My OperaCloth Diapers.. first blog post
Saturday, January 19, 2008 11:05:21 PM
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!
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!
Matthewnoah counte # Saturday, January 19, 2008 11:31:31 PM
Imagine my surprise to see that cloth diapers are no longer huge rectangles of white cloth. That's all I ever knew (and I still use them for cleaning up messes, wiping my hands when I work on my bicycle, and a myriad other jobs. Some of them are over 40 years old now)!
Anyway, I am glad you discovered cloth diapers. They helped shape my life.
By the way, your writing is fine.
Rickcwbywz # Sunday, January 20, 2008 12:21:12 AM
I have pin scars from them still.
Matthewnoah counte # Sunday, January 20, 2008 12:31:07 AM
I thought those scars were chicken pox!
WandaWicked Wanda # Monday, January 21, 2008 2:13:16 AM
The boys are taking their sweet time making a grandmother out of me so I won't have to worry about any diapers again for awhile. To be honest, I'm soooooooo glad!
The baby is so cute and growing soooo fast! But, don't they all. Love them, spoil them, hold and kiss them all you can. Tomorrow, they will be grown-up. They won't understand that even then; they will still be your babies!!!!!
HinArticle # Friday, August 8, 2008 2:43:39 AM
JacklenOutlawMUA # Sunday, August 17, 2008 2:23:31 AM
Thanks for the link, I'll fwd it to some friends!