A follow-up to the Cloth Diaper post- Part I

So we’ve had quite a bit of chatter related to the cloth diaper post I wrote a few days ago, so I thought I would post some pictures and explain a bit more about the different types of diapers we have over the next couple of days. I am going to start with the Bum Genius 3.0 One-size pocket diapers that we have. These are probably the most like disposable diapers in that they are super easy to use- no folding, no pinning or snapping, just put the diaper on the baby just like a disposable. The other fantastic thing about these is that they are one-size, they have adjustable snaps that grow with Hazel so we don’t have to keep buying diapers every time she grows, making the initial investment well worth it! Here is a shot of 7 of our 8 BumGenius diapers, the 8th is currently on Hazel’s bum.

One of the perks of these diapers is that they are really cute- not as trim as a disposable but quite fashionable as they come in a variety of colors. Aside from aesthetics, the BumGenius 3.0′s are great because they are really easy to use. The diaper itself is stuffed with a microfiber insert (it comes with two inserts, one regular and one newborn and you can double stuff them at night for extra absorbancy). Here are a few pictures of a half-stuffed diaper and a diaper that has been stuffed and is ready to go.

This is a photo of the microfiber insert next to a diaper that is in the process of being stuffed.

This is a ready-to-go diaper, all stuffed and ready for diapering.

So how do these diapers work? Are they a giant mess? The diapers are super easy to use, once they’re stuffed (which we do as soon as they come off the drying line) they are put in the diaper caddy so that they are ready to go whenever it’s time for a diaper change. All you do is put it on like a regular diaper. Simple. Now to the second question- this is where I was the most anxious about cloth diapering, the poop factor. These diapers work like regular disposable diapers in that they go straight onto the bottom there is nothing between the diaper and the baby so if the diaper is soiled it gets soiled. This was scary to me until I washed the first load of dirty diapers. The washing process is a little bit involved, but once you get the hang of it and set up your system it’s really very simple. The dirty diapers go into a dry pail (no soaking beforehand) lined with a washable laundry bag and get washed every 2-3 days. The odor is contained in the pail pretty easily because the bag gets washed every couple of days and I have little baking soda fresheners in the bottom of the pail. When it’s time to wash the diapers are first put through a cold wash with half the recommended amount of detergent for one load of wash. It is very important for the detergent to be free of dyes, perfumes and enzymes (All Free and Clear works great!)- perfumes and dyes can deposit residue on the diapers decreasing their absorbency which can lead to leaks.
After the first cold wash you wash the diapers again with half the amount of detergent for one load of regular laundry in Hot water with a warm rinse. Then the diapers are dried- we are line drying to try and make the diapers last through a couple of kids!

There you have it! That’s pretty much it for the BumGenius 3.0′s. If you are interested, check out their website for even more info. We use these mainly as our nighttime diapers as they are very absorbent and keep Hazel dry through the night (she is now sleeping 7-9 hour stretches most nights!!). During the day we mostly use prefolds with covers- I will post about these another day as they are just a *bit* more involved. All in all we are loving cloth diapering so far!

Filed under Buying for Baby, Hazel by esther | Comments (2)