Reporting on the cloth diapers

All right . . . so it's been more than a week. But I have been true to my promise to give the cloth diapers a fair shake. And the verdict is . . .

Now if I told you that already, you wouldn't read the rest of this post.



My main concerns about cloth diapering before actually using them were as follows:

• Cloth diapers are bulkier. Would my baby's bottom look as cute and still fit in his clothes with cloth diapers?
• The smell--would my neighbors start complaining?
• Doubling my laundry duty
• The time involved in putting on and taking off cloth diapers

So, here is what I found:

Bulk. Yes, Isaac has a bigger booty with the cloth, but surprisingly, he still fits into his clothes--even the ones he is growing out of. I suppose baby clothes are built for expansion.

Smell. The wet diapers don't smell funny to me or Sam (and Sam has a much better sniffer than do I). When I have a soiled diaper, I just throw them all into the washing machine and wash a load. This works well for me, since Isaac poops about once every 2-3 days. If you have a frequent pooper on your hands, you may want to reconsider before using cloth diapers.

Laundry. We have the most amazing washer and dryer. They are so good that I actually look forward to doing laundry. Also, Isaac's bedroom (which is also our bathroom) is literally two steps away from our washer/dryer. This makes diaper laundry VERY convenient. I run a cold rinse, then wash the diapers with detergent in the sanitize cycle, and throw them in the dryer. When done, I just stack them in piles and toss them into my plastic diaper box. It probably takes about 10 minutes total. If you are considering cloth diapering, I recommend a high-efficiency machine. We have a Samsung washer/dryer, and we LOVE it.

Extra time changing diapers. It takes 30-60 seconds longer to change a cloth diaper because you've got to pull out the absorbent lining, put the used diaper in the wetbag, pull out a fresh diaper and lining, insert the lining, and snap the diaper into place. However, I discovered that I'm not generally in a big hurry when changing diapers, so I don't mind the extra time singing and talking to my baby while changing him. Isaac doesn't mind the extra attention, either.

Here are a few things I wasn't expecting that I found when using cloth diapers:

• Not as absorbent. So, I'd be lying if I didn't say that more than once, I have realized I waited too long to change a diaper when I felt my lap getting wet. I'd say he needs a change every 3 hours. For this reason, I put the babe in a disposable diaper at night.
• Soiled diapers. I'm going to be honest: they aren't my favorite. And in the process of removing the diaper lining, I may have gotten a little poop on my fingers from time to time . . . fortunately, Isaac's changing table doubles as the bathroom countertop/sink.

So, the conclusion? Well, I have to admit that they aren't as convenient as disposables. But they're really not that much more inconvenient either. I would say that I have a mild preference for disposables. But, since I have already invested in the cloth diapers, I may as well get my money's worth out of them and do the planet a favor while I'm at it!