Today, I am excited to introduce Shonee from Hawthorne and Main! She will be giving you the lowdown on cloth diapering. I have been considering it for our second baby, but am a bit confused about how it all works. I am so glad she is willing to share her experiences with us!

 

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Hello Whistle and Ivy readers! My name is Shonee and I am so happy to be here today!!   You can usually find me blogging over at Hawthorne and Main where I share about all the creative adventures we have in updating our old 1950’s home as well as other crafty tutorials. Today we are going to be talking about “poopeee” well not exactly, but sort of.  When I had my little girl last year I decided that in order to save some cash, the planet and my baby’s bum, I decided to try CLOTH DIAPERS.  Oh my gosh, you must think I am crazy.  Well, I am, a little, but at least hear me out.
 

 

Cloth Diapers

 

 

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I am usually not really big into researching products because we have some really good friends who are big into researching.  We usually just copy them and buy whatever they find to be the best products.  This time though, I was on my own.  I literally researched for months reading tons of reviews; I even joined some diapering online groups.  I was invested in finding the perfect diapering system, if it existed.  The problem with cloth diapers is that there are soooo many brands and styles.  While I know everyone’s lives are different I will show you the system that we chose,  as well as some pros and cons.  

Drum roll please,  the diapering system we chose is called gDiapers.  The original reason that I decided to choose this system was because it was the only diaper at the time that was considered a hybrid.  Meaning you could use a cloth insert or a disposable insert.  Once I looked into gDiapers more and more I knew they were the ones for our family. Ok, ok let me show you what I mean and it will make more sense. 

 

gDiapers diagram

 

Each gDiaper has 3 parts with an optional 4th:

Soft Cloth Re-usable Diaper Covers– The outside of the diaper, which is washable.  They come in sizes NB, SM, MED, LG, XL and a variety of colors.  My favorites are here,
here,
here and
here. Oh I love them all!  
 

Breathable Waterproof Pouches
– These are washable and they have snaps so you can easily remove them.   They come in two sizes, small and a larger size that accommodates all Med/Lrg/XL
 

Cloth Inserts
OR Disposable Inserts ( remember I said hybrid) – cloth is washable of course and the disposables are quick and easy.  Read on their website how you can compost their disposable diapers.   

OPTIONAL:

There is an optional Cloth Diaper Liner which is essentially a thin liner that goes on top of the cloth diaper to better catch solids. So that might me a little bit confusing because I am trying to show you without the diaper in front of you.  It really is a very simple system to use. Head over here to see a bunch of video tutorials on how to get one set up.  Now that you know all of the parts let me, for a moment, give you my personal perspective on these diapers.

 There was a little bit of trial and error on getting the perfect fit.  After my little one wore them a couple times I found that the diaper leaked.  I realized that the cloth insert was too close to the Breathable Waterproof liner and it sort of broke the seal.  After that short trial period we have had smooth sailing.  She rarely has leaked.  Another trick I learned from watching their videos is that you DON’T want to put the diaper on really tight, just snug.  If it is too tight then the seal again is broken and leaks will occur.

PROS:

-diapers are easy to use once you get the hang of it

-you can use the same Diaper Cover and Waterproof Pouch for multiple diaper changes

-they come in awesome colors

-they are eco-friendly

-they are easy on the babies bum- she has never had diaper rash

-one set of diapers can last through multiple children

CONS: 

-baby needs more frequent diaper changes

-you must wash the cloth diapers- that is for another post

-they are sort of pricy
In all of my research I found that some people did not like the gDiapers brand of cloth inserts.  I followed their advice and chose to purchase mine elsewhere.  If you go to Green Mountain Diapers I  got the Cloth-eez Prefold Diapers: White.  For a newborn I would go with size preemie.  For older babies you can start with newborn size.  They run big when used for gDiapers, at least that has been my experience.  Also I ended up purchasing 24 cloth inserts.  I feel that I could use more.  I end up doing laundry about once a week or sometimes twice.  The more cloth inserts you have the less laundry you need to do.  I have tried the gDiaper liners before and I found that they were very stiff and we decided that we did not need the extra cost of a liner.  I have also tried the disposable inserts and I found that again cost was too much for me.  I would rather just use the cloth.  They did however work really well and it was a super easy diaper change to just throw away the disposable insert. 

 
 
Here are a couple pictures on my little one wearing her gDiapers!!

 

 

 So glad that I got to hop on over here today to meet all of you!! I would love for you to stop on over at Hawthorne and Main to say hi.  If you actually decide to use cloth diapers and you have questions please email me, I will do my best to help you out!

hawthorneandmain(@)gmail.com

 
I would love to have you follow along with me!
   
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