So cloth diapers. We decided to use them to save money. We definitely have- as long as I stop buying them! It can easily become an addiction because they are so cute. I started with a few BumGenius 4.0s and some Kawaiis. My mom also got my $200 worth of gift certificates to spend on Bumkins (thanks, mom!), so we ordered some Bumkins fitteds (these need a cover to be waterproof) and some AIOs (all-in-ones). All of the above claim to start at around 8-9 lbs, but they were way too big for Sadie at that point. They didn't fit her until she was around 10-11 lbs. We didn't start using cloth exclusively until she was almost 3 months old.
Getting them clean
I had a really hard time getting started. If you cloth diaper, you know that the wash routine can be tricky. What works for one person will probably not work for another because washers and water makeup are different everywhere.You can't use a lot of soap, and you must make sure there are absolutely no suds left- that can lead to bad things such as buildup or ammonia issues, which may cause a rash for your baby. I started with All Free & Clear because we used that on our other laundry and this worked well for a friend of mine. No matter how many times I rinsed, there were still suds in the water! It was so frustrating. I had to use vinegar in every rinse and I still saw some soap bubbles. We have really soft water, so I think that may have been a factor. I switch to Rockin Green Soft Rock, which is more expensive and I had to order it from Amazon. I didn't want to use this on our regular laundry because of the expense, and it annoyed me having 2 detergents. I read that many people have good luck with Tide powder, so I decided to try that. The first time I tried it I was convinced it was giving Sadie a rash. She seems to have sensitive skin. However, I was using Tide on all our other clothing and she had no problem with it, so it was all in my head or I wasn't rinsing enough. After much experimentation (and frustration- I almost gave up many times because I felt like I was wasting soooo much water!) we found what works for us. We wash every other day. I have enough diapers to last a little longer, but they get too stinky and gross if left more than that. Here is my routine.
- Cold rinse to get off any yuckys
- A full hot wash with 2 tablespoons of Tide
- Another full hot wash with no detergent. If I remember, I peek in during the rinse cycle to make sure all of the suds are gone.
- Dry in dryer for 5-10 minutes. I found my natural fibers get crunchy if they go straight to the drying rack. Hang on drying rack overnight. Back in dryer for another 5-10 minutes. Snap up the rise if needed and ready to use!
This was also a bit of a challenge. I mentioned above that we started with 4.0s and Kawaiis. These are both pocket diapers. The 4.0s have a suede cloth lining to wick away moisture. Sadie's bottom would get red each time I would put her in cloth. I thought it was a washing issue- until a friend pointed out that suede cloth allergies are fairly common. I had already ordered some Bumkins AIOs, which are bamboo and cotton, so I used those exclusively for a few days and figured out it was the suede cloth. Thankfully, cloth diapers have an excellent resale value so I sold my 4.0s. I also ended up selling the Kawaiis because I found I wasn't a fan of pockets. I hated stuffing them after the wash. We used Bumkins AIOs most of the time after that. I used the fitteds some, but at first I wasn't a fan of the separate diaper and cover. A friend then told me I should try BumGenius Elementals (BGEs). They are AIO and made of organic cotton. When I got my first one I thought it was bulky, but it is actually very trim once on the bum. These quickly became another favorite. I like them because I only had to snap/unsnap the rise, and with the Bumkins I had to unsnap the fold out flap for washing (which is gross when covered with poop) and snap it back in once they were clean.
Fast forward a month or so. A friend introduced me to sustainablebabyish (sbish) and wool. We got some sbish OBFs (organic bamboo fitteds) and snapless (fitteds you need a pin with). I thought wool and snapless was going to be our nighttime solution (we still used disposables at night). I quickly discovered that wool didn't work great for us either, and I actually prefer a disposable on her at night. She is a heavy wetter at night so we still do this. I guess technically I don't cloth diaper "exclusively" but this is what works for us. I usually buy a small pack of L.uvs, and it will last us over a month. Thankfully wool is another easy resell so I sold our 2 pairs of wool longies and my snapless (I found I also wasn't a fan of the pin and DH couldn't do it). I kept my cover because it's adorable and I can use it under clothes if needed.
Fast forward a couple more months. By now we were using a combo of Bumkins AIOs, sbish and Bumkins fitteds, and BGEs. Sadie started leaking through the Bumkins every day at the babysitter. These were the least absorbant of all my diapers. I knew my sitter changed her often enough because I saw how many diapers she went through. We discovered Bumkins no longer worked for us, so I sold most of those and bought more BGEs and sbish OBFs. I never sent Sadie to the sitter with fitteds because I thought my sitter would find the cover a pain, but when we were transitioning out of the Bumkins I sent them and she now prefers fitteds and covers! I am so thankful she is willing to cloth diaper for me. Now that Sadie is eating solids, I prefer the fitteds also because they are the easiest to spray. There are also no rise snaps so there is no prep after washing. The one thing I don't like is that some of them are sized, so we will have to size up eventually. Since cloth diapers sell so well I'm not worried about that.
Our cloth diaper adventure has been rocky. I almost gave up several times, but I am so glad I stuck with it because they work extremely well for us now. I just need to stop buying them! I bought an elephant fitted on Etsy a few weeks ago and I vowed to be done. We have still spent less than $500 on a stash of 31 diapers and 6 covers. Here is my stash:
- 8 Bumkins fitteds (4 size small and 4 size large)
- 9 sbish OBFs (all purchased used so I got great deals)
- 2 sbish Happy Little Clouds
- 1 homemade elephant fitted
- 11 BGEs (most purchased as seconds from Cotton Babies, or a sale from Mom's Milk Boutique)
- 3 Flip covers
- 2 Bumkins covers
- 1 sbish wool cover
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| An adorable Bumkins AIO (she looks so tiny there!) |
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| Cuteness in a wool cover |
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| Our elephant fitted |
