Cloth Diapers are the New Black

Charlotte, her toes and her Fuzzi Bunz.We cloth diaper.

Yes, I said it. We use cloth diapers. We used them with our oldest, Peyton, and we're using them again for our baby, Charlotte.

Again, as usual, we didn't start our cloth diapering because we had a burning desire to do well by the environment (isn't that horrible? I think we're like a lot of people...we want to be good to the planet in theory. But, in practice, it's not as easy to be green as it is to be convenient and quick.), but rather to do well by our daughter. Peyton had constant bleeding diaper rash. We tried EVERY disposable--because believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was cloth diaper. One of my closest friends, Amanda, cloth diapered her daughter from birth. We were pregnant at the same time, and I remember very clearly telling her "Good for you, but there's no way I'll cloth diaper. I'm too lazy!"

I also remember her laughing at me and saying that I'd like it ifPeyton and her Fuzzi Bunz. I tried it.

Anyway, back to the bleeding diaper rash. We tried EVERY brand of disposable diapers. Luvs, Huggies, Pampers, generic store brands--we even tried chlorine free and environmentally friendly brands, and she STILL had the rash.

So we tried medications. We tried Boudreaux's Butt Paste, Dr. Smith's Diaper Rash Ointment, A&D, Desitin, prescriptions, super nasty mixtures of Maalox and Aquaphor, everything. Still the rashes.

I was out of ideas. I gave in and called Amanda to find out about cloth diapers.

I'm like most of you--I thought of those horrible flat diapers that you buy when you're a first time Mom to use as burp cloths because everyone tells you to. I thought of safety pins and ugly plastic pants. I thought of wet pails and smelly nasty diapers that take forever and ever to wash using some complicated methods of laundry voodoo. I thought of leaking wet messes everywhere and swishing diapers in the toilet to remove messy poos. I thought of the hassle, of the constant loads of laundry. I yearned wistfully for the convenience of wrapping up the mess and throwing it away.

Butt. Right, the butt. The poor baby bottom that wouldn't heal no matter what. Gusty sigh, then, and we went for it. We dropped $500 (which bought me enough to do two loads of laundry a week, at a rate of four diapers a day) on some Fuzzi Bunz, which Amanda assured me were the "Cadillac" of cloth diapers. And we waited.

In the meantime, I researched the advances in cloth diaper technology and was surprised that things have changed since our Mamas cloth diapered! Don't get me wrong, flat diapers are still in--and are called Prefolds--and are still one of the most economical ways to cloth diaper your baby. But oh, it just gets better from there. Let me introduce you to the variety of diapers you can find now!

First, there's the All-In-One diapers. These are the closest to disposables--you put them on just like a disposable, take them off and put them in the bin. You wash them when you need to, and you dry them. We didn't use these--I bought some, but they take a LONG time to dry because they're pre-stuffed with enough absorbent material to make sure they don't leak. And the ones we bought had velcro closures which were fine until she mastered the pincer grip. And then they were taken off frequently. And they're awfully bulky and gave Peyt a big ol' booty! For an example of an All-In-One, look at Kushies Cloth Diapers.

Next there are Fitted Diapers. Fitted Diapers are basically a Prefold diaper, but they're contoured to form fit baby. Some of them still require a fastener (but not safety pins! Check out the Snappi.) and a cover. Most have snaps or velcro closures. We didn't use these. They seemed like a lot of work, and it's hard enough to get a diaper on a wiggly baby without then having to put pants over it. For an example of a Fitted Diaper, look at Kissaluvs Fitted Diapers.

Then there are Contour Diapers. Contour Diapers are, again, like Prefolds, but all require a seperate fastener. They need to be covered with a fitted wrap. We didn't use these either, for the same reason why we didn't use Fitteds! Kissaluvs makes Contour Diapers, too.

I have to stop here to say that we did use Prefolds and covers for a while. Because not only are cloth diapers better due to technology, they're CUTE, too! I found a woman who made adorable, affordable covers for cloth diapers at wigglewormbottoms.com. Here's my oldest, Peyton, in some of her covers.

Eventually, though, we settled on Pocket Diapers. Pocket diapers have all the convenience of an All-In-One diaper, but with the benefit of being customizable. You purchase the diaper, and then sized inserts. You can use multiple inserts to make the diapers more absorbent, and fewer for a less absorbent diaper. That means that you can have nighttime diapers and daytime diapers without buying different diapers for each time. You just add more inserts! There are hemp inserts which are good for babies who wet a lot, there are microfiber for babies who wet fast. They're easy to wash and take only as much time as regular clothing to dry, since the inserts are removable. They're not nearly as bulky as All-In-Ones, and they stand up to some heavy usage. Fuzzi Bunz are THE pocket diaper--you can see them here.

They're not really all that much more work, either. We bought a mini-shower/diaper sprayer which attached to the toilet and we used that to spray off any yuck into the toilet. Then we dropped them into a dry pail, shook on a little baking soda (remember, it's an awesome air freshener!) and washed them every three days or so. And washing wasn't that difficult either. We used our regular detergent, but not as much as you'd use to wash your clothing (I know, contrary, right? But if you use too much soap, you get soap buildup on the diapers, which can cause diaper rash and irritation. It's better to use less soap and more, hotter water.) and a lot of water. Occasionally I add a drop of Tea Tree Oil to the wash for its anti-microbial properties, and every once in a while I add some vinegar to the rinse to kill any smell. I never notice any smell really, but I do it anyway. When we have staining (like when Charley eats blueberries!), I wash them as usual and then hang them up on a clothesline on the patio to dry in the sun. The sun removes the stains and makes them as white as new!

And consider this: we spent a total of about $800 on diapers that got us from the time Peyton was four months old until she potty trained. That's a real savings if you do the math on disposables! Plus, we kept the diapers we used for her, and when Charlotte is big enough, she'll use them too. So, that $800 diapered two kids--one from birth through potty training!

Washing diapers does require water, which I know is a bone of contention for people who are on the fence about using them. I wish I could tell you that they don't use much, but they kinda do. They require an extra rinse sometimes, and there is the argument against them that says that you don't have to wash disposables. But, on the other hand, disposables contain a gel chemical that absorbs the waste and they are not biodegradable. And, although most people don't know this, solid human waste is not supposed to be disposed of in the trash--even disposable users are supposed to shake off any solid waste into the toilet. I'm wagering the majority of disposable users aren't doing that.

In the end, I feel a lot more comfortable using the water to wash the diapers and flushing the solid wastes in the toilet than I do leaving thousands and thousands of dollars of disposable diapers in our local landfill, where they will sit forever. No, cloth diapering isn't for everyone--if you use a laundromat, then I would not consider them at all--but a lot of people could make the change, realize a significant cost savings AND do a lot for the environment without adding a significant amount of time and work to their schedule. Maybe it's time to revisit a classic and go "retro" with your baby's tush!

If I've convinced you to change your diapering strategy, here are a few places to look at to purchase your cloth diapers:

Thanks, Mama
Nurtured Family
Kelly's Closet
Lil Bunz