Babywearing

As it turns out, I do other things besides cloth diaper.  You were wondering, right?

Anyway, we recently picked up a Snuggybaby ring sling for 50% off (whoo hoo!), and The Baby Fish loves it!  He has been a nosy curious baby since the moment he bungee jumped his way out of me and into the world.  I think he enjoys being worn because it keeps him up and in the thick of things.  Now that he is practicing sitting up, he especially likes it.  It's pretty simple to use and it fits in the diaper bag.  He can also nurse in it (although he gets REALLY distracted).

We have a Moby Wrap too, and it has its merits, but if you think it's your only option, do not be deceived.  I feel like the Moby is kind of like the "Kleenex" of baby wearing.  You know how people say they need a Kleenex when they really just mean they need a tissue?   If you want to wear your baby, you might think you need a Moby, but what you really need is just some kind of carrier.

The thing about the Moby is that it's like a million feet long.  I'm only slightly exaggerating.  If you're really good at wrapping it, I'm sure the length isn't a big deal, but when you are in an airport, for instance, and the stupid thing is touching the filthy ground as you wrap it because it's a million feet long, and then you have to put your baby in it?  It's a little annoying and it requires an extra set of hands (if you're me).  The other drawback is that its million-foot-longness makes it ridiculous to try to stuff in a diaper bag.

On the other hand, it is very versatile and comfortable because it distributes the baby's weight beautifully.  I think it's one of those things that is worth waiting until your baby is born and trying out before you buy it.  I suggest visiting your local mom and pop baby store and trying out several different types of baby wearing apparati before committing.  None of it is cheap, so you want to know you and your baby will like it and that it will suit your body type before shelling out the money.   Since they are washable, buying used is also a great option.

The airport example wasn't hypothetical...




I came across this article on baby wearing tips this week.  I thought it was interesting, so I'm linking it here for my own reference as much as anything else.  There are ways to screw it up (besides letting your kid fall out of it).  We are still new at this so if you have your own tips, share them!

As an aside, check out Sarah's link up for lots of cool stuff!

It Doesn't Get Much Cheaper than Free!

If you're interested in cloth diapering, subscribe to some cloth diapering blogs.  There are always giveaways out there.  Here's a giveaway for newborn diapers, cloth wipes, and a wetbag via a blog hop. Look around and you'll find tons more, plus tutorials on how to make your own diapers, covers, wetbags, you name it!

I'm considering taking my fear of wool on and attempting to make my own wool cover this weekend.  If I do, I will keep you apprised.  If it's easy, I might make several (the more I read about wool, the easier it seems to use it--- but I think I'd have to use several to make it worthwhile.  More on that later).

Prepping

If you're going to be using natural fiber diapers, you will want to prep your diapers before you use them.

Prepping involves washing and drying the diapers several times before you use them to remove natural oils and help the fabric gain absorbency.  You will want to use a small amount of detergent at least the first couple of times to help remove the oils.  After that, you don't really have to use detergent.  I didn't know that, so I used detergent each time.  Either way works.

If you're using cotton prefolds, your diapers will come out of the package nice and flat and smooth, but when they are fully prepped, they will shrink some and quilt up and look like this...





The more you wash/dry them, the more pee they'll hold.  I think I washed mine 6-7 times before I called it good.

I have a few hemp diapers too, and while they also need to be prepped, they will not quilt up like the ones in the picture.  I found that I didn't wash them as many times to prep them (maybe just because I was so over prepping by the point that we introduced hemp into our stash).  You'll notice that hemp takes a long time to dry.  It gets better once they're fully prepped!  Hemp just holds a lot more liquid than cotton, so the drying time will be different.  Now that mine are fully prepped, they dry in the same amount of time as my cotton diapers.  I don't know how that happened, but I'm not complaining.

If you want to use cloth and you haven't had your baby yet, I highly recommend doing the prepping before the baby comes.  Trust me when I say that washing the same clean load of laundry over and over again 6 times is not going to be your idea of a good time when you're dealing with a newborn and all of the challenges that come along with adjusting to a new baby.  You'll just be happy if you have any clean clothes to put on your own body and you won't want to waste your precious time and energy on prepping.  At least that's how it went for me.

If your baby is already here, you can wash the diapers with some of your regular laundry when prepping them provided you are using cloth diaper safe laundry detergent and your clothes can be washed in hot water. Also, remember, NO FABRIC SOFTENER!  In fact, if your clothes have fabric softener in them from a previous wash, I wouldn't wash diapers with them.  That may be a little extreme, but we are completely fabric softener free now because I'm terrified of having to strip diapers.  Like I needed a new phobia...

The Starter Stash

There's an overwhelming amount of information out there, right?  Here are the basics of what you need to get started, give or take.

• Enough diapers to get you through 48 hours.  If you're starting with a newborn, you will need more diapers than if you're starting with an older baby.  Allegedly.  The Baby Fish is a peeing machine!  We started with 24 prefolds.
• A diaper pail *
• Two diaper pail liners/wetbags (one for the wash, one for the pail)
• A travel size wetbag or two if you plan to use cloth diapers on the go (we only have one because we don't leave the house every day)
• If you're using diapers that need separate covers, you'll probably need 5-6 covers
• A Snappi isn't an absolute MUST, but it has worked very well for us.  Just this weekend we started going Snappiless.  
• If you're feeding formula or solids/cereal, decide if you'll want a diaper sprayer or flushable diaper liners.
• Wipes of some sort (I highly recommend cloth wipes if you're cloth diapering.  If you're going to be using cloth diapers anyway, they will mean less work--no emptying the trash to get rid of poopy wipes.)
• You don't absolutely have to have them, but wool dryer balls are really nice to have (they soften  fabric and reduce drying time).  There are also plastic versions out there, but I haven't tried them.

*My "diaper pail" is just a cheap plastic trash can with a flip top lid.  You can skip a pail altogether if you use hanging wetbags.

That's just about it!  If any of my CDing friends have other opinions, feel free to chime in.

BTW - Sarah at Hope in Every Season is hosting a link up with lots of crafty/recipe type stuff.  I always find something neat from her blog followers.

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.

Pockets and All-in-Ones and Prefolds, Oh My!

A friend recently asked about the difference between pockets and all in ones.  There are actually several different types of diapers and all of them have pros and cons.

All-In-One

The name says it all!  These are the most similar in use to disposables (except you don't throw them away!).  The inside is absorbent, the outside is waterproof.  Depending on the brand, they are available as "one size" or sized.

Pros - Very user friendly, all one piece, available in cute prints, most have a stay dry lining that helps wick moisture away from baby (great for night time)

Cons - They tend to be thick, can take a long time to dry --even in the dryer, take up lots of room in a diaper bag, the "one size" versions aren't usually recommended for babies under 10 pounds.

Examples:  Thirsties($15-16), GroVia($15-$24), Bumkins ($17) , Bumgenius ($18)


All-In-Two/Hybrids

These consist of a waterproof shell with an absorbent insert that snaps in.   Available as sized or one size.

Pros - The shell can be used multiple times before you have to wash it, quick drying since the absorbent piece is separate, having two pieces allows you to hang the cover to dry to prolong its life, easy to use, inserts are available in "stay dry"(usually a synthetic like microfleece over a natural fiber), natural fibers like cotton, hemp, or bamboo, and even disposable.

Cons - Fairly thick, inserts and shells are sold separately which can make them more expensive than all-in-ones, some brands (I'm talkin' to YOU, GroVia!) don't have a wipeable cover...probably solely to make you have to buy more covers.  Shady, shady! 

Examples:  GroVia Shell($17) and Insert($17-18 for two), Best Bottom Shell($17) and insert ($4-10 each)


Pockets

Pockets combine the ease of all-in-ones with the ability to separate the soaker from the cover. Available as sized or one size.

Pros - separate soaker allows you to customize the absorbency and hang covers to dry, most have a stay dry lining, great for night time, some brands come with two soakers per diaper so that you can double up for night time.

Cons - you have to take the soaker out of the pocket before tossing into the pail, you have to re-stuff them after they are dry (adds a little time to your diaper routine).

Examples:  Fuzzibunz ($20), Blueberry ($29), Thirsties ($17-19)

Prefolds

I've mentioned before that prefolds are our main diaper right now.  They are several layers of fabric stitched together and must be used with a cover to prevent leaks.  They are sized.  One word of caution -- you will see "prefolds" sold in retail stores like Walmart and Target.  Those prefolds are great....as burp cloths!  Don't use them as diapers.  You'll want to buy Diaper Service Quality (DSQ) prefolds or you will probably be disappointed in their performance.

There are several different natural fibers that can make up a prefold and they all have different absorbency.  Cotton is the cheapest, then there are hemp (25% more absorbent than cotton) and bamboo (I think it's more absorbent than cotton too, but I can't remember how much more) versions.

They are probably similar to the mental image you have of a traditional cloth diaper (except you don't use diaper pins anymore!).

Pros - These are GREAT for tiny babies since you can adjust the size down as far as you need to with the use of a Snappi, very trim, super absorbent, inexpensive, quick drying, can double as burp cloths, covers can be wiped down after each change, so you don't need a ton of covers.

Cons - Have to be used with a cover and you have to make sure that none of the prefold is "peeking" out of the cover or you will have leaks, if you're using a snappi it will take a little longer to get baby diapered than if you're using an all-in-one or pocket.

Prefold Examples: Bumkins Indian Prefolds (cotton - $2.33 each),  Osocozy Chinese Prefolds ( cotton $2.25 each) , Thirsties Hemp Prefolds ($7.75 each) , GroVia Bamboo Prefolds (3 for $12)

Cover Examples: Thirsties Duo Wrap ($12.75) , Bummis ($12.95)
(I should mention that you can also use wool covers, but they require special care so I won't consider them even though my husband wants to get one every time we go to the diaper store!)


Fitteds

Think of fitteds as prefolds with elastic around the legs and snaps/velcro closures.  They are very easy to use and ours seem a little more absorbent than the regular prefolds, but that probably varies from brand to brand.  You will use the same covers that you use for prefolds with these diapers.

Pros - Easier to put on a baby than prefolds, more absorbent

Cons - More expensive than prefolds by a landslide!

Examples: Sandy's ($12),  Sustainable Babyish ($30), Bumkins ($13-$15), GroVia Kiwi Pie ($27), Osocozy ($7.50)


Flats

Are you good at origami?  Want to try it out with a diaper while your undiapered child writhes around on the changing table, just begging to flop off on the floor? Well that makes one of us!

Pros - I have no idea!  I guess since it's such a big piece of fabric, you can probably use one size for a very long time.

Cons - Haven't I made that obvious?

Examples:  Seriously?  You want examples?  You can look here.


There are probably other types of diapers that I haven't listed, but those are the ones I know about.  If you aren't sure which ones are right for you, you might want to try just getting a couple of each kind and trying them out.

Other Benefits of Cloth

Aside from the cost savings of using cloth over disposables, there are several other benefits.

1.  They are more eco-friendly.  Something like 1/3 of all waste in landfills is disposable diapers, and they aren't going anywhere.  Even the more "Earth Friendly" diapers don't biodegrade when they're sealed up in a landfill.  If you estimate 5000 diapers per child (here's a visual) and consider the natural resources it takes to produce the diapers and transport them to stores, it's pretty shocking.  I could go on, but this article goes into the details of the raw materials it takes to make a diaper.

2.  No yucky chemicals next to baby's most sensitive areas.  In our early Fish keeping days, we noticed that the little gel "pellets" that form when diapers are wet were stuck all over him at diaper changes.  It grossed me out.

3.  Less diaper rash. Especially if your baby has sensitive skin.  See #2. 

4.  Cloth diapered babies potty train faster. The average age of potty training is 18 months vs. 40 months because cloth diapered babies know when they're wet.

5.  They can be reused on subsequent children, making those children's diapers, FREE.  :)

6.  If you make your own wipe solution, you know EXACTLY what's in it and you can tailor it to your preferences regarding scents and natural products with protective and healing properties.  There are tons of recipes here.

7.  Cloth diapers have resale value.  If you don't believe me, search Craigslist or Ebay.