Cloth Diapers!

Yes, you read the title correctly, we use cloth diapers. It's a great way for us to save money (like, a LOT of money) and it's not half as gross as I thought it was going to be. I don't think cloth diapering is for everyone, but it works for us!

(The pink tool in the video that eliminates the need for pins is called a snappis. The diapers that we use: Fuzzibunz, GroVia, and prefolds)

Other tidbits I have learned about cloth diapering over the last 5 months:

~Desitin diaper rash cream will stain cloth diapers. We use California Baby Diaper Rash Cream (from Target)

~Typical laundry detergent can make your cloth diapers less absorbent, so we use Charlie's Soap (which I get from Amazon). Cheap, no smell issues, a little bit goes a long way, and Emma's sensitive skin has had no adverse reaction to it.

~It is common to line-dry all your cloth diapers if you wash at home, but we throw ours (minus the covers that don't take long to air dry at all) into the dryer and haven't had a problem.

~We use our normal washing machine to wash our dipes. I do a cold cycle with no soap, then a hot cycle with Charlie's Soap. Every once in a while, I do a third hot cycle with no soap which really blasts out any leftover stains.

~Speaking of stains, the craziest and easiest way to get rid of cloth diaper stains is some lemon juice on the stain and stick it in the sunshine. The sun naturally gets rid of all stains. I don't know how, but even on cloudy Chicago-winter days, it still bleaches my diapers! Check out these before and after pictures:

~We use a dry pail method. I have sewn diaper pail liners (post on the liner to follow shortly) that line a small, lidded trashcan and get thrown into the wash with all the soiled diapers. After I change the diaper, I toss it into our trashcan and every 3 days or so, I do a load of wash! Easy peasy!

~It's easiest to use baby washcloths and a water bottle instead of typical baby wipes since you can put it all in your pail and wash it together.

~Now that Emma is eating some solid foods, her poops have become more flushable. It's not necessary to do anything with your poop, but I imagine I will use toilet paper to wipe any major bits down the porcelain throne. They sell a hose that attaches to your toilet for this purpose (click here for an example), but for now I'll just wipe it with TP. :)

~Cloth diapers are expensive if you buy them new. But especially in big cities like Chicago, Criagslist is a gold-mine of cloth diaper goodness. Ebay also has some good deals!

Feel free to ask me any questions about cloth diapering. It's really not as scary as it sounds!