Cloth Diapering Check Up

We have been cloth diapering for 14 weeks. 

We started when Ezra's cord stump fell off at one week old. 

She is now approaching four months.

Let me shout from laundry room, "I love cloth diapering!"

I wrote a blog post when I was pregnant about the benefits of using cloth verses disposable.

Not Your Grandma's Diapers

There I was, an excited pregnant lady, playing with this carrot-colored diaper... completely smitten!

My intuition told me that they would work and I would love them. So with faith I went all in. My mom generously gifted us with about half our diaper supply and we purchased the rest. We have 30 All-In-One diapers, but I'll go into more detail about that later.

I should probably warn you. 

There is much to be said on this subject. 

Grab a snack and cuddle up.

Let's start with a hot topic. Cost.

Refer to my original post for cost comparison to disposable. 

I want to talk about after you buy your diapers. There is more you need, but not much. 

Wipes: We started with disposabe wipes. 3 regular packages. Then we bought one pack of Osocozy flannel wipes (15 count) and one pack of Grovia cloth wipes (10 count). The Osocozy are thin so they pack in a diaper bag well. The Grovia are thick and fluffy. They are the go-to for poops. Our 25 wipes cost about $22. 

Wipe solution: You are going to love this. Buy a $1 spray bottle, fill it with water and you are done. Trust me, I would never leave my baby dirty. Water is enough. Bath time is when we bring out the Earth Mama Angel Baby soap. 

Wet-bag: We put our dirty diapers into one of our two wet bags. About $20 each. I like having two. One washing, one holding. 

Changing pad: We change Ezra on one of our two changing pads. About $15 each. Again, I like having two.

That is everything we use. 

So that is just under $100 of one time costs for stuff other than diapers.

My water bill has gone up $2/month compared to the same month last year. Our dryer is electric so our electric bill has gone up $10/month, but I am also washing more clothes and blankets. The reoccurring cost are very minimal, I think. So the next time I buy something potty related it will be a pink plastic toilet and big girl undies. Then I will pack away my diapering stuff for the next baby.

The savings are HUGE but I have to say, I would use cloth even if it were more expensive. Diaper cream and powder are not supposed to be used with cloth because it can cause build up and cause leakage. We have only used water during diaper changes and Ezra has never had even a hint of a rash. The health benefits are the most important thing to me. Refer to my original post for more detail.

Next topic... supply and washing.

We have 30 diapers and I think it is a perfect amount. 24 is the "minimum" standard. I agree. Using 24 diapers would mean doing one small load of laundry every day. With 30 we are able to skip a day, although I do prefer doing one load per day. When my routine is running smoothly it looks like this: 10 diapers air drying, 10 diapers being washed, 9 clean diapers in the bin and 1 on Ezra. It takes less than ten minutes to snap the diapers to size and put the inserts in. 

Oh, the poop. Well, we used disposable diapers for the first week while Ezra passed the meconium. Once Ezra reached the "yellow, seedy" stage we started with cloth. The diapers we use do stain a little. Not so much the actual inside lining of the diaper cover but the insert. After each wash the stains fade lighter and putting them out in indirect sunlight for 20-30 minutes gets them back to white. This is not an issue with me. The inserts go inside the pocket and nobody sees them besides me and John.

The dreaded blow-out and leaking.

Everyone has heard the horror stories about a poop that couldn't be contained and managed to make in to the top of the babies back. That hasn't happened to us. We have had two poops escape out the sides but just barely. The dual inner gussets really work! They have been put to the test many, many times with the (sorry for this) "soupy" poops. We haven't had any faulty leaking; just wicking from the fabric to clothes with heavy pees. Again, it isn't an issue with me. It doesn't happen every time. She makes it throughout the day in one outfit usually.

Going out.

I guess if I had to pick a downfall of cloth it would be that they don't pack as compact as disposable. My bag holds no more than five diapers comfortably with everything else inside. On the  positive side, five diapers is half a days worth. For grocery shopping I take two. For a two stop errand I take three. For a long day at Mimi and Papa's house, six. We have gone over to visit and stayed longer than expected. In that case we just wash and dry there. We take a wet-bag with us for dirty diapers, a changing pad, a handful of wipes and our trusty spray bottle.

Rumparooz by Kangacare

This is the brand of our diapers, pads and bags. I highly recommend them. I love their products and will always use them. They have 14 colors and 8 prints. A set of inserts comes with the diaper cover. I love putting Ezra in these diapers. Often when we are changing her we tell her the color or print. Sometimes we hold up two and let her pick whcih color. The one with a longer look wins. I love saying, "Ezra, look at your owls!" That is one of their prints. The Eco Owl. Whooooo loves the planet? Here is youtube video of Rumparooz.

Here is what stuffing them with the newborn insert looks like:

So many choices!

I am excited for Ezra to actually pick them out and be at the large. pull-up size while potty training. How cute right?

St. Patricks Day! 

-or-

Ezra's half birthday, the 4th of July!

Red, white and blue!