So I've been planning to write this blog entry for a long time - but it never seemed as important or time-sensitive as other events in our lives.
We've been cloth-diapering now for about two months. Before Natalie was born, people warned me we'd never stick with cloth diapers, or that once the baby started eating solid food everything would change. I don't doubt the latter is true, but as for the former, well, we're doing okay so far and we plan to keep using cloth.
So how does it work in our house? First, let me clarify what I mean when I say "cloth diapers." I don't mean the flat traditional-style cloth diapers of several generations ago that took pins and folding. Today's cloth diapers are nothing like that! (Of course, they also don't come cheap, but we'll get to that).
We have several varieties of cloth diapers:
Fuzzi Bunz,
Happy Heinys,
Bum Genius,
Econappi,
Haute Pockets. All in all, we have about 28 diapers.
These are all "pocket diapers". This means that they have a waterproof outer layer (which is a bright, cute color). On the inside, there is a fleece layer that comes in contact with the baby's bottom; this layer forms a pocket into which one stuffs an absorbent terry-cloth insert. Here's a picture from the Bum Genius website, but, basically, they all work on a similar model.
All our diapers are one-size diapers, which means they should be good pretty much until potty-training time. The rise on the diapers adjusts either with snaps or with elastic buttonholes. Likewise, it is also possible to adjust the waist size and the leg-hole sizing. I'm not under some illusion that all diapers will fit every baby, but they are pretty adjustable. We've had some leaks - but all diapers leak - and most of these I can chalk up to (my) operator error.
Each diaper costs between $14-16. I haven't done the math to see when we'll break even; my understanding is that it's generally around the 8-month mark (this would probably be sooner if we switched to cloth wipes, but, well, we're not there yet). Of course, it isn't really all about the money (although I'm not opposed to saving money, if you get my drift.....); I also do it for the environmental benefit. I admit that washing at home does use more water and energy, but I feel like I can economize on water and energy in other areas of my life and offset my use a little.
So how does it work in practice? Well, we put Natalie in a diaper, just like normal (the only catch is if she has a diaper rash [something we've only had to deal with once]. Diaper cream interferes with the absorbency of cloth, so in those instances, we use disposables). When the diaper needs to be changed, we change it. If we're at home and the diaper is wet, it goes straight into our hybrid diaper pail. In this pail we have both a regular trash bag (for disposable wipes and those instances when we use disposable diapers) and a waterproof wet bag. Into this latter, we put all the cloth diapers. This bag has a little tag where you can dab some essential oil (we use orange) to prevent any smells from getting too bad. If the diaper is dirty, we spray it first over the toilet using our
diaper sprayer. The diaper sprayer is just a little sprayer (sort of like you might have near your kitchen sink) that attaches to the toilet. The water actually comes out with a fair amount of pressure, so it does a good job pre-cleaning the diaper.
If we're out, I have a miniature version of our waterproof cloth diaper laundry bag. that hangs out in the diaper bag. This wet bag is about the size of gallon freezer bag and it has a zip top. So I just put the whole diaper in there, and deal with it as above when we get home. No worries.
Every 3-4 days, I wash diapers. I take the whole bag into the laundry room. At this point I pullout all the inserts from the pockets and dump them and the diapers into my top-loading washing machine. I also put the bag(s) that has/have been holding the diapers in the wash. I run a hot wash, cool rinse, preceded by a 30 minute soak. I then do a second cold rinse (my machine has a setting for this, so I'm really just in the laundry room once, to start the whole process).
I use
Charlie's Soap. The key with the cloth diapers is to use something that won't irritate the baby's skin (thus I avoid detergents that have enzymatic cleaners that start working on contact with moisture) and that doesn't have a lot of extraneous stuff (brighteners, fragrence etc.) that would lead to build-up on the diapers and thus cause them to repel and leak. So Charlie's Soap is perfect - it is totally biodegradable, scent-free, hypoallergenic, and rinses clean (blah, blah, I don't mean to sound like a commercial, but the soap really is working well for us).
Just for good measure, and to really insure that things rinse clean, I use a downy ball (like for fabric softener) filled with a little vinegar. The ball theoretically releases the vinegar during the first rinse cycle, and the vinegar removes any residual soap that might still be hanging around plus it acts as an additional deodorizer.
When the machine is done, I dry everything outside on my clothesline.
Mike built me this clothesline in the corner of our yard for just this purpose! In the summer, diapers dry in an hour or so. Now that it's a bit cooler, I find that the outer shells are drying quickly, but that it sometimes takes a little longer for the inserts (which look like little mini-towels) to dry; I suppose I could toss them in the dryer, but just set them on my indoor drying rack and they're always dry by morning.
This really isn't that hard or complicated or that much extra work once you get into a rhythm with it. I fear that in my desire to make it all seem clear and transparent, I've made this seem like a Herculean undertaking. It so isn't.
Natalie still uses disposables most nights - we have a theory that they keep her drier longer, and so that she sleeps a little longer. This is, of course, only a theory and we've had good nights where she's fallen asleep in a cloth diaper and bad nights where she's been wearing a disposable. So who knows? We also use disposables when we travel.
And now for something totally different . . . since the theme of this post is sort of "new things", I thought I'd share with you my massive craigslist patio furniture score: I got us a table and five chairs all for $40. Check it out! I realize that in many other parts of the country, people are pulling in their patio furniture and putting on their wool hats. Here in Texas it's perfect sitting outside weather - this was lunch today:
And, last, I'm very happy to say that I'm (finally!) writing from my own computer! It took me months to decide what I wanted, but I finally went with a nice
Dell laptop. I love it!
Then, it was my birthday! I had a wonderful birthday, complete with strawberry-blackberry buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, a massage, a sushi lunch, and then some cake in the evening with friends. "Some cake" is a bit of an understatement, since what I actually had was a cake made by Mike that was home-made, made-from-scratch chocolate-deliciousness-from-another planet. He used this recipe. And I would so recommend it.
I also received lots of lovely gifts from family and friends. Thanks to all of you! Turns out a one-armed birthday isn't so bad, after all!
Here's Natalie doing her latest trick of checking out her hands - she just rotates her wrist and turns them in front of her eyes and is transfixed.
Here are a few other cute shots:
And here's a video of Natalie laughing:
