Cloth Diapers **Guest Blogger**

Recently many parents have decided to cloth diaper their babies.  I have received a few emails asking my advice about what brand to use.  I myself am not a "cloth diaperer", however after reading this and learning about them, I wish I was. Maybe someday I will have another cub:)

I decided I should bring in an expert to help you all out. Today's blogger is my good friend Jen Fischer, she is a Mommy Extraordinaire and mother of 6.  A few other friends will share why they cloth diaper (below Jen's post), and what brand they prefer. 

After reading this post, you should be a cloth diaper expert! This is definitely one of my cutest posts yet!! (look at all those adorable faces!!)


Here's Jen...

I started cloth diapering in 2002 when I had my second son.  He was allergic to every disposable diaper and looked like he had sunburn on his poor little bottom.  I bought cloth diapers online, there were lots of different kinds, not like the diapers my siblings and I had worn in the 70’s.  The first diapers I bought were All in One diapers or (AIO’s).  I purchased them from a WAHM business on-line.  My husband and I liked them and we bought enough that I could wash diapers every other day.  Our son stopped having any type of rash and we tried lots of different diapers, I was hooked!  We then bought pocket diapers (that is a diaper that you stuff with an insert), then we tried fitted diapers and covers.  Then I started making diapers for our son.  I really liked them and when I found out I was pregnant with my next baby, I decided to cloth diaper even in the hospital.  

Mom made Pocket diaper

When our third son was born, he wore cloth diapers from birth.  I had made him a bunch of newborn diapers and covers.  He and his older brothers were in cloth diapers together for about 9 months.  So I had a baby and toddler in cloth diapers at the same time.  At that time, there were not one size cloth diapers yet.

I had been cloth diapering for 5 years when my 3^rd son potty trained.  Lots of new diapers came out.  One size diapers became all the rage and a diaper called BumGenius came along.  It was a one size pocket diaper that fit a baby from 8-35 lbs.  I did not have a baby to cloth diaper at the time but from what friends told me, they were great and fit well except for newborns that were under about 9 lbs.  I did finally try one in 2009 with my 4^th son but I have to say, I was not impressed and I have not used them again since.

 I bought many diaper covers and pre-fold diapers for my 4th son, before he was born.  Of all the cloth diaper styles we have used over the years, pre-folds and covers are my favorite.  They fit well, are easy to clean and inexpensive.  You can purchase 6 diaper covers, and 24 pre-folds for about $70.  That is equivalent to about a month’s worth of disposable diapers and you can reuse them.   Thirsties cloth diaper covers are workhorses.  I used the ones I purchased for 10 months.  After that, my son started pulling his diapers off so I went to pockets and used my pre-folds for inserts.  Another benefit of pre-fold diapers, you can use them for pocket diaper inserts.  My son still wears these now, and he will be potty trained soon

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Bummis Super Whisper Wrap and a prefold

When my 5^th son was born, he was also cloth diapered from birth.  He had some diapers that were bought just for him, but he has also worn diapers that his older brothers have worn as well.  Over the years, I figure that we have saved $6000 by using cloth diapers.  We have kept disposable diapers out of landfills, and I have met lots of really cool friends along the way (I have even converted some people to use cloth diapers over the years).  I have learned a lot about what works for us and what doesn’t.  Every child has led me to get simpler, and more basic over time.  If I have learned one thing, cloth diapers today are not your mother’s diapers.  They are user friendly, cost effective and FUN!!!

What other Moms are saying....

Leslie M-  Well, we use cloth because it's better for the environment & saves us a ton of money in the long run! It's also better on Milo's skin & he gets less rashes with cloth. We've only bought maybe 5 packages of diapers & he's one! (Grandma won't use cloth.) Our favorite types of diapers are pocket diapers & fitted diapers with covers. I use prefolds & flats as extra protection at night. Our favorite brand is Alva & Thirsties & we love to make our own too!

Bridgette L- Well I haven't officially started yet, but I'll be using Bumgenius and Alvas. :) I'm just getting gifts and what we can afford...the cute patterns help! I'm really doing it because I am sick of buying disposables, and I can't handle buying diapers/pullups for 3 boys.

Christina G-  I am embarrassed to admit this, but I started buying them because they were so cute.  I like how I could match my daughter's diaper to her outfit.  However after using them for a while, I realized how great they were.  We no longer had leaks!  I love a few brands, but right now we are using Baby Bums. 

Shelby C's G Diapers

Shelby C- We're still pretty new to cloth diapering, but one of the biggest reasons I choose to go with cloth was to avoid exposure to crazy chemicals against Iza's delicate skin. Of course we also like the idea of being able to reuse the diapers over and over again rather than tossing them in to the trash! So far my husband and I like the gDiapers best because we can take the concept of reusing even further by being able to reuse the cover pants multiple times (unless she has a really bad blow out causing a leak, which doesn't seem to happen very often). We're able to just replace the interior insert and place a previously worn pant on top. The gDiaper also allows us to use biodegradable inserts for when we're out running a long day or errands, so we don't have to worry about storing dirty cloth in the car for hours. We have an order of Flips coming soon, which seem like a very similar concept, so I really hope we'll like them just as well, if not better. We also have a few Alvas, which are pockets, but once those are soiled the whole thing has to be washed no matter what. I do like them though because they come in super cute prints and you can customize your absorbency by playing around with what type and how many inserts you want to stuff in to the pocket.

Shelby C's Adorable Daughter and her Alva diapers