With Micah more or less potty trained, I decided to try cloth diapers with baby E. That’s why I checked out the GroVia cloth diapers and also Alva diapers from SuperStash.net (review coming!). I was impressed but, from a financial standpoint, after considering the cost of buying enough covers and inserts compared to Walmart disposable diapers, it seemed like a lot of fuss for not a whole lot of savings. Then a friend of ours gave me a box full of covers and inserts she had used with her kids, and the idea of not having to buy a box of diapers every few weeks became achievable. So I went all-cloth for a few days and discovered cloth diapers is actually quite easy!

Cloth Diapering is Easy!

After the diapers and inserts are washed and ready, I pre-snap the risers to make the baby-sized and pre-stuff a bunch with inserts and I’m ready for a few days. Emersyn is pooping a time or two each day and doesn’t mind being wet as long as she’s not soaked, so we go through 3-5 diapers a day. When I pre-snap and pre-stuff, changing a velcro-close diaper is really just as easy as changing a disposable. The snap-closure diapers seem to get a better fit, but take a few extra seconds to put on my wiggle worm.

The cloth diapers themselves are actually pretty easy. There are diaper covers that I basically put the inserts on top of the cover, then the insert can be changed and the cover re-used if it’s not dirty. E’s poop seems to often come off the insert and soil the cover, then it can’t be re-used, but it works good for pee-only changes.

Or there are pocket diapers (no, they are not pocket-sized) that I put the insert inside the diaper, or two for more absorbency. These seem to be more common and easier to pre-stuff with less chance for leakage.

Diaper Rash worse with Cloth Diapers?

Emersyn’s little bum doesn’t seem to have suffered from the switch in any way. I keep Desitin with my diapers so I can stop any redness right away, and I still make sure I change poopy diapers right away. I know some babies have a harder time with cloth, then it’s a matter of finding the right fabric or detergent for that baby’s skin.

The Downside of Cloth Diapers?

My laundry room stinks. I rinse poopy diapers when I get a chance, pull out wet inserts, and throw everything right into the washing machine. When it’s getting stinky, or full, or I’m running low on my diaper supply I run the laundry. I have a door to the outside right in my laundry that’s open a lot, that helps with the smell.

I’ve heard people say their kid’s pee-smell never comes out of the inserts. I haven’t had that trouble with baby E’s practically scent-free pee. The inserts come out of the wash clean and smell-free.

So far so good for our experience with cloth. They do make E’s bum look bigger and are definitely bigger and therefore harder to pack for on-the-go. And they aren’t as absorbant as disposables, but now that E isn’t nursing at 2am, she doesn’t pee as much overnight and we haven’t had trouble with leakage. The cloth diapering world has definitely changed since we were kids!