Cloth Diapering 101 Part One

New to cloth diapers? Want to save money? Having a baby and can't afford disposables? Want to take care of the earth that God has given us for a temporary home?

There are lots of questions when you are new to cloth diapers. There are so many resources and sites to read that it is very overwhelming!

We started our "cloth diaper journey" a little over year ago when we were preparing for our first child. We went with cloth for several reasons.

• Cloth diapers are just cheaper than disposables! Its a proven fact.




• I don't wear paper underwear...and don't want to, so why would I put that on my baby?




• There are lots of chemicals in disposables....really! It will amaze you.

We are very cheap! I can't see the sense in spending $20 a week on something I will just throw away. I certainly wouldn't throw a $20 bill in the trash on a weekly basis so why would I buy diapers to just throw away????

If you haven't looked into what all is in the leading disposable diaper...please do! No wonder babies get diaper rash!

We, as Christian's are responsible for the way we live our lives. Disposable diapers create so much waste in our landfills. I don't know the exact numbers but it is in the millions or billions of oil, trees, and other natural resources we would save annually if everyone just used cloth diapers.

Now, stepping down from my soap box....what do you really need to cloth diaper.

Three months before our first child was born I order lots of pre-folds and diaper covers. I wanted to go the cheapest route. We received an organic fitted cloth diaper...and wow! It fit so much better than the prefolds. Prefolds do the job....don't get me wrong, but it does take a little longer and there is bulk if you have a small baby. About three months into cloth diapering I ordered (6) bumGenius One size pocket diapers. These are great, but we have a really small baby. She is now one year old and only 16.5lbs. She has really small thighs so these leaked some if we didn't fasten them really tight. Next I ordered (3) Happy Heiny One size diapers. We liked these a lot more, but still the same problem. Then, I found Green Acres Diapers. These are not one size but they work so wonderfully well! We had to order small, medium and will order large if the need arises. We have probably spent about $400 on cloth diapers so far....and we have a stash...a huge one!

Some sites tell you, you need this, this, and this. I won't do that because I know from our experience EVERY baby is DIFFERENT! Best advice I can give is to order a diaper sampler.

Here is a great site for any of your cloth diapering needs.
http://www.wildflowerdiapers.com/

Most of the diapers we have we ordered from them. Shannon is wonderful if you have any questions or problems and shipping is fast.

So far this is what we have:

2) Tiny Heiny diapers (these are for preemies up to 10lbs)

6) Happy Heiny size small diapers

4) Fuzzi Bunz size small diapers

3) Green Acres size small diapers

6) bumGenius One Size diapers

4) Happy Heiny One Size diapers

3) Green Acres size medium diapers

1) Knickernappies Disposanots size medium

3) Fuzzi Bunz size medium diapers

We also still have our prefolds and several fitted diapers. All the diapers listed above are pocket diapers. These are wonderful and make cloth diapering so much easier.

We have so many different kinds because our baby has really small thighs and it took a lot of searching before we found that perfect diaper. The preemie diapers still fit her and she is 1. If you have a "normal" size baby One size diapers are the way to go! One size diapers have adjustable snaps to make either a small, medium, or larger diaper. That way you use one diaper the whole time your baby is in diapers....well one type, you will need several diapers ;) If you have a small, thin baby...well then you must search to find what works best for your baby. Don't give up though! There are lots of different kinds of diapers and I promise one will work for you.

We are now expecting our second baby and we already have most of the diapers we will need. We will purchase a few more because it is so much fun and cloth diapering is soooo addictive.

If you don't have a lot of money to start out, look for used diapers. I have bought used diapers and have never had a problem.

Here is a site that should be able to help:

http://www.myuseddiapers.com/

You can also find diapers on ebay. There are lots of WAHM's (work at home mom) who sell there handmade diapers on ebay for a very good price.

Check back next week for Part Two of this post. Once you find your diapers you will need some basic info on how to clean and manage them.