Cloth Diapers...Why Didn't I Do This Sooner?!!!

Duh, duh, duh...okay, so here's the post I've been promising.

Our family has officially switched to cloth diapers.
The biggest thing I keep kicking myself for is 'Why didn't I do this sooner?' (...thinking of all that wasted money on disposables!!!)

Here's the situation: we have three children who are in some kind of disposable diaper or pull up. Norah is obviously in diapers (6 months old). Lincoln (2 yrs.) is potty training, but still wears diapers (keep in mind he weighs 42 pounds...you'll want to remember this for later). Avonlea has been potty trained since before she was two, but she's our DEEP sleeper and we still haven't mastered her getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, hence she's in a pull up when sleeping.

Here's the MATH:

Per month, we spend the following on diapers/pull ups...

1. Norah - approx. $40.00
2. Lincoln - approx. $35.00
3. Avonlea - approx. $20.00

Add it all up and you have a grand total of $ 95.00 which doesn't include tax. So let's say we spend $100.00 a month on disposable diapers/pull ups. CRAZY!!


Now, I've been doing some research on what *KIND* of diaper to purchase. There are SO MANY out there to choose from. I purchased some Fuzzi Bunz off E-Bay and although they do work well, they are a snap cloth diaper and don't fit as snug around the waist, so when your child pees during their sleep and they're on their stomach...LEAKAGE! I've been seeing a brand called Bum Genius on others' blogs and after researching it, I feel in love. (*heart*) The '3.0 One Size' are the ones that made the most sense. Since I have two in diapers and they'll be sharing them, the fact that they fit newborn to potty training was a no brainer decision for me.


After looking on E-Bay for some time, I discovered that it's not much more expensive to purchase BRAND NEW cloth diapers versus buying off E-Bay! By the time you figure out the shipping costs and the cost of other bidders raising the price of the product, trying to out bid you, it's only a few dollars more to just buy them brand new. So that's what we did!

I went on to the Bum Genius website and found a distributer that was the closest to us. Called her up, ordered my diapers and chose my colors (can't necessarily choose your colors on E-Bay) and she told me to meet her at the zoo. We met at the zoo the next morning (no shipping fees), I paid her, she gave me the diapers and then gave me a small demonstration on how to use them (although I already knew because I've been doing tons of research!) and botta-bing, botta-boom! Done deal.


I brought them home, washed them, stuffed them and tried them on my kiddos and here's how cute they look in them! (Lincoln was not keen on my taking a picture of him, but I snapped away anyhow.) Remember when I told you to remember that Lincoln is 42 pounds? Well, Bum Genius says that it's '3.0 One Size' only goes up to 35 pounds. My son is past that and they still fit him! I was impressed.

Isn't he cute? =)

Norah's eyes are shut in this one, but I thought this pictures showed how trim and cute her diaper was.

Gotta love this child's hair!!! The bright pink is my favorite color on her. I love the bright blue diapers for the Linkster, but the girl that sold them to me was out of that color.

Some great websites that you can go to if you're contimplating 'going green' and saving money while diapering are:

Diaperswappers.com, Kellyscloset.com and Cottonbabies.com

Here's my pile of liners. They're SUPER thick and absorbent.

This is the larger one that has a snap (adjustable for what size your baby is).

This is the one for smaller babies. I also use the smaller insert for both kids at night, in addition to the larger one.

NOW, here's the kicker...if you're not planning on having any more children and your youngest is on the verge of potty training, you may not find this option financially beneficial. BUT, keep this in mind, when you're done using your diapers (and you've taken care of them), you can sell them back on E-Bay for a nice fee and make most of your money back! Those of you (Mel...love you girl!) who are about to have a baby, might want to explore the cloth diaper option.

In terms of what SOAP I use, (again, after a ton of research) I use the Publix free and clear soap for now. I want to order some Charlie's soap,but it's a little pricey, so I'm going to hold off on that for awhile. I purchased a large 150 ounce container of the Publix free and clear for $9.99. Charlie's is one gallon costing over $24.00.

Routine:

Everyone says it's important to have a routine, otherwise you'll never stick with it. Here's ours. I went to Home Depot and for about $6.00, I purchased these two buckets (large orange and small white). The orange one is in our garage and it's where I keep ALL the dirty diapers. You want to wash them every other day.

I HAD to write the instructions for washing and drying out and taped them to our washer and dryer.

Here's the smaller, white bucket in our bathroom. This is the bucket that helps me as I clean off the diapers and I carry the diapers from the bathroom to the garage in it. One fellow blogger also suggests keeping a spatula in the bucket to 'help the poop off'. =)

I made these last night. There are three wash cycles (I put my washer on the 'small' cycles so I don't use too much water). I place the number magnet of what wash cycle the diapers are on so that I don't loose track during the day. It's super easy.

I hope that this post has given those of you who are thinking about cloth diapering some tips and helped you think about the cost benefits. Not to mention, you are in fact helping out the environment. One huge plus for us is that our garbage doesn't smell like it used to. With two in diapers, I had to keep a candle by our trash can to help with the stinky smell. =) Now, I moved our candle to the dining room table. No more candles by the trash!

I've really enjoyed sharing with you about our new discovery. Hopefully, this will help those of you who are still on the fence, whether it's something that's for your family.

Happy Diapering!!! =)