Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Cloth Diapers

We made the plunge a few months ago and tried cloth diapers for Olivia. So far so good! My mother in law set us up with a trial at the local baby store and we were able to try ten different styles of cloth diapers for three weeks. After the trial, it was clear which brand and style of diaper we liked and wanted to use. We currently have a set of a dozen cloth diapers made by bumGenius in two different styles, the all in one and the one size diapers.
these all in one diapers are super easy to put on Olivia

these one size diapers fit Olivia great and will expand as she grows
 
The quality of this brand is excellent and they fit Olivia's little bum so nice! We use the cloth diapers part time on the days Olivia is home with either Michael or myself and I wash a load after a day or two of use. The washing of the diapers is my least favorite part, but it saves money and isn't too bad with a great washing machine like ours. I have found a few resources (listed below) with great tips on cloth diapering and maintaining the diapers long term. Our hope is to use this set of a dozen cloth diapers for the next 18 months or so and then possibly again with the next baby. I hope by using them part time, we can save some money and do our part to help the planet at the same time. Here are a few links and resources if you are interested in cloth diapering your little one...
  • How To Strip Cloth Diapers - a great instructional on stripping the diapers from the cleaning/detergent residue and getting them brand new clean.
  • Cloth Diaper Routine - this mom of six gives a step by step routine of how she does cloth diapers for her kids. I have learned some great tips from her! 
  • Colorado Baby - this is the store that we bought the diapers from and the owner has been a huge help in answering my questions and helping me get used to the cloth diaper routine.
Using cloth diapers is a total learning process and I have found some great tips that work for me. The Colorado Baby store sells some liners that you lay in the cloth diaper to catch solids and they easily flush in the toilet. I also use a waterproof zipper bag that hangs on the side of the changing table to hold wet diapers till it is time to wash. It is best if you double wash the diapers (or use a prewash setting on hot) and then I line dry the diapers to help preserve the velcro. 

All in all, it has been a good experience for us and I hope to continue to cloth diaper part time. And because I have a hard time posting without pictures of Olivia, here are a few pics in her pink cloth diaper :)
 

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