adventuresinclothdiapering-blog

[adventuresinclothdiapering-blog]

Cloth Diapering: A Dictionary

Well, a SHORT dictionary.

I wanted to go into a little more detail about some of the items I have previously mentioned, in case their function in the cloth diapering world isn't completely clear. Remember, not everything I mention is necessarily REQUIRED. It's up to you to decide how you want to go about this... if you decide that this is something you want to do. Today we'll talk about one important item: WIPES...

Wipes

Everyone who decides to cloth diaper needs to make a decision about which kind of wipes he or she is going to use: disposable or cloth. If you decide to use cloth wipes, you'll need to also either BUY or MAKE a wipes solution which can either be sprayed onto the wipes beforehand (you'll end up with moist wipes) or can be sprayed onto baby's bottom as needed. Here are the pros and cons:

Cloth Wipes - Pros:

Cheaper

Better for the environment

Better for baby (no chemicals)

Easier to use when cloth diapering - you can just roll the wipe up in the diaper and throw everything in the wash together.

Cloth Wipes - Cons:

More work

More of an initial investment - you need to buy the wipes plus the components of the wipes mix (or you can buy already-made mix)

Disposable Wipes - Pros:

You can use a disposable wipe to clean baby's bottom and then grab some of the poo off of the diaper - so you won't have as much to scrape off when it's time to do laundry.

Less work - it's much easier to grab a disposable wipe than it is to take out your wipe mix, spray a few times, and use a cloth wipe.

Disposable Wipes - Cons:

They are chemical filled

People who cloth diaper often accidentally roll up a disposable wipe with the cloth diaper and it ends up in the laundry... and it is HELL to pull bits of a disposable wipe out of your washer/dryer.

Bad for the environment

More expensive

Overall, I'd say that if you're already planning on cloth diapering, why not just add in the cloth wipes as well? You're already going to be doing the laundry, and it saves more money too. Depending on how many wipes you use with each diaper change, disposable baby wipes can run up to $25 a month or more. I know that doesn't seem like a lot of money, but over the course of a year that adds up - think of what an extra $300 could buy you or your baby! If you think about it, the money you'll save on wipes alone could pay for most of your cloth diapering supply. So for me, the financial reason was the clincher, as well as the fact that I could just throw everything into the wash together - the idea of accidentally throwing a disposable wipe into the laundry terrifies me!

Next... Wipes mix

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Cloth Diaper Prepping: The Ins and Outs

I'm not going to lie:

When it came time to "prep" my diapers, I had absolutely no clue how to go about doing it. All I knew, from doing some research, is that there is a particular way to wash and dry the diapers the FIRST TIME that can make or break the way the diapers function. If you prep incorrectly, you'll get leaks and blowouts. If you prep correctly, this should be minimized. I had to post a frantic question to the Softbums Super Fans Facebook page:

"How on earth do I prep these things? Hot water? Cold? Detergent or not? Dry them in the dryer or air dry?! Help!!"

Luckily, everyone was very nice and offered tons of advice. Unfortunately, everyone offered slightly different advice. I ended up going with a mix of what everyone suggested, in addition to a few things that made sense to me. So here is the process that I decided to use... remember this is only done the FIRST time you wash your diapers. There is a very different laundry regimen that must be followed for daily/weekly washing.

Prepping Your Softbums Cloth Diapers

Shells:

Wash shells on HOT with 1/2 the amount of recommended detergent. The more water, the better.

Rinse on COLD.

Dry in dryer on HIGH/HOT for 15-20 minutes. *This step is VERY important because this is what seals the sewing holes closed, thereby preventing leaks!

Pods:

Wash pods on HOT with 1/2 the amount of recommended detergent.

Rinse on COLD

Repeat 5-7 more times. *You do not need to dry the pods in between washes. Just wash, wash, wash several times in a row.

Dry in dryer on MEDIUM until dry or mostly dry.

If not fully dry, lie flat overnight to finish.

I washed a total of 9 shells and 42 pods together - I removed the shells after the first load since they only needed to be washed once. I dried all 42 pods together which took a LONG time - about 90 minutes. Since doing this I have learned a trick if you want to use a dryer to dry your pods - stick two or three tennis balls in the dryer to SIGNIFICANTLY reduce your drying time.

It took me all night to prep the diapers, but eventually it was finished. I laid the pods flat overnight because they were still a tiny bit damp - they were dry by morning. Then I put them all away in their bins.

18 minis on the left, 24 regulars on the right. Once I have everything altogether in one place, I'll take a picture of the organizational system I'm using, in case anyone is interested in that. It'll definitely be put into bins like this, but I have to wait until I have everything together until I figure out what is going into which bin.

On the plus side, the 6 shells and 13 pods that are on their way are all used, and have therefore all been prepped (hopefully the previous owners did a good job!). So I'll just need to wash them all once, for the sake of being sanitary, and I'll then be free to put them away.

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Happy Diaper Day!

So today my Softbums finally arrived. Actually, they arrived yesterday but I was too lazy to upload the photos until today. So they arrived at my doorstep yesterday, but they arrived on my desktop today. And here they are:

These are the eight shells that I ordered. I also have one more that I bought previously. In addition, I've recently purchased six more shells, used - I found a great deal on them and now I am officially DONE buying cloth diapers.

These are the inserts that came with the shells. There are 18 mini pods here, as well as 24 regular pods. I also have 13 more (used) pods coming - they came with the used shells that I purchased. There are 6 additional regulars, 6 SUPER pods (excited about there) and 1 mini. As I am done with the shells, I am also done buying pods. I have 55 pods total - there is no way I will ever need more than that. I am done!

Once I have the entire stash of 15 shells and 55 pods all in one place I'll take one final picture. I can't wait for them to all get here!

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Supply & Demand

After a few hours of scouring the internet for the very best deals (I usually refuse to make a purchase without SOME type of coupon or discount) I have finally rounded out my cloth diapering supply. I'm going to make a list to show you everything you'll need to get into cloth diapering yourself - even if I chose to forgo some of it. I'm also including how much I spent and where I purchased each item.

Diapers

9 Softbums Echo Shells ($321 with free shipping coupon - Manufacturer website )

42 Inserts - 24 drytouch, 18 minis (included in above price)

Wipes

30 Osocozy cloth wipes ($19.00 - eBay)

Wipes Mix

Baby Oil (Shower gift - but you can get it at the Dollar Store)

Baby Lotion (See above)

Baby Wash (See above)

Water (Free!)

Lavender Essential Oil ($5.49 - eBay)

Laundry

Tide Free & Gentle 64 loads ($14.99 - Lowes)

Minky 3-Tier Drying Rack ($27.99 - Lowes)

Snap & Spray Diaper Sprayer ($19.99 - Lowes)

Other

CJ's BUTTer - TWO Tubes of Organic Diaper Rash Cream ($23.78 with 10% off coupon - CJ's Website)

Planet Wise Wet Bags - Large and Medium ($30.17 with 15% off coupon - Affordableclothdiaper.com)

Items I AM NOT Using

Disposable Diaper Liners - These are not by any means a "must" and not everyone uses them. They are meant to keep the poo off of your inserts - you flush them down the toilet. But since I have the diaper sprayer, that is how I will be removing TTT's poo.

Diaper Pail Liner - I plan on using my wet bags instead of a diaper pail.

So that is the list for now. Taking into account gifts (all of the stuff I bought at Lowes was purchased with a birthday gift card and therefore did not cost me anything) and all of the items, I spent a total of $399.89. Not bad for everything I'll need from birth through age three. Of course I'll have to buy more detergent at some point, as well as the components for the wipes mix, but that's about it. I may increase my numbers (more cloth wipes, for instance) but that is my overall "stash". In my next post, I'll go into each item in a little more detail, explaining what each is and how it is used within the world of cloth diapering.

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Introductions...

Hello there!

If you are currently reading this blog, then I must assume you have some sort of an interest in cloth diapers. Which is good, because that's kind of the point of this blog! I've recently decided to delve into the wide world of cloth diapering, and I thought it might be interesting to chronical my experience... my achievements and mishaps... the pros and cons... the good, the bad, and the ugly. So here we go... hopefully you'll enjoy the ride as much as I do!

I am 34 weeks, 2 days pregnant with my first child, a little boy who shall be referred to hereafter as TTT. For reasons that won't be discussed at the moment, I am going to be a single mother for the next little while, and at the forefront of my thought process behind cloth diapering was simply... FINANCES! TTT and I will be supported by my income alone, and I've been thinking long and hard about ways in which we could make this experiences as economical as possible. I'm sure it's no news to you, but... Babies are expensive! Thus explains my decision to go the cloth route.

It's been estimated that it costs over $4,000 to diaper a child (in disposables) from birth through age three. This statistic takes into account the cost of the disposable diapers, disposable wipes, and other things like diaper pail liners, the cost of extra garbage removal, and more. $4,000! That's over $100 per month - that's my cable bill! Think of all the things that you could do with an extra $100... or to think of it another way - what would you have to cut back on to be able to afford $100 worth of diapers per month? I already cut back on plenty, and I'm honestly not sure if I have any more wiggle room in my budget. So cloth diapers it is!

Now, there is a HUGE range in terms of the cost of cloth diapers, depending upon the kind which you choose. Here are some basic descriptions:

Diaper covers - These are basically an outer "shell" that the parent places over some sort of a liner. The liner must be replaced at every diaper change, and the covers can sometimes be reused for multiple diaper changes.

Fitted diapers - This is a type of insert that would be worn UNDER a diaper cover - they are shaped like a diaper and typically snap or velcro onto the baby.

Flatfold diapers - These are basically square pieces of absorbant fabric that need to be pinned onto the baby. They do not come with elastic, snaps, or velcro. These would need a diaper cover as well.

Prefold diapers - These are also square pieces of fabric, but these must be folded to fit inside of the diaper cover. They are not pinned or attached to the baby in any way.

In terms of diaper COVERS (mentioned above) these can be further broken down into the following categories:

Pull-On - These covers do not come with any sort of attachment - they are pulled on over some sort of a liner or insert.

All-In-One - A plastic/waterproof outer layer that has an absorbant inner layer. As these are all one piece, each diaper could only be used once before washing. There is no reusable cover with this system.

All-In-Two - A plastic/waterproof outer layer, or cover, with a detatchable inner liner or insert. The insert can be removed, and as long as the outer layer isn't dirty it can be reused again with a new liner.

Pocket Diaper - This is another form of an all-in-two diaper. Instead of laying an insert inside of the shell, these diapers come with a little pocket into which an insert can be pushed. Since the baby would be in direct contact with the shell, both the shell and the insert must be washed after every use.

It's important to mention here that several brands of cloth diapers come in sizes, while other brands of diapers use systems that allow the SAME diaper to be used on a newborn as well as a three year old - this means you only have to buy one set of diapers that will last you until potty training.

With all that being said, I decided upon a particular brand of cloth diapers - Softbums Echo. I chose this brand because the price was reasonable - I paid around $300 for a supply that will last me until TTT is out of diapers and into underwear. I also liked that it was an all-in-two system, which means that I can reuse the covers a few times. The main reason I went with this brand is that these diapers have adjustable leg holes and waist bands - I don't need to bother with sizes. After all, what point is there to using cloth diapers when I'd just have to keep buying more every time TTT grew a little? Softbums also offers a pocket-style diaper called the Omni, but for some reason the idea of stuffing seemed like too much work to me. The Echo inserts snap right in - very easy.

I will point out that a lot of moms get into the idea of collecting cloth diapers. They call their collections their "stash" and are very proud to display them! I can see where this would come into play, as cloth diapers are adorable and come in so many fun colors. But as my main reason for doing this was financial, I'm looking to buy only what I need and nothing more. I chose to buy the Softbums "Good-to-Go" 24 pack.

This set comes with 8 outer shells, 24 inserts, and 8 "mini" inserts. The mini inserts can be used with newborns, and you can also use them as extra layers with older children who wet a lot. Knowing this, I also chose to order 10 extra mini inserts. I had a Softbums shell already (I had a giftcard to Amazon.com and I found a good price on one single shell) so that brings my "stash" to:

9 shells

24 inserts

18 mini inserts

Most cloth diapering experts point out that the more often you do laundry, the less diapers you'll need. The more diapers you have though, the less often you'll use each one, and the less "wear and tear" each diaper will suffer. So it's a toss-up. Again, I'm trying to be financially savvy, so I'm going for less. I've already decided that I'm going to do laundry once each day. Some people wash their diapers every other day, and some people stretch it to once every three days. I'm a bit of a germophobe, and I can't stand the thought of having yucky diapers sitting around for three days. That's just me though.

So I ordered those last week, and they should be arriving any day now! Of course, I have the single shell I purchased months ago, so I've already taken it out and played with it. I sized it to the smallest measurements and it looks like it will fit the very smallest newborn (they say about 5 pounds) and when it's stretched out all the way it looks like it would fit a large toddler. I can't wait until my package comes, and I can start looking at the other shells and the inserts!