What is the hardest thing about cloth diapering?

When asked what the hardest thing about Cloth Diapers or Cloth Diapering in general is, my first thought is...probably taking the plunge to commit to and use cloth diapers in the first place! It was scary at first because I started my little one in disposables for the first few weeks. I had bought all of these cloth diapers, and knew I wanted to use them, but there was a voice in the back of my head that just kept saying "I am not sure I can follow through with this."

Needless to say, my husband and a few other people had bets going against "how long I would last" use the cloth diapers! Being the stubborn, motivated gal I am, I was fueled to use the cloth diapers for at least the time they bet against me! Little did I know that me trying to prove everyone wrong turned into a way of life! Now, I could never live without my cloth diapers! The thought of going out and searching to find sales and use coupons for disposables stresses me out! I am so glad I got over my nerves and second-thoughts and took the plunge into cloth diapering!

For me, it wasn't the poop, extra loads of laundry, or even the extra work (which really isn't a lot), sometimes the hardest thing is just getting past your initial fears and worries of the unknown!

 

Contributed by : Julie

 

Julie is mother to her handsome stud who is nearly 6 months old. He was her motivation to start Cloth Diapering! Not wanting to expose his little bum to all those chemicals in disposables and not returning to work full time, She was looking for a safe and inexpensive alternative. Cloth Diapering was her answer!

Starting out with cloth diapers...

When I thought of cloth diapers, I thought of what our parents or grandparents wore. It wasn't until I started seeing other moms on Facebook with cloth that I realized how modern it can be now!

 

I first started wondering about cloth diapers because our middle daughter had severe eczema, but only around her diaper, mainly the tush. No creams helped for months until I begged her doctor for a prescription that can only be used for two weeks at a time. It helped until I had to stop using it, then we were back to where we started. She would take of her disposable diaper and dig at her eczema until she bled and I KNEW something, ANYTHING had to change, so I started my journey of researching different companies and asking other moms who they liked best. I started talking to someone more and more about it and she introduced me to blog giveaways.

 

My husband didn't like the idea of cloth diapers and he thought I would want to give up because of the poo, so I started entering diaper giveaways like crazy hoping to win so I could show him how serious I was. Having two children in disposable diapers and spending $60 a month just wasn't doing it for me anymore!

 

I started entering giveaways in December 2010 and shortly after I entered some, I won! I was shocked but so excited to finally hold a cloth diaper in my hands to see what they were all about. I was impressed and it instantly made me on the hunt for more! After a couple months I had won EIGHT DIAPERS, A WET BAG, 45 CLOTH WIPES AND 45/90 BAG OF ROCKIN' GREEN! One of those diapers was indeed a Smarti Pants! I was thrilled because it gave me a starting point to test everything before we actually bought any products.

 

When I first brought up cloth diapers we had two needing them full time. Our oldest started potty training in January 2011 so that left us with our second daughter. She woke up the morning of March 22, 2011, I put a newly washed diaper on her and away we went! I'll admit, I had no idea what I was doing and with one person as my only real support system (no one I know uses cloth) I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. We had multiple leaks our first day because I never realized how much she drinks! After many failed attempts and figuring out which snaps work best for her, we finally started to get the hang of it and guess what... within DAYS her eczema was gone and has never came back!

 

Fast forward just shy of one year later and we have a one month old baby girl that soon will be able to fit in cloth diapers and I'm so excited! Our middle daughter was almost two when we discovered cloth and she is now trying to potty train so I'm anxious and curious what it will be like to cloth diaper from a baby from such a young age. We also are going to save so much money which makes me extra excited! I just wish I knew about cloth diapers while I was pregnant with our first daughter. She's now 4 and to think about all the money that we wasted on disposable diapers makes me sad. Cloth is so beneficial and I never would've figured I'd find something so amazing after talking to other parents via social media sites!

 

I know that switching to cloth diapers was the best decision for our family, not only to save money, but for the best health of my child and I'm happy to tell other's about it every chance I get because society thinks of cloth as a certain way when in fact it's amazing!

 

Contributed by : Michelle

 

Michelle is in her mid twenties. She has been with her husband for a total of eight years. They have three little girls and started cloth diapering in 2011 and she loves every minute of it!

My Cloth Diapering Journey

Today I am going to write a little bit about my journey through cloth diapering. Like I said, I started because of my son having an allergy to the disposable diapers. Soon after I found that, I went online and just purchased the first cloth diapers I found, Bum Genius. I purchased 12 of them and just ran with it. I really didn’t want to cloth diaper at all. I was a first time mom with a limited budget. Not only that, we didn’t even have a washer and drier…but I sucked it up for my kid.

 

As soon as the diapers came in the mail, I was surprised! They were SUPER cute! I packed up my son and all the new diapers and went up to my husband’s nanny’s house to wash them. As soon as they were all prepped, I put them on. I will admit, I thought they looked amazing on him, but I was still super confused. I never did my research, I just bought. I didn’t even understand the one sized feature. I mean, if you saw that first diaper that I put on, you would have laughed your butt off at me. The insert was just laying on the inside instead of being in the pocket, the middle was snapped down to small, one side to medium, and the other was just left unsnapped. I had NO clue.

 

I decide to get on the computer and start researching at that point. About 10 minutes later I had an AHA! Moment. Cloth diapering was NOT hard at all. It was just trying to figure it all out. After I saw how the one size diaper feature worked and the insert went INSIDE the diaper, I was good to go. Until….it happened….the first poop. Ohhh goodness!!!! I half flipped out!!! Thank goodness I was still at my hubby’s nanny’s house because I didn’t know what to do with the poop! She showed me how to just turn the diaper upside-down and the poop comes off. She then placed the diaper in the shower and turned on the shower on cold (she said if you do hot right away, that is what sets in the stains). And the diaper was then poop free.

 

Well, all this was great…and it lasted for about 3-4 months going this way. Then, I decided…this is gross…I do NOT want poop being rinsed out in my shower!!! So we got a diaper sprayer…and now cue addiction. My stash started growing like CRAZY after we got the diaper sprayer. I was no longer scared of the diapers, I wanted one of EVERYTHING. My world started being centered around how I could bring this to everyone. I started up my blog, Nicki’s Cloth Diaper Reviews (I changed the name recently to Nicki, The Eval Gal). I also started up being a cloth diaper advocate in my area. Heck, we MOVED because of cloth diapers so I could have a washer and drier lol.

 

I am happy to report that now, my blog is still going strong, we now have (gulp) 73 diapers, I am starting up a cloth diapering class in my area, AND I am hosting The Great Cloth Diaper Change in my area (of course with the wonderful help from my friend Katy). Oh, and I now sew my own diapers on top of it to feed my addiction when there is a lack of funds haha.

 

That is my journey (obviously in short mode). As you can see, I am just a mom, who went to the drs with her son one day to have her world completely changed for the better from that one appointment!

 

Contributed by : Nicole

 

Nicole is mother of two beautiful children. Her children are 2 ½ years old and 4 months old. She started cloth diapering when her oldest was 8 months old due to an allergy and she is so happy with cloth diapers that she will never go back to disposables.

 

Smart Fit One-size Diaper Cover

What makes the Smart Fit Diaper cover different from other one-size covers on the market? We are so glad so many of you are asking this question! The Smart Fit Cover is the only diaper cover in the world that adjusts to go from extra small to extra large and also expands from narrow to wide avoiding the all too common problem other covers present of having a very wide crotch when using the cover on a tiny baby. To see this demonstrated click here to check out our video tutorial!

Cloth Diaper Safe Detergents

One of the most popular questions we get here at Smartipants is "What kind of detergent should I use?"
The answer depends on several factors such as your water type, whether your baby has any allergies or sensitivities and your own preferences.
We prefer clean rinsing detergents, the use of hot water and hanging to dry whenever possible to prolong the life of the diapers and get them as clean as possible.
There are many detergents that are not safe for cloth and you can find that list here https://www.smartipants.com/faq#6There are others that we can recommend as safe to use with cloth diapers and you can see those here http://www.youtube.com/thesmartipants#p/a/u/1/IDb3CSsdZoM
Whichever you choose remember that it is important to choose the brand that works best for you and to avoid whiteners, brighteners, and softeners. Also avoid natural soaps as they will leave a film on your diapers.

All New Video Tutorial Series from Smartipants

Hi Everyone,
We are releasing a set of video tutorials showing you how easy cloth diapering really is!
There are 3 videos currently available:
How to Snap the Small Setting on Smartipants
How to Make your own Wipes Solution
How to use our Smartfit One-size Diaper Cover
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSmartipants

Coming Soon:
Detergents: A review of 5 recommended detergents for use with cloth diapers
Newborn Diapering: How-to featuring the Little Smart AIO and Preemie Prefolds with the Smart Fit Diaper Cover
Diaper Ointments: A discussion on rashes, treatments and cloth diaper safe ointments and creams
Diaper Laundry 101: the entire cloth diapering washing process
Stain Removal: How-to remove stains in cloth diapers and covers
Cloth Diaper Leaks: A Discussion on leaks, the possible causes and their solutions with a diaper fit demonstration

We will be working on these and more. Please let us know if there is anything you'd like to "see."
We are also planning a second series on natural parenting to include making your own baby food how-to including a discussion on organics,
frugal parenting tips that include making your own playthings for toddlers such as play dough and bubbles, pottylearning and more.

Smartipants HOT new color giveaway!~closed

This giveaway is now closed! Thanks for all your comments! Congratulations to Erica Strauss our giveaway winner!

Do you want to WIN one of the hot new Smartipants colors? Comment here and post to our facebook fan page telling us which of the new colors you have purchased or want to purchase and why those are your favorites of the new colors!
We will choose a winner to receive one smartipants in their choice of
hot chocolate
wild raspberry
jet black
true blue
spring green
or fire engine red!