Revisiting cloth diapering

Although I would love it if Elle would show interest in potty training, I've got to say I'm still in love with our cloth diapers.

It's been a while since I last blogged about cloth diapers, and while cloth diapering can seem overwhelming in the beginning, I feel like it's super easy now and I'm so, so glad we've done it.

Elle is in daycare about 22 hours a week. She's in disposables during that time, but at home, we're still cloth diapering. Two of our sitters (for date nights, meetings, etc.) cloth diaper Elle, too.

Over the last two years, I've learned a lot about cloth diapering. I know for a fact that I prefer snaps to aplix. Hemp inserts are pretty much the bomb. I have been fortunate to have had a good washing routine for the majority of the time. Any stink and build up I've encountered seems to have been fixed fairly easily in the grand scheme of things. I've learned about diaper creams and CD detergents. I've added to my stash slowly as well as sold some of the diapers that just didn't work for us. I've got a washing and drying routine down, I have favorite brands and styles, I've got a night-time diaper perfected for us.

While some cloth diaperers continue to add to their stash because the diapers are super cute and there are frequent sales, I think I'm finally at a point where our arsenal is complete. Many people say this is where the cost effectiveness of cloth diapering is negated, but I tried not to go overboard, and I haven't purchased new diapers in months. I've been mindful to buy gender neutral colors and patterns (except the pink polka dots below because they were the right price and too cute to pass up) so that if we ever have a boy he won't be stuck in pink and purple diapers, too.

Now that Elle is older, we prefer pocket diapers to our initial prefold+cover system - Tim actually refuses to use the prefolds now, but I'll often grab them because they're super easy, and because they are so affordable, we have the most of them.

This photo of Elle is from when she was about 7? 8? months old.
She's wearing a prefold with a cow cover.

It's pretty cool to be part of the "fluff" community - there are so many resources online for parents who cloth diaper. When I have questions (like "why do my diapers suddenly smell like they're not clean even though I just took them out of the washer?"), there is a forum waiting to help me. The responses are not one-size-fit-all, but the options and suggestions have led me to answers that work for us. I've been introduced to products that have worked miracles for our diapers and been alerted to issues to avoid as well as sales to take advantage of. Really, I can't say enough about the cloth diapering community - there are some amazing and valuable resources out there, and trust me, I take full advantage of them!

One other thing I adore is the versatility. Here is Elle in the same diaper:

I think this was circa December 2010 - Elle was about four months old.

July 2012 - almost two years old and it still fits great!

I know cloth diapering isn't for everyone, but I'm glad we did it and look forward to using the diapers on future kidlet(s) to make a good investment even better - after more than two years using many of the same diapers, they're in great shape. There are definitely some days or times when we grab a disposable just because it is convenient, and when we travel we definitely use disposables because I don't want to deal with diaper laundry on the road. I don't beat myself up for the times that she's got a disposable on, but I do love knowing that each time we use a cloth diaper we're saving cash, saving landfill space and it is good for Elle's bum, too.