Lets Talk About Cloth Diapers! :)

Recently I've talked to several different people about cloth diapers, so I thought I'd turn those thoughts and explanations about how I cloth diaper into a post. :)

Now, here is a disclaimer to start off with- I'm not a diehard.  I don't cloth diaper at night, because I *hate* waking up snuggled next to my baby... in a puddle.  I also generally don't cloth diaper on Sundays because we're away from home for most of the day, and because that makes it more of a day of rest for me.

However, I do usually cloth diaper at home, and this is how I do it...

My Fuzzi Bunz are what I grab first out of the diaper drawer.  I have 6 smalls (which Nathan outgrew before 6 months, but Miriam is still fitting into at 9 months), 12 sage mediums (which fit both my 9 month old and my 22 month old), and 6-10 large sized Fuzzi Bunz.

I think this is a pretty nice stash, but I only had to purchase the mediums, and we got a pretty good deal on Ebay.  The others were handmedowns from another mom (a huge blessing! Thanks Mrs. B!) and had already been through several kiddos.  I do not think that some of the larges will make it through another little one without having new elastic put in, but I may decide that is worth the investment as that would be less expensive than purchasing new.  On the other hand, Fuzzi Bunz now come in one size that has adjustable elastic so it can grow with the baby.  That would be nice so I may try out a few of those when these large ones finally kick the bucket.

Sometimes I run out of Fuzzi Bunz that fit Miriam before the dirty diapers are washed and dry again.  When that happens, I use prefolds with a Snappi , which I love.  So much easier than pins, and faster, too.   I started out using pins and plastic pants, and honestly I don't like either.  I much prefer the Snappi and my two Thirsties covers.  Thirsties are much easier when you have a dirty diaper, since plastic pants have to be pulled off, and Thirsties are really adjustable, which I like. Also, they have leg gussets, which REALLY cuts down on leaks! I have the medium size, and I think it will last Miriam for several more months.  They are a lot cheaper than Fuzzi Bunz, for sure, and if I had known how easy to use they were, especially with the Snappi, I might have just purchased them instead.  Plus, they're cute! :)  I have the sky blue pictured here, and a lovely aqua as well (decided against girly colors so whenever #3 comes along I won't need to purchase more, either way)...

As far as washing, it is really simple.  I'll shake dirty toddler diapers out into the toilet, but baby diapers and wet diapers just go straight into a dry pail.  When I'm ready to wash, I shake the liners out of the diapers, and fold the velcro over on the Thirsties.  Then I run a cold rinse, and a warm or hot wash with either soap nuts (not the best deal on them, but if you want to try them out the little starter pack is a low investment way to do it) or laundry detergent (usually this or this) if I'm out of soap nuts, as I am right now.  Sometimes if some of the diapers have been sitting a little too long, or were especially dirty, I'll run two cold rinses and then a warm wash, or a cold rinse/cold wash/warm wash.  Then I hang the outside part of the Fuzzi Bunz, and the Thirsties covers, either outside on the clothesline, or inside on a line I strung across our utility room.  I throw the prefolds and the inserts in the dryer, usually, unless it is a very sunshiny day in which case they do dry fairly quickly on the line.

Nathan, being adorable in the medium sage Fuzzibunz, last summer :)

So... any questions?  If you cloth diaper, what are your favorite diapers?  Did you start out using them or did you change to them?