Cloth Diapering 101: Not You're Grandma's Cloth Diapers!

So the first reaction most people have when they find out we use cloth diapers is they almost always talk about the pins and prefolds that people typically know cloth diapers to be.

Let me tell you, these are not your Granny's cloth diapers! They have changed so much over time. Sure, many people still use prefolds-with much success. But we were more interested in the updated styles.

We use pocket style diapers. The nice thing is that they are made to grow with the baby. Our personal favorite, and what we think fits Wren the best, are the BumGenius 3.0 or 4.0 pocket diapers.

Here's a picture of a BG 4.0, we still use them on the smallest setting...Wren will probably be moving to the middle setting soon:

Here it is closed up:

And here it is on the largest setting, you can see the snaps allow you to make it bigger so it grows with the baby:

Here is the insert pulled out of the diaper. The insert also has snaps which allow you to make it "grow" as you make the diaper bigger: 

Many diapers are also made with snaps. Fuzzibunz are probably the most popular or most widely used snap diapers. Many people think that the snaps are better than the velcro because the wear and tear on velcro doesn't hold up quite as well as the snaps. We like the way the velcro fits, plus it's easier for daycare, and Wren's Papa even says the velcro are easy to change! We have quite a few Fuzzibunz One Size diapers, but they tend not to fit Wren's chunky little thighs quite as well. FB also makes a Perfect Fit diaper, and they fit Wren better, but you have to buy them in Small, Medium or Large. We didn't opt for many of these because we like the idea of only having to buy one size to last most of her diapering days (with the exception of newborn).

This diaper below is actually a Swaddlebee's. It is one of Grammy's diapers (yes, she loves them so much and had to purchase her own stash for when Wren visits her!). We have a few Swaddlebee's in our stash, but all from Grammy...they're more expensive than the others! But only the best from Grammy! :)

One of the funnest parts of cloth diapering is being able to get cute patterns and match the diapers up to her outfits. We have accumulated quite a range of fun different colors and patterns! Here's a snapshot of most of our diapers, save for what was dirty and/or at daycare at that time:

Can we talk about these cute patterns?!:

These next ones are 2 of Grammy's latest purchases (sorry it's sideways). I am dying over both, but the Owl print is just too stinkin' much!  

And I thought I would show some of the fun ways that we can use the diapers as almost an accessory. I am so excited for dress season. Let me tell you, this child has DRESSES. Wayyyy too many dresses! And skirts! So we are going to have a summer filled with cute little dresses and coordinating diapers. So much fun! Just a few examples:

The bottom line? These diapers are far from the boring old cream colored prefolds! They come in every color and pattern you can imagine.

Cloth Diapering 101: Our Laundry Routine

The laundry aspect is probably the biggest drawback to why most people wouldn't consider cloth diapering. I'll be honest--it's definitely an ongoing process. However, I absolutely looove doing Wren's laundry. It's so fun and cute! I do most of Wren's clothes (only because I'm picky about how they're folded, hung and stored), but we do a good job of sharing diaper laundry duties.

Here's a quick rundown of the process...
We do laundry about every three days. So, like I touched on before, it is more water being used, but if you think about it, it's only one to two loads extra per week. It's honestly not a big deal. We have a nice little routine and it just isn't an issue for us.
Dirty diapers go into one of two places, either this bin with a wetbag, which is stored in our laundry room downstairs:

or in a wetbag...this one is kept upstairs in Wren's dresser, we also have one that goes to daycare and one that is kept in her diaper bag, but those are emptied into the bin in the laundry room as soon as we get home:

I get a TON of questions about the POOO! Honestly, we can't really speak to poo issues just yet. Wren is still almost exclusively on breastmilk, which is fully water soluble, so we just put the diapers straight into the wash, dirty or not. (She only poops about once every 10-14 days, so it really isn't a big deal.) Once she starts having more solid poops, we will just flush the solid part and then wash like normal. It really and truly isn't a big deal as far as I can tell from all of my cloth diapering buddies!

The diapers are built so that you actually don't have to remove the inserts before the wash--they'll wiggle out during the wash. However, it's just as quick to me to pull them out, so for whatever reason I do. It's just my routine. 

So we do a full cold rinse... 

then add 2 tbsp of Rockin' Green detergent (you do have to use special detergent and you can't use things like Desitin on the diapers) and do a very hot wash... 

Then we do 2 final rinses and if it's warm enough, we hang them out on the line. We absolutely looove hanging them out to dry and bleach in the sun! Josh installed a retractable line and we just pull it out when we are drying them.

Wren even likes to help! 

Then we have to bring them from this: 

...to this:

Stuffing is probably our least favorite part, but we make it work!

I thought I would show the amazing power of the sun! These pictures were taken about 2 months ago before J even installed the clothesline. This is also when Wren was pooping at almost every diaper. It was the first time that we had an opportunity to get things outside with sun AND temps that were warm enough to actually dry the diapers (remember--this was around February).
So here's the whole group before, with stains:

 And here they are after being bleached in the sun (!!!):

And here is one particular diaper before:

And the same diaper after: 

The sun is a natural bleaching agent PLUS it also kills bacteria and, best of all, it's FREE! SO we do take advantage of the sun as often as possible.

One thing I want to note, because I want to be very open about this entire process, is that wash routines are definitely a trial and error. We are working to try to find the best detergent and though we haven't had any major issues, you can smell ammonia after Wren pees, and when you open the bin, you definitely get a whiff of ammonia! Thankfully, the wetbags and bin keep it in, so you don't get the same smell that I always remember Diaper Genies to fill rooms with.

Anyway, that's that whole laundering routine. Pretty simple, but definitely a commitment!

Cloth Diapering 101: Why We Chose to Cloth Diaper

Wren's cute little cloth diapered bum back in January (~2 months old)

It is no secret that we use cloth diapers and we are loving it! We get a TON of questions from so many different people...friends, family members, heck...even strangers in the bathroom while we're changing Wren! Even people who don't have kids are interested in seeing how things have changed.

For that reason, I thought I would do a little blog series this week in celebration of Earth Day on Friday, sharing why we chose to cloth diapers, sharing pictures of the diapers/our laundry routine/daycare, what our favorites are, some of the challenges, etc. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me. We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have!

DISCLAIMER: I want to be clear, from the beginning, that we are IN NO WAY saying that we think everyone else should cloth diaper. We realize it's not a choice everyone wants to make. We 100% feel that cloth diapering is the best, and only, option for us and our family. But frankly, we don't care what other people do. That's not to say we don't care about the little baby bums, just that we honestly don't judge anyone else for their choice to use "disposable" diapers.The posts pertaining to cloth diapering are strictly our opinions, our experiences and just a way of sharing information. We don't claim to know what's best for any families other than our own! Also, we are not experts by any stretch of the imagination!

Okay, so I thought a good place to start was with talking about the factors that led us to choose cloth diapers. In the end, it was an absolute no-brainer for us.

Here is a short list of reasons why we chose to cloth diaper:

*Environmental
*Health
*Cost
*Cute Factor!
*Other

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:So this is where people tend to get a little testy. Again, let me say that we don't care if YOU use "disposables!" Please don't take offense to the things we have to say...these are our opinions combined with the facts. Okay, moving on...

The first figure that I remember gasping at was when I read that it takes between 200 and 500 years for a "disposable" diaper to actually decompose in a landfill. When we put that into more personal terms, that means that "disposable" diapers we put on Wren today would be here long after she is gone, after her children are gone, after her grandchildren are gone and even probably after her grandchildren's children are gone. That's just not okay with us. We both feel that we need to be good stewards of our land and at some point we will run out of room. In fact, we are already running out of room! Did you know that Hawaii is already out of room for landfills, so they are shipping their waste to the lower 48 states? Yep, true story.

Another environmental factor is the incredible amount of crude oil it takes to produce "disposables." If you think about it in more personal terms, it's pretty safe to say that 8 diapers a day is a good average. More in the early days, less as they get older...but 8 is a pretty good estimate. So you figure 8 diapers a day, so 8 cups of crude oil a day. That calculates to just over 180 gallons of crude oil used to diaper ONE baby in ONE year. Each gallon is just under 7 pounds. So if you calculate it out, each baby, over the course of his or her diapering "career," will use over 1.5 TONS OF CRUDE OIL. And that doesn't even include the oil used to make the plastic packaging! Crude oil is not a renewable resource. Once it's gone, it's gone. That's just not okay with us.
*I should note here that we are often asked about the extra water used to wash the diapers. My arguement to that is water IS a renewable resource. I'd rather use a bit more water than deplete something that will one day be GONE. I'll talk a bit more about water use in the "cost" section.
Finally, the solid waste and chemicals that are wrapped up in each "disposable" diaper are really not meant to be put back into the Earth. If you actually read side of a package of "disposables," it mentions that you should flush the fecal matter down the toilet before throwing them away. (Full Disclosure: I've only read this online, I've never actually checked the side of a package.) But we all know that doesn't happen! I'll get to the chemicals in the next section...

The bottom line is that we're just not okay with contributing to filling our land with waste. We feel that cloth diapers are one way that we can help to prolong this beautiful Earth for Wren and her children, grandchildren, etc.

HEALTH IMPLICATIONS:Last year, you may remember all of the news surrounding the investigation of certain stay-dry diapers causing chemical burns on babies. This was an immediate red flag to me. We had, by that time, already pretty much made the decision that CD'ing was for us, but this was just another confirmation that we were making the right choice.

Whether or not the diapers were actually the cause, I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. There were thousands of parents who came forward and made the claim. For me, reading just a little bit about the chemicals used to make the stay-dry "disposable" diapers was enough to make our decision.

If you do any sort of research on chemicals like Dioxin and Sodium Polyacrylate, I can assure you--it's not pretty. Dioxin is produced as a result of the bleaching process that "disposables" go through. The EPA considers Dioxin to be the most dangerous of all carcinogens (remember, the word "carcinogen" means "cancer causing") and it is banned in most countries outside of the US. Sodium Polyacrylate is the chemical that causes "disposables" to gel up and form little crystals. Sodium Polyacrylate was banned from use in tampons in the 80's because of its link to Toxic Shock Syndrome. It is a dangerous chemical that, if ingested, will cause nausea, vomiting and even in some cases has caused death. The list literally goes on and on. We were just not comfortable exposing Wren's delicate skin (and other body parts) to these chemicals.

And if they're not safe for her bottom, they're obviously not safe for the ground, which goes back to the environmental piece.

::off the soapbox::
COST:

I think, especially at this point, that we would both agree that even if we didn't save ANY money by cloth diapering, we would still do it. The health and environmental reasons, for us, justify the decision enough. BUT, the good news is that it actually is MUCH cheaper to cloth diaper!

We literally sat down last night and calculated how much we have spent on our diapers.

Let me be clear: they are an investment. But they *will* save us money. Some people say they don't have the money to invest immediately, and I do understand that. For us, that wasn't an issue. So, to give you an idea, most people say that around 24 diapers is plenty. For us, we made a rookie mistake or two at the beginning, so we have wound up with more than that. Also, we like to have more since Wren goes to daycare a couple days per week. We have 55 diapers. 6 of those are strictly for newborn use (we used "disposables" until her meconium was gone and her umbilical cord fell off). Another 10 of them are a brand that hasn't worked out for us. The good news is that they retain their value VERY well, so we are giving it a little time to see if they fit better as Wren grows, and if not we will sell them for exactly what we paid, or a few bucks less at the very least (YES, they retain their value that well!). So for 55 diapers, we have paid $535.61. I should note that we received some as gifts, won one on a blog giveaway and were given 3 from someone who decided not to CD anymore. But, in general, we've paid just under $10 per diaper.

I used a cost calculator and we will (most likely) break even when Wren turns about 7 months old. MIND YOU, we could have easily spent $150 less, so it is very possible to break even at even 4 or 5 months!

Are there added costs? YES! We have seen our water bill go up some, but it is difficult to gauge how much given that we a.) have a new baby who has a lot of laundry and clothes outside of the diapers, b.) moved into a new house only a little while before starting with the cloth diapers. But, yes. It has gone up. As for drying, we hang them outside as often as possible and haven't really seen an increase, again probably due to the added person in the house, the bigger house, the higher water heater setting, etc.

We also have spent a bit of money on wet bags (where we store the diapers for daycare and the dirty diapers...I'll show more of this later in the week), and we do have to buy detergent for them. We are currently using up the last of our store-bought wipes and will soon be switching to cloth wipes, too, so there will be no expense there.

But the great thing about the cost factor is that we'll already have made the investment if/when we have more babies! We will most likely spend $100 or so just on some new colors and some small sized cloth diapers, but for every additional child we have, we will be saving $1,700 to $2,000 or more PER CHILD over the course of their time in diapers.

Clearly, cost is great. Josh wouldn't have been on board if it hadn't been cost effective, at least not initially. I think he'd agree today, like I said, that even if we didn't save a dollar, we both think the cloth diapers are worth it! Bottom line, though? Cloth diapers are much more cost effective than sposies.

CUTE FACTOR:More to come later in the week! All I can say is that it is soooo much fun and sooo addicting! I have some super cute pictures showing the many different options for matching diapers up with her outfits. Basically, it's one more way to coordinate her outfits and her fluffy little butt is just so adorable!

OTHER FACTORS:I can't really speak to this (obviously), but there is some evidence that says kids who are cloth diapered potty train earlier than those who aren't. The theory is it goes back to those chemicals, and the fact that babies/kids in "disposables" don't even know they're wet because the crystals form and soak up all of the wetness. CD'd kids know they're wet. They can feel it...so apparently this helps when it comes time to potty train.

Again, I can't really speak to this, but some say CD'd babies get fewer diaper rashes. Wren has had some rashes, but they were almost always linked to yeast, so they had nothing to do with diapers.

Finally, some say that you have fewer blowouts with cloth diapers. We have encountered some leaks here and there (I will discuss this in a future post), but we have only really had one or two "blowouts," and the one real one was after a 14-day stint of no pooping by Wren. So I'm pretty sure nothing could stand up to that kind of force!

PPPhhew!!! If you stuck around this long, you are really interested!!

I promise, this was the most "dry" of the posts. I will have lots of pictures and will be answering questions, so I look forward to hearing from you! I promise tomorrow is going to be CUTE OVERLOAD!

Weeks 19-22!

Okay, so I'm behind.
The good news is that we've still been TAKING the pictures, I just haven't been posting them!

Here is Wren at 19 Weeks, she loves to stick her tongue out!

 Week 20!

Week 21! I love this picture SO much because she was actually really sick. You can see her snotty nose and rosy cheeks with slobber everywhere. Poor baby girl got a little cold and it's been stubborn to leave. She was extra cuddly a few days and slept a lot but other than that you'd never know she was sick. Such a happy girl!

Finally, here she is at Week 22. We love this one, too, because she recently started sucking her bottom lip and you can see her doing it here.  

She turned 5 months old last week! She is still working on rolling over and sitting up. We have been able to enjoy some beautiful days outside and we're all loving that.

Holy cow, only one month until her half birthday!!