and the cover- if not soiled- would be reused. Otherwise it, too, would go into the wash pail. I only used the newborn size as she grew out of them very, very quickly. (Uhh... two weeks later.) While she was growing out of these I started putting her into Fuzzibunz. These have an insert that go into a little pocket. When it's soiled you remove the insert and throw it and the cover (pictured) into the wash pail. The snaps are adjustable and there's elastic in the legs and waist that let you customize the fit to your baby. (Perfect for Birdie's chunky thighs AND skinny waist.)

Now that Mila-bird has filled out and lost her belly button cord we're using only KaWaii, Fuzzibunz and Baby City. Each has their own washing instructions, look, "pro," and fit. Am I happy with them? Yes. Definitely.

Birdie wearing a traditional cloth diaper and a snappi to secure it. (ProRap cover would go over this)

Birdie-girl sporting a KaWaii diaper before bath time.

HOW WE WASH:

Directions for each cloth diaper brand posted inside a cabinet in the laundry room.

Top of the line cloth diaper detergent.

Our trash can wash pail... complete with dirty diapers and inserts. Most people use a pail liner but a Febreeze-scented trash bag works just fine.

Grandma made Birdie two travel wet bags for her diaper bag. This holds dirty diapers (and sometimes clothes) until we get home to wash them.

Because I invested in these diapers and plan on using them for other children I do a wash every other day. Waiting longer can build up some funk and risk the chances of diaper rash appearing on a booty. Each diaper has their own specific washing instructions, but I always do a 30 minute cold water soak before I toss them into the washing machine...this also includes the travel wet bags. (To eliminate chances of stains, lingering smells, etc.) You'd be surprised to learn that with all of the diapers we use you're only supposed to use anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 the detergent amount you'd use for the load size. Detergent can actually build up on the diapers and make them ineffective at soaking up what it needs to. Also, cloth diapers cannot be washed with just any detergent. I use All Free & Clear as it has no additives, dyes, perfumes, etc, etc. I use this on Birdie's clothes as well instead of Dreft. I wash on a regular cycle but once a week I do a sanitize setting to really make sure everything- including the washer- is clean. I just purchased the Rockin Green detergent last week to help prevent ammonia build up. So far I think it's a great product. The package is really tiny but it doesn't take much per load.

I know what you're thinking... what about poop. Mila is exclusively breastfed so her poop breaks up really easily. Poopy diapers are stored in the wash pail until I'm ready to do a load. I use our laundry sink to spray out the poop. Yes, sometimes that means I touch it. I don't mind it... it's JUST poop. Once it's sprayed out I soak all diapers and reuseable wipes in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Then I wash the diapers according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Wipes go in the load with the hottest setting.)

Sounds like a lot? It's really, really not. In the time it takes me to load up an infant, drive to Costco, stand in line, pay, and drive back home I could have all of the diapers washed, dried and assembled... with time to spare.

HOW WE STORE:

Baby City diapers with reusable cloth wipes.

KaWaii and Fuzzibunz's with a pile of extra inserts.

Our wipe system: a small spray bottle of water mixed with three drops of Dr. Bronner's lavender soap. I spray the wipes to moisten them but sometimes I just spray her directly. LOVE the smell!

All of the diapers I'm using are pocket diapers- they have two inserts that are stuffed into the pocket to create the fluffiness of the diaper. I stuff all of the diapers with just one insert but sometimes I add the second if Birdie will be asleep for awhile or if we're going to be in the car for a long time. It just adds more absorbency.

After everything is dry it takes me approximately 10 minutes or less to get all of the diapers stuffed, organized and put away.

ON THE GO:

There's not a big difference in cloth diapering at home versus on-the-go. Instead of throwing away diapers and wipes as they're used they just get tossed into that green wet bag until we get home. I usually have at least 2-3 cloth diapers in my baby bag... sometimes a couple more just to be safe. I also have a small stack of reusable wipes (baby wash cloths), a piddle pad, a travel-sized spray bottle of water, and a cloth diaper friendly diaper rash cream. (Mila breaks out if I eat a lot of acidic foods)

Will we ever go back to disposables? Yes. I purchased a pack of disposable Seventh Generation diapers (wipes, too!) for a weekend trip that we took last week. We stayed in a hotel the entire three days and I knew that I wasn't going to have access to a washing machine. I don't mind doing this again in the future if I needed to.

WHY WE DO IT:

Each cloth diapering family has their own personal reason as to why they do it. For our family it breaks down to two reasons:

1) The cost- It absolutely blows my mind to think that I'm literally throwing money away each time I change a diaper that's been worn for such a short amount of time. I once read that to cloth diaper a child from birth to 2 years old (including electricity/ gas costs) can cost as little as $300. To diaper a child from birth to 2 years old using disposables can cost at least $1,300. HELLO!

2) Chemicals- Sounds silly but it's true. D and I are silent, closeted hippies are heart. The thought of all of those disposable diaper chemicals touching our Birdie's skin makes us both cringe. This is why we use mostly water with our reusable wipes.

Call me crazy but I think little bums look a little bit cuter in cloth diapers.

It's clique to say that time has flown by... but, actually, it truly has. In a twisted way it seems like my days spent recovering in the hospital happened eons ago. (Maybe it just seemed like I was there for a ridiculously loooong time.)

Mila-bird has taught me so much within these past 15 days: breastfeeding while shopping in Target/ restaurants, how to use the bathroom with an infant in your arms (a public one, too!), how to get blood drawn while holding said infant, driving with a screamer in the backseat, how to- unsuccessfully- change a (cloth) diaper in a car, how to clothe a child that's too big for most of the stuff you have, how to clip nails without mauling little fingers, and so on...

... just to name a few.

At this point I'm delighted (and feel a little guilty saying) that Birdie is an easy, peasy baby. Breastfeeding has been a breeze, I get to shower everyday, she likes the car (except when hungry), and I'm sleeping about 6-7 combined hours per night. (I still have dark circles under my eyes, though.) We spend the bulk of our days nursing, changing/ caring for cloth diapers, finding something to do outside of the house (cough, cough Target cough), and doing stuff that must be done- doggie exercising, laundry, lots of phone calls with D, and the like.

We've had quite a few visitors within the past two weeks. I wish it was easy to fork over Mila-bird when others perch- ready to take her from my arms... but that mama-bear in me kicks in. Hard. So far, this has been my only challenge. There have been times when I have to descretly excuse myself and cry in the bathroom after visitors leave. Sharing isn't always easy.

iPhoto notes that I've taken 145 pictures of Mila-bird within the past 15 days. You know...heh... just a few. Here's a sample of my favorites: