Cloth diapering

I have a friend who has a sister who wants to join the fold (ha ha...get it? cloth diapers...fold! I crack myself up (or maybe it is getting too late!)). Anyway, I remember how overwhelming it was for me when I was first looking into diapering options, so I thought I would sort through my thoughts and resources on the subject. My most important resource is hard to give anyone else access to; she is my good friend (also Erin) who has valuable experience, and I think that is the best place to start. With someone who has been there.

Reasons for considering cloth diapering:

• Monetary Cost was our #1--it saves SO much money!!!
• The Environmental Cost
• The Health Cost to your child--fertility risks in boys, crazy chemicals, diaper rash, etc.
• Who you are supporting--I choose to support WAHM moms and dads when buying most of my cloth diapering needs, and that gives me some warm fuzzies! :)
  

Having chosen cloth, and having used disposables on occasion, I can tell you a few other things about our experience. We use what are known as DSQ (diaper service quality) chinese prefold diapers with a Bummis Supersnap cover, oh and a Snappi (no more pins!). When we have chosen to use disposables, I have had far more blow-out experiences. A true blow-out, where the poop gets on the clothing, I have had fewer than 5 in the 15 months of cloth. In the few weeks worth of disposables, it is nearly a daily occurance. This leads to having to wash clothes, sheets, etc. just as often as I have to wash my diapers anyway...every other day--if you're curious. And for those worried about poop in your washing machine--yup, it gets there from clothes too! We have this great diaper sprayer that we got from the Potty Pail people, and we rarely have poop in our washer, because it all goes into the toilet--where responsible people put their poop anyway! ;)

Once you get the hang of cloth diapers, they really take about the same amount of time as disposable diapering.

A few tricks of my trade:

• Use cloth wipes--we recently put ours in a wipes warmer, and they pull up one at a time, just like the disposable ones, but they smell better, I know what is in the wipe solution, and they clean up messes SO much better than disposable wipes. I bet we use 3x the disposable wipes on a bad diaper than cloth.
• Cut up a piece of fleece into strips to line your diapers with. It is inexpensive, and fleece wicks moisture away from the skin and keeps your baby drier. It is also pretty easy to spray poop off of. I love it!
• I prefer the covers with snaps. They seem to hold up longer than the ones with aplix (or velcro) closures. You don't have to worry about them snagging on anything either.

A couple of negatives (to be fair and balanced):

• I'm not a big fan of trips over 5 or 6 hours with cloth, just because I don't like hauling the dirty diapers around with me. It is doable, and I bet there is a good system for it, I just haven't discovered it quite yet.
• The booty! I think it is cute, but with the cloth diapers we use, Nehemiah has quite the booty--which just means we have to look for pants that are cut generously. I don't think it is too much of a drawback--he still looks cute. Oh, and overalls are a great solution to this problem too! And if you still want cloth, but no booty, these pocket diapers are really trim and great--just more expensive!

I have tried a few other varieties of cloth (thanks to a generous friend, Susan, who shared some with me), and I really do like the Fuzzibunz pocket diapers a bunch. Especially if you are taking your child into the church nursery or somewhere that people aren't familiar with cloth diapers. They are intuitive to change and wash up well. Plus they come in cute colors and patterns!

Here are some other links to helpful sites (I know all the ones to this point have come from Punkin butt, which is where I have purchased all my diapers and supplies, and I can vouch for their service and quality, which is fabulous!):

• Green Mountain Diapers
• Tips and Reviews at the Diaper Pin
• Cloth diapering resource: The Diaper Hyena
• Love etsy? They have a cloth diapering blog with great posts and links to cool handmade diapers and products!
• Jillian's Drawers seems to have good starter kits with several different styles and a liberal return policy on them if you're nervous starting out. Or try their 21 day trial for $10!
• Just a fun urban baby boutique
• Wildflower diapers
• Sew your own diapers--many styles
• More diaper sewing patterns
  

There is a ton more information out there online, and I am sure I am missing a bunch, even from the corners of my sleepy brain, but this should get you started! :D