So, I'm crunchy.
Not really totally crunchy, but a bit crunchy. Meh. Maybe a bit more than a bit, but not completely crunchy. I'm crunchyish. It evolved. I wasn't crunchy when I got married. I wasn't crunchy when I was pregnant with Josh. I started getting crunchy when he was about 6 months old. I fell under the influence of a very crunchy group. ;) I made friends with a very unlikely mom in particular, who I'd consider pretty crunchy.
It just happened.
Two years later, I'm full-fledged crunchyish. Some of it is just plain good sense but others may think.. "crunch". I could make a big list, but that would get all distracting.
One of my big "crunchy" decisions was to ditch much of the "disposable" in our lives, which led me to cloth diapering. First, I did it for the environment. Then, as I researched I found it is quite possible to not spend almost $3k on diapers and wipes your kids poop in and then you throw out. Finally, I found the diapers were just so darn cute, it was like getting to pick a new outfit 6-8 times a day. So, I was sold. I researched and found myself instantly overwhelmed with all the information and options. And, hey, I was cloth diapered and turned out ok. (Way to go, mom!)
So for those who are sitting there scratching their head at the image of those ol' prefold diapers being swished in the toilet and then dumped in the big, stinky, wet pail. LET IT GO. It' s just not like that anymore. Here is your fast-track tutorial on why I think cloth diapering is totally easy!
First, there are tons of styles. Something for every budget and style.
Prefolds:
THESE are your granny's diapers. They're considered the "workhorse" of the family. They're not fancy, but they get the job done and they're cheap. They do require a cover to keep them leakproof , but those can be cute. Pins are a thing of the past, by the way. We Snappi our diapers now. I use them on a rare occasion, when I'm feeling very earthy and in touch with my ancient feminine ancestors.
Mostly, they just sit in the bin neglected. ;)
Cover:
Fitteds:
One of my favorite types. They're SUPER soft and trim.
About half my stash is made up of fitteds.
Aside from needing a cover, they're very much like disposables.
I prefer Thirsties Fab Fitteds and covers because they come in an array of delicious colors like Bubblegum, Melon and Raspberry.
Pockets:
These are great because they need no cover, however they need to be "stuffed" with inserts to make them absorbent. I use Fuzzi Bunz pocket style at night because I can double stuff 'em and they're size adjustable to last a long time.
While they give Leah a bootylicious butt, they are bulletproof. In seven months Leah has only had 2 nighttime leaks, and one of those times was when I didn't fasten the diaper right. Seriously, we "PJ" at 8pm, she nurses frequently at night and she is always dry 12 hours later when we get our day started.
Fuzzibunz comes in tons of colors and Leah's butt is a virtual rainbow each week.
My beef with pockets is the stuffing. Washing and folding diapers is not a bother, but getting all the inserts restuffed can be a pain. Not a big pain, but big enough for me to limit these to nighttime.
All In Ones:
The cheater's diaper. I love 'em. They're my favorite. They're like the shortcut to the playground. These make up the most of my stash. They are just what they say, "all in one". No cover needed. No extra inserts needed. They are exactly like their sposie counterparts, but they come in cute colors and prints and don't get trashed after use. They usually velcro closed and have super soft microfleece or organic cotton. They're trim and absorbant to boot.
Some of my favs:
Bumpkins (my least fav of my favs).
I can't resist the absolutely adorable prints, but they're a bit 'stiff'.
Bumgenius, cute colors and very soft, the bulk of my collection
*When I originally posted this entry I was all in love with Thirsties AIOs. Not so much anymore. I had their "Version Ones". They were a big FAIL in our house.
My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE AIOs are Swaddlebees.
They are super soft, totally reliable and beautiful. They're also quite pricey. I have a few and may buy more someday.
One Sizes:
A marketing genius came up with these. The diaper fits from infant all the way through to potty learning, 8-35lbs. One diaper that does it all. They usually have snaps that make them adjustable. My beef with these is most of them are pockets and well, frankly, I'm too lazy to make my whole stash pockets. I do have a few and will probably grab up some more once Leah has another big growth spurt.
This is a minky. They're like the RollsRoyce of OS. I covet them for their cuteness but can't bring myself to pay the high price.
So, I resign to use the much more economical, while still kind of cute colored bumgenius One Sized.
-------------------------------------------------------
Wipes?
Yup, they're cloth, too. The great thing is, I only ever need one a diaper change. They clean bums much better than disposable wipes and we just use a little water, no soap or chemicals.
-------------------------------------------------------
So, now if you're still stuck with the image of your mom standing in the bathroom "swishing" dirty diapers, know that "we" don't do "that" anymore. Now, we just stick the diapers in a dry pail with a lid ($10 13gal trash can), no water or chemicals, and then when washing day rolls around, I just take the whole bag down, dump it in my washer and let the Maytag have at it.
To be clear, Leah still has those simple, not-smelly, completely water dissolvable breastmilk poos. Once she's eating solids and her poop.. well.. changes, we will probably use a diaper sprayer to knock of the, um, bulk and then use the dry pail.
Washing them requires a few steps, but nothing major. My "wash routine" has three steps that requires only some button pushing. I've found, for us, we just need a warm pre-rinse, warm/cold wash with detergent and then a rapid wash with no detergent.
(I should pause to discuss water usage a second. Water usage is often a misguided "argument" in the case for disposables. Disposable diapers use a lot of water and chemicals to be created. Me washing 2 loads a week doesn't come close to the amount of water and chemicals used to make diapers.)
-----------------------------------------------------
On the go?
Easy as can be. I have a travel mini-wetbag, a regular wipes case with some wipes and a small bottle of water. I just do a quick water squirt on the wipe, change her and stick the dirty diaper in the sealable wetbag till we get home.
----------------------------------------------------
Mostly, don't think "You're crazy!". I hate when people say that. It's not gross nor is it much work. It works best for us. It works best for the environment. It works great for our budget. Hey, I recently made back about 70% percent of my initial investment selling Leah's newborn and small stash. I'm fairly certain I couldn't do that with disposables. ;)
Most important, it works for perfectly Leah's tookas.
And, that's what's matters to us.
Oh, and I need to take far more pictures of Leah's fluffy butt!
CD POST, Part II
ALSO: Check out the "cloth diaper" label on the side bar for more cloth diaper related posts and pics of uber cuteness!
First, there are tons of styles. Something for every budget and style.
Prefolds:
THESE are your granny's diapers. They're considered the "workhorse" of the family. They're not fancy, but they get the job done and they're cheap. They do require a cover to keep them leakproof , but those can be cute. Pins are a thing of the past, by the way. We Snappi our diapers now. I use them on a rare occasion, when I'm feeling very earthy and in touch with my ancient feminine ancestors.
Mostly, they just sit in the bin neglected. ;)
Cover:
Fitteds:
One of my favorite types. They're SUPER soft and trim.
About half my stash is made up of fitteds.
Aside from needing a cover, they're very much like disposables.
I prefer Thirsties Fab Fitteds and covers because they come in an array of delicious colors like Bubblegum, Melon and Raspberry.
Pockets:
These are great because they need no cover, however they need to be "stuffed" with inserts to make them absorbent. I use Fuzzi Bunz pocket style at night because I can double stuff 'em and they're size adjustable to last a long time.
While they give Leah a bootylicious butt, they are bulletproof. In seven months Leah has only had 2 nighttime leaks, and one of those times was when I didn't fasten the diaper right. Seriously, we "PJ" at 8pm, she nurses frequently at night and she is always dry 12 hours later when we get our day started.
Fuzzibunz comes in tons of colors and Leah's butt is a virtual rainbow each week.
My beef with pockets is the stuffing. Washing and folding diapers is not a bother, but getting all the inserts restuffed can be a pain. Not a big pain, but big enough for me to limit these to nighttime.
All In Ones:
The cheater's diaper. I love 'em. They're my favorite. They're like the shortcut to the playground. These make up the most of my stash. They are just what they say, "all in one". No cover needed. No extra inserts needed. They are exactly like their sposie counterparts, but they come in cute colors and prints and don't get trashed after use. They usually velcro closed and have super soft microfleece or organic cotton. They're trim and absorbant to boot.
Some of my favs:
Bumpkins (my least fav of my favs).
I can't resist the absolutely adorable prints, but they're a bit 'stiff'.
Bumgenius, cute colors and very soft, the bulk of my collection
*When I originally posted this entry I was all in love with Thirsties AIOs. Not so much anymore. I had their "Version Ones". They were a big FAIL in our house.
My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE AIOs are Swaddlebees.
They are super soft, totally reliable and beautiful. They're also quite pricey. I have a few and may buy more someday.
One Sizes:
A marketing genius came up with these. The diaper fits from infant all the way through to potty learning, 8-35lbs. One diaper that does it all. They usually have snaps that make them adjustable. My beef with these is most of them are pockets and well, frankly, I'm too lazy to make my whole stash pockets. I do have a few and will probably grab up some more once Leah has another big growth spurt.
This is a minky. They're like the RollsRoyce of OS. I covet them for their cuteness but can't bring myself to pay the high price.
So, I resign to use the much more economical, while still kind of cute colored bumgenius One Sized.
-------------------------------------------------------
Wipes?
Yup, they're cloth, too. The great thing is, I only ever need one a diaper change. They clean bums much better than disposable wipes and we just use a little water, no soap or chemicals.
-------------------------------------------------------
So, now if you're still stuck with the image of your mom standing in the bathroom "swishing" dirty diapers, know that "we" don't do "that" anymore. Now, we just stick the diapers in a dry pail with a lid ($10 13gal trash can), no water or chemicals, and then when washing day rolls around, I just take the whole bag down, dump it in my washer and let the Maytag have at it.
To be clear, Leah still has those simple, not-smelly, completely water dissolvable breastmilk poos. Once she's eating solids and her poop.. well.. changes, we will probably use a diaper sprayer to knock of the, um, bulk and then use the dry pail.
Washing them requires a few steps, but nothing major. My "wash routine" has three steps that requires only some button pushing. I've found, for us, we just need a warm pre-rinse, warm/cold wash with detergent and then a rapid wash with no detergent.
(I should pause to discuss water usage a second. Water usage is often a misguided "argument" in the case for disposables. Disposable diapers use a lot of water and chemicals to be created. Me washing 2 loads a week doesn't come close to the amount of water and chemicals used to make diapers.)
-----------------------------------------------------
On the go?
Easy as can be. I have a travel mini-wetbag, a regular wipes case with some wipes and a small bottle of water. I just do a quick water squirt on the wipe, change her and stick the dirty diaper in the sealable wetbag till we get home.
----------------------------------------------------
Mostly, don't think "You're crazy!". I hate when people say that. It's not gross nor is it much work. It works best for us. It works best for the environment. It works great for our budget. Hey, I recently made back about 70% percent of my initial investment selling Leah's newborn and small stash. I'm fairly certain I couldn't do that with disposables. ;)
Most important, it works for perfectly Leah's tookas.
And, that's what's matters to us.
Oh, and I need to take far more pictures of Leah's fluffy butt!
CD POST, Part II
ALSO: Check out the "cloth diaper" label on the side bar for more cloth diaper related posts and pics of uber cuteness!
14 comments:
Thanks for explaining the cloth daipers...helpful! maybe for the next child...Kiv (my 3 yr old with CF) is a bit late to make the switch!
Laters
Kristen
Yup! For the record, I didn't switch over Josh. He was 2.5 when Leah was born. I do plan on using cloth swim diapers this summer and when he's ready for potty learning, we'll probably use cloth in lieu of pull-ups.
i am very interested in this. i have a 4 month old and need more tutoring. Where did you buy? Where did you find your sealable travel bag? if you wouldn't mind emailing me I would really appreciate it. kristirutledge@comcast.net I was just commenting to a friend that I would like to switch over, but don't know how to start and need a tutorial...and here it is!
thank you,
Kristi
I use "Mother Ease" Cloth diapers... One size diapers and you just buy different sized covers for the diapers. My favourite part is hanging them on the line to dry! They look so nice airing in the breeze! and the sun bleaches them SO white! I have 2 in cloth diapers (2.5 and 7 months), but I don't do cloth when we go out...and that's when we get the leaks! Maybe if I had a bag like yours to take them home in? Rubber gloves are another essential in our house hold for diapering too :-) When I was having "all day sickness" during pregnancy with our second my husband volunteered to rinse all the diapers! For washing I just do a spin cycle, the wash on hot/cold and they turn out great thanks to Mr. Maytag!
PS where are your wipes from...that's one thing I haven't gotten around to doing...maybe because I change the kids upstairs away from the bathroom and there's no water!
What a great tutorial on cloth diapers. We are close to the end of our disposable days but wish we would have known.
Very well written! I will not be bringing anymore babies into the world but would have considered cloth if i was:)
We use to say why not just wipe with a dollar....thus $10 thousand later in past wipes, diapers, and disposables....YIKES!!!
Hope r feeling better.
see u soon
thanks for the informative post on cloth diapering! I am considering it for my soon to be born twins, mostly to save some bucks. Is there a special kind of detergent or rinse that you need to use ? Also, does that diaper pail get smelly after a while storing the dirty ones? Do you ever use the disposables for traveling? And do you find that water is enough to wipe a dirty bottom? Sorry for all the questions, you just seem to have great knowledge on this topic! Thanks! Ashley
Thanks for the info- I really appreciate it!! My son wears pre-folds with a snappi and cover at home and during the day- at night we still use disposables and when going out- but I think i am going to make the investment for overnight and going out- thanks a bunch!
Leesa
Loved it... you may swing me if there is ever another little one in my house some day. I know we've had this discussion before, but the shopping/cute-dressing/babygear aspect of it just.might.swing.me.
Though I shall never admit to being crunchy. Ne-vah!
OMG THANK YOU for posting this. I want to CD and EVERYONE but hubby and my mom think I am crazy. Now all I have to do is send them to your blog. Thank you for writting this. Honsetly what did people do before blogs??? I have no idea.
Ariealla, I've done both and neither is particularly crazy. I can say that cloth diapering is better for the baby's skin, the environment and the budget. So, that one seems like the "less crazy" option. ;)
I love blogs, too!
HI! I just wanted to let you know how encouraged I was by this post. I have 2 kids (22 mos. and 4.5 mos.) and have been so so so convicted about our trash output with two in diapers. I also feel so bad for all the chemicals that get on their little tooshes (you know when there's little beads of something on their bottoms when they have an overly full diaper?? so sad!) Anyway, I stumbled upon your blog from reading about Nate and Tricia and I just saw the cloth diaper tags and was super encouraged that its not going to be as hard as I thought to switch over. that was a great tutorial, and helpful as I make my plans for our startup. So, thanks for sharing and for being so thorough. very very helpful!
~Sara-Beth
Hi! Someone on thenest.com posted a link to this. It's very helpful, and I'd like to start CDing. I am gathering all the info I can. Thanks for posting. Oh, and I am now following you on twitter..I just got one the other day, and I'm looking for new people to keep up with. :)
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