Cloth Diapers

A few months ago I looked into using cloth diapers. Mostly because Katie has a terrible time with diaper rash and everything I'd read said that going to cloth would help that. I did my research and found out that they averaged $20 a piece for the kind I wanted, then I talked to Jared about it. He was so completely against it that I decided it simply wasn't worth it.

Then along comes my oh so talented sister in law with this amazing pattern to make her own. I'm really not sure why this idea never crossed my mind. I spent years and years with my mom and grandma's trying to figure out how we could make it better, cheaper or cuter and the thought to make my own diapers never occurred to me! She was so generous sharing all of her info that I'm sure took some time to put together. Then she took the dive first, while I sat back and waited. I wanted to see if it worked for her before I even pulled out my sewing machine. Can you blame me?

The result? They turned out great! They fit so well! The only problem I've had is that it's so hot here right now that my girls are chugging water as often as possible. Therefore we're going through a diaper every hour to two hours. Even though we're going through them pretty fast I really don't mind changing them. I usually do a load of wash every day any way, hopefully as soon as I can get some more made I'll only have to do it every other day.

They way I have been doing it is after I wash and dry the diapers I stuff them and then stack them so they are ready to use the next day. Then when I change them I pull the stuffing out and put the whole thing in a grocery bag, hopefully soon I'm going to get another small garbage can then I can just put them in there. Also to avoid dunking and rinsing the stinky ones in the toilet like they did in the old days, I put a liner in (small rectangle of flannel) and then I can just pull out the liner and flip the mess in the toilet. I suppose I could rinse it, but I haven't really needed to. They wash clean and I haven't had any problems with the smell. I actually think the smell problem is better than it was when we did all disposables!

Right now I have 9 made, 7 more cut out and ready to sew, and fabric for 5 more. After all is said and done I'll have spent about $40 on everything, I had to buy most of my fabric, but I made 4 from old flannel receiving blankets that were just taking up space. For the soakers (the insert you put in to soak up the pee) I started using microfiber cloths like my SIL but that simply wasn't enough for my girls. Right now I'm using old dish towels that had been relegated to the back of the cabinet. I'm making Jared do some research for me on what fabric might work better, I'll update you if I find any.

Right now I'm still using disposables at night, I just wanted to get the cloth diapers in the mix because I'm almost out of diapers and I'm hoping I can make this work well enough that I don't have to buy any more. I was spending roughly $100 a month on diapers and wipes, so I figure if I can switch completely to cloth and Katie potty trains by three I'll have saved over $1000! That's a lot of money that I could put to much better use!

Here's the link to the diaper pattern. It's really easy to make. I pretty much know how to sew straight lines and I managed to figure it out (with Alexis's help of course!)

http://handmadebyrita.blogspot.com/2007/10/classic-rrp-ritas-rump-pocket-pattern.html

They are a little tight on Melody, but they're only supposed to go up to 35lbs and Melody is 33. I'm sure you could alter the pattern slightly if you have a chubby little one and just extend the wings on top and bottom. Tried to get pictures of how they fit Katelynn, but she wouldn't stand still! She's 26lbs and they fit her great!

The top left picture shows where the pocket is and the bottom right shows how to fold it. I'm working on the fleece covers now, but the pattern doesn't work very well with my girls' build so I'm altering the pattern (without much luck!) In the mean time I have them wearing the plastic diaper covers. I got 3 at babies-r-us for just over $4. I also got the pins there, haven't looked around too much to see where else I can get them. I think I'm going to go into Dallas and look in some of the specialty shops they have there.