I decided to blog about our cloth diapers, not only because I love them and I am completely obsessed with cloth diapers but also because I get asked at least once a week by my friends on facebook about which diapers we use, how to use them, if it's easy and then I hear all of their misconceptions about using cloth diapers which are exactly the same as the misconceptions that I had before we started. Don't get me wrong, I will continue to answer questions but I thought that having everything together in one place might make it easier for those who are just starting out.
Our journey into cloth diapers started last summer:
Aveline was 6 months old and every month up until this point she had had a severe rash.
I will not post any pictures of her rash but it was terrible. If you google "bad diaper rash" and click on images .. yep, that's what her baby soft bottom looked like for 3 weeks out of every month of her life until she was 6 months old. We tried E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. to make the rash go away: over the counter meds, diaper creams, steroid rx creams, natural healing remedies (such as organic coconut oil). We'd take her to the dr and each time it was a different type of rash, diaper, bacterial, yeast, you name it she was diagnosed with it. I started reading online about the ways other "natural mama's" ease their child's diaper rash.
Let me pause here, am I calling myself a full blown natural mama, no way but in most cases I do believe that the natural way is best. I'm a modern day hippie at heart (so my lovely husband says) and my 4 year old calls me a tree hugger (awesome!) and I do take that as a compliment!
I read about one mama's journey to cloth diapers that started out with terrible, cracked, bleeding rashes that would last for weeks, just like little Aveline. Something clicked and the ultra-hippie inside of me was activated. I then began searching for what type of cloth diaper to use. If you don't have children and you're reading this just to read it (thanks!) let me say that cloth diapers now aren't anything like when I was little (1985), there still are pins and flats but just as everything else has evolved so have cloth diapers. :)
After 1 week of using cloth diapers Aveline's rash went away and has NEVER come back (thank you Jesus) Aveline has been in cloth for almost a year now and her bottom has been wonderful ever since we switched to cloth. Little Miss Avie is highly allergic to disposable diapers, something the dr's never even considered or tested her for which is frustrating.
Now that we know and I see other parents dealing with the same issues,
I like to share our success story and hopefully convert them to cloth diapering parents also! :)
I chose to use a pocket diaper, basically it's a diaper that you "stuff" or put an insert (the absorbent part of the diaper) in and snap/velcro it on your child and you're good to go. This seemed like the easiest/most cost effective way for us and believe me, cost effectiveness is key for us .. we are a one income military family. If you really want to know how much we make google a 2012 military pay chart, for a family of 5, our needs are always met but there's not much after that. We knew this joining the Air Force, I am in no way at all complaining about our finances. We try to make the best decisions possible with our finances according to our family needs. I only said all of that said to say if I can save a few dollars here or there I will do it. Using cloth diapers had to be cost effective for us, I wasn't going to spend $15-20 + on just one cloth diaper, not gonna happen sister .. even if I could re-sell it for $10, that's still too much to spend on one thing that my kid will poo and pee in for 2 years. Yes, people spend that much and then some and sometimes (rarely I would imagine) $300 on just ONE cloth diaper (status diapers).
Let's get to it:
I will show you which diapers we use, where they can be purchased at, my "review" on the diaper, if cost = quality and any other input I might have to say about it! All of the diapers we use are pocket style diapers. Be warned: mostly all of the diaper I purchase are made in/shipping from China so it takes around 4 weeks to receive them once you've ordered.
Sunbaby Diapers
Sunbaby diapers are some of the cutest diapers that we own and they tie for 1st place with me in the category of "works best". These are just a few of the prints that are available. Some prints are now "hard to find" so if you're searching on ebay for used sunbaby diapers and see one marked $30, that's why...you'll be up bidding against crazy mammas who need that diaper to complete their set.
*can be purchased from HERE
or found on ebay, various used cloth diaper sites or craigslist
or wherever else you'd expect to buy used cloth diapers
and get your brand new sunbaby diapers for as little as $3.80 a piece
(there has just been a release of new prints so the bounty is plenty right now)
Even if you're purchasing from sellers site (the first link posted) I think it is worth the cost for the diapers, they are excellent diapers, adorable and wallet friendly. These diapers come in 2 sizes, size 1 and size 2. Size one fits Aveline still but I would recommend it from birth to 18 months and I would recommend the size two from 9 months to potty training. These are one size diapers which means they will fit from birth to potty training by simply adjusting the rise snaps on the outside of the diaper.
I have 8 of these with 4 more on the way, I just love the adorable prints.
Kawaii Baby
I purchased these diapers because they were hot pink .. probably extremely vain but I hadn't seen any other hot pink diapers and I coordinate Aveline's diapers with her dresses and she was in need of some hot pink. :) These diapers work well, I haven't had any problems with them although I won't order any more than the 4 of these that we have right now.
*can be purchased here
or found on ebay, various used cloth diaper sites or craigslist
or wherever else you'd expect to buy a used cloth diaper
Alvababy Diapers
This brand/type of diaper ties for first on my list of favorites, it's easy to use, it fits 8-35lbs. Alvababy diapers come in a variety of colors (except hot pink) and numerous adorable prints. I have mostly solids in these because I like to match them with Aveline's diapers so I don't need to keep track of the diaper covers that match all of her dresses, one less step for me! They are extremely waterproof. We have 14 colors of this diaper, not all pictured because some were dirty.
*can be purchased here
or found on ebay, various used cloth diaper sites or craigslist
or wherever else you'd expect to buy a used cloth diaper
This particular diaper is called the "solid color diaper" when navigating on the alvababy website. The alvababy website is insanely confusing to navigate around but worth it because it's only $4.79 per diaper with free shipping.
*inside of the solid color alvababy diaper*
THESE BAD BOYS (pictured below) are also Alvababy diapers.
These are called "color snap diapers with double gussets" on the alvababy site.
These are Jared's favorite, also a contender for 1st with me.
These diapers are again, one size diapers, they will fit from 8-35lbs.
I believe these diapers cost $6 a piece.
We have 4 of these with 14 more on the way (Jared's request!!)
*can be purchased here
(this particular diaper is always going in and out of stock at alvababy, they can't keep up with the demand ..
it's an excellent diaper with an even more excellent price tag)
or found on ebay, various used cloth diaper sites or craigslist
or wherever else you'd expect to buy a used cloth diaper
this diaper has double gussets which means a second set of elastic to keep even the nastiest of poo's inside the diaper and it
actually works!
When I am gone for the day these are the only diapers that Jared uses on Aveline because he thinks they are the best.
GoGreen Diapers
This my friends is a GoGreen diaper and it is IDENTICAL to the Alvababy diaper I just posted about EXCEPT these diapers cost $15 or $16 a piece, that's a $10 mark up and the GoGreen website makes it appear that they are made in the states when in fact they come from the exact same factory as the alvababy diapers with a different retailer tag sewn on them.
*can be purchased here
I did purchase one of these diapers from GoGreen to compare it to the color snap alva and everything .. EVERYTHING about it is identical, aside from fabric/snap color choices.
One of the many benefits of choosing cloth diapers with snaps .. they're baby-proof.
Aveline has yet to figure out how to take the snap diaper off! Stays on .. ALL the time!
Here is the majority of our diapers, some are dirty, a few are in the diaper bag, a few more we don't use so
I didn't picture them, if you have questions about diapers that I didn't post about I'd be glad to answer them.
Hopefully this was informative for you.
If you're considering making the switch and you'd like more information about laundering,
what to do with the poo diapers, or anything else .. just ask!
P.S. you'll save a ton of money if you use cloth diapers and they re-sell wonderfully .. a $10 diaper will re-sell (in good condition) for $8, that's crazy! What else can your child poop in for 2 years and sell it for $2 less than what you paid initially. :) Even if you have a minimal diaper budget that works for you, you're still THROWING AWAY that money every time you throw away a disposable diaper. That would be like tossing 20 cents in the trash can at every diaper change, sure at first it doesn't seem like a lot but after a few months, maybe even a few years, it all adds up! ;)
P.S. you'll save a ton of money if you use cloth diapers and they re-sell wonderfully .. a $10 diaper will re-sell (in good condition) for $8, that's crazy! What else can your child poop in for 2 years and sell it for $2 less than what you paid initially. :) Even if you have a minimal diaper budget that works for you, you're still THROWING AWAY that money every time you throw away a disposable diaper. That would be like tossing 20 cents in the trash can at every diaper change, sure at first it doesn't seem like a lot but after a few months, maybe even a few years, it all adds up! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment