Diaper Duty -- cloth diapering

I am potty training my soon to be 2 year old, so I thought I had better post a bit about cloth diapers before they are out of sight, out of mind.  I was a very hesitant cloth diaper user.  If I would have had to slosh them around in the toilet, I would never have decided to use cloth (unless it was an absolute necessity).  I decided to use them for 2 basic reasons: one, the health of our babies, and two, the amount of money we save by using them.  I have really grown to love using cloth diapers.  My little girl is always so soft and snuggly, and her skin so smooth and healthy.  The material used to make disposable diapers so absorbant can get into babies urinary tract and cause all sorts of health problems.  Not to mention the smell it creates when mix with urine.  I had thought that the cloth diapers would be smelly, but as long as they are washed the same day they really don't smell.

I had also calculated how much we spent on disposables and wipes.  It came to appoximately $100 month for a new born.  Over a 2 year period, I estimated that we would spend appoximately $2000.  With my last child, I bought 2 sizes of Fuzzi Bunz (which can be used for the next baby, or resold on Ebay-great resale value) for approx. $500 and made my own cloth wipes from microfleece.  So, for 1 baby, I saved $1500, and if I have another baby, you can see how great the savings becomes!  Now I realize there are cheaper diapers out there, but the ease of use and the multisize ability of Fuzzi Bunz has worked well for me.

How to (a bit graphic in nature):
For a newborn - 15 to 18 diapers should last you 1-2 days.  Once the diapers are soiled, I place them in a plastic grocery bag on the back of my laundry room door.  They sell bags that your can put diapers in, and them throw in the wash, but I didn't splurg.  I wash my diapers once a day.  I know this sounds like a lot of extra washing, but it really isn't.  For one thing, there isn't much prep work, they are already by the washer, and two, they don't really require folding (I have a dishwashing tub on a shelf in my room, and I have one of the kids take them from the dryer to the tub and toss them in).  When I wash them, I pull the soakers out from them middle (Fuzzi Bunz are a pocket diaper) and toss both the diaper and the soakers into the washer, along with any cloth wipes.  Since a newborn's stools are usually runny, I don't try and remove anything before placing them in the washer.  I wash my diapers in the hot water cycle twice, adding a mild detergent for the second washing.  I then dry them on a low heat setting.
Toddler -- 12 to 15 diapers should last 1-2 day, although I do double up on the number of soakers I insert into the diaper.  Once stools become solid, I take them to the toilet and "shake" off as much as possible.  The washing directions are the same as above.

I didn't always use cloth diapers for my babies.  I wish someone I shown me how easy, and wonderful it could be...so natural and comforting.  As I am potty training my little one, I won't miss the extra work, but I will miss the diapers.  Hopefully God will bless us with another little one to pass these diapers along to!

Blessings!
Jasmine

June 6, 2007

Thanks for the post....

I am expecting in September and am looking at cloth diapers. I have bought some Fuzzi Bunz already and am glad to hear that you had a good experience with them.

~If you have any questions, please send me a message. I bet you can't wait for your little one to get here! Blessings to you, Jasmine


Edited by PONDERthePATH on June 6, 2007 at 6:25 PM

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Posted by srusnowangel at 11:23 AM

June 6, 2007

About cloth

I used to be able to buy these fitted diapers called B12. They were great. I used cloth diapers even with my twins. About your lavender. I too had a few die because of the hard freeze in the spring. It the plant is brittle and does not sprout leaves at all then you will need to replace it. I take the stems and bend them it they are still flexible then the plants may will alive. I do this in spring sometimes if the other plants start growing and one does not.

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Posted by lakenvelder at 4:14 PM