Well, technically I didn’t start full time until he was 2 weeks old. I did use them occasionally until 2 weeks. Here are some tips, life lessons, and thoughts on the first year of cloth diapering.
DO NOT prep your prefolds by boiling them in a tiny apartment. Trust me.
Don’t show off your stash to family members. They don’t care. I excitedly showed my stash to my mother in law, only to get asked why I wouldn’t just use disposables. Didn’t you see the wool soaker with a whale on the butt? Hello!
Expect resistance from your SO. Be prepared to explain in detail every step of the diaper change. You most likely did all of the research, he didn’t. He doesn’t know the difference between wool, PUL, fleece, or that laundry tabs needs to be affixed and inserts need to be pulled.
Maybe climbing up and down 2 flights of stairs 2 weeks after a vaginal delivery to wash diapers isn’t a great idea. But husbands are not to be trusted with diaper laundry (mine atleast)
One Size diapers leak on tiny babies. Don’t give up! If this happens to you either try tweaking the fit or set them aside and try them again later. This is what I did. Some One Size diapers I had fit sooner than others. But my son wore them exclusively after he hit 12 pounds and we stopped using the prefolds.
Expect funny looks, ridiculous questions, and praise. When I either tell someone or they see the cloth diapers there are varied reactions. Why? How? What do you do with the poop? How do you wash them? Doesn’t it stink? Does the baby feel wetness? Or… Good for you. I wish I could do that. etc.
Never think you have stash nirvana (being completely satisfied) because you won’t! I used to think I would be happy with all BG 3.0’s but yeah. Different phases of babydom mean different diapers you will favor. Wriggly phase will mean velcro is awesome. Newborn stage you might favor prefolds.
Never say never. I thought I would never use pins. I thought I would never use fitteds. I thought I would never ever use wool. You might. And you might like it!
I have no idea where our journey will take us next. If EC goes well then we will be using less diapers. I worry about night time diapering as he gets older and might start having heavier pees. But I will keep all of my diapers for the next baby, who will be inheriting a very diverse stash of cloth diapers!
A photo journey of most of our cloth diaper photos!
I love the slde show. Fletcher is so cute! All the Diapers are cute too!
I love this post. I had a hunch not to boil my prefolds to prep them so I am glad that I didn’t. Although I am curious now why I shouldn’t!
And I agree about not showing off my stash to my family. I send out emails with my baby’s newest cute diaper or cover and no one really seems to care 🙂 How can they not appreciate the cuteness? I don’t know… The cuteness is part of why I decided to use cloth!
This is an awesome way to celebrate baby’s birthday! I am so jealous of your diaper stash – mine looks so dinky and sad in comparison. ;0) I do have to give my hubby props here with cloth diapers. He figured out the prefold thing himself and has stepped in and done a terrific job stuffing pockets (although I have found my 11 mth old with a BG with just an infant pocket). I would totally trust him to wash the diapers with detailed, written directions.
Oh, and my fam doesn’t get the whole “Look at how cute this is!” obsession either. Your photos clearly demonstrate how adorable cding is, though!
.-= Mindy´s last blog ..If You Give a Mom… Wednesdays =-.
I can’t imagine stairs to do laundry after a vaginal delivery. I was waddling around for what seemed like forever and am grateful for my W/D next to my kitchen and that I live in a ranch (1 story) house!
.-= Emi´s last blog ..3 Hands 2 Hold Review, Coupon & Giveaway (11/25) =-.
Loved the slide show – I’m drooling over your stash! My first fluffy love was BG 3.0 too, but I now love the variety I’ve added over the past year and a half. I’m actually going to be sad when we potty train next year and we only use cloth at night.