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Along Abbey Road | A Lifestyle And Family Blog : A Cloth Diapering Update

7.08.2013

A Cloth Diapering Update


We've been at this cloth diapering mumbo-jumbo for ten days now. I figured it was time for an update!

You can read my first post from the other week about deciding whether or not we wanted to take the daunting cloth diapering path. After many suggestions and tips from friends and readers, I am so happy we took the plunge! So, first and foremost, thank you for all of your feedback!

Here is the rundown of our cloth diapering system:

-We use Gerber prefolds during the day and around the house. Originally, I exclusively wanted to use Kawaii diapers, but found that I don't love the way the microfiber insert holds onto smell moreso than basic cotton prefolds. Also, it is a bit pricey buying an entire stash for 2 days worth, and we are slowly working our way up to that. Right now we have 4 pairs of the bumGenius 4.0 and use them for overnight or when going out, because they do hold an astronomical size of pee when using both the newborn and adjustable insert. Being on the every other day wash cycle, 4 pairs seem to be doing the trick for overnight diapering.

-Our prefold routine needs its own paragraph, so here it goes. I prefer the Gerber 3-ply prefolds because they have a plush, thick center fold, which is much more absorbent than a basic flat-fold cloth diaper. We rotate between 20 cloth diapers (2 packs of 10, which is about $24) being on the every other day washing cycle. Since Luke is now a toddler, we use the bikini twist fold. It fits him the best and soaks up the urine and bowels because of the twist. We use Snappis to fasten the diapers and Dappi nylon covers. Luke weighs about 28 lbs, so we get a size large for him. The nylon covers can seem a bit poofy at first (Matt calls them Luke's Roman emperor underwear) but they fit well with clothes and are $5 for a pack of two, and we rotate off of 6 pairs. Sold!

-My sweet reader and blog friend, Bri, told me all about disposable diaper liners. Let me tell you that they make the poop side of cloth diapering a snap! I've been using Bumkins Flushable Liners and love them so far. You literally just peel it off into the toilet and flush. I was concerned at first that I'd be spending unnecessary money on these because there are only 100 in a box, but Luke's bowel schedule is pretty much like clockwork, so I know exactly at which diaper change to use them, therefore preventing wasteful liner usage. Oh, the strange knowledge we mamas acquire! Didn't ever think a poo schedule would be on my list of things to note.

-The dreaded washing schedule. This was the part that most concerned me about cloth diapering, but it is actually my favorite part. I love seeing all the muck and yuck come clean! Since I religiously wash every other day, the ammonia and stench doesn't build up as it might if I washed the diapers less frequently. I personally prefer to rinse both the urine and poop diapers after changes as well. I think it makes them wash up much better, especially the pocket diaper microfiber inserts. I know they make special dry pails and wet pails and yadda, yadda, yadda, but I use our Diaper Genie and it works just dandy. We do not use the diaper sprayer that attaches to the toilet because we have a detachable shower head that reaches the toilet and theoretically does the same thing (three cheers for living in a tiny condo!). And again, the flushable liners cut out a lot of the mess. For detergent I use the fragrance-free Babyganics Loads of Love. It is completely natural and plant-based, HE compatible, and free of all the softeners and brighteners and all that shtuff that sticks to your diapers and ends up wearing them down making them wreak over time (especially the pocket diapers). I always do a quick prewash on cold, followed by a hot wash with detergent and an extra rinse cycle. The pocket diaper covers hang dry, and the rest of it gets thrown in the dryer on low tumble dry. And that is it! Sounds more time-consuming than it actually is, and the diapers are so fresh and so clean, clean!

-We do still keep disposables on hand and use them if we are going out for an extended amount of time, but have managed to use cloth diapers 90% of the time. And can I tell you how good it feels not to be throwing out mounds of diapers every day and going through piles of boxes? It is pretty spectacular -- environmentally and fiscally!

And that's the skinny on our cloth diapering routine! As for the price of everything, here is the financial breakdown (please note I am not an accountant, I hate exact numbers and I rounded everything up to the next dollar amount, so I guess this makes it a close ballpark figure, and isn't down to the exact penny... but you get the idea):

One-time cost:

-2 packs of 10 Gerber 3-ply prefold cloth diapers: $24
-1 pack of Snappi diaper fasteners: $9
-3 packs of 2 Dappi nylon pants: $15
-12 Kawaii one size pocket cloth diapers: $60 (they are only $5 each if you buy them during a sale!) 

One-time total: $120

Monthly costs:

-1 box of Bumkins flushable liners (purchased every 2 months): $9 ($4.50 per month)
-1 64 load bottle of Babyganics detergent (purchased every 2 months): $15 ($7.50 per month)
-Additional cost of water: $7.50
-Disposable diapers (use roughly 30 per month): $6
-Wipes: $3

Monthly total: $28.50

Considering we used to spend around $60 a month, it has cut our diapering cost in half and will only take 4 months to make back what we spent in the initial start up of cloth diapering. And once the little guy gets here, the monthly savings amount will be a heckuvah lot higher (like $120!) since we all know how much newborn disposables cost (yikes)!

And now my brain officially hurts and I am leaving. If you made it this far, I hope you found this informative and helpful if you too are on the switch to cloth diapering or plan to cloth diaper your future adorable cherub babies. Hurrah!

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9 Comments:

At July 8, 2013 at 11:43 AM , Blogger Emma Frances said...

This was super informative and a lot less confusing than some other cloth diapering posts I have read! Haha. It can get so hard to figure out what to use but your post was simple! I might just have to give cloth diapering a go! :]

 
At July 8, 2013 at 12:13 PM , Blogger Carrie said...

I'm also doing cloth diapers when my little prince comes in October. I'm using tender tushies. I love hearing how everyone else is doing with cloth diapers!
I never thought about using a diaper genie with cloth diapers. Might help a bit if they get smelly!
Style in the City

 
At July 8, 2013 at 2:15 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At July 8, 2013 at 2:17 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

yay! i'm glad you're loving it. and just think: once baby #2 is as big as luke you don't have to buy any new diapers! i'm pretty excited about not worrying about buying diapers with our second on the way :)

 
At July 8, 2013 at 5:08 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Way to go! I have my eye on that exact diaper he's wearing in your pics, because it is way too cute. I used Bum Genius on my oldest son but when he was a baby they only came in solid colors! The prints are so fun. In about 2 months, little brother will be here and we totally plan to do that crazy cloth diaper thing all over again.

 
At July 8, 2013 at 5:55 PM , Blogger Jess said...

YAYYYY!!!! I am so happy you switched!! WE LOVE OUR CLOTH DIAPERS!!

 
At July 9, 2013 at 12:45 PM , Blogger Jan said...

I don't have a baby yet but those pictures are so so cute!


Jan Loves

 
At July 9, 2013 at 10:47 PM , Blogger Carrie said...

I absolutely love cloth diapering. Our daughter has been in them since she was a week old! Bumgenius elementals and organic cotton prefolds are our faves!

 
At July 17, 2013 at 9:26 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I am so glad to see cloth diapering is going so well! I meant to reply to your first post, but it just didn't happen. :( I cloth diapered too, until we potty trained. I loved cloth diapering so much. I bought organic prefolds from Greenmountaindiapers.com They were awesome and my favorites by far. I tried a hemp and organic cotton, all-in-ones, pocket diapers, and I just felt like they didn't breath well, like you said. Polyester has cancer causing carcinogens in it, so I opted to only use organic cotton and organic wool covers. I bought my organic wool covers from tinybirdsorganics.com, but they are no longer in business. Green Mountain diapers offers an amazing diaper cover collection and they're pretty affordable. I eventually learned about rockin' green detergent and their funk rock, which removes the ammonia build up. I only wish I had known about is sooner; it's awesome stuff and a clean/safe detergent for your child and the environment. Oh and we used snappies too. :) I cloth diapered for two years, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask! You seem to have quite the handle on it though - good for you! :-D
xo
Eleanor

 

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