First Fluff Mail (:

First off I will start with... I am way too excited to receive cloth diapers in the mail! -ha-
Though, if you are a part of the cloth diapering community you know it's a little bit of an obsession because everything is so adorable and you want to try them all!

When I decided to try cloth diapering I knew I had a very limited budget and that I wanted to use pocket diapers.  I found alvababy, they are very cheap but are based in china.  If you order more then 20 from them you get free express shipping which makes it worth the while.  However, if you are only ordering a couple it can take up to 6 wks to receive your diapers!!  So I decided to stray away from there website for my first order of just a couple.  I found getbacktobasics through a facebook co-op group and decided to give her store a shot.  I ordered three diapers for 5.50$ each on Sunday and they we're at my house on Wednesday!  I couldn't believe it... 

  alvababy diapers.. spiderman, robots and rockets, and dinosaurs.

 

*These diapers came with microfiber inserts.. these I have found don't work for me because little one is a heavy wetter and experiences compression leaks.  Which means when he sits it will leak out the sides.  I will be using them as extras though.

monster enjoying his new cloth diaper!!

 

My guess is he loved his new diapers because after I washed them and put them on him he immediately soiled them.. ha.  A good ol' christening.  The spiderman lasted 5 mins before he peed, robots and rockets lasted 1 min before he pooped, and the dinosaurs lasted less then 5 mins because he pooped again!!  The kid never poos this much!

Though I was still excited so that I could clean them up and learn what it entails.  I decided since I have just 3 diapers that I would hand wash them in my bathroom sink.  This has worked perfectly for me so far.  I wash them as soon as they are soiled because I have nowhere to set them until I am fully done with disposables. (hopefully at the end of this week I will be)  I then hang them out on the line because I want to keep them sunned and as fresh as possible!  Also rumor has it that line drying preserves the life of the diaper; which makes sense.  Cloth diapers that are taken care of have wonderful resale value.

Monster is in each cloth diaper everyday and now after 2 wks I have decided I am in love!!  I actually just ordered on Saturday 20 more alvas from their website with bamboo inserts.  Today I ordered 6 charcoal bamboo inserts.  I am so excited to get them and will definitely make a post as soon as I receive both hopefully within the week. 

hm... Cloth diapering?

Last year if you would have asked me about cloth diapering I would have told you I have no clue what that entails..... whatsoever!!  I expected them to be ugly, unmanageable, and such an old way to do things that I would never use them.. 

Well fall of 2012, I seen a diaper company on shark tank (abc show) I was amazed by how easy pocket diapers looked and figured I would look that website up..  However, it was shut down for the show so I just let it go and forgot all about it. 

Fast forward to Jan 2013, my husband and I are finally having to buy diapers (since we had a diaper party for my husband we maybe bought 3 packs of diapers the whole first yr!! --I suggest if you will be using disposables that you do this.) and I realize how much I HATE spending the money on things I will just be throwing out!!!

I am very cheap!

So I decided to do more research on cloth diapering and was amazed by how much is out there!!  It is so easy to get overwhelmed by the many options and sellers; from actual cloth diaper businesses, websites that sell multiple brands of diapers, and work at home moms who make and sell cloth diapers.

Let me just go over a few basic things with you...

there are four cloth diapering systems: fitted, prefolds/flats, pockets, and all-in-ones.
fitted- cloth diapers that require a cover but has elastic and fasteners on the diaper.

prefolds-/flats a square piece of absorbent material that is secured with diaper pins or snappis also needs a cover.

pockets- basically a 2 layer diaper, the outer layer is a waterproof pul material and the inner layer is a soft material to rest on baby's skin.  The term pocket is because there is a slit either at the back and/or middle of the diaper.  You "stuff" inserts in these pockets to make them absorbent... this was even more confusing for me because there are so many insert options... I will save this for another post.

all-in-ones- these are most similar to disposable diapers.  There is no stuffing or cover required.  There are many different styles available.  They do, however, take much longer to dry since they do not come apart..(most popular complaint about these diapers)

Now to debunk the myths that I had set into myself.  They are not unmanageable at all!  You dump the poo(which isn't gross if you're a mom.lol) and toss the diaper in a pail.  If you have enough diapers you just do a load of diapers in the washing machine every 2 or 3 days.  washing them consists of a quick cold rinse cycle to get the all the ucky out and drained, next is a warm/hot (depending on what your diapers recommend) wash with soap of your choice but make sure you use a cloth diaper friendly detergent--detergent chart, then add another cold rinse to make sure the soap is out or the diaper will repel.  Really not that hard!!  It is not the old way of doing things it's the smart, Eco-friendly, wallet friendly way! 
Now for the cuteness factor!!!  There are so many colors and prints.. practically everything imaginable!!!

 

(:

Follow and learn with me as I put my efforts into cloth diapering my 14 month old.

It's never too late to start.