Between my husband and I, there has never been a question that we would use cloth diapers. We never really had a conversation about it or had to convince each other on the merits. We were also in complete agreement that using a cloth diaper service was not for us. We didn’t, and still don’t, see how doing an extra load of laundry every few days can be considered too much work.
I started researching cloth diapers and became very confused and overwhelmed by the huge variety of diapers out there and I didn’t know what anything meant. AIO, pocket, prefold, all-in-two, fitted, one size diapers, etc. It was like there was a whole new language and I was incapable of understanding it! Eventually I came across the Tiny Tree Hugger website. I read their advice and was still very confused but I liked the design of their site so I contacted them. I wasn’t able to make it to an All About Cloth night so they invited me to come over the next day and learn about the diapers.
My husband and I wanted something that was relatively easy to use, something that did not take forever to dry because our dryer isn’t the best, and something that is cost efficient. I very quickly fell in love with the Apple Cheeks pocket system. It has inserts that are separate from the waterproof covers so they dry much fast than an all-in-one system. They also seemed a lot simpler to use than pre-folds. The price point was between the two systems as well. I ordered a starter kit right there and then because I wanted to have everything ready before the baby arrived. I wanted to use cloth diapers right from the start! Well, you know what they say about best laid plans...I got my diapers a good month before my due date and then went into labour first thing the next day! Since my baby was premature, she was too small for the cloth diapers and I had to use disposables for the first month. Since we’ve put her in cloth, she has barely worn a disposable diaper. We found that they worked MUCH better at keeping the baby poop in the diaper than the disposables. We had many blowouts before we switched and my friends using disposables always complained about blowouts.
We don’t actually use the pockets in the diapers. We fold the liner and place them over the pocket and put a flushable liner over that during the day time, and a fleece liner at night to help draw the moisture away since she wears it so long. This way, we can re-use our covers for more than once change. We have 2 covers on the go: the one she is wearing, and the one she was wearing that we will change her into next. We reuse them for a few changes and then put them in the wash. This way, we have more inserts than covers which helps save money as well.
There was a time when my diapers started to stink and there was so much confusing advice on the internet. I contacted Pam J and she was so great at troubleshooting my diaper problems. Pam C and Pam J are great to buy from and have excellent customer service skills. They are very prompt at answering emails, and use an out of office reply when they are unable to do so. When you make an order for local pick up, they contact you right away to co-ordinate a pick up time with you. They are very helpful and knowledgeable about cloth diapering.
The only time we wavered was when we were first starting solids. As those of you with babies know, the only word I can use to describe the baby poop around that time is “special”. We started using flushable liners and they made poopy diaper changes a lot more pleasant – swishing or dunking the diapers was not something I was willing to do!
I spent a good portion of my summer at the family cottage and my commitment to cloth didn’t stop, despite the fact that we don’t have a washer or dryer there. Every 3 to 4 days I would go to Winnipeg Beach and use the Laundromat to wash the diapers, and hang them to dry back at the cottage.
Our baby is almost a year old now and our love of cloth diapers is just as strong as it ever was. I am heading back to work in January and we’ve managed to find a daycare that will do cloth for us. Another great thing about the pocket diapers is that you can use them as an all-in-one for daycare situations because it is just as easy for them to change as a disposable diaper.
Here are some of the tips I’ve learned while cloth diapering:
- If you want to use a cream, make sure you use a flushable liner otherwise it could cause your diaper to stink or repel.
- You need to change your baby more often than parents who use disposable diapers, but I find that parents sometimes leave their babies in disposable diapers too long.
- The sun works like magic at getting poo stains out diapers and clothes.
- Your baby will grow out of clothes faster using cloth diapers due to the bulk of the cloth.
- It is very easy to use cloth overnight – just make sure you have some 3 layer inserts, or at least a 2 layer insert with a booster.
- When your baby starts on solids, flushable liners will be your best friend.
- Do not buy laundry detergent that from the grocery store or pharmacy that says it is ok for cloth diapers, you want to make sure that your detergent is designed for cloth diapers an won’t leave any residue behind. The Laundry Tarts detergent is awesome!
- We hang our covers to dry.
- Whatever system you use, try different brands – you will find you like different features about them.
- Be careful doing laundry if you have Velcro diapers – make sure you Velcro tabs are covered so you don’t get them caught on everything.
- Don’t let others try to talk you out of cloth diapering by telling you that it is more expensive or it is too much work. We have saved so much more many than if we were using disposables, and an extra load of laundry every few days is not that much work.
- You have to find a system that works for you, because if you don’t like it you may not stick with it.
- I find that stripping my diapers every few months leaves them in the most absorbent condition.
- For customer service, nobody beats Pam C and Pam J.
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