Since Rilynn is seven months old and we've had a chance to experience cloth diapering at both a young infant and older age, I thought I would post an update on how things are going and why cloth diapering is easier than ever!
When I made the decision to cloth diaper before Rilynn was born, I went into it with the mindset that we would start whenever we were ready. I told myself that realistically, I may not feel comfortable starting until 3 months - and that was ok! By taking that pressure off of myself, I think it really set us up for success with cloth diapers.
We ended up putting Rilynn in a cloth diaper at 6 weeks. I will admit that it was mostly because I thought they were so cute and I couldn't stand not using them anymore. I remember that I said, "We will just try 1 or 2 today and see how it goes" ...and after that, I was hooked. Over the next three months, we used cloth diapers 95% of the time, only using disposables at night or when we were going out of the house all day. We never had a blowout and the leaks were few (user error by mom and dad). My wash routine was simple and I didn't even notice the extra load every 2-3 days. I never had stink issues or staining and my Sunbaby diapers were awesome.
In January, we made the decision to stop cloth diapering while we stayed at my mother in law's. It was a really difficult choice, since disposables would cost a lot more, and at the time, Ryan did not have a job. We noticed that the washer didn't seem to be agitating the diapers when I washed them, and so every load would take 3 cycles to get the diapers clean. I hadn't changed my wash routine from when we used our washer, but I realized that using 3 cycles of water was not cost efficient and I couldn't justify doing that every other day. My mother in law was kind enough to have us in her home and I didn't feel right about using that much water.
Using disposables for 3 months definitely made me appreciate cloth diapers. Rilynn would have a blowout every time she pooped and I hated buying hundreds of diapers. I was actually worried about starting up cloth diapering again - would it still work for us? would I have more issues with washing? what if they leaked all the time since Rilynn was older?
We started cloth diapering the day we got to Florida. I was really apprehensive, but it turned out that cloth diapering was even easier now than it was in the beginning! What we've discovered is that cloth really is convenient and isn't wasteful. I would hate if I put a new disposable diaper on Rilynn and then 20 minutes later she had barely wet it, but needed a nap. I hated tossing that barely used diaper in the trash, but I wasn't going to let her take a nap in a wet diaper. With cloth, I just take it off and throw it in the diaper pail. There are days I take off a "dirty", dry cloth diaper before a bath and it feels good knowing that I'm not throwing money down the drain. It's just an extra diaper in that load of wash.
Rilynn is also eating solids now. Although dealing with breastfed baby poop wasn't that bad (you can literally just throw it in the diaper pail, but I usually still sprayed it off), now we just take off her diaper and shake the contents off into the toilet. The handful of "messy" diapers we have had have never "exploded" - so to this day, I can say that we have never had a blowout in a cloth diaper. Along the same lines, Rilynn only has a poopy diaper once every 1-2 days. That means almost all her diapers are just wet and don't require anything but tossing them in the diaper pail.
I am still doing diaper laundry every 2-3 days, and I still have yet to get a single stain. Tide original powder has kept the diapers fresh and stink free! I also have used only my Sunbaby diapers, and all of them have held up and look brand new. One insert is still enough per diaper, as long as I am changing Rilynn every 2-2.5 hours. We still use a disposable at night, as Rilynn has been sleeping closer to 12 hours and has even leaked out of her disposables. Eventually I may venture into cloth for night time, but right now, one disposable a day is fine with us.
One fun reason we are loving cloth is that with the warmer weather, Rilynn frequently just wears a top and her cloth diaper. They are so cute and still look like part of her outfit, even without shorts or leggings on. We also use a cloth diaper as her swim bottom when we go to the beach or a swimming pool, We've used cloth diaper inserts, but we also use a disposable inside the cloth diaper shell and it's worked great!
I really feel that I don't even think about the fact that we cloth diaper anymore. It's very natural and it doesn't cause any noticeable extra work or grief for anyone. Even my parents and sister will use cloth diapers without any trouble. I like that cloth diapers hold in poopy messes and smells and cleaning them has gotten even easier with time. We haven't had any diaper rashes or irritation, and I really think Tide & frequent diaper changes has a lot to do with that.
My biggest advice is to give cloth diapers a shot if you are considering them! It's one of the best decisions I have ever made. Along with that, cloth diapering a newborn or a 3 month old may be too much for you - and that's ok! If you tell yourself that you will start when YOU are ready, I think you will have a greater chance for success. First time moms always ask me what I would recommend as far as starting cloth. My honest opinion is that you should wait and start once you get through at least the first month. Maybe with a second newborn you would feel comfortable and confident in cloth diapering from day one (especially if you got the hang of cloth diapering with your first baby), but those first few weeks are crazy enough just adjusting to having a baby for the first time. I know if I would have been forcing myself to use cloth in the first month when Rilynn would poop 4 times a night, I would have thrown in the towel. Another reason I suggest waiting is that you will most likely need to buy special newborn cloth diapers, as the one size ones don't usually fit at the beginning (this won't matter if you are using other types of cloth diapering systems). Choose whatever is best for you and your family!!
