Hi, I am Deanna the Owner of DreamDiapers! Chandelle has been gracious enough to ask me to talk about Cloth Diapering with you her readers and wanted me to share how I even came to the decision on cloth Diapering my baby.
For starters, I will admit I was probably like many of you that thought ewe, yuck poop I am not dealing with that and I am certainly not dealing with pins and fabric covered in pee. This is probably the reason why I NEVER even thought to cloth diaper my now 12 year old daughter. I sure wish I new then what I know now. Cloth diapers are nothing like they once were!
You see my husband and I had to wait a long time for our next daughter...we struggled for 7 long years with infertility and earlier this year we had a sweet little baby placed with us through Adoption. Seven years of waiting gives you alot of time to research and decide what you want and how you would raise a baby or your next baby. Hence my decision to cloth diaper!
There are many reasons people now a days choose to cloth diaper. I must admit mine had nothing to do with the environment at first or cost so to say...I learned that my baby was sitting in chemicals! I already try to do the organic thing so I didn't want her exposed to them.
Did you know that the chemical that use to be in tampons that caused toxic shock syndrome (which is now banned from tampons) is in disposable diapers (its the gel like beads that form when they are wet and sometimes you probably notice the diaper splits and they are on your baby)! I didn't know this before and after learning that, I did alot more research and was not pleased at all re: what I learned about disposables.
I also learned this about cost! (see picture below) And people tend to think cloth cost more, but they really aren't looking at the big picture! Cloth is way cheaper! People can even cloth diaper their baby for as little as $100 in prefolds and covers! And to top it off these costs for cloth are a one time purchase and can be used for multiple babies and at the same time even since most cloth diapers are one size (meaning they fit babies 8-35ish lbs) So when you look at the picture below remember the disposable are per baby while the cloth can be used for many babies!
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| My daughter in her Charlie Banana Newborn's (her first cloth diaper) |
So then I decided I am gonna do it, I am going to go cloth even if those around me think I am crazy!...My daughter's first cloth were some newborn Charlie Banana's I bought from Target since I could get them that day (they are almost the same as a FuzziiBunz Perfect Size in XS but Fuzzibunz are better in my opinion). I really liked them but she was quickly growing out of them so I had to look for her main diapers... I didn't care for the Charlie Banana One Size diaper personally so I did more research and decided to buy a bunch of BumGenius One Size 4.0 pocket diapers.
**I do not recommend buying as many of the same cloth diaper as I did without knowing you like them first because what if your baby doesn't fit them well - all babies fit each brand/style of cloth diaper different and it is best to get a few different ones, test them out, see what you like, and then go deeper and buy a bunch for your stash**
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| The first part of my stash after she grew out of Newborns |
After I got them I just went all in (she wore cloth ALL of the time no exception) and now I can't imagine going back! There was only one time I had to put her in a disposable (washer issue) since going cloth and I could barely handle it (so not cute) since I am now so spoiled by the cloth...trust me you wont go back!
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| She is wearing a BumGenius 4.0 with a hook and loop closure...I prefer the hook and loop for night time only...I don't like seeing the hook & look fabric so I prefer the snaps...she was about 2 months here and 12 lbs) |
Some of the advantages to cloth diapering is that your baby can skip the bottoms (well at least in AZ where I live!) Her diapers match everything and often people don't even realize she is in cloth. I have also noticed I never have the thought of "oh crud, I only have 3 diapers and the store is closed or I can't go to costco to get them cheap"
Now for the real Q's you may ask:
How do you deal with the POOP?
Well, I don't really...lol...well I guess I do as much as one that has their baby in disposables. There are things you can do to avoid dealing with it. It's called Flushable liners (which is a soft super thin flushable liner you lay on your diaper, when they poop you pick the liner up from the diaper and flush it...most poop is in the liner, I have always used these and they are so worth it!), A Diaper Sprayer (This you hook up to your toilet to spray your diapers clean -super easy to do), A Spray-Pal (a MUST have, this keeps all the spray mist from the diaper sprayer from getting all over you and your bathroom), and Lastly, Diaper Dawgs (these are NEW on the market and Dream Diapers is one of the first retailers to carry them - you use these to touch the wet inserts from your diapers or to help you spray diapers). Also, when you are only breastfeeding you don't have to even use any of these things you just throw it in the washer since breastmilk is totally water soluble and has no odor.
How do you deal with Traveling?
Well, I have done this a lot! And when I mean alot I mean I have traveled to Hawaii 4 times with my little one and all I can tell you is cloth is awesome! Her first flight she was still in a disposable and she leaked on me (yeah not cool for a 6 hour flight!) but the other times she was in cloth and we had ZERO leaks! All you have to do is make sure you have cloth diapers as usual in your diaper bag (I have a Bumble Collection one and it fits them so good!) and a dry/wet bag. The wet bag is where you put the dirty diapers. Everytime I had to change her I grabbed my dry/wet bag (the dry side I would put the clean diaper) and then I would head to the bathroom change her and put the dirty in the wet. Then when I got home I put the wet bag near the washer for when I did diapers. I tend to ALWAYS carry a small wet bag or two (these only can hold one diaper) because if she did poop I can put it in the small one and not have to deal with that til I was home and its separate. You will notice that your baby can go longer with cloth for sure and that they aren't sitting in their pee because most diapers have a stay dry fabric that wics the moisture to the insert and they stay dry.
What about when my baby is at Daycare?
Most Daycares are actually getting with the times with this. In Fact, I just read this article that speaks about what the state regulations are re: this issue. Most Daycares you just bring a dry/wet bag with all your diapers in the dry side for the day and as they use them they put them in the wet side. I have heard that some require you use an all in one diapers since they can't touch inserts or they will allow you to use liners to help for the clean up, and or some require a small wet bag for each diaper. None the less they are using them on your baby for you!!!
How Many Diapers will I need in my Diaper Stash?
The average baby needs anywhere from 18-30 diapers. It all depends on how often you want to wash diapers. If you are ok with everyday you could have less say 18-22 but if you want to wait and do it every other day I would say 24-30. You will notice yourself using primarily certain diapers in your stash because you like them best and you will probably buy more of those making your stash bigger than this. Or if you are like me you will buy some because they are cute and you couldn't resist.
What would you say I need to get started to put my baby in cloth?
Well, for starters as I said earlier you will want to pick a few different ones at first before you go heavy on one style of cloth diaper for your baby to make sure you buy what works best for you and them.
I would suggest getting a few brands with these types of diapers for starters:
I would also say try both types of closures
And I would say you MUST get these to be prepared to cloth diaper from day one:
Additionals to get -- Must Haves for me:
Diaper Sprayer
3 Small Wet bags (for out and about)
1 dry/wet bag
A Little bit about Dream Diapers: We have been around for 5 years and are a leading cloth diaper retailer. We are especially known for our Newborn Cloth Diaper Rentals! Why pay for newborn diapers when they are going to grow out of them super quick! We are also a WAHM Retailer! To read more click here!
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| Often my little one is around when we are doing shipments but sorry she is not included! She is thankful for your support so that her Mommy can be with her all of the time:) |
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First time by the blog, your sweet girl is adorable! We do not cloth diaper for my daughter, but am thinking about it when baby #2 comes along one day! Thanks for great information. :)
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Thanks so much for stopping by 'Mommy's First Year'! Glad you enjoyed this guest post :)
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