The Toilet Training Transition

It has been forever since I last posted! I figured that our diapering routine has evolved some through this blogging hiatus, so I'll update a little.

1. We had a little trouble with our Flo diaper sprayer (twice, actually). The second time it malfunctioned, it was totally broken and I didn't want to buy a new sprayer this late in the diapering game. So on one hand, I am not pleased that our sprayer broke twice over the course of a year and 1/2. On the other hand, I contacted the company and asked if I could buy a replacement part for the little piece that broke and they sent me the replacement part for free! My verdict on the Flo sprayer is that the quality of mine was iffy, but the customer service was good.

2. I still totally love prefolds and Thirsties covers, but just in the past couple of months I've noticed that we're starting to get some wear right under the rise snaps on the covers. It's not severe enough that the covers are leaking, but I'm guessing I should have unsnapped the rise way before I did. Maybe I could have prevented it. The size 2 covers are also starting to get a little snug around the waist for my 30+ pounder.

3. Speaking of covers, our Grovia aplix covers are now retired after our nanny made the mistake of putting The Fish down for a nap in only a T-shirt and his diaper with the aplix cover. His island/beachy/ship crib sheet will never be the same. As I was spraying it off with the diaper sprayer, I kept questioning, "Is that a coconut? Nope. Not a coconut."

4. We are now in week 3 of potty training. I hear other CD people talk about how it's so bittersweet to retire the cute little diapers. No. It's not bitter, it's just sweet. I'm sad that he's growing up so quickly, but I'm totally fine with him using the potty. I was able to get him started while I was off work for two weeks and he has done so well and is so proud of himself. I'm now only using diapers during nap/bedtime, so that's throwing off my diaper washing routine, but I'm just adjusting the amount of detergent I use and am adding extra things in the diaper laundry like his undies, the towels we place in front of his little potty, etc. So far so good! I will do a thorough strip of the diapers before I store them away, but for now this routine is just fine.

Two years of cloth diapering are in the books and even though I'm the sole poop sprayer of the house and it's an extra load of laundry here and there, I'm so happy that we went this route.

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Hope in Every Season

Being Thrifty

If you are curious about how cloth might work for you, but you're scared to buy a starter stash, I've just discovered that there are trial programs so that you can spend a minimal amount of money to try it out for 30 days or so and see how it goes.  This could also help you pinpoint which types of diapers work best for your baby with minimal commitment.  Here's a link to a directory of trial programs.

It seemed like everyone asked me in the beginning if I would be using a diaper service.  I still can't for the life of me figure out why I would need one, but I guess for some folks, it's a good choice.  It might also be a good way to try out a variety of diapers.  I haven't looked into it, but the one thing I know is that they come by to pick up soiled diapers once a week.  That seems like an awfully long time to have wet/poopy diapers marinating in one's house, but that's coming from someone who voluntarily washes them every day.

I mentioned before that cloth diapers have resale value.  This could work in your favor if you're looking to save even more money over the price of disposables.  Check Craigslist, Ebay, or do a search for cloth diaper swap boards.  If you have a local diaper store, they may sell used diapers as well.  It doesn't hurt to ask.

Once you know what types of diapers you want, most brands have bundles you can buy.  If you're opposed to buying used diapers, searching for package deals will save you quite a bit of money on new diapers.

One budgeting idea I've heard is that you should put away $60 per month to go toward diapers.  Apparently that's what you might expect to spend on diapers per month if you use disposables.  Then you can use that money to buy cloth diapers little by little or save it up for awhile and buy a bundle.

Here's an approximation of what our beginning stash cost:

24 prefolds - $48
7 covers - $79   (this is probably 2 more covers than what we actually needed)
2 Diaper pail liners - $33
Diaper pail - $10
1 Travel Wetbag - $21
Snappi 2 pack - $5
3 Wool Dryer Balls - $21
Total:  $217 (give or take a few bucks)

If the $60 per month for disposables thing is true, I have made my money back in less than 4 months -and we didn't really shop around or bundle as much as we could have.

If you use disposables, how much do you spend on diapers/wipes per month?  I would like to know if the estimations I've read are accurate.

Itty Bitty Baby Bottoms

If you're researching all of the different types of modern cloth diapers, you might be a little overwhelmed.  There are so many different brands and styles.  Some are sized and some are "one size" (they will allegedly fit a baby from birth through potty training). 

I did a little bit of research before we got started and learned that even though some babies can wear "one size" diapers from the beginning, many little newborns just don't have the build for them yet.  If you have a petite baby, you may find that you can't size the diapers down far enough to keep leaks at bay.

For that reason, we started out with prefold diapers.  Prefolds are sized, so they're not going to fit forever, but they're inexpensive, absorbant, and very adjustable.

The Baby Fish was 7lb 15oz at birth and is now 14lb 3oz at 4 months.  He is still in size 1 prefolds and size 1 covers.  In fact, we just recently adjusted the snaps on the covers to make them larger, so he still has a little bit of room to grow.  The prefolds are starting to get a little snug, so we are testing other styles, but all in all, I am pleased with the amount of use we've gotten out of them.

These have been our go-to diapers since he was a couple of weeks old.  The links go to our favorite diaper and organic baby goods store, Franklin Goose.  They are located in Richmond, but you can order online if you don't have a diaper store near you.  They have $5 flat rate shipping! They are great about answering cloth questions, too.

Osocozy Cotton Prefolds (6 diapers for $12- Prefolds are the least expensive way to do cloth)
Thirsties Duo Dry Covers 
Snappi (Gone are the days of having to safety pin diapers on a squirming infant!)

I think we started with 4 packs of prefolds and about 7 covers.  We have 3 covers with snaps and the rest have Aplix (Velcro) closures.  There are pros and cons to each type.  You can't beat Aplix for ease of use, especially for bleary-eyed nighttime diaper changes.  The downside to Aplix is that it tends to wear out more quickly than the snap version of the covers.  Also, if you have an older baby who is an exhibitionist...well, they're going to enjoy Aplix, you are not.  The only time I reach for the snap ones is if all of the Aplix ones are in the wash.  That's just my personal preference.

We bought a two pack of Snappis and I had never taken the second one out of the package until a few weeks ago when the first one broke.  You don't technically have to use a Snappi to hold the diaper closed if you're using a cover, but we were advised that they reduce leaks by keeping the diaper from shifting around inside the cover.  We always use one.

Here's The Baby Fish sporting one of his prefolds, sans cover.  They are very trim.