Adventures in cloth diapering

A few months ago I was sent several cloth diapers to review and I’m just now getting around to writing about my experience. I have been using them in tandem with disposables for the past four weeks with quite interesting results! I will place a far more detailed review of specific styles and brands on my product review page.

First off, I want to start by saying a few things to all those hesitant about cloth diapering; it is not hard, smelly, time consuming, “crunchy,” disgusting, or looked down upon. In fact, it is a lot easier than I ever imagined and I have not encountered anyone who has scoffed at the idea. If I run out of diapers…I just do a load of laundry instead of running to the store to make an overpriced impulse buy of disposables. And I am sure somewhere deep in the social realms of cloth diapering there are social faux pas and name brand hierarchies, but otherwise it doesn’t matter if you spent 4$ on a used (yes, they are out there) diaper with a faded print or 35$ on an organic hemp diaper. They all work pretty much the same and accomplish the same goal – holding in the pees and poops. I just need access to a washing machine every 3 days, a place to put the used ones (I use what is called a wet bag, but I have used doggy poop clean up bags to temporarily house them), and new ones to put on.

Below are some cloth diapering tips:

~Wait until meconium has passed (after the first week) before starting on cloth to avoid horrible black stains.

~Do not focus on name brands or price of diaper. I can tell you from experience it does not matter the cost, as they are all pretty much made of the same materials. It just depends on how much hassle and trial and error you want to endure.

~Unless you plan on your baby never wearing pants, do not focus too much on the cute prints. The cute monkey with the bow in her hair won’t hold your little ones poop in any more than the plain yellow diaper!

~Keep one or two disposables on hand. You never know if you will need one, and you do not want your little one sitting in a wet cloth diaper for hours and hours on end until you get your hands on more.

~Make the initial investment ($300-$400) and you won’t have to worry about the thousands of dollars you would ultimately spend on disposables for the next couple of years.

~As you will read in my review, there are many different types but what is most important is the double side/leg gussets. This keeps the soiled cloth portion away from your baby’s clothing, which prevents urine leaks. Also, make sure no portion of the liner is sticking out. You want the PUL (rubber like material) to be the only thing you see on the front, back, and legs.

~Ask the grandparents, friends, and babysitters if they are comfortable with cloth and if they are willing to use them. It is the polite thing to do!

I spent hours watching YouTube videos of cloth diaper reviews when I was pregnant trying to determine the best kind. What it comes down to for me is cost and double leg gussets. I am very pleased thus far with my cloth diapering experience, and Lili seems to enjoy them (and yes I know the gdiaper she is wearing in the photo is technically on backwards, but I like it that way). I also hope to have an easier time potty training due to her awareness of being wet with cloth vs. disposables…we shall see!

Now head over to my review page for the nitty gritty cloth diapering details!