Tired Mommy Tales

A couple weeks ago was “Real Diaper Week” which ended with “The Great Cloth Diaper Change” in various locations around the world. I was aware of “The Great Cloth Diaper Change” but didn’t realize there was a whole week dedicated to the promotion of using reusable diapers. Writing about it was a fleeting thought but I got distracted with something else until it was “too late”

Ever since then its been in the back of my mind that whether it was “Real Diaper Week” or not, I wanted to share our  family’s experience with cloth diapers. 

I bought our first cloth diapers when Brooke was almost 2 and a half and in the midst of potty training. That is a pretty weird time to start trying cloth diapers, I’ll admit, but I’m glad we did! I’d already intended to slowly stock up little bits at a time in order to prepare for whenever Baby #2 came along. Then an online friend decided to go for it and I needed to buy some baby stuff to keep my Amazon Mom status. So I ordered some Fuzzibunz and anxiously awaited my fluffy mail.

After they’d been prepped and were ready to go, we put them on Brooke overnight and I was hooked. The only problem was I only had two and I wasn’t really willing to do laundry ever other day. So I HAD to buy more. I don’t remember what order I bought them in but I built a stash of around 12 Sunbaby‘s, 2 GoGreens and 1 Softbum Omni. The Sunbaby’s are our go-tos. We fill in with others when I’m behind on getting diapers in the wash or if we decide to wear them at naptime (I double stuff the bedtime diapers and the Go Greens and Softbum fit better single-stuffed at naptime).

For awhile, we were having trouble with Brooke leaking and waking up wet and switched to disposable nighttime training pants. After a couple weeks of needing to go to the store to buy more and having stinky used training pants to discard, I was eager to find a way to make the cloth diapers work again. Fortunately, a couple detergent-free wash cycles and different inserts have made a big difference and we’re back to cloth diapers every night.
Now for some answers to questions you may have and some myth-bustin’…

Where to Buy?

There are lots of places you can buy cloth diapers. You can start with Amazon.com or Diapers.com. I think I’ve heard that stores like Babies R Us and Target are building up their inventory and expanding on the brands they carry. Another great resource is DiaperSwappers and their forum. There is an area to Buy, Sell or Trade diapers as well as lots of discussion and mommas willing and able to help you with any aspect of cloth diapering. If there is a specific brand you’re interested in, you can always go to their site to buy from them directly or find retailers.

Expensive?

For us, switching to cloth diapers at night has not been terribly expensive. The majority of our stash is made up of Sunbaby’s which are really affordable. I got a dozen covers with two inserts for each for under $60. The Softbums cost more than I would pay on a regular basis but I think I had a coupon code or extra funds in my PayPal. If you want to “upgrade” to cuter patterns, organic materials, etc. you’ll start seeing the prices increase but you certainly don’t NEED any of those things, especially when you get started.

For some, the extra water expense due to more laundry is a concern. We have not noticed any real increase in our water consumption since using the cloth diapers. I’m sure I would have heard it from Keith if we had. We also air dry so there isn’t any more dryer usage for us. Obviously either of those elements could be different for you.

Washing?

This honestly hasn’t been a big deal to me and I’m not typically too great at keeping up with things. In the morning, Brooke’s wet diapers go in a pail in the laundry room closet. Every 3-4 days, I wash them. First, I run them though a hot wash with no detergent as a rinse. Then I do the same hot wash with a teensy bit of detergent and 2 extra rinses. It might seem strange but when washing cloth diapers, the key is not to use too much detergent. After the last rinse is done, I hang them up on our little drying rack and either take them outside (sun is GREAT for stains!) or leave them in our bedroom to dry.

We’re only using one diaper a night so obviously our volume is much less than those diapering a newborn, infant or non-PTing toddler. I think though that I’d still wash them at the same frequency but would just have bigger loads. We also don’t deal with poop anymore but I don’t really see that having a huge impact either.

So that has been our experience with cloth diapers so far.   I may completely change my tune if I find it too overwhelming with Baby #2.  It may not work for everyone but if its something you’ve ever wanted to try but were hesitant to take the plunge, I encourage you to give it a shot. I figure the worse outcome is you decide it doesn’t work for your family and you re-sell your diapers.

I am in no way an expert but if you have questions, I’m happy to help!

Have you tried cloth diapers or even just considered it?  What was your experience?