Cloth Diaper Update

I promised to give a cloth diaper update once I saw them in use with GrandBoy last month. These are not your grandmother's cloth diapers - or even the cloth diapers available for Daughter 27 years ago. Forget complicated folding, but do expect a lot of Velcro and snaps. And wonderful colors like "Grasshopper," "Zinnia," and "Twilight," and even animal prints. No, your sweeet dumpling does not have to settle for tidy-whities in this day and age!

Cloth diapers come in all sorts of configurations - all-in-ones, diapers with insertable liners, all-in-ones that let you add in a liner for those days that need a little extra sumpin'-sumpin', snaps, Velcros, more combos. Fortunately, many retailers offer trial deals, whereby they send you a sample package that includes the many variations. We ordered from three different places, based on recommendations from friends, and the diapers arrived very quickly. (I guess they know how desperate a new mother can be.)

Daughter and I used all varieties on GrandBoy to see what suited him (and us) best. The main criteria was leakage, so the way the diaper fit our particular babe was important In the end, we had three winners: bumGenius V3 All-in-One, Gro Baby One Size, and Happy Heinys One Size.

Cloth diapers are expensive. Our particular favorites are in the $15-$17/each range, and you have to make a commitment to stock in enough to avoid running the washer and dryer four times a day. That's one little thing that GrandMary can do - go online and top up the diaper supply every now and then. And let's face it, cloth diapers don't eliminate the need for disposables, which are easier if you're going out. But the price of buying disposables - even in bulk - adds up, too, so parents will just have to decide what works best for their pocketbooks. I reckon that investing in cloth diapers really makes sense if you're planning on having more than one child. Since GrandBoy's mama and daddy hope to have a couple more, what we're spending now will make sense as the diapers are used down the line.

In the end (or should I say, on the end), the only thing that matters is what works for Baby, Mama, and Daddy. I'm not sure cloth diapers would've worked for me, since I went back to work when Daughter was a couple months old (and, no, it doesn't seem to have had a negative effect on her), and I knew she would be my one and only. Disposables were a godsend. But if you're a stay-at-home mom or at least have enough cloth diapers on hand to avoid running the washer and dryer 24/7, the diapers are wonderful.

And don't you just love the colors?