Cloth Diapers.

This is dedicated to Lindsay Thomas...who considers herself a diaper "idiot"...

When I first decided to use cloth diapers so so so so so many people gave me looks that said, "girl are you crazy!?" - first of all, yes, I am a little crazy but SERIOUSLY cloth diapers have changed SOOOOOO much since "we" were little. They no longer have the little safety pins and they actually do keep your kids dry (most of the time...) Also, surprisingly enough I had a lot of friends (all from Colorado - yep, a little granola) that were also using cloth diapers, which is to say, I am not the ONLY crazy one :)

I was first introduced to cloth diapers from my friend Mary Flickner. At the time I didn't have kids, but I remember writing down the brand she used because it sounded like something I would be interested in using when I had children...little did I know that not long after we became friends I would have a child of my own :) So once I found out I was pregs I immediately started the research - HOLY COW there are soooooo many different brands to choose from! And they are all so stinkin' cute! Because I knew of the brand and had heard good things we decided to go with Fuzzibunz and haven't turned back since. Some people recommended I try different brands and some brands were cheaper and just as good, but guess what, I like what I like and already had a dozen so I didn't feel the need to explore. There are places (at least here in MO) where you can buy a "sample" pack, which gives you a couple different brands to try AND the store here that sells them (Happybottomus - isn't that cute?) has a diaper exchange about every 3 months so you can go and buy gently used cloth diapers. It might sound nasty, like buying used underwear, but you save A LOT of money. I actually saved A LOT of money by not buying any, but had I not had enough I definitely would have participated.

Okay, so washing. What we have been doing, since we live in a little apartment and not some mansion, is once the boys (oh, I use these on Hayden too during the day) need to be changed I just throw them straight into the washing machine - it saves on STANK :) However, they do make these "wet bags" that you can put in your diaper genie or whatever you use and it keeps them in there until you want to wash them. I typically do a load of diapers a day and it's usually at the end of the day when Kai is in bed. So...back to once they are changed...if they poo then I dump their dump in the toilet and flush - if it is a squishy one, then I spray it off with this nifty little, EXTREMELY easy to install toilet sprayer (seriously Linds, you could do it without Matt haha) and get the crap off - yes, literally, the crap. I think it's called a BumGenius diaper sprayer (seriously). Then I walk over to the washing machine, open the lid, take the liner out and throw it in. Typically by mid day both boys are done with #2 for the day so I'll put the washer in "soak" mode so nothing gets dry and crusty :) I try really hard to NOT wash other clothes with the diapers, but if there are only wet diapers (wet as in pee, not sprayed because there was poo in them), then I'll throw in some other clothes. It all really depends on how lazy I'm feeling! Also, there are "special" detergents you can buy for them, which I have used and they work really well, but you can also add white vinegar to the bleach section on your washer and that works as a disinfectant as well (and no, vinegar does not stink when dry...)

Now I love my cloth diapers, but I also think there is a time and a place for them. I am not a cloth diaper freak who thinks my kid can only ever wear cloth - we usually only use them during the day. We could probably use them on Kai at night with a double/triple liner, but when I was pregnant and we were staying with the Flickners, one night Isaiah woke up and came into our room (to be fair, we were sleeping in his parents room) and so I carried him back up to his room and he was SOAKED. It really wasn't that it was nasty or anything, but I don't want to wake up and have to change Kai's sheets every morning. And trust me, the kid is a pee-a-holic at night. He probably weighs an extra 3lbs just from his diaper in the morning. No.Joke. It would not be pretty in the morning. So for that reason we decided that it was just easier for us to put him in a disposable at night. We also use disposable when we are out and about OR out of town. I don't want to mess with carrying around a diaper with a turd chunk stuck in it. No no no, that just isn't right! So for our sake, and the people around us, we use disposable. FYI I am a Pampers snob.

Kai turns 20 months on the 21st and we have used cloth diapers on him since about 4-8 weeks of life. In the beginning it took a little bit to get used to the idea of rinsing them out, washing them every day, etc, but I am so glad we decided to use them. I can't tell you how much money they have probably saved us and will save us with our next child. It is a little intimidating in the beginning because they are a little pricey, but it definitely pays off. And honestly, Kai rarely has diaper rash and the one time he got it really bad was when he was wearing disposables while on vacation.

If any of you use cloth diapers leave any input for Lindsay, since this post was for her :)