So, let me start off by saying this isn’t meant to put anyone down who does something different for their family. Whatever works for you, GREAT! If cloth diapering didn’t work for you, please – only encouragement is welcomed. If you rock disposables, awesome. If you let your kid run around stark naked – perfectly fine with me. This is just what I have decided to do for my family and I just wanted to share for those of you who might not know anything about cloth diapering.

 

Let me begin by telling you that I was so against cloth diapering, like…. you will never catch me ever cloth diapering my kid. I remember when I first got married, I told Patrick that I would NEVER cloth diaper. Can you say gross? I will GLADLY pay for disposables and that is saying a lot if you know how frugal I am. Fast forward to getting pregnant and starting to research anything and everything that regarded having/raising a kid and trying to save money. All I knew about cloth diapering were pre-folds and covers. It’s where cloth diapering started BUT what I didn’t know is how much it’s changed since then and how many options there are now. I have done hours and hours and hours and hours and youtube videos and store visits worth of research on cloth diapering and I just wanted to show you what I’ve decided to use for Mr. B.

These are the different styles of cloth diapers I have decided on. First of all, don’t they look pretty much like disposables? Yep. They do.

First off: My BUMGENIUS Pocket Diaper. This diaper has snaps on the front and sides so that as Bennett grows, the diaper can change sizes as well.

Seeeeeee, the inside is nice and soft against his bum and his …. I haven’t decided on what I’m calling it so yea.

It’s called a pocket diaper because you “stuff” it with pads of fabric that absorb the pee.

See ^ That is an example of me stuffing it. Easy peasy.

This is my Kawaii pocket diaper. Same concept except it’s made for smaller babies and he will actually outgrow this after 25ish lbs.

Another example of it being stuffed. It’s cool because you can add extra inserts (the white thing sticking out) in case your baby is a heavy wetter.

These I actually discovered from a fellow photographer who just had her baby. Meet my Grovia’s All in Two’s.

So the insert snaps into the cover and once the insert is soiled, you just unsnap it and snap in a new/clean one. You can use the cover 3-4 times unless it becomes wet/soiled. All of the diapers I use are waterproof on the outside so nothing will seep through.

The All in Two is nice because you only need a few covers a day and just a stash of inserts 🙂

Introducing my BUMGENIUS all in one. Want to know why it’s called an all in one? Because everything is sewn in. No stuffing, no snapping, no nothing. Just put it on like you would a disposable and go.

^See, all in one.

Our Diaper pail. It has a waterproof liner on the inside so I put the soiled diapers/inserts in and then dump the contents of the bag into my washing machine when it’s time to wash.

Reasons why I decided to cloth diaper:

1. It saves money. I have found amazing deals on all of my diapers and we plan on using them for Tobler baby #2 (whenever THAT happens). SO, after the initial investment, it’s nice to know I will only have to buy disposables for “special occasions”.

2. I will be a stay at home mom and if doing an extra load of laundry helps us go on a nice date instead of buying a box of diapers, I am ALL for that. OR better yet, a cruise 🙂

3. I started thinking about how pads and diapers are virtually the same thing and I didn’t want Bennett to wear chemicals against his skin for 2 years straight. That would be like me wearing a pad for 2 years.

4. The thought of having to buy a box of diapers that costs $30-$50 dollars every couple of weeks makes my stomach turn. Let’s get real, I still haven’t bought his box of newborn diapers (he won’t fit into the cloth for the first couple of weeks), for this very reason. Don’t get me wrong, we can afford them… I just rather spend my money elsewhere.

5. The whole poop in the washing machine freaked me out until I realized that if he had a blowout or vomited on himself… I would wash those in my washing machine, wouldn’t I? Plus, breastfed poop dissolves in water so no big deal there and by the time his poop is more solid (sorry, if that grosses you out), there are several options we will be doing (Not just throwing poop filled diapers in our washer!!). Don’t worry, if you go to hug me, you aren’t hugging poop saturated clothing 😛

Will he ever wear a disposable? Yes.

When? If he has a babysitter. I don’t expect anyone else to cloth diaper my kid. If they want to, great. If they don’t. Disposables for a day are a-ok with me. Same with dropping him off in the nursery at church.

If we go on a family vacation and don’t have access to a washing machine. Disposables it is.

Disposables won’t kill him. I’m not going to shun you if I see you using a disposable. I just am glad I have the option to not have him in one all the time. 🙂

The hubby might throw a disposable on him if he takes him out and about.

SO, that is a really quick and brief show and tell of what we will be doing when Bennett comes. The first month he will be in disposables while he cycles through merconium, his cord stump and everything else. Plus it will give me a few weeks to adjust before having to start a washing routine. 🙂 I’m thankful that even Patrick is on board with this family decision. It took a lot of explaining and showing him how it all works but he isn’t totally freaked out anymore.

^Patrick asked me to show him how to put one on. This is the closet thing we had to Bennett’s size haha!

Any questions or encouraging comments?