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.
melissa says
My husband and I are almost ready to start a family, and I totally want to go the cloth route – partly because I am a fellow cheap-o, and also because that really is a ton of waste to be sending off to the landfill. I have mentioned it to the husband, and he doesn’t seem too keen on the idea. I am totally going to refer back to these posts when the time comes, and try to convert him (and the mother-in-laws that will be babysitting the future kiddo).
Amy S. says
I’ve always wondered about cloth diapers…Thanks for all the info. Love the blog too!
christel says
Thanks, I loved this post. Would you be interested in doing a “Must Haves” post after Clara’s b-day so that I know what stuff you still loved during her first year? I loved the original one and want to know how the motion sensor in her crib and the iPod-docking-color-changing thingy worked out. And what kind of stroller do you use? Thanks! (Sorry if you’ve already answered this, I’ll keep searching for a post on must haves)
YoungHouseLove says
We have a Joovy Kooper stroller that we love! It has worked from when she was two weeks old and is still going strong now that she’s a big almost-toddler (we didn’t want to go with tons of separate strollers so we looked for one that could do it all to save us money and storage space). As for other must-haves we just love simple stuff like Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles and anything by Plan Toys and B Toys (she loves both of those brands and they’re eco so we love them too). These days it’s not as dire to have the right swaddle blankets or anything since Clara is pretty mobile and self reliant, so we just try to find toys that are safe and made well and have some sort of appreciation for the environment (ex: we like wood blocks and puzzles over plastic ones, etc). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
candace @ thecandace.com says
Thank you for the cloth diapering post – I really want to do it when I start a family and this just makes me feel assured that it’s the way to go. Good for the environment and our wallet.
Mylene Desjardins Beadow says
Thanks for sharing! I was wondering how you guys liked them, and am considering cloth diapers for our next child!
elaine says
We’re on baby #4 and our bumgenius are still holding up really well! We use the one size kind. I had to replace the velcro, but the bumgenius 4.0 has snaps!! Now I want to get more just for the snaps. :) I dry ours in the dryer, but now I’m going to try the windowsill, so thanks for that tip. And I just bought a huge bucket of charlies soap for cheap! We just started using cloth wipes as well. I made some out of an old flannel blanket and make my own wipe solution. I have achieved my goal of paying basically nothing for diapering. :):)
Jessica says
Do you wash the diapers every day? I read that you use about 9 per day, and you own 12… so I’m guessing that you must wash every day, right?
YoungHouseLove says
We wash them every other day. So it factors out to about 4-5 loads a week. We like to do a full load, so instead of washing 8-9 at the end of one day, we wait for half of the next day when she goes through the rest and then pop them all in. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jac says
Hiya,
Just curious, if you are washing them all at once, what is she wearing while they’re washing/drying – disposable?
Cheers.
YoungHouseLove says
We usually wash 11 and she’s in the 12th (sorry not to be clear about that- in my head the drawer is empty so there aren’t any more diapers – but one is on her buns, haha).
xo,
s
Aimee says
We have a 4 week old and are using the BottomBumpers AIO with snaps. Super trim on our 8 pound girl. We also are trying ImseVimse, but the liner + cover is kind of a pain. Both work really well, but we are going to order more of the BB’s and keep the small sized ImseVimses for kiddo #2 (someday).
We LOVE LOVE LOVE the FuzziBunz two sided wipes and the Lusa Organics bottom wash (we have it in a spray bottle). Now everything goes into the Planet Wise wet bag except for the poo.
Thanks for keeping everyone informed about your cloth diaper experience I love the updates.
Lesley says
First of all – it’s not gross. You have to deal with your kid’s poop one way or another. There’s no way around that fact.
Second – why have I never thought to dry our diapers in the windowsill? Geez, I have major brain farts.
Third – you guys are the final reason that caused me to use cloth diapers. We have 17 of them (mixture of BG’s and Fuzzibunz) and I cannot remember using disposables. Our church, babysitters, and daycare are all on board and encouraging people they know to use them. Thanks again!!
thursday says
I’m sad that it would cost me SO MUCH MONEY to use cloth diapers. If I did 5 loads a week, that’d be $15 per WEEK extra. Making that oh, an extra $780 per year. Very sad. I hate that I rent and have to use coin laundry. Nothing to be done about it for now, I suppose. (Oh, and by the way, that’s about what I spend on disposables a year.) I have a few cloth diapers that maybe I’ll try on the new baby this fall, but no matter what I do, I can’t justify the expense in both time and money.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man that stinks! So sorry about that darn coin laundry. I remember it well from NYC life.
xo,
s
Jennifer L. says
Just a word of wisdom- I recommend trying one of the BG Elementals out before investing in a whole stash. Diaperjunction.com lets you test run them. I bought one of these and while it works fine for daytime it isn’t my favorite all around- just isn’t enough absorbency for my baby and costs 3xs as much as the ones we ended up loving most (Kawaii one size). Every baby’s different- so make sure to try before you invest! And thanks for the update, Sherry!
Reese says
Are you making the food for Clara or buying baby food? If you are making it what do you use to process it? If you are buying it what kinds do you prefer? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We make all of her food and we love it! She has been eating what we eat pretty much from the start of solid foods at 6 months old (excluding honey and peanuts, etc – but we didn’t do purees at all). Here’s a thread on flickr about it for ya. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Reese says
Thank you! That is very helpful. I will definitely be looking into the method. Do you have any books that you used for sleeping methods?
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, Clara has just always been a sleepy baby. Anyone have good sleep books to recommend to Reese?
xo,
s
wilma says
happy sleep habits, healthy child. it does a whole backgrounder on why babies sleep as they do, and then goes through the different stages of baby sleep as they get older. it also suggests different methods of sleep training, and while i think it pushes for the cry it out method, it does not discount other methods. it also goes well into the toddler years, so covers sleep disruptions that could arise from new additions to the family, night terrors, and so on. i recommend this book, even though, obviously, no book can solve every baby’s sleep issues (though wouldn’t it be nice?)
MJ in NYC says
Do you use Charlie’s Soap for all your laundry or just for the diapers? We are about to welcome our own in 2 weeks and got Charlie’s, but it says to clean out the machine with a double dose before the first use… so now we’re wondering if we need to switch over completely. Maybe someone else asked this question before, but I couldn’t find it in your posts/comments.
YoungHouseLove says
We use it for all laundry! Just keeps things simple.
xo,
s
MJ in NYC says
Thank you so much for the quick answer! We are cloth diapering too!!
lindy says
I’ve been cloth diapering for 3 1/2 years straight and I’m pretty sure we’ve saved thousands of dollars based on our decision to cloth diaper! It’s so easy, but now that my second daughter is potty-learning, I don’t know what I’ll do with all my free time NOT changing and washing diapers!
I should add that in all this time, we have never used a diaper sprayer, I just dump solids in the toilet, and any residual solid on the diaper comes completely clean in the washer. We do have a pretty fantastic washer though!
It makes me happy to read all of the comments regarding people using and planning to try cloth–it really is easier than people think and it makes a huge difference with the expense of diapers and also environmental impact. Very cool!
Jennelle says
Clara is the absolute cutest baby I have ever seen. I’m not even kidding. How do you stand it? I don’t even have kids, but I love reading your posts about her.
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t really stand it. She has me wrapped around her little finger. Haha.
xo,
s
Christy B says
I am a cloth diaper lover, and I used to be scared of them. I switched over around 5/6 months after my baby started leaking the dirty doo out of his sposies, which he was in the bottom of the weight category for. I had tried the hybrid diapers when he was first born, but they weren’t holding up to his heavy wetting tendencies, so like any new mom, I went straight to disposables because I had no time to try and figure anything else out. Not to mention I was totally afraid of going cloth for the thought of poo diapers and my washing machine. But all I can say now is I’m glad I finally got a chance to sit down and get it figured out because I love it and they are way cuter than cheesy prints on paper/plastic!
Jessica says
So funny! I’ve been waiting for this post for a while not and I’m not even a momma yet! Will be ordering our diapers then! Thanks for the useful and simple information!
andrea p says
I am so curious about this stuff, so I love reading about “real” people actually CDing!
So let me get this straight…she soils the diaper, you remove & spray it, then put the wet sprayed off diaper in your Planet Wise bag & keep it there until you do laundry? Then you dump the bag’s contents into the wash along with the bag? Do you spray off the diaper if it’s just pee?
Thanks guys!
YoungHouseLove says
You have it exactly right! We don’t spray pee. Easy right? Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Mandy says
Thanks for the great post — we’re about to embark upon our cloth diaper experience when our little one arrives in June! (I have consulted your original post several times…!)
And happy nearly-birthday to Clara!
A says
No beans over here yet, but when I saw the Much Requested Cloth Diaper post, I was sold on CDing. Before the post, I always liked the idea of it but wasn’t sure. I am sure it’s different for everyone, but this is definitely something we’re trying when we start our family. I love all the information you provided and am so glad to see an update. Thanks a bunch!!
kristen f davis says
I think burger and my cat lead the same luxurious lifestyle.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, maybe they’ll meet someday and catch a nap together.
xo,
s
Kristin says
We use cloth diapers, both BumGenius and Fuzzibunz, and we love them. They’re easy to use and evironmentally-friendly, so I’m glad to know others are using them too!
Caroline says
Hi! I’m not reading through ALL 314 comments, but thought I’d leave you a note about these ;)
We started with a combination of the BG 3.0 pockets and the BG organic AIOs (now called the elementals) and at first, the AIOs were the most absorbent and were the ones we turned to at night for the big haul. When our little guy turned 1.5, all of a sudden, we had leak city going on! I couldn’t figure it out. I thought we had resistance issues from detergent, but we had been using Charlies, so I knew that wasn’t the case. Turned out he WAS peeing more! They grow bigger – they pee more! Who knew?! Anyway, we pretty much ALWAYS use the pockets now and I use an extra hemp stuffer in them now and we don’t have leaks. I only use the organics late in the afternoon when I know we’ll be home and not have to worry about it.
I switched detergents not that long ago to Rockin Green, and honestly, it’s SO MUCH BETTER than Charlies! I felt like my diapers always had a particular smell to them with Charlies, not exactly a stink, but a smell, and when we switched, it disappeared. I loved the detergent SO MUCH that I now do ALL our clothes in it, which is GREAT because we currently have a newborn in the NICU (36 weeker, placenta previa, I posted on your birth story just before I had her! ) and I’ve been washing all of her stuff along with ours and she’s not having issues with it!
My little guy is also potty training himself…potty learning, some people say…It’s great, if he’s naked….but we think underwear mimics cloth diapers and he feels like he can just go in them! I do think the cloth has gotten us to this point, where he at least FEELS he is wet, so that’s good!
Anyway, I LOVE that you use BGs! They are amazing! I’ve saved a TON of money on them and they are SO EASY to use! When my girl gets bigger and my little boy has made the full transition, I’ll put her in them as well. In the meantime, I’ll keep stashing away diapers from the NICU ;)
Stop on by my place to check out our life (mostly about Maura right now)…but often about crafts and other fun things!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, Maura is so cute! And looks to be doing so well! Thanks for all your cloth diapering advice and Clara sends Maura lots of wet drooly kisses!
xo,
s
betty in munich says
Will.never.ever.be.able.to.eat.buttered.popcorn.ever.again.
By the way, here in Germany most people don’t have dryers, or big yards for a wash hanging line – so we use these. Here’s a link for standing wash lines in german:
http://www.neckermann.de/W%C3%A4schest%C3%A4nder/28952135,de_DE,sc.html
here’s the one we use at home and on sunny days on the balcony to get the bleaching effect:
http://www.neckermann.de/W%C3%A4schetrockner%20Turm%204%20Etagen/0000001_M10111720,de_DE,pd.html?recommendation=productlist
It folds flat so it is easy to store.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so charming! I love it.
xo,
s
Sheena says
I’d love to know when Clara started sleeping through the night! Any tips or things you learned to help it along?
I’m exclusively breast-feeding too, and some nights my little guy makes it til 3 am (he goes to sleep around 6:30 or 7 pm) and sometimes he wakes up twice a night. He gets up each morning around 6:15 am.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds like Clara in the earlier months! So you might end up with a great sleeper. Clara did 6 hour spans as soon as she was allowed (my doc made me wake her up every 4 hours to feed her at first just to make sure she was gaining weight). I think at four weeks we didn’t have to do that anymore so then she went six hours, fed at two or three am, went back down til seven am and fed again and then slept more (til nine or ten). So funny. Then she started stretching longer around 3 months but no longer sleeps til ten of course (usually 7:15pm to 8:15am, but was doing 7:30 to 7:30 for a while and then decided to stretch a bit more when she got more mobile (and more tired from all that moving – around ten months). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kristin says
We cloth diaper our son who is 1 week older than Clara and LOVE it. We have 2 of the BumGenius Organic AIO, 15 fuzzibunz, and a few Flip covers and inserts. We’ve been very happy with the decision and I can’t imagine having to buy disposables frequently.
What are your plans for swim diapers this summer? I think we’ll just use a FLIP cover with no insert. Will you buy a cloth swim diaper?
YoungHouseLove says
We luckily inherited a few cloth swim diapers from Clara’s older cousin. Hope it works out well!
xo,
s
Nicolette says
Hi Sherry!
I bought the exact same diapers and diaper sprayer about 5-6 months ago after reading your previous posts. I loved them and felt good about my decision but just recently my baby cannot fit into them anymore. She is only 20 lbs. and 8 months old. The elastic around the legs doesn’t seem to be big enough. I know the diapers are designed to fit up to 35 lbs. Any suggestions!? Maybe I should sell them to you!? :)
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry about that! Did you let out all the snaps? Clara is around 20lbs and has no issue with them, but I would try calling Cotton Babies (who makes them) to ask what they recommend. We hear they have amazing customer service and sometimes send out free diapers that will work better for you baby (perhaps they make a larger size?). Good luck!
xo,
s
Beth says
I thought I was the only one who had a baby with “buttered popcorn” poo! Thanks for letting me know I’m not alone!
Erin from Mississippi says
I’m so glad to see that there are other cloth diapering families out there. When I was pregnant with our son Abbott and had told people that we were going to be using cloth diapers exclusively instead of disposables people would shoot a look of horror like we were living in the stone ages and really I think most people really don’t realize how easy it is to use cloth diapers these days! just a few snaps and you are good to go.
We also use one size fits all, but we have both bum genius and wammies, and love them both. Here’s to cloth! :)
Shannon says
If you were interested in examples of folks using cloth diapers while traveling, check out these folks: http://www.pedalpoweredfamily.com/2011/03/babies-diapers-and-traveling-by-bicycle/
Thanks for the great overview of your diapering decisions, when we get past the diaper service stage I will be sure to check out the BumGenious AIOs.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
Kristen Miller says
Oh man :) I LOLed at the “buttery popcorn”…….that’s what my husband and I said about our lil bean’s “stuff”! We just started solids last week…OMGAH!
Jennifer S says
Yay for BG diapers :) We love ours too – although now we’re only in them at night since we’re toilet-trained (woohoo!)
It’s so great to hear they’ve worked out so well for you guys – and with a relatively small stash! I think our BGs stash is up in the 30s, but we had daycare for a while in year one, so we were just psyched to get the daycare to use the cloth diapers!
Rachel Austin says
My daughter’s poo smelled like buttered popcorn too!! Everyone except my best friend thought that I was crazy.. So glad that I am not the only one!! Probably TMI, but I thought my breast milk smelled like buttered popcorn too! I think this is a phenomenon!!
chelsea says
I keep thinking about this post, because I have a little one due in two months and am seriously contemplating cloth. I am trying to decide between all the different types out there, and it is overwhelming. I’m trying to decide whether to get a few of each kind, like many people suggest, or just to jump in with both feet. But it seems to me that just doing one kind would be less expensive in the long run – unless you end up hating it. I have been contemplating the same ones you got, but wanted to ask if you find them to be bulky? I know in your initial post you said that they weren’t, but wondering if as she got bigger you found her wearing bigger pants and smaller tops or anything like that? I don’t know if you ever compared to Katie bower’s insert ones as far as bulkiness goes? I also never would have thought to dry them in the windowsill! Did you put down a towel first and then just drape them over it? Thanks for your pointers!
YoungHouseLove says
We don’t have any issues with bulkiness. Clara wears skinny jeans all the time in them! Haha. As for the windowsill, yup we lay a towel under them and they come out of the washer pretty dry already (since they get spun really fast so they’re not soaking wet). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sara @BakingandWine says
Awesome! My husband and I have been going back and forth between sposies and cloth for our baby due in August and this really convinced me. I didn’t know there were cloth diapers that didn’t require inserts! I’m sold! :)
Amanda K. says
My sister just did a really in-depth cloth diaper explanation/comparison/etc. on her blog: http://www.fareaststreet.com/2011/03/cloth/
She’s used BumGenius, flat and prefolds, there’s tons of info! (I’m pregnant with my first and figuring out which cloth diaper route to take…so many options out there!)
Thanks for sharing your experience!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for sharing- off to check out her post!
xo,
s
Tina says
Have you seen the artist series ones from the same company -they are so fab!!! The hubs and I have decided to start trying for our FIRST this summer, I am really interested in the cloth diaper route to save on having to buy 1000’s of diapers a year (its all my mom friends complain about…I want to avoid that!) Anyways, I definitely like these and will be buying them when we are preggers – and maybe the artist series too for those moments when we want to get crazy;)
of course, if we have a boy…he may not appreciate the animal prints – lol!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we haven’t seen those. So fun!
xo,
s
Lauren says
My husband and I are looking into cloth diapering–something I never would have considered before reading your posts! I have a couple questions about the quality of the BumGenius diapers after reading some negative reviews online. Have you had any issues with small holes forming inthe liner or long drying times (two cylces through the dryer)?
I know people are more likely to post reviews if they’ve had a problem, but I just wanted to get your opinion. We want to make sure if we go the cloth route that our investment was well worth it :)
Thanks (and sorry if you’ve already answered this somewhere else…I tried to look in your other posts)!
YoungHouseLove says
Over a year of use (14 months!) and no holes or anything- not even pilling or gentle wear and tear. We could probably return them all if we wanted- they look mint! So my advice would be to use the diaper sprayer instead of rinsing/washing them twice and also don’t dry them for a long time (we like to lay ours out to dry or just dry them once in the washer- never twice). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sara Agypt says
I have a question? I’ve heard so many good and bad things about Charlies soap. Some say it can leave “chemical burns” on their babies and others love it! I’m torn on what to buy??? I’m getting ready to have my first baby and am cloth diapering. What do you think? Have you heard of these burns before? If so, what can I do to prevent it since this soap is supposed to be really good?
Thanks,
Sarajane
YoungHouseLove says
We never have had any issues with it at all, but I wonder if it’s one of those depends-if-they-have-sensitivities-to-it things. Some babies react to different stuff, so I wouldn’t buy a ton of anything (lotion, shampoo, detergent, etc) since your baby could have a reaction to it. Maybe just start very slowly with one or two things to be sure they’re fine and then stick with whatever works? We’ve also had good luck using Seventh Generation Free & Clear for our cloth dipes (we switch off with Charlie’s whenever we run out and our diapers still look great and absorb perfectly). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sarah says
Hi!
We are expecting our first baby in November and I am seriously considering cloth diapering. I have seen a few different sites to purchase them, and I haven’t seen ANY cloth diapers in local stores. Do you have a recommendation of a website that has good deals and is easy to work with??
Thank you so much!!
Sarah
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve heard cottonbabies.com has some awesome specials for buying a dozen in bulk! They’re a really reputable company. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kate says
We’ve been cloth diapering our little boy since we brought him home, thanks to your blog! Reading your initial post got me interested before I was even pregnant. We have the BunGenius AIOs and love them! I have a quick washing question for you though….do you follow the manufacturers directions and wash them in a 1/4 cup of bleach every month, which I guess is stripping them? We are using the BumGenius detergent which seems to work great, but I was just curious if you guys followed that extra step? I’ve read that bleach is bad for CDs, but it’s printed right on the packaging.
YoungHouseLove says
We actually don’t do that (we just don’t have bleach around since we like eco stuff) but we have heard it’s awesome! I would give it a go if you have bleach.
xo,
s
Alissa says
Have your diapers ever smelled like urine even after washing the diapers? We have been doing cloth diapers for 2 months and have used a free and clear detergent and washed ours the same as you, but have recently noticed a smell.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, we never had that issue. Maybe try doing the bleach wash they recommend to strip them? I think that’s on the BumGenius info page. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amanda says
I have been reading and loving your blog for a while and JUST discovered that you cloth diaper too!!! Um….(this is awkward)…now I REALLY want to be your friend :) I love looking at pictures of your house! So inspiring and helpful in convincing my husband that we CAN do it ourselves!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks! It’s official. We’re friends.
xo,
s
Katie says
Hey guys!
My husband and I are expecting our first baby in June. We’ve bought all our BumGenius diapers and Planet Wise wet bags and I have a couple cloth diapering questions for you if you don’t mind. Did you ever switch over to cloth wipes or do you still use disposable? When you use disposable wipes do you just toss them in your wet bag or is your wet bag lined with anything (like a trash bag, grocery bag, etc.)? I’m just curious if the wet bag gets all gross from the dirty wipes, but maybe I’m just being a baby about it and once I’m in mommy mode it won’t bother me haha. Oh also, do you use the Charlie’s Soap for all of your laundry or just the diapers?
OK I think that’s all I’ve got. I love your blog and can’t wait for the book! I hope you come to Kansas City on your book tour! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We still use disposable wipes – so weird! I don’t know why we haven’t made the switch but we’re still loving our cloth diapers (still using the same dozen). We just toss our disposable wipes into the wetbag without any liner (it has a plastic-rubber-ish liner sewn inside). That liner seems to keep smells and wetness in for the most part! We also use Charlie’s Soap (or Seventh Generation) on her diapers and clothes – and ours too. So everything! Haha.
xo,
s
Katie says
Good to know, thank you!
andrea p says
Hey John & Sherry!
I am happy to report that I am pregnant with my 1st child! I just went back & read all of your cloth diapering posts because this is definitely something we want to do :)
Just a couple questions:
Do you bring CDs on vacation (ie – Hawaii) or when you are out of the house all day?
I know Clara is a great nighttime sleeper….have you had any issues with night leaks now that she is a “heavy wetting” toddler? Do you ever “stuff” the diaper with inserts?
Thank you so so so much & keep up the awesome Clara updates :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw congrats Andrea! That’s so exciting! We didn’t bring cloth diapers to Hawaii because we had to stop in Portland for three days first and didn’t have access to a washer/dryer, but if we’re going straight to somewhere with a washer/dryer we usually just bring cloth (and sometimes bring disposables if we’re sharing the place with a ton of family members/friends since the washer/dryer might get lots of use and we don’t want to cause a cloth diaper traffic jam with our load). We don’t have issues with Clara heavy wetting, although we hear boys tend to pee way more so one solution is to put one disposable on them (overnight) just to absorb all that stuff and cloth diaper the rest of the time. We hear from many parents who do that and when Clara goes through phases of drinking a ton (usually when she’s growing) sometimes we’ll use a disposable overnight just in case. As for inserts, we don’t own any or use them. We just haven’t had a need for them but if we had we would give them a try for sure. We are just happy with the original 12 diapers, so that’s all we have and they’re still going strong!
xo,
s
andrea p says
Sherry!
Thank you for the awesome/thorough response! I don’t think I will register for any inserts, rather I will just buy some if I end up needing them. BumGenius now has a new one size all-in-one diaper called “Freetime”. I might check a couple of those out too.
I also wanted to ask you what your maternity/pregnancy “must haves” were in terms of gear & clothes. I think I recall you mentioning that you loved Old Navy’s maternity jeans?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes I wore one pair the whole pregnancy! And I wore regular tops for a really long time. Right up till the end and even then got tanks from old navy and Target (sometimes not even maternity, just bigger).
xo,
s
patty says
I have to ask, how did Clara wear such cute skinny jeans with a cloth diaper? I have bumgenius and fuzzibuns and the fuzzibuns are honestly more trim and slender (most comparable to the size of a disposable) b/c there’s no snaps down the front – but when I tried skinny jeans on my baby it looks like a ‘butt in front’ AND in back. haha. Also, did you find yourself dressing her in clothes a size or 2 up, to accommodate for a bulky diaper?
Also, did you only spray the diapers prior to washing them until Clara started solids? How did you control wet diapers from not dripping on your floor when in route from toilet sprayer to washing machine? And with a solid-eating baby, did you use your sprayer immediately following a diaper change? I’m just visualizing chaos when I’m home alone changing a diaper on with a baby that can roll over and is eating solids. Thank you SO much! I really appreciate all your help. Your blog is the BEST!
YoungHouseLove says
Typically Clara wears long shirts (tunics, long ruffled blouses, even dresses) over her skinnies since cloth diapers do look bulky but with something long over them – especially with some volume you can’t tell. As for the sprayer, we still use it for all poo diapers (not pee only ones) and we keep an extra wet bag in the bathroom for those to go right into. I think spraying them has kept them in such good shape so I wouldn’t skip it. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Saskia says
We just started using BumGenius Organic and I was wondering how you dry yours exactly. I tried both air-dry and dryer but it takes at least two days or two runs in the dryer to get them ready.
Thanks
Saskia & baby Charlotte
YoungHouseLove says
We usually run ours on the timed 60-minute setting on our dryer in the evening and then let them air dry overnight before putting them back into use the next morning. Usually that does the trick, although sometimes I do a quick 10 or 15 minutes again in the dryer in the morning.
-John
AviLynn says
I’m certain you already know this, but cottonbabies is running round two of the seconds sale, & they have elementals for $17. This would help John get to the desired ’18 count one day’ :)
AviLynn says
She’s probably getting too close to potty training age though I guess. Ignore me :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks! It was a sweet thought!
xo
s
Ruth says
Do you use charlie’s soap for all of your laundry or just diapers? I was told you have to rinse the washer after every use if you switch back and forth between charlie’s and any other detergent. Since y’all are so experienced I thought I would throw it out there. We use rock n green, but have been interested in trying other soaps. Thanks for putting cloth diapering in such a great light!
YoungHouseLove says
We used it for everything when we had it, but we ran out and went back to Seventh Gen. No complaints after two years with it (dipes still look great!).
xo
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