Update: Life with Cloth Diapers

I have gotten several questions about cloth diapers lately so I thought I would post an update.

I bought my cloth diapers from a seller named "hairworlds" on ebay out of China. I got a variety of colors on accident but wished I had gotten all white. Oops. (Be sure to email ASAP the seller about which colors you want, I waited a day too long) The diapers cost me somewhere between $3-$4 with free shipping and I bought 20 (with 20 inserts). Originally I ordered one diaper from one seller and one diaper from another seller, just to test them out. Both were great, and I chose hairworlds.

 I thought I would want more but 20 seems to be the perfect number. I can't fit more than 20 in my hanging diaper holder (see above picture) and I can only fit about 18 in our Diaper Champ diaper pail (life saver!).

My latest addition to the changing table is Diaper Liners. Which I LOVE! They are a thin liner placed between the diaper and baby's bum and when he poos the liner catches it and you just flush the whole mess! Unless Bug has a blow-out, you can't even tell he pooed, just from looking at the diaper. $7 for 100-pack, a pretty good price for not having to hassle with stains and rinsing away the goo in the washing machine or scraping it into the toilet. I almost gave up cloth diapers because of that.

I still buy paper diapers, about a small pack a month, for: church, overnight (paper diapers are so much more absorbent), diaper bag (they aren't exactly compact...), and any time Bug has a diaper rash. I have heard diaper cream can ruin your cloth diapers because the oils block water absorption and can't be washed out easily. I don't want to take a risk so we just switch to paper anytime he has a rash (which is super rare anyways).

I wash the diapers on hot with a detergent free from perfumes and dyes. Before I used the liners I put the diapers on a pre-wash before adding the dertergent. After switching to the liners I bleached my washer. I dunno, it just gave me the willies. I end up washing the diapers about ever 4ish days, depending on how many paper diapers we used.  I have also heard of sun bleaching from Young House Love (she has a great section on cloth diapering) and that it helps with stains and smells. I will give it a try once the sun finally comes out again...

As for the husband... I ran the numbers by him how much money we would save and told him if he didn't want to change the diaper then he didn't have to, or he could put on a paper diaper anytime he wants. He hates changing diapers regardless, so it didn't take much for him to adjust.

The style of cloth diapers we got are (excuse me if I use the incorrect jargon) one-size-fits-all, snaps with inserts. Also, I waited until Bug was a few months old before starting this because I had heard that cloth diapers don't fit newborns very well.

They work great for us! Hope this helps!