Fluffy Talk

Right now it seems cloth diapering has become "all the rage" online and off. I've been cloth diapering The Boy for over a year now and while at times I find myself becoming lazy and wanting to just switch back completely to sposies, I realize how much time, effort, and money we've put into making our child's bottom fluffy.

I've been really experimenting with the types of diapers and covers that work best for The Boy and have also been building up a nice newborn and small stash for Baby Girl. I've come to the conclusion that after I get this last batch in the mail (from a trade from a friend online) I will not need to buy either child cloth diapers for a long time and that is a relief! As much fun as it is to shop for fluff, being at stash nirvana is a blessing.

The Boy's stash is made up of mostly fitted diapers and a few pockets. My favorite diapers are his Cuddlebuns fitteds and his WoolDins fitted and bamboo prefold. They are soft, absorbent, and super cute! In fact, his WoolDins fitted is so thick I think he could easily go coverless in it, something we've never been able to do because he is such a heavy wetter.

For long naps and overnights we use Bum Genius 3.0 one-size pocket diapers and I have never had a major issue with these! Yes, we have had our share of random leaks but I find that they happen when it's approaching time for a good diaper-stripping. We have been able to go upwards of fourteen hours at night with a BG3.0 and have not had a leak. We do have to majorly stuff these and they become so bulky that he wears a lot of 18mo and 2T size jammies to fit over them, but who cares? He's going to be sleeping anyway. It's not like he's off to model his sweet tushie online.

Or is he? Yes, that is my son's fluffy-butt modeling his iced giraffes fitted diaper!

As for Baby Girl's stash, hers is mostly made up of prefolds along with a few pocket diapers and fitteds. I love using prefolds and they are so cost-effective, being the most affordable. On average, you can buy a dozen prefold diapers for around $20-$25 whereas it can cost nearly that much just to buy one fitted diaper.

Today I am trying something entirely new - receiving blankets as flat diapers! The fold took a little bit for me to get down, but I've got it pretty mastered now and The Boy is wearing one for the first time ever at this very moment. I'm really hoping this works out because if it has, I have just added something like fifteen "new diapers" to his stash!

The biggest drawback to cloth diapering that I have found is the amount of water used to wash his diapers. Honestly, it only adds an average of three extra loads a week, but once Baby Girl arrives it will probably be more like five loads. Our weather lately has been so inconsistent that I haven't been able to hang his fluff on the line as much as I'd like to and I guess I could be better about getting out there to hang it up or use my clothes bars. That would definitely save on dryer time and electricity. I actually do enjoy fluff wash. I love folding and organizing his stash each time. For regular fluff wash I use a detergent that is locally made and sold called Sunday's Wash and it is about $8 for 32 loads, but it works wonders and is so gentle on The Boy's bum!

Other products I use are Punkin Booty Bits for his wipe solution. The Boy gets a huge kick out of when I spray it on the wash cloth and on his bottom. It never fails to make him giggle! They have so many wonderful scents and are so affordable! For The Boy's wool I use Ewe Need It wool wash. It comes in many of the same scents as the PBB and works wonderfully on all of his wool!

I guess I could go on and on about fluff itself but haven't actually discussed why I chose to cloth diaper. Many reasons come to mind - less sposies in landfills, saving money, and it's fun! It's a great ice-breaker as well. I have come across some people that are a bit obnoxious when talking about cloth diapering. I am very passionate about cloth diapering, but I am not preachy. I fully admit that I do not know everything about cloth diapering. In fact, there is so much I have to learn yet about the many facets of this "hobby." If anyone is interested in cloth diapering, though, I am always happy to answer any questions!