Cloth diapers

I am big into cloth diapers.  I use a mix of organic prefolds and fitted diapers (Growing Green or something like that I think) with covers.  I also use the Gro Baby system which is now been revamped as GroVia.  They are an all-in-two system so they are meant to use the cover over again but the insides snap into them.  I love the covers and use them with my prefolds and fitted diapers as well.  I also have a couple of Bum Genius Organic all in ones that are just fine.  I like using the covers over and not just tossing the whole diaper, especially after just a pee because the covers are rarely that dirty.  I throw mine over the shower in the bathroom where the diaper pail is kept.  This is a shower we do not use but I am sure you can find some place to keep them airing out for the next use.  We don't have a diaper changing area mainly because Luke is tied to a ventilator most of the time and is just not that portable.

I have one-size diapers because it seemed like a better deal to me to not have to buy three or four sets of diapers as my baby grows.  I don't know how a newborn would due with my stash of diapers as Luke was 3 1/2 months when he came home and so not quite a newborn anymore.  We planned to make or buy ones for newborns as I have heard that one-size can be hard to fit but I also have see pics of the diapers I have on newborns that seem fine.  

Try out some diapers, ask around to friends, buy some on-line and try with your new baby before you buy a bunch.  And if you do want to make a bunch before baby comes or get a deal on a whole set great!  If you don't like them there are many places on-line where you can sell or trade them for a type you do like. 

I have made some covers, diaper pail liners and some diapers and it is very easy but with Luke and his special needs and the pregnancy we thought would end at any minute, but ended up lasting 41.5 weeks I really didn't get to making them.  Recently I have made a cover and have started sewing again and it is really easy.  There are tons of patterns out there for free and for a price.  I have looked at some of both.  I would test some diapers out to get the gist of what type you like before making a bunch.  Go over to a friend's house or ask around.  All babies are different so some may not work well on your baby.  However, if you make a bunch you don't like you can always sell or trade on places like diaperswappers.com or ebay.  Diaperpin.com has a lot of reviews as well that can be helpful.  I found a great site http://fernandfaerie.com/sewing_prefolds.html and I have used old t-shirts to make prefolds and they work great.  I have a box of t-shirts waiting to be made into prefolds.   There are many places to buy fabric and I have even bought organic and hemp fabrics that I really like.

For the diaper pail liners I bought some PUL and sewed it like a pillow case.  The top I folded over and left a space for a cord to cinch it up.  It took me very little time.  Although PUL is hard to sew so I would look on-line for tips.  I wasn't really worried about how diaper pail liners would look so I just plowed through without using some of the more ascetically pleasing tips.

Washing is a big deal.  Make sure you get a good detergent.  I am using one I got at the local co-op natural foods store called Selestial Soap (http://www.selestialsoap.com/) and I realized they are made in my area so all the better as they are a local product.   I would like to try Tiny Bubbles by the Natural Baby Company that also makes GroVia diapers.  They have good reviews.  The biggest thing is to get a soap with no residue, at least that is what we needed.  Our diapers started to smell bad and I got tips like I could be using too much soap so to rinse them a lot until all the soap is out.  This helped some but then I realized our soap leaves residues and when switching to Selestial Soap the smell has gone down.  I don't know if I can get it out after the months of residue but only a few of the covers smell really bad on a regular basis.  Luke's pee can be foul smelling as he is fed a lot of veggies that normal kids may not eat because he just go right into his stomach.  This is a site that rates detergents for diaper washing http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

When we go to doctor visits and out of the house we use Seventh Generation disposables or we use the g-diaper inserts.  GroVia makes biodegradable, compostable, flushable inserts like the g-diaper inserts you have heard of and they go right into your GroBaby/GroVia

And if you are thinking ewww my hands in the toilet to rinse poopy diapers don't worry they have sprayers you can get that attach to the water line for the toilet that you can use.

Well that is my take so far on cloth diapers.