come, join me on the green side . . .

i am convinced that my little fox must be in the middle of a growth spurt.  he is acting like a newborn again with the 'i'm starving' screams and the constant soiling of diapers.  so, since we are cloth diapering i spent the day organizing and laundering in efforts to streamline the process a bit.  i managed to get some painting in, but i decided to dedicate today's blog post to cloth diaper education.

first, some background.  i first realistically considered cloth diapers not even a year ago (didn't even know i was expecting #2 a year ago!) and when i did the decision was solely for economic reasons.  don't get me wrong, i love the earth, but i despise spending money just to throw it away.  that's insane.  so that's why i drank the kool-aid, but i am hooked on them for so many reasons:
1 - we never run out of diapers
2 - they are so super cute (see below)
3 - my son has never had a diaper rash
4 - no infamous 'blow-outs', and they leak no more than disposable diapers
5 - no nasty gel goo touching my babe's bottom, only sweet, soft, fluffy cotton or bamboo
6 - my little guy was born with his father's lack of butt, and cloth diapers have awarded him one heck of a cotton booty

so, time for show and tell . . .

this is a prefold (specifically a green mountain diaper yellow edge prefold) on the left and on the right it is modeled by my handsome growing boy (2mo+).  prefolds are the old-school cloth diaper system, and still the cheapest way to go.  modernized a little by the snappi (the blue thing holding it all together) that replaced the diaper pins.  i do own diaper pins but i've never used them!

prefold require a cover, so here's a partially complete shot to show you all the pieces:

an alternative to the prefolds is to use what are called 'fitteds'.  a fitted diaper is an absorbent prefold equivalent that has some sort of closure so you don't have to use the snappi or pins.  fitteds also come in the most adorable prints and patterns.  unfortunately, the adorable-ness disappears under the cover, but it does make diaper changes just a bit more colorful.

left - our stellar model in a fitted with a cover ready to go on
right - a group shot of all the fitteds i had clean at the moment.  see what i mean by cute?  zebra stripes, knights and dragons, safari animals, atari, zoo critters

here he is at 2 weeks old in a fitted with garden gnomes on it

a few super-cute covers.  most of our covers are ugly and purely functional, but a few cute ones in the mix makes me happy.

the last type of clothe dipe is extremely similar to a disposable diaper in function.  it is also, generally, the most expensive way to go.  this is the 'all-in-one' or 'one-size'.  an all-in-one is all the absorbency of a prefold or fitted but already has a waterproof outer covering, so you just throw it on them.

this is a yellow bumgenius all-in-one

every diaper type i have mentioned so far is sized.  this means you have to buy larger diapers as your baby grows.  the exception is the one-size diaper.  the one-size snaps in the front so you can adjust the length and thereby the size of the diaper.  the absorbent pads are separate and you tuck them into pockets in the back of the diaper.  it's slightly more work than the all-in-one, but i set all my one-sizes up when i pull them from the dryer so they are ready to go.

left - sporting a bumgenius one-size on the smallest setting

right - a happy hienies one-size to show the adjustment snaps

we use a little bit of everything, as you can see.

now, i know what you are thinking . . . i didn't make any of these diapers, so why are they on the my blog?  well, my dear, i did make my own cloth wipes!

from left to right top to bottom: funky chicks, aqua dots, blue dots, bunnies, chickens, vintage chicks, monkeys, pigs, sharks, turtles.

most are double-sided flannel, but some are flannel/terry cloth

all stacked up!

so, i've sold you on the easy and cute, but how about the buck?  a lot of people will like the idea of cloth then run away screaming when they see the price tag.  if you go with one-sized or all-in-ones and want to buy them brand new you can expect to pay a bundle (if you go this way and use the diapers for 2 children they are still cheaper than disposables for the 2 children), the difference is that you are paying all at one time instead of spreading it across 3 years.  but, if you go with a cheaper option (prefolds, econobum) or buy used (which all of the above diapers are) you'll have saved 1000's over your child's infancy.

screaming boy means this post is over!

jo