I've heard it all,
"I don't know how you cloth diaper." "You're so much better than me, I wish I could do it." "Look at you so natural and saving the planet." I'm always too awkward and embarrassed in the moment to know what to say as I stumble out something like "oh we'll I used to do plastic diapers with Meg sometimes." Why am I embarrassed? Why is anyone embarrassed of the choices we make in raising and taking care of our children? Isn't it silly? I think for me I don't want others to think that I'm thinking lesser of the mama's out there that are using disposable diapers. I'm not a better mama. I'm not amazing at saving the planet. Aren't we all just trying to do what's best for our particular circumstances and families? Here are the reasons my husband and I have chosen to use cloth diapers.
1.
I love to collect cloth diapers! They are just too cute! Yep, I admit it. My first reason was purely selfish and shallow of me. I love all the colors and the patterns and that you can get them soft and fuzzy on the outside or the normal PUL fabric outer. You can get their initials monogrammed on the bum or some little frilly lace. I loved how some pulled up and down easily like pull-ups and some flip down in the front for infant potty training. I would pour over review after review, and store after store dreaming about all the cute little diapers my babies could wear. After seeing some of the store prices I started thinking "Maybe I'll never get to own any. This is so expensive!"
2.
I could learn to sew my own! That's when I started thinking maybe I can sew my own for cheaper! I had received several cloth diapers from my mom and dad for my baby shower with Meg. (Let me just say, Best Baby Shower Gift Ever! If you're looking for something that keeps on giving for someone special!) Oh they were beautiful and I loved them and I used them a lot! (Some of them are still being used with Amy right now!) But even though they bought me a whole box full, I still needed a few more to make it practical. So I started looking for diaper sewing tutorials and videos. I went to the fabric store and bought the fabric, I bought a decently priced snap press and plastic snaps, and made one diaper! I was so proud of it crooked stitched and all. But sadly production stopped at just one mostly because of my sewing machine's problems. . .Or maybe it's my lack of sewing machine knowledge problems. I somehow can't get through a project without having to unjam and re thread every few stitches. It drove me crazy. So now I have several yards of PUL in my closet that I should really figure out what I'm going to do with it.
3.
It saves us money! Once we had a stash big enough to cloth diaper full time, we didn't have the expense of buying plastic diapers every month. Yes you do have to wash more often so there is some added water cost, but the savings are still beneficial. We have used cloth wipes along with the cloth diapers to save even more not needing to buy wipes. Although sometimes wipes are convenient to still have for messy faces and what not in the car and recently we've been buying regular wipes to have on hand for moments like that.
3.
My husband and I both agree on cloth diapering. It took a little time to get my husband on board with cloth diapering. We talked about the benefits of saving money and that we could use the diapers for all our future children. I hoped that us both starting out with cloth would help us not know the ease of tossing and throwing away diapers. There were times at the beginning that my husband wanted to just buy some disposables, like when I was having trouble washing the diapers as I didn't realize you couldn't use regular laundry soap, as I had been doing, and our diapers started leaking. But after looking up diaper washing tutorials and figuring out how to fix our leaking diapers we started to get better at it, and my husband was more on board. I don't think I could full time cloth diaper without his approval and support. He helps me wash them when I'm sick or just too tired. He's great at changing diapers now. It took a little while of learning for both of us, but because we both agree that it works for our family, it's not an issue in our relationship and we now have our system down. (I'll explain our system below if you're interested in knowing.)
4.
It helps decrease the amount of diapers in the dump. We do take the Bible verses that tell us to take care of the earth seriously. No we're not perfect in our family. We could do more. But we try to make conscious decisions to recycle and not litter, and cloth diapering for our individual family is just another step in trying to do our part. My husband and I get irked by the Christians we've come across that seem to think taking care of our environment is liberal and stupid. We've heard people tell us "we're not tree huggers" like it's something to be proud of that they're not. Are they really proud that they don't care about caring for the earth God gave us to care for? They're being a bad testimony for Christians. It's one thing to just not feel you have the time or resources to cloth diaper, like my friend who lives in an apartment and has to use the laundromat. Or my friends that have to go to work and use daycare. Or the mom who is just. so. tired! I understand all that! It's another thing to proudly state that you don't care and will do what you want when you want. Makes them sound silly. I also really get annoyed with people who automatically think we are liberal because we are into natural medicine, home births, and cloth diapering. Most people who know me, know I'm very conservative in my view points. I guess you can call us conservative tree huggers. :)
The diapers we use
We've used several brands and types through the years but here is a quick run down in case anyone is interested in what we like to use.
1.
Bella Bottoms These are the diapers my parents bought me for my shower. They were so beautiful and girly with little roses and soft colors. They were fitted snap diapers with covers. If the inside diaper is dirty you just change the diaper and use the same cover for most of the day if it isn't pooed on. :) It was very simple to do. I had some diapers in bamboo, some in cotton (like washcloth material), and some in hemp. The Hemp and bamboo were sadly first to get destroyed. After washing them over and over they just started shredding to pieces, but I did get us use them all the way from Meg through Jo's diapering life time. And I still have all the covers that have made it through all four girls. The diapers didn't leak too often. I think they would have done even better if I had known from the get go how to take care of them better. I feel like when I started diapering there wasn't a whole lot on the internet about how to do it as I searched but didn't find answers. I don't think Bella Bottoms are selling anymore. But they were beautiful and a decent price at about $12 a diaper.
2.
Fuzzy Bunz I recieved several of these as hand me downs from moms that didn't have time to cloth diaper, or some of them were gifts at one of my baby showers. They work really welly as far as keeping leaks in. I have several in the newborn size that I use actually until my girls are about 5 months. (maybe my girls are smaller than normal?) I also have some one size fits all that I like as well. They have held up through all four girls. They don't leak unless they are on crooked or something. The only trouble I have with them is that I'm lazy and the system they have for making the diaper smaller or larger in the leg hole is this elastic band you have to pull out and button at the tightness you need them at. Kind of like the kids jeans that have the adjustable waists. No it's not rocket science to adjust them, but as in the past I've had up to two kids in diapers at a time it's kind of a pain to root your fingers in that little hole to pick out the elastic and re button it where it needs to be. I know I'm lazy right?! But my lovely pocket diapers that I tend to favorite, have snaps on them that you just easily snap where you want them to fit and it just seems easier to my tired mama brain. I feel kind of guilty, like I should favorite these diapers the most since they are the most expensive in my stash. They are nice, but not my most favorite.
3.
Lovely Pocket Diapers I am so excited I found these diapers. I think I got them when Jo was almost out of diapers and Beth was just about to be born. Like I said above, I love that they adjust so quickly from newborn to toddler size. They were just as good as my expensive Fuzzi Bunz, if not better in the not leaking department. And they were a great price at $7-$7.50 a pop. I also loved working with Melissa in the process. We actually found out from a friend that we lived not too far from her and she offered to meet my husband at work to give us our order. That was very nice as I was actually at home in early labor and it took one more thing off my mind. Very sweet to work with! I am an affiliate with Lovely Pocket Diapers, so if you click on my link here I'll get a percentage of the sale for referring you. I would not be an affiliate for this company if I didn't love them and think they were a great diaper. So if you want to buy diapers and support me while doing so, thank you. :)
Click here to visit Lovely Pocket Diapers.
4.
Coolababy Pull up Cloth Diapers These are diapers I found on Ebay from China. I normally try to buy local, but at the time finances were very tight and I just needed a few more diapers for Beth who was almost potty trained but still was having accidents in public places. I wanted to see if there was a trainer diaper out there that would pull up and down but still be somewhat waterproof so I didn't have to worry about changing her clothes at the zoo (no fun!), or worry about her wetting friend's couches when visiting. (embarrassing!) So I found these diapers for $9 and free shipping. I bought three of them as I was unsure how they would work. I wouldn't say they leak, but they do wick on the edges a tiny bit when wet. But for training pants, they work well to keep pants dry. They pull up and down pretty easily with the elastic in the waist and they also they are made like a pocket diaper with snaps so they can snap off in case of an accident. Beth has a little trouble pulling them up herself as the pocket that kept the liner in it would kind of mess up and be a little tricky to pull up, but if I helped her it went ok. Overall I think think it was a worthwhile investment. And I recently discovered they also are fitting on Amy at 6 months. Although since they wick a little I don't use them unless we are low on diaper wash day and I need an emergency diaper.
5.
Waterproof Wet Bags We have two
wet bags
that we rotate taking out with us in the diaper bag when we go places. I didn't have these with Meg and Joe. I was trying to save extra money and just use grocery bags. Grocery bags kinda work, but the smell can get really horrid sitting in the hot car if you have several places to go! Be warned! I am so thankful that we bought two
wet bags
now to keep the stink out. These also keep the moisture from seeping through to the diaper bag. If you're not planning on using cloth diapers, these are also great for putting wet clothes or swim suits in to keep your dirty and wet items separate from anything dry in your bag!
Our Wash Routine
We have enough Diapers that we can go about three days without washing, but because I don't want the diapers sitting dirty that long, I try to wash every other day. We've tried several methods and have found this method works best for us with our hard water.
1. If any solids, shake out in potty right away when changing if possible. It will be easier, but if it has been awhile you may have to use a bit of toilet paper to wipe it off. I've heard good things about diaper sprayers, but haven't got a chance to use one yet. If yellow newborn nursing poo, we just toss it in the wash as is.
2. I like to do a hot pre-rinse to clean off any baby poo and pee. Since my washer won't do a hot rinse, I just run the shortest hot cycle without soap. (It helps to put down my diaper wash on top of the washer lid at this point so I don't forget I still need to wash with soap next)
3. Run a hot wash with diaper soap and a rinse. We love
Rockin' Green
Hard Rock wash the best for our hard water situation. Have tried Nelly's soap (it's ok), Tide free and clear (went bad for us), and Crunchy Clean (it's ok). We keep going back to
Rockin' Green
as our favorite. It's kind of pricey, but the bag normally lasts us 3 months.
4. We normally dry in the dryer on a normal cycle, but I think in my mind someday I'll line dry them to get them sun bleached perfect. :)
It's really not too hard to do. We also do Elimination Communication hoping to have them potty trained before they are eating solids and having solid poos. :) I'll have to do a blog on that in the future!
Let me know if you have any questions or comments below and I'll be happy answer!
This post contains affiliate links, but all the opinions are my own. If you shop through my links I get a percentage of the sale which helps support my family. Thank you!
that is an aromatherapy blend of essential oils that naturally wards off bugs. You can either dab a few drops on your clothes, or I learned that you could also mix it with 
and spray it on as you would any other bug spray. It smelled similar to a much more expensive brand of natural bug spray I've purchased in the past, but it was a cost effective option for making a large quantity to get our family of six through the long weekend. My husband loved that it didn't make him feel sticky like some others we've tried. The Thayer's witch hazel with Aloe in the blend gives more of a refreshing feeling to the skin. Now I'm not a doctor or herbalist, so make this and spray this at your own risk. But I did feel comfortable spraying this on our little ones arms and legs.
