Cloth Diapering

** If you don't want to read about cloth diapers, skip this post.**
I know some people may think I am a little crazy, but I love using cloth diapers. These are two pictures of Samson at 7 months in a cloth diaper. It has taken a while to get my husband on board, but he is finally getting into the habit of grabbing a cloth diaper instead of a disposable. The system we use couldn't be any easier.
I thought I would write a little bit about it and why we do it.

When Sam was an infant we used a system called Bummis. It consists of a prefold and a velcro on cover. Its similar to what would have been used years ago before disposables except there is no need to fold the diapers, no pins and the covers velcro on instead of pulling on. I liked them a lot, but unfortunately Sam was a very heavy wetter so almost as soon as I had the diaper on him I had to change him again. (One of the downsides to a cloth diaper is that most of them don't wick away the moisture like disposables.) Recovering from a c-section and changing a diaper every 20 minutes was just too much work so we mainly used disposables during the first two months. When Sam was finally able to go longer between changes, he had outgrown his Bummis. (This kid weighed 21 lbs. at 4 months.) At that point we decided to change to the system we use now, Kushies. (Don't you love the silly names?) We switched from the prefold system to Kushies for two reasons:
1. A better weight range; the infant size is for 10-22 lbs and the toddler size fits 22-40 lbs. We liked that we only needed two sizes of diapers until he is potty-trained. Some of the other systems require 4-5 different sizes which ends up costing more in the long run.
2. Easier to use (READ more daddy friendly.) The Kushies are an all-in-one diaper. The inside is soft flannel sewn into the cover. It velcro's on and is just as easy to use as a disposable diaper. With a prefold, there is still some folding to be done before it can be put on. Then the cover has to be put on and you have to check that there is no cloth sticking out of the leg holes or at the waist. They are very absorbent, but its a little more work.

I do wash all of the diapers myself. I know for some people that can be intimidating and maybe off-putting. It really isn't a big deal. I used to wash quite a bit more because he wet more frequently, so maybe every other day. Right now I wash diapers twice a week. The poop isn't a big deal either. I have disposable liners that go into the diapers. When he poops, the liner holds it all. All I have to do is dump the liner in the toilet and flush. I keep my diapers in a dry pail and usually don't have an issue with smell until it starts to get full and even then its pretty subtle.

We don't cloth diaper during naptimes or at night. There are some really wonderful cloth diapers you can get that do wick away moisture and keep a baby feeling dry all night, but they are also expensive. (Anywhere from $20-50 a diaper, figure you need at least 4-6 to cover naps and bedtime for 2-3 days.) Some people put their children in regular cloth diapers all night, but that seems like a recipe for diaper rash to me. Plus, I don't think it would be comfortable to sleep in something wet all night.

We also don't cloth diaper when we leave the house or go visit family. It's a lot of extra stuff to lug around. 20 cloth diapers takes up quite a bit more room than a compact bag of 20 disposable diapers.

The only other con to cloth diapering that I can think of would be the fit. They are much bulkier than disposable diapers so Sam usually has quite the bubble butt going. I think its cute. However, I have noticed that it does make a difference in the way his pants fit. Sometimes I have to go up a size and then cuff them at the bottom so they will fit his tush.

Some of the benefits to cloth diapering are:
1. The savings!!!!
2. Less waste.
3. No emergency trips to the store for diapers.
4. At 19 months, Sam knows when he is wet or poopy and he lets me know. We're getting ready to start potty training.