Why We Made the Switch

Sorry, faithful readers, for my disappearing act! We have been busy little bees at Haines Hollow, but then again, each day is full of activity since the arrival of Isaac and Kathryn. The main reason for my lack of posts lately is I have hurt my back. Something tells me it was carrying Isaac and Kathryn in their car seats AT THE SAME TIME...lesson learned...will not try that again! Fortunately, I am off to the chiropractor tomorrow afternoon for a much needed adjustment. Anyhow, I digress, on to the topic at hand...

As many of you know, Jonathan and I decided to switch to cloth diapers. Yep...if you are reading the blog for the first time...we are using cloth diapers on the twins. No...we are not crazy...let me explain to you why we made the switch and several decisions we made.

Why did we make the switch? Short answer...we are saving money. Is it more work? Not really. Can we afford disposable diapers? I guess. Are we reducing the amount of waste Jonathan hauls to the dump? Yes. Are we environmentally conscious? Not overwhelmingly so. Are we experiencing fewer leaks? I think so. Is it messier? NOPE! (Both Jonathan and I agree the wet diapers are messier to deal with than the ones with poo.) Does the dry diaper pail stink? Not of poo! Could we have started out using cloth when Isaac and Kathryn first came home? H*ll NO! (Do these answers surprise you?)

Here's the skinny...we have decided to use cloth at home. Will we use cloth diapers when we leave the house? No. Personally, I don't want to deal with carting around a dirty diaper while out and about, nor do I want to worry with potential poo disposal. Will we use cloth while on vacation? Again...no...I don't want to worry about bringing our "special" cloth diaper detergent, storing the diapers and washing the diapers while on vaca. And on the off chance the kids develop diaper rash (cloth diapered kiddos have fewer incidences of diaper rash)...we will simply switch over to disposable until the rash has cleared up. (Diaper rash creams cannot be used with cloth diapers...it screws up absorption.)

Here's what I am doing so far...every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday I wash diapers. The diapers are washed in a cold cycle first with a special detergent. Then they are washed in a hot cycle with the same detergent followed by an extra rinse cycle. I hang the diapers on a drying rack to air dry. If it is nice outside, they dry outside for the day. On Tuesday evenings, Thursday evenings and Sunday evenings I snap and stuff diapers while watching TV.

We purchased a diaper sprayer to assist in poo removal (very handy) and we have a dry pail that stores the dirty diapers until time to wash. Both the diaper sprayer and the dry pail live in our half bath on the main level. Diapers for overnight use and nap times are stuffed with the regular insert and the doubler. Combined these two inserts can absorb up to 20 oz of fluid! These double-stuffed diapers live in a large lined basket under our changing table on the main level. Our daytime diapers are stuffed with the regular insert only (which will absorb up to 15 oz of fluid!!) and live in a large lined basket under our changing table in the nursery.

Customer service for the bumGenius diapers has been fantastic! They have helped me trouble shoot leaks. (User error and over saturated inserts have been our culprits so far.) And they have also helped me with general questions, like how to deal with poo stains that don't come out in the wash or how to reduce the ammonia smell in the dry diaper pail.

Would I have switched to cloth earlier? No. Those first three months were all about survival and keeping life as simple as possible. Now that Isaac and Kathryn are older, in a good schedule, eating solids (which in turn creates more solid poo) and we are more confident in our parenting skills (the most important factor); we are comfortable making the switch. And hopefully, the 46 bumGenius 3.0s we now own will carry us through a good part of our diapering years!

Before I go...here's a cute shot of Jonathan and the kiddos before the last nursing session this evening...Kathryn's watching Wheel, but I was able to get a smile out of Isaac and Daddy...too cute, right?!