We started cloth diapering when the trio was about 2-3 months old. We used disposables up until that time and always kept a small stash of 'sposies' for when we went out or if they were going to Grandma's house. In the past few weeks, since going on our road trip and using disposable diapers the entire time while at my parents house and having at least one leaker in the mornings, we've been contemplating the switch.
The idea of cloth diapering was originally Tony's idea. I was all for it since I fancy myself a 'green' person, but was really going to leave it up to him since he was going to be the one staying home and primarily the one doing the diaper laundry. We called a local diaper service to learn a little more about how they work and received a phone call back about a month later and even then, the person that called back didn't know too much and indicated that they would have someone else call back with more details. Which never happened.
We started doing a bit more research and with the availability of most cloth diapering websites, you can order and try them out for about 2 weeks and if you're not happy with them, you return them! So we originally ordered a couple of a few different brands including Econobums, Flips and BumGenius. All of these brands seemed to be so bulky on them and didn't end up loving the pocket type of diaper and we made the switch to Best Bottoms. We've been happy with them for the past 2 years with the exception of a few problems here and there with covers coming apart. We've changed our wash routine a few times too in order to get just the right mix of washing soda, borax and oxyclean. As of a few months ago, we started to notice some holes in some of the diapers and really bad wear, thin spots and the snaps that hold the insert to the cover coming very loose or off completely. It's just been getting worse and worse over the past few months. At time stage in the game, it doesn't make sense to buy more inserts - hopefully they'll be interested in potty training soon.
So this brings me to our current dilemma - to continue with cloth or switch to disposables on a regular basis. Some pros for cloth - better for the planet - I have to admit, I've always felt a little proud telling people that we cloth diaper our triplets. I think alot of people were impressed that we went this route - some thought we were crazy - maybe so! There is also no more money being spent for cloth diapers. Hmmm... what else?
Some pros for disposables - alot less diaper changes! Using cloth we'd typically change diapers (x3) when they wake up in the morning, around 10:30am, after lunch/before nap, wake up from nap, before dinner and then again just before bedtime. That's 18 diaper changes daily - not counting the surprise ones. Olivia had a time where she'd only poop once she was in a clean diaper! Using disposables, we can usually get away with 3-4 changes throughout the day - so max is about 12. I know it doesn't seem like that much of a difference, but believe me, it is! Just getting everyone upstairs and to their room on occasion is a challenge. They like to go into every other room and the fact that 2/3 can open up doors (by turning door knobs) they can go where they want - which is not always where you want them to go! This frees up a bunch of time that we can be doing other things.
Another pro is less laundry. Lately, the diaper laundry takes quite a while. I'm not sure why but the pee smell doesn't seem to come out as easily with one rinse and then one regular wash cycle. It's been taking 2-3 wash cycles and that uses more water/soap/etc. So are we really saving? There is less other laundry too because we don't have as many leaks.
So there you have it! I think the decision is pretty clear. It's the end of cloth as we know, but I'm not feeling so fine.
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