Our cloth diaper journey begins...

10 weeks to Baby #4!!

When I discovered baby four was on the way, I started thinking about how many diapers our 3 kids had gone through over the past 6 years... 3 kids, diapers for 2.5 years each, 5- 10 diaper changes a day.. you do the math. The impact on our environment and on our bank account... especially here where disposable diapers are around $15 a package.

After talking with friends using cloth diapers, reading blogs of cloth diapering moms, and researching the MANY cloth diaper options available I decided to go for it.

Now let me say, I remember someone suggesting cloth diapers when I had KaiKai and I could not imagine even considering that... all I could think about was poo on the diapers and me having to remove that poo! Maybe I have grown up, or maybe having 3 kids has made me a little less squeamish or maybe it's the latest conveniences such as the Diaper sprayer... a handy little shower head that attaches to the toilet... whatever the case, that thought no longer bothers me.

The extra laundry probably won't make much of a difference to my already out of control laundry pile, and the money we will save going this route makes it more than worth it.

So once I decided to go with cloth, I then had to decide which ones... there are so many options. I was first overwhelmed by the choices... all in ones, pocket diapers, one size, diaper covers, prefolds, inserts, hemp, bamboo, cotton... I thought I would never figure it out. After a few nights of reading through a few good cloth diapering websites it didn't seem as complicated.

I finally decided on 3 different brands.

Applecheeks diapers are manufactured in Canada and can be used as a diaper cover by laying a prefold diaper inside it or as an envelope (pocket) diaper by stuffing it with a diaper insert. The versatility was attractive to me, and they also have a unique feature... the insert comes out in the washer, no need to unstuff them before washing. They were a little more pricy than other similar types but the ability to use them as a diaper cover, meaning the same one can be used with several diaper changes as long as it doesn't get too soiled, means that I didn't have to buy as many as if I bought all in one diapers. The colour choices were great and the customer service was exceptional. I fired off many questions to them and they always got back to me immediately. I ended up buying them from a US distributor, Fluff Envy because I had a 15 % off coupon that was only valid in the US. Applecheeks comes in 2 sizes so if I love them I will have to purchase new ones once the baby out grows size one... when he is about 20lbs.

The second type I purchased is new product from Cotton Babies, the maker of the popular BumGenius brand diapers... the Flip. This is a diaper cover that you use with a prefold or insert. It too can be reused with a new insert. This brand also has disposable inserts which will be handy when we are out and about or for a babysitter that doesn't want to deal with cloth diapers. These are one size so I will not have to worry about the little one outgrowing them and they too come in great colors!

The third brand is the gDiaper... these are basically the same as the Flip but with a flushable insert (reusable inserts are also available). These too are sized and I have the medium so I will have to wait until the baby is about 13lbs to use them. They are cute with their little signature "g"on the back.

Now of course the test of all these will be once I start using them. I'll update once I can give some feedback on how they actually work.