Posted by lucy8180 on January 6th, 2010 |
1 comment
I’ve been meaning to update everyone about cloth diapers, but I’m a slacker and haven’t done it for months. We still love cloth diapering and I can’t wait for the new baby to get here so we can use some of the diapers that Greta wore for only a few weeks. I bet the new baby won’t get much use out of them either, but we will just keep saving them for the next baby.
For the most part I think cloth diapering is easy (I’ll discuss some issues we have had) and totally worth the little bit of extra effort. The last time I wrote about diapers I think I had different favorite diapers.
Today my favorite diapers are:
BumGenius One-Size Organic All-in-One – Currently these diapers are only available in the snap version. When I first bought them, they were available in the velcro, so that is what I bought. Just a few weeks after I bought them, they released the snap version and then shortly after discontinued the velcro ones. We aren’t using the velcro ones now because Greta became a diaper stripper at about 10 months, so those are in storage for the new baby’s first while, until he or she learns to take off diapers (or until Greta starts removing his or her diapers). These diapers are super easy to use and hold a lot. I have never used them overnight, but if your baby isn’t a heavy wetter you might be able to survive the night without leaks. I love that they are made of organic cotton and that is what touches baby. Since it is an all-in-one you don’t need a cover. These are definitely my go-to diaper for leaving the house. They are trim and easy.
Variety of Fitted Diapers – I kind of love fitted diapers. I have a variety including goodmamas, muttaqin baby, motherease, and es-baby. These are usually Greta’s first pick for diapers (she loves picking out her diapers these days), mainly because they come in pretty patterns. She has a few favorites that she always picks if they are clean. I usually put these on her around the house, and sometimes with a cover, sometimes not. Back when it was warm and Greta was not usually wearing pants, we didn’t use any cover. Now with the potential to soak through pants and tights I usually put a cover on her, just so if she does pee a lot I don’t have to change her pants as well. These are all pretty absorbent and all have snap closures. They are all also one-size diapers. These are all natural fibers, some cotton, some bamboo and some are a combination. I definitely prefer natural fibers rather than the synthetic fibers that are in most pocket diapers.
At night we use a goodmama fitted with two extra boosters, followed by a Thristies cover. Until recently we only used one booster, but she was waking up wet sometimes, so I added another layer to absorb more pee.
The main issue we have had in recent times is stink. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I suspect it is because I started washing diapers only every 3rd day, rather than every other day. Basically what was happening was anytime Greta peed the diapers would stink a lot, like dirty diapers. After about a month of trying a zillion different solutions I finally got them back to normal by soaking the diapers in oxiclean for a couple of hours and then rinsing like crazy, like 5 or 6 full wash cycles. I did that about a month ago (right when we moved in here) and the diapers seem to be holding up very well.
The BumGenius and mother-ease diapers seem to be holding up the best. The goodmama diapers are slowly falling apart, which is quite disappointing since they aren’t the cheapest thing in the world (although they did just lower their prices). Many of the knits have gotten holes in them and then snaps seem to almost be melting, making certain snaps unusable. I think they replace snaps free of charge, so I might look into that. The older goodmamas I have seem to have held up better than the newer ones, so maybe they changed the snaps they were using. I haven’t used the es-baby or muttaqin baby fitteds enough to know how well they will hold up. We don’t have as many of them and for some reason they don’t get picked as often (I guess Greta doesn’t love the patterns as much).
I really want to try some wool diaper covers, but I can’t justify the price. I’m thinking of trying to make some out of old sweaters, but so far I haven’t done that. I keep hoping I will win a contest for a pretty wool cover, but so far no luck.
I have had to adjust our washing routine a little bit since we are now using a top-loader washer, while our washer in in storage. Other than using more detergent, I’m not doing much different, but it took a little tweaking to get where I wanted it to be.
Anyone have any questions? There are oodles of you who have had babies recently or are due in the coming months. I challenge you to at least consider cloth diapers, if only for part-time. Better for baby, the environment and your wallet.
P.S. I haven’t really bought any new diapers for the new baby. Since we use one-size diapers mostly, after baby grows out of the newborn stuff, Greta and baby will use the same diapers. I may need to order a few more to last us 2 days, but other than that I’m set.
P.P.S. Have I mentioned how much Greta LOVES her diapers! She was so excited to see them when the movers brought them in and she loves to pick out which diaper to wear at every change.