Great Cloth Diaper Change 2013

In case you missed it, Earth Day was yesterday. 

Earth is my favourite planet, so I like to try to do my part so that it doesn't implode from all the nastiness we (humans) subject it to. 

One of those things is Cloth Diapering. (Check out my initial post on this subject)

Besides the immense cuteness factor, cloth diapering is quite awesome for the planet. Did you know that disposable diapers take somewhere between 100-500 years to decompose in landfills? With the average child going through over 6000 disposables in 2.5 years, that is a whole lot of gross leaching into our soil and in turn, water. 

Anyways..... back to the Great Cloth Diaper Change. It began 2 years ago as a family friendly way to celebrate Earth Day, but quickly transformed into a Guinness World Record attempt for changing the most cloth diapers simultaneously. Since then, it has become extremely popular in the cloth diaper community; last year's event had 8,251 participants around the world. 

We participated last year with our "local" cloth diaper store, and this year they took it one step further: turning the event into a fundraiser for the maternity ward as well as a chance for local eco/green companies to feature their products. 

So at 6:45 in the morning on a Saturday, we were leaving our driveway to head to our "local" event 2 hours away. We arrived shortly after 9 a.m. and spent the entire morning there, checking out the vendors, participating in the silent auction, doing some daddy & baby yoga and of course participating in the main event! There ended up being 48 participants!! 

We spent the rest of the day in the "city" going to a sushi restaurant and shopping. We got home around 8:30 that night, exhausted but happy. We had a great day with our well behaved little boy, who threw no toddler fits despite only getting an hour or so of sleep the whole day! (Yes, I am one proud mama!)

So without further ado, check out some our pictures from the event, including some professional ones:

Daddy and Baby Yoga

Getting ready for the change

Cloth Diaper Styles and Types

This is going to be a relatively short post giving you the rundown of the different types of diapers and covers available. I'll go into more detail and include pictures of diapers and my cute baby in future posts.

Diapers generally come in one of two types:

One size (OS): This diaper is typically sized for 12 to 35 lbs and is the most comon. 

Advantage: one diaper will last through birth to potty training. 

Disadvantage: Can wear out more quickly, may have trouble fitting small babies or bigger toddlers.

Sized: Available in sizes such as S, M, L.

Advantage: Less wear and tear, they generally fit better, may have higher re-sale value.  Disadvantage: Need to buy more diapers.

There are several different styles of diapers, each one has its advantages and disadvantages and it really is about trial and error, what may work for one baby and family, won't work for another.

Prefolds: Rectangular piece of fabric made of several layers. You fold them around the baby and fasten with pins, a Snappi or simply lay them inside a cover. Need a waterproof cover.

Contour (also known as workhorse):  Made with layers of an absorbent fabric, cut into an hour-glass or diaper shape.  May or may not have elastics and needs pins or a Snappi to fasten them. Need a waterproof cover.

Fitteds: Similar to contour diapers, except have snaps or Velcro, and elastics in the legs and waist.  Need a waterproof cover.

Pockets: Most common type of diaper.  Consists of an outer waterproof shell and an interior stay-dry layer, as well as an insert that you stuff in between the two layers. They are similar to disposables, are easy to use, easy to wash and keep baby feeling dry. They are also available in a multitude of colours and patterns.

All-in-One (AIO): Most like a disposable diaper and require no pinning, stuffing or folding.  Generally they are the most expensive cloth diapers, however they are still cheaper than disposables.

All-in-Two (AI2): Consists of a shell and a snap-in liner. At diaper change, you replace the liner and re-use the cover (unless it is soiled).

Flip system: Similar to an AI2, except the insert is tucked into flaps at either end of the diaper.

Some diapers require a cover, while others have a waterproof material built in. There are three basic materials to make a diaper waterproof.

Polyurethane Laminate (PUL): Laminate applied over cotton to make it waterproof, leak proof and mildew resistant. It is lightweight, soft, pliable and breathable.

Fleece: Soft, lightweight and breathable. Can be quite bulky and is not the most suitable choice under cute baby outfits.

Wool: Is all-natural, soft, breathable, can hold 30% of its weight in liquid, has anti-bacterial properties and self-cleaning characteristics.  Natural, untreated wool is soft and comfortable and it only needs to be washed and lanolized every 2 weeks or so. It can NOT be machine washed, however washing consist of simply soaking in a sink.

Exciting Day

Today is suppose to be Wordless Wednesday, but I had a very exciting day (and already have an idea or two for what I'm going to post tomorrow) sooo long story short: Bonus post!

Showing off his new wool!

As I said, I had a very exciting day today. First I (umm, Kaleb) received some new diapers and our very first wool, a pair of shorties! Now I know you are probably wondering what is so exciting about wool, but there is lots: it's waterproof, anti-bacterial, breathable, and cute, just to name a few. Don't worry, I'll have a post devoted to wool in my Cloth Diaper series, it'll just be in a couple weeks.

Next up, Kaleb and I went to Babies Club at our local Early Years Center where he got to play with some adorable babies and mama got some adult talk time in. That talk turned into questions about Cloth Diapering which turned into me doing a mini presentation type thing in 2 weeks!!! Eeek!!! I am sooo excited for this. There is nothing I enjoy more than talking cloth (in case you can't notice) and even more so, showing how wonderful cloth diapering is to newbies! 

Later that afternoon Kaleb and I went to his swimming class. Our little frog sure does love to swim and is getting better and better at it. He gets so excited when we get to the pool!

After an awesome supper, I went on Facebook to find out that Randi over at Sowdering About in Seattle mentioned me in one of her posts! I know this doesn't seem like a big deal, but this is my first time being mentioned and I am over the moon excited. Then I find out that Kylara over at Homemaker Haven has nominated me for a Liebster Award. How cool is that?! 

In summary, today was an EXCITING day! (You know just in case you didn't notice how many times I used that word in this post.)

Hope you had yourself a fabulous Wednesday too!

Cloth Diapering Myths

In case I didn't have you convinced how awesome cloth diapering is with my first post, I'll now address some myths, which I'm sure will help seal the deal!

You're always doing laundry. We do diaper laundry twice a week. Twice. Folding and putting them away isn't hard, it is actually quicker and more enjoyable than folding socks. The process itself isn't complicated either. We dump solids in the toilet (no swishing necessary), throw the diaper in our lined diaper pail, and twice a week, dump everything including the liner in the machine. Oh, and F.Y.I., you should be dumping solids in the toilet with disposables too.

The obligatory cute baby in
a cloth diaper picture.

Disposables are better for the environment. People say this because of the water and electricity you use to wash, but this is a big myth. Think about the energy, wood, oil, water, electricity and CHEMICALS it takes to manufacture and distribute disposables. Also, it takes anywhere from 100-500 years for them to disintegrate in a landfill. Think about all the gunk leaching into the soil.

The baby is always wet. Most cloth diapers have a "stay-dry layer" against the skin. Which is a fancy term for material that wicks away moisture without drying out baby's skin like disposables do.  Sure, he feels a bit of dampness, but I'd rather that then some chemical I can't even pronounce rubbing up against his tush. Plus, it'll help to potty train him a lot quicker.

You need to change diapers more often. Most parents do not change their babies' diapers often enough because of the chemicals that are made to make the disposable diaper feel dry. Changing a diaper 4-5 times a day is not adequate, it is recommended to do so a lot more frequently. It helps prevent diaper rashes, especially with disposables.

Diaper pails, and in turn your house, smell. This is absolutely not true. One of the first things I noticed when switching to cloth was the lack of smell. Well obviously there is a smell when he poops, but it is nothing compared to the smell when he was in disposables. I suppose that is why the Diaper Genie was invented.

You have to use pins and rubber pants. This is true, for cloth diapering 20 years ago. Cloth diapers have come a long way since then, even in the last 5 years. If you can put on a disposable, you can put on a cloth diaper. If you are really nostalgic, you can get diapers that require pins, but in reality, everyone uses rubber gripper things called Snappis (if you choose a diaper style that needs them that is).

Cloth diapers give babies diaper rash. The percentage of diaper rashes in 1991 was 78%, however in the 1950's, before the invention of disposables, it was 7.1%. Cloth diapers allow your babies skin to breathe and don't have any harsh chemicals rubbing up against baby's skin. Enough said.

After factoring washing costs, cloth is more expensive. As I said in my first post, my great stash cost $500. The average family spends just over $2000 on disposables in 2.5 years, heck, we were right on track with that, spending $200 in 3 months. Even with a washing machine from 1952, it does not cost $1500 to do two loads of laundry per week for 2 years (cloth babies potty train sooner).

Cloth diapers are too bulky. Depending on what type of cloth diaper you choose, there actually isn't much difference. As I said before, cloth diapers have changed a great deal, they are now made with not just cotton, but also materials like bamboo and hemp, which naturally absorb crazy amounts.

Bottom line: cloth diapers are easy. Don't be intimidated! Get your hands on a couple, you'll be amazed.

Next up: Exploring different types of diapers.  

Why We Cloth Diaper

In light of the this week's news that there may be a disposable diaper shortage, I figure now is as good time as ever to begin writing about cloth diapers. I plan on doing several posts about this topic, however, for today I'll just tell you a few reasons why we decided to do cloth.

Chemicals. Once I became pregnant, I started to make a conscious effort to avoid unnecessary chemicals. Unless you're living in the time of caveman, it is extremely difficult to be chemical free, but from where I'm standing, if I can keep a little bit away from my baby, I'm winning.

Health. Know how many diaper rashes Kaleb has gotten? Zero, nada, zip, none. The only thing that goes on his butt are coconut oil and cloth.

Cost. I have a pretty great diaper stash. I have a combo of different types of diapers. Some are daddy/babysitter friendly, some are complicated, some are meant for overnight, some are expensive and some are cheap. Bottom line though, I can easily go 5 days between washes (depends on the amount of poop!) and it cost me $500. Yes, $500 to diaper my baby until he's potty trained and depending on how well I take care of them, my next baby.  (In comparison, we spent around $200 in 3 months of using disposables). Now this does not include cost of laundering, but even included, it is still considerably cheaper.

Environment. It takes somewhere between 100-500 years for disposables to decompose. That is X amount of years of poop and chemicals and who knows what leaching into our soil. Yum.

Cuteness. Admit it, they are pretty cute.

K showing off his newest diaper.

Next up: Cloth Diapering Myths