A short update on the cloth diaper experiment, which will be of no interest if you are not already the kind of person that is interested in cloth diapering

Remember when I asked you to tell me everything you know about cloth diapers? And then you did? And then I bought some cloth diapers and I stacked them up very neatly and all folded up and took a picture and said how cuuuuuuute cloth diapers were? Yes? It was several months ago, so I don't blame you if this relatively minor event in someone else's life has skipped your mind.

I am finally using said cloth diapers with Charlotte and I love them. For me, this totally falls into the category of "Why isn't everyone doing this?"

We paper diapered Charlotte at first because I didn't want to deal with laundry the first few days and I was also skeptical that my stash of Bum Genius 4.0's would fit my 7 pound, 3 ounce baby (her weight 2 days after birth). I bought one box of Pampers Newborn Swaddlers and a week later I accidentally bought a box of Size 1's thinking they were newborn sized. (I was so pissed.) (But then Charlotte put on weight like it was her job and measured 8 pounds, 13 ounces at 13 days old and I was really glad I had some Size 1 diapers around Day 8.)

Anyhoodle, yesterday I got the cloth diapers out and I told Chris that we were going to use them for a day and see how it went. If they leaked or something else went awry that indicated she was still a bit small for them, we'd put them away for a week or so and try again later.

I was really surprised to find that they actually DID fit her. I mean, she's almost nine pounds and the diapers are supposed to fit a baby from 7+, but they just looked enormous compared to the wee Size 1 Pampers, so I don't think my raised eyebrow was totally unwarranted.

But they did fit and they were snug and they were cute and that all added up to awesome in my book. With the paper dipes I found that Charlotte's bottom was pretty red for the first two weeks. It wasn't a rash, exactly, it was just kind of...red. I'm not sure I blamed it on anything, but with the first cloth diaper change? Her bottom wasn't red. Like, AT ALL. I was amazed. It wasn't even a problem I knew I had and it was already solved for me.

We went through about ten diapers that first day and I put them in the wash on Sunday morning. My washing machine doesn't have an option for just a rinse cycle, so I washed them once on cold and again on hot with 1/4 scoop of Charlie's Soap Powder. I probably could have tricked my washing machine somehow if I babysat the cycle but I don't have time for that. (I'll probably try to experiment a little on what works best with my 11-year-old  Whirlpool.) My method seemed to work though: they came out pure and white and smelling like clean laundry.

(Nobody was more surprised than I was.)

I put the covers and liners in the dryer on low and the covers were dry in about ten minutes. The liners took a bit longer on high after I removed the covers, but not too long. I stuffed them and put them back on the changing table and the whole thing was done and ready for the next day.

I know it sounds like it can't be true, but they're really no more trouble than disposable diapers. The laundry takes a little bit of time, sure, but it's a passive activity. Everyone was right about how it's easy laundry: no sorting, no folding. Just dump it in the washing machine and turn it on. The trade in savings and lack of rashes make it totally worth it to me.

We have 14 dipes and I might like a handful more, but I would really like to get by on as few as possible since I know she'll need fewer per day as time goes on. I might wait a week or so and see how we're able to get by before I think about another purchase.

But, yeah. Simple. Just like you told me it would be. (IMAGINE THAT.)

(Also, isn't that diaper up there so cute and appropriate it makes you want to scream? My friend Lorraine sent it to me.)

Comments

[Holly]

Yay! Buy more. Only now, at 14 months old would I be okay with 14. Of course I never washed them everyday. And be careful with drying the covers in the dryer, I've heard that drastically shortens their life.

[BigP's Heather]

Hijack here...

We are currently about halfway through a small jar of Charlie's because I saw it here on your blog and I am very happy with it. Thank you for sharing this amazing product with me. We will be buying a giant container soon!

[Sarah in Ottawa]

Yeah! I am so glad that you've found it easy so far. Veronica has been in cloth since she was 3 or 4 days old and she has rarely had a rash. And no poopy blow outs!

[Jessica]

I'm jealous. I really want to try cloth diapers, but I already have about 7 or 8 months worth of paper diapers for baby boy and about 6 months for Margaret, who we're starting to potty train anyway. My stash has only cost about $60, so if I only spend $50-60 per kid per year on diapers I don't think I can convince my husband to invest in cloth.

[HereWeGoAJen]

Cloth diapers are awesome. I cannot understand why everyone doesn't use them. Except that I really can understand because people don't actually BELIEVE that they are easy until they do them.

[natalie]

I love the diaper you have pictured. So cute! Way to go on saving the environment & cash!

[Holly]

OH! I forgot - were you using Pampers with dry max as disposables? They came out with that dry max stuff right when Clara was born, and I noticed immediately that she got red when it was a box of dry max. Luckily we switched to cloth, and when she's at school we use Target Up & Up, and it's never been a problem. Even being in cloth 'part-time' has saved tons of money, and the teachers at school have noticed she's never rashy.

[Sam]

I am 2yrs 4mo into cloth diapering and looking forward to using my stash on a newborn very soon. I love it!

[little miss mel]

Yea! So glad to hear it's going well! We clothed diapered Hola starting at 9 months. Will probably start earlier with Peppa. :)

[kim]

Awesome. Making me want to switch to cloth with Henry, almost 13 months now. Wonder if I can convince the other parental unit? Is there a app that compares cloth to disposable?

[Erin G]

once again you pretty much wrote out my feelings. :) I love our CD's, they're super cute, save tons of money in our grocery budget (hello! I can buy steak and shrimp now! win!) and the VERY FEW ounces of extra effort it takes to do a little more laundry is totally worth it to me.

Glad it's going well for you so far! :)

[Lauren]

We just switched Nate back to cloth (hooray for our new, non-HE washing machine!). There is one thing I hate, hate, hate about our CDs, but it's only relevant once they start solids: spraying off the poop. For some reason, whenever our sprayer is strong enough to get the sticky poop off, the water goes everywhere. But if it's low-pressure enough for the water not to bounce off everywhere, it doesn't get the poop off. Ugh.

I'm about to start trying Amalah's scrape-em-with-an-old-spatula method, to see whether that works any better. But the actual diapering and laundry processes? Cake.

[Sara @ Belle Plaine]

I just want to squeeze that little baby tushie.