Cloth Diapering, First Impressions

This weekend marked the first time using our new cloth diapers!

I diligently washed and re-washed the cotton flats until they reached so-called maximum absorbancy. Also gave the covers and duo diaper inserts lots of face time with the washer and dryer.  Then proceeded to fold all of them so they were all ready to go like little soldiers armed for battle :)   

Diaper covers/wraps by Thirsties

The verdict? 

The diaper covers came in a bunch of pretty colors and certainly look cuter than disposable diapers. They made some red marks around Shay's legs where the gussets sit (but then, so do disposables). Red marks aside, they seemed comfy enough for her and not too tight around the legs.

While easy to fold, the flats were hard to get on her due to the fact that she has learned how to roll over and immediately wants to do just that the moment you put her on her back which translates into a very wiggly, kicky baby on the changing table.  Not so much of a problem when putting on something with velcro, but the flat has nothing to hold it on until you can pull the cover over it.  Though I know that flats aren't meant to completely wick away moisture from baby like many cloth diapering products on the market, I was hoping for at least a little bit more absorbancy.  Shay's not one to fuss because of a wet diaper so we weren't thrilled that she was just sitting in the wetness, though there was no leakage.

The duo diapers are a huge hit though!  They have a buttery soft microfiber fleece liner on the inside and a multi-layer microfiber terry & hemp insert.  We were afraid that a cloth diaper wouldn't hold up without leaks overnight as Shay really gets a disposable wet but these did an excellent job of keeping her feeling dry while containing all of the wetness.  And, while she may inherit the famous "Burton Bubble Butt" someday, she didn't have a cloth diaper induced bubble butt from these.  Trim, soft, absorbant, cute...an overall winner!  The only downside is that they are much more expensive.

All that said, the flats are very affordable and easy to launder so I'm willing to give them more time. Jeff wasn't so eager at first and wanted to go ahead and get more of the duo diapers right away but this morning he commented that he'd give the flats some more time too. So we'll see how this goes. Wish us luck!

Shay modeling her orchid colored cloth diaper

Diaper by Thirsties, Body by Shay!