We finally made the jump to cloth diapers. For any Baby Boomers out there following this blog, let me be the first to tell you that cloth diapering has evolved. These ain't yo mama's cloth diapers. In fact, it is a good thing that Carrie has a PhD, because she spent two solid weeks researching diapers. There are dozens of diapering systems, and scores of manufacturers. Diapers come in cotton, synthetic fiber, fleece,
wool, hemp, and bamboo fiber, just to name a few. Each of these materials has pros and cons. Some are more absorbent, some are better at "wicking"
the moisture away from baby, some don't stink as much as others, some are less bulky than others. There are pocket diapers, pre-fold diapers, and insert diapers. Some come with Velcro, some come with snaps, and some use a little stretchy claw device called a "snappi" which as eliminated the need
for safety pins. Some diapers are sized, and some are adjustable to fit from
birth to potty training.
In addition to all of the diapering systems to choose from, there are a whole array of diapering accessories that are needed to do this right. There are special detergents forwashing diapers to avoid rashes and maximize absorbency. We had to get a new
diaper pail with liner and a travel bag for storing soiled diapers. We also
picked up a rack for our changing table to store all of these products.
We have been doing this for about three days now, and it seems to be working pretty well. There
was a little rash issue at first, but we made some adjustments to our detergent
situation, and the rash has cleared up. The cloth diapers are doing a very good
job containing everything so far. We did have the occasional diaper breach with
disposables, and we're hoping those days are behind us. We are still using
disposables for night-time, but within a week, we should be ready to convert
fully to cloth. In the long run, this should save us money, and it is a more
environmentally friendly way to go. The biggest draw backs so far are that we
have to do laundry more often and some of her outfits don't fit as nicely
around the additional bulk.
