Monday, March 4, 2013

The Cloth Life

Happy Monday, everyone! Sorry that I post so late in the day. Free time is not a wealth that I maintain as a mommy. I'm sure you all understand. Anyway... Last week, I was going to post about cloth diapering, but got distracted. So, I thought I would post about it today, instead! (Thanks for the reminder, Kailly!) 

Now, let me start off by saying that I am by no means, an expert on cloth diapering. I speak only from my own experience with cloth diapers, but I did do a lot of research before even thinking about cloth diapering our little man. When I first brought the idea to MH, he thought it was simply outrageous and shot it down. But when I did my research and had a friend help me outline the positives of the cloth diapering lifestyle, he was a lot more willing to look into it with me. 

In my research, I first started by looking at what instead of why. This was a mistake. As I looked at all of the different kinds of cloth diapers and all the brands and different materials, I would come away from my search even more confused that I was before I started. So, I reached out to a friend who actually ended up being my Doula. She sent me this article, which gave me great insight into the why of cloth diapering! 

http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/dangers-of-disposable-diapers

Allow me to sum this up a bit for you. 

Cloth diapering is cheap. But it's hard work. You have to be willing to do the extra work and be vigilant about laundry. Sure, the initial cost of a good stash is a bit of a hard hit on the wallet, but that's it. After that, you're done. Forever. And if you do cloth wipes, you have even less money left to spend - aka: zero. But even if you stick with disposable wipes (as we have), that cost is so much less than that of a case of disposable diapers! Now, we were very lucky, as almost all of our diapers were a gift! Here is our stash: 

This is our main stash of Nify Nappy diapers
Our stash of Nifty Nappy cloth diapers
Find Nifty Nappy diapers at http://niftynappy.com, or visit the Growing up Green (http://www.facebook.com/NiftyNappy) Facebook page. 

These are some of our other alternative brands of diapers. We also have several smaller gDiapers that are actually in the wash right now. 


When baby C was brand new, we did have trouble with the gDiapers causing problems with his skin, but we held onto them just in case. We had ordered these four, because they have a waterproof "pouch" inside that we thought might be good for long car rides. We had also been given a bad FULL of smaller gDiapers and the disposable inserts that you can get to go with them. (Though the disposable inserts are nice from time to time, they are even more expensive than a case of disposable diapers, and therefore not worth re-purchasing.) 

Here is how each diaper works:


 The gDiaper has the waterproof "pouch" inside, where you place your liner. This liner is a bamboo one that was given to us for Christmas. 
 This is a Bum Genius. I do love this diaper. I believe this is one of the all-in-twos, because the liner is partially detachable, making washing easier. There are also pockets, so that you can add an additional liner for overnight, or long car rides. This diapers has a great waterproof outside. 
And this is one of the Nifty Nappy diapers! We love, love love, these diapers. They are SO soft and wash really well! This is the main diaper that we use, and our Nifty Nappy stash was a gift to us. These come with these bi-fold liners, but the woman who hand makes these diapers, also makes tri-folds, a few of which I have ordered. The tri-folds will simply provide more absorption, which is important overnight with our champion pee-er! 

Now, you may be wondering what is to be done with a soiled diaper, since it doesn't go in the garbage? Well, we have two things that we use! 

Pictured, are our Bambino mio Nappy bucket, which we keep at home; and our wet bag, which I keep at our bedside for midnight diaper changes, and also goes with us in the diaper bag. 




Pictured here, is our new sprayer hooked up to our toilet. This is so nice for rinsing diapers before tossing them in the bucket, and has helped save us a lot of stains and even removed some so far! 

Now, allow me to sum up the "green" aspect of cloth diapering, as mentioned in the article above. One thing that many people don't know, is that even disposable diapers should be rinsed of feces before being tossed in the trash. Because people are unaware of this, landfills all over the US are being absolutely filled with human feces. I mean... think about it... would you poop in your trash can? How about the dumpster behind your house? No? Then neither should your baby, really. 

Here is what the article has to say about it: "Approximately 90-95% of American babies use 27.4 billion single-use, plastic diapers every year. This generates 7.6 billion pounds of garbage each year—enough waste to fill Yankee Stadium 15 times over, or stretch to the moon and back 9 times. Every year."

And did you know: "Disposable diapers are the 3rd largest consumer item in landfills, and represent 30% of non-biodegradable waste. The only other items that outnumber the amount of disposables in landfills are newspapers and beverage and food containers."?

Aren't those numbers just staggering? If you would like the source that these numbers come from, please refer to the article itself. 

I know that was a lot of information and pictures all at once. But, oh man... there is so much more! There are so many other brands of cloth diapers! Some of those, include: Fuzzi bunz, Kawai, Sunbaby, bumGenius (which has SEVERAL subtypes), gPant (gDiaper), Bambino mio, Grovia, Nifty Nappy (of course), and so many more! 

Alright, moms and dads! Are you overwhelmed yet!? No worries, I'm done for now. I'm just going to leave you with a few thoughts on cloth diapers. I recently learned that there are cloth diaper stores that will allow you to participate in a 15 day wash program! If you want to learn more, visit this site: http://www.nickisdiapers.com/15-day-wash.html. Also, I'm going to leave you with some price comparisons that I am borrowing from a friend's blog, but I found it very interesting. 

Here are some direct cloth diaper to disposable diaper price comparisons:






And if you are concerned about the cost of washing more laundry:




Alrighty... that really is all for now! I shall simply leave you with my OOTD!

I hope you all had a wonderful Monday, and I wish you a very happy Tuesday! 

Love, Ashley! 




P.S.
Price comparisons are provided courtesy of miss Ashley R at beautifullittlepiece.blogspot.com!

To be entered for the "pamper yourself" give away, leave a comment on our blog! We will be giving away a prize to a randomly selected reader once we reach 1500 views!

11 comments:

  1. Question. Are they one size or do you change sizes as the baby grows?

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    1. Sorry I didn't reply! Our Nappy diapers are one size and adjust as C grows, as does the BumGenius. The gDiapers, however, come in XS, S, M &L.

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  2. I wish cloth diapering would have been a bigger then when my kiddos were in diapers :(

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  3. Love this post!!! I love reading about people's experiences with the cloth diapers. I truly cannot wait to get started on cloth diapers. We are looking at Bum genius 4.0, Flip diapers, and maybe some G diapers. ;)

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    1. Can't wait to hear how you like your diapers!!! :)

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  4. I love reading the fine facts! Thanks for breaking everything down! Within my first we only used disposable. But you brought up things that no one ever shared with me! Thanks ladies!

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    1. I'm so glad to hear this! We really have loved it so I'm glad I could share and provide you with some info and experiences you hadn't heard before! :)
      Ashley

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  5. All or these blog posts make me happy to know you guys! Haha. Oh the joys and tribulations of Motherhood. Keep up all of the great posts ladies! <3

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    1. Thanks, Tessa! Love you! So glad to know you too!
      Ash

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  6. I love the look of cloth diapers...might consider doing this with my next one :)

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