*Navalgazing* Reflections at Twelve Weeks Pregnant

First of all, HURRAY!  Twelve weeks!  I am officially done with my first trimester!  I am so, so glad that everything seems to be going along as it should be and that I am still pregnant.

This week I had some ups and downs in terms of how I was feeling nausea-wise.  Overall I'd still say I'm starting to have more good days, so hopefully that trend continues.

I may not be up much from my pre-pregnancy weight, but I am definitely noticing a change in my shape.  My lower stomach is starting to stick out a bit, to the point that some of the dress pants that I have to wear for work are getting to be uncomfortable now.  I'm very glad that this is my last regular week of work and that I'll be able to wear some comfier pants after Friday.  (We have a week of special events and then a week and a half of meetings, etc. where I can mostly get away with wearing jeans and shorts.)

Monday afternoon we have our genetic screening ultrasound.  I'm excited to see Sprout and hope that s/he growing as s/he should be.

We made our first Sprout purchase this week.  We found an awesome deal on Bumgenius diapers and we bought a dozen.  The Bean will use them quite a bit before Sprout comes along, and they'll share afterwards, but we probably wouldn't have bought them if we weren't expecting... that and we also returned a bunch of cloth diapers to my sister since her little guy is growing like crazy and can now fit into some of the larger diapers she had loaned us.  (We saw the baby today --he is ADORABLE.  A little chunker and he looks so much like his papa.  I can't believe how big he's getting.  The Bean was such a pipsqueak.  I wonder how Sprout will compare.)

That's most of the pregnancy-related news here.  Last week's belly photo is still on my camera and I'll get Jen to take another one today and try to get them uploaded soon.  I've been pretty bad with taking/uploading photos lately.

P.S. I forgot to include the most exciting news of the week: I felt a flutter!  Earlier in the week when I was lying in bed I felt a very distinct flutter in my lower belly.  I have no doubt that it was Sprout.  Nothing since then, and I really don't expect to feel anything again for a while yet, but still, it was very exciting!

What's In Your (Minimalist) Diaper Bag

We've been on a bit of de-cluttering kick around our place.  Over the past month I'd guess we've made at least 5 or 6 trips to Goodwill with donations and the car was pretty full each time.

I was also inspired to take a spin through our diaper bag and see if I could pare it down.  Recently, carrying the bag felt about as heavy as carrying The Bean! 

If you want to compare it to what I used to carry, you can check out my original post.  

You'll also see that a certain someone was a less cooperative model this time around.

On the Left
- blanket
- wet bag
- bottle for me
- one burp cloth (down from three!)
- one active baby chasing his travel bowl of rice puffs

In the Middle
- small backpack/pannier from Mountain Equipment Co-Op
- wallet

On the Right
- change mat with two regular disposables, one gDiaper disposable, and wipes inside
- gDiaper with one disposable insert ready to go
- foldable nylon bag

Not Pictured
I usually try to grab a jar or two of baby food + a spoon if I know we'll be heading out for awhile and I don't think the rice puffs will be enough.

When was the last time you looked through your bag or purse to see what could be left at home?

Cloth Diaper Week -Dressing Cloth Diapered Bums

One issue with cloth diapering is finding pants that fit over the diapers.

The easiest solution is to put your baby in pants that are a size up from what s/he would typically wear.  The drawback to going up a size is that the length can be too long.  Usually nothing a cuff can't fix though.

Another solution, one that I'm itching to try, is making your own pants.  Here are a couple of patterns I have found in my internet searches.

 Made by Rae's Basic Newborn Pant

Made by Rae's Big Butt Baby Pants 

These pants feature a rear panel that adds plenty of room for cloth diapered babies.

Anna Maria Horner's Quick Change Trousers

They're reversible!  Genius!

(photo courtesy of Sew With Sass) 

 

 Now I just need to get the sewing thing down!

Some work-around solutions for non-sewers like me are putting your baby in a skirt or leggings  (better options if you have a girl), purchasing some baby legwarmers like babylegs, or forgoing pants altogether and showing off their cute cloth diapered bum!

Cloth Diaper Week -Cloth Diapering on a Budget

One of the reasons many people seem to choose to cloth diaper is the reduced expense.  That said, I've had many tell me that their impression is that cloth diapering is more expensive than using disposables.   While it's true that it requires an up-front investment, the cost of using cloth drops off dramatically over the two and a half years or so your child is in diapers, not to mention the additional savings you will incur if you are able to use your cloth diapers for future siblings.* 

Many cloth diaper retailers recognize the sticker shock that the initial investment may cause and sell trial packs so you can see what works best for you before committing to any given system only to find out it doesn't work for you and/or your baby. 

Another option that may save you money is to seek out people selling handmade cloth diapers and covers on websites like Etsy.  Heck, if you're crafty you could even try making some yourself!
 
You could also scour websites like Craigslist or your closest Goodwill to find previously-loved cloth diapers.  (This is how we acquired the majority of our diapers.)  If you go this route, I would strongly encourage you to make sure that the diapers you buy haven't been ruined by improper washing.  It is a pain to try to get them back into wearable condition if they've got excessive detergent build up or have been put through the dryer with fabric softener. 

If you're lucky enough know a family that has used cloth for their kiddos, they may be willing to pass along their old diapers to you.  Most of the cloth diapering families I know get very excited at the prospect of someone they know trying it out!  

If saving the earth from 6000+ disposable diapers isn't enough of a reason to give cloth diapering a try, maybe saving money is!  

*If you Google something along the lines of "Cost of Diapering Baby" you'll come up with all sorts of websites comparing the costs, even going so far as to factor in things such as cost of detergent and water usage for cloth diapering your baby.  I won't get into numbers here because I know I won't be able to go into nearly as much detail as what is already available on the internet.

Cloth Diaper Week -Cloth Wipes and DIY Wipe Solution

Ingredients for our DIY Diaper Wipes

One thing that we hadn't planned on, but ended up doing and loving is using cloth wipes.  If you're already cloth diapering, it's easy to do.  You can either make or buy wipes made out of flannel, cotton, or another material.  After you've used them you just throw them into the pail with the dirty diaper. 

The wipes solution is an easy mix of a teaspoon of Dr. Bronner's baby soap mixed with about a cup water.  You can add some olive oil or essential oils (tea tree is nice because of it's antibacterial properties), but if you do this you may have to strip your diapers more often.   

We used to keep our wipes solution in a little bowl that we dipped into, but now that The Bean is crawling around and into everything, we've changed over to a squeeze bottle.  I've also heard of people using spray bottles.  I would say that whatever works for you best at any given time is the way to go.

Cloth Diaper Week -Cleaning and Caring for Your Cloth Diapers

One of the most intimidating things about using cloth diapers is the cleaning involved.

Speaking from our six months or so of experience, it is really not that bad.  You'll probably end up doing two to three extra loads of laundry a week.  But with all the extra laundry babies create, you'll probably hardly even notice.   

Here are the basics of dealing with cleaning and caring for your cloth diapers:

Wet Pail vs. Dry Pail
With a dry pail set-up diapers are placed in a covered pail. With a wet-pail you fill the pail halfway with water and cover it. My impression is that nowadays most people, like us, use dry pails.  Wet pails can get messy and there's the risk of infant drowning.  With a dry pail you can shake off the dirty diaper into the toilet, dunk it if necessary, and then throw it into the dry pail.  If the smell becomes an issue, you can buy a carbon filter or sprinkle baking soda into the bottom of the pail. (Before putting baking soda onto your diapers, check the manufacturer's instructions to make sure it's okay.)


Diaper Creams
You cannot use the typical oil or zinc-based diaper creams if you are cloth diapering.  The same ingredients that cause these creams to protect your baby's skin by keeping the moisture away from it create a barrier on your diapers causing them to repel.  There are many "alternative" diaper creams available.  The organics section of our grocery store has about half a dozen.  If you can't find one in your grocery store, many are available online. 


Washing
Although you should always check the tag for care instructions, most cloth diapers and covers can be machine washed.  The main thing is to find a detergent that is cloth diaper safe.  That means the detergent is free from oils, enzymes, brighteners and fabric softeners.  If your detergent contains any of these additives they can build up on your diapers and cause them to smell or leak.  The only way to get rid of build up is to strip* your diapers.  Which, although sometimes necessary, is a bit of a tedious job.

We use Rockin' Green detergent and have been very happy with the results. 

Drying
Our hands-down favourite way to dry our cloth diapers is to hang them in the sun.  Sunshine works like magic at getting rid of stains.  However, if it's the middle of winter and hanging your diapers outside isn't going to happen, try hanging them inside on a drying rack. (Quick tip: Pointing a fan on them will help them dry quicker because of the air movement.)  There's also always the option of running your diapers through the dryer, although this can cause them to wear out more quickly.  Make sure not to use fabric softener when drying (or washing) your diapers as fabric softener will cause the diapers to repel liquid (that counts for your towels too).

Washing Wool Covers

You need to take extra care when washing and drying wool.  The best method is to use Eucalan Woolwash and warm water. Once a month you will have to lanolize your diapers so that they maintain their water-repelling properties.  The best way to dry wool covers is by rolling them in a towel and laying them flat to dry.

*Stripping
Stripping becomes necessary when your diapers start to smell funky and/or lose absorbancy, even after being washed.  This usually happens because they have built up detergent, creams, or minerals from your water.

Our method for stripping is to wash the diapers as usual and then rinse them with the hottest water possible until there are NO bubbles.  We strip our diapers in the tub or sink by filling it with hot water and then topping it up with boiling water.  You could also just use the hot cycle on your washing machine.  It may take three our four rinses for your diapers to be stripped.  You'll know your efforts paid off if your diapers are clean, odour-free, and absorbent after you've stripped them.  If not, repeat the process.  
 
Before stripping be sure to check the washing instructions for your diapers so you don't accidentally damage them. Some diapers should not be washed in very hot water.

Okay, so maybe that seems like a bit much to process, but it's actually really easy!

Cloth Diaper Week -Wordless Wednesday

Cloth Diaper Week -Our Picks

There seem to be two main reasons people choose to cloth diaper. One is expense, the other is environmental conservation. We probably lean more towards the second, but the reduced cost of cloth diapering certainly doesn't hurt!  

Our Tiny Guy in a Thirsties Duo Wrap Cover

We've sort of jumped around all over the place in terms of which diapers we're using on The Bean.  

Currently, at home we've mostly been using MotherEase One Size Fitted Cloth Diapers with a Thirsties Duo Wrap cover. The MotherEase have been able to contain all messes. For nap times we add a doubler since The Bean is a heavy wetter and that seems to do the trick. As mentioned in a previous post, I really like the Thirsties Duo Covers. I like that they're adjustable so they will fit for a long time. I like snaps over velcro since they don't destroy other things in the washing machine. And I like the double leg gusset which acts as a back up reinforcement for the above-mentioned messes. There are a few steps involved with this system and sometimes we have to drag The Bean back to his change pad a couple of times before we're finished changing him, but it works and we're pretty happy with it.
 
When I'm feeling lazy (usually first thing in the morning) I'll grab one of our BumGenius 4.0s and put The Bean in that. It's super-easy (although the snapping still does take some time). It also fits him well. There is very little bulk with this diaper so he looks better-proportioned in it too. The drawback is that they're expensive and we only have a couple. Flips and Kushies are my other "lazy" diapers. (I really like that the Flip covers can be reused.)
 
We used to use disposables when we went out, but we've switched over to using gDiapers with biodegradable inserts. We usually carry a couple extra inserts and one extra cover. It's nice not to have to carry around stinky or wet diapers if we end up needing to change him.
 
A final note, Jen and I have decided that though we love cloth diapering, it is not always the best solution for us. The Bean is an extremely heavy wetter, and even when he was just a few months old, would often be completely soaked when we changed him during the night. Even the most absorbent of cloth diapers often felt like they could be rung out. We didn't like the thought of him sleeping with wetness on his skin for hours every night, so we made the decision to use disposables overnight. We feel it has been the right decision for us. Although we wish we weren't adding waste that will take hundreds (or thousands) of years to break down, one diaper a night is a lot better than the eight plus a day we could be using, and we are glad that we've been able to put less into landfills by using cloth diapers the majority of the time.  


Disclaimer: This, along with all of the posts in our "Cloth Diaper Week," is not a paid endorsement of any type of diaper, it is merely meant as a reference for people interested in finding out more.

Cloth Diaper Week -Types of Cloth Diapers

Newbies to the cloth diapering world may quickly become intimidated by all of the options out there.  In this first post for our "cloth diaper week,"  we'll do a run down of the different types of cloth diapers that are available.

Many people, including us, make up their diapering system from several of these options. Your preferences, lifestyle, and baby will guide you in finding what works best for you.

When talking about cloth diapers think in terms of:

1. The style of diaper such as prefolds, pocket, etc. as outlined in the post.

2. The size of the diaper.  Usually either sized (small, medium, large, etc.) or one-size-fits all (adjusted by folding or snapping)

Here we go...

FLATS

Flats are what many people think of first when they hear the term "cloth diaper."  They are the old fashioned way of cloth diapering where a piece of fabric is folded, pinned or snappied, and covered with a water proof pant of some sort.  The biggest advantage of flats is probably the price, as they are by far the least expensive form of cloth diapering.  They wash easily and dry quickly. Can be sized or one-size-fits all.

ImseVimse

Kushies

PREFOLDS

Prefolds are similar to flats, but have a thicker middle section.  Like flats, they can be folded in a variety of ways to suit your needs, but will need to be pinned, snappied, or folded into a sung-fitting cover.  They come sized and the smaller sizes can be used as "doublers" once your child outgrows them. Like flats, they are also quite inexpensive. They take a slightly longer time to dry than flats. 

Bumkins

Bummis

FITTED/SIZED DIAPERS

Fitted diapers look like disposables made out of cloth.  They have elastic at the legs and back and usually close using snaps or hook and loop closures. They come in both sized and in one-size-fits-all styles and must be worn with a cover.  They usually take a little longer to dry than flats or pre-folds.

Motherease (2 size fitted diaper) 

Motherease (1 size fitted diaper)

COVERS

Covers are what go over all of the above-mentioned types of diapers.  They are waterproof and usually close using snaps or hook-and-loop closures, although there are also pull-on options.  Nowadays, they are usually make out of Polyurethane Laminate (PUL), fleece or wool.  Covers can usually be used a couple of times before it is necessary to wash them. They can be sized or one-size-fits all.

Thirsties

Bummis SuperWhisperWrap

Wool covers from Etsy

POCKET DIAPERS

Pocket diapers are made with a layer of material such as fleece sewn to a cover and an opening in the back so that the inside of the diaper can be stuffed with an insert.  The fleece lining wicks moisture away from the baby's skin.  Before washing, the insert must be separated from the rest of the diaper so that it gets clean.  The covers cannot be reused because the lining gets wet or soiled during use. They can be sized or one-size-fits all. (The blueberry diaper link below goes to a video that explains how a pocket diaper works plus how to adjust the rise on a one-size-fits all diaper.) 

Blueberry   

Bumgenius 4.0

ALL-IN-TWOS (AI2s)

With all-in-twos an insert is placed directly against the baby's skin.  When soiled, the insert must be taken out, but the cover may be worn again with a new insert.  Biodegradable inserts are available, creating a hybrid system that falls somewhere between disposables and cloth. They can be sized or one-size-fits all.

Flip

gDiapers

ALL-IN-ONES (AIOs)

All-in-ones are diapers where the absorbent part of the diaper and the cover are combined into a single diaper (like disposables).  The biggest advantage is that they are easy to use.  Like disposables, once they are soiled, the whole diaper must be taken off and washed.  They can take a long time to dry.  Most of the AIO's we've seen are sized.

Kushies

Bumkins

Tomorrow we'll do a quick run down of our favourite brands of diapers and what we like about them. 

Customer Service The Way It Ought To Be

I recently had an excellent customer service experience and thought it deserved blogging about.

About a month ago we ordered three size 2 Thirsties Duo Wraps from Amazon.com.  We had been using size 1s in our rotation, but decided it was time to move a size up since we're now mainly using MotherEase diapers at home which are very absorbent and great for containing messes, but also very bulky. The size 1s weren't fitting over them very well. 

We broke the covers out a few days ago to start using them and noticed that the snaps in the rise weren't making a snapping noise when we pushed them together.  Then, when we'd pull them up over the diaper to close the waist, the snaps in the rise would just pop open.  I was annoyed.  We had been so happy with the size 1s, there was no reason to think the size 2s would be any different.  I felt like we had wasted our money on something that was defective.

Jen suggested sending them back to Amazon, but we had ordered them to her parents' address in the U.S. and it would be a huge hassle.  Then she suggested contacting Thristies directly.  Honestly I thought it would be a waste of time, but I got online and went to their website.  They had a phone number at the top of their homepage, so I called it.  After keying in the numbers to get to customer service, I got voicemail.  Ugh.  I left a message explaining the issue we were having with the snaps and fully expected to never hear back from them.

An hour later the phone rang.  It was one of their customer service reps.  She reviewed the problems we were having, apologized to me for the inconvenience, and then took down my contact information explaining that they were going to send out three new covers and to expect them within a couple of weeks (again apologizing because shipping to Canada takes much longer than it does within the U.S.).  I was shocked.  I thanked her for all her help and hung up the phone practically speechless.  Really, words cannot describe how pleased I was with their level of customer service.  It's refreshing to see a company doing things right! 

Diapering Update

I can't quite remember what I've written about our diapering experiences so far.

When Jen was still pregnant we decided that we would like to try cloth diapering. I had been reading a lot about it, but was a bit hesitant to bring it up for fear of being shot down. Eventually I did bring it up though and Jen was TOTALLY on board. My sister gave us a pretty good stash of (mostly brand new) diapers she had picked up from Goodwill and we decided we'd add to it.

Jen's parents weren't so on board when we told them our plans. Jen had been cloth diapered as a baby, and it wasn't a fond memory for her parents. They recognized it was our decision to make, but insisted that they would have disposables there whenever we came to visit. Then, as a surprise Christmas gift, they subscribed us to a diaper service for three months.

Our first delivery was made the week before The Bean was born. Since he was so small, their smallest size didn't fit him right off the bat, so we called and had our start date delayed. In the interim we used disposables, which was fine.

After maybe a week or two of cloth diapering, we noticed The Bean getting a pretty bad rash. It started out as some redness, and then some bumps started showing up. In order to get it cleared up, we switched back to disposables and slathered him up with zinc oxide for a couple of days. As soon as we switched back to the cloth the rash came back, so we switched to the disposables again, but this time with a plan. Every couple of days we would change one element of our diapering routine. First we changed from disposables with zinc oxide, to disposables with a cloth diaper-friendly zinc ointment. Then we changed to our own cloth diapers with the cloth diaper-friendly zinc ointment. We just finished up on re-rinsed diaper service diapers with the friendly zinc. Next we'll try non-re-rinsed diapers with the zinc or maybe re-rinsed with non-zinc ointment. Jen doesn't seem happy about having to re-rinse the diaper service diapers, but to me it's an extra $4 for two loads of about 50 diapers each in the washing machine, they line dry in less than 12 hours, and we don't have to wash the dirty ones, which is really the yuckiest part of cloth diapering. I guess we'll see how it goes, but so far, so good.

All that said, my real reason for wanting to post about cloth diapers was to talk about the different ones we've tried so far. We weren't planning on being with a diaper service, and may or may not continue beyond the three months we were gifted (I love the service, and the price is reasonable, but not as reasonable as washing our own diapers)... the point being, we had already accumulated quite a stash of cloth diapers and have added to it since I last posted about cloth diapering.

We have three Bumgenius 4.0s. These are one-size pocket diapers. We bought the ones with snaps because they're supposed to last better. I'd read great reviews of them and they do behave more like a disposable, which I thought I'd like, but thinking now about the prospect of having to wash so many diapers, they don't seem as great. They're still very convenient, but I don't think they'll be our go-to diaper.

Next we bought a two-pack of Flip "Stay Dry" diapers. In some ways these are similar to the Bumgenius (one-size, also snap closed), but I like them better so far. They're comprised of a cover plus an insert, rather than a pocket. When the insert gets dirty you take it out and replace it. Unless the cover is dirty too, it can be reused. They came with 6 inserts and two covers, which I thought was really good.

We've also bought a couple different covers. We have four Thirsties Duo Wraps. They're meant to fit babies 6-18 pounds, so not one-size, but definitely long-lasting. These are Jen's favourites to use with the diaper service diapers. The cover is similar to the Flip covers, but with an easily wipeable lining. I like them a lot too, but since I do all the night time diaper changes, I prefer velcro to snaps on the covers in terms of ease of use.

Which brings us to the Bummis covers this past weekend: one Super Whisper Wrap and one SuperBrite. I like the SuperBrite better so far. The inside is wipeable, whereas the Super Whisper Wrap is not. The SuperBrite also has leg gussets, whereas the Super Whisper Wrap doesn't. Both are sized, so they won't fit as long as the one size diapers we have, but they fit better. They've both got velcro closures, which I don't like because of durability, but as I mentioned earlier, they are easy to use. I think the SuperBrites are my favourite to use with the diaper service diapers.


The Bean in his Bummis Super Whisper Wrap.

We may not have tried the Bummis because I was set against velcro, but as a part of our diaper service package, we had been renting MotherEase Rikki Wraps. I like them, but the ones we had were kind of worn out and not the most leak-proof. I definitely like the Bummis SuperBrites better.

The next cover I hope to try is a wool (cashmere!) cover for overnights. I ordered on small one and one medium one off of a seller on Etsy, which was much less expensive than buying them in a store or from a manufacturer. I hope they help wick away the wetness that can accumulate overnight. We suspect that the overnight wetness might have been a part of what was making Ollie's rash so bad. We also purchased a couple more microfibre doublers from BumGenius to help with the overnight wetness, so I guess we'll see how it all goes.

Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Quick Update

Things are chugging along more or less as usual right now.

I'm a teacher and am now back to my regular work schedule after having the summer off and am still adjusting a little bit. So far I'm enjoying the new year. I seem to have a nice group of students and am looking forward to when we're settled into a routine as right now things still feel somewhat, well, unsettled.

We had a midwife appointment again last week and things are looking pretty good with the bean. We did get some abnormal test results (again) on our last ultrasound. This time it showed a small sac growing off of one of the kidneys. Our midwife reassured us that this is not uncommon and it usually resolves before birth, and if not then, shortly after. The most common side effect is UTIs and often babies born with this problem are put onto antibiotics right after birth to try to prevent this from happening. We really aren't too concerned, but we will be going in for another ultrasound in about a month to check on how things are progressing. I'm hoping it's a non-issue by then.

We picked up some more (used) MotherEase cloth diapers and a small assortment of diaper covers. Someone had them listed on Craigslist and we ended up getting them for a great price. I was telling one of my co-workers about having to go pick them up and she offered to bring me in some covers she's done with now that her kids are all potty-trained, so we got even more covers from her. They aren't all in the best shape, but I think it's nice to have the assortment.

A couple of things regarding cloth diapers. One, so many people I've spoken to and blogs I've read have talked about how CDing a newborn is so hard because you're so tired and they're so little and such poop so often, so I think we will plan on having some small disposable diapers for the first few weeks. Two, I have decided that covers with snaps wear MUCH better than covers with Velcro/hook and loop closures. I totally get that Velcro is quick and easy and probably lets you adjust to your baby's size a bit better, but I hate the way it seems to get the diapers all pilled and rolls and gets threads caught in it. I think we'll try to get covers with snaps when possible so that they stay in better condition for a longer amount of time.

I've had to restrain myself from looking at too much baby stuff (clothes/toys) online because so much of it is so cute and I want to get it for our little guy but I know it's not likely we'll need it, so I'm trying to hold back. I do hope to do an update at some point with some of the adorable items I've found on Etsy. If I give in, it's likely to be from something on there. :)

My laptop battery is dying so I guess that's about it for now.

Cloth Diapers

This post isn't going to be what I had intended it to be: a well-researched post listing the pros and cons of various cloth diaper options and seeking out real-life opinions and responses to said research. The real-life opinions are still very much welcome, but I haven't done the research I intended to.

Jen and I decided that despite my mother-in-laws strong favouritisim towards disposables (she cloth diapered but LOVED it when she would get disposables as a gift), we would like to try cloth diapering. Both of us hate the idea of filling a landfill with thousands of our child's diapers. We create enough garbage as it is, if we can reduce the amount by cloth diapering our child, we will try it. Not to mention that cloth diapering is supposedly less expensive and also better for the child in terms of being better for their skin and eventually toilet training.

My sister, who is a bit of a modern-day hippie, was pleased to hear that we were going to try to give cloth diapering a go. She hasn't had children but is very pro cloth diapering. Perhaps needless to say, there's a whole other story to this, but she had a good stash of cloth diapers that she was willing to give us. So we now have:
-11 unbleached MotherEase diapers
-6 bleached MotherEase diapers
-10 waterproof Kushies all-in-ones
-15 cotton Kushies all-in-ones
-3 Kushies covers
-1 gDiaper cover
-2 packages of gDiaper refills
-1 roll of flushable liners
-12 prefolds
All but four of the waterproof Kushies are from her.


It's a good start, but we know we're going to need to increase our stash, and the big question now is, with what? I think we'll definitely buy some MotherEase covers since we have quite a few of their diapers. We've also looked at Bummis, BumGenius, Thirsties, MonkeyDoodlez and gDiapers. I've read some not-so-great reviews of gDiapers so as much as I think they are super-cute and really WANT to like them, I'm quite hesitant. MonkeyDoodlez seem similar to gDiapers, so I'm not so sure about them either. My guess is that we'll end up with at least some of each of the other three options. I like that Thirsties appear to come in smaller sizes (for newborns), and Bummis offers a starter pack that seems quite good, and BumGenius are all-in-ones which seems like it might be easier than the prefolds. There's also Bumkins and about 100 other options out there though, so I really don't know.

Anyone with cloth diapering experience who wants to throw their two cents in would be more than welcome to right now!