Cloth Diapers- post 2

Baby Bro is now in cloth diapers too!  Wow, we are going to save a lot of money using cloth since we now have 2 kiddos in diapers.

I first wrote about cloth diapers in a different post, you can read about it here.

Just a few more thoughts / notes on our system...
I wash the diapers every 2 days.  I used to do 2 days of cloth diapers, 1 day in disposables while I washed the cloth.  I now have more diapers and 2 dry bags so I try to use cloth as much as possible. We are very flexible though.

Process:
When I take a dirty diaper off of Bug or Baby Bro, I re-fasten the Velcro straps, flip the top of the back of the diaper inside out to protect the Velcro tabs, then take the inserts out. (On the BumGenius).

I store dirty diapers in a dry bag.

Washing Routine:
1.  Unzip the dry bag
2.  Dump all diapers into the washer
3.  Add dry bag to the washer
4.  Wash on a short cold cycle
5.  Wash on a hot cycle, with detergent and an extra rinse
     (I just switched to Rock'n Green for my detergent and have been happy so far)
6.  Hang all covers
7.  Dry for a few minutes the liners (makes them softer)
8.  Hang all liners to complete drying process
9.  Re-stuff diapers so they are ready for Bug and Baby Bro to wear

It might sound tedious to some, but our little system works well for me and really doesn't take that much time.  I figure it is worth not having to spend $100 a month on diapers!

Okay and this is just totally my opinion... so take it for what it is worth...

I have personally grown to love my white cloth diapers and my blue ones.  White because they don't stand out.  If Bug is wearing a dress and her white cloth diaper shows it  does not draw attention, it looks like a normal diaper.  However, if all of the white ones are dirty and she is wearing Grasshopper green or Ribbit, it is like a neon sign flashing "look at me, and look at my crazy granola mom."

 

{I know, I am a bit granola and I should just embrace it... all the jokes in high school about being a granola girl might have left a little scar... and I digressed}  The blues I like because my kids wear jeans a lot and the blues just blend right in.  At least stay neutral with the colors you pick out... especially now that baby ended up being a boy, I am really glad that I only have 5 pink diapers... cause once Bug is potty trained they might not be getting very much use.  Just my thoughts for those of you getting ready to make the investment in cloth!

Cloth Diapers- post 1

 I have been asked by quite a few people about cloth diapers lately, so I thought I would write a little post about it.  We have never been "religious" about cloth diapering.  We use cloth about 75% of the time.  You won't catch me bringing cloth diapers on vacations, but when we are around home we use cloth.

Why do we use cloth diapers?
1.  It is very cost effective for our family, especially when you take into consideration that we will soon have 2 babies in diapers!
2.  It is better for my baby-  did you see that many babies are getting awful diaper rashes due to the new chemicals Pampers is putting in their Swaddler and Stay dry diapers.  You can read more here.
3.   It is better for the environment.  We have an energy efficient front loading washing machine so it uses very little water.  And since moving to SoCal I line dry our diapers 90% of the time.
4.  It helps my skinny kids keep their pants up : )  Funny, but true!  Bug has a number of pairs of pants that she can only wear with cloth diapers.  If she has a disposable on, her pants slip right off.
5.  For a baby (I started using cloth diapers when Bug was 3 months old) they prevented blow-outs!  Yeah, for not having to clean poop off of her back, the carseat, my lap, the swing...


Original Stash:
My stash (supply) that I have used for Bug
3- Size Small BumGenius AIO (all in one, pocket diapers)- now she is too big for these
7- BumGenius 3.0 AIO pocket diaper
1-  Size Small FuzziBunz

Additions to our stash (preparing for baby):
1- Size Medium Fuzzi Bunz
2- Flip BumGenius
2- additional Organic Inserts for the Flip

4- BumGenius 3.0 AIO pocket diaper (2 of which are "Seconds")
1- Bumkins AIO, size Medium

Must haves in my opinion for Cloth Diapering:
A dry bag for storing dirty diapers in.  Bag is then thrown right into the wash with your dirty diapers.













 Bummis biosoft flushable liners- makes poopy diapers so much easier to deal with.  This is not needed for breast-fed babies as their poopy is water-soliable and comes right off.  But as soon as your little one starts eating solids, I would highly recommend this.  Unless you are a die-hard cloth diapering mama and you want to wash all of the solid poops into the potty.









To be continued....  but here is a sweet pic of Bug from when we first started using cloth diapers