As most of you know, Michael and I use cloth diapers with Avery. It was a decision we made long before she arrived, not knowing for sure how we were going to like them or how they were going to fit into our lifestyle, but we gave them a try none the less, and we could not be more pleased! :)
We tried out 4 different brands of diapers: Alva Babies, Sunbabies, Babycity, and Flips. Of these 4 types, the Alvas have been my favorite. The Alvas, Sunbabies, and Babycity diapers are all called AI2 (All in 2) or Pocket Diapers. This means that that have a waterproof outer shell made of a material called PUL and have an absorbant, fabric inside made of cotton or microfiber. These 2 layers are sewn together, leaving a pocket between the layers. In this pocket you can put a microfiber insert (which comes with each diaper) or a cotton prefold (which is thicker and absorbs more). All of these diapers have snap closures that snap around the waist and around the leg. This keeps the diaper from leaking from either spot. My Flip diapers are simply a diaper cover, a waterproof PUL shell that you add prefolds or inserts to the inside of. I like them for when we have wet diapers because then we can just change the insert without having to change the outer cover. However, without a pocket to keep it in place, the insert moves around, then, if we have a poopy diaper and it gets on the shell, we have to change the whole thing.
Not sure why I feel like talking about my diapers today, but I do. :) Maybe it's because I just ordered new diapers for Connor, or maybe because I was smiling at Avery and how big her bottom is in the cloth diapers, causing her to waddle. Who knows! :P
I love my cloth diapers! I'm very glad that we decided to use them! I picked cloth to save money. I knew that a new baby would incur all kinds of expenses, so I wanted to keep the diapering cost low. I also knew that I'd save more money in the long run be reusing many of the diapers that I've been using for Avery. I think I've saved a considerable amount, and I'm excited to keep saving as Connor gets here as well.
Now, I won't lie and say that my cloth diapers have been without hiccups. We've run into a few problems that we've had to work around. But, we've come out on the other side and I'm still very happy I chose cloth. One problem I've had is staining. Before Avery started solids her stools were loose, runny, and bright yellowish. They sometimes left stains on her diapers. This made me very disappointed and sad, because I wanted my diapers to stay in pristine condition always. But, with just a little internet research, I found that "sunning" the diapers, or laying them in direct sunlight, took care of this problem. I was skeptical, but sure enough, it worked!! Another major problem we've dealt with in our home is yeast. Avery has had more than 3 yeast rashes as a result of her cloth diapers. Each time this happens we switch her to disposables for a week, 2 weeks, or sometimes even a month, use monistat cream on her, wait for it to clear up, and then put her back in cloth. Well, one time our go to remedy wasn't cutting it and we needed to take her to the doctor for a perscription. That was when I knew my washing method wasn't effectively getting rid of our yeast problem. I stripped my diapers, running them through several very hot loads with bleach. I washed them all several times to ensure that all the yeast or yeast spores were eliminated. And since she's been back in her cloth diapers, we haven't had a problem! :) This is a huge success for us because we've been fighting this particular fight for quite a while. I'm glad that as frustrated as I was, I didn't give up on my diapers. :) Once again, I'm as happy as can be! :)
Did you know that I had to buy a new, special soap for my diapers? Did you also know that I have to wash ALL of our clothes in this soap to prevent another soap from building up in my washer and ruining the absorbant effectiveness of my cloth diapers? The soap seemed expensive when I bought it, but I forgot to take into account that we have a high efficiency washer and that each load would only require 1/8 of a cup of soap. Do you know how long a 5 gallon bucket of soap lasts when you only use it 1/8 of a cup at a time?! It lasts a LOOOONG time!! We've been using the same ($100) bucket of soap since 1 month before Avery was born. She is now 15 months old. We've been using the same soap for all washing for our entire home for 16 months now, and I have yet to replace the bucket of soap! :) I could not be more pleased! This makes me happy for my choice in cloth diapers, my choice in soap (thanks for the recommendation, Amy), and my choice to go with a high efficiency washer and dryer.
Michael and I were planning on taking a cruise. We'd never gone on a nice, big vacation together other than for our honeymoon. We saved for over a year to raise the money to go on our trip. Then, around the time we should have been booking our trip, I got to thinking. We had spent so much time saving, and I'm sure the vacation would have been nice, but what would we have to show for it? Some pictures, souveniers, and nice memories. While all of those things are great, they wouldn't get us very far in our day to day lives. So we decided to buy a washer and dryer instead. We absolutely love them! They save our home money on our water and energy bills. They save us money on soap. And we use them constantly. As much as I wish for a nice, warm, beach vacation, the washer and dryer were appropriate buys for us at the time. :)
This post was probably not highly entertaining to read. Many of you probably didn't read all of the way through it. But this was what I felt like blogging about this morning. :) I'll try to be more interesting tomorrow. ;) Have a great Thursday!
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