Today I am sharing a bit about our cloth diaper journey and have a giveaway from Rockin' Green at the end of the post! Even if you are past the diapering stage make sure to scroll down and read about what Rockin' Green has to offer and enter the raffle! A note that no one is paying me to pledge to their brand. I contacted Rockin' Green and they were nice enough to give a $25 dollar gift certificate to one luck reader but all brands and products are my personal choice from tried and true experience!
How We Started Cloth Diaper
Before I had Shane I looked into cloth diapers. I wanted to use less waist, I wanted to try and have something close to nature on his bum, and I wanted to save money. Convincing Brian was really hard but he agreed to give it a try as long as I washed them. My Grandmother and friend Kendra gifted us some newborn size diapers for a baby shower gift and thus started my little "trial" stash of cloth diapers.
Shane was born with some complications and admitted into the NICU where he stayed for 6 days. While he was in the hospital we used the hospitals diapers, which were Pampers, and the nurses changed every diaper and weighed them so I was very hands off for the start of his life. During his stay Shane developed a bad bacterial diaper rash and we were told he might be allergic to either the wipes, diapers, or some of the cream. We were prescribed a medication and decided to start using the cloth diapers right away when we got home.
When Shane came home with us we switched him immediately into cloth diapers. We were lucky to have been given some infant one size ones that worked for Shane who was only 5lbs 6oz when at one week. His diaper rash went away and we were committed. Though I intended to cloth diaper for the environment and to cut down on cost the main reason I cloth diaper is for my kids health because I saw the difference having natural cotton on my kids skin made compared to disposable diapers with chemicals.
What We Use To Cloth Diaper
I tried out several types of cloth diapers to see what worked best with Shane and lucked out that the same brand worked for Keith. Both my kid were small when they were born but Shane is on the slender side and Keith is built thicker. Despite the difference in build we use
Bumgenius diapers and I love them! I like that I can customize the stuffing with various inserts to work for the stage my kids are or for the time of day. They are easy to use. The buttons stay put and my kids cant get them off. They wash well and I liked the feel of the diaper. In addition to cloth diapers I use cloth wipes while we are at home, a diaper sprayer, bottom cleaner, and wet bags for on the go diaper containers. We store the dirty diapers in a basic garbage can with a lid and use a diaper pail liner. I wrote about how we wash our diapers later in this post and there are a few other items needed to get started.
We have 26 diapers that last me about 3 days. I wash the diapers ever 3rd day.
We have 3 packs of these.
I was luck to get this one use from a moms group and payed $20 for it. It makes the little unpleasant task of cleaning soiled diapers off in the toilet a snap.
This was not what we used with Shane for a bottom spray. I am not sure that the product was around then but we have used this for Keith and after trying several brands this is my favorite. It smells so good, it is hydrating, and it works the best at cleaning my kids up. I have tried a handful of products from The Honest Company and always been impressed but this is my very favorite so far. As I have one kid with super sensitive skin I like using organic or chemical free products so the philosophy of this brand is right up my ally. I use I hope to try more of their products in the future.
I love these bags and know I will use them long after my kids are done with diapers. They are great to store my dry diapers in or an extra outfit. They also hold my wet and dirty diapers but can be used for wet suits, wet and dirty clothing (potty training or puddle stomping) and they come in several sizes. I have three small and two medium and use them almost every day.
I have two of these pail liners and use them in a basic garbage can that has a lid that opens with a food pedal. It works great to hold in the dirty diapers, I don't struggle with smell, and they wash up well right along with my dirty diaper load.
Where and Where We Use Cloth Diapers
I use cloth diapers all day long at home and on the go. When we are on a vacation I do switch to disposables but I am careful what brand I use. Shane used cloth diapers at night until he was potty trained. Keith, however, uses disposable diapers at night because they just worked better for him. I looked into finding diapers that did not leak at night but with a newborn who drank a lot and slept long stretch from the start and a toddler who started potty training at the same time we went with what worked. I was totally OK with using one at night on him if it was what he needed. I like cloth but its not flawless. Both cloth and disposable diapers have their pros and cons. We go with what works!
How We Wash Cloth Diapers
This is perhaps what people ask me and cringe about the most. How do you wash the diapers? We wash them in our washing machine and hang dry the covers and dry our inserts. I often laugh at the reactions because I think people have in their minds that I am contaminating my clean laundry with dirty diapers. First, we rinse the diapers off with the sprayer. Then I store the dirty diapers in a separate laundry pail with the pail liner. When I go to wash our diapers I just dump the whole bag out and drop the ban in. We do one rinse cycle to rinse the diapers again then do one cycle on high agitation. They I hand dry the diaper covers and toss the inserts into the dryer. I also use a few tricks on my diapers to keep them clean and fresh that require a few more items.
I have bounced around on a few different diaper detergents. I started with Bumgenius but I did not ever use that on my every day clothing. I also have used Mrs. Meyers on cloth diapers but the measuring was hard as it was not specifically formulated for cloth diapers. I really like Rock'in Green detergent for a couple of reasons. Shane has eczema and his skin can't hand anything harsh. We had to get rid of dryer sheets, start reading labels for ingredients that would irritate his skin, and get as close to nature as possible. This detergent works for us and has helped us with Shane's skin. I like that all of their scents come from a special fragrance house, that does everything from natural distillations and are 100% natural. This brand is biodegradable, made from recycled materials and packaging, phosphate-free, SLS and Paraben free, and free of optical brightens. I could use if for Keith as a newborn, on Shane with his eczema, and I feel better knowing what I wash Brian and my clothing in is safe. Plus, I like using one bag for everything so when Brian does the laundry he does not need to figure out what to use. Lastly, they offer a 10% off first responded discount and as a wife of an officer I am so thankful for a little perk that not only saves us money but lets me feel thanked for what my wonderful husband does.
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Every once in a while you need to freshen up cloth diapers, You can use bleach, Dawn soap, or soak your diapers in water but I found Funk Rock works so well to get the stink out. I have also used it a couple times on my towels when they smell a bit like mildew and need to be freshened up.
In place of dryer sheets I simply went without for years. Then I read about these dryer balls to help fluff up my laundry and cut down on drying time. I admit I just discovered them so I am not sure how they hold up over time but for now I am loving them! My inserts do dry faster and my towels are a bit more fluffy. If it saves me some money and allows me to get rid of dryer sheets with chemicals I am committed. I wish I had found these sooner but I am glad I have them now.
Why We Cloth Diaper
There are several reasons we use cloth diapers. I am saving some money. You can read about the cost of diapers
here and just like anything it varies depending on brand, the child's needs, and even how much your garbage vs. water expenses are. For my family, it was less expensive to use cloth. I also know I will be able to sell our cloth diapers when we are finished and get back some of the money we paid. I knew we wanted more than one child so I save because I did not buy anything new for Keith aside from the bottom wash and detergent whereas if I had used disposable I would have paid for a whole new round of disposable diapers. I know I have spent less using cloth diapers.
Secondly, I have already talked about the need to not have any chemicals near Shane's skin. Dealing with a child that gets itchy and rashes is a challenge. He can flair up with so many other factors so taking laundry and diapers out of the equation makes life a little less complicated. I never wanted to use something that caused a secondary problem like diaper rash or eczema flair ups. I had to buy much more expensive disposable diapers to avoid a rash so by using cloth I know I saved lots of money and was giving Shane the best possible chance at healthy, comfortable skin.
Lastly, I like the environmentally friend factor. I personally like that I am not throwing 1000s of diapers into a land fill. I have used disposable on occasion but I threw a lot less out by mostly using cloth.. I say to each their own on this mater but I really like this point for myself.
Lastly, I found that cloth works so much better! I don't have blow outs with my kids unless they are really sick, they absorb so much better, and I like that I can change them as often as I want because I am not worried about running out of diapers. For me cloth diapers are a great fit for my families health, finances, and overall needs.
On to the giveaway! I contacted Rock in Green to see if they would be interested in giving away a little something to a reader and they were! This week you can enter to win a $25 gift certificate to their store. You can pick from the two products I mentioned or you can try other products for laundry, pet, household, baby, and for your athletic clothing. I am most excited to try their new Sport Funk which is coming soon because I think it would work great for my husbands work out gear. The giveaway runs all week so enter below and you could win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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