A friend of mine, Rachel, sent me an email a few weeks ago with information about a giant sale on cloth diapers happening here in St. Louis. She cloth diapers her son using these diapers. At first I thought there is no way I would do that... but the more I thought about it, the more reasons to try it kept coming to mind.
First of all, they were on sale for $1 each. Yep, $1. These suckers sell for $18-$24 brand new... the sale was for "well-loved" (used) cloth diapers. Secondly, Hunter has had a rash for about a week and half now that doesn't seem to be going away. Lots of research suggests that using cloth diapers reduces diaper rash. I would like to see if that is true for Hunter. Thirdly, who wouldn't want a $0 diaper bill every month? Fourth, it is better for the environment.
So Josh & I talked over all those options and decided that for $1 we better go to the sale and check it out. We got there about 40 minutes before the store opened and the line was already around the building and through the parking lot. We got in line and it wasn't long until it wrapped around the other side of the parking lot. The entire time in line I was feeling very hesitant and nervous-- I was intimidated by all the super-moms who are hardcore about cloth diapering-- especially since I had never done it before. I learned a lot in line about the products and styles, methods for washing and drying, and how to pick out good ones in the sale.
About 3 hours later, we got to the $1 tables. There were piles and piles of "well-loved" $1 diapers. Each person was only allowed 25. So Josh & I both picked out big piles of ones we thought were good and then went and sat on the floor to examine them more closely. I felt overwhelmed again, because there were so many good ones! How were we ever going to decide which ones weren't good?
Hunter was at his limit by this point, since we were an hour past his nap. He did great in line, though, even through the heat. So we made our decisions and left with a new plan in mind.
Tonight, we finally had them all washed, cleaned, dried and ready to stuff.
And Hunter is sleeping in his very first cloth diaper as I type. I will have to report tomorrow as to whether or not it worked!
And Hunter is sleeping in his very first cloth diaper as I type. I will have to report tomorrow as to whether or not it worked!
I'll be so interested to see how they work. Neither Josh of Alyce could tolerate cloth diapers without getting instant and horrible rash but these look really different. The hot humid weather makes diaper rash problems so much worse, as does the increase in foods Hunter consumes. Hope it works. Frequent soda baths help, which may just be the increased time with no diaper. You guys are sure good parents to go to all that effort so I sure hope it pays off!!!! Juice makes very acidic urine so you could cut that for a bit. I love the colors!!
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Ah! Josh is wearing his unleash the Casey shirt. I just blew up that last picture of Hunter. What did the poor little guy do to his tummy? Did he fall on something to make that red line?? He looks sooooo tall held up like that.
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ReplyDeleteWe used cloth diapers, too... not these exact ones, but similar, with velcro and stuff. I LOVED it.
The most shocking thing to you will be how often he actually pees... the disposables seem dry when they're actually not. Moisture trapped in plastic is moisture trapped in plastic, whatever way you look at it! (I've actually watched mothers put dirty, wet disposables back on their children because it "wasn't full yet"... and the things are so expensive, who can blame them, really?! But yuck!)
It makes potty training so much easier, too, by the way!! Hope it helps the rash...
Next adventure I recommend: homemade baby wipes. Very cheap, so much more effective!
Wish we were around the corner, watching and smiling over each milestone with you guys. I guess FB and blog snooping will have to do for now!
Hope all is well!
How insanely awesome that you got to go to a $1 sale! I am cloth diapering our newborn, and just loving it! Memaw and grandad came to visit last week (Loyd and Shirley) and memaw did not understand it at all. She was like, "how do you keep the inside from getting dirty?" I pretty much just dropped the discussion after that! It is amazing how far the "technology" has come from what I understand. I don't have nearly as many CD as you, so I wash everyday, but it is such an easy load. Since I don't have the luxury of a $1 sale, I am doing mostly styles with snaps so that they will last longer and for *hopefully* more than 1 child! I do have some BG velcro that are, I must add, preferred by daddy. :) I would agree with Laurie, if you are cloth diapering, you might as well do cloth wipes. It is actually easier than fishing the disp wipes out of the pail of dirty diapers. Gross. Plus, I actually like cloth wipes as much or more that the cloth diapers. They are so soft, clean so much better, smell nicer and not like chemicals, etc. Give it a go. For the $20 investment in a warmer I think you'll love it if you enjoy the diapers.
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