Photos

Ok so I've discovered that with all the things I do daily (wrangling two kids, housekeeping/family stuff, home business, makeup artistry, some photography, visiting my father in law in the nursing home/rehab center at least a few days a week or more, plus all the errands, shopping, etc. that need done) - I am not able to get on here much. I don't update often, I don't blog at all, hardly..
But I'm here! I posted a few new pictures, I'll work on more!

These are by far my favorite diapers!

I have the pocket diapers, size Large for my little chunker

The outsides are made of adorably printed laminated cotton or solid polyurethane laminate (PUL)-as most AIOs and pockets are, since it's the waterproof part- and the insides are custom milled fleece. The softest fleece I've ever felt in my life! Can I get panties made of this??!?

The leg openings even have the fleece rolling out, so the only thing touching baby's skin is the incredibly soft fleece.

The velcro closures are wide and easy to use, attach securely but not so securely that you have to fight to open them.. they work beautifully. And they're attached to the diaper well, so you don't have to worry that they're going to rip off of the diaper when you tug on them.

Because of the difference in the outside materials, the solids are better for overnight use, though I haven't had any luck using HH for overnight at all. HH solids have been rated for 12 hours, their website says. My son is a heavy wetter, so they're not a good option for me at bedtime, even super-stuffed.

They are my absolute favorite of my diapers though, not in the least because of their adorable prints!








(Real Men Wear Pink - Breast Cancer Awareness)

Okay, so my hubby keeps getting on me to blog about the diapers. Every time I get "fluffy mail", which is an insider term for getting cloth diapers and accessories in the mail, I get excited and email him at work about how much I like them, how cute they are, send him pictures of the baby in them, etc. and he says "Okay, I get it. They're cute. You love them. I agree. But why tell me? Why don't you share that enthusiasm with the rest of the world?" LOL
So here I am. Sharing that enthusiasm with the rest of the world. Or at least the Opera community. Those that will read it. hehe Maybe I'll branch out to MySpace too. OoOohhh maybe even FaceBook haha.

So. First things first. I'm Jacklen. I'm 25. Mother of 2. McCayla is my daughter, she's 3 1/2. Canon is my son, he just turned 1. He's the one in cloth diapers (from here on known as CD).
I started CDing because Canon gets bad diaper rashes. They bleed. It looks really painful. Nothing makes them better. Turns out his pedi thinks he may be allergic to the chemicals in the disposable diapers. So we switched to CD. It was my Christmas present LOL. They're expensive, so it was an investment.

Alright. Here we go.
There are different kinds of CD:

AIO -
All in one:
Just like it sounds - Goes on just like a disposable. Either velcro or snap closure. No extra pieces. Just put it on baby and close it. I have a few of these. The least cost-effective method, but the most convenient.

AI2 -
All in two:
Just like AIO but the absorbent part lays inside or snaps inside (against baby's bottom) instead of being hidden/sewn inside the middle of the diaper. I have a couple of these.

Pocket -
Basically a shell. Still goes on like a disposable. Waterproof outer, comfy/soft inner, with a pocket opening at the end. You add the absorbent part yourself, stuffing it with as much or as little as you need. Great for customizable absorbency. Heavy wetters sometimes need an extra insert. I have more of these than anything. (a LOT, actually haha)

Prefolds -
Just like Grandma used!
Squares/rectangles of cloth, folded and wrapped, and pinned or clipped (diaper pins or Snappis) around baby. These require a little more skill! Definitely the most cost-efficient method of CDing. These always require a cover to prevent leaks!

Fitteds -
Similar in shape to AIOs, etc. but not waterproof on the outside. Pinned or Snappi'd in place, and require a cover to prevent leaks. Most are very cute!


There are so many brands, it took a lot of time and research to decide which to go with. I decided that for me, pockets, AIOs, etc. were the best choice. I didn't want to deal with prefolds, nor did I want to do fitteds with covers. As far as brands went, we ended up NOT choosing one. We chose several. I bought a couple of sampler packs from NickisDiapers.com

Among the diapers in those were
BumGenius 3.0 pockets OS (one size)
Mommy's Touch pocket
Swaddlebees pockets
Happy Heiny's pockets
FuzziBunz pockets
and a Drybees AIO (all in one) I got "seconds" (manufacturing flaw)

These are some of the HUNDREDS of common brands. It's mind-boggling, to say the least!

My Mom also bought me two diapers on eBay. BabyLove, by Kidalog. These are AI2, the soaker is attached at one end.

I started with a total of 14 diapers. It's approximately a one-day supply, plus a few to last while I wash the first day's worth. After a week or so, I asked James if I could get more, as I would rather not have to laundry daily, though I didn't mind if it were necessary. Of course, he let me. (He IS perfect, ya know!)

The next batch of diapers I got from DiaperSwappers.com. It's an online Cloth Diapering and Mothering Community - as they call it. They swap and sell diapers, WAHM wares, etc. It's a great place to try diapers cheaper.

So I got a couple of WAHM diapers (Made by Work At Home Moms, their own designs...) - cute ones with flames and baseball designs..

and also a Starbunz (they're ADORABLE! Shaped like animals!), and a GAD (Green Acre Designs).. plus a 5 pack of Wonderloves. I'm not too big on them though. I'm trying to sell them off.

Oh, and some Booty Cubes! (yep, that's right. Booty Cubes. hahaha.) It's cubes of solution to make your own baby wipes. I'll make a blog post on that too!

Anyway. Right now I'm in the process of testing all the diapers I have to see what I love, what I don't.. and then I'm going to start posts on each brand. Reviews, if you will. With pictures! yay!

Hopefully this will help somebody with making decisions regarding diapers haha.. I'm not a great writer, so it won't be much fun to read.. but maybe it will at least be informative!

Off to find pictures for my first review!