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!
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!
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