Days of diapering....

Some day we'll be done with diapers.

Most people dream of the day, but honestly I kind of dread it.

It'll mean my last baby is far from a baby.....

and diapered butts are just cute.

"I'll NEVER"

You know how those comments go right?

My mom cloth diapered all (6) of us, and after babysitting kids who were in disposables, it was a no-brainer. WHY on God's green earth, would you use cloth diapers, when you had disposables readily available?!? Why? Why? Why?

Well, 'God's green earth' is one answer, but it's not the one that converted me.

Really, it didn't even cross my mind as an option until I was pregnant with Coralee. I met someone who used the old school pinned prefolds with 'plastic pants'. 

That was the moment I actually said "I'll never". 

Fast forward about 6 months, and it hits me Diapers are EXPENSIVE! 

I was terribly annoyed with how much of our budget was, literally, being thrown in the trash.

Somewhere, I stumbled upon diapersewing.com , and I thought, "I could do that".

So I dug around my scrap fabric and made a fitted diaper. Eventually I decided that it's wasn't worth the effort to make a fitted that was just going to get covered, so I changed gears, bought some (GMD) prefolds and made some (wind pro) fleece covers (shown below).

I never made enough to use cloth full time, but we used them on days that we were just hanging out at home, and it really helped stretch out a box of disposables. 

 

As Haakon was coming, I knew I wanted to switch to cloth full time. 

With a little Coralee running around, the thought of making everything seemed unreasonable, but 

these were also a matter frugality more then anything, so I kept it real simple. 

Prefolds and covers (also some size 0 kissaluves that I jot dirt cheap at a thrift store). I had a mix of covers, homemade, bummis, and thirsties. 

This system worked well for about a year. In hindsight I think I could have continued, but I didn't know what to do at the time. 

We had a stink issue, and Coralee was potty trained (or nearly) by then, so disposables seemed like the easiest answer.

    

So it was 'sposies' for the next 2(ish) years. 

When I was pregnant with Essex, I had a little reservations about using cloth again....

I knew I wanted to, but I knew I would have to re invest in all new cloth, and if I did that, I wanted it to last longer then a year.

My decision was easier to make when a friend of mine offered her entire fuzzibunz lot for $50.

It was only size small, so I knew I would still need to buy a stash for after that, but it made it seem easier.

Here is Essex, just a few days old (about 8.5lbs) in a small fuzzibunz.

Now we use a mix of everything.

A little of this.

A little of that.

My current 'stash' is

* 3 Honey Boy diapers (picked up at a thrift store) that we use for overnights. These work....they're VERY bulky, and the cotton over the aplix wicks a little, but ultimately they get the job done.

* 5 bum genius 4.0s. I'm a little indifferent about these, I find nothing real exceptional about them, but nothing to complain about. They're a good simple reliable diaper.

* 3 Grovia Hybrids. I'm falling in love with these. Perfect fit (something that's obviously different from kid to kid). I like the soaker system, I find it easier to clean out solid waste with these. And, they get points for cute prints.

* 1 Grovia AIO. This is, by far, my trimmest diaper. In contrast to the hybrids, though, I find these the most difficult to get solid waste out of. 

* 1 Wild mountain mommies pocket diaper. Love that it's a local wahm! When I first got this, I was a little unsure, but as Essex is growing, the fit is getting much better (not a one size diaper), and I definitely like this one.   

* 1 knickernappies I have a bit of a love hate with the side snaps (also on the grovia aio), but over all a good diaper.

* a collection of flats (old receiving blankets) and prefolds. Mostly, I like using these uncovered around the house.

* Thirsties covers. My favorite PUL cover (and I've tried quite a few different kinds).

If you think "i'll never" think again, It's easier then it seems.