This is a post ALL ABOUT cloth diapers. Weird, Alice, you may say, why would you post about your obsession on the adoption page? Well, because my other love (Ethiopia blogs) is what brought this post to life. I happen to be stalking Kristie’s blog and it’s hard to miss the recent posts about cloth diapers. Kristie has started a movement called
Covered in Hope. She is gathering cloth diapers to send to Ethiopian orphanages for all the sweet babies and toddlers there. I am told that these amazing children either A: don’t wear pants (or underwear) and use the bathroom on themselves and wherever they may be sitting, B: use a disposable diaper… though these are very expensive and clean ones are hard to get in an orphanage, or C: use a worn out old cloth diaper. Although I have never seen this first hand, I have heard the stories and seen a few pictures. The point is they need diapers and we have PLENTY of them here. Literally, sitting here in my house. A whole laundry basket full to be exact! I have been holding on to these waiting for the right moment to post them for sale on the diapperswappers website. Arwen recently went up a size in diapers and since I was looking for a new brand/type, I gathered up the diapers and got ready to sell…then I read Kristie’s post announcing CCI needed cloth diapers. CCI?! That’s the agency we want to use! (We recently met the director, Sue, at an adoption fundraiser and knew right away that this is exactly the kind of person we want to help us bring our boy/s home.) So I quickly text an email to
Mrs. Sallee Couch, whose family is using CCI and going to be picking up their Samson any day now! It’s true they are very much in need of diapers. So I saved 4 of our most expensive diapers (in order to sell for cash to buy Arwen a few more diapers) and boxed up the rest for Sallee to take to Ethiopia. In this box is every size and type of diaper I can think of. Some I love, some I hated, and some I never tried. If you cloth-diaper your babies, you know how hard it is to part with these little poop pockets. If you have not, here is my honest review of the diapers we’ve had.
After much thought and consideration Joe and I decided cloth diapering would be best for our family. Molly was still in diapers/pull-ups and diapers are expensive! So we (when I say we I mean I) did the research and settled on Thirsties AIO (all in one) with pockets for our first go around. When we got these diapers in the mail I was so excited and overwhelmed. “What if I was no good at cloth diapering… and a million other what if’s?” So I tried one on Molly… she wouldn’t take it off because the fleece insides were “sooo cozy.” Saweet! So I bought more in Molly’s size so I had someone to practice on. This time opting for Fuzzibunz pocket diapers with microfiber inserts. She absolutely LOVED her cloth dipes. I think in switching from disposables to cloth, she potty trained quicker. I made her some fleece undies to make up for taking the cozy dipes away, once she was ready. (Fleece doesn’t absorb wetness so it helps the babes stay dry.)
When Arwen arrived we used a mix of the XS Thirsties AIO with pockets, Thirsties covers with unbleached Chinese cotton prefolds (which were just laid in the covers), fleece covers with the same prefolds (that were either pinned on or snappied), and a few homemade AIOs I purchased on etsy. The little chunker was born 9lbs 12oz! We were expecting her to be tiny like her sisters, who wore preemie clothes for at least a month. Needless to say, she didn’t get to wear these very long! So we moved up a size and switched brands. On to FuzziBunz pocket dipes! The smalls lasted FOREVER and the pockets were especially great for adding an extra hemp or microfiber insert for overnight and long car rides. Also, they dried much quicker than an AIO. You see putting the covers, the parts with elastic, in the dryer lessens the diapers life span and when you spend so much time and $ on a diaper you want it to last! BUT the microfiber eventually started to hold smell. For the cloth diapering mammas now wondering… Yes, I tried Charlies soap and it ‘burnt’ the babies bum… Yes, I rinse before I wash and use a final vinegar rinse… No, I didn’t use bleach, fabric softener, or put diaper cream on the baby ever… and yes, I tried stripping them twice! They just didn’t work for us (actually they worked for about 7 months before we had issues). So I tossed the stinky ones out and started to explore other options. (We tried the medium of this brand but they were oddly bulky and loose, which was surprising, because the smalls were so trim.) In the meantime we went back to pre-folds and covers. They work wonders but are bulkier than we liked and not near so soft as some. Next, we tried Thirsties medium fleece fitteds with Thirsties one size covers. Some covers had snaps and some had Velcro. I soon realized how much I hated Velcro! Everything sticks to the tabs… even when they are fastened down for washing and the fitted just doesn’t keep her as dry as I would like it to. Next, I tried a Thirsties size 2 pocket diaper. It has a pocket at both the front and the back so you don’t have to un-stuff it before you throw it into the wetbag (we have tried drawstring, zipper, and open bags… we settled for some purchased on etsy with zippers and a strap for hanging). But it too has a microfiber (and hemp snapped together) insert so it didn’t last long. Then, there was the BumGenius One Size diaper that I converted from Velcro to snaps. The poop just rolls off the inside of this diaper and I stuffed it with hemp inserts but still it just wasn’t what I was looking for. We thought the colors were kind of dull and boring. That’s when I found BerryPlush/Jamtots AI2 diapers! The amazingly soft bamboo and hemp insert snaps into the delicious covers! It not only was the softest diaper I have EVER come across but it held wonderfully, didn’t stain easy, didn’t hold stink, had incredibly fun colors (like leopard and Dalmatian print), had snaps that snapped on the sides, you could reuse the cover multiple times and it fit great! Well, for a while anyway. Arwen started to hang out of the size smalls and the mediums were just too bulky. They were great for pictures, wearing with babylegs or under dresses but just not ideal for wearing with jeans. This all went on for months while we lost faith in cloth diapers. We started putting Arwen in disposables and her bum paid the price. Around her first birthday, I again went in search of the perfect cloth diaper… and found it! It’s a wonderful AI2 diaper with bamboo inserts with a hemp doubler, if needed. It doesn’t hold stink, doesn’t leak, the bold colors are amazing, and the medium fits her thighs and waist perfectly at the 2nd snap (there are 3 adjustable snaps) and they are the trimmest yet! Really! They fit much like disposables without the diaper rash. So here’s to
Fishnoodles, the most impressive diaper on the market! Thank You!
