Wednesday, June 9, 2010

taking it back to the old school.


'cause i'm an old fool, who's so cool.

no?? ok. little kim, i am not. (but i wanted to be when i was in high school. true story)

but there is a reason or the "throw back" reference. i'm talking cloth. i'm talking diapers. that's right. CLOTH DIAPERS!

we've been doing them or about 6 months now, and while i don't consider myself an expert by any means, i do have an experience. and i think it's time to share it!

first, let me say this. cloth diapering is not for everyone. but, if you decide it IS for you, just know, it. is. awesome. it does take a little time, it's a little bit of an investment up front, and it can be a little strange. at first.

BUT once you get into a routine, it takes just as much time as doing your laundry. which you do anyway. and in reality, it takes less time than laundry, because, well....they're easier to fold (i've been told i'm crazy for folding them, so save even more time and don't fold them!)

there IS a little investment up front. depending on which brand you get, your needs and how many you buy, they can range anywhere from about $150-$350 for a set. but considering that 2 years worth of diapers can cost up to $3,000 (more or less depending on your baby and the brand you use, but this is about average), you would be saving much more than you would be spending. of course these numbers are relative. i am assuming you change about 5-8 diapers/day. but if you have a second child, there is no upfront cost. you have a full set of diapers ready to go.

and the strangeness wears off. pretty quickly. i mean, baby poop is baby poop. whatever it's in. the first time your little bundle has an explosive poop up their back, and you have to wipe it off of them, the crib, the sheet, the mattress........you get the idea. poop is poop.

so on to the fun part. there are a ton of different kinds of diapers. it can get a little overwhelming once you start looking in to it. you have to figure out what diapers fit your needs. that said, i am not going to go on a tangent about all the different diapers there are. there. are. a. TON.

BUT i will share what WE do. because we LOVE our diapers. first, we did a bit of research and saw that fuzzibunz one size seemed to be a pretty good way to go. they adjust to go from newborn to potty trained. the leg area can be made smaller or larger by adjusting the elastic in the leg. and the waist area can be made smaller or larger too. they are super cute, and easy to use. (because when you have a squirmy baby, you can't do complicated. ) so we got one of those.

a friend of ours suggested using smartipants. these are also adjustable to fit from birth to potty trained, but are adjustable in a different way. the buttons go up and down the front, so you can make the whole diaper smaller that way, and the flaps have extra snaps on them, so you can OVERLAP them. this may not seem like a big deal. but it is! i wish i had known about these before we had bella. i used 'sposies for about 6 weeks, because most diapers are not really newborn friendly. they claim to be, but they usually can't get small enough. especially if you have a baby who is under 7 or 8 pounds. but these, well, they get tiny.

we also tried sunbaby diapers. mostly, because they were pretty cheap. these we like. the liner separated, but they still work. and the e-bay seller was really awesome and helpful and refunded the money for the ones that were defective. so i would buy them again, even though they weren't my favorite. customer service is so important, and i love supporting small "mommy" businesses.

finally, we have a handful of gdiapers. these are designed to be "hybrid" diapers-they have disposable liners, and reusable covers. but you can also use reusable liners. these are the CUTEST diapers i have EVER seen. seriously. and i got them for travelling, thinking that it would be easier to flush a liner, than keep a stinky diaper in our car for up to 6 hours. and in theory, it should be. but in practice.....well.....notsomuch. the inside of the liner breaks down almost immediately when it hits the water. which is awesome. the outer liner? it kinda hangs on for dear life and swirls around in the toilet. not really functional. especially if you run across a low flow toilet. clogging someones toilet is not good etiquette. if you know nothing else about good manners, you know this. but the reusable liners are not so bad. you can reuse the cover and just switch out the liners, which does make it kind of easy. and.....well....they are SO cute!


as for liners-most of the diapers we bought come with liners. but if you want more (and i suggest you do get more) the fuzzibunz one size liners are my favorite! they are small and compact but very absorbent and fit in the gdiapers better than their liners do. go figure.

phase 2? washing. we'll save that for another day.


4 comments:

DreamTNM said...

Cute blog! visiting from SITS. Just became a follower!

Justine said...

welcome, tania!! thanks for stopping by!!

Angie said...

Stopping by from the Tornado Tuesday blog hop. Your little girl is adorable! I just started using gdiapers about a month ago with my little one (who is almost 6 months) and I appreciate the info you provided on the other brands. I've been reading about the smartipants and think I want to order some. Have a great day!

Justine said...

glad to help! and thanks for stopping by!!