gDiapers

If you are interested in cloth diapering but not sure you want to take the leap from disposables, there is a nice alternative. gDiapers are better than disposables because you flush the waste instead of depositing it in a landfill. They have reusable covers that you wash in the laundry and flushable inserts. You can also compost or throw the insert away. They say it will break down in the landfill in 90 days vs up to 500 years for a disposable. The advantage of flushing over tossing is that the poop will be treated appropriately, vs going in a landfill (see Environmental Concerns at left)

I just bought a pack of these to use for a trip, where we won't have access to laundry facilities. I was about to buy the chlorine free disposables, when I noticed that for a few dollars more, I could get the gDiaper starter pack and a pack of disposable inserts. I tried them out and the first three diapers have worked great. Our 14 month old had a huge (as described by her dad) poopy and it got on the plastic insert but not on the cover. I figure I can wash the plastic insert in the sink at the hotel, and it will dry quickly. The flushable inserts have to be torn apart before flushing, so they are a little less convenient than cloth in this way.

Overall, the main advantage of these diapers over other cloth diapers is that you don't have to wash the inserts. This saves a lot of water and some time. I have to say, I really don't feel that washing diapers takes much time. It's not like the clothes laundry that you have to sort, fold, or hang and put away. At most, it takes 5 minutes to throw them in the washer, 5 minutes to throw them in the dryer or hang on a line, and a short amount of time to stuff, either all at once or with each change. I do like the idea that these diapers save a lot of water. I don't think we'll need to wash the covers too often, and they can go in with the rest of the clothes laundry. I'll give an update after our trip to let you know how it went.

UPDATE:
The G Diapers worked great on our trip and we did not have one leak in all 7 days. We didn't have access to a washing machine, and I did have to hand wash the plastic insert for every poopy diaper. This was kind of gross at first, but I got used to it. If I had access to a washing machine, I could have just rinsed the insert and then thrown it in the washer. My recommendation if you are going on a trip with the g Diapers is to have 4 or 5 of the plastic inserts and 3 or 4 of the cloth outers; more if you won't be near a sink and soap often. We had 2 cloth outers and 3 plastic inserts and got by OK. We were near our hotel room at least every 2 diaper changes.

My conclusion is that these are the best option for going on a trip without laundry facilities. Environmentally, these may be the best option for at home too, because you use so much less water. If I didn't already have a stash of cloth diapers, I would consider using the g diapers all the time. It is more expensive though, since you have to keep buying the inserts. Please leave your comments if you have used these!

The Diapers I Use

If you're deciding what type of diapers to use, see the post on "How Do You Begin?" Everyone has their preference, and there are pros and cons to each type.

We use BumGenius one size pocket diapers from Cotton Babies. The best thing about these is that they can be adjusted to fit any child. OK, I guess I can't say they fit any child, but they fit mine from about 2 months to 2 1/2 years so far. This means we have only had to buy one set of diapers, which offsets the fact that they are so expensive. The next best thing about these is the customer service from Cotton Babies. The diapers have worn out twice (see details below) and they have replaced them all for free TWICE. I seriously didn't think they would replace them the second time, since it was past the one year warranty, but they did, and I am one happy customer.

The elastic wore out in the diapers after one year each time. The problem may have been that I was using vinegar in the rinse cycle whenever the diapers smelled bad. I learned later that this can cause the elastic to wear out.

The diapers do tend to get smelly after a while, and this is what Cotton Babies recommends for stinky diapers:
"Wash your diapers again! Most of the time, stinky diapers just aren't clean yet. Detergent residue or build up may also cause odors to be retained. Check the rinse water to make sure that you don't see suds. If you do, use less detergent. A warm wash with a squirt of liquid Dawn (the dish detergent), rinsed well, does a great job removing stinky residue from diapers. When all else fails, try 1/4 cup of bleach in a large hot wash load."

To summarize,
Pros: One Size, less diapers to buy!
Great Customer Service
Pocket diaper, so inserts can be varied for different absorbency
Fit is trim for a cloth diaper

Cons: Can get Stinky
Must wash properly
Expensive

Let me know if you have questions about these diapers.

Washing Diapers

This is the one thing people tell me keeps them from using cloth diapers. I will admit, I'm a SAHM (Stay at Home Mom) so it's easier for me to throw in a load of diapers in the middle of the day. But I honestly don't think it's that hard, and if you time things right, you could do a load at night after work every 2-3 days and it would work out fine. It's easier to wash diapers than clothes because you don't have to sort, fold, or put on hangers! The diapers can sit in the washer or dryer until you're ready to deal with them. The different brands are getting better about giving specific instructions on how to wash their diapers than they did when I started.

Prefolds are probably the most forgiving things to wash. I don't see how you could ever ruin them. Anything with elastic or a waterproof layer needs to be cared for more carefully.

Here's what I've learned NOT to do with our pocket diapers:
Don't soak
Don't use vinegar

I use this system with all of our diapers:

Detergent:
I use All Free&Clear, but there are several brands recommended on various web sites. Make sure there are no dyes, perfumes, brighteners, enzymes, fabric softener, or wrinkle guards.

Diaper Pail:
I use a Snap-EZ liner in a tall kitchen trash can with lid and step opener

Wash Routine:
1. Run the prewash cycle with COLD water and a splash of detergent
2. Run a regular cycle with HOT water and 1/2 the recommended amount of detergent
3. Run a 2nd Rinse
4. Dry everything on Medium
5. Hang anything that is still damp (usually the All-In-Ones take longer to dry)

Frequency:
I washed every 3 days with a toddler, every 2 days with a toddler and a newborn

Here's a link to the info on washing on the cotton babies site: http://www.cottonbabies.com/clothdiapers.php#detergent

Stains:
Poo stains come RIGHT out in the sun! I just lay them outside, and the stains come out in a matter of hours in our Colorado sun. I think the sun kills bacteria as well.

Customer Service is Still King

I am so incredibly amazed by the company who makes BumGenius diapers, CottonBabies. For the second time in 2 1/2 years, I've returned my diapers because the elastic had worn out. It's possible the elastic wore out because I was not washing them properly. BOTH times, they sent me an entire set of brand new diapers at no charge! I will definitely keep using their products and recommend them to everyone I know. What customer service!

A couple of things I was doing wrong: soaking the diapers before washing, using vinegar in the rinse cycle a couple of times. Don't do this with BumGenius diapers! The company has a one year guarantee on diapers assuming they are being cared for properly.

How do you begin?

I think the hardest part of cloth diapering is just deciding what to buy and how to get started. If you still aren't sure after reading this, just buy a few and see how you like them before getting a complete stash.

WHAT KIND?
Look at the panel on the left for definitions of the major types of cloth diapers. The way I see it, the cheapest options are a little more difficult to use, and the most expensive are the easiest to use. Here they are from least to most expensive:

Prefolds and Covers
Contours and Covers
Fitteds and Covers (see note)
Pockets
All-in-Ones

note: I don't think fitteds are easier to use than contours, but they may hold in the mess better than a prefold or contour that was put on poorly

Now, if you are a mom, and plan to stay home with the baby for a while, any diapering system will become easy. Let's face it, you're changing up to 10 diapers a day, and it doesn't take long to get used to any type of diaper.

If you plan to have other people change a lot of your baby's diapers, and you have a larger budget, you might want to consider a more easy to use diaper like a pocket or all-in-one.

I think it would be smart to start with prefolds and covers and see how they work for you. They are a small investment ($1-$1.50 per prefold and around $12 per cover) and the prefolds can be used for many things if you don't end up liking this system. If you're sure you want something super easy to use, and have the budget for them, then go for the pockets or all in ones.

HOW MANY?
We started with 19 diapers for our first, and that is all we have ever needed for her (we use a one-size diaper). It lets me do laundry every 3 days (or every 2 days when she was an infant) I don't think you really want to let diapers sit for longer than 3 days. If you're using covers, you need 4-6 covers for a newborn, less for an older child.

WHAT ELSE?
You'll also need a container for holding the dirty diapers. I use a large garbage can with a lid and a step opener. I use a wet bag, which is lined with PUL inside, like this one:
http://www.snap-ez.com/CartDiaperPailLiners.html

Cloth wipes are the best thing to use with cloth diapers. You could cut them yourself from fabric of your choice, or use baby washcloths. We use baby washcloths, and they fit perfectly in a wipes warmer when folded in half. After placing the wipes in the warmer, I pour water over them and they are ready to go whenever I need them. You could also use an old disposable wipes container instead of a warmer, or just keep them in a pile and wet them as you need them. Just throw the dirty ones in with the dirty diapers.

WHERE TO BUY?
Generally, the best cloth diapers are found online. You may also find them in some specialty baby stores, but the ones are Target and BabiesRUs are not very good quality. Check out some of the sites on the left panel here. Most of these sites are run by moms and have very good service.

First Post

So, here I go, starting on another time consuming activity in my busy life. I've recently had about 4 friends express interest in using cloth diapers, and all are e-mailing with all kinds of questions. I'm really excited that other people have seen me use cloth diapers successfully with my family and want to try it out themselves. I also understand why they have so many questions. There are hundreds, if not thousands of options of things to cover your baby's bum. I really don't consider myself an expert on all the different systems, but I know what has worked for our family, and I know a bit about the other options available. I've created this blog to help answer those questions, and to allow that knowledge to get passed on to more and more who may want to put something other than plastic on their sweet baby's bum.