Going Green

When I was pregnant, I never considered cloth diapers. Too much work, I thought. Then, when Audrey was around 3 months old, her diapers just stopped working, or fitting, and she was having massive blowouts every time she went. Yes, every time. She would come home from daycare with three dirty outfits with poo all over them EVERY DAY. We tried 5 different types/brands of diapers until we found one that mostly contained her mess, but she still had blowouts right up until we started her on solids when she was six months old. When we switched brands of diapers, we noticed that there were these little tiny gel beads in the diapers that sometimes got on Audrey. I researched it and didn't like what I read, I guess thinking of all those chemicals getting on her body.

Anyways, everything I was reading at the time kept saying that cloth diapers are the very best at avoiding blowouts (and obviously no gel beads). That got me interested in cloth diapers, even though the daycare said they can't use them due to state guidelines. So, after months of research....I purchased my first few diapers!

They are one size adjustable pocket diapers, so they will fit her until she is potty trained. The snaps adjust the size for a perfect fit. They are really soft and plush, and they have a pocket in the back where I put a cloth insert to absorb wetness. When I change her diaper, I just throw the dirty one in a wet bag until I do the wash. To start, I only purchased five diapers to make sure I like them. I bought Kawaii brand diapers, because they are less expensive than other brands, but have equally outstanding reviews as the pricier ones. I spent $35 on these five diapers, and I ordered two more from another site just to compare. There are so many out there that it was kind of hard to choose, but as you all know, I am very frugal so of course I went with the less expensive brands. We only plan to use them on nights and weekends, but I still estimate that we will save a bundle by not using disposables at home. Plus, they say that babies in cloth are potty trained sooner, so that's another plus!

So far I've only washed twice - once when I first got them and then again after the first day of use. I thought the wash was going to be difficult  - running extra rinses and things like that, but it turns out that my washer has a "sanitary" option that is designed for washing diapers and has the right temperature of water and the right number of rinses and everything. They dried in the dryer very quickly too, but I'll probably hang them to dry once I have enough diapers in rotation that I'm only washing every other day.

The only drawback I've noticed thus far is that they are bulkier than disposable diapers. She doesn't seem to notice, but in some onesies you can see the diaper sticking out a little on the side. I fixed it by pulling down the onesie a bit more. Josh hasn't yet changed her diaper with one of these, so we'll see. So far he says he "loves it". Hmm...

I titled this post, "Going Green", but honestly, that's not the biggest reason I am switching. I love to save money of course, but really, I was just curious. I wanted to see what it was all about! Why would so many people be using cloth if it was really that inconvenient? So far, it isn't inconvenient, but I'm only just starting. Let's see how I feel after a few months.