What I've Learned:
- Everyone told me to try a little of everything before making any big purchases. I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED! After only a week, I hated stuffing pockets and knew that there was absolutely no way I could handle a whole stash full of pockets. I ended up selling a TON of my pockets and all my all-in-ones on Diaper Swappers. This worked out pretty well but I did end up losing some money.
- When it comes to pockets and AIOs, you get what you pay for. Rumparooz, which are my absolute FAVORITE, also happen to be pretty darn expensive. $23.50 for solid colors and $25.50 for prints- that's $5-$7 more than the two most popular and well known pocket brands, BumGenius and FuzziBunz. BUT it is worth it. The fit is AMAZING, especially for a one-size diaper. The colors are vibrant and beautiful. The fabric is SUPER soft and stretchy. The aplix is top quality. The inner gussetts? Ingenious! Can you tell how much I love these diapers? I started off with only six, but now I have twelve. I just love them!
- "Classics" never die. There is a reason why prefolds are still so popular. I, too, was one of those people who "scoffed" at those old fashioned or ugly diapers. That is, until I tried tucking a trifolded Zabi Baby prefold into my Flip & WeeHuggers covers. Easy and fast... diapering perfection! They're soft and absorbant, and they wash and dry so much easier than synthetics. I'm also a lot less paranoid about staining a $2 prefold vs. a $25 diaper.
- I do NOT like all-in-ones. They take FOREVER to wash and dry, and they're pretty bulky.
- HE Front Loaders + Cloth Diapering = a giant pain in the butt. Rinse, rinse, rinse people! These machines are designed to use less water but that is not ideal for cloth diapers, which start to stink and/or repel if the detergent is not fully rinsed out. Aaron and I are going to be buying a new washer and dryer soon and let me tell you, they definitely will not be front loaders.
- Cloth diapering is EXTREMELY addicting.
What I Love:
- RUMPAROOZ, FLIPS, and WEEHUGGERS.
-JoeyBunz hemp/organic cotton inserts and Zabi Baby unbleached cotton prefolds
- Disposable liners- these are a must have! Formula poop is NASTY! With these, I can just flush away the poop. :) Perfect.
- We have NEVER had a blowout in our cloth!! {We had several in sposies}
- Smiling every time I change Elliot's diaper. Seriously. How can you look at something so CUTE and not smile? I can't wait for summertime! I think Elliot will be crawling around in just a t-shirt and diaper a lot ;)
- Not ever worrying about running out of diapers, smelling a stinky diaper genie or pail, throwing away $ on disposables, or putting paper and chemicals on my son's bum
What I Hate:
- Stuffing pockets {with the exception of Rumparooz}. It's seriously annoying.
- Microfiber. Yuck! I now use mostly natural fibers {cotton/hemp}. The only thing I use microfiber in still are my Flips- I use the stay dry inserts for overnight. I use hemp/cotton inserts in my Rumparooz.
- SNAPS. Diaper changes took too long, and they never fit my little guy right. I'm an aplix girl!
My Lovely Stash:
- 12 Rumparooz pockets
- 6 WeeHuggers size 1 covers
- 5 Flips covers
- 12 JoeyBunz inserts
- 12 Zabi Baby prefolds
- 16 Flip stay dry inserts
We ♥ Cloth Diapers!
