I know, I know. I’m conjuring up images of pins, poop and plastic pants, and while we can never get away from the…umm…poop, cloth diapering as we knew it, is no more. Google cloth diapers and you’ll find hundreds of websites selling several different types of fancy pants. It’s overwhelming. You’ll read terms like covers and liners and soakers and inserts and doublers. It’s enough to make your head spin, and as I mentioned here, I don’t have the mental capacity for that much head spinning.
And then, if you are brave enough to try cloth diapering, what if you buy the wrong kind? These new fangled cloth diapers are not cheap, and it's not as though you can return something like a diaper.
Still, for a few different reasons, I wanted to embark on this adventure. I knew that after we fronted the initial cost, we would be saving a significant amount of money every month (this was a huge selling point for my husband). I also recently learned that it takes up to 500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose. 500 years? I wouldn’t say I’m super crunchy, but I do want to care for and respect the beautiful earth that God created for us.
The last and main reason for wanting to try cloth diapering is that here have been recent studies showing signs that the chlorine and other synthetic chemicals in diapers are contributing to fertility problems and certain types of cancer. There is not a ton of research out there due to the fact that disposable diapers haven’t been around that long, but can it really be healthy for our children to be sitting in chemicals for two to three years straight? Probably not, and when it comes to my children's health, I prefer to ere on the conservative side.
Ok, so I had all my reasons for wanting to try cloth diapering, but I was still stuck with the dilemma of which kind to use. Thankfully a dear friend came to my rescue.
My roomate from college starting using gdiapers for her new baby and she couldn't say enough about them. Gdiapers are actually a diaper hybrid. They have a cloth cover, a waterproof liner and a flushable insert that has all natural materials that can either be flushed or composted. The inserts are much better for the environment and much better for your baby's bum, which is awesome, but if you're worried about cost, it's actually a bit more expensive since the inserts cost just as much or more than disposables.
Not to fear.
Gdiapers now makes a reusable, ultra absorbent cloth insert. There are also a few other companies (which I used) that make inserts to fit gdiapers. I even found a tutorial on flickr that outlines how to make your own inserts. Sounds great, right? I'm not finished. The best part is that gdiapers has an incredible offer right now. Each diaper typically runs anywhere from $17-$19, but they just came out with an everyday g six pack for $70 and until July 31st (only 2 more days), if you use the code g836Forrest, you get an extra $30 off of the six pack. That brings the cost of each diaper to less than $7!!! Even if you're on the fence about trying cloth, at this price there wouldn't be much to lose.
I took the plunge and I love it. Seriously, love it. It's much easier than I thought it would be.
And just look at these cute rear ends...
Both Sy and Ivy are in a medium everyday little g stuffed with a rad rag (we love these) from punk rock padding. I also stuff the little g's with infant size unbleached indian prefolds. They are a bit more tedious since you have to fold them, but they fit perfectly in the little g's and are more economical than rad rags.
Oh, I love cloth diapering. I could go on and on, but it's late and I need sleep.
Goodnight.
