Rear Gear

So, Hannah Jo posted today about how she is starting her cloth diapering adventure which reminded me that I need to get my rear in gear & share my cloth diapering experience!

That's right, we cloth diaper. Save the eye rolls & "ewww, that's gross" comments. I've rolled my eyes & said "ewww, that's gross" enough for all of us. BUTT (pun intended) my friends Allison & Chloe convinced me to just try it.

So, I figured if it would save us money there was no way I couldn't try it.

AW was very anti-cloth diapering due to the ick factor but since Anderson is EBF (exclusively breastfed) it really isn't all that ick. I mean, think about it...what do you do when they get that seedy, yellow poop on their clothes? You put it in the washing machine, right? So...what difference does it make if it's on the clothes or in a diaper? 

Now, I am not even close to being a cloth diapering expert. But some of the benefits are saving money, the cuteness factor, saving money & new friends! That's right! I've made new friends since becoming a CD'ing mama! Speaking of, Delice, we still need to hang out!

Saving money is my #1 motivation for CD'ing. I had quite the sticker shock the first time I went to buy Anderson diapers after we had gone through all of our diapers that had been gifted to us. I spent $85 on approximately 1 month of diapers! Ridiculous. Don't worry as I review the diaper types I also review the cost!

Reason #2: Look at all the pretty colorrrrrrrs....

Reason #3: New friends! I joined the Cloth Diapering of Alabama facebook group & those ladies have been SO very helpful in my CD'ing journey! They got me to this video & if you're interested in CD'ing I highly recommend you watch this before you look at the millions of webpages out there. It's by Tara at www.paddedtushstats.com http://m.youtube.com/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUQDyF9ObuYQ%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded&feature=player_embedded&v=UQDyF9ObuYQ&gl=US

Now, I've only used 3 brands & so far I've been pretty happy with all 3.

The first brand is Charlie Banana. I got a pack of 6 diapers / 12 inserts from Target for $110.

These are "pocket" diapers which means you stuff them with a microfiber insert. I really like this brand because of the soft fleece lining. Also, they are One Size which means he can stay in these until he's 35 pounds! The only thing I don't like is the snaps. I prefer velcro. The benefit of pockets is you can double or triple up on inserts if you have a heavy wetter or for overnight!

The second brand I have is Bum Genius. I bought 2 diapers with 2 inserts from BuyBuyBaby for $18/ea.

These are also pocket diapers but I LOVE the fact that they're velcro (Hook and Loop)! They work just like a disposable except cuter & re-wearable! These are also One Size. Those snaps in the front allow you to adjust the size as Baby grows (in this picture it is on the biggest size).

The third brand I have is Flip. Now I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these! They are One Size, velcro shells! I bought all 4 of mine on sale so I got 4 shells for $42!

Now, I just bought the cheap Gerber cloth diaper pack (10/$13) at Wal-Mart & I trifold them & use them as the liner. The neat thing about Flip is once Baby takes care of business you just take out the cloth, wipe the shell & you can re-use it more than once before it needs to be washed!!! Sometimes if I'm expecting a poop or know he might be in a diaper a little longer length of time I'll add an extra one of my Charlie Banana inserts for more absorbency!

So, there you have it! Easy-peasy if you ask me. And I was the biggest "ewwww-y" nay-sayer before! And look how cute this boy is in a cloth diaper...

By they way, the estimate is that you will spend $3,000-4,000 on diapers from birth to potty training PER CHILD.

So far I've spent about $200 for our stash which is now large enough for us to be "full-time" & I wash them every other day. Future children can use them, plus cloth diapers have great resale value!