Diaper post

I really love using cloth diapers. The more I use them, the more I like them. I love the colors and prints; I love how soft they are; and I love how easy it all is. I like matching diapers with Carter's clothes or my mood. I like pulling out the basket and deciding what diaper to choose next. Will it be solid color to match the romper he's wearing, or a fun print of pirates or coffee beans? Even washing them is fun, heh.

I haven't posted any current pics of my stash, so here they are. I have more diapers than this, as I bought a lot of different kinds to see what I liked best. I need to sell a bunch of stuff, actually. Something to do when I get back from NC. But these pics represent the ones we actually use.

We still use the Bum Genius all-in-ones, since they're Doug's favorites. Those are the ones that are all in one piece, no inserts to stuff, and no cover needed. If BG made them in cool prints, I'd probably only use these, to be honest. I have one more blue and a green that aren't pictured here. These are also my favorites for when we're out and about, since they're in one piece. I keep a ziploc in the diaper bag and when I get home I just dump the dirty diaper in the pail. No insert to remove.



These are my favorite diapers, Happy Heinys pockets. I love the way they fit, and I like the fun colors and prints they come in. This represents almost all the ones I have. I think there are a few solid colors not here.



Here's a closer look at these diapers. Aren't the prints cool? The red dragon and pirate skulls are my favorites.



Here's what they look like on the inside. Soft and fuzzy, and that layer keeps his butt dry.



These are called pockets because you have to stuff them with an absorbent pad. You can double up the pads, or use whatever you want to stuff them. They're waterproof, so no cover is needed.



At night I have a completely different system I use. These are Thirsties diapers below. On the left you see three covers that go over the diapers. On the bottom right are Thirties Fab Fitteds. They look a lot like the Bum Genius diapers except that they aren't waterproof on the outside. On the upper left are some doublers.



Here's a closeup of the fitted.



Now, you might wonder why I use these at night instead of the others. I like the softness of these, and I like the fact that they aren't waterproof so that I can use different kinds of covers, like wool. (See below.) I also like that these come with special "doublers", pads that you use like shown below to provide extra absorbency for overnight. One fitted with a doubler and a cover will last all night without leaking. Yay for no middle-of-the night diaper changes!



I also like to use wool over those fitteds because it's more breathable, which greatly reduces the chance of getting a diaper rash (I've read). Carter's never had a diaper rash really, at least not since we started using cloth, regardless of what kind of cover we use. But certainly more breathability is good. Wool covers are a lot cooler than the kind with plastic built in, which is especially important for boys, as the overheating the testicles can cause fertility issues later on. I've seen a couple of studies that suggest that the rise of male fertility issues in the last few decades is a result of the rise in the use of disposable diapers. Scary stuff.

Here are my wool longies. I have one pair that's not pictured here.



And here is a wool cover I just finished knitting. It needs to have the velcro sewn on still. But so cute! I'm pleased with how it turned out.



The other thing I've added to my CDing repertoire is cloth wipes. I hesitated for a while, and I'm not really sure why, because now that I've started using them, I LOVE them. So, so much better than disposables wipes! I mean seriously, imagine that you're really dirty and all you have to clean yourself are those wipes. You wouldn't get very much accomplished.

Cloth wipes are basically washcloths, and so you just wet them and use them to clean up. Then they get tossed in the diaper pail with the diapers and washed with them. Easy! You can just wet them at the sink, or you can keep a spray bottle around to wet them. I have a little spray bottle in my diaper bag that I use when we're out to wet wipes. Or as I recently discovered, you can use a wipes warmer, which is completely awesome.



I just put the wipes in wet from the washer, close the lid, and that's that. The warmer keeps them wet and warmed, and so I have a supply of warm wet washcloths on the changing table. They're great for impromptu sponge baths too. I can't believe I didn't start using cloth wipes sooner!



So that's my current diaper stash. Comments? Questions? :-D