Cloth Diapering

First off, I think I need to clarify that I am in no way an expert on this topic. While on the Island I went to a cloth diapering party at my friend's house (yeah, I know, who knew they had parties for such things. How fun!), and I was blown away by the options out there for parent's to be. I would say she had around 50 diapers, each a different material, color, pattern (pre-folds, one-size, etc, etc). It was almost overwhelming, and I actually cloth diaper! So I can't imagine how the four up and coming Mommy's were feeling, some who had never used a cloth diaper in their life.

I know there are many options, and many, many opinions on what's the best type. As for me, well, I've only ever used one kind, and have been pretty happy with it. Although really I know nothing else. Ignorance is bliss right?

The reason why I thought cloth diapers were blog-worthy is mainly their thriftyness. It really is a shockingly cheaper option. Not up front mind you. A decent collection of cloth diapers is going to cost you a minimum of $300 up front (probably going up in into the thousands if you get really gourmet!), but that should last you until your child is potty trained, depending on the diapers you buy. I chose the one-size-fits all style, mainly because I didn't want the hassle down the road of getting more. There are probably hundreds of cloth diaper patterns online.

I spent months going in and out of basically every Value Village in the city. I used those old terry towel hooded bath towels. Yes, you know the ones! I eventually picked up about 40-60 of them. It was usually about 99 cents to $1.99 per towel. Although I did pick up most of them on 50% off days, so I'd say I spent less than $50 on all of the towels. I've ended up with 30 diapers, and about the same amount of diaper liners, which is a fairly large stash, considering most Mom's would have in the 16-24 diaper range.

I am totally confident that we will be using these up until the day Gabe is potty trained (they are supposed to fit babies from 5-35lbs). They have held up well to daily use for the past 6 months, and really are showing no signs of wear.

Here are some of the oh so cute fabrics that I used:
Little Blue Whales

Rocking Horses

Stars & Rattles (I love this one!) I picked up these covers while we were on the Island from the lady who had the diaper party. Are they not so totally adorable?

This is my wee laddie sporting another one of the covers I picked up. One downside (in my opinion) to the cloth is that it sure makes their bums bulky, which makes certain clothes basically impossible for them to wear, for example, jeans.

Here are just a few things I use for my cloth diapering journey...

A friend here in the city recommended this laundry soap, Country Save. Its super affordable, $6.99 a box for 40 washes. You can buy it at London Drugs. You have to use special soaps on cloth diapers to prevent soap build up, and to protect the fabric. Plus, non-scented soap to prevent diaper rash or irritations.
For my washing, I was using a cold rinse, a super hot/cold wash, and then an extra cold rinse. But I found my diapers were still coming out a bit smelly. So I switched it up to do a hot pre-wash (4 minute cycle), then the super hot/cold wash with an extra rinse, and I have noticed a dramatic change in my diapers. I guess they just needed the extra heat to get that burst of cleaning power (wow, I sound like a commercial!).
I have also tried the sun bleaching method. I have to admit I was a non-believer at first. Apparently the sun has excellent bleaching/cleaning qualities. So I gave it a whirl a few days ago. The funny part is I tried to do it about three times prior, but each time I would get all my diapers strategically placed, the sun would go away! I laid some of the most stained diapers out in the backyard, directly in the sun, and left them there for a few hours. Now you will have to forgive me for putting up poop stained diaper pictures on my blog, but the pictures really do show you how well it worked. Its incredible!

Poop stains. Pre-sun.

Poop stains. Nearly gone. Post-sun.

And every good cloth diaperer needs a good diaper pail. I am really pleased with this one. First of all, it has that old garbage can feel to it (think Oscar the Grouch), and its very heavy duty plastic. The lid seals down (to keep the smell down, if need be), and its big enough to hold more than 10 diapers (some pails are so tiny!), but small enough that I can carry it up and down stairs easily. I have been washing it out each time I wash the diapers (which is every second day), this has been helping to keep it fresh. The even better part? Its only $9.97 at Zellers. I'm planning on picking up a second one, so that I could have one drying downstairs after I wash it, and a dry, clean one always up in Gabe's room.

This right here is a very happy sight in my life. All the diapers, perfectly folded in a row (its ridiculous how much I enjoy folding cloth diapers!).

...Ahh, I better enjoy it while it lasts!

So that right there is a glimpse into my world of cloth diapering. I hope you enjoyed your visit ;) (minus the poop stains, of course!).