Cloth Diaper Experiment Day 1: Prep Work

Well, today is the day I do all of the prep work for getting going with cloth diapering.

"What? There's work before the work?" You ask.

Yep. Some.

Let me recap the main reasons for my trying cloth diapers again:
1. My baby is a chunk, and these may be easier (and at least softer) on her rolls
2. I'm trying to be a little greener and this is one way I can do my part.
3. They're kinda cute.

I'm skeptical about some things too but I won't go into that today. You can read my first post about my experiment, if you missed it.

First let me tell you a little bit about the diapers I'm using. For my cloth diaper experiment I was sent the new Sprout Change one size diapers. They're an all-in-two system, which I'll get to explaining in a moment.

Before having Lil' J I got a Nifty Nappy diaper, and cover. At Blogher I got a FuzziBunz diaper from my girl The Feminist Breeder, a friend from Twitter gave me some of her gDiapers to try. I really liked the concept of gDiapers because I could put in either a cloth insert or biodegradable liners. I also like that it's kindof an "all-in-two" system, meaning you just take out the insert and wash that, you don't need to wash the whole diaper every time.

I bought like 8 bags of the "flushie" liners on Amazon for a steal ($24 for 4 bags). But one thing I didn't like about the gDipers is they're not one size, and there's a plastic liner on the inside, which makes an extra step to snap those in. Plus since these are 2nd hand, the velcro is beginning to wear. I sew but not that well, so I prefer the snaps on my new diapers.

With my Sprout Change diapers I've noticed I can fit in the biodegradable liners so I've kinda invented my own hybrid diaper with them. Which will be nice when we're out and about and I don't want to carry poop around in my purse.

The cloth insides of my diapers need to be "prepped." Which basically means I need to wash them in hot water and dry them about 3 times before my daughter even wears them. This is to make them more absorbent (and just to wash before wearing period). I currently have them drying for the second time, then I'll turn around and wash and dry them a third time when they're done. I'll be sure to let you know how my energy and water bill looks next month too.

The Sprout Change diapers are new, and based on my research and preference, as far as type of diaper to use, these are the 2nd easiest next to "all in ones." All in one diapers are diapers you put on your baby, then just take off when they're wet and wash the whole thing.

Those are the easiest but they're also the most expensive cause where you'd need a few covers for these and maybe a or so dozen inserts, you'd need a dozen or so all in ones to be equivalent.

Like I said before, these diapers are all-in-two. Which means you stick a cloth liner inside, and wrap the waterproof cover on the outside (the Sprout Change covers are waterproof, unlike my gDiapers). When the inside gets wet, you take that out, and put a new piece of cloth inside for the next diaper use. Repeat. You can use the outside shell a few times before needing to wash that too.

Following so far?

Now, the Sprout Change diapers I have are one size. Which is also nice because with some cloth diapers you have to buy an entirely new set for each size. But today I'm adjusting the diapers to Lil' J's correct size so when we start using them they're ready to go. Some cloth diapers have a gazillion snaps to adjust the size smaller, but these are all done with elastic on the side, and you can do it with the baby in the diaper. See:

The covers are also reversible. Which I believe, right now is the only cloth diaper with this concept. So it's like two for one in a diaper.

I have eight covers and 30 cloth inserts (15 organic and 15 micro-fleece).

I was going to get a diaper pail today. This is what my husband and I will put her dirty diapers in before I wash them at night (probably every-other day). But my friend Emily from Baby Dickey told me she's just using her Diaper Champ, which we have. So I'm eventually going to get a cloth bag for it I can throw in the wash with the diapers but I'll just use a garbage bag I have for now.

I'll probably also get a spray bottle to fill with water so we can spray the poop off before throwing it in the pail.

Wow, this is sounding kinda gross. But it's an adventure. I'm excited! I'm really going to try this!

Tomorrow, I will finally put the first cloth diaper on my baby's bottom and change it and everything! Here's hoping it goes well and stays in the diaper!