I made a video review of the new GoGreen Diapers: The Champ 2.0 pocket diaper. Check it out and see why I am so in love with this diaper!
Feel free to leave in comments below. Thanks for watching!
www.chic-cheeks.com
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
GoGreen Diapers: The Champ 2.0 Review
By: Michelle Martin
I made a video review of the new GoGreen Diapers: The Champ 2.0 pocket diaper. Check it out and see why I am so in love with this diaper!
Feel free to leave in comments below. Thanks for watching!
I made a video review of the new GoGreen Diapers: The Champ 2.0 pocket diaper. Check it out and see why I am so in love with this diaper!
Feel free to leave in comments below. Thanks for watching!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Review: Happy Heiny's One Size Pocket Diaper with Snaps
By: Michelle Martin - Owner, Chic Cheeks
I have only had experience with the new version of this diaper and let me tell you I have been no less than extremely impressed. It makes me sad that people are untrusting of this brand because I personally use and love these diapers.
First of all (one of my favorite parts of this brand!) Happy Heiny's diapers are made in America only a few hours away from where I live. Being a proud American I love supporting companies that keep their business at home in the U.S.A. Many companies have had to move their operations overseas to keep costs down and I really appreciate that the owner of Happy Heiny's has worked hard to keep her business here.
This is a one size diaper that is generously sized to fit babies from 8-35lbs. It comes with two micro-fleece inserts, a large and a small which are 3 layers each. I love that this diaper is able to somehow go from super tiny to super huge with just a few adjustments. With other brands my 27lb toddler is already on the largest settings with all rise snaps undone, but with this diaper we still have it snapped down once. Obviously this diaper is still going to last us a while.
Happy Heiny's has an unbelievable number of colors and patterns to choose from. Silly Monkeys is a hit in our house. I love seeing our little guy run around in that one! There are so many colors to choose from I never have a hard time finding one that will match with whatever my son is wearing when we go out. My husband seems to always reach for the skull and crossbones print whenever it's available!
So what's so "New and Improved" about this diaper? Well here's some info straight from Happy Heiny's:
The New & Approved Happy Heinys One for ALL has had it’s rise (length) decreased by 1 inch. This helps the diaper to fit slender to average babies with less chance of gapping in the legs. Due to the large fit of the Original diapers, the New & Improved will still comfortably fit a 35 lb. baby.
The New and Improved has also been decreased by 1 inch in the width between the legs. This helps to improve the fit with less bulky material which can cause gapping and provides an overall slimmer fit.
I almost forgot to mention the snaps. Since my busy 18 month old has figured out how to take a velcro diaper off (and go running around the house peeing all over the floor) we try to use snaps whenever possible. I LOVE the snaps on this diaper. They are easy to fasten, but can't be undone by little hands. Each tab has 4 snaps, preventing wing droop and guaranteeing a perfect fit.
We own the cow print diaper with aplix closures and it gets us a great fit every time! The only reason we don't use this diaper more often is because Reagan loves to rip it off and run around nude. It's such a cute print though!
The inner material is made of custom milled fleece that stays soft through many washes. Poo comes right off and these diapers are very easy to get clean. I don't have any problems with staining and my son seems very comfortable when he's in his Happy Heiny's. Unlike some other diapers we own this diaper fits very well and doesn't leave red marks on our son's skin. I especially love to use Happy Heiny's at night with a second insert as a booster. When used this way we NEVER have leaks which means Reagan sleeps through the night! I find myself avoiding other brands at bedtime just for this reason.
These diapers are going to run approx. $18.95 each but they are well worth the money. Just for my blog readers you can use coupon code MYHEINYISHAPPY at checkout to receive 10% off the Happy Heiny's One Size Pocket Diaper with Snaps until June 30, 2011! I hope you all enjoyed my review of the Happy Heiny's One for All One Size diaper with snaps. If you'd like to purchase this diaper visit our store!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Cute idea, till you do the math!
By: Kristen Ezmirly
Heeyyy, check it out! Pampers has caught onto a few of the appealing things about cloth diapering: the cuteness factor, and the "good old fashioned-ness" of it. They've introduced their new line of "Pampers Prints" - adorable printed diapers for those who wish for a more stylish "rear view" of their baby. The advertisement even shows what kind of prints are in the package by showing a picture of their adorable disposable diapers, hanging on a clothes line, the good old fashioned way (Awwww). I have to say, if I used disposable diapers, at a glance, I'd think this was a cute idea:) That is, until I'd look at the price tag: $20 for a package of 66 diapers. The only 'sposies I ever bought were $13 for 96 of them, so spending $7 more for 30 diapers less...?! Hmm, perhaps not. I'd much rather take my $20 and go buy a cloth diaper or two, and not have to go back and buy them again...and again...and again. See, in order to diaper your child in these diapers for ONE year, you'd have to spend about $800. If you used these from birth through potty training, that'd be $2,000. On the other hand, in order to diaper your child from birth through potty training with Happy Heiny's cloth diapers (they have the best variety of colors and prints that I've found), you'd have to spend about $300...TOTAL. Sooo, $800/year, or <does some quick math> $120/year...you pick.
As for their cute picture of the diapers on the clothes line.. In case anyone was wondering, no, you cannot safely wash and reuse disposable diapers. Those handy dandy chemicals that help absorb so much fecal matter into that decorative little package are only good for one use - then they break down and look, feel, and smell horrible. Just in case anyone considered it.
So it seems to me that these cute disposables are really just nicely packaged garbage. $7 more, for 30 fewer diapers, all of which are going to be thrown away :-p Now I'm not gonna harp on anyone about using disposables. I've used a few in my time. But if you've ever complained about the cost of diapers, consider this: even if you use the store brand diapers, and you only have another 6 months or so of diapering, you could save money by cloth diapering. In this economy... I'd recommend considering it. And in this economy, I'd also recommend ditching the big chain stores, and supporting locally owned and operated, one-stop-diaper-shop Chic Cheeks (www.chic-cheeks.com) when you decide to make the switch;) Just sayin'...;)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
FuzziBunz Product Review
By: Kristen EzmirlyEver tried a FuzziBunz diaper?? I hadn't until recently! I'd been having problems with my daughter's diapers not fitting well and leaking when she went through those "between snap sizes" stages of growth. They were decent diapers, but those ill-fitting phases were driving me crazy! I went to Chic Cheeks in hopes they could tell me I was doing something wrong. I came out with information that I hadn't known before about diaper care, and a FuzziBunz diaper to try! Turns out I was doing something wrong, and perhaps there's more to a good diaper experience than the right snap combinations;) But why the FuzziBunz? I soon found out;)
FuzziBunz diapers are a standard pocket diaper, with a set of three snaps, for a good secure fit. Unlike other pocket diapers, though, FuzziBunz has also added adjustable elastic around the legs. This is a fantastic feature, especially for babies with particularly chunky or slender legs, who may have trouble getting a good fit from standard leg holes.
FuzziBunz are made entirely from polyester fabrics, and lined with polyurethane. They are easy to care for, and very durable. The microfleece used in the diaper itself is very soft and absorbent. The liners are soft, absorbent and not super thick! Even when I double-stuff my daughter's diaper for night time, both liners fit easily into the diaper, and still retain a nice trim fit.
Two areas I would say FuzziBunz could catch up with competitors on is price, and variety. FuzziBunz diapers usually go for around $20 each, which, if you're looking to buy a whole stash to start with, can get a little pricey; that said, I began cloth diapering with a much cheaper brand, and will say I can easily tell a difference in quality. So if you're cloth diapering for the long haul, it may be worth the extra few bucks. As for the style options, with only 14 solid colors to choose from (compared to Happy Heinys, with nearly 50 different colors and patterns), those with more stylish intentions for their children's behind might feel FuzziBunz is wanting in the style department. If, like me, you prefer a good set of solids that are easy to match with your childrens' clothes, 14 good, standard, easy-to-match colors is perfectly fine.
And finally, FuzziBunz's warranty: FuzziBunz offers a 1 year warranty against snap defects, sewing defects, elastic issues and any separation of the cover fabric and polyurethane lining. This is a relatively good warranty in comparison with other cloth diapering companies. They do, however, require a proof of purchase from an authorized FuzziBunz retailer, so you will want to consider nixing the idea of buying them from individual sellers or sites like eBay, and keep your receipt in case you need to make use of that warranty.
And so, my personal "grading system" (A=Great, B=Good, C=Acceptable, D=Not Good, F=Fail!):
Price: C
Adjustability: A+
Absorbency: A
Durability: A
Fit: A
Fashion: B
Over all grade: I'd give FuzziBunz an A :)
Now through June 15, 2011 FuzziBunz are buy 5 get 1 free at www.chic-cheeks.com!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Referral Contest!
Hello Everyone!
I'm happy to announce another exciting giveaway event Chic Cheeks is doing now through Saturday. This is going to be a referral contest on Facebook.
I'm happy to announce another exciting giveaway event Chic Cheeks is doing now through Saturday. This is going to be a referral contest on Facebook.
- Whoever refers the most new Facebook fans will win two Happy Heiny's One Size Cloth Diapers in their choice of colors! The winner may choose their colors/patterns from the photo album found here.
- The second place winner will receive one Happy Heiny's One Size Cloth Diaper (They will get second choice of colors after the first place winner has chosen theirs).
- The third place winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to use in our store www.chic-cheeks.com
You acknowledge that this promotion is no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Facebook.
You release Facebook of any responsibility or liability regarding this giveaway.
You understand that Chic Cheeks cannot require you or your friends to "like" our Facebook page according to the promotional guidelines set by Facebook. Therefor, if you would prefer to refer your friends to this blog to post a comment stating you sent them instead of referring them to our Facebook page, you may.
Your friends may only comment on Facebook, OR in the comment section of this blog. Double entries will not be counted.
*Persons who have not commented below that they agree will be disqualified from the contest*
Just post "I agree" in the comment section below to continue.
***UPDATE MAY 28, 2011***
A contestant has questioned the validity of certain profiles created on Facebook. Therefor I must add to the terms that Chic Cheeks reserves to right to disregard any profiles we have deemed "fake" created for the purpose of boosting contestants referral numbers. Any contestant caught cheating will be disqualified from the contest. Also, REAL NAMES must be used on blog comments. Anonymous comments WILL NOT be counted.This contest has been created to help spread the word about Chic Cheeks' business and raise awareness of cloth diapers to a community that otherwise may not be informed of them. Please respect the rules and keep this fun for everyone! We are truly grateful for all the support each of the contestants has given to Chic Cheeks and would like to thank you for all your work in referring people to our business.
Chic Cheeks reserves the right to change these terms at any time for any reason.
Each contestant must re-agree to these terms in a comment below before 4pm PDT today in order to qualify to win.
THEN:
Please ask all your friends to "like" Chic Cheeks on Facebook and post that they were sent by you OR you may refer them to this blog to comment that you sent them. Remember, it's only one or the other. Double entries will not be counted.
The contest will end at 4pm PDT on Saturday May 28, 2011.
At that time all referrals will be tallied up and the winner will be announced.
The prizes will be mailed on Monday May 30, 2011.
This is meant to be fun so I hope you all have a good time referring! Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this contest: info@chic-cheeks.com
Good Luck!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Laundry. Ugh.
Laundry. The bane of my existence...or is it? I can only remember one other time I ever enjoyed doing laundry in my life, aside from when I started cloth diapering, and that was when I was pregnant and I washed the boys laundry before they were born. Folding and hanging all their little jammies and outfits would bring tears to my eyes. Of course once they started needing 17 outfit changes a day and their cute little newborn clothes turned into mud-covered 3T jeans I loved it just a little less! Yesterday I did a load of pants in my washer. It had been 2.5 days since I did the last load and I swear there were no less than 15 pairs of pants for one family of 4. Is there some kind of laundry gnome that enjoys torturing me with hundreds of pounds of dirty clothing I have to sort, wash, dry and fold? If I ever get my hands on that little guy I swear I'll...
That brings me to my cloth diaper laundry. This is something that can be extremely intimidating to the non-clothdiaperer. It's just another one of the unknowns that can easily scare a person off. So today I'm going to show you my laundry routine for my diapers so you can see how simple it really is.
Let me start off by saying that I really do love doing my diaper laundry. I probably sound freakish but I look forward to Reagan using enough diapers so I can get a load together to wash. I get excited about dirty diapers (weird, right?). I usually do a load a day, although I could easily go two days without washing. One important thing to understand about washing cloth diapers is that everyone has their own way of doing it. What works for me may not work for you and getting diapers clean takes a little experimenting to get it just right.
I keep my routine very basic and simple. When there is a wet diaper I pull the insert out of the pocket and toss both pieces into my laundry bag. When I have a poo diaper I dump the solids into the toilet, use the toilet sprayer if there's anything stuck on, pull out the insert and toss both pieces into the laundry bag. The main point here is that I don't toss whole diapers into the laundry bag without taking them apart. Digging through a bag of dirty diapers after they've been sitting for 24 hours trying to take them apart is gross. It takes 3 seconds to deal with at the time and things stay relatively clean.
Here's my system once I'm ready to wash:
I deliver my laundry bag to the laundry room (I normally keep it in the bathroom with the toilet sprayer), unzip the bottom and toss the whole thing into the washer.
I then run a "rinse and spin" cycle on my washer. It takes approx. 18 minutes. This will rinse out any leftover solids.
Once that cycle is complete I add my detergent. I use 1 heaping Tablespoon of Rockin' Green Classic Rock and nothing else (Do not use fabric softener. Do not use bleach.).
I have an HE front loading washer so I set my dial to the whites cycle with an extra rinse and let it roll.
That brings me to my cloth diaper laundry. This is something that can be extremely intimidating to the non-clothdiaperer. It's just another one of the unknowns that can easily scare a person off. So today I'm going to show you my laundry routine for my diapers so you can see how simple it really is.
Let me start off by saying that I really do love doing my diaper laundry. I probably sound freakish but I look forward to Reagan using enough diapers so I can get a load together to wash. I get excited about dirty diapers (weird, right?). I usually do a load a day, although I could easily go two days without washing. One important thing to understand about washing cloth diapers is that everyone has their own way of doing it. What works for me may not work for you and getting diapers clean takes a little experimenting to get it just right.
I keep my routine very basic and simple. When there is a wet diaper I pull the insert out of the pocket and toss both pieces into my laundry bag. When I have a poo diaper I dump the solids into the toilet, use the toilet sprayer if there's anything stuck on, pull out the insert and toss both pieces into the laundry bag. The main point here is that I don't toss whole diapers into the laundry bag without taking them apart. Digging through a bag of dirty diapers after they've been sitting for 24 hours trying to take them apart is gross. It takes 3 seconds to deal with at the time and things stay relatively clean.
Here's my system once I'm ready to wash:
I deliver my laundry bag to the laundry room (I normally keep it in the bathroom with the toilet sprayer), unzip the bottom and toss the whole thing into the washer.
I then run a "rinse and spin" cycle on my washer. It takes approx. 18 minutes. This will rinse out any leftover solids.
Once that cycle is complete I add my detergent. I use 1 heaping Tablespoon of Rockin' Green Classic Rock and nothing else (Do not use fabric softener. Do not use bleach.).
I have an HE front loading washer so I set my dial to the whites cycle with an extra rinse and let it roll.
Once everything is clean I prefer to hang them out to dry on my clothesline. My dogs enjoy this as well...
A little sun to bleach out any stains...
If you don't want to use a clothesline you don't have to. The inserts are fine to tumble dry in your clothes dryer on low, but I highly recommend not putting the outer part of the diaper in the dryer. Before I had my clothes line I would lay mine out on my stair banister overnight to dry.
Please note that the following may be over the top for some of you but I'm a very organized person so this is how I like to do my stuffin':
I use many different brands of diapers that all have their own inserts so I typically will sort them all out and then arrange my diapers so all I have to do is grab an insert and stuff it. I hate sorting through a laundry basket to find all the right parts that go together.
It took me a total of 4 minutes 10 seconds (I didn't rush, don't worry!) to stuff the inserts in and snap them closed (optional!)
It may seem like a lot of work to some of you, but for me it's much easier than running out of diapers at 3 am, and I find it enjoyable and relaxing. There's something inside me that feels happy when I look out my window and see cloth diapers hanging on my clothesline.
As I said before everyone has their own way of doing laundry so feel free to use this as an example or change it up however you feel is best for you. Different types of washing machines will require you to alter this slightly as well. If you already cloth diaper, how does your routine differ from mine? I'd love to hear your story!
Friday, May 20, 2011
FTM Fears
I want to preface this post by saying that I truly have no beef against those of you who choose to use disposables with your babies. I am not here to make you feel guilty for that choice. I, the owner of a cloth diaper store, have used thousands of disposable diapers in the past. I will be the first one to tell you that cloth diapering isn't for everyone, and that's okay. I just want you to know what the benefits of using cloth are and help you get past any fears you may have about using them. Here's my story of my own personal FTM cloth diapering fears:
When I was pregnant with my oldest son, Connor, and I heard the word "cloth diaper" I would feel literal fear shoot throughout my body. I had no idea how to care for an infant and the thought of adding in some unknown, complicated diaper was scary. It didn't help that I had never seen a modern cloth diaper in person so I had all these preconceived notions of pins and plastic pants. I wish I would have known how incredible the modern cloth diaper is. My pregnancy with Connor was filled with problems. He was my second pregnancy after a miscarriage, I battled low progesterone levels early on, then I developed high blood pressure which became pre-eclampsia. I think that after going through all that trauma the last thing I wanted to deal with was sifting through all the cloth diaper information on the web to figure the whole thing out. I wanted a simple diapering solution for my baby that wouldn't get me weird looks from my friends when I told them what kind I used. When I mentioned it to my husband he (being even less educated about cloth diapers that I was) shut me down right away. Cloth diapers never even had a chance!
Looking back now I wish I had been brave enough to make the cloth diaper leap. I regret every single Pampers, Huggies and Member's Mark diaper I placed on my babies bottom. It was expensive (thousands of dollars spent), messy (SO. MANY. DISGUSTING.BLOW-OUTS!), smelly (rotting dirty diapers stinking up in a diaper pail) and uncomfortable for my babies (too many diaper rashes to count). If only I had been able to get past my FTM fears and really see the benefits of cloth I would have saved myself a lot of regret.
Alright, it's time to break down my FTM fears regarding cloth diapers:
Poo - Yeah let's just get that one out of the way. With cloth diapers you do have to deal with the doo (haha). However, and believe me, I'm very sorry to have to be the one to tell you new moms this... it doesn't matter if you use disposable diapers or cloth diapers you will be interacting with poo on a daily basis (and most likely multiple times a day) for years. Poo is a part of a mother's life. Wow, looking back I really had no idea how much poo there really was lol! That being said dealing with a poopie cloth diaper really is no big deal. It is nothing compared to the newborn blowouts in a disposable that required me to not only bathe the baby because he was completely covered from bottom to top in poo but a complete outfit change and a HAZMAT suite to clean up the changing area afterwards. What do you do with poop in a cloth diaper? Well if it's newborn breastfed poo (yeah that super runny kind) you just toss the diaper in your diaper pail and launder it. That kind of poo is water soluble and washes right out in your washing machine. As your baby gets older and the poo becomes more solid you just take it to the toilet and dump the poo in. Do you think I make it sound too easy? Sorry, but it's just the reality. Let me tell you the best part about poo in a cloth diaper. Once you dump it out and flush it, it's gone! You wash your diaper and everything is fresh and clean. With a disposable you will wrap that poo up, jam it down into your diaper genie and there it will sit (and stink) until enough of them build up to haul the load out to your trashcan. When we used it the diaper genie was always so disgusting I had to have my husband empty it for me because I would gag at the smell. Now my diapers never get stinky because everything is kept very clean. Regarding those messy blow outs - nothing can contain a blow-out like a cloth diaper. Reagan had a 10 day long bout of diarrhea recently and I thought there was no way the cloth diapers would be able to handle that kind of mess (he's 17 months old). Well once again my cloth diapers proved my fears wrong and we didn't have a single blow out or leak.
It's complicated - I agree with the statement that disposable diapers aren't very complicated. Plus, if you google disposable diapers you aren't going to come up with a thousand blogs like this with detailed instructions on how to use them. Disposable diapers are marketed to look easy. They do have their benefits and lord knows I've used my fair share of them. So they must be the easier solution to diapering, right? Not necessarily. Recent advances in the cloth diapering community have lead to the development of some truly amazing cloth dipers. AIO (All-In-One) cloth diapers are used just like a disposable (aside from being reusable). There is only one piece to them, no stuffing required. I will make the bold statement of AIO's are the easiest cloth diaper to use (some will disagree!). Pocket diapers are only slightly more involved (You can read my blog on pockets here.) because you have to do the stuffin'. In reality the learning curve for cloth diapers is very short. Within one day I had it down. Once I started cloth diapering I loved it so much that I never looked back.
It's expensive - I remember going to a cloth diaper website while I was pregnant and reading that I would need 25 cloth diapers for my newborn. I did the math and *gasp* I couldn't believe how much money I would have to spend up front on 25 cloth diapers. That was reason #1 for my husband to shut me down lol. I was calculating the cost of the fanciest AIO diaper on the market and coming up with over $600 for something for my kid to poo in was not in the cards. I wish I would have kept looking and seen the less expensive cloth options that were available. You really don't have to spend $25 (each) to get a great cloth diaper. There are some fantastic pockets out there that only cost $10 each. When you look at buying 25 of those the cost is a little easier to swallow. Don't get me wrong, the more expensive cloth diapers are amazing, but it's not the only product out there that will work well! Regardless of the upfront cost of cloth it will end up saving you money in the long run. It's understandable to think that it's easier to spend $10 at a time on a pack of diapers at the store. The problem is that pack is only going to last you a week and then your $10 is in the garbage can. If you had spent that $10 on a cloth diaper you would have something you could reuse for years. When it comes down to it you really DON'T have to buy 25 cloth diapers up front in one huge chunk. If you're pregnant you can start buying them one at a time when you find a great deal until you have enough. It's okay to only use a few cloth diapers a day with your baby until you've built up a great stash. Using just 1 cloth diaper a day will save you $200 during the time you're diapering your baby. That is a lot of money!
I hope I've been able to address some of the FTM cloth diapering fears you may have. Is there anything I missed? I'm happy to explain the ins-and-outs of using cloth diapers with you personally if you'd like to email me info@chic-cheeks.com or leave a comment below!
When I was pregnant with my oldest son, Connor, and I heard the word "cloth diaper" I would feel literal fear shoot throughout my body. I had no idea how to care for an infant and the thought of adding in some unknown, complicated diaper was scary. It didn't help that I had never seen a modern cloth diaper in person so I had all these preconceived notions of pins and plastic pants. I wish I would have known how incredible the modern cloth diaper is. My pregnancy with Connor was filled with problems. He was my second pregnancy after a miscarriage, I battled low progesterone levels early on, then I developed high blood pressure which became pre-eclampsia. I think that after going through all that trauma the last thing I wanted to deal with was sifting through all the cloth diaper information on the web to figure the whole thing out. I wanted a simple diapering solution for my baby that wouldn't get me weird looks from my friends when I told them what kind I used. When I mentioned it to my husband he (being even less educated about cloth diapers that I was) shut me down right away. Cloth diapers never even had a chance!
Looking back now I wish I had been brave enough to make the cloth diaper leap. I regret every single Pampers, Huggies and Member's Mark diaper I placed on my babies bottom. It was expensive (thousands of dollars spent), messy (SO. MANY. DISGUSTING.BLOW-OUTS!), smelly (rotting dirty diapers stinking up in a diaper pail) and uncomfortable for my babies (too many diaper rashes to count). If only I had been able to get past my FTM fears and really see the benefits of cloth I would have saved myself a lot of regret.
Alright, it's time to break down my FTM fears regarding cloth diapers:
Poo - Yeah let's just get that one out of the way. With cloth diapers you do have to deal with the doo (haha). However, and believe me, I'm very sorry to have to be the one to tell you new moms this... it doesn't matter if you use disposable diapers or cloth diapers you will be interacting with poo on a daily basis (and most likely multiple times a day) for years. Poo is a part of a mother's life. Wow, looking back I really had no idea how much poo there really was lol! That being said dealing with a poopie cloth diaper really is no big deal. It is nothing compared to the newborn blowouts in a disposable that required me to not only bathe the baby because he was completely covered from bottom to top in poo but a complete outfit change and a HAZMAT suite to clean up the changing area afterwards. What do you do with poop in a cloth diaper? Well if it's newborn breastfed poo (yeah that super runny kind) you just toss the diaper in your diaper pail and launder it. That kind of poo is water soluble and washes right out in your washing machine. As your baby gets older and the poo becomes more solid you just take it to the toilet and dump the poo in. Do you think I make it sound too easy? Sorry, but it's just the reality. Let me tell you the best part about poo in a cloth diaper. Once you dump it out and flush it, it's gone! You wash your diaper and everything is fresh and clean. With a disposable you will wrap that poo up, jam it down into your diaper genie and there it will sit (and stink) until enough of them build up to haul the load out to your trashcan. When we used it the diaper genie was always so disgusting I had to have my husband empty it for me because I would gag at the smell. Now my diapers never get stinky because everything is kept very clean. Regarding those messy blow outs - nothing can contain a blow-out like a cloth diaper. Reagan had a 10 day long bout of diarrhea recently and I thought there was no way the cloth diapers would be able to handle that kind of mess (he's 17 months old). Well once again my cloth diapers proved my fears wrong and we didn't have a single blow out or leak.
It's complicated - I agree with the statement that disposable diapers aren't very complicated. Plus, if you google disposable diapers you aren't going to come up with a thousand blogs like this with detailed instructions on how to use them. Disposable diapers are marketed to look easy. They do have their benefits and lord knows I've used my fair share of them. So they must be the easier solution to diapering, right? Not necessarily. Recent advances in the cloth diapering community have lead to the development of some truly amazing cloth dipers. AIO (All-In-One) cloth diapers are used just like a disposable (aside from being reusable). There is only one piece to them, no stuffing required. I will make the bold statement of AIO's are the easiest cloth diaper to use (some will disagree!). Pocket diapers are only slightly more involved (You can read my blog on pockets here.) because you have to do the stuffin'. In reality the learning curve for cloth diapers is very short. Within one day I had it down. Once I started cloth diapering I loved it so much that I never looked back.
It's expensive - I remember going to a cloth diaper website while I was pregnant and reading that I would need 25 cloth diapers for my newborn. I did the math and *gasp* I couldn't believe how much money I would have to spend up front on 25 cloth diapers. That was reason #1 for my husband to shut me down lol. I was calculating the cost of the fanciest AIO diaper on the market and coming up with over $600 for something for my kid to poo in was not in the cards. I wish I would have kept looking and seen the less expensive cloth options that were available. You really don't have to spend $25 (each) to get a great cloth diaper. There are some fantastic pockets out there that only cost $10 each. When you look at buying 25 of those the cost is a little easier to swallow. Don't get me wrong, the more expensive cloth diapers are amazing, but it's not the only product out there that will work well! Regardless of the upfront cost of cloth it will end up saving you money in the long run. It's understandable to think that it's easier to spend $10 at a time on a pack of diapers at the store. The problem is that pack is only going to last you a week and then your $10 is in the garbage can. If you had spent that $10 on a cloth diaper you would have something you could reuse for years. When it comes down to it you really DON'T have to buy 25 cloth diapers up front in one huge chunk. If you're pregnant you can start buying them one at a time when you find a great deal until you have enough. It's okay to only use a few cloth diapers a day with your baby until you've built up a great stash. Using just 1 cloth diaper a day will save you $200 during the time you're diapering your baby. That is a lot of money!
I hope I've been able to address some of the FTM cloth diapering fears you may have. Is there anything I missed? I'm happy to explain the ins-and-outs of using cloth diapers with you personally if you'd like to email me info@chic-cheeks.com or leave a comment below!
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