my revised opinion on cloth diapers

I  reviewed Ashlynn’s cloth diapers a few months ago and I have to make a few revisions since we’ve moved back overseas. 

 

I love our cloth diapers now.  Ashlynn has outgrown the Kissaluv’s and Thirsties duo wraps. They were wonderful for when she was smaller.  I highly recommend this combo for babies under 12 pounds. I still squeezed them on her when she was three months old but as she approached 12 pounds then just didn’t cut it any longer.  She’s now purely wearing bumGenius all in one diapers with snaps. 

When we first arrived in Ethiopia I had to start relying on our cloth diapers because we simply didn’t have enough disposable diapers in our suitcases to get us through the weeks until our air freight or consumables shipment arrived.  As Ashlynn grew, the cloth diapers held in the explosive breast milk poop much better than the disposable diapers.  She’s also had zero diaper rash or even a hint of redness since we’ve moved to using solely cloth diapers. 

I bring disposable diapers when we are traveling.  It just makes things easier.  For our Mekelle trip last weekend we didn’t have space to pack around a wet bag and dirty diapers all weekend.  Gross!  Disposable are the way to go for air plane flights and overnight trips. 

At 2 AM I slap a disposable diaper on Ashlynn for the nightly diaper change.  Getting the cloth insert arranged properly in the pocket and snapping the diaper closed feels like rocket science at that ungodly hour.  I barely have to open my eyes to put on the disposable.  I allow myself this tiny luxury. 

In America, my biggest complaint about cloth diapers was all the washing.  I have three kids.  Spending that much time washing every day was eating into other important things like eating and sleeping.  The first 10 weeks of any baby’s life is just too hectic no matter how many other children you have.  Adding all that cloth diapering just made me crazy.  We live in Ethiopia now.   Ash is 4 months and now that she has a nice neat schedule, I’m not a walking zombie (maybe on occasion).   I also have a housekeeper to do the majority of the diaper washing.  Now cloth diapers are a piece of cake.  The weather is glorious here on a daily basis so all the diapers get hung to dry outside while the inserts tumble in the dryer.  We are generally running to grab a hanging diaper to throw on the baby as it’s still in the process of drying but that’s just how it goes.  We haven’t had a blow-out yet. Charlie's Soap is perfect because it's powdered and can be shipped through the pouch no problem.

We are in the land of zero disposable diapers so my small stash of disposables are sacred.  I squirrel them away for my middle of the night changes and our travel.  I can’t imagine having to order a box of diapers on a weekly basis to get sent through the pouch to get to us.  With all that cash we are saving I can order powdered milk or instant oatmeal.  Cloth diapers are pretty cool if you have the help for washing.  So many people don't have the help and still do it.  These people are Saints!  You have my kudos if you are making washing cloth diapers a priority in your family on top of the rest of things you are doing.   

I highly recommend Jillian’s Drawers website for ordering.  Definitely invest in bumGenius.  They are going to take us all the way until Ashlynn’s potty trained.