I LOVE cloth diapering

     Now that I've been cloth diapering for several months, I thought I would give an update.  I've had ups and downs; I've had trials, temptations and second thoughts.  I can say without a doubt that I LOVE cloth diapering.  I love to talk about it, I love to answer questions about it, and I love to get fluff mail (new diapers) although I've got a good stash and I haven't bought any in a while. If you don't want to read about diapers, at least have a look at my beautiful stash.  Here we go.

My cloth diaper stash:

On the left we have my Bumgenius pockets, the next two are Bumgenius All-in-ones, in the middle are the Fuzzibunz, then on the end starting from the top are Rumparooz, a Charlie Banana and a Kawaii.  Then my extra inserts.

Top starting from the left: Charlie Banana, Kawaii, Rumparooz
Bottom starting at the left:  Bumgenius pocket, Bumgenius All in One (AIO), Fuzzibunz 

Here's the inside of the Charlie Banana.  I think these seem like the most comfortable.  I love this blue, the elastic is wide so it doesn't leave marks and it conforms more to his body.  You can move the elastic to make it longer.  The downsides are: they're a little more pricey and when he poos it's hard to get the insert out without getting...dirty.

Here's the Bumgenius pocket.  A pocket has inserts.  You stuff the insert into the pocket to absorb the moisture. Then when you change the diaper you take the insert out and throw everything in the bin.  I normally stuff my diapers once they're clean, then they're all ready when he needs them.  Bumgenius is probably my favorite diaper.  They are a decent price, they seem comfortable, they are generously sized so I'm sure they'll fit through potty training, and they're easy to use.  Also they come in lots of cute colors!

This is the Bumgenius AIO.  Instead of stuffing inserts into the diaper, they're sewn  in.  This can make them harder to clean and they take longer to dry. I do like having them to grab if I'm in a hurry though, and I don't have to worry about stuffing them.

This is a Fuzzibunz.  It's also a pocket diaper.   I normally use these if I want a more trim diaper.  I love the colors that Fuzzibunz offers. This is the diaper he wore in those Christmas pictures.

This drawer has my prefolds and covers.  It also has my wet bags.  The solid green is a liner for the diaper pail.

Prefolds are more like what cloth diapers used to be.  You fold the prefold (there are many different ways) and you can either lay it in the diaper or use a snappi to keep it on. (instead of pins)  Then you put the cover over it.  This is one of the cheapest ways to go.  I have Thirsties covers. I like to use these on washing day, or if I need more room in my diaper bag.

The blue is an Itti Bitti wetbag.  I got it for free; I think it might be a small.  The green one is Planet wise, size medium.  I like how planet wise has lots of patterns to choose from but both of these wet bags work well.  The purpose is to store dirty diapers in them while you're out of the house.  I like having two.

My wash routine:

     So when a diaper is dirty I spray it with an odor remover and throw it in this dry pail.  It's just a kitchen trash can with a washable Planetwise pail liner.  It normally only starts smelling if I wait too long to wash. Or I've gotten used to the smell, in which case I hope my friends tell me my house smells like diapers ;) Anyway, I wash every two days or so.  I take the bag downstairs and dump everything into the washer, then toss the liner in.  I don't even have to touch the diapers.  I have an HE machine so it took me a little while to troubleshoot.  HE machines are supposed to use less water, which is the opposite of what cloth diapers need.  First I do a rinse for 20 minutes.  Then I add a tablespoon of Fuzzibunz powder detergent, and a capful of Calgon water softener because hard water makes it harder to get diapers clean.  I wash on the "Normal" cycle on the settings: Heavy, Hot, Medium spin.  This is an hour and twenty-eight minutes. Then I do two more 20 minute rinse cycles.  I dry all of the inserts, wetbags, liners, prefolds and covers in the dryer. I dry all of the pocket diapers on a drying rack because it will make them last longer than if I always put them in the dryer.  I just do this in the living room because I don't have room in the laundry room.

A Dirty History:

     A couple months ago I did have some stink issues, and Adrian got an awful diaper rash due to ammonia problems.  That's when I had to strip the diapers.  I put my inserts through a sanitation cycle, soaked my diapers and rinsed the crap out of them.  Then I switched to a more cloth diaper friendly laundry detergent without any additives (like brighteners, enzymes etc).  I started using Calgon and I got some hemp liners, which are more absorbent than microfiber. I love them.  

A conclusion and a look into the future:

Cloth diapering is not for everybody. If it wasn't for the tree hugger in me, and the fact that someone said I "wouldn't last" cloth diapering, I may have given up at some point. Thank goodness I'm stubborn. It took a little while to get into my groove but now I really love it.  Adrian is starting solids though, so some things are going to change.  I'll have to decide between using disposable liners, getting a sprayer for the toilet, or swishing his soiled diapers in the toilet to get the poop off.  It won't be so washer friendly anymore. 

I'm considering using cloth wipes too, because it seems like it would be easy to just throw them in the wash.  I'll have to do some more research.  Thank you for sitting through my rambling; I hope you learned something today!  Also I hope I didn't accidently give any wrong information.  The reviews are just my opinions. Every baby is different, that's why I would recommend getting at least a couple different kinds before investing in your favorite.

I can't remember if there was anything else I wanted to talk about.  So I'll end with my sweet, messy baby: