If you want to get specific, saving money is one of the big reasons to start cloth diapering in the first place.  Considering the cheapest diapers out there still cost at least $20 a month, it doesn’t take too long for virtually any cloth diapering setup to save you money.

However, I totally get it.  A lot of people are reluctant to switch to cloth diapering not just because of the thought of nasty laundry chores or difficult to manage diapers, but because of the cost.  And while by NO means do you need to go whole hog from the word go (you can just buy a diaper here and a diaper there as you are able), it still represents a significant investment.

So here are my tips for cloth diapering on a budget.

• Use baby washcloths as cloth wipes.  A pack of 8 Gerber washclothes is pretty cheap and you can find even cheaper options that will work just as well.  Just fold them and store them in an old plastic disposable wipes container.  Then, when it’s time to change baby, just run them under the warm water of the faucet and voila.  You’ll never have to buy another wipe again.
• Prefolds are NOT that hard to work with!  There are many folds that work for many different babies.  Prefolds are enormously versatile workhorses.  And, if you’re crafty enough, you can easily make them into prefitteds which are easier to deal with.
• Or you can buy prefitteds, which are still much cheaper than most diaper options out there.
• Most PUL covers are pretty cheap anyhow, but you can get even more thrifty if you can sew by making your own fleece soaker out of an old fleece receiving blanket.
• If you’re really desperate and have diaper pins available, you can always use an old tshirt as a diaper when in a pinch.
• Look for gently used diapers on Diaper Swappers FSOT (For Sale Or Trade) forums.  You can find some really good deals here and a lot of people buy ALL their diapers used.

You don’t have to break the bank to cloth diaper your baby.  I’m already enjoying not having to buy a ginormous box of diapers each month.  Though my middle child still wears disposables at night (we don’t have quite enough diapers on hand to diaper both kids full time), we only have to spend about $10 a month.  I can’t wait for the day when that number becomes $0 a month!

So what are your favorite money-saving tips?

Tags: budget, Diaper Swappers, fleece, prefitteds, prefolds, saving money, soaker, wipes

I haven’t given a good “cloth diapering update” in a while and I wanted to let you all know that I’m still here and going strong!  While my daughter’s rash isn’t 100% gone, it’s not near as bad as it was.  I’m thinking it just had to run it’s course, though I did whatever I could to keep the redness down.

Evie is still 100% cloth diapered.  At this point, I don’t think I would dream about putting a disposable on her.  We don’t even have any in the house that would fit her any longer!  Her “stash” is still pretty small and I would love the opportunity to grow it someday but there just hasn’t been a good opportunity to do so.  Plus, whenever I get the chance I just want to buy fancy, expensive stuff instead of something practical.  Bad mama!  Here is our stash:

• 6 bumGenius diapers (three of these are generally worn by Liam part time, however, and Evie only wears them very occasionally.)
• 10 5 unbleached Indian prefolds (whoops, miscounted) (I have found I prefer the softer Indian prefolds)
• 2 prorap covers
• 1 WAHM-made PUL cover that I love so much it hurts. (it’s lavender and is lined with cozy fleece and is a side-snapping style that I am finding I HEART so much)
• 4 fitteds including 1 Bagshot Row Bamboo (BSRB) apre-fitted style fitted, 1 goodmama (GM), 1 Sammy One Size (SOS) and 1 Muttaquin 3 step rise (Mutt 3sr).  The BSRB has a very low rise and I generally use it when I want Evie to “air out” or when we’re sticking around home.  It’s very trim but not very practical.  I still don’t really care for the Mutt.  Too many snaps!  I am finding I kinda enjoy the SOS, even if the print isn’t especially fabulous and my favorite fitted is the GM.  Go figure!
• 5 prefitteds (3 tinkle traps and 2 of another brand that I’ve forgotten the name of already).  A prefitted stands for a “prefold fitted”.  It’s essentially a prefold that has been cut and sewn to resemble a fitted diaper but usually lacks the closure (I use a Snappi to close them).  I LOVE these and use them all the time here at home.  They have elastic in them to contain messes and fit the baby better and they are the right price!
• 5 Rumparooz (RaR) pocket diapers. I have two prints, one solid and two minky.  My favorite BY FAR is the one with snaps that I just recently got off FSOT.  I now wish all my RaR diapers had snaps because I had the Aplix on the RaR diapers.  I WISH I had a snap press or knew someone with one so they could convert the RaR for me.

And there you have it. 33 28 diapers.  Wow, that’s a lot more than I would have thought I had.  I guess because at least three of those diapers aren’t generally worn by my daughter that I think I have less?  I still do diaper laundry every 2-2 1/2 days.  And I still want more diapers!  I want more fitteds and prefitteds as well as more snap RaR diapers.  Maybe some more bumGenius too, if I got lucky enough to find them at our local Target (had you heard that some Targets now have bumGenius diapers??).  Or come in on another seconds sale, because that was a great deal.  I do wish I had more diapers so that I could use them on Liam more, help him gear up to potty training.  I don’t think I want to try to do prefolds on him.  I’m not THAT brave.

So what’s up with you all?  What do you think is missing from your diaper stash?  m

Tags: Diaper Covers, Fitted, my stash, Pocket Diapers, prefitted, prefolds

I haven’t been around much lately, and I think I owe you an explanation. Back in May I started having some problems with odors in my bumGenius diapers. Eventually I started having the same problem with my prefolds. I was a sad, sad mommy, and to this day, I haven’t found a solution. I’ve tried all of the manufacturer’s recommendations for odors. Boiling seemed to help a little, but they need to be boiled between every wash, and that’s a lot of work.

In addition to stink woes, there was also the problem with fit. All of Nicky’s diapers, regardless of brand, give him scabs on his thighs. I think it’s a mixture of pinching and having the velcro rub him. I paid very close attention to how I put them on him to see if I could fasten them in a way that would prevent the rubbing, but the sores never ceased. I think the problem is that the diapers are too snug (he wears them at maximum size). I spoke with another mom who used BGs, and her little boy is bigger than Nicky, and his BGs fit him fine. I looked at her BGs and noticed that the elastic in hers is a little more worn. I think that since I started CD-ing Nicky at an older age, our diapers didn’t get the chance to “wear out” enough for them to fit him at his current size.

This is where I currently stand:

• I’m temporarily using disposables
• I’m going to try Bac Out on my bumGenius diapers even though the manufacturer says not to
• I’m also going to switch to an all natural detergent instead of a free & clear detergent
• Then I’m going to put all of my pocket diapers and AIOs away until I have another baby
• I’m going to try prefolds on Nicky again since I can buy larger diaper covers
• I have three new diaper covers on the way
• I’m going to pray night and day that Nicky will hold still while I diaper him so I can justify the $50 purchase I just made

If all goes well, I’ll get a few more covers. Unfortunately, I’m addicted to cute colors and prints, and they cost a little more than white proraps (of which I have none). Have any of you tried dyeing proraps?

Also, have any of you tried Bumkins diaper covers? If so, let me know if I should buy one or not because I’m in love with this print:

Skulls on a diaper. Isn’t it awesome? I’d love to take it in the baby room at church and see what kind of response I get from the other moms.

This paisley print is adorable for a girl:

I don’t know how anyone can have a girl and not cloth diaper. Oh my gosh! So cute!

Tags: Bac Out, bumGenius, Bumkins, detergent, Diaper Covers, diaper stink, prefolds, red marks

Today I’m taking advantage of the projected *90 degrees and have my Fuzzibuns drying outside. All twelve of them. Yes, sigh, twelve. That is all the cloth I own. It’s ridiculous really, but I started late, at the tail end (ha!) of my last child’s diaper cycle. So it was hard to get excited about buying! more! diapers!

I really wanted pre-folds to work for us. I love, LOVE, the idea of pre-folds but my kid? Not so much. He hates them, the pins, the snappys, the bunching. Everything about them makes him irritable. So Fuzzi Buns it is. Tried and true.

If you need me, I’ll be haunting diaper swappers for a good deal on fuzzibuns. As much as I’d like to channel all my monies into little wooden toys that are so adorable, poop catchers will be my new priority. *sigh*

Tags: Fuzzi Bunz, Pockets, prefolds

I would probably hesitate to say that cloth diapers are ENTIRELY leak-proof.  I mean, I doubt anything is leak-proof, if you want to get right down to it.  Plus, if you leave a diaper on long enough, it doesn’t matter what the heck it is made of or how many gussets it has.  It will leak.  That’s just physics, yo.

But in the couple months (has it only been that long) that I’ve been using cloth diapers, I’ve noticed one giant benefit:  There have been virtually NO LEAKS.

There’s been the odd leak here and there.  Mostly urine and mostly when she’s wearing a prefold trifolded into a prorap cover.  And most of those leaks have been fairly recently, as she’s been outgrowing her prefolds and covers at an alarming rate (hello, chunky baby!).  She pretty much NEVER has a leak while wearing her pocket diapers (right now: BumGenius and Rumparooz).

But I’m leaving out the most important aspect of all of this: NO POOP EXPLOSIONS!  Now, Evie only wore disposables for the first six weeks or so of her life.  But in that time, we learned that with her rather infrequent pooping schedule, poop explosions were pretty much unavoidable.  She would output a day’s worth of… poop and well, no disposable known to man could possibly contain it all.  Truthfully, I wondered at the time if any cloth diaper could contain it as well.

The prefolds in the cover are pretty good, to be honest.  We might get a little seepage around the legs, but nothing shooting up the back our out the front or sides so far.  The BumGenius just laugh at the audacity of this poop that would like to explode out.  “Not so fast,” they say.  And the Rumparooz double leg gussets have never failed to contain whatever is tossed their way.  Ever.

Now, there are some extenuating circumstances here.  I am pretty quick on the diaper changes, something that I’ve gotten even better at since she’s been in cloth.  I find I’m a lot more attuned to such things now.  Also, her poop has not met the worthy adversary that is the exersaucer.  If anything can compress a diaper, it’s an exersaucer.

But in the meantime, I’m pretty impressed.  This is something I wasn’t expecting from cloth diapers.  Not that I’m complaining, mind you.  But definitely a fantastic side benefit to cloth diapering.

Is my experience a common one?  Or am I just lucky?

Tags: bumGenius, disposables, Epic Poop, leaks, Pockets, prefolds, prorap, Rumparooz