We are still cloth diapering! It's been 8 months and so far so good. We have 24 bumGenius 4.0 diapers and that is the perfect amount based on when we do laundry. I have friends who have about 18, but since we both work outside the home, we decided to get a few more so we could have one more day's worth of diapers before we have to wash them. Here are some of the details (in case you are thinking of using cloth):
- We do a load of the diapers (typically we wait until the majority are dirty to wash them in 1 load) about every 4-5 days. We make sure any poopy diapers have been sprayed off with the diaper sprayer, then we seperate the liners from the covers (I wear rubber gloves while doing this) and run a cold rinse cycle first, then do a quick wash on hot with a scoop of Charlie's Soap.
- We dry the liners on low heat for 1 hour and let the covers air dry on a drying rack.
- If any of the liners or covers are stained, I'll set them out in the sun for an afternoon to bleach them.
- I've never had to "strip" my cloth diapers - they still work just as well as the first day!
- If any of the diapers carry a smell (sometimes when you let urine sit for a long time it makes the diapers stink a little), we spray them with bumGenius odor remover before we dry the liners and covers. It is all natural and helps make them smell fresh again.
- If Brighton gets diaper rash (she's only had it once), we use disposable diapers until it's cleared up. You can't use regular diaper rash cream with cloth because the chemicals can ruin the absorbancy.
- We also use disposable diapers for nighttime sleep since she is a "heavy" wetter and when the cloth stash is being washed/dried.
- Cloth diapers have saved us about $600 for the year (even including the 1 extra load of laundry a week)!
We will cloth diaper until she is potty trained, and if we have another baby, they will use the same stash of cloth too. Do you cloth diaper? Any tips you'd share?
Our daughter will be 8 months old in a week and we've cloth diapered since she was a couple weeks old. We use the BumGenius 4.0 Freetimes. The 2 soakers are sewn in to the diapers on one end so there is no need to stuff them. They are a little pricier (1.50 more than the pocket diapers, I think) but we found them on sale so they cost about the same. We have 19 (12 snaps and 7 velcro; we MUCH prefer the snaps!) and we wash every 3 days. We use the Up and Up (Target brand) free and clear detergent and I've had to strip them a couple times (I think from using a bit too much detergent). I can't say enough good things about these diapers. We used different brands of disposables when we traveled and the cloth diapers are the only ones that never had a blowout (EBF baby poop is out of control). We have also been using elimination communication since our daughter was 3 months old, so most of the time, when we are home, I just take her to the bathroom to poop on the toilet leaving us very few times that we have to actually rinse the poop. I've written about it here: http://ourwestcoastnest.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/13-of-a-year-has-gone-by/
ReplyDeleteGlad CD is going well for yall!
Our daughter will be 8 months old in a week and we've cloth diapered since she was a couple weeks old. We use the BumGenius 4.0 Freetimes. The 2 soakers are sewn in to the diapers on one end so there is no need to stuff them. They are a little pricier (1.50 more than the pocket diapers, I think) but we found them on sale so they cost about the same. We have 19 (12 snaps and 7 velcro; we MUCH prefer the snaps!) and we wash every 3 days. We use the Up and Up (Target brand) free and clear detergent and I've had to strip them a couple times (I think from using a bit too much detergent). I can't say enough good things about these diapers. We used different brands of disposables when we traveled and the cloth diapers are the only ones that never had a blowout (EBF baby poop is out of control). We have also been using elimination communication since our daughter was 3 months old, so most of the time, when we are home, I just take her to the bathroom to poop on the toilet leaving us very few times that we have to actually rinse the poop. I've written about it here: http://ourwestcoastnest.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/13-of-a-year-has-gone-by/
ReplyDeleteGlad CD is going well for yall!
I very much want to cloth diaper when I have kids (in several years...) For diaper rash, have you tried Aquaphor? When I nannied, that's what I used an it seemed to work well. Not sure if you could use that with the cloth or not.
ReplyDeleteI love my cloth diapers. Sometimes I take a break with morning sickness or when I'm just feeling lazy but we're about to have baby #3 so I think we've saved some money on them. It's taken me some trial and error to find a system I really love. When you're diapering more than one kid at a time, easy is essential but they really are fabulous and I love the system we have now!
ReplyDeletelove charlie's soap! and i use 1 squirt dawn if ammonia smells occur
ReplyDeleteI wanted to cloth diaper, and had a stash of diapers to alternate with our 7th Generation disposables. My luck, Ethan was break-out-in-hives allergic to ANY detergent that would clean the cloth diapers (we can still only use plant-based cleansers on his clothing). I was all hormonal and a new mom and sold/donated all the diapers, and he's been in 7th Generation solely since. I'm kicking myself because we want another baby in a couple of years and I would love to cloth diaper!
ReplyDeleteI have been diapering my son since he was 7 months old. Best decision ever. Even my husband said so the other day!
ReplyDeleteIt has taken me a while to find my method by using cloth diapers. We wash them every other day or every 2 days, depending on how full our wet bag is, and like you, we use disposables at the night because Forrest is a heavy wetter. We are planning on diapering #2 some day as well! :)
Hi Kara - what diaper sprayer do you use? Have you had any issues with it? I've heard that some of the sprayers leak and cause a mess on the bathroom floor.
ReplyDeleteWe have the bum genius one and it doesn't leak. It has an on/off valve though so I think that helps!
DeleteI had started to research when I became pregnant in April but had a miscarriage. I still plan to cloth diaper our next baby.
ReplyDeleteKate I am so sorry to hear about your miscarriage! I cannot imagine the grief and I am praying for peace for you and your family.
DeleteWe cloth diaper during the day and do disposables at night too : ) We've been using cloth since our little guy was born over a year ago and still going strong. We use Ragababe AI2's and AIO diapers and love them. We plan on using the same stash for our future kiddos too!
ReplyDeleteWe cloth diaper during the day and do disposables at night too : ) We've been using cloth since our little guy was born over a year ago and still going strong. We use Ragababe AI2's and AIO diapers and love them. We plan on using the same stash for our future kiddos too!
ReplyDelete