Cloth Diapering

So I started dabbling in cloth diapering (which I will refer to as CDing from now on) when Abby was about 4 weeks old. I had ordered some one-size pocket cloth diapers that are supposed to fit your baby from 8 to 36 pounds, but the problem with Abby was that she had really skinny legs so no matter how tightly we pulled the tabs across her midsection, we had accidents through the gaps in the leg area.  So then I tried her gDiapers that had disposable, biodegradable inserts, but we had the same problem with leaks out of her leg area.  I decided that I had lost the battle but I wouldn't lose the war, so I simply resolved to take up CDing again at a later date after Abby's legs had some time to fatten up and thereby plug in the gaps.

Last picture of Mommy and Abby in front of the house in Maryland before we hit the road to drive to Georgia

Nine weeks and several pounds later, I tried CDing again when Abby was about 13 weeks old and...SUCCESS!  Abby had several successful days of CDing before we left Maryland, but because I didn't know when the next time we would have access to a washing machine, I used disposables on our trip down to Georgia.  Once we got our stuff unpacked, I started right back up and I am proud to say that we have come up with a very successful CDing routine that has kept Abby's little booty away from the harsh chemicals and plastics found in disposable diapers and right up next to some luxurious fluffy cotton/chlorine-free, biodegradable inserts for the last three straight weeks!  The added bonuses?  We are saving TONS of money on diapers since we aren't buying them weekly, AND I also made some cloth wipes to use on Abby (using our overabundance of baby washcloths), so we are saving money on not having to buy wipes too, AAAAAND we are being kind to our Mother Earth!!!  I don't see any drawbacks!

"WHAT ARE THESE?!"  Abby finds her toes, much to her surprise.  Also, she is wearing one of her gDiapers here, although you can just barely see the pink cloth sticking out.  

The cloth wipes are super easy to make with materials you probably already have around the house.  For instance, I used 2 tablespoons each of her Burt's Bees bodywash and Burt's Bees Apricot Oil  (which are both amazing by the way--they smell great and are natural, so no harsh chemicals on baby's skin) and 2 cups of cooled-down, boiled water and put it in an old large wipe container (which is BPA or Plastic #5-free because I am a little bit of paranoid freak like that), stirred and added about 15-20 old washcloths until saturated.  I have not only found that they leave Abby cleaner and her bum softer than the disposables, but I also only use only one or at most two (for the really big poopies) per diaper change where I was using up to TEN with the disposable wipes!  I then just put the wipes in her diaper pail with the diapers, which has an antibacterial liner to keep the stink down, and when it comes time to do CD laundry, the wipes just go in the wash with diapers and I don't have to think about them any more than that!  It is too easy!

There is such a resurgence in CDing out there and there is so much information with a lot of acronyms and CD-speak, that I think I may start to do a regular post about CDs to document our journey to the "Green Side" and all the success or failures we have along the way, so that you may benefit from our experiences as well!

That's it for now.  I also want to do a blog about all the really wonderful baby items we have as well as the items we have either found mildly helpful or completely superfluous.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and check back soon for a new post!!

Abby wearing her onesie that Miss Jenn made for her!