switching
form
disposables to cloth
baby diapers was a little scary, but Frugal Fran and Addie give you the
low down from their own real life, personal experience..
"March 21, 2008 was the day that I
switched to cloth
diapering cold turkey.
We
tossed out
our last Pampers Swaddler, and switched over to Bum Genius 3.0 one size
fits
all pocket diapers.
Find
out why we did
it, how it all turned out, and see if cloth baby diapers are a viable choice for your family!
"
"In the day to day grind, switching to cloth diapers seemed like a tall order. But for
the long haul, it makes sense to at least give it a shot!"

Want
to know "Do
Cloth Diapers Save Money?" Check out this article
and
see how we figured out a real dollar amount in savings. Input
your own numbers into our official "Savings Formula" and find out what
you could be saving too!
My Diaper History:
I used strictly cheap-o diapers
with my first two kids. Who
wants to pay
more for a product whose only job is to trap human waste? I had even tried out cloth baby diapers once on
my first child, and found that they had to be changed each time she wet,
or they leaked. Not for
me. I just
didn’t relish the thought of changing
my baby every 30 minutes, in addition to handling human waste on a
regular
basis.
Then, for my third baby, I was
given several packages of
Pampers Swaddlers. They
are the
Cadillac of disposable diapers, and for good reason.
We had very few leaks in the Swaddlers. They hug the shape of the
baby, and are very soft to the
touch. We liked
them a lot.
Then my
sister in law told me about the Bum Genius
diapers. I had seen
her use cloth with
her first child, and she loved them.
But she had a bunch of
different
brands and styles of cloth baby diapers. And she had to keep buying the next size up and selling the
ones that
he’d outgrown. It
just seemed like too
much trial and error to figure out which kind of cloth baby diapers was the best, and then
having to
sell them and invest more every few months when the baby outgrew them.
Then she tells me about a brand called Bum Genius. The One-Size-Fits-All Pocket Diaper
caught my attention. They
had just
released the 3.0, and it looked interesting enough to try out. They met my requirements
of not having to
buy different sizes and they looked similar to a disposable in
engineering and
ease of use.
Cloth
Baby Diapers: Which way to go?
So the research commenced: Do cloth diapers save money?
What other accessories will I need besides the cloth baby
diapers? Everything you need to know about the basics of cloth
baby diapers is here in the Cloth Baby Diapers Primer.
Hopefully, it will save you
tons of time. My
criteria as I
researched was that the diapers must be 1) cost effective 2) not leak
3) as
efficient as possible…from the changing table all the way
through the
laundering process. And 4) be all one size.
This is simply an extension of the efficiency. I did NOT want to go
through the hassle of re-shopping, swapping,
or selling diapers every few months.
Some people really get into that aspect, and there
is a whole ‘culture’
of cloth diapering. I
just want to cut
to the chase and get what works.
My
Diaper Journal
Mid March:
Began
researching cloth diapers, and decided to try the BumGenius 3.0 one
size fits all pocket diapers. I researched cleaning and
laundering, as well as other accessories that we'd need.
Bought
cheapie washcloths to use as wipes, and will wash those with the
diapers. Addie and I made our own diaper pail liners, wet
bags,
and wipes solution to get ready for the diapers that we
ordered.

As
impressed as I've been with the Swaddlers, check out the
poop-splosion that occurred on March 18th! Yikes! I
was
holding the baby in an upright seated position when this unfortunate
event took place. A shower and outfit change was necessary
for
both of us.
Friday, March 21, 2008 I switched to cloth baby diapers cold
turkey. We tossed out our last Pampers Swaddler, and
switched over to Bum Genius 3.0 one size fits all insert
diapers.
Sat.
March 22:
Washed all diapers with Sun Detergent (the real cheap-o .89 a box
stuff). I paid a lot for these, but I want to see how they
perform with the basic recommendations. I don't want to have
to
pamper them (pun intended! ha!) with special detergents or
any
additional laundry processing. They need to be easy if
they're
going to fly in my house. I hung the covers to dry, and dried
the
inserts in the dryer.
Our
model
is wearing a new bum genius 3.0! The trend this season is
going
to be baggier pants with a fluffy rear profile, and the critics think
that it's just too cute!
Tues. March 25:
I seem to
run out of the washcloth wipes faster than the diapers. Need
to
do something about that. The cheapie washcloths are also kind
of
floppy and want to roll up on me. Addie is looking into
making
some out of flannel...I guess we'll be doing that soon. First
load of used diapers has some minor stains on the inserts, but nothing
I'm concerned with, and no odors. No leaking yet, and we've
had a
few poop-splosions! One got so far up the back that the
laundry
tab was covered in poo. I just velcroed the flap down over the
poo. We'll see how that goes.
Wed. March 26:
These
things last through the night without leaking, and I'm not having to
change more often like I suspected that I would. I am
hooked! The Diaper Champ holds about 8 comfortably, and up to
12
if I shake it real good :) I like the Diaper Champ with
these. It really does keep the odors away, and it only lets
me
get away with storing from 10-12 diapers before it is too full so I run
a load. That keeps me from waiting too long between loads,
and I
always have clean ones ready to go. I washed the diapers
today,
and couldn't find the one that had poo sandwiched in the laundry
tab. It came completely clean apparently! See
cleaning
cloth diapers for simple laundering techniques that work and
some great tips on making cloth baby diapers last longer and look great!
Thurs. March 27: Our
first overnight leak, and there was a reason. 'Someone' left
the insert
flap sticking up above the elastic waistband, and the tee tee wicked
out onto the
P.J's. I bet if we tuck that flap in, we won't leak
anymore.
I've found that unstuffing as you change a dirty diaper is what works
best for me. It saves you from having to handle a whole load
of
old dirty diapers on wash day. (Somehow, fresh tee tee and
poo is
just worlds better than day old.) I'm perfecting my method of
removing the dirty insert
with the least amount of waste handling. Here is
what I do:
Insert the soaker so
that the
snaps are at the front of the diaper and the tag is at the back.
When you change a dirty diaper, clean up the baby,
and put
a fresh diaper on and put her in the crib. Then take the
dirty
diaper in your right hand, holding it at the fuzzy velcro panel. Pinch
the dirty wipe into the corner you're holding (fig.1). With
your
other hand, grab the tag on the soaker, and pull it out (fig.2).
Lift the dirty insert up so that you can pinch it the same way as the
wipe (fig.3). Then just fold everything in half, and dump it
into
the diaper champ. Voila!
Mon. April 7:
Washed a load of cloth baby diapers today. Monday is my grocery shopping day, and
I
had run out of detergent. I had to wait to wash a load until
I
got home from the store. The Diaper Champ runneth
over! I
had
13 dirties, and brought up my last load of 10 clean diapers.
Wed. April 9: Had to stuff the
cloth baby diapers that I washed on Monday because I ran out of clean ones (well,
not completely as I still had 2 in the diaper bag). Took 4
minutes to stuff 12 diapers. I'm in the midst of swapping over
clothes for warmer weather, and I'm doing mega-laundry. I'll
wash
the dirty diapers tonight, so they can be dry tomorrow.
Thurs. April 10:
Well, I
didn't get to the dirties last night, but no worries...I'll do them
tonight, and I have plenty of clean ones. We went on a field
trip
to a farm today with lots of family. My 2 year old niece had
downed several juice pouches just before the long drive home, so we
unsnapped one of my 3 month old's 'one-size-fits-all' cloth baby diapers, and put it on my 30 pound
niece. It fit great, and she thought that we were putting
panties
on her because it was made out of fabric. So neat!
...and
no wet car seat to deal with!
Sun. April 13: No more leaking since we discovered that
the back
flap needs to be tucked in. She has had some major
poop-splosions,
and
hasn't leaked at all in
the BumGenius diapers. I had read that if a baby is
exclusively breastfed, that the poo won't stain. That is a
bunch
of hooey. It stains the inserts pretty good. At
first, I
was grossed out by the stains, but they don't smell at all after they
are washed. The bottom line is that poo stains. It is really
asking too much to expect it not to. More
on
staining and removing stains is found on the
cleaning
cloth baby diapers page.
Hubby hasn't
read the first thing about Cloth Baby Diapers, and I hear him in there
cooing to her "Aren't these so much more comfortable on you?"
He
does just fine diapering her, and our nursery workers and other friends
and family have caught on quickly as well. It's funny when
you
say "cloth diaper", almost everyone rears back in horror, envisioning
the old pre-folds and plastic pants. When they see these,
they
are so impressed with how the new diapers are engineered.
Mon. April 28:
Leaking!
Out the side, and out the top. This has been
happening for
a few days. It happens a couple of times a day when she
tee-tees, and mostly when she's laying down. It's not bad,
but
it's annoying. Especially since we've not seen any leaking at
all
and now it's starting all of the sudden.
We're a little past 3 months, so my first instinct is to go up a size.
(It's the same way that we knew to go up a size with
disposables.) She's growing too fast! After doing this, I'm
still
seeing
some leaking around the tabs. So I've started using the blue
cloth baby diapers for 'sleep time' diapers, and adding a soaker.
But I
think the real problem is that I need to 'strip' the diapers.
I
think I may have some detergent build up that is preventing the soakers
from being as absorbent as they once were.
Tues. April 29:
Today I stripped the cloth baby diapers that were in the dirties pail.
See
stripping
cloth diapers
for full details.
I'm
saving this stash of freshly clean and 'stripped' diapers until I've
used up every single one of the cloth baby diapers in the house and diaper bag. That
way
I'll catch all the unstripped diapers in the next load. I'll
strip them too, and I'll know that I got them all. I'll write
more when I start using the newly stripped diapers to let you know how
it works out.
Wed. May 28: Well, it's
been a month, and I've not had any problems with leaking like before.
So the stripping worked well. I have some minor staining on
a few inserts. She always seems to have a terrible poo about an
hour after I wash the load in the diaper pail, so a few of them have
sat around for several days before washing. On a side note, I've started
using the Dawn as a pre-wash for grease stains as well, and it works
great. Especially if I pre-treat the grease spot with some
Goo-Gone first, and then rub in a squirt of Dawn.
The cloth diapers have blended into my routine so easily, that I can't
imagine life without them. One of the ladies in our church
nursery was a little shy of trying to put on a cloth diaper, so she put
a disposable on. My little darling blasted through the paper
diaper, soiling her entire outfit up to her shoulder blades. I
strongly believe that if she had been wearing a cloth diapers, she
wouldn't have leaked.
Another bonus: We've had no diaper rashes at all! None!
Not even the tiniest spot. My pediatrician told me that
most diaper rashes are caused by a common fungus or yeast and can be
treated with lotramin cream, an over the counter fungal creme (usually marketed for
athletes foot). Lotramin is non-greasy, so that's a plus as well. I attribute her clear heiny to the lavender
wipes solution. I recently learned that lavender is a natural
anti-fungal and anti-bacterial!
Tuesday, June 10: I stripped the diapers again yesterday, as we were
having a couple of leaks up the back during naptime. And today,
no more leaks!