My love of gDiapers

I never thought I would say this... but I really love using cloth diapers. After my brave friend Melissa tried them out with her little one last July I thought that maybe, just maybe I could try them when we had kids. After finding out that we would be having our first baby while we were both in grad school, I dismissed the option as being too much work and something that I could handle until I was a "stay at home mom" full time. However, we received a whole pack of gDiapers at one of our showers as well as a wet bag and diaper sprayer, so when Lydia was 5 weeks old and we began to run out of gifted newborn diapers I gathered up the courage to try them and just see if it would be okay.

As it turns out, cloth diapering is a breeze! So I am here to tell you all of the nitty gritty details of how to get started (because when I wanted to try and start I found it a little bit difficult to find detailed instructions of what was going on). This may be information overload, especially if you aren't interested in cloth diapering at all. But I will try to keep it short. Also, we have only tried gDiapers so far (they are considered a hybrid cloth diaper, I will explain why later), but I am sure there are other great diapers out there too! We will be trying bumkins and bum genius here soon as Lydia gets bigger.

So, here is what you need to know first about gDiapers:

THE BASICS

 There are 3 parts to a gDiaper: an outer shell, a waterproof liner, and a reusable cloth.
gDiapers are hybrid because if you wanted to skip the laundry part of it you can buy biodegradable refills instead of the reusable cloth and use them as the absorbent part of your diaper. The refills are cheaper than normal diapers, you just throw them in the trash, and they are better for the environment!

 To assemble the diaper you just place the cloth inside of the liner, fleece side up. It will fold into a U-shape.

 Then you snap the liner into the outer shell.

 Then fold and store.

BEFORE FIRST USE

Before you begin using gDiapers wash the outer shells with baby's clothes. Make sure you fold the velcro back. I use cold water and I hang the shells to dry.

Wash the liners and cloth together with a small amount of soap and in hot water. After one wash remove the liners and hang them to dry. Keep the cloth in the washer and rinse them with hot water 5 more times (no soap!). This process is called stripping the diapers. If you ever notice soap build-up on the cloth, if they start to smell, or if you notice them being less absorbent just strip them and they should be good! Hang the cloth to dry as well.

DAILY USE

We have 5 shells and 16 liners and shells. We still use a disposable at night and with this amount of diapers I have to wash them every 3-4 days. Theoretically the shell shouldn't get dirty or wet since it is protected by the liner, but sometimes if we leave the diaper on too long there are small leaks around her legs. No matter what the shells will get a little musty smelling after a few days, so I usually just throw a few in when I do a load of her clothes. The snap-in liner and cloth will both get dirty with dirty diapers, but for wet diapers the liner could probably be re-used. Since we have the same amount of liners as cloths, I just un-snap the liner with the cloth inside each time and place it in the wetbag that hangs in our laundry room. You don't even have to rinse them off, and the wet bag prevents any kind of smell.

The one "con" of cloth diapers vs. disposables it that they have to be changed more often. There are leaks if we ever leave one on for more than 3 or 3 1/2 hours. So I try to change her every 2 1/2-3 hours and then everything is great. This is why we use a disposable at night (sometimes she sleeps for 5 hours straight!), but soon we may try to transition to cloth at night and just put a reusable cloth and a biodegradable refill in the liner to make it super absorbent.

LAUNDRY DAY

When it is time to clean the diapers the process is so easy with a wet bag. Just add a little bit of detergent (I use Tide free and clear... you can buy special soaps but I think that most free and clear detergents would work too) to hot water and turn the wet bag inside out to empty out all of the diapers, and throw the wet bag int the washer as well. Wash it all, remove the liner and wet bag, and then rinse the cloth one time with hot water. This will prevent the soap build up and keep the cloths nice and absorbent.

Like I said before, I wash the shells with her normal clothes. And I hang everything to dry. 

WHAT ABOUT THE POO?

Currently we don't have to do anything different for a dirty diaper vs. a wet diaper since Lydia is breastfeeding and her poo is water soluble. But when Lydia begins to eat solid food we will either rinse off the cloth in the toilet using the toilet sprayer, or we will buy these things called cloth inserts that you set right on top of the reusable cloth and it catches anything solid. These cloth liners are super cheap (8 bucks for about 100) and they can be flushed.

SUMMARY OF WHY I LOVE THEM

• They are easy
• They are CHEAP! Seriously... they can be an investment at first, but I would say they pay for themselves after 2 or 3 months since disposables are so expensive.
• They are good for the environment (I can pretend like this was a big reason for us, but really it wasn't... however, it is a nice plus).
• They are so much better for baby's bottom. No diaper rashes at all for Lydia.
• They hold poo better. We haven't had any blow outs in gDiapers, whereas with the disposables we were getting poo-up-the-back every 2-3 days.
• They really aren't gross. Just a note to you future mommies; you won't be grossed out by your baby's bodily functions. But even David and babysitters agree that these diapers are very user friendly for everyone.
• And, of course, they look adorable on your wonderful bundle's bum!! From what I have read, this is one characteristic that is kind of exclusive to gDiapers. A lot of cloth diapers can be bulky, especially when baby is so little, but gDiapers fit very snugly and look good under clothes. 

 

That is all about why I love cloth diapers! If you have any questions, let me know. And if this post was boring for you... sorry. I will send you off with a funny video link. The video is called "'Stuff' Crunchy Mamas Say". A crunchy mama is kind of a hippy mom, I guess, and I cracked up when I saw this video because even though some of it I couldn't relate to, other parts I totally could. Have fun!