cloth

of all the things i could blog about right now (4th of july, our new house, all the summer fun we've been having...), i choose cloth diapers! ha. i've been meaning to update on this for a long time and i figure i need to soon before diapers are a thing of the past. yep, i actually see a light at the end of the tunnel in regards to diapers. not sure if it's a girl thing or the fact that maya watches kellen go to the bathroom...but this girl has been going on the potty now since she was about 18 months old. the first time i thought it was a fluke...she said poo poo and pointed to her booty. i asked her if she wanted to go sit on the potty and lo and behold, the girl pooped! now she goes anywhere from 1- 4 times a day. she almost always goes first thing when she wakes up and often her diaper is dry in the morning. crazy - probably the only thing that is holding her back from being fully potty trained is me!!! it's so much work out and about ensuring that two are all set potty wise and that there are no accidents. but, moving on...this post is not about potty training!

it's about my switch to cloth diapers...almost a year ago!!! after much research and good intention, i finally switched to cloth after i quit my job (seriously, it's been almost a full year now!) and probably a good four months after i bought my first FOUR cloth diapers! there is no denying, a cloth diaper booty is way cute and really, the laundry hasn't been bad. but it is a lot of extra laundry. i probably wash diapes 2-3 times a week and it takes two cycles (1 cold wash with extra rinse, followed by 1 hot wash with extra rinse). in terms of better for the environment, i feel SO good about not putting bags of paper diapers in our trash, but there is a lot more water usage.

i went with mostly pocket diapers...fuzzibunz are my faves, but we also have a blueberry and some katydid diapers. i have a few all in one, which i didn't care for as much, but have found they make a really great night time diaper. i also have a couple of bamboo fitted diapers that require a cover and for that i have a few thirsties duo covers! on top of not having to buy paper diapers, i bought most of these diapers on super sale via daily deal sites or amazon (got several practically for FREE when they had $10 off purchase and 30% off diapers coupons in magazine...those were total scores!).

almost a year into it and my diapers are holding up really well...although i think they are starting to stink a bit! need to figure that out...but all in all, i'm so happy and proud of myself for making the switch. i did buy a pack of diapers when we went on vacay to hawaii and i have some left from that. we use a paper diaper every now and then when i don't have any clean/dry diapers or when i think her booty just needs a break (the moisture doesn't wick away from the skin with cloth like it does with paper). now if i can just muster the energy to potty train this girl, we'll say goodbye to the cloth and hello undies forevah!

the cloth diaper debate

i've gone back and forth about taking the plunge in the cloth diapering world! i actually dipped my little toe in when k was still a little guy in that i gave g diapers a whirl! after going through our case of flushable inserts, i decided that the g's weren't for me. they sure were cute (i mean...come on! how cute is that little g for a baby with the last name of starting with a g???!), but i didn't feel like the paper inserts were that much more environment-friendly and they were a lot more expensive. on top of that, i was having to wash the cloth cover after nearly every use because they would get wet or worse...blow out with a poop! it felt like too much work! so i gave up.

but everytime we take the bag of diapers out to the trash can, we get a sick feeling in our stomach. it's so much waste! i haven't been able to shake that feeling. i now actually have several friends who have made the switch to cloth. they each have their own system, some use pockets diapers, some use prefolds in a g diaper cover, some a little of everything. i am preparing to dip my little toe in a little further and hope that i end up making the plunge with both the boy and our little rolo when s/he arrives. i have already purchased a few g covers in kellen's size and a stack of prefold diapers (confession...i actually bought those over 6 weeks ago and have yet to give them a try!). erin (who has made the switch!!) pointed me in the direction of the simple mom blog, who has been reviewing cloth diapers, answering questions and even posted awesome videos about how to use cloth diapers and how to clean and prepare them! if you too are pondering making the switch, i highly recommend checking out these posts as they are giving me the confidenct i need to take the big step towards cloth!

if you currently cloth diaper (or have in the past) and i haven't already picked your brain to death on the topic (friends, you know who you are!), what advice do you have for someone like me? what are your tips for making it fun and easy (ha...it's diapers, people!)?