cloth diapers
Photo credits: Emily Rumsey Photography The world of cloth diapering is overwhelming! So many options and brands. Diapers are kinda like jeans–what fits you perfectly might not fit your sister. For all three of our kids, my elder two pictured above at various stages, we (have) or (do) use prefolds, as stated. However, we’ve purchased many other, newer, more exciting, more new-agey options that I’ll discuss here. They’ve worked on different occasions, and to varying degrees of satisfaction. 1) Prefolds. Got a good look? That’s not your grandma’s diaper pin. It’s a Snappi. Love ’em. a) Pros: easy to wash, fits any shape/size/thigh/bum, and inexpensive. b) Cons: takes 8-10 seconds to put on, unlike a fitted. Not many cons in my mind. 2) Covers. We use Babeegreens wool covers. They’re easy, and the wool is waterproof when lanolized, which I re-do about every few weeks. Poopy on there? Rinse it and let it dry! The company is a small family owned outfit in North Carolina and they’re wonderful! Just what you need to cover up your prefold or fitted. Another popular product are the plastic Thirsties numbers. They are wipeable, non-leakable, plastic covers. A drawback to them is they can puddle a little and make your new clean diaper damp. 3) Fitted. Amazing lovely? Yes! Waterproof? No! These suckers do need a cover, which is their big drawback. Also, you need many many of them to get through two days of diapers. Let’s say, about 15 or 20. And that adds up price-wise…
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Emily Rumsey Photography We use cotton prefolds for SuperBoy and SweetPea (photo’d above in their cloth) during the day and a special rigamarole combo at night. We also use the local cloth diaper service: Do Good Diapers. They’re family-owned, fabulous, and affordable. Everyone has their own diaper feelings, but here are a few things to consider about the pro-cloth arguments: 1) Price. Others have done my work for me: Cost of Cloth Diapers. 2) Quality. I cannot tell you the difference in our children’s skin using cotton versus disposable. On our trip to Italy almost two years ago now, we used the Seventh Generation Disposables. Yes, they were fine, and what we needed to use. But SuperBoy had diaper rash, general irritation, and just a speckled looking bum. We were anxious to get home for our diapers (odd, but true!). This has been the case anytime we’ve had to use disposables. Cotton breathes and is not filled with chemicals that “wick” away the moisture. What you see is what you get. Skin aside, cloth absorbs better than disposable so you don’t end up with puddles piddling out the sides of the paper & plastic, nor do you have blowouts the same. I’ve been changing diapers for over two years now and I have had about 3 actual “blow OUTS” in terms of the cloth actually not containing all the poo. That’s it. Compare that with the sheer makeup of a disposable diaper–it simply cannot stretch and absorb and contain the way cloth can.…
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