Monday, September 12, 2011

Crazy for Cloth

When I was pregnant I started a mental list of things and ways I wanted to raise my children....promote development by playing games, make my own baby food, have a "get & give away" mentality with new toys, and use cloth diapers, were some of my top decisions.

Now, I am not known as a very "homey" or naturalistic person, but I sure am a researcher and learner! Being the diligent gal that I am, I started off to conquer my goal to cloth diapering since that was an obvious first thing needed for a baby! So with commitment to this decision I decided to start implementing it while still pregnant by spending hours souring the internet and chatting with friends who were like minded and doing the same. I'm pretty sure Graham got quickly tired of, "hey, guess what I learned about cloth diapers today?" followed by many tidbits and trivia of my recent findings, including how cost effective, good for the environment, best for baby cloth diapering is! (To humor you with one piece of trivia...Did you know that a disposable diaper takes 500 years to completely decompose in our landfills?! Yuk!)

Anyway, I was sold, and committed to the cause!! Then week 39 of pregnancy rolled around :) I was tired, very hot, done being pregnant, tired, and as I was pulling out my cloth diapers to set up Levi's things, the thought of having to do laundry as quick as my little guy would go through them in those first weeks, stuff those pocket diapers, and start over again ever 2 days sounded even more exhausting.....so, I sort of let go of my cloth diapering aspirations and figured I would try when Levi was older. So out went my convictions and hours of research at the last minute.

Levi in his cloth diaper :)
So Levi was born and safely home already when friends and supporters of ours from Florida sent us a very special gift - a diaper service!! I was completely overjoyed and blessed beyond belief! I could start my cloth diapering when Levi was 4 weeks old and not even have to worry about the laundry!  So I became a client with The Now Family and their diaper service, as a generous (and very practically and needed!) gift from our friends. Here's how it works: every week I have 70, clean, pre-fold cloth diapers delivered. As Levi uses them, I dump them into a pail (garbage bin with a liner) where then I switch them out again the following week for the clean ones. It's brilliant! Plus, I LOVE the company who does this service - they'll even wash your own stash of cloth diapers for you if you want, or arrange for special adds on to the basic pre-fold package!

So now I am officially crazy for cloth! Since I've started I've had lots of friends both here in Kona and other places ask me for suggestions on how to start, what to use, etc. So below I've created a list of my recommendations so far. But at the end of the day it's always fun to see hard work, desire, research and diligence pay off to benefit both my family and maybe yours too!


Alissa's Cloth Diapering "Must Haves"...

For research: Check out this blog All About Cloth Diapers 
For an affordable diaper service and store to up your stash and accessories: Check out The Now Family  (located in Kona)...anything I mention below and recommend you can get directly from these guys! Plus, let's support our local businesses right?!
For Newborns: Do pre-folds!! I was shocked how easy they are! Since your little one basically poops around the clock, this is by far the BEST way to start cloth early I think. You'll need about 70 total for a week (or less and wash more often), then you just add a couple of diaper covers to your stash (I love the ones by Thirsties so far the best) and some snappis (no more pins!) and you're set!
For on-the-go: An all-in-one diaper is key! It's just like a disposable, but cloth! I love the ones from Bum Genius because they fit from 8lbs until out of diapers. And of course you'll need a wet bag for your diaper bag too so you can put the dirties in until you get home. Planet Wise has cute ones with patterns.
Getting older: I have yet to try these, but from my understanding and what I have seen, I am going to go with a Hybrid diaper when Levi is older - either the Flip or Best Bottom system. I do not want to stuff pocket diapers or pull out the insert when it's messy...but I'll review them for you once I've given it a try!
Other suggestions: Friend, you HAVE to get a cloth swim diaper! Especially those of you in Kona where basically going to the beach is one of the only fun, free options. I got a cute one from my friends at The Now Family who carry the Turtle Soup brand. Lastly, I have been sold on cloth wipes! Who knew I would be so green huh? But seriously, if you're going to do laundry, why not use the wipes too! Have loved using Thirsties Wipes as they're cute colors :)

Friends who are cloth diapering too - I would love to hear what you use and love too!

1 comment:

  1. Awesome girl! Wanted to tell you that we use flip covers with prefolds and I LOVE them. Taylor uses them easily, too. :) Also, for on the go, I use the Bum Genius 4.0 Stay Dry. It's more affordable than the all in one but so simple to use in public! :)

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