Taken from a blog post from August 8, 2012
CLOTH DIAPERING IS AMAZING!
I know , I’m sure some of you out there are doing the dog head turn and are like “really?!”…Really! It is not only great for my baby’s tushy, but it’s awesome for my wallet! I’m in love!
Age Birth-3 months:
I decided to go with pre-folds and shells. I have the Diaper Rite Pre-folds, sizes newborn and medium. I am using Rumparooz and blueberry (made in USA and don’t charge extra for prints) shells. I’m using the Snappi (holds pre-fold together). Also, using Kangacare fleece inserts. I’m also using Cj’s BUTTer Diaper cream and Penaten (when needed). I also use reusable cotton wipes. I make the wipe solution with witch hazel, coconut oil, tea tree oil and water. AND YES! I WASH MY OWN DIAPERS & WIPES! My wet bags (for dirty diapers) Planet wise (I have 2 small- good for shopping trips and a quick change-made in USA), Rumparoos (great for traveling- hold 9-10 diapers), and Bummis (medium- holds about 3-4 diapers- good for our trips to the beach or out on a boat).
Here is what I think of them….They are great! When you purchase, you have to prep the diapers by washing them and drying them 4-6 times before using them on baby. There isn’t any tricky folding like with the big square ones. Mostly just folds around your baby. It’s easy to look up tutorials on YouTube. I am lucky enough to be blessed with www.Diaperjunction.com – they have videos and info online and a store that I can visit not too far from my house! Ethan is sensitive to the moisture so I also use kangacare fleece inserts to wick the moisture away from his tushy better. They also help prevent diaper creams such as penaten(German) or desitine from ruining the cotton pre-fold (will create a water resistant spot and then the diaper won’t absorb). Since it has been so hot and humid (and we did a week on Fire Island with no ac), he broke out with a little diaper rash. Quick applying of Penaten and it’s gone after the first application. They do a fantastic job of absorbing and the shells do a great job of holding in the messes. Overall, I’m completely satisfied with our decision to go this route.
Now the sizes I have. Since Mr. Ethan was 10lb. 3 oz. buying the newborns (even when I knew he was measuring big- but there was the possibility the measurements could be wrong… anyway) was a little bit of a waste. I should have sized up and gone with the small. Ethan grew out of the newborns by the time he was 2 months old. Since he grew so fast, when I went back to the store, I decided on sizing up. I went with the mediums. We just add an extra fold in the back and it’s perfect. I am realizing that this was a smart decision, because this size will last on him a bit longer. Since they were a size up, they took a little getting used to…had a few more blow outs, but once I got the hang of it, it has been wonderful.
Mr. Ethan has been a wonderful sleeper, 4-6 hours, when he first came home from the hospital. Now he’s at 7-9 hours. He’s also a heavy wetter. So I did some research myself and the consensus seems to be pocket diapers are great for heavy wetting at night (The thought of this made me quiver… why you ask, because I was dead against pocket diapers when I first learned of them…you mean I have to stuff them and pull out the inserts when dirty…yuck!…Man was I wrong) I went back to diaper junction and talked to one of the sales women, (side note, I love going there, because they remember me and are soooooo nice!) and she brought up pocket diapers. She said since he’s got chunky thighs any of the diapers they have would work. So I was drawn to bumgenius and blueberry. However, they are kind of pricey ($17 and $23 a diaper). They have this other brand Kawaii Baby.
Kawaii Baby has two types of diapers at my store- Regular and then overnight (designed to absorb more). I went with the regular ($9.95 each). We figured out that since I will only be using them at night I will only need three. Since I do diapers every other day, I will then always have a clean one available. So there I am buying the diaper I was so afraid of… LOL Man I love them. Yes, I do have to stuff them. No, I don’t have to pull the inserts out, they magically come out of the diaper during the wash…AMAZING!
They have opened my eyes to pocket diapers. I’m thinking that I am going to eventually make the switch to pockets. I think that once little Ethan starts eating food and his poops are a bit grosser, the pockets are going to be easier to deal with.
I am going to pick up another pocket diaper tomorrow just to add to my stash. It’s an Alva pocket diaper. Never heard of them, but it’s cute, black with rainbow snaps. (Yeah I know… “Really because it’s cute?!”-Yup, that’s one “problem” with the diapers… they are so cute you just want more… lol).
Loving my journey with cloth diapering! I’ll keep ya posted!
Links to items I use:
Diapers:
All can be found on www.diaperjunction.com
Shells- http://www.rumparooz.com/
Pre-folds & wipes- http://www.diaperrite.com/
Cj’s BUTTer- www.cjsuniqueboutique.com
Penaten- http://www.dusson.com/penaten/bc121.html
Snappi’s- http://www.snappibaby.com/products/snappidiaperfastener.html
Wet bags:
Planet wise- http://www.planetwiseinc.com/
Bummis- http://www.bummis.com/us/en/fabulous-wet-bags.php
Rumparooz- http://www.rumparooz.com/
Wipes solution:
Coconut oil and tea tree oil- http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=554
Witch hazel- http://www.walmart.com/ip/T.N.-Dickinson-s-Face-Body-Witch-Hazel-Astringent-16-fl-oz/10321470