This is usually the reaction we get when we tell people that Kenley is cloth diapered.
And to be honest, it was Greg’s initial reaction, too, when I told him I wanted to do it.
Thankfully, our friends, Sally & Nathan had cloth diapered their little one,
which gave us someone to ask questions and see first hand how it all goes down.
For most people, when we say cloth diapers, they think of the old fashioned
cloth diapers with the large safety pins that hold them together.
Honestly, I would have too, but believe me, there are no safety pins,
that would have been a deal breaker for us.
All of our diapers have either velcro or snap closures, so they are super easy to put on.
The number one reason that we decided to cloth diaper was to save money. That’s how I sold Greg on the idea.
We crunched some numbers and that was the end of the discussion.
We talked about this towards the beginning of our pregnancy, so we had the opportunity
to register for majority of the items we needed and search for good deals.
One of the cons of cloth diapering (some say) is the cost up front.
Yes, you do have to get majority of your diapers and supplies before you start the process,
but after that, you’re set… even for your future children down that road!
The fact that they are adorable is an added bonus.
We started Kenley in disposables because (1) we had no idea what we were doing as parents
and (2) the cloth diapers we have are for babies at least 8 pounds, so they were too big for her at first.
We made the switch over to cloth when she was three weeks and close to 9 pounds.
We already had majority of our diapers & accessories, so we were set.
Even if you don’t have all the items when your little one is that young,
I don’t see any reason that you wouldn’t be able to make the switch later on.
There are a lot of different cloth diaper systems and many different brands
and we are by no means experts on any of them, but I can share what we use and why we like them.
Our favorite diapers are the BumGenius One-Size Stay-Dry cloth diapers.
They grow with her by adjusting the snaps (up to 35 lbs!).
These come with inserts that you stuff inside the cover.
We usually add an extra insert for the night time diapers since she is in them for longer.
Like I said, they are super easy to put on, very soft, and easy to stuff.
There are several accessories that we cannot live without and wouldn’t want to!
First and foremost…the BumGenius Diaper Sprayer.
You know that little thing called poop? Well this takes care of it!
It attaches to our toilet and we just spray off the poopy diapers.
Which I’m sure brings me to another one of your questions,
no poop enters the washer at any time, thanks to this bad boy.
While the diaper sprayer is awesome, I’m not going to say it doesn’t get messy or gross sometimes.
Poop is gross. You know that, I know that.
We just deal with it, wash our hands, and move on.
So here is how it works in our household.
The dirty diaper goes straight to the bathroom,
the wet ones go straight into the pail, insert and cover separate;
the dirty ones get sprayed off with the diaper sprayer and then go into the pail.
Our pail is just a regular trash can with a lid lined with a Planet Wise Pail Liner.
We have two liners so when one is in the wash, the other is in the pail.
The pail, nor the bathroom, smell like dirty diapers at all.
Then it’s time to wash. We wash the diapers every other day, well, night, now that I’m back at work.
The entire pail liner goes from the bathroom straight to the washer.
We’ve got it down to a science now that if you dump the diapers into the washer
using the bottom of the pail liner then you don’t ever touch the dirty diapers.
The pail liner goes right into the wash with all the diapers and wipes.
We use cheap wash cloths with a spray bottle of water for wipes.
It’s so much better for her bum and so much easier to toss the wipes and the diapers into the same pail.
For detergent, we use the Rockin’ Green detergent, as well as a homemade concoction we found here.
After the wash is complete, we dry the liners and hang dry the covers.
Daycare, traveling, and just general out-and-about days do require a little extra planning & packing.
When we don’t have access to the diaper sprayer, we use the Bumkins Flushable Diaper Liners.
These go between her bum and the diaper to catch any of the poop,
they go right into the toilet and get flushed, eliminating the need to spray off the diaper.
They were great when we traveled for Christmas in December.
When we’re out and about, we just pack up the diaper bag with extra diapers and the wet bag.
All dirty diapers go in the wet bag and get sprayed off when we get back home!
Same with daycare, we pack up her diapers & wet bag each day and the dirty diapers get sent home with her each night.
There are a lot of pros to using cloth diapers (cost efficient, less waste, no blowouts, cuteness),
but we completely understand that cloth diapering is not for everyone.
In no way are we judging those who do not cloth diaper.
It is a little more work than just tossing a dirty diaper in the trash,
but it works for us and we are completely obsessed!
We are always open to trying new brands and systems and I love getting new cute patterns,
so if you have other suggestions, let us know!!
If you have any other questions that I didn’t answer, let me know and I’ll be sure to do so.
If you’re thinking about cloth diapering, check out Cottonbabies Cloth Diaper 101, it’s a great place to start!
that was also a hand-me-down and it worked great when I was home with her
that we can strap to her car seat or strollers if she needs to sleep.
.
The Gilbertson Family 