Before Lizzie arrived I purchased a few used cloth diapers off eBay, 4 gently used FuzziBunz size small and 2 Happy Heinys one size. It took nearly 3 months before I was ready to try them and like so many cloth diapering mammas before me I found myself saying I wish I would have tried these sooner!!
The reason I waited so long was because I thought they would just complicate things so much more. The truth is they do add to the laundry and they take a few more minutes to stuff before use but it’s time I’m willing to spend. Call me odd but there’s something satisfying about taking off a full wet and poopy diaper (with no leaks) and watching it come out sparkling clean and fresh smelling from the laundry and sun.
Yes you read right, the sun! Many helpful mammas have raved about how putting a clean but stained diaper or liner out in the sun for a few hours gets them sparkling white and stain free. I was a bit skeptical because it sounded too good to be true but it really does work.
I’m still quite a newbie when it comes to cloth diapering but let me share a few tips I’ve learned along the way. And I’d love to hear some of yours as well.
-Don’t be afraid to start using them! Buy a few gently used from reputable sellers, borrow from a friend or buy 1 or 2 new during a sale. The up front investment is higher but you’ll quickly realize how much you’ll save over the 2+ years your child will be in diapers.
-Try different kinds. I currently am loving pocket diapers, both FuzziBunz and BumGenius. But there are so many other options out there that are worth exploring.
-Leaks will happen. I’ve suffered pee and poop blow outs in disposables and pee leaks in cloth (so far no poop blowouts in cloth but I know it will happen). With cloth it’s all about getting the right fit and knowing when to change them. Which when you think about it is really the same for disposables as well.
-Don’t be afraid of the laundry. Lizzie is breastfeed and not yet on solids so her poop is watery yellow and smells like cheesy popcorn (seriously). Breast milk poop is water soluble and doesn’t need to be rinsed off prior to putting in the wash. That being said I still find myself rinsing off both pee and poop diapers in the laundry tub before storing in the wet bag. It really isn’t bad at all and no worse than dealing with disposable diaper trash.
-Don’t spend too much time stressing over what detergent you use. Every cloth diapering family has their favorite detergent and every diaper brand has their list of recommended products. Do a bit of research on what not to use on diapers and give one of the recommended products a go. We use Tide Free and Clear powder and Allen’s Naturally liquid. I don’t have a favorite yet and haven’t been using long enough to be able to say how they work but so far so good. No stink after wash and all stains that aren’t removed in the wash come out in the sun.
-Yes cloth diapers are bulkier than disposables, there’s really no way around it. You either absorb with chemicals or layers of cloth. One size diapers (diapers that should fit your baby from birth to potty training) are usually bulkier, especially on the smallest settings. So far both the sized and one size diapers have fit under her outfits but I think once she starts wearing pants more often I may have to size up for them to fit. Personally I love all the colorful cloth diapers and use them under dresses instead of the diaper covers that come with the dress.
I really do find myself quite enjoying cloth diapering and plan to continue to build up my stash so I can keep little one in cloth all day long. I just ordered 7 BumGenius 4.0 one size pocket seconds for $10/piece ($13 when you add the cost of the inserts which you have to buy separately with seconds). That gives me 14 pocket diapers and should allow me to wash every other day.
So far my favorites are FuzziBunz Perfect Size and BumGenius 4.0. The Happy Heinys one size pocket diaper is a bit harder to fit on her and perhaps because it’s used, doesn’t seem to absorb as well. I’ll do another post reviewing the brands I use after I have a few weeks under my belt.
and have been trying to drink the recommended 3 cups a day. The taste is better than expected considering I hate the taste of 3 of it’s main ingredients (fennel, anise and fenugreek). I just started yesterday so it’s much to early to tell, but hopefully I’ll see an increase soon.
