Cloth Diaper Update

So, we've been using cloth diapers for a couple of weeks now--two or three, I honestly don't remember. And I am, overall, very pleased with them. I'm still working out some little kinks (if the liner peeks out a little at the leg, the diaper will leak--well, the liner gets wet and it seeps all over clothes). I've gotten wet pants from having Rock on my lap, which totally grosses me out. But it's not so bad.
Cleaning up poopy diapers isn't quite as painless as it is with disposables, but it's also not nearly as bad as people seem to think when they think of cloth diapers. A few people asked if I realized that I had to swirl poopy diapers around in the toilet by hand. Gross. I will NEVER do that. I would throw it away before it came to that. I did realize that, if you are using flushable liners, you should also have flushable wipes to go along with them. That has been a lifesaver. Because I don't want to get poop on a reusable wipe that I have to wash. Grody.
The diapers are so cute, and Rock's pants fit so much better with them. I absolutely love them. We are still using disposable diapers at night (Rock pees SO much) and when we go to church (because Michael has to change his diapers there, because I am busy teaching), but nine disposables a week as opposed to the 50+ we were using is so much better.

Aren't they just SO cute? I absolutely love them. They are super bulky, especially with two inserts in them, but they are so cute. And I feel like the snaps will be way harder to get off when Rock starts wanting to take his diaper off and run around naked, as I know he is going to want to do sooner rather than later.
I am slowly switching to hemp inserts. I hate the FuzziBunz ones (which is strange, because I LOVE the FuzziBunz diapers) because they don't fit in the diaper like they should. And they get all stiff and hard to deal with because we don't have a dryer. The Thirsties hemp inserts are amazing. And slightly cheaper than the FuzziBunz, so that is great. [MICHAEL DON'T READ THIS] Getting all hemp inserts is going way over our diaper budget, [MICHAEL MAY CONTINUE READING HERE] but I don't need them all right now, just mostly for naps and if we go out somewhere I don't want to have to change a diaper too frequently.

A great investment, I think. I didn't need much convincing in the first place, but I absolutely love them. I don't think it will be that huge of a deal to completely switch over when we run out of disposables in about a year and a half (I'm hoping to be done with diapers entirely by then, but whatever).

In Preparation for Cloth Diapers

I moved the changing table into the bathroom, where I think it should always go. I am so lucky to have a bathroom that will accommodate a changing table. It should also make things easier for cloth diapering, since it will be right next to the washer. That way, if something dreadful happens, I can just throw it all in the washer and not deal with it.

I've been wanting to move the changing table into the bathroom for a long time now, but today I finally had the motivation required to make it happen. It looks great in there, I think, and soon I won't have to deal with the menacing diaper pail. There isn't a ton of room left over for the diaper pail, unless I move all of the clothes hampers into my bedroom, and I don't want to do that because none of Michael's whites would ever make it to the correct hamper. It's already a struggle getting his other clothes to the hampers as it is now. (Maybe if the other two are in our room, though, it will be easier? Cross your fingers.)

Oh, and I will get the real changing pad cover back on the changing pad soon--it just had an unfortunate accident.

I'm hoping that putting the changing table in the bathroom will also help with getting ready for potty training (or potty learning--whatever I'm supposed to say). I don't know that it will, but it will at least keep Rock's room free of potty smells. And that is worth it.

I am just so excited about the cloth diapers. I'm going to start washing them tomorrow or the next day. Not having a dryer is going to be a little bit of an issue, but I know that the extra work will be worth it in lack of waste thrown into the landfill.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

Why I Was Afraid of Cloth Diapers

1) They are ugly.
This turns out to be a complete lie. Even a quick, perfunctory search will debunk this crazy myth. They are the CUTEST diapers alive. There are so many colors and even prints out there that are just too adorable for words.

2) You have to change them every 20 minutes.
This, also, turns out to be a lie. There are inserts that are super absorbent and you can use as many inserts as you want/need--even for overnight.

3) They are super messy and you have to deal with baby poop.
This isn't entirely true, either. With a flushable liner and a diaper sprayer, there is no need to deal with poop and poop smells any more than a disposable diaper.

4) Cloth diapers=all laundry, all the time
This isn't true, either. While, with cloth diapers, you have to do 3-4 extra loads a week, it doesn't have to be folded. It's laundry, but only the easy part. And it doesn't mean a ton more soap--you use a fraction of the soap you would use for regular laundry.

5) They are hard to use.
This isn't true at all. You don't have to fold a crazy piece of fabric into a diaper shape. There are all-in-ones that do everything for you--all you have to do is Velcro or snap it up. The end. Just like fastening a disposable.

6) They are bulky.
True. But who doesn't love a huge baby bum?


Why I Was Drawn to Cloth Diapers

1) They are much more environmentally friendly
This is very true. It's not even funny how true this is. I hate throwing a billion diapers away every week, not to mention all of the wipes and the diaper pail bags. It's a huge, smelly, grotesque mess. Grody.

2) They are cheap.
This is a little true, and a little not. Cloth diapers can cost about as much as disposable, and you plunk down the whole thing (most of it, anyway) all at the beginning, so it is a huge investment. There are expensive cloth diapers, wipes, sprays, inserts, liners, etc and there are plenty of accessories to go with them--wet bags, dirty diaper bags (like diaper pails), diaper sprayer. And then if you go with a laundry service, it all gets pretty spendy. But there are ways to make it better for your budget--even without having to get your hands dirty (or smelly).

3) They are better for your baby.
This is totally a great reason to use cloth diapers. Fewer rashes, earlier potty training, and a cuter bum.


So, HELLO CLOTH DIAPERS.
I have decided on FuzziBunz. They are cute, super soft, easy (one-size pocket diapers for us), and I love the snaps. AND (wait, there's more) I love that you can adjust both the waist and the legs. This is excellent for our baby with a skinny waist and chubby legs. What a sweetie.

In a few short weeks, when we've used most of our open boxes disposable diapers (we're saving some boxes for emergency use and in case Michael really can't handle it), we'll be using super-soft, super-cute, super-everything-I-want-in-a-diaper FuzziBunz. I am so excited, I can't wait, which is also why we are going to be saving so many boxes of diapers to use "just in case"--which I am also hoping never comes up. I seriously cannot wait to use the last 150 diapers, or however many we have in the changing table right now.

Aren't they SO cute?

Also, I'm secretly hoping the bulk of the diapers makes Rock's pants fit--the skinny minnie.