Intrepid Murmurings

I know I posted about this back years ago when I was first starting out, but thought an update might be in order.  I have been a fan of cloth diapers from the start, and have found it to be a strangely addictive (passionate?) aspect of mothering.  Maybe because I deal with them ALL DAY LONG?  Because there all these awesome new types and styles of cloth diapers, each with pros and cons?  Or maybe they just look too cute?  I don't know, its kind of crazy, I'll admit.  But anyway.  Warning to those unschooled in the current cloth diapering trends: the following gets a bit technical!  And extremely dull if you are not into this kind of thing! 

The first time around, I started with a smattering of various types at first, then narrowed the field and bought a bunch that we liked. Mostly what we went with were pocket diapers:  Fuzzibunz.  A few fitted diapers and covers too.  Most of these were sized, so we had smalls, mediums, larges.  Got most of them used, which helps a lot with the cost (these suckers are awesome, but expensive!)

When Elsie and Delia were on the way, my plan was to start with cloth for them half time once they were big enough to fit them (out of newborn sizing) OR when I felt up to managing the washing (Emma was still in cloth diapers then too!) and just do 1/2 and 1/2 cloth and disposable for the forseeable future.  That worked well, actually!  At some point, cloth just seemed easier (especially since we had lots of help for a few months there!) and was SO much better for the garbage situation.  Two infants worth of disposable diapers was causing some serious extra garbage issues.   

Luckily, Emma potty trained when the babies were 3-4 months old, which is around when we started using cloth full time with the girls (except for nights), so I didn't have wash 3 kids worth of diapers for very long.  Whew!  I found that with the Fuzzibunz, the babies could fit into both smalls and mediums simultaneously for a long time, which meant that I didn't need to buy an extra set for quite awhile! Eventually I got more mediums (passed along from a friend!) when they grew out of the smalls but were not big enough for the larges.  We had some overlap for awhile, but I had to upgrade my stash again, especially since many of my old larges were starting to fall apart (the elastic was is shot!).  Instead of buying the same ones though, I branched out a bit.  Erm, a lot!   

Which brings me to my current reason for posting:  a review of what we are using currently, and the pros and cons of each of them.

Old stash, still in use: 

8 or so old Fuzzibunz (down from at least 15, due to the failing elastic) -- Pros: love these for ease of use, dryness on baby's skin (nice wicking through the fleece to the stuffer), quick dry time.  Snaps are very adjustable and great for getting a perfect fit.  Cons -- expensive if new!  Kind of boring. Stuffing is a drag...

1 Green Acre Design pocket -- Pros:  Same as the Fuzzibunz, but also a bit trmmer, which means they fit better under clothes. Comes in cute prints, which is always nice! Cons: Too trim, perhaps, because leaks happen more than with the FB.  Also no leg gussets, which = more slight leaks.  

2 Motherease one size fitted diapers --  Pros: My favorite fitted diapers right now.  Really nice,  so sturdy, truely fits a wide range of sizes.  Cons: Needs a cover, and that second step can sometimes be a pain with a wiggly toddler.

2 Bella Bottom Fitteds -- Pros: they work fine, one has a cute print. Cons: don't like the snap placement at all -- the girls get snap marks when they wear them.  Way too much "wing droop", and the hemp one feels wierd and kind of crunchy/matted now.  Need a cover/extra step.  

2 fitted diapers of unknown origin -- pros: cute prints, velcro fasteners are easy! cons: needing a cover is a pain, as mentioned above

And now, the new stuff....

4 new style Fuzzibunz -- pros: I do love these, and the new updates are nice (though not critical).  Less "wing droop" (not that is was too bad before) and wider cut so they are easier to stuff.  Cons: same as above

2 Green Acre Design Pockets (see above -- obviously I liked them well enough to get two more!)

1 Bum-Genius one size pocket -- pros: easy to stuff, lining is very smooth and soft.  Velcro can be easier than snaps.  Cons: The girls are starting to figure out velcro so its a matter of time before they can take these off.  Also, I always forget to fasten the velcro tabs back before washing, and they either get messy or stuck to other dipes in the wash -- they also curl and collect lint.  Sometimes the pocket cover flap in the back gets wonky and I have to fuss with it

1 Rocky Mountain Diaper (pocket) -- Pros: I really like this diaper!  Very trim, and super soft lining fabric. Very easy to put on since there is only two snaps instead of 4. Leg elastic is adjustable inside the diaper -- very sneaky and cool!  Cons: a little low rise for my girls, at least it will be eventually.  I think they may grow out of this one before they are pottytrained.  

1 Drybees AIO (All In One) --  Pros: Like this one a lot. I love not needing to stuff! (unlike a pocket, the absorbent part is sewn in).  Velcro is easy and nice big tabs.  Wicks really well.  Cons: lining fabric is a bit scratchy/not as soft as I'd wish.  Girls will figure out how to take off soon.  Long drying time (I either have to turn it inside out, or run it through a second time in the dryer)  

1 Thirsties AIO -- Pros:  Love this one!!! Soft lining, excellent gussets to prevent leaks!  No stuffing! Velcro is nice.  Cons: Long drying time.   Easy for babies to remove. 

2 Bum-Genius AIO -- Pros: Love not stuffing, easy to turn inside out when drying.  Velcro is quick to put on. Cons: Long drying time.  Velcro tabs tend to curl and look bad.  

3 Swaddlebees AIOs -- Pros:  SO trim!!!  It is amazing.  Snaps, not velcro.  The lining fabric is cotton (not polyester like all the others), and very soft.  I like that the girls feel wettness (unlike the wicking of the fleese lined diapers) so they will learn to know when they are wet (for potty training purposes).  Cons:  Long drying time!  Harder to turn inside out to dry because they are so trim. On the small size (for larges) -- we are on the loosest snaps now and I doubt we will make it to potty training with these. Occasional leaks because they are so trim & not gusseted. 

4 Dream-eze AIOs -- Pros: These are funny diapers!  Two absorbent flaps are sewn into one end of the dipe, so they flap around in the dryer (or in the breeze) and therefore dry MUCH faster than other all-in-ones -- almost as fast as pockets.  For how absorbent they are, they are pretty trim, as well.  Cons: OMG, these are really hard to deal with when they get dirty!  Poop gets in between the layers and sides and is a big mess to shake off.  Yuck!  I only put them on when I expect wet diapers, and they work well for that.  

Along with getting these various new diapers, I also decided to replace all my old stuffers (inner absorbent part of pockets) many that were musty despite stripping, and just OLD.   The new ones are SO soft and fluffy!  OMG!  It was totally worth it to update these, since they don't cost a ton to begin with.  

So rah rah cloth diapering!  We really love it and find it so easy to use.  I love not sending out tons of diapers to a landfill, and don't find washing to be that big of a chore.  I wash every 2-3 days or so, but do use disposables at night and sometimes on outings.

I will leave you with my mama-of-3 pearls of cloth diapering wisdom:

• If you can, try before you invest in one brand/type of diaper.  Buy one or two of several different types (at least!) and then stock up once you know what you (or your kid) likes best.  If you are buying new, this is easy to do, it is harder when buying used because you sometimes want to snap up good deals ahead of time (I did this, too).  
• If you want to cloth diaper full time, get at least 12 diapers a day for your newborn.  You want to at least have a 2 day supply, so 24 diapers per baby is about right in my opinion (this is in addition to a stash of prefolds).  For twins, you might be able to fudge a bit and get a little less than 48, especially if you have some prefold backups on hand.  As they get older, you will need fewer diapers, maybe 8 diapers a day per kid.   
• Don't expect your newborn to fit into the small or "one size" diapers.  They are just too little at first (unless you get a preemie size)! Even my 9 lber didn't fit into many of ours for the first few weeks/months.  
• "One size" diapers may take longer to grow into than smalls for tiny newborns.  They are good once the baby is a bit bigger though.  Its nice to not have to keep sizing up!  However,  they will feel really bulky on little babies for quite awhile, and might be hard to fit under clothes.   On the other end, big toddlers may also not fit in them (but they might!  Depends on the brand.)
• Even if you buy the fancy shmancy diapers, invest in at least 2 dozen (maybe more -- I think I have 4) DSQ (diaper service quality) prefold diapers -- the old fashioned flat ones.  They can be used for SO many other things (burp cloths, rags, extra layer under baby, etc) and can be used for actual diapering in a pinch too, if you don't get to the laundry in time.  
• Laundering -- there are so many different ways to launder cloth diapers!  I think the routine really depends on type of diaper, how often you wash, and what type of water you have (soft, hard, etc).  We use a dry sack (dumping all solids) & wash every 2-3 days.  I do a cold pre-rinse, hot wash with detergent (currently back to Tide, I have tried SO MANY others though!) and then an extra cold rinse.  I occasionally use oxyclean, and very occasionally, a little bleach.  Also vinegar, either in a soak, during an extra wash cycle, or in the rinse.  I "strip" occasionally with Dawn when residue builds (we have VERY soft water which makes it hard to rinse out detergents).