The scoop on poop

Can you believe it? Two posts in two days?! I told you I had a bunch in the "draft" stage ;)

I hope the title didn't alarm you into thinking this is going to be an over-share and that I'm going to dedicate an entire post on poo. There will be zero pictures of poo, or pee for that matter. No bodily functions at all, have no fear!

I have had a bunch of people ask me about cloth diapers and I figured that since we're now approaching the third full month of use, I'd give you a little update on how they're doing and working for our family.

First off, let me start by saying that I'm obsessed with them and think they would work great for any family - as long as you own your own washing machine!



Main reasons for loving our cloth diapers:

They're adorable.

Photo credit: Blair Beaty

Seriously? I think they are the cutest things ever. BumGenius comes in all sorts of cute colors and other brands have fun prints and designs if that's your thing!

No blowouts.

We have experienced 3 blowouts - all of which have happened in disposables. One of them happened during the middle of a wedding. They are not pleasant and steps should be taken to avoid them.

They're eco-friendly.

Yes, you wash them which uses water and energy. I wash, on average, 12-14 diapers every other day in one load. This pales in comparison to the amount of waste, chemicals and energy used to produce 1 disposable diaper. Not to mention, they never decompose...

They will last the life of Easton's diapering days.

Same pair he's wearing today!

He started wearing them as soon as he was out of newborn size diapers and they are fully adjustable to last until he is 3. We can then use them again if we have another baby, or sell them to another family!

Cost savings.

We currently own 18 diapers. We were fortunate enough to get them as gifts from my grandparents but to own everything in our current set up (including wet bags) it'll run you about $350-$400. The average cost of disposable diapers per child is $2,000. 

They're also really easy.

Fact: when you have a baby, your laundry load is going to increase. An extra load every other day isn't a significant stretch for us and we've never had to make any late night runs to the store for diapers.

I did a whole bunch of research before selecting the diapers - there's a ton of information out there and it seems that every mom has a very strong opinion on what brand works best and why. It can be overwhelming. Some women are fanatic about it. They buy fancy cloth diaper detergent. They say there are super specific (read: time consuming) ways to soak them, then wash them, etc. There are also women like Katie Bower who are super relaxed about it. I'm somewhere in the middle. They are an investment that, if cared for properly, will last many years. But they are also something that are changed multiple times a day, every single day, so they need to be practical for our life.

We ended up selecting BumGenius brand cloth diapers. We currently own two types of cloth diapers: all-in-ones and pocket style. Pocket style diapers keep baby drier for longer, but require you to stuff them with a washable cloth insert cloth after every wash. On average, you'll be changing the cloth diapers every 2-3 hours which is more frequent than disposables, however it's not something we are going to wake him up from a nap to do just because he hit the 3 hour mark. At night, he sleeps in a disposable. We're currently using Honest Company diapers which claim to be ultra absorbent, eco-friendly diapers are extra soft, hypoallergenic, free of chlorine processing & risky additives (like fragrances, lotions, and latex). However, after more research, I've decided to switch to Bambo Natural diapers which have been proven to be more absorbent, are less harmful to the environment and are less expensive than Honest company.

Anyways, back to the cloth. We have two trashcans with lids in the nursery. A tall one for cloth and a short one for disposables. For the cloth bin, I have two waterproof liners. I toss the dirty diapers straight in the bin (he's not eating enough solid foods yet so there's no need to rinse them prior to washing yet), and then every other day, I take the liner, flip it inside out into the washing machine and wash it all.

 I have two liners so I can instantly replace it in the trashcan and continue on changing diapers while the others are being washed and dried.

We have 18 diapers. This is the perfect number if you stay at home. If/when I go back to work, we'll probably purchase another 6. That should give me enough of a buffer to go two full working days between washes. I wash with Tide Free and Clear - no dyes, fragrances and sulfates. We now use the Tide for everything so we don't have to purchase multiple types of detergent. Per the manufactures recommendations, I run the load first on cold and then again on hot and use only 1/4 of the recommended detergent amount. For the hot cycle, I do 2 rinses. No fabric softener, and no diaper rash cream (you won't need it anyways). If it's a pretty day outside, I line dry them. It saves energy and the sun is supposed to bleach them. It takes 3 minutes to hang them up and take them down. I also kind of love it. It appeals to my inner domestic goddess. In the winter, I won't. It will be cold. We'll live. Our diapers will still be white and clean.

The nice thing about the all in ones is that it takes no time to fold and put in the drawer. In fact, if you were really lazy (or too busy) you could take them out of the drier and leave them in the basket and pull them out as you need them. One reason I really like this particular style of BumGenius all-in-ones (the Freetime) is that they have two petals that you fold into the middle. It takes significantly less time to dry than a typical all-in-one.

BumGenius Freetime All-in-One

The pocket style take a little more effort. We still use two liners, so they are more absorbent. Match the two liners and stuff it in the diaper. Not a huge time suck but a minimal amount of effort. Like I said, the upside is that they keep him drier longer.

BumGenius One Size 4.0

All in all, I'm really happy with our choice to cloth diaper. It's hardly more effort and it's better for the baby and better for the planet. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!