Baby Cloth and Mama Cloth

Baby Cloth

There are plenty of blogs out there to explain what cloth diapering is all about, what the benefits are, how it works, what the best kinds are but I wanted to share why we choose to use cloth.  Of course, when I say we, I me Red and I.  At the end of most days, my husband would probably rather disposables :)

Let's start at the beginning.  I was pregnant with Ginger - I have NO clue how the cloth diaper bug got in my ear... honestly I try to remember and I just have no idea!  Somehow I ended up online doing research.  This lead to finding a store somewhere near Hamilton that sold them.  I found plenty of online stores but I wanted to touch these crazy diapers.  I wanted to meet someone who actually used them! 

I finally found Snuggle Bugz, in Burlington.  They only sold one kind of diaper at the time - Velcro Bum Genius.  They had blue, green, yellow, pink and white.  To be honest, I remember looking at the guy who was selling them and thinking "Your nuts! There is no way the inside of the diaper is going to stay clean.  They will just sit there for 3 days, in a pail, and they will be clean?! No way!"  Well I guess he was a good sales man because whenever someone asked me, "What can I buy the baby?" I would send them to Snuggle Bugz.  If they seemed hesitant to drive all the way to Burlington, I said any money to pay for the diapers myself would also be wonderful!



Big Spender wasn't convinced.  I wasn't the most... tidy person.  I would leave dirty laundry on the floor until I had nothing left to wear and then would do laundry in a couple of days!  I convinced him that I really would wash them and we started out with 15 green, blue and yellow ones (no pink please!).

I loved it from the very start!  I NEVER had to run to the store when she was wearing the last diaper.  I NEVER had to wipe the crystal gunk off her tiny newborn bum.  I NEVER had to smell another wet disposable diaper (I am telling you - 'sposies smell way more than cloth).  I Never had to worry if she was going to outgrow the size 2 pack of diaper before the pack was empty.  I Never looked back!

My favourite lately:

Flats with a Snappi

Thirsties Duo Wrap with snaps

Thirsties Duo Diaper

Kissaluvs Fitted

Kissa's Wool Cover

Why baby cloth?
1. Far less waste - mostly when garbage day comes around.
2. If it feels soft in my hands, I know it must be more comfy on baby's butt!
3. Far less chemical and plastic.
4. Faster potty training. Ginger was day trained just after her 2nd birthday and night trained just after
     2.5 years.
5. It's just plain cheaper! To be honest, I am surprised this was number five on my list :)
6. Re-usable for multiple children.

NOTE: Dear squeamish reader, this next bit is about "feminine hygiene". That's your only warning. ;)

Mama cloth
I am fairly new to the "mama cloth" world.  I have heard about the Diva Cup about 3 years ago but we were planning on getting pregnant fairly quickly after Ginger so I waited until after Red was born to look into it more.  Around this time, I also heard about Re-diaper hosting a "pad party".  A few women got together and sewed some cloth pads to give to girls in developing countries.  I thought "I can so make some of those!"  Well, a few months went buy and surprise surprise - I hadn't made any!  I finally sucked it up and bought some from Tree Hugger Mama Cloth.  I just love them!   The Tree Hugger's pads I purchased are one layer of minky fleece and one layer of regular fleece (I think there must be something absorbent in the core, too).

Tree Hugger Mama Cloth







 I have seen Luna Pads but I haven't tried them yet. I would like to get a couple of Luna Pads to do a comparison but I think I would still choose Tree Hugger.

Lunapads

I rinse them out in the bathroom sink and toss them in with my dirty load of towels.  They come out perfectly clean.  Something I learned with cloth diapers is that man-made fibers don't stain as much as natural fibers.  I only have three pads right now but they only act as  "back up" because I have the Diva Cup.  I haven't purchased disposable pads/tampons since September!

Why mama cloth?
1. No need to spend money, on pads, every month.
2. So much more comfy than disposables! They may be a tiny bit thicker but I would often get minor  irritations from the plastic of disposable pads so I think cloth is so nice.  Cloth also breathes better than the plastic backed ones.
3. No embarrassing noises in a public restroom when you need to change your pad - you know the
noise, right?
4. No chemicals against my skin.
5. Not a plastic wrapper, backing or packaging anywhere in sight!