Choosing a Diaper
Believe it or not, there are quite a few types and brands of cloth diapers to pick from. They range from the old-fashioned pre-fold with a diaper cover to more modern pockets and hybrid diapers. Deciding what type of diaper you want to go with depends on why you're doing cloth diapers (to save money, to be eco-friendly, because they're awesome...you know...whatever your reason) and how much "extra work" you are willing to deal with (although, as I mentioned last time, the extra work isn't that big of a deal, hence the quotes).
No Matter What, I Need to Save as Much Money as Possible!
If you are solely looking to save money and don't care about how much work the diapers are, I would recommend looking into pre-folds and diaper covers. Pre-fold diapers are what a lot of moms use for burp cloths now - those white, rectangular cloths that are thicker in the middle and pretty dang absorbent. They seem intimidating because you have to fold them yourself, but it's actually really easy. (Click here for a great video on different ways to fold them!) Pre-folds come in different sizes depending on the size of your kiddo, but there aren't a lot of sizes (because you can fold them!) so you don't have to buy a bunch of them throughout your kiddo's diaper career.
To keep the diapers in place you can use safety pins or you can use snappies. These are stretchy clips, similar to the ones you use with ace bandages, that hold the diaper in place. They are MUCH easier to use than safety pins, especially with a squirmy baby. These are also inexpensive and, unless you lose yours, they are a one-time purchase.
Finally, the diaper covers, which you place over the pre-fold to keep pee and poo from going everywhere, cost very little compared to other types of diapers. And because they are just covers, you don't need that many. Unless the cover gets poo on it, you can just wipe the pee residue out with a baby wipe and let it dry while you use another. These are also typically sized, like the pre-fold inserts, so you will most likely need to buy separate sets a few times, but, like I said, they don't cost much.
Another big reason that these diapers are so cost effective is because you don't need to use special laundry detergent like you do on other diapers. From my experience, regular free and clear detergent works just fine, which leads me to...
My Two Cents
When Justin and I decided to do cloth diapers, we did not decide to use pre-folds and diaper covers. However, once we got Levi home from the hospital, it became clear that he wouldn't be big enough for the diapers we had for a while. We didn't want to use disposables because newborns poo and pee A BUNCH and we were trying to save as much money as possible. So, after some research (see Making the Decision), we decided to try pre-folds until our other diapers fit. One of the main reasons we went with these diapers, besides the cost, was the fact that you can get them in extra-small that fit newborns. They even have a little notch for the belly button, just like newborn disposable diapers.
We bought two Thirsties diaper covers in extra-small ($12!), a set of snappies, and just used some pre-folds that were given to us as gifts. Two covers was definitely enough because most of Levi's poos weren't substantial enough to dirty them up. And since breast-fed baby poo is water-soluble, we just threw the pre-folds right into the wash, poo or no poo, without dunking them in the toilet or any of those other horrors you hear about that scare people away from cloth (don't worry, I'll cover cleaning and laundry in a future post). Honestly, it was easy as pie and it worked great for us while we waited for Levi to fit into our other diapers. And once Levi could wear his other diapers, we still kept the Thirsties around until he outgrew them - they worked really well!
While I didn't have the foresight to take a picture of tiny Levi in his Thirsties diaper, I won't leave y'all completely picture-less. Here he is!
What better way to brainwash your child into attending your university than to take him to sporting events? Sic 'em Bears!
No comments:
Post a Comment