Cloth diapering with Luke

Chris and I committed to using cloth diapers before Luke was born.  We attended a wonderful workshop on cloth diapering at the Maternal Wellness Center in Mount Airy.  We learned a lot, and were honestly baffled at why more people don't chose cloth.  It's so much better for the environment and so much less expensive for parents than disposables.  The extra laundry hardly seemed like too much for us to handle.

I also spent some time with Stacy Klein, who came to our house to review cloth diapering options with us.  This was a private visit, and was very informative.  We reviewed the different kinds and brands of cloth diapers that she and other cloth-moms really like.  She also showed me some accessories that are essential to using cloth.  We reviewed how to handle and care for the cloth diapers.  Between our workshop and private visit, we felt prepared to enter into the cloth world!  And so the purchases began...

I started by looking at brands that came recommended.  BumGenius and Thirsties seemed to be the best rated among cloth-parents.  We liked the idea of all-in-one diapers (shaped just like a disposable, but made entirely of cloth, which can be easily washed and re-used), but they are more expensive, running between $10-20 per diaper depending on the brand.  Some all-in-ones can get a baby through all his diapering years once he's 12 pounds or so, making the initial investment a little less of a financial blow.  The trouble is, babies are rarely born at 12 pounds (even though Luke was close!), and so cloth-parents need to have a system in place for that newborn-12 pound time frame.

My solution to this problem was to purchase only a few newborn size all-in-one diapers, and to invest mainly in Chinese prefolds and cloth diaper covers.  The prefolds are the good, old-fashioned type of cloth diaper that we wore as babies.  They are cheap and last forever!  (I think all moms still have some of these left-over from the 80s and now use them as cleaning rags.) Cloth covers are pretty inexpensive also, making these the bulk of our newborn stock of cloth diapers.

The only problem is that I am a terrible folder.  Being so new to constant diaper changes, and being kind of slow at the changes at this point, makes me reluctant to use cloth when a disposable is handy.  Now that we have our breastfeeding issues under control, I am making a real effort to focus on using cloth.  I have determined to save my "fancy" all-in-one diapers for going out or perhaps nighttime.  When I am home during the day, my plan is to continue to fold (and hopefully get better with practice) until Luke reaches 12 pounds or so.  At that point, I believe we may look out for diaper sales and purchase one-size all-in-ones for the remainder of Luke's diapering years.

See how far cloth diapers have come... 

Good, old-fashioned prefold diapers - we wore these with pull-up plastic pants.









And here is the more modern version of "plastic pants".... We have about four of these in newborn size for Luke.  Note the velcro feature makes this easier to fit on baby than pull-up covers.

The much-desired all-in-one!  How I love these!

A better view of the features of my favorite all-in-one diaper.  (Click on picture to enlarge.)