the scoop on poop...by jessica

Most of you will have no fascination with this post what so ever. But I am going to share with you one of the less glaourous sides to motherhood with you today. After all my life isn't all glitz and glamour! 

Before Jaxson was born I did some research on cloth diapers. It was something I really wanted to try. At the time we lived in an apartment complex and the washers were shared with about 16 other tenants. Granted 5+ of those tenants were our good friends. The washers were crap though, and the tenants that were not our friends, well most of them were wierd and kinda gross. I have a wierd obsession with my laundry and the way it smells and the detergent I use and since those washers barely washed our clothes, adding dirty diapers didn't seem like a good idea. And needless to say I'm pretty positive that the other tenants didn't want poop in their washer either. Even if some of them were our bestest friends. So I chose not to do cloth. I did think about a diaper service, but once I saw the episode on Dirty Jobs where it shows everyones dirty diapers being thrown into one big washer I was a little disgusted. All those poopy diapers floating around together? no thank you! I know you think i'm crazy cause hot water and soap kills germs...but i'm a germaphobe, and well if your one then you get it....

Ok, I'm rambling.....  

This post is about cloth diapers really. I promised a friend I would tell her what I thought of cloth diapers...here goes.
When I was pregnant with our second, Mattix I talked my husband into letting me do cloth diapers....we now had the right circumstances, and by that I mean our own washer and dryer that does fancy things, like a sanitary cycle, and extra tub rinses etc. So I convinced him it would save us a ton of money...Which it does. If you diaper a baby using cloth diapers until their about 3 it can cost you almost  $3,000. Depending on which brand of cloth you choose to you can spend anywhere from $300-$1,500.
I started out with BumGenius 4.0 AIO. I have about 6 or 7 of them. If we choose to go with this brand we will need a lot more than what we have but I haven't decided yet.

Here are the pros:
*They are very easy. No stuffing or pre folding. you just put them on and your done.
*I've never really had any major leaks.
*You really only have to buy them once because they fit from 7-35 lbs.
*I like the snaps, they seem like they will last

Cons:
*Cost is a little pricey. $18 for regular cotton, and about $24 for organic, which is what we chose. But 4 of ours were gifts.
*If you have a chubby baby it's hard to get it on without creasing their fat and you feel bad because it looks so tight!
*They are very bulky and it's hard to fit pants over them.

I also received some G diapers as a gift. I tried them once when Jax was a baby and he blew out of it and it was horrible. I mean awful. It was everywhere. I will spare you the details. I really wanted to like Gdiapers too. I couldn't get them out of my head for some reason, So I tried the two I received as a gift and it was going good, so I ordered about 6 more with this bundle deal. So far I really like them. I also ordered extra cloth inserts.
Here are the pros and cons of G diapers.

Pros:
*adorable
*they aren't bulky and they are super soft.
*you have the option to do a cloth insert or a disposable insert that you can either flush, compost or toss in the trash.
*they sell liners that you put on top of the cloth insert to catch poop that you can just throw away. (these do not work with infant poo though, it leaks right through onto the cloth so it's pointless until it's solid.)
*the cloth inserts are so soft, they are made of micro fleece on the top which takes moisture away from the babies bottom and the underside is made of hemp and cotton to trap the wetness.
*the more you use them, the more absorbent they become.

Cons:
*Not cost friendly...They are about $18 a piece. you can buy a bundle and get a deal though.
*the disposable inserts are expensive. They are nice to have if you plan to use these full time if your out and about you can toss that part. In my opinion there isn't much point to doing these if your not doing the cloth because they cost as much if not more than using regular disposables..it's just 'greener' is all.
*It's a lot of stuffing and snapping to set these guys up.
*They use velcro and It seems like at some point they may wear out....(although if your careful how you wash and dry these they should be fine.)
*They come in different sizes. Meaning you will have to replace what you've bought when your kid outgrows them. Again, not cost friendly.

All in all I really like the Gdiapers a lot more, even though they are a lot more work. I still use the BumGenius all the time too. I don't use cloth when I'm out of the house. I'm not that dedicated and I don't want that much stuff in my diaper bag. Also when I know he's going to poop, I try to just put a disposable on him. Eventually I plan on clothing him all day and not using disposables at all unless I am out. Eventually, eventually.....
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so if you have any questions just let me know.
I do like cloth diapering so far and it's really not a ton of extra work. It does take a little getting used too, once you get a routine down it's not that bad. I will never be used to the part when I'm washing out poop in the toilet while I hold my breath and try not to gag, but hey that's just a small part of the dirty job that a mother deals with on a daily basis. And that is optional torture.
*if you don't want to stick your hand in the toilet there are other options, I am tempted...:)

Until next time....

*AIO= All in one