Yes, I cloth diapaper! Heres why.

We've been cloth diapering for about 3 years now. It started with my desire to stop buying pull up for a boy of mine that had bed wetting  issues. My first cloth diaper was the bumgenius 4.0 which is a pocket diaper http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=98&products_id=2424  This is still a very reliable diaper we use around here.  

Reason #1: Its healthier and better for baby.  

 I have long know of the toxins in disposable diapers but didn't really know had bad it really is. Until I found out some of this information I will share with you.

In disposable diaper there is at least 9 potentially harmful substances in the diapers and then there is dioxin a byproduct of the bleaching process used to make diapers white. The EPA considers Dioxin to be a cancer causing agent that can increase your chances of getting cancer even in low doses.
I quickly want to mention the sodium polyacrylate, the crystal - like gel that helps disposable absorb crazy amounts of urine some say up to 800 times their weight in water. Which I can believe after seeing children's inflated diapers after swimming in them. There is also concern with asthma like symptoms developing from emissions from diapers. These were noticed in mice who were around disposable diapers in studies. And there are those children who react horrible to disposable diapers and have constant rashes that wont go away.

Reason# 2:  You can save big bucks

Someone else did the math added up the costs of cloth diapering including the laundering and the number came out to 6 cents a diaper depending what kind of diaper you choose, compare that to disposables which cost 36 cents a diaper or more if you go with a greener choice.
You don't even have to do the math a baby in cloth can vary from brand to brand and from style to style, but its important to realize that its a one time up front fee starting anywhere from 100- 500 for designer cloth brands. In comparison  disposables cost an on going fee of 40- 60 per month.

If parents have multiple children, they can reuse the cloth diapers for a second, third and often forth time, saving even more and maximizing the few hundred they spent upfront on their cloth diapering system.

$350 vs $2400 x 2 kids

That's real money and real saving with cloth.

Reason #4. Eco- Friendly/ Less waste

Currently we have no trash pick up and really have no trash a few bags a week. When we did use or do use disposable diapers the trash and waste is significantly more and the smell is very offensive.

I did not set out to use cloth diapers because they are eco- friendly but love that we are not contributing to the 27.4 billion disposable diapers used in the US alone. The EPA estimates that is nearly 4 millions of waste going into landfills. It is a possibility that those diapers will still be there 500 years later that is not a good legacy.

Reason #5. Self- Reliant/ Convenient

I love not having to run to the store every time we run out of diapers. Worse case scenario is I have to run a load of diapers.

Also in case of pandemic or other disaster we still  have cloth diapers and have a plan for those kind of situations.

Reason # 6. Cloth diaper are so Cute and Fun. Really!

If you would have told me how much I would enjoy cloth diapering a few years ago I would have laughed. But its really fun! I like all the cute prints and colors and it doesn't get much better than getting a package in the mail full of cute cloth diapers.

 

Review on the New Bumgenuis Freetime

I received the New Bumgenius Freetime on Saturday!!! In the beautiful color mirror and in applix closure.This diaper retails for 19.95. I was so excited to try it on my kids. The Freetime is Bumgenius newest product a onesize, all in one. What does this mean: no stuffing pockets, quickdry and fits most babies 8-35 lbs. This diaper features new semi attached inserts that are made of microfiber and microfleece which feel dry for baby. There are two inserts one is sewn at the front and one in the back, they fold into the center. I was a little bit leery of how this diaper was going to spray out, but it is spraying out great. This diaper fit great on J who is almost 10 months and 20lbs and pretty good on P who is 3 1/2 and weighs about 33+. I'm really loving this diaper. It is pretty trim. Not quite as trim as the elemental but still trim. It is really absorbent. J wore this for his nap and for a total of about 3 hrs and no leaks!! I'm really looking forward to trying this diaper in the snap version as well. I will update if I feel the fit or size is any different with the snap closure. Overall, I am very happy with this diaper and already have more on the way.

Review on the New Bumgenius Flip Trainer

Isn't he cute~P





We have been using the Bum Genius Flip Trainer for a little over a month.
I purchased the trainer at cottonbabies.com for 24.95. It comes with a cover and 5 organic cotton inserts. This is a onesize trainer it (fits most 18 months to 4t).


I bought the trainer in the color mirror with clementine side panels. It was intended as an overnight solution for P who is 3/12 and needs a nighttime diaper. I had been looking for something he could put on and take off by himself. And was hoping the new bg trainer would fit the bill. So I washed and prepped the trainer and tried it on P. We had some leaking and I was a bit sad.

But we kept on trying. I finally realized that I was setting the trainer too large for p. I had it on the largest setting but the legs were gaping. I may or may not have prepped the inserts as much as needed (cotton needs washed several times before it reaches its full absorbancy.) So I snapped the rise down all the way down and washed the inserts some more and we had sweet success!! It's pretty wet in the morning but since making it smaller it has not leaked. I may have to add another insert but I am hoping he will begin waking up dry soon. Either way, I love that he feels wet vrs a disposable where he wakes up thinking he woke up dry. I love the fact that it's cute, healthier and more economical than the disposable as well.

Pros- soft organic cotton, feels wet, pretty good price, size is adjustable
Cons- the insert is a bit small, sometimes the rise comes unsnapped when pulling up or down, velcro can snag stuff up in wash(newer versions have wash tabs!!

Overall, I am happy with this purchase and will consider getting more. For more info on this trainer check out http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=139&products_id=3110

WHAT ELSE

I'm really looking forward to trying Grovia's New All in one trainer coming out later this month!



Next Review: Bumgenius Freetime : Bumgenius latest AIO Diaper.


So excited should be here tomorrow!!!

My journey to cloth

My search for cloth diapers began a few years ago. We have issues with bed-wetting at our house. Sheesh don't even get me started on that subject. this could be a very long post.

Anyhow I was looking for a overnight solution for an older child whom will remain anonymous I hadn't heard much about cloth diapering. I remembered my mom using prefolds with nylon pants for my little sister 25yrs ago, wow that makes me feel a old.

I decided to do a search online. And ended up purchasing two overnight pants that even 3 years later are way to big on him. We don't use anything on O the goodnites leaked so did everything else. We just wash bedding. I didn't completely give up on cloth.

P was potty learned at 2 but still needs night time help. I quickly got tired of purchasing pull ups after spending a small fortune. I was expecting J at this time. I had a friend at the time who introduced me to bumgenius diapers she loved them. So I really wanted to try them. I decided to give them a try for nighttime. I quickly ordered a bumgenius 4.0 in ribbit with a applix closure. We gave it a wash and tried it worked. Yay success why mess with a good thing. Because i started reading about all the different kinds of diapers out there. Then I was confused. Note to those considering cloth if something works stick with it. I'll explain later.

I believe, I then purchased a Fuzzy bunz onesize. It was okay a little small for p but I thought maybe it will work for the baby. I then, ordered a Happy Heiny trainer it did not come with any inserts and it took me a while to learn how to stuff the pocket well enough to get him through the night dry. But he like that he could put it on by himself. That's all I had for a while.So, I was washing everyday, it worked.
I knew I had to figure out what diaper I was going to use for the new baby. I had learned from diaperswappers and other cloth diaper blogs that he probably would not be fitting into onesize diapers right away.
I soon found some size 1 thirsties duo diapers on Craigslist and bought 6 of them and a few covers and fitteds as well. I couldn't decide what kind of diapers to buy or if I would need them. I have really big babies j was 10.10. Of course at the time i didn't know he was going to be that big. And I wanted to use cloth right away.

So i decided to order a diaper trail. I payed the cost of the diapers up front tried them for 2o days or so and sent back what didn't work. I got the trial at Jillian's drawers and loved it.I would highly recommend it. My favorites were the thirsties duo diaper and bg newborn. I only kept the bumgenius 4.0 in the snap and the snappie. The other diapers were to small by the end of the 3 weeks I had them. He fit fine into the onesize diapers at 2 weeks.

I continued to use the thirsties and bg diapers but knew i had to decide quickly what other diapers to get because he was out growing the thirsties quickly. I ordered 6 bumgenius 4.0's. My love for cloth had begun.