Cloth Diaper Developments

After two days of Cloth Diapering, the time has come to do some laundry. We purchased Rock in Green detergent. We also received two sample of Bumgenius Detergent when we ordered from Cottonbabies.  I have to say that after one wash I can see the difference between Rock In Green detergent and Bumgenius Detergent. The Rock In Green got all of the yellow tinge out of the diapers from the poop however, the Bumgenius Detergent left the tinge.

Washing diapers is not nearly as terrible as one would imagine. I simply emptied our wet/dry bag into the washer. Put it on quick rinse to get the yuckies off. Once that was finished, I put in two tbsp of the detergent, set it on hot with a second rinse, and GO! After that, I separated out my covers to air dry. Threw the rest of the inserts into the dryer and waited. The whole process was relatively quick and painless.

I have to say that I don't know how I would have been able to cloth diaper if I were still living in our apartment since, we didn't have access to a washer except at the laundromat. This would be an entirely different ball game if I had to hand wash all of these. I know people do it but, I don't think I could.

On Sunday night, the hubby began asking about the cloth diapers. This is so exciting to me because at the beginning of all of this he was so dead set against he. He took it upon himself to learn how to put the insert into the cover and what to do with it when it was soiled. I showed him the difference between covers and inserts, pocket diapers, and all in ones. He quickly discovered that cloth diapers were not any more difficult then disposables! YAY! (I have to say the fact that they save money was also a big plus.)

At the moment our stash is:
8 flip covers
16 stay dry inserts
12 doublers
4 Bumgenius 4.0
1 Bumgenius Freetime
1 Govia One Size Cover
4 Bumkins One Size Cover
4 Swaddlebees Simplex All In One One Size (en route)

I think we are complete, unless I find something too cute to pass up.

I chose to get a bunch of all in ones because they are easy to use, if the little one has to go to a babysitter or stay with someone who doesn't want to cloth diaper. (We do have a bunch of disposables thanks to my in-laws so, those will certainly come in handy when going on day trips or visiting.)

In the coming weeks/months, I hope to make some cloth wipes and cloth diapers. Obviously I'll be starting with the cloth wipes first. The diapers will definitely take more sewing skills than I have at the moment.

*Here's a great link from babycenter with lots of cloth diaper sewing links https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArEKq5v645hhdGxVTk9rckdGMHA5RzhCbFEwTlRSOGc&hl=en#gid=0

 

Cloth Diapering: Day 1

Today is the first official day of cloth diapering.

Stash: We have 8 flip covers, 4 bumkins covers, 1 govia cover, 2 bumgenius 4.0, 12 infant prefolds, 18 flip stay dry inserts.

LO has been in a flip cover with stay dry inserts since around ten this morning. So far so good. No leaks. No explosions. All is well. I'm not finding cloth diapering anymore difficult than using disposables. We will still use disposables when we go out and when he goes to bed for the night (at least for the time being). I'm too chicken to dive in head first.

Interestingly, the only difficulty I'm running into is where to put the disposable wipes. When using a disposable diaper, I would just put them in the soiled diaper as I used them and throw them out together. Now, without the disposable diaper, I need to find another solution. Clearly this is why many people who cloth diaper use cloth wipes as well because then they all just go into the same bag.

So, far I'm not sure how many diapers I'm going to go through in a day. I've been trying to change him about every 2 hours. (Now, he's throwing me for a loop with this spontaneous nap so, we'll see what happens.) I've planned for approximately 12 diapers a day.

We are going to use the rock n green detergent for the diapers for the time being. Namely because I know it won't ruin the diapers. As time goes on I'll look for more economical detergent. I was just having too much trouble sifting through all of the information out there.

Why am I trying to cloth diaper? 

The first reason is it will save money in the long run. The side effect is that we will be making less trash. I don't like the way the natural diapers feel. It is kind of like wrapping him in a paper towel. So, this is better for the environment as well. The diaper covers and pocket diapers are so cute! I love the patterns and colors! (They are much more fun than the disposables.)

Where did I get my information? 

FRIENDS! (Yes, I have several friends who CD.)
http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a16235/cloth_diapering
http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html
http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/diaperrashcreams.htm
http://thecrunchywife.com/2012/06/how-to-cloth-diaper-prefolds.html

Where did I get my cloth diapering supplies? 

www.cottonbabies.com
www.nickisdiapers.com
www.diapers.com