The World of Cloth Diapering

We've returned our diaper trial and our shipment/ stash of diapers came last weekend; we're IN! 

 

We hit a MAJOR 4th of July sale and got an INCREDIBLE deal on our stash; the brand we bought (Kawaii Baby) were on sale PLUS since we had such a large order they gave us an extra $30 off with FREE shipping. That dropped our initial investment $75-100, I was PSYCHED! Since we were saving so much Brandon let me splurge a little and I got 6 cute printed diapers; the small amount fed my "fun factor" with out breaking us.

 

Brandon found a deal on a medium wet bag on Woot.com last week so, since I don't have sewing machine, my wet bag only cost me $6 instead of $17. We had been using Ziploc freezer bags until I researched something cheaper; Brandon found it instead- GO HUBBY!

 

Here's the low down on our trial and what we like and found:

 

1. Prefold:  old school piece of absorbent fabric that requires "pinning". Modern day pin =  Snappi contraption. You still need a plastic type cover that goes over the fabric and is the waterproof layer. (3 step process; fold fabric, secure in place, place waterproof layer on top.)

2. Fitted: Disposable like in make and ease of use but made completely of cloth. Still requires the plastic like cover over top of them to create the waterproof layer. (2 step process; put one cloth absorbent layer, put on waterproof cover/ layer.)

3. Pocket: Absorbent layer + waterproof layer sewn all in one diaper. Pocket at the top allows for stuffing of absorbent layer and allows you to customize according to your child's absorbency needs- aka stuff to your heats content. (2 step process; stuff absorbent layer, put diaper on child) Most parents pre-stuff prior to changing the child to make the process easier.

4. All-in-One: Absorbent layer + waterproof layer sewn all in one. Has 2 absorbent flaps that sit on top of one another to create the extra absorbency where in the pocket you have to stuff that yourself. Considered the Cadillac of cloth diapers; no prep, no fuss, no stuff.

 

Although I really didn't mind the prefolds Brandon did not like them at all and with Andrew currently in outside childcare the prefold really wasn't an option. We wanted to make sure we kept things simple for whoever was watching Andrew. The prefold method takes coordination and time to "get the hang of", something a once-in-a-while sitter may not have. We opted out on this one but may revisit once the little one gets here.

 

We decided to use Fitteds for overnight and with how much Andrew rolls around those seemed to work best. We never had anything we used "leak" but the outside liner of everything else would be slightly damp or his PJ waist band would be a little damp. The fitted sit a little tighter on his legs so for all the extra we get at night I like those as my overnighter.

 

During our trial I had a nasty poop in an all-in-one and spent WAY too much time trying to get each "layer" clean while not getting it all over myself. I told Brandon right then we would NOT be buying ANY all-in-ones. To keep things cheaper right now we're not investing in a sprayer to rinse- that may come later once we have a smaller child with less solid diapers but for now I DID NOT like swishing the all-in-one.
They're also the most expensive and, for us, the hardest to rinse off- so we said no thanks!

 

By the time we'd tried them all, discussed finances, our lifestyle, and Andrew's childcare options we opted for pockets during the day and fitted for overnight. We discussed numbers with our friends and in our class and came to a solid number of 18. When we ordered we ended up with 18 pockets and 3 fitted with 2 covers. With our diaper trial the every night wash was not bad; I had a system down that worked and got it done with Andrew in bed and before 9:30. Our new and current stash lets us wash every 3 days and given that I washed every night for 2 weeks the break has been awesome. :)

 

We LOVE our pocket diapers and so far so does everyone we've given Andrew to. We encountered a lot of skepticism through our process but have been able to bring around just about everyone. :) Cloth diapering has come so far and is now so easy that we have yet to have a complaint. Since we use pocket diapers, which are just like disposables, it's been super easy for everyone. We pre-stuff them so anyone who has Andrew just has to remove the dirty one and put on a clean one, just like they would a disposable. We've even had a few moms comment on how cute he looks.

 

Andrew is diapered and we LOVE it! We know that diapering an infant is different so we'll be researching, budgeting, and keeping an eye out for sales/what not for the next one. All in all we're extremely happy and Andrew seems to be as well. I'm not an environmental advocate in the least; however, we both agree that this has been a great investment. 

 

Not for everyone, but it works for us!

No Way In

I feel that I haven't had a really good laugh out loud story in a while... well... call it pregnancy brain, stupidity, or just a good learning experience- here you go:

I have worked at our churches counseling center as an administrative assistant for almost 4 months. I schedule clients, process the files, work with insurance, deal with claims, update our database, and complete general office tasks- I love it. Fridays are pretty low key days and most Friday afternoons I am here by myself. I kick off my shoes, lock the doors, and crank my music while feverishly working away and getting stuff done! I LOVE my Fridays.

My boss took off around 11:30 for lunch. I settled into a stopping point and around 12 decided I would go into the kitchen and heat up my own lunch. Knowing that the front door and interior door were locked I grabbed a key and made my way to the kitchen. As the interior door shut I found the kitchen door to be locked. Shocked and shaking my head I put my key in the lock and attempted to turn. Nothing. I turned and put the key in the interior door and attempted to turn. Notta. Complete and utter confusion swept over me and I racked my brain as to what just happened. I tried the kitchen door again. Zip. I tried the interior door again. Zilch.

Beginning to chuckle and thinking of a previous conversation with a co-worker I stepped into our waiting area toward the window. Recalling how my co-worker stated that she would love to see me crawl through the window, should I ever lock myself out, because I'm the only one that would fit I thought it a viable solution to my insane "how did this happen" problem. I was wrong. When the last client of the morning left, I locked the window to save myself a step that afternoon when I locked up and left for the night. The window was locked.

Standing in the middle of the waiting room I realized I was trapped and bust out laughing. THANKFULLY, last minute, I had grabbed my phone. I could walk to the church and find a facilities guy with a key or call and have them come over. Looking at my phone the battery was blinking; I had about 20 minutes left of call time. Shaking my head, yet again at the luck, I dialed the church.

As soon as the receptionist picked up I knew it had rolled over to the office... that meant there was NO ONE at the church that could come let me in. Good thing I didn't walk over but CRAP! Making sure, I asked if anyone was at the church and as I thought it was a ghost town. No big surprise given that most of the staff take Friday off since they have to work the weekend. Laughing at myself I humbly dialed my boss and requested a rescue operation. Since we have a spare set of keys in the kitchen, for situations like getting locked out of the interior door, it took me a few moments to explain that I was also locked out of the kitchen with no access to said keys. I feared going outside and not being able to get back in the building at all. *(Good thing I had already picked up the mail!).

With nothing to do and my phone dying I made myself comfortable on our couch and patiently waited for help to arrive. I made sure to have a big smile ready for my boss when he walked in the door. With both of us laughing we pondered how the kitchen door had gotten locked. Until today I didn't even know the kitchen door HAD a lock.

Lessons learned:
- Our kitchen door has a lock.
- The "master" key I grabbed is actually a key to JUST the offices. It does not open the interior, kitchen, or exterior doors of the building.
- (In lue of the situation) The windows in the bathroom, although small, DO open. hehehe.

All VERY good things to know. :)

Cloth Diapers: All In

We met with some good friends on Sunday to talk diapers. No sales pitch just: what works for you, what do you recommend and what have you learned. They even walked us through their day/travel/ wash routines. They been using cloth for 2 years so it was awesome to talk to and actually see how someone makes it work. The best part is that they’re like us, practical about it. They gave some really good advice, suggested some things we would have never thought of, and answered a lot of questions. Brandon and I both felt more confident when we left and the encouragement they offered was incredible!

4 days in and I’m still really liking it. Our sitter found that she LOVED it and the church childcare didn’t mind since we gave them the system that is just like disposable diapers to use (pocket diapers).

The laundry every night has not been bad at all. Last night provided a real test of strength and energy as we spent the entire evening teaching our son a lesson in limitations and the screaming that comes with it. Completely exhausted by his bed time I still started a cold rinse cycle just before his bedtime routine. I put Andrew to bed and by the time he was down everything was ready for the hot wash/cold rinse cycle. I left for Walmart, in need of some serious alone time, soon after and asked Brandon to put the diapers in the dryer on low once they were done washing. By the time I got home they were ready for their 2^nd low dry cycle and within 30-45 minutes I had a stack of stuffed and ready to go diapers before 9: PM. I stuffed the pockets while relaxing in front of the TV. Since we won’t be washing every night like we do now I can totally see this working for us. The nice thing about the laundry piece is you set and go. I don’t have to hover and can do other things while they’re washing/ drying; I’m not really seeing what the big deal is or what all the fuss is really about.

We have been using disposables at night, for now. The only reason being that we currently only have enough diapers to last a day or so and I would prefer not to be down a diaper first thing in the morning. Since Brandon doesn’t care for the pre-folds we haven’t been using them but have discussed using them at night for now. It really is all trial and error. We have plans to finish out the week, do another weekend, and possibly revisit again next week before “officially” deciding. We really want to give this a fair trial without jumping in head first; however, so far so good! :)