Here’s a little peek behind the scenes at our house (oh what glamorous and exciting lives we lead). Cloth diapers can be laying out in a sunny windowsill to dry, and a strange devil-may-care chihuahua might come prancing along…
… and decide to do a little birdwatching…
… followed by some leisurely lounging…
… right on top of the diapers. What a weirdo, right? But he’s our weirdo. (Cue the collective “aww.”)
And since one of the most common questions that we get has nothing to do with home improvement we figured we owed you guys an answer. It’s always some iteration of “How are you liking cloth diapers? Is it harder now that Clara’s on solid food? Do they show any wear and tear? Have you purchased more? Do you still like that they’re all in ones with snaps? Do they still fit since they’re one size fits all?” So we thought we’d share a quick little update on that front. Oh and if you have general cloth diaper questions please check out this post first (along with the comments) since it can answer any basic questions (and then some).
As for the cloth dipes, we still love them and use them pretty much all the time except when we’re traveling (since we don’t have access to a place to wash them). And we haven’t ordered a single additional cloth diaper or tried any other brand. Yup, for the last year we’ve stuck with the original 12 Bum Genius Elemental One Size All-In-Ones that we purchased over a year ago (more on them here). And they all still look mint and don’t have any smell issues or staining (thanks to our diaper sprayer – more on that here and here). And also thanks to laying them out in the sun to dry from time to time, which bleaches out any stains and keeps them as white as Ryan Seacrest’s teeth.
Since we still use the same diapers that we got about a year ago you can imagine how much loot we’ve saved (we did some how-much-will-we-save-math back in this original diaper post). And since we’re cheap-os, that alone should explain our downright obsession with the whole cloth diapering thing. And for those wondering if the cost of washing cloth diapers compares to buying disposables, our Energy Star front loaders are estimated to cost $15 a year to run (assuming you do eight loads of laundry per week). And we probably only do 5, (so perhaps they cost $12 or $13 to run for a whole year?!). Which puts our washing costs at about a dollar a month (and includes all the other laundry we do besides diapers). Pretty sweet.
For anyone who worries that it’s some sort of intense 1900’s hardship, cloth diapers have come a looong way since the safety pin days. We honestly expected them to be a lot harder (to take more time, to be more annoying to put on, to somehow be inferior to diposables, etc) but it’s a pretty simple process (detailed here) that’s completely second nature to us by now. We’ve even taught the grandparents how to do it. Plus it really seems to agree with Clara (she has far fewer blowouts and issues with diaper rash than she does when we travel with disposables). So that’s the icing on the cake. Well, that and the cute colors they come in (and the added softness thanks to fabric instead of plastic).
As for the whole solid food thing, we both agree that there’s a definite adjustment that occurs during that time, but it has much more to do with your nose than the whole act of cloth diapering (stuff actually gets stinky, but that happens no matter what kind of diapers you use). Just like any other parent of a kid who has started solids can attest, we had to work on the gag reflex and the whole hold-your-breath-while-you-change-them approach, but I think that’s pretty universal with disposables as well. And in some ways cloth got easier with solid stuff because as gross as this sounds, you can shake out the diaper into the toilet and the “stuff” rolls out instead of needing to be sprayed out (like the liquidy baby-poo that preceded solid foods, but that’s not too bad because it smells like buttered popcorn – at least Clara’s always did). Although we still give the diaper a shot of water even after we roll things off – just to be on the safe side (we think that’s why ours still look so good, we’re generous with the diaper sprayer and we love setting them out in the sun to bleach them back to spotlessness).
Hmm, maybe I need a little disclaimer not to eat while you read this post. Or not to read this post while you eat. Oh well, I hope you figured out where this might go when you read “cloth diaper update” so you don’t have a mouth full of oatmeal or something.
As for if we’re still loving the all-in-one with snaps choice (as opposed to cloth diapers with separate inserts or liners and velcro tabs) we’re very happy. We’ve heard that snaps tend to last longer than velcro tabs (which can wear out in the wash) and so far ours are all in great condition (not one bad snap of the bunch after lots and lots of washing). We also don’t have any issues with loss of elasticity or absorption. And as for the decision to go with all-in-ones over separate inserts, we just thought stuffing diapers sounded like an extra step, so we appreciate the simplicity of the all-in-one feature. About the fit, although Clara has gone from a tiny bean to a much bigger baby slash soon-to-be-toddler (sniffle) they still fit well and we don’t have any leaking issues. We just adjust the snaps from time to time to make the diaper larger to accommodate our growing girl.
As for detergent, we still use and love Charlie’s Soap (and Seventh Generation Free & Clear whenever we run out). Both work well for our front loaders (there’s a lot more on washing and caring for cloth diapers here in the original post by the way). And The Amazing Clara is now sleeping 12-13 hours straight in one diaper (we don’t wake her up to change her or use extra inserts and we don’t have any issues with leaks or rashes). I’m sure every baby is different, but the whole cloth diaper thing definitely works for us. And we know it’s one of those completely personal parent-how-you’d-like-to decisions, so we’re just sharing our experience when it comes to the whole thing. We’re not anti-disposable by any means (tons of our family and friends opted to go that route because it worked best for their household and we still rely on disposables whenever we travel). So consider yourselves updated. And let me know if you hear of any circus acts involving walking over a pile of diapers. Burger would be all over that.
Psst- Check out the original cloth diapering post here for tons (and tons) of info about how we chose/wash/care for/adjusted to cloth diapers.
Pssssst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
marissa says
Very timely – thanks!!
Torrie @ a place to share... says
Thanks to Leslie (@ fresh out of lemons), I just discovered your blog… and I’m so happy I did! My husband and I have owned a home in CA for 8 years, and after taking a break from non-stop home improvement projects- we’re ready to jump back in! So… perfect timing to dig into your archives and stay updated on your project list (much needed inspiration)!
joanna says
Ha! You cracked me up with the buttered popcorn comment. That’s exactly how my husband and I described our babies’ early diapers.
Christine says
Hi there! I haven’t commented on here before although I check your blog pretty religiously. I just wanted to say we’ve been using Bumgenius cloth dipes on our daughter Aria since she was born (She’s 2 now) and they have worked out great. Now that she’s eating what we eat, we get ridiculously happy about the “roll-offs” :) and I think the potty training is going easier – she feels uncomfortable a lot quicker with the cloth dipes than when we’re traveling or ran out and switched to disposables.
alg says
We used cloth, and gDiapers for travel. Loved both. If we do have another little stinker (ha, ha) we’ll RUN out to get one of those cool rinsy toilet sprayer things, too!!!!!
BTW — There’s another little girl swinging in the background of the pic of Clara on the swings. Look at it again — the swing seat kind of disappears into the background colors of the shot & the little girl looks like she’s just hovering there. It actually freaked me out until I realized what the dealio was. Then I laughed for, like 5 minutes, so I had to share!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah that’s Clara’s friend Elsa! She’s 2 so she gets pushed a lot higher than little beansie. Haha.
xo,
s
Shana says
Ok. I started reading your blogs two days ago and I am permanently a fan. I have even gone back to your archives and started at day 1 as well.
And now I am convinced we will at least try cloth diapering (due with first babe in October). I am really impressed how detailed your blogs are and this one was great for me. I’m pumped for the money savings and the cuteness of the BG diapers.
Ok, got a lot of YHL catching up to do now… bring on the DIY bug.
Mindy says
I have ordered Baby Genius diapers for the little man in my stomach. I have lots of friends who cloth diaper and say they have had issues with their high efficiency washers with them not producing enough water to clean things… They don’t use the sprayers and I’m thinking that’s probably the big difference. Do you wash on a special setting, or have you had a run in with anything like “not enough water” washing them. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We have never had an issues washing them or anything- I bet it’s totally the diaper sprayer! And maybe the use of wet bags to store them until we wash them (so they don’t dry out as much as in tins). Oh and it could be the detergent they chose as well. We love ours (both Charlie’s and Seventh Generation). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Tijana says
Have you guys heard of soap nuts? I started using them a few months ago when I was trying to switch to something more environmentally friendly and I LOVE them. I just checked the website for the ones that I use and they are good to use with cloth diapers.
I bought a 1kg bag for $40 which should last for 300-400 loads!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah- we’ve been meaning to try them. We hear great things!
xo,
s
Emma Thomas says
Hi Guys! I am 18 Weeks pregnant, and have just spent the last few weeks catching up on all your baby blogs! You guys have definatly inspired me to try the cloth diapers, I can’t wait for my order to arrive! – It’s quite sad how excited I am by this! Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo Emma. Congrats on the bun in the oven and have fun with your dipes!
xo,
s
annamarie says
i just want to say thank you as well! our first baby is due in october and we will be using the bumgenius elemental AIO. your advice and experience is a HUGE help :)
Lizzy says
Thanks for the cloth diaper update! I was wondering how it was going. We use BumGenius 4.0 with snaps most of the time, but sometimes Flip with the disposable inserts for travel and sometimes with prefolds just for fun. This is bizarre to say this, but cloth diapers make me so happy!
Courtney says
I love how you promote using cloth diapers. Yes, I’m another weird one that likes your posts on this topic as you are pretty much the one that inspired me to cloth diaper my daughter (born last September). I agree with the others – you are SO lucky she doesn’t leak through at night. I have to double stuff with a hemp liner at night – I had to start that when my daughter was four months old.
Thanks again for sharing all your information and tips!
PS: I’m sure my daughter would kill me if one day she read how I posted that she is heavy wetter on the internet. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we heard of a baby boy who needs three liners! So he seems to hold the heavy wetting internet record. Haha.
xo,
s
Anne says
Quick question on washing (looked at your other post, but wanted clarification on a further detail)…according to Bum Genius: “For regular wash routine, wash cold with ¼ of the manufacturer’s recommended amount of additive free detergent. Wash hot with the same amount of detergent. Double rinse. Dry warm.”
Does this mean you run the load once cold, then once hot and then rinse and put in dryer? Or do you just do one wash cycle per load with the diapers on warm and then dry? Sorry to be pesky on details – just wanted to really get into the actual wash cycle…considering cloth for the future…
YoungHouseLove says
We don’t do that since we use our diaper sprayer in lieu of the “wash cold” step. And we don’t do the double rinse either. But whatever works with your washer seems best (ours come nice and clean even without the extra step and you know we love to save time and water, but some older washers might need to be run a bit longer to get the same clean result).
xo,
s
Melissa says
Disclaimer may’ve been helpful.
Specifically: Do not eat junior mints while reading this post.
Just kidding…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, oops.
xo,
s
hillary says
We cloth diapered and loved it too! I found it so much easier to wash diapers than I thought it would be. I’m glad it has been a good experience for you and I think it’s awesome that you are talking about it on your blog! And since you’re sewing now, Sherry, maybe you should DIY some diapers…they are fun to make! Only partly kidding. ;)
Christina says
The pics of Burger cracked me up. I’m not much of a dog person but he’s just so funny and cute.
I’m a little confused about how often you wash. You only have 12 diapers but only run 5 loads a week? I am probably missing something. (can I blame pregnancy brain?)
I love these posts, thanks for the update. I’m going to be cloth diapering this little guy when he arrives in about 4 weeks. I’m going with a mix of styles..everything from prefolds to AIOs. I’m a little nervous but you make it look so easy. It’s very encouraging.
YoungHouseLove says
We wash them every 1.5 days or so (which is 4-5 loads a week). Clara usually goes through 8 diapers a day or so (since she sleeps for 13 hours straight and we don’t change her overnight, it cuts down on the number we use). So we get through 11 dirties around 1.5 days in and wash them while she wears the last one of the dozen and the whole cycle starts again. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
ashlee says
yes…i’m STILL painting windows, lol! there are WAY too many windows in this house of mine.
question – when you paint things around your home (brick, paneling, window sills, etc), how do you prevent paint from slopping into cracks and bubbling (if that makes any sense). my window casings are just basically pine or cedar boards hammered together…so there are long cracks between adjoining boards. my paint jobs are sloppy because i’m constantly losing paint that slips down in the cracks and causes inconsistencies.
a guy at the hardware store suggested wood filling putty..but we’re talking LONG cracks..the wood putty doesn’t exact go smoothly :)
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe try taping them off with painter’s tape? Hope it helps!
xo,
s
kelly says
i have used the same exact diapers for 6 months and love them. agree with you 100%!
Cathleen says
We LOVE our Fuzzibunz cloth diapers. I use them for both my toddler and 8 month old baby. They have the cutest color choices on their website. We also just use plain wash cloths with a squirt bottle filled with water for poopy diaper changes. We have a diaper pail in the nursery with a washable diaper pail liner that goes right in the wash. So there’s no trash, ever. My babies get way fewer diaper rashes too. We just sprinkle a little corn starch baby powder on their bums when we change diapers. Also, the toilet sprayer really helps with the solid stuff too. So Glad to see so many people switching over to cloth diapers. Great for the environment and on the pocket books.
tammylee says
Orange hands are creepy! It reminds me of a lady i just met recently who obviously had not read the instructions on her bottle of self tanner LOL!
Tonya says
Charlie’s Soap is the best! My son always struggled with IBS (Itchy Butt Syndrome) until I switched to Charlie’s and I’ll never go back.
Quiana says
This update is very timely – thank you! Our daughter turned 9 months old today and we started cloth diapering because of you guys. We also bought 12 BG but did the 4.0s as there was a buy 5 get 1 free sale. Unfortunately, they leak quite a bit even as we’ve played around with adjusting the snaps. We’ve found the econobum to work much better, especially through the night. They NEVER leak (I think due to the plastic lining). Also, there was no way 12 were enough and that’s how we ended up with the eonombum. I stay home with my daughter too in NYC and we luckily have an in-unit w/d and if we stuck w/12 especially as she’s grown I’d have to do wash her diapers daily vs. every other day as we currently do. The 4 econobum we’ve added for only $18 on sale along with the 12 BG 4.0s and 2 gifted sets of cloth wipes brought our total cloth diaper costs to only $200 for our stash. We also have a HE w/d (Bosch) with a Kids Care setting so we wash once on cold then Kids Care with extra rinse selected. It works great for us! Thanks again for helping us get on the bandwagon =)
erika m says
Well, since this post is about cloth diapers I thought I would throw my 2 cents into the pot too! We purchased the fuzzibuns one size(I think 3.0) with snaps and inserts-15 (bc we use them for our 2 toddler boys at night too!). I’m not sure if this is what I’m doing wrong, but I make my own laundry detergent(borax, soda ash, grated soap (recently switched to Dr. Bronner’s). I use the tiniest bit called for and they come clean, but, it seems like they are leaking like crazy! Tried tightening them, but they have to cut off the baby’s circulation not to leak then=not good solution. So sorry for the long comment, but I have tried stripping them, and it seemed to help and my long story is, buy laundry detergent for your diapers….its not worth the hassle of trying to figure out which soap is going to make your diapers repel/leak! Hope this helps, because when my cloth diapers absorb….I love them…and recommend them with the DISCLAIMER-Just buy detergent!
Finally, LOVE THE CLARA PICS!
Laura says
I use BumGenius too and love it! The diapers I use tend to stain though (which we’re not really phased by since they are diapers), but I haven’t been laying them out in the sun because they take so long to dry. Do you put them in the dryer and them lay them out in the sun?
YoungHouseLove says
As long as they’re still a little moist the sun bleaching things works. So sometimes we dry them a bit in the dryer and sometimes we lay them out in the sun to dry entirely (if there’s no rush).
xo,
s
angie says
Love the photos of your dog lounging on diapers! Hysterical. My kiddos are long out of dipes now (I believe cloth had to do with the easy potty training) but it’s great to see more and more people enjoying cloth! I actually teach a class at our local hospital on cloth diapering and making your own baby food!
Jaime says
Random Useless Information: Did you know that a chihuahua has the largest brain in comparison to its body size than any other breed? Yes, I’m a nerd. Actually…I saw it on tv earlier and thought of you guys. Hope this comes in handy for you someday. You never know when you just might land on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire or Jeopardy or some fun like that! : )
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh la la. Burger is now going to claim he’s smarter than all other dogs and probably humans thanks to that brain ratio. You’re giving him a big head (literally- haha).
xo,
s
Tasmin says
I started from the beginning with cloth nappies (here in Australia) because of your original post and we love them. Although installing a diaper sprayer was one of the most frustrating home improvement tasks ever due to the Imperial vs Metric mix of plumbing fittings we unknowingly ordered online. But 4 trips to the plumbing supply shop later I managed to finish it off myself even though my belly was in the way all the time. They kept laughing as I waddled back in the last time 41 weeks pregnant saying “I’ve come too far, I’m going to finish this myself!”
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so proud of you! Glad it’s all going swimmingly now that you have the sprayer hooked up!
xo,
s
Erin says
I’ve been waiting for this post FOREVER! I knew that Clara was in cloth diapers but didn’t know you had so many informative posts out there. So to my delight, i’ve been reading up on your suggestions and i am just thrilled. It’s so nice to know you’ve already been using a product that works for you and you guys are so well informed on the money saving aspects that I can’t go wrong following your footsteps. Thanks a million!
P.S. I just registered for the Bum Genius sprayer. he he
Ellen says
I’m very proud of using cloth (and with no dryer) diapers (and in Connecticut – cold winters = frozen diapers then laid out on radiators or window sills) way back in 1989 when I had a baby. It was pins and plastic pants over, and liners… but totally worth it since almost every disposable caused a rash. Now, with my baby’s baby on the way, I will gently suggest it, but she has no washer, and the laundromat option might suck. I will, however, forcefully suggest the breast feeding. I wasn’t in La Leche League for nada!
Katy says
So we also use Bum Genius and I don’t think I saw this mentioned at all anywhere… but when our daughter wets them they smell like skunk! Literally, just like a skunk. I mean not quite as bad but really it’s very strange and gross! Do you have this problem at all? We use disposables when we’re on the go or at Grammy’s house and those dipes never smell like skunk- just our cloth dipes. Just curious if anyone else has experienced this!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, that is really odd. We’ve never had an issue with smell at all, but maybe it’s the detergent you’re using. Maybe try switching to what your grammy uses? Or it could be your washer (perhaps it doesn’t wash them as thoroughly?). Anyone else have this?
xo,
s
shawna [of styleberryBLOG] says
That is a pretty cute stash! Just thought I would give you a heads up on a fab solution for traveling: GroVia hybrid. In a nutshell it’s a diaper shell lined with mesh & you use a disposable “insert” of sorts–basically you stick in a giant maxipad that is gusseted. They work SO nicely if you want a biodegradable/chem free alternative for traveling. I wrote all about them & took lots of close up pictures here: http://styleberryblog.com/the-grovia-hybrid-cloth-diaper-review-plus-fuzzibunz-vs-grovia-flip-vs-grovia
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! We’ll have to check them out!
xo,
s
Amanda K says
I am a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit, I’m very familiar with baby poops of all kinds, but funnily enough I’ve never thought to compare it to butter popcorn. Now every time I change a diaper (which is a LOT) I’m going to pause and think of this post.
Christina says
We got the same diaper sprayer that you have but we have been unsuccessful with it. When I spray the diaper, the water splashes off the diaper and onto the wall of the bathroom – so gross. Do you guys have any suggestions on technique?
YoungHouseLove says
You can adjust the force with the little knob so I’d recommend lowering the pressure and holding the diaper lower into the bowl if you can (we’ve honed our technique so that we don’t even get a drop on the seat anymore, but it definitely takes practice).
xo,
s
Nicole says
Did you guys ever switch to cloth wipes? (Sorry if you all ready answered this question, i couldn’t stand reading through all those comments of how baby poop smells!) I made about 3 dozen cloth wipes using thrifted flannel baby blankets and baby towels. Cut them out to the size you want, sew them together with right sides facing, turn right side out and zig-zag stitch along the edges. I keep about six of them at a time in a sealed container containing water and a little bit of Burts bees baby wash. They work great! Disposable wipes are so thin and they give my baby a rash! And, you can throw the cloth wipes in the wet bag along with the cloth diapers and wash them all together.
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, we can’t believe it but we haven’t switched yet! Someday hopefully!
xo,
s
Mary says
My question is not about cloth diapers or popcorn but how do you get Clara to sleep that long? My baby is 4months and waking up multiple times to nurse. He also only cat naps during the day.
YoungHouseLove says
She has always been an amazingly sleepy baby! She doesn’t really nap for very long during the day though, so our theory is that she hibernates all night and then is up most of the day. Haha. At four months she wasn’t sleeping that long though! She got up to feed maybe once at 1:30 and once at 6 and then went back to sleep until 9 or 10. Now she gets up around 8 but doesn’t nurse in the night so we’ll take it.
xo,
s
Ruth Ann says
Hi,
It’s been a lot of years since I diapered my three children but there was one thing that saved the day for me. Liners. They were thin pieces of a kind of a cloth (sort of like dryer sheets) that meant you just lifted out the hmmm um “material” and dropped it in the toilet. Swish it around to get it cleanish and drop it in the diaper pail. I think they were originally intended to only be used once but I reused them over and over until they were to thin or falling apart. It also helped keep too much “stuff” from getting stuck to the diaper. If they still exist, I highly recommend them.
All the best to all you cloth users,
Ruth Ann in Saskatchewan
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
a post about poop! Awesome!! lol
I was eating a snack while reading this, and it didn’t gross me out. probably b/c I’ve had poop and diaper conversations in the past, when the boy was little…
she’s too cute on that swing!
Beth says
Thanks so much for the update on the diapers! We’ve been using Fuzzi Bunz for our 18 month old son, and we LOVED them at first, but now they are really starting to leak. We have one Bum Genius like yours and he doesn’t seem to leak out of those, so were wondering whether to invest in a bunch of the Bum Genius… I’m having a hard time finding them all in ones though, and am wondering if they’ve been discontinued… hmmm…
YoungHouseLove says
Have you tried cottonbabies.com? They usually have them. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Tiffany says
Thanks for the update! I was actually debating cloth diapering when you did your first post, and you guys won me over. We did buy some newborn diapers & the 4.0’s bumgenius and the suede material gave my son a horrible rash!! We’ve converted to the organic ones you have and now his bum is perfect. So just a warning if you decide to pick up some of newborn diapers for baby #2 :)
What’s also good about the organic cotton diapers is that they will help with potty training as it doesn’t wick moisture away like the suede ones. So I’m kinda happy my son was super sensitive because I love the organic ones!
Nancy Cutrer says
Hi; Just wondering if you use paper/disposable diapers to take Clara’s weekly photos? I don’t see any of the colored cloth diapers in those photos, and in fact it looks like there is paper on her for the pictures? Do you do that so that the colors don’t show through the onesie? Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, John’s crazy so since we took the first nine photos in Seventh Generation disposables (til Clara was big enough to fit into her cloth diapers), he wanted to “keep the project consistent” so we pop a Seventh Generation disposable on her for the pic each week. As you guessed, it also helps since you don’t see a colorful fabric diaper through the onesie, which might be distracting. Haha.
xo,
s
Amanda says
Okay, I might take out my daughter’s cloth diapers and try again (if they still fit!). We had issues with leaking, but I’d sure like to try to save some money. We only have 6, so that might be fun for laundry….
Erin says
It looks like Clara has an imaginary dream baby above her head in the last picture. Just thought I’d add my two cents.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s Elsa (her cousin). She gets pushed much higher because she’s older. And we’re safety freaks. Haha.
xo,
s
Kelley Jones says
While I had yet to ask, I was wondering how cloth diapering was going! I plan on using cloth diapers for our next kiddo!
Donna Huebsch says
Burger and the diapers pix – too cute! I especially like the first one where he’s leisurely strolling across them all.
Elizabeth says
I’ve heard that you shouldn’t use “free and clear” detergents on cloth diapers. fyi… don’t know why.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! People have told us that as well, and we just use it when our Charlie’s Soap runs out (not often at all) and so far our diapers still have the same absorption and stuff. I think Free & Clear Tide might be a different story, but the Seventh Generation stuff is very mild and natural (although we do mostly rely on Charlie’s Soap).
xo,
s
Drea says
Funny… I just put up a post yesterday with information on the toxins in Disposables yet the struggle to keep up with laundry some days with 3 kids and cloth diapers…
I have a few elementals. I photographed Bum Genius’ line last year and they sent a generous number of samples ;-) Many not even in use. The elementals are very nice!
I do find the Bum Genius 4.0’s hold more pee tho and wick away the moisture better, but other than that their both great diapers.
http://dreawood.com/2011/05/strive-to-cloth-better/
Theres my post :) if you want to check out whats in the disposables.
Lisa says
Save even more money…make your own laundry detergent!! I started making my own last July (I have three athletes who stink and get very dirty) and LOVE it. I spent 10 dollars on the original ingredients. I’ve made 5 batches since and each of the additional batches cost 1 dollar. You do the math.
(I have nothing to share about cloth diapers…sorry)
Kara says
We started off with only the BG organics/elementals too. I love them. Unfortunately, my little guy’s thighs had really chunked up around 3 months or so and he got these awful red welts from the diapers until he started crawling two months later and began to thin out a bit. We had to switch over to Fuzzi Bunz one size for a little while, but now we are back to the Bumgenius, yay! Are you getting any holes in the cotton inners of yours? A couple of ours are getting tiny pin-sized holes but they don’t affect the diaper’s function at all.
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, no visible wear or tear at all is going on (no thin spots, holes, elasticity problems, etc). Hmm, maybe it’s the detergent or your washer? Good luck!
xo,
s
Tara Erney says
We are about 7 weeks away from welcoming our first baby and are all set to go with cloth diapers. We chose a starter kit called bummis that use a cover and inserts. Can’t wait to put the bummis on his little bum!
wilma says
I’m so glad that the diapers are working out for you. We’re still using the prefolds (old school, I know, but they work well for us and were SUPER cheap (I think we spent less than $100 so far, and that includes the different sized covers). We don’t use snappies or pins–we just fold the prefold, lay it on the diaper cover, and use it like a regular diaper. Our son will be two in a couple of months (and my mom is going try to potty train him–yay–though if he’s too young, oh well).
Just a note to all the parents of tall babies–the one sized diapers may not fit your baby from birth to potty training–our son had one sized fuzzibunz at the beginning, which we sold, but we kept one, and it would have fit him until he was about a year old. But he’s very tall. So for more “average” sized babies, this should not be a problem.
You guys are also lucky that your baby is not leaking through the night–I don’t know what it is with ours, but all the all in ones, doubles, hemp, bamboo (you name it, we tried it) won’t keep my son dry at night. A nighttime disposable diaper, doesn’t, either!!! (very frustrating).
One question–I know you mentioned waaaayyy back that you were using disposable wipes–how was the transition to cloth wipes for you? I bet it was a breeze :)
Happy early first birthday to Clara!
YoungHouseLove says
If you’d believe it we still haven’t made the switch! We’d love to someday though!
xo,
s