To cloth or not… that is the question

A bit about me – I am a believer in eating clean, whole foods etc. (doesn’t mean I do it), but I am not a hard core crunchy mama.   I don’t do organic, I use regular detergent & (until recently-that’s another story) cleaning products, I didn’t know what an amber necklace was until a week ago & I doubt I would know one if I saw one!

For you crunchy mamas out there – good for you!   I just don’t have the energy because it’s not my thing that I am passionate about (how would I find time to scrapbook or quilt).

So – why on earth would I be trying out cloth diapers?   My poor husband said he feels like we are in the 1800s (ok seriously they didn’t have snappi’s & super cute waterproof covers in the 1800s sweetheart).  One word – POOP…. seriously!    With Andy I never really had poop explosion problems.   We joked about the jumperoo being a “jumper-poo” – but that was activity & weird dangly-crotch induced poo leakages.  Sam has pooped up his back so many times already.   My reaction when Andy was a baby – go up a size in diapers.    I am trying that too (we are tackling this on several fronts & multiple options are being tried).  But he’s below the weight range on the next size up… and they seem HUGE.    I have cloth friends who swear I won’t have poop problems in cloth… haha you say – BUT you will have to wash it!   Well – newsflash – I am washing it now – just out of clothes not diapers.

What am I trying?

The cheap method… YUP – not spending much money here people!  I figure we have poop most mornings (which incidentally is also a prime time to be out in public and/or in his carseat).  If you found your way here & are like me wanting to TRY it – everywhere I looked I found posts with pages of info about different options, cheaper/easier etc.   The “trial” packages are all $200+… that’s not a trial!

I stopped by my local cloth diaper store (which btw sells sooo much more than just diapers!)  Itsy Bitsy Bums – and you can order online from them here and their blog will keep you up to date (bitsybuzz.blogspot.com).

Here’s my “trial” if you want to try it out too….

• 1 3-pack of “Prefolds” or “flats” – basically – this is the diaper…. big rectangle you put under the bum, wrap around & fasten shut.   There are LOTS of ways to wrap – google that when you get them & pick one that is easy & keeps in the poop.    My local store suggested folding in the top (back waist area) to create a poop pocket for our issue.
  
  • Prefolds have quilting down them to split into 1/3rds  – makes them easier to use as a “pad” later on & give a bit of a guide when folding the easy folds – I did these
  • Flats – near as I can tell are identical to prefolds but have no quilting – they are “flat”  haha!

• 2 “covers” – I did 2 different brands to try them out.  A Thirstie & a Sweet Pea.
• 1 “snappi” – or you can use safety pins but I think those are for the advanced diaper mamas

I put all of this in my Amazon cart for right at $50

And if they stocked the single snappi (I had to grab a 3pack) you would be closer to $40!  Also I got a 3pack of the Grovia Bamboo pre-folds – you can actually get a 6pack of cotton for slightly less than the 3 bamboo.

Now if you are going to venture our of the house you need a large (gallon) ziploc  or fancier “wetbag” to put the wet/poopy stuff in & if you don’t have a 5yo around to take the wet diapers up to the laundry sink for you a larger wetbag for home too.  If you are just trying it out; consider just using a garbage can & bag to start & not spend the $$.   I went ahead & bought a small one because I figure it will be awesome for wet or food covered baby clothes or swim suits in the future.   I also bought a “pail liner” hoping it would fit inside my diaper genie – I haven’t taken the tags off yet – thinking it will go back – if I do cloth more than a week I will probably get a big hanging wet/dry bag instead.

My thoughts so far

The covers are ADORABLE! The wet diapers are weird…. just being honest – totally weird.   I haven’t had a poopie yet! (Yes that’s why I did it, but I am on day 2 & only have 3 diapers to work with).  Today changing the wet was less weird…. so that may become ok over time.

Also after my 3 trials yesterday I kept using the cover over a “regular” aka disposable diaper.  Guess what … it TRAPPED the escaping poop!    Yup… so there is an alternative use for the covers (they are basically a waterproof shell with a LOT of adjustable snaps to make them fit from 10#-potty training).

What am I out if I hate it?

Well – I will keep the covers – they have proven their usefulness… I am using them to use up my open supply of size 2 disposable diapers at the very least.   As for the rest – I live in a metro area with a decent size cloth diaper community & this stuff resells like hotcakes!   If you aren’t sure about where you live – go check out swap & shop groups on facebook (type your city/metro area & swap into the search bar) or Craigslist etc.  In the end though I have 3 prefolds and maybe a pail liner/large wetbag to deal with – the rest has alternative uses.

I will try to update in a few weeks whether I bought more or sold it!

————Update————

Monday 2-17-14 – We’ve now had a few poopies…. the poop is LESS weird than the pee diapers.   I can only assume that is because you have to “get in there” when cleaning up a poopie disposable diaper too.  So far no leaks.   The hubby is even more weirded out which I think is because I haven’t given up yet.