Do-over

As a history major, I should know how important it is research, geez! I love cloth diapering, but if I had to do it over, I would have done my research better! I knew I wanted to cloth diaper (CD), but I also knew my husband probably would not be on board. I figured that my mom/ daycare provider and I would be doing most of the diaper changing and when Michael changed a diaper, he could use what he wanted. Basically, we were going to be casual CD-ers. How did I go from casual to obsessed? Here's my story and as a good little student, I will provide documentation.

I heard about a revolutionary product that sounded too good to be true- the flushable diaper! I visited the "g" diaper website and watched the video. Sure enough this diaper could be flushed and the cover could be reused. Awesome!! This was the diapering system I wanted to try. I was pretty sure I could get Michael on board with this one too. The closest place I found that sold "g" diapers was in Newton at the Healthy Baby Boutique. http://www.healthybabyboutique.com/

Which leads me to my first problem with this diaper- availability. The second problem was the price. These puppies were not going to be cheap! I received quite a few at my shower, but not near enough to last for very long. Other problems came up when we used actually started using them. Beginning with a clogged toilet and a visit from the Roto-Rooter man. It turns out that our master bathroom has a very complicated draining system that caused the outer layer to catch.

Tate is also a very heavy wetter. One wet in the diaper was all it could handle. The insert absorbed it great, but it also bunched up leaving gaps and for some reason, the back half of the insert always stayed dry. I found that if I used 2 inserts per cover, per diaper change, it was better at stopping the leaks. With the price and the inconvenience of trying to make 2 inserts fit, it just wasn't working for us. I'll tell you how they work for us now a little later. http://www.gdiapers.com/

I had the opportunity to visit the Healthy Baby Boutique only once before Tate was born. It really is a valuable resource in central Kansas. I walked in knowing nothing more than I wanted to use cloth. It was totally overwhelming! To know then what I know now... I decided on 4 Mother-ease one-size diapers, 6 prefolds (PF), an Imse Vimse cover, and a Mother-ease cover. Kendra, the owner of Healthy Baby, said that the Mother-ease was their most popular diaper. I like it now more than I did in the beginning. It was much too bulky for a newborn. http://www.mother-ease.com ; http://www.imsevimse.com

At my baby shower, I among the "g" diapers, I also received 6 Tiny Tushies infant PFs and a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap. Thank goodness I was somewhat prepared because Tate was not reacting well to the disposable diapers (sposies). He had a horrible red rash everywhere the sposie touched. We went back to Newton and got another set of PFs and another Imse Vimse cover. We used PFs, with safety pins, the Imse Vimse cover and the Bummis cover until he started to outgrow them. That's when I started doing my research... Cotton Babies website helped me the most and introduced me to a whole new world of CDing! http://www.cottonbabies.com ; http://www.bummis.com

There are so many more great informational blogs I have discovered since joining Twitter (#clothdiapers). My favorite is http://www.theclothdiaperwhisper.com. Right now we are using bumGenius 3.0 (BG) in regular and limited edition fleece, the Mother-ease diapers, homemade diapers, 2 Imse Vimse covers, 2 Bummis Whisper Wraps and 2 Bummis Super Whisper Wraps. We also have 6 Swaddlebee's bamboo prefolds that I use as an extra booster in the night diaper. Occasionally, we use the g diaper inserts in the BG and they work much better and there is less to go in the wet bag when we are out and about. We also use baby washcloths as wipes so we don't have to worry about fishing the wipe out before we wash diapers.
I remember my first experience with CD at Healthy Baby. It was so overwhelming! Do I want a one-size (OS)? all-in-one (AIO)? and covers? prefolds? pocket diapers? snaps or aplix velcro? swim diapers? And the price up front seems like a lot too- OS range from $12-$30 each! Then there's the laundry... Ahhh!
I really wish I would have at least Googled cloth diapering a year ago or had someone to help me out. I absolutely love CDing and will never use another sposie again. With the next baby, and yes there will be one no matter what Michael says, I am even taking my own diapers to the hospital. Since I will be incapacitated and unable to move, Michael will be in charge of making sure that it will be all cloth from day 1! I really do feel a lot different about the subject today than when I started. It's my one of my soap box topics and I promote it to everyone I know! Obviously I enjoy talking about it because this is really long!