the cloth diaper post.

hey!! here is the cloth diaper post i promised. and good thing it is still 'this week' so i wasn't lying when i told you it would be coming! i'll answer the questions i've been asked and just give you my opinion on the whole diapering thing, because after all this IS my blog so that's what i get to do.

this is a picture of our diapers. i have the girls prefolds in the plastic tote, i want to buy another one yet...and the two white piles are the inserts. dustin's prefolds are on the other side of that. i also have the stacks of disposables out. but we haven't touched them much lately. on teh bottom is three baskets. one for each kiddo in diapers. in the baskets are the covers and the fuzzi bunz diapers.


::THE DIAPERS I'M USING::

for those of you who don't know already...i am using prefolds and wraps at home and a pocket diaper when we are out and about. the only reason for using the other diapers when we are not home is that it is a bit faster and easier to change the pocket diaper versus the prefolds. i feel that they both do an excellent job of absorbing for my kids and have not had many leaking problems at all. in fact i've only had to change caitlyn's outfit because of a leak, and the diaper leaked because i didn't have the insert in straight! (i do make sure of that now!!)


THE BUMMIS WRAPS. they come in such cute patterns. these are just two of the ones i love!

THE PREFOLD. this is what gets 'folded' up inside the wraps.

THE FUZZI BUNZ. they come in cute colors and some patterns too!!

INSERTS. here is an insert that goes in the fuzzi bunz.

i have even been 'brave' and have been using ALL CLOTH no disposables at night. i have used the prefolds over night as well as the pocket diaper with TWO inserts. no problems at all!! we haven't used a disposable in over a week. it's not that i won't use a disposable, it just has worked out great not using them. i'm not going to become some sort of 'diaper snob' over it. but it does feel really good not having to buy the diapers!

::THE CARE/CLEANING OF DIAPERS::

this is a really good question/concern. it is so easy to care for the diapers! i use the 'dry' method of taking care of the diapers. the 'wet pail' method kind of grosses me out actually.

MY TOTE AND LAUNDRY BAG INSIDE. simple as that my friends.


so. if the diaper is just wet i throw it into a laundry bag that i have in a sealed tote. what is nice about the diaper covers is that you don't have to wash them every time. so unless there is poop on it i don't throw it in a bag. (i have a white mesh laundry bag i throw those in) you don't have to keep them separate, i have just done that.


WHITE MESH BAG TO PUT COVERS IN. again. simple.as.that.

for the fuzzi bunz diapers i just pull out the insert and drop it in the laundry bag and put the cover part in the mesh bag. with the fuzzi bunz diapers you change it every single time. (hence why i think it's a bit easier when we are out and about)

now if dustin's diaper is poopy, i don't do anything with the poop. i just leave it and throw it in the bag. his prefolds have stained a bit, but it doesn't really bother me and i will try sunbleaching them in the summer...if i feel like it...

with the girls' poop it has been really easy. i like the fuzzi bunz because it just 'peels' right off and i plop it in the toilet. it 'peels' off the prefolds as well. if it is a not quite as formed poo i'll just get as much off as possible and throw it in the pail. i have not had a single stain on any of the girls' diapers. and dustin pooed in the fuzzi bunz the other day and not a single stain on that one. i'm quite impressed with both.


i bought some diapers from a friend and she also gave me a wet bag. a wet bag is used when you are out and about and put the diapers in it. it works quite well, and is a bit easier than a ziploc baggie. but i used a ziploc bag as well for a few days, and it works just as fine.


as far as washing goes, this is 'how' I do it. i know there are different ways as well to washing the diapers. we have a front loader, so i make sure i have a big load of diapers to use as much water as possible. i am not sure how to 'trick' our machine into thinking it is a big load and to use more water. the key to washing is not more soap, but more water and less soap.


we have a 'quick wash' cycle on our machine. so i first wash the diapers on a quick cycle in COLD water with NO detergent. that is how the guide said to do it. after the quick wash i then wash it on our 'whitest whites' cycle or you just wash it on your regular cycle on a HOT wash. i love our washer that it has a 'extra rinse' so i can 'skip' the last wash. because after it washes on hot it should then be rinsed on cold. so i do a extra rinse, and all our rinses are cold.


now for drying. i have choosen to NOT dry my covers. although it says you can. i just hang dry them over our dining room chairs. :0) but i dry the prefolds and inserts all at our normal dry cycle.


i wash our diapers about every two days. only because the bag is getting full. i have a lot of diapers and could go longer, but with three in diapers, the bag fills up fast!! washing them has not been an issue at all...because i already do wash about every other day to 'stay on top' of it. it is just one more load added..no biggie.


there is also special detergant to use when washing your cloth diapers. this is something you should be aware of!! also before using the prefolds you must wash and dry them three times before using them to make them absorbant.


::DO THE DIAPERS "GROW" WITH BABY OR DIFFERENT SIZES::


the answer to this is. yes. to both. i have three different sizes for the kiddos. i was looking at the 'growing' diapers, which are a bit more pricey, but then heard from a friend, that one complain on the one size diapers is that the leg holes leak. because even though the waist grows it may not compensate in the leg hole. i am not sure if this is true or not. so don't quote me on that. i have three different kids in diapers and would've needed three different sizes either way. so that's what i did. in the end it is a little pricey to start out.


for the prefolds, caitlyn and breigh both use the same size prefold, but have different sized covers. i'm sure breigh could get into the mediums, but it all works just the same in the large size. breigh is just growing out of the medium fuzzi bunz, so i bought her some larges in those. they fit better. caitlyn is in the medium fuzzi bunz and medium covers. dustin is in the small size of everything. which totally surprised me. he has chunky thighs and i thought the medium fuzzi bunz would work for him, but nope. so i have bought him only a few of the small fuzzi bunz.


there is a great great great site called http://www.diaperswappers.com/ i LOVE that site. i bought a lot of the fuzzi bunz from super nice mamas. on average i've paid between 10-13 dollars per diaper of the fuzzi bunz, and they retail at 17-19. so i got a great deal. also the resale value on cloth is EXCELLENT. so you'll get some of your investment back when you're finished diapering. with three kids in my diapers i'm sure to get my money's worth out of them too!

so that brings me to the next question


::HOW MANY SHOULD ONE PURCHASE? WHAT IS A GOOD SUPPLY::

well. i think that really depends on how much wash you want to be doing. lol. i think that either way you'll probably was every two to three days. for me i have two dozen prefolds in the larger size and three dozen in dustin's size. i can go the two days with out washing for both. even with breigh and caitlyn using the same prefolds. i have about six wraps for dustin and five or six for each of the girls. again i usually only wash them once they have poop on them or feel pretty wet. it says you don't have to wash them everytime they feel wet, i just do because i have enough wraps to do it anyways. what you can do is just switch the wraps and let the one that is wet air dry til next time as well. i think that is mainly up to preference.

for the fuzzi bunz i have about 10-12 for each of the girls and have some coming for dustin to give me the same amount. that way if we are out and about all day saturday and sunday that gives me enough of them for the two days and i wouldn't have to worry about running out. i have more inserts than diapers however. caitlyn is a heavier wetter and i use two inserts for her as well as dustin. actually for dustin i usually use two prefolds as well. that has helped tremendously with no leaking. i did have some leaking the first few times dustin was in the diapers for an extended amount of time, and only used one prefold. they also sell 'doublers' which i have one of, and have used. but two prefolds is just as easy for me. again preference.

here is a good link i found on this topic!!

::HOW MUCH DO THEY HOLD? IF YOU DON'T NOTICE A WET/POOPY DIAPER RIGHT AWAY ARE YOU LOOKING AT LEAKS?::

that is another excellent question. for dustin i think two prefolds work the best for absorbing all his pee. again, i could use a doubler, but that would incur more costs and feel this works for now. i could also use an insert, but haven't done that either. i don't change their diapers anymore than i did before. so i don't think you're looking at much leaks. we have them in the fuzzi bunz with two inserts each over night and have not had any issues. before i had fuzzi bunz for dustin over night i used the same as during the day. his cover was a bit more wet, but not leaked through.

like i've said before i am highly impressed with the diapers that we have been using.

::AM I CORRECT IN ASSUMING NEWBORNS CAN USE THEM?::

yes. BUT i am not at all experienced in this. with a newborn baby you're changing diapers almost non-stop. i'm sure you could do cloth diapers just as easy. however, disposables might be easier right at first. i started dustin at around three months. i think that at even one or two months cloth would be a great choice. for a new mom and dad i think cloth is just one more thing on the list and may be easier to hold off on that until they get the whole baby thing figured out. but again that's just my opinion. IF, and that's a big if, we have another baby i think i would use disposables to start out and then move into cloth after a few months.

::ARE YOU STILL USING BABY WIPES? DO YOU THINK CLOTH WIPES ARE DO-ABLE?::

yes and yes. i have still been using our 'disposable' wipes. mainly because i figured that would be easiest. lately i've been thinking about trying the cloth wipes. i end up picking out wipes after changing the diapers and i have been thinking it'd be a lot easier to just throw it all in the bag.

so i want to make a trip to the mom and pop place because i know that they have stuff there to look at. plus girls at the shop are SO nice and helpful.

::WHAT FOLDS DO YOU USE?::

there are SO many folds to use on the prefolds. i like the angel wing fold for dustin and the bikini wrap on the girls. they both work very well. and i also feel work better than just folding the diaper into thirds and putting it in the wrap/cover.

::WHAT ABOUT DIAPER PINS?::

that is one nice thing. you don't even HAVE to use diaper pins anymore. lately i've been skipping using anything all together. you don't have to use anything with the covers i use. i have been doing that lately and have had NO leaks. i also have used a snappi which works super nice as well. i think it is up to you. but no pins for me! woo. hoo.

THE SNAPPI!! love it!!


well those are all the questions i was asked. i hope i was some sort of help! there is SO much information out there if you really take the time to search it. i jumped into this diapering thing on a whim, and am glad i did. it is way easier than i thought. and not as gross as one would think either. i worked in the baby room at a daycare for FOUR years...and have been changing diapers another four years...nothing is gross to me! except dog poo...let's not re-visit that! (but speaking of that...there has been no dog poo recently PTL!!)

thanks so much for reading. and remember to please sign up for my giveaway. even if you can't help out by giving you could post it on your blog for a chance to win!

if i don't see you tomorrow...have a happy valentine's day!!