The Fabric of Our Lives.....

I am a cloth diapering mom.  Just like breastfeeding, I wouldn't have it any other way (unless I absolutely had to).  And for me it's not about saving money (though this part is also true), it's about the environmental impact that disposable diapers have (disposable ANYTHING, really).  I don't hate on anybody for NOT cloth diapering - it IS a commitment - but I do like to tell people how much waste disposable diapers produce.  Even "eco-friendly" diapers are wasteful, as they may never have the opportunity to biodegrade if tossed in a landfill due to the lack of air, water and sunshine needed.  But eco-friendly diapers are better than regulars due to less (to no) plastic parts and less chemicals you're putting against your baby's skin and then tossing away.

Here are a few links with some info, including debates on why cloth diapers aren't much better (water and energy usage and such):

What a Waste

Real Diaper Association

The Poop on Eco-Friendly Diapers

LiBaware (these were the statistics in 1988....24 years ago!)

The Great Disposable Diaper Debate

Where do the other 8% go?

Anyway, as a new mom to the cloth diapering plan, I wasn't exactly sure what to do or how to get started.  There are a lot of different brands out there, and I had ZERO idea what all the terms meant (prefold, pocket diaper, all-in-one, gusset, hybrid, soaker, booster, etc).  I had no idea how many of WHAT I would need.  The websites with multiple brand varieties (such as Cotton Babies) were overwhelming.  And it all seemed so pricey.

I enlisted the help of two friends of mine, Leza and Laura.  Leza works for Swaddlebees/Blueberry Diapers and Laura uses cloth diapers for both of her kids.  These ladies have given me advice about how to be a successful cloth diapering mom, as well as shared what has worked for them.  The most important piece of info I received (and would also pass along) is to try out multiple brands and styles to get the right "fit" for your child.  Because as with anything else, what works for one mom may not work at all for another.

I became familiar with gdiapers while browsing the baby aisle in our local Earth Fare, and included gift certificate requests from gdiapers.com in my baby shower invites.  I received enough gift certificates to get me started with their newborn bundle and a few extras.

Gdiapers consist of an outer cover (gpants) and a detachable snap-in nylon pouch (with the exception of the newborn tiny gpants, in which the pouch is built in).  You can then use either a cloth insert or a disposable/flushable insert in the pouch.  The covers velcro in the back rather than in the front, with the thought process that they're harder for an older, coordinated child to take off (my child doesn't even know what to do with his hands yet, so he isn't really working that hard to take his diaper off).

Delano started with the tiny gpants and disposable liners (as recommended for the tiny gpants) as soon as we got home from the hospital.  I had a bunch of regular disposable newborn diapers on hand (given to me by some fellow moms of babies who had recently outgrown theirs) in case I needed them, but lucky for us the tiny gpants were perfect!  They fit nice and snug around his skinny little legs, and we had NO leaks the entire time he was in them with the exception of 3 or 4 poop explosions that shot up and out the back.

Delano graduated from the tiny gpants into a size small right around 5 1/2 weeks.  He also graduated from using the disposable inserts to using the cloth ones, though we used the disposable inserts while out of town recently.

Here are my thoughts so far about gdiapers:

They are definitely cute and trendy, and meant to be thinner than the average cloth diaper.  This means, of course, that there are different size ranges of a gdiaper (tiny 6-10 lbs, small 8-14 lbs, medium 13-28 lbs, large 26-36 lbs and extra-large 34+ lbs) and therefore you will need to add to your collection as your baby grows.  Other diapers out there considered to be "one size" are much more bulky to allow room to grow.  BUT their time frame for usage is much longer since you don't have to switch sizes.

Delano in a tiny gpant.  About the same size as a regular diaper.

For comparison, Delano in a "one size" BumGenius pocket diaper.

I LOVE the newborn-sized tiny gpants.  Granted, 9 times out of 10 a poopy diaper meant I needed to toss the diaper in the hamper, since the poop would rarely stay only on the insert itself.  But if it wasn't bad, I could typically use a wet wipe to clean off the inside liner so that I could use the diaper at least one more time before washing it.  I soaked any poop-stained diapers in a bucket of water with a little BIZ sprinkled in before tossing them in with a load of laundry, and the stains would come right out.  I only wish I had invested in more of the tiny gpants while I was using them.  12 was plenty, but 6 more would have been awesome.

The fact that these velcro in the back instead of the front is no big deal at all.  It's just as easy as a diaper that fastens in the front.  Some people have complained about it in online forums, but I don't see why.  Lucas even said he liked it better than the standard disposable fasteners.

Now that Delano's in the smalls and using cloth inserts, I'm trying to figure out if I like them.  I DO like them....I'm just trying to figure out what I like the best.  So far it's the same story - a poopy diaper almost ALWAYS makes a mess in the snap-in liner (instead of just staying put on the cloth insert) and sometimes will make its way out of the gusset (leg hole) and end up on the diaper itself, deeming all parts of the diaper as hamper contents.  We've also had a few pee leaks.  And this may simply be due to the fact that Delano's legs haven't chunked up enough yet to fully seal off the liner from the outside cover.  And maybe also because Delano is a heavy pee-er.  Other diaper inserts I've seen are thicker than the gdiaper inserts, so today I've tried doubling up the cloth inserts to see if that's better or worse.  He hasn't had a single pee leak today.  I'm still waiting for him to poop.

The disposable inserts are great for traveling or great for someone who only wants to cross partway into cloth diapering.  The best thing about them is that you can flush them, though I admit I was a slacker on this benefit.  Mine typically ended up in the trash can next to the changing table.  But I did flush some of them, and they literally disintegrate in the toilet like tissue paper.  Way more eco-friendly than tossing them in the trash can, but tossing them in the trash is still WAY more eco-friendly than tossing a regular disposable diaper in the trash!

Daily life with cloth diapers hasn't been a big deal, though it does add in some extra steps that disposable diapering does not, such as putting diapers together (or taking them apart) and doing laundry a whole lot more often.  I always pre-stuff a diaper and have it ready to go before taking Delano's dirty diaper off, instead of trying to re-stuff the one he's wearing to avoid providing ample opportunity to poop/pee on the changing table.  If the one he's wearing can be used again I'll just use it next time.  I always carry 2-3 pre-stuffed diapers in the diaper bag, and I have a "wet bag" in the diaper bag for the dirty stuff.  I also have a little cloth zipper bag containing a few extra disposable inserts and snap-in liners just in case.  At home I do laundry every 2-3 days, washing the diapers the way Laura said she washes hers.

As for trying out other brands/styles, I've got some BumGenius pocket diapers I've started using on him, and I have some GroVia (both all-in-ones and hybrids) and Flips (hybrids) headed my way as well.  I've also got some really cute Swaddlebees (all-in-ones) that I got from Leza to try, but he's still too small for them, so they'll just have to wait. 

Cute random baby in a GroVia diaper.

I'll keep everybody updated on my diaper experiences!  I don't have a clue yet as to what I'm going to like best.  Maybe the hybrids because I can reuse the covers if they're not dirty.  Or maybe the all-in-ones because I don't have to deal with inserts or liners or any separate pieces, just take the whole thing off and toss it in the wash.  Or maybe a certain type will work best while out and about while another works best at home and at night.  I don't know yet....it will be interesting to see!

TIP:  Shop for cloth diapers to try on Craigslist and Ebay!!!