Finding more green in cloth diapers

Contrary to what you might expect, this post isn’t a commentary on Abby’s new iron supplements.

It’s time for an update on cloth diapering. We’re still going strong with the cloth diapers, solid food and all. Abby is about five and a half months old but I started her on pureed foods a month ago, along with rice cereal. We have used about 50 disposables since she was born, whether it was not having enough cloth to last through Shabbat or chag, attempting to get her through the night with one diaper (um – yeah right – that was a fail – a double-lined cloth diaper is way more absorbent), etc.

I wasn’t sure what we would be doing when Abby started solids. Things change a bit in the diapers when that happens – if you’ve been there, you know what I mean. If you haven’t gotten there yet … well … consider breastfeeding exclusively a bit longer.

As the diapers were getting a bit more odoriferous and tougher to clean, I thought we would start using our Kushies diaper liners. But a funny thing happened – I accidently forgot to take a wipe or two out of a wet cloth diaper. They went through the wash with the rest of the diaper pockets and liners. And they came out soft and clean. And then I had an idea.

And it works. We wash the diaper wipes that we use for wet diapers right along with the rest of the diaper stuff and laundry. They come out soft and clean and we line each cloth diaper with one before we put Abby in it. Wetness goes right through like it’s supposed to, poo sits right on the diaper wipe – we flip the whole mess into the toilet and down it goes. It’s so easy I wish we had tried it when we were just breastfeeding.

Even if you haven’t reached the solid food stage, the wipe liners can also be used to keep diaper rash cream or moisturizer away from the diaper liner itself – that way, your diapers don’t lose their absorbency.

It’s so effective, we’re going to keep up the cloth for the foreseeable future. More money in the bank for us.

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The following is not for the weak of heart (or stomach) or men – consider yourself warned…

All this going green got me to thinking about the disposable products I was using as well. It seemed a bit hypocritical to put my kiddo is washable things and use disposables myself (heaven help me – maybe I am going all crunchy granola?).

So I bought some washable nursing pads from Kushies. So far, so good – and they wash up nicely and save quite a bit of money (the Avent nursing pads I was using were almost a shekel each – it adds up quickly).

A few weeks after that, my period came back with a vengeance. And I exhausted the last of my supplies of feminine products from the U.S.

Now, I’m not sure if women in Israel just have exceptionally light cycles (must be nice) but I literally could not find any pads out there that were going to get it done. And for reasons unknown to me, tampons are really uncomfortable since I had Abby. Maybe she did break something down there? Dunno. I have adopted a don’t ask, don’t tell policy with that part of my body.

I was just about to relegate myself to a week’s worth of home arrest each month using a newborn diaper as a maxi pad when I stumbled upon this site. So I ordered one of these and this kit. I wasn’t sure if I would find them all very gross or not, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Greatest investment I ever made. The soft flannel is nice to wear, I don’t get a rash the way I use to and the cup is amazing. It keeps me feeling clean, something that really use to bother me – especially in the summer. I can’t say enough positive things about them. The cost was a lot to absorb off the bat, but even if it is more expensive in the long run (which I don’t think it will be) it was totally worth it.