Cloth Diapering Part 1

Making decisions for baby had the potential to get really overwhelming. However, I have this amazing group of friends and family who have answered all of my questions. Believe me I have a lot being that I am a first time Mom!

One of the burning questions I had was what brand of diapers do I use. After asking everyone I knew, I got a lot of responses....long story short I found out that disposables were not the only option and I was inspired to research cloth diapering after two moms told me why they use them. 

My idea of cloth diapering was so old fashion. I envisioned a plain cloth diaper fastened by safety pins in which have to be soaked in a bucket before washing. To my surprise this is so not the case! There are so many options available and cloth diapers to fit anyones lifestyle and they are SUPER CUTE!

Now the two moms I talked to use completely different systems, both highly rated and recognized but different in their own respect. So I had to do a little research of my own, and when I research something I pour hours upon hours into finding out every detail possible....pros, cons, how to videos (thank you YouTube), pricing...you name it I looked it up!

Based on my findings I have come to the conclusion that cloth diapers are:

1. CUTE (yes this matters to me)
2. Very easy to use
3. Reduce diaper rash
4. Budget friendly (OMG diapers can run you up nearly $2000 or possibly more before potty training, cloth diapers depending how crazy you go buying covers about $500)
5. Make for an easier transition in potty training
6. Environmentally friendly 

Being that I am not in this alone in this I had to find a way to convince my husband that disposable diapers were not the only option available. His biggest question for me was will I have to touch poop? I'm not going to lie, I thought the same thing at first. Now when using disposables you also have the risk in touching poop, so yes it is possibly but not likely once you master diaper changing or upon freak accident. We agreed to cloth diapering!

I was so excited and purchased 1 of each type of diaper we will be using. For daytime we will be using Flip diapers and for nighttime, the Bumgenius 4.0. The most appealing thing about both is that they are made by the same company and are a once size diaper, meaning that baby can fit in them from about 8-35 pounds. They come in very cute designs and have a snap or hook and loop (which more closely resembles disposables) closure. They are highly reviewed by other moms on the web and one of my friends. Leaks and blowouts are really rare, which is a huge plus!

The Flip diaper is a hybrid diaper. It is made up of a PUL diaper cover and has three different options for inserts: organic cotton, stay dry or disposable. I am not going to be home all the time nor will my husband and I be the only ones who watch our son, so I love that there is a disposable option. Cleanup is really easy once you remove the diaper you literally flip the dirty insert in your wash bag and as long as the cover does not get dirty you can reuse it! 

The Bumgenius 4.0 is a pocket diaper meaning that you stuff the insert into the pocket. We chose this style because it can be a more absorbent nighttime diaper by adding a doubler with the insert of choice.

The Bumgenius was $17.95 and the Flip was $19.95. I found out that one should have at least 10 covers and 24 inserts which is about 3 days worth of diapers. However, I always like to be prepared so I plan to have a bigger stash but it is good to know what is essential. 

Next step was to figure out laundering these bad boys! It is recommended to wash every other day using a special detergent formulated for cloth diapers. The covers can be hung to dry and the inserts go in the dryer. 

My registry has been updated with diapers so our actual investment is not going to be much and the best part is that I can use these when I have another baby. I am thrilled to start cloth diapering and glad that I made this decision :)