Cloth Diapering

I've recently been talking with a few friends about cloth diapering... & it's hard to imagine how overwhelming it seems to people.  At this point it's hard for me to imagine that it scares people & that it seems like so much work.  (this is not to sound negative towards people or to call anyone out on this...)

At this point, cloth diapering is something I know like the back of my hand.  Before I was pregnant I knew I would cloth diaper.  I was introduced a few years ago, by my cousin & his wife.  They cloth diapered their son & then their daughter (& will cloth diaper their son, due in November).  Hubs & I talked about it, Cousin M reassured us how easy it is, Cousin's wife, K, reiterated that.  She was available for any & all questions I had (& I had a lot!) & I spent the majority of my 9 month pregnancy researching which diapers I would choose.

I began with BumGenius 3.0 pockets & a few Indian prefolds/Bummis covers, as I believe seems to be the normal starters.  I then purchased some FuzziBunz (my favorite, as you all know!).  To this day, the majority of my stash (what us cloth diapering mamas call our collection of cloth diapers- sounds cool, doesn't it) are pocket diapers.  I have since bought, sold & traded lots of diapers... I only have 3 prefolds & 1 Bummis cover (although it's too small now) left, from my original purchases.

I used Purex Free & Clear for awhile (after researching detergent choices on this wonderfully informative site: http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm ), but have since switched to Rockin Green Soap (love it! Smells fabulous!).  I wash every other day or every third day- just depends on what's going on & what time of the day I washed previously (sometimes I prefer to wait until the next morning, rather than after B goes to sleep at night).  I have a plastic trash can with a lid that I picked up at Target for less than $15.00 & I have 2 pail liners.  After every diaper change, I shake my diaper insert into the pail & toss the pocket shell in as well.  On laundry day, I empty the pail liner into the washer (no touching the dirty diapers!) & toss the liner in with the diapers. Easy Peasy.  Put my washer on cold soak for 15 minutes (that's what my washing machine has for an option, previously I just did a cold rinse).  Then I do one hot wash cycle, which includes a cold rinse.  I then throw my inserts, my All in Ones, Fitteds, (I do have a few diapers that are not pockets) & any wetbags/pail liners into the dryer.  I choose to line dry my pocket shells, because I think it keeps the PUL in better shape.  I have, on occasion, thrown them in the dryer (if I needed one asap or if we're at the in-laws house & leaving soon), but I normally hang them on a drying rack.

If I'm out, I toss the diaper in a wetbag until I get home, where I throw it in the pail.

I still use disposable wipes (maybe with number 2, I'll use cloth?).  I toss them into a small trash can that I keep in B's room.

At this point, I can't imagine using sposies (that's cloth diapering mama lingo for disposables).  I think sposies smell bad all the time.  I am constantly wondering if sposie wearing babies have dirty diapers, because I can SMELL the chemicals & the urine in the diaper.  YUCK.  (Not to knock any of you sposie mamas- it's just my personal opinion).

You can use Aplix (velcro), snaps, pins, or snappis.  You can use pockets, AIOs, AI2s, Fitteds & Covers, Prefolds & Covers.  You can use wetbags or ziploc bags.  You can use a diaper pail or a trash can.  You can online shop or brick & mortar shop.  You can use microfiber, hemp, bamboo or prefold inserts (for the record, I prefer hemp, but I do use some microfiber).

You can start in the hospital or when Baby is a few months old.

You can choose exactly how you want to cloth diaper.

The bottom line is, YOU CAN cloth diaper.  It's Easy.  And soon you'll be saying "At this point, I can't believe I ever considered NOT cloth diapering...?


**I linked to Kellyscloset.com a few times. This is the website I typically use for general purchases.  I use specialty sites for certain diaper brands.  I find out about a lot of brands through diaperswappers.com; Babycenter's Cloth Diapering forum, Twitter.com, & other blogging moms- I find mom's with experience is much more valuable than just plain googling.  Kelly's Closet also has a blog.

Fuzzi for your Bunz Winner!

Wow, 250 comments exactly! Thank you so much for participating in my very first giveaway- I so appreciate it!  I've got a couple more in the works, so please check back (& definitely keep tweeting with me :) )

Winning Comment #199:
Anna said...

Tweet

http://twitter.com/AnnathanMagz/statuses/4914664334

Friday, October 16, 2009 7:49:00 AM

Anna tweeted... Win a 3 pack of one size @FuzziBunz#clothdiapers from @mandyw526http://bit.ly/Q4nDE

Result:199Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Extra Entries for FuzziBunz!

I'm giving away extra entries for the FuzziBunz giveaway!

Just tell me, in a comment on the FuzziBunz review/giveaway post, how you store your diapers...

Easy peasy, right?

Ready, Set, go!

Some Fuzzi for your Bunz

Disclaimer: This is my first review & giveaway... so please bear with me as it will be a bit of an adventure!

If you know me and anything about my love for cloth diapering you know that I dig FuzziBunz diapers- I always recommend them to other cloth diapering mamas.  Perfect Sized (small) FuzziBunz were the first diapers I purchased when I began cloth diapering my son. Recently B has gained a little weight, as healthy babies do, and he is quickly outgrowing those small diapers.  Because of this, you can imagine how psyched I was to hear about the new one size diapers that FuzziBunz came out with!

Laura from FuzziBunz was so incredibly generous when she sent me THREE One Size FuzziBunz to try out.  I was thrilled! My husband was also thrilled - to get an orange diaper that coordinates so well with the Urlacher jersey that B often wears on Sundays... (the things men care about!) 

FuzziBunz One-Size pocket diapers fit from 7-35 pounds with adjustable elastic and multiple snap closures for the waist and legs.  The diaper has a back pocket and comes with two microfiber inserts.  There's uber soft fleece on the inside and a layer of waterproof PUL on the outside.  FuzziBunz also offer a lifetime warranty on the snaps, which are made to withstand repeated wear and washing.

I immediately washed the diapers and we started reviewing! B wore the diaper, stuffed with both inserts only (no extra doubler or anything else), to bed that next night and (in the spirit of the review, of course!) he ended up in the diaper for 12 hours. Not one leak! That says awesome in my book! The next night the same thing occurred. 12 hours with NO LEAKS (Don't worry, I have since stopped letting his poor booty go for 12 hours in one diaper).  This is something I cannot say for any other diaper in our stash.

My only concern with these diapers is the microfiber insert.  Microfiber is my least favorite type of insert because I tend to get build up when I use them.  Before these new FuzziBunz I had gone to using strictly hemp because of my microfiber frustration.  However, thus far, I am pleased with the inserts and will continue to use them until I feel differently (which may turn into another post altogether!).

My favorite things about this diaper:  the snaps (I much prefer snap closures to aplix as little man is on to the unvelcro-ing game, which is not cool) and the elastic.  I have other one size diapers that have snapping rises and while those are okay, the elastic adjustability makes for a much trimmer diaper, without the front bulk.  I also love how soft the fleece is on the inside and how bright and vibrant the PUL is. 

Most of all I love how adorable B looks in his One Size FuzziBunz!

Want to get your hands on some FuzziBunz?! Here's two ways:

Head over to FuzziBunz and find a retailer so you can purchase one for yourself.

OR...

Enter to win one here! Yes, here! Laura from FuzziBunz is being even more generous by offering up THREE one size FuzziBunz for one of my readers.  How fantastic is that?!  

    Here's the 'rules':

     Go to FuzziBunz and check out the site.  Leave me a comment explaining one thing you learned. This entry is mandatory.  Please leave me your email address somewhere in the comment, so I can contact you if you're my winner.

    Follow Big City! Baby publically via google connect or subscribe to my blog via email (make sure you verify your address, I will be checking up on you!).

    Become a facebook fan of FuzziBunz

    Follow me here on twitter.  You may also tweet about this giveaway once a day, mentioning both @mandyw526 & FuzziBunz in the tweet. (ETA- Please leave a new comment, linking to the tweet each day)

    Follow FuzziBunz on twitter.

    Blog about this giveaway and link back to Big City! Baby & FuzziBunz

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.  This giveaway will end Saturday, October 17th (11:59 CST) and the winner will be chosen randomly.  The winning entry will be verified; I will contact the winner (please make sure I know how to contact you) and you will have 24 hours to respond before I choose a new winner. 

Happy commenting & good luck to you all!