the MANY types of CD: fitted diapers, covers,

after the girls turned 3 months, i remember thinking that i wanted a nighttime diaper... obviously, only used for that.  i wanted to use my pockets during the day.  so, i was super excited when i saw this fabulous deal on fitted diapers on http://www.babysteals.com for quite inexpensive considering i got a two-in-one offer!  just note, though: normally, i wouldn't go for a fitted diaper, but this was what i could continue to use with my covers (the Thirsties ones were sized until 18lbs.) since i already had them.

Earth, Mom, and Baby Bumboo Size 2 Diapers

- this is the ad photo from BS (above).

- come in two different sizes, but i purchased the size 2... since my girls were already almost the 10lb. weight limit, and it'd last longer.  

- i purchased five sets of the diapers (remember, i have twins! haha)- rainbow, blue/green, pink/purple. :)

- see the colorful snaps?  [if you're a velcro person, then these aren't for you!  there are SO many snaps!  and, at first, i'll admit... i couldn't get it.  my hubby had to figure out how to snap everything together.  now, it's easy. :)].  just make sure to put the TAG on the INSIDE near the back of the diaper!  you'll see how that makes a world of difference!  also, once it's on the baby, you'll see a tag on the front with the Earth, Mom, and Baby Tag.

-  see below how to do put the diaper together (i couldn't find any YouTube videos).

- INCREDIBLY soft.  heavenly soft.  due to the bamboo/silk.

- why bamboo?  it's a completely natural fiber, used without pesticides.  4x longer absorbency than cotton.  usually, bamboo diapers are at the higher-end of CD's pricing.  nothing is man-made about the diapers... except, okay, maybe the buttons? ;)  here's more information about bamboo diapers here. (remember when i said that my girls were having issues later on with the man-made fabric?  thus, began my quest to find diapers that were suitable for their little bums... just like you would have to buy different disposables to get the "right one."  it's just more of an "investment" unfortunately.... as my hubby says, "it is what it is.")

- they come with extra liners ( if you want to lace the inside of the diaper for extra absorbency, then that'd work fine).  i usually lay the tongue all the way out, ready to fold, but put the extra liner towards the back (already folded over), so that way my girls have more padding in the back since that's where they need it.  obviously, it'd be opposite for a boy. :)

- QUITE absorbent.  seriously opposite of Tots Bots' Easy Fit!  

- quite pricey once you buy the fitted diaper AND the cover.

- ideal for travelling.

- 12+ hours of absorbency (depending on the baby, of course).  but, perfect for heavy-wetters.

- not for disposable-loving people because it takes some work to put together... now, that we've done it for six months, it hardly any time.  but, this diaper isn't one for your baby to go to the church's nursery in!  ha ha

- on KidCrawl, moms (like you and me who buy something from BS and realize for one reason or another that it's unnecessary) sell new/used items USUALLY at the price at which they purchased it!!!  so, i do see these on there, which is a fabulous chance for you to get them if you really want to.  see, BS only offers deals twice a day, and once they're out... then they're out (like Groupon but for babies/mamas).

- my Thirsties' covers didn't fit too well over the diaper because they were a sized cover, BUT ONE-SIZED covers work phenomenally!!!  (i'll get more into that in a bit.) try these one-sized covers, and you'll be shocked at the price and quality for just that: Kawaii Baby  (were priced at $4.50, but i guess their prices went up to $4.50, however can get in velcro and snaps) and BubuBibi (priced at an incredible $4.50, only comes in snaps).  why these?  do they have the sophisticated design of the Thirsties with the extra gusset?  no.  have i needed the extra gusset?  no.  

Thirsties' Baby Diaper Cover (not a one-size)- see the extra gusset to prevent any blowouts/leaks?  it's at the leg of the cover.

Kawaii Baby One-Size Diaper Cover

BubuBibi One-Size Diaper Cover

- here's a visual for how these BubuBibi diaper covers are one-sized:

awesome, huh?!?!

- between the Kawaiis and the BubuBibis, these are what we use for our fitted diapers, the Bumboos.  NEVER had a leak, blowout that wasn't contained.  

- here's a video review of the Kawaii One-Size Diaper Cover:

if you can't see this, then click here.

- IF you wanted to continue with prefolds OR start with prefolds (for that matter), then buy ONE-SIZED diaper covers.  otherwise, you'll have to repurchase every time your child grows out of that "size."  sort of defeats the purpose of going with CD to save $.

- would i recommend the fitted diapers?  absolutely.  are they complicated at first to navigate?  yes.  are they worth the extra absorbency?  yes.  for a single baby, if you were to make a purchase for a Bumboo, i would recommend just two sets.  obviously, i had to buy more for my twin girls. :)  

- are fitted diapers/diaper covers an expensive system?  yes, HOWEVER, we already had the diaper covers, and, "technically," it was just like purchasing another diaper for about $12, so it was worth it for us.  they're super soft, extra absorbent, but if you don't have the covers already, they may not be worth the investment.  BUT, above, i showed two new one-sized diaper covers that you could get for, seriously, cheap! (which is what we had to do because the sized diaper covers weren't quite "covering" the fitted diapers, unfortunately- BUT, the sized diaper covers would work super well with little babies... because they are sized.  you could use the one-size for the same thing, though!).  so, it is an option.

- are fitted diapers/diaper covers ideal for travelling?  yes, absolutely.  whenever we drive to/from CA/AZ, we put these on our girls, and they are great for long-periods of time (also quite comfortable!).

tell me... what are your thoughts on fitted diapers/diaper covers?

the MANY types of CD: prefolds/covers and start-up stash with accessories

yup.  it's true.

when our girls were 5 weeks old, we decided that they were big enough to "fit" into CD since they must have been around 8lbs. (a guess.)  up until that point, i knew, or thought (haha) i knew which type of CD we were eventually going to invest in.  but, even though i really wanted to do this, my thinking was (as i've already mentioned this before)- are we REALLY going to follow-through with this after making such a huge investment?  no matter how much we make an investment in something sometimes, there's always a chance that we don't follow through.  it's a HUGE risk, considering the $ and time invested.  i was determined to make it work, but still.  forking all that $ over for... what? OMG, the chance that it doesn't work?

so, we started small.  by small, i mean the price.  our initial stash was from our local homegrown CD store, Zoolikins.  below is the package that we had.

prefolds/covers 

we started with the simplicity package- infant, which consisted of:
- 36 Bumkins prefolds (the unbleached cotton fabric rectangles above)
- 6 Thirsties covers in the above colors
- 3 Snappis (in lieu of the lovely diaper pins that the former generations used ;)

we ended up purchasing:
- four additional covers (thanks, mom!) in white (totally recommend it, although i was super nervous about the ~poop~ with it, haha) and bright blue.
- a couple of extra Snappis (purple for Willow Kate and pink for Coral Bliss, of course!).
- disposable liners (catches the poop?  no way!  we were hooked.  do i recommend it for people just starting out?  absolutely.  it's a nice "introduction" to CD/poopy diapers.  for months, i didn't use them, and i just started using them again.  why?  i was given 200 of them for free. :)  why else?  they do save "time/effort" when cleaning the diaper IF you're not immediately placing it in the wash OR it's formula/solids' poop. :)  also, they are biodegradable!  score!!!  just so you know, though- do they cover the diaper and catch the entire waste?  NO.  but, they are a GREAT alternative to using a diaper spray or not wanting to fool with a poopy diaper.)

- a diaper spray (i already planned on this, but my hubby said that if we were going to CD, then this would be a necessity- haha; honestly, this is a LIFESAVER.  highly recommend getting this IF you plan on seriously CD.  you will not regret it.  and, when your CD days are over, you can multi-use it for your hemorrhoids, feminine hygience, and pregnancy and postpartum hygiene!)

- Kissaluvs' terry cloth wipes (i wasn't so sure about this, but decided that we would try it.  honestly, at first, i didn't use them... for a week or two.  i thought that we'd just do the CD and disposable wipes = BIG MISTAKE.  when you do that, you need to separate the wipes from the CD afterward.  who wants to sift through that?  no thanks.  it's another waste of time and money.  so, we started to use these.  no thanks.  why?  they're washcloths.  and, very non-user friendly.  too thick to serve its purpose.  i became discouraged as i wanted to CD with CW, but i didn't know what i needed, but something thinner and lighter that resembled a regular disposable wipe.  so, my mom whipped up some flannel wipes for me around the same size as a disposable wipe, and we LOVED them.  since then, months later, those are still the only ones we've used.  the best part?  completely reusable.  just throw it in the wash with my diapes... plus, don't have to worry about my wipes "drying out" or my hubby using "too many"- as they do that!  later, i'll get more in-depth with the "solution" i use with my CW.)

- a purple pail liner (love it!  bought a standard flip-up waste can that is sort of like this one, and you don't need a fancy one.  instead of stepping on the bottom, you press the top, and it pops open.  in there, i have my liner.  this liner is awesome.  it eliminates odor while still preserving the wetness of the diaper so that, come wash day, it's good to wash the stains out.)

now, with all that said.  i used the Snappis, but hated them.  i suppose hate is a strong word.  i disliked them because sometimes, i'd get really good fits with the prefolds, and sometimes i'd fight the cotton for something decent.  it was like a war.  a struggle.  okay, i exaggerate.  regardless, i didn't prefer them.

why?

i wanted something easy, and these didn't feel easy with me.  below is a video on five different prefold options (God Bless YouTube!).  i did #1 (but with more cotton in the front- don't ask me why as it's not like i have boys- haha) at first.  sometimes, i got a really great fit as i mentioned.  it wasn't easy, though.

then, when we revisited Zoolikins later (7 weeks), the owner showed me a similar fit to #4... to stuff the dumb prefold in the cover.  i felt so dumb when i saw that.  i said those exact words to her, too.  lol.  i felt dumb that i didn't think of that, but i liked that.  i liked that i could reuse the cover once i change out the prefold at a diaper change AND i liked that i could stuff the diapers ahead of time.  brilliance.)

anyway, i did #1 and #4 folds:



if the link doesn't work, then visit here.

now, my CHIEF complaint about the prefolds is that they weren't suitable for nighttime/longer periods (2-3+ hours) AND they were quite bulky to sit a baby in a carseat (my girls would literally have trouble sitting correctly because of the bulkiness, but remember... i did the #1 and #4 folds).

however, i was researching prefold videos and saw this video below.  duh.  i now want to try that nighttime solution.  haha!!!



if the link doesn't work, then visit here.

below is another fabulous fold to maximize the absorbency... what's nice about prefolds is that you can try so many different folds until you find the one you love.  i did and that is to stuff the cover with the prefold ahead of time- sort of like with a pocket (more on that later).  mind you, this person below is using a larger prefold- NOT an infant one.



if the link doesn't work, then visit here.

finally, i want to also inform you that prefolds DO take a lot of initial prep time- about 6 washes, BUT once you do that, there won't be anymore insane prep.

would i recommend prefolds to anyone?  absolutely.  totally worth it and we have no regrets about our initial diaper stash/investment.  to this day, my girls are 8 months old, and we still use them!  :)

i leave you with this BRILLIANT idea on how to CD on a budget... with those numerous receiving blankets that you have around your house!!!  or, you can go pick up several at a store and make them work! :)  see the video below for more details.



if the link doesn't work, then visit here.

what are your thoughts on prefolds/covers?

CD brands

here are all of the CD brands that i found in no particular order.  the key is below the links.

Amazon List of CD


BubuBibi$*
Thirsties*
bumkins*
Bummis*
TotsBots*
FuzziBunz*
earth, mom and baby*
Flip Diapers*
Kawaii Diapers$*
Comfy Rumps$
Econobum$
Blissful Booty^  
KCK One by Nicole^
Nana Pants by Betsy^
envibum^
Monkey and Bug+
TKCuddlers+
SoftBums-
Happy Heinys-*
Rumparooz- 
the good mama
weehuggers
Green Mountain Diapers
Blueberry Diapers
Kushies
bumGenius*
itti bitti
RagaBabe
Smartipants
Sandy's Cloth Diapers
GroVia
Kissaluvs
Nifty Nappy
Sweet Pea Diapers
Sweet Lil Bumbums
Loveybums
bestbottom diapers

* i recommend/have this brand
+ custom-made
$ very inexpensive, whether it's a small family business or manufactured in china in a fair, safe work environment
^ small family business
- has preemie/NB sizes

MY twins' traveling checklist (for a weekend)

note: modify for your needs, whether you have one child or more than two children.

babies/baby:
- 2 carseats
- 2 rattles on the carseats
- 2 blankets
- 4-6 swaddling blankets*
- caps/lids in a little baggy
- 4-8 pacifiers in a little baggy in the diaper bag
- 4 pjs
- 6-7 matching outfits (with headbands, socks, shoes, sweaters, pants, etc...)*
- 2 kids' books
- travel-size baby shampoo/body wash, baby detergent, cloth diaper detergent*
- travel-size shampoo and conditioner*
- baby lotion*
- nail clippers
- a makeshift mobile*
- 1 jug of room temperature water (for formula)
- can of formula
- formula bottles
- 2 hooded bath towels*
- washcloths*
- burp cloths*
- kids' music
- stroller*
- bathing suit*


for CD:
- cloth diapers (i brought almost all of mine minus the 36 prefolds that i have- 12 prefolds, 10 fitted diapers, 10 diaper covers, 2 AIO's, 2 Pocket Diapers)*
- travel-size diaper spray, water bottle*
- wet bag
- disposable liners/cloth wipes in a freezer-size ziploc bag


for you, mommy:
- 2 magazines
- 2 books
- iPad/iPod/computer, already charged, with charger
- camera, already charged, with charger
- cell, already charged, with charger
- pump*
- pump attachments in a freezer-size ziploc bag
- hands-free bra
- bottles (i brought all of mine for my pump) in a freezer-size ziploc bag
- nipples in a little baggy
- pump car adapter
- 2 nursing tanks (i brought black; more versatile)
- sleeping nursing bra
- nude and black nursing bras
- jeans
- 3 shirts
- 1 pair of leggings
- 2 pairs of sandals
- 1 pair of shoes
- thick socks (if winter)
- 1 jacket
- socks/undergarments
- makeup
- 3-4 reusable water bottles


*tips-
- the swaddling blankets are great to use to prop up the babies' bottles in their carseats.
- pack the outfits/headbands/shoes/socks/pants/sweaters in  a freezer-size ziploc bag... easy to grab an outfit and get them ready!
- get inexpensive (in the $1 bin) small bottles for your baby shampoo/wash, baby detergent, cloth detergent, shampoo, conditioner, diaper spray and water bottles!  and LABEL each of them!
- always keep a diaper spray bottle and water bottle in your diaper bag!  one less thing to pack!
- i was almost out of my baby lotion, so i left it there... one less thing to pack!
- leave items at location so you don't have to repack them in the future, such as baby lotion, bath towels, detergents, washcloths, burp cloths
- make a mobile out of black/white construction paper or print these printables here and make your own... tape to the back of the car seat!
- bathing suit depends on the season, of course.
- a stroller is unnecessary UNLESS you're traveling a lot during your trip/flying... getting in/out of the car for a far/long distance.  takes up too much room if you don't need it!- make sure all of the CD are dry... :) do one load of laundry at your destination a day.  hang/air-dry. 
- pump every three hours whether your kids are sleeping or not... AKA... in the car, they're sleeping, time to pump?  PUMP!
- pack in a huge suitcase for the entire family instead of lots of little bags.
- pack extra (we had to stay an extra day due to car trouble, and THANK GOD, i had packed enough for the girls and us).
- pack for a few days... not last minute!
- gather things as you think of them; set aside.
- do all of your laundry long beforehand.
- put your kids on the play gym/in the carseats or bouncers if you want them in the room with you while packing, BUT the easiest solution: pack ONCE they are sleeping!
- check the destination's weather constantly for any changes, but pack for cold, warm, and hot weather (blankets help the cold).
- pack two outfits for every day you'll be there +1.  three days?  3 x 2 +1 = 7 outfits. :)
- leave the ziploc bags in your suitcase once you unpack!
 - bonus: if you have outfits left over in the baggies, then you have already outfits for when you return!  or, you can keep them for the next trip!  or, you can put them in your diaper bag as your go-to-outfits! :)
- if you don't want to do laundry for CD when away, then bring enough for your entire trip.

cloth diapers- my intro (part 2)

to start with the prefold system was a great beginning to CD for us.  since it's unbleached cotton, you need to wash/rinse the diapers about six times... it's such a relief when that final load is done.  i guess i shouldn't complain; my mom did all the work when she was visiting!  we started CD night before she left.

i asked gabriel to set up the diaper spray, which he did, and i put the first CD on one of our babies (don't remember who).  my mom was flying out very early in the morning... and we started around 11p.m.  when that next diaper change came a few hours later, gabriel volunteered to change her.  boy, was that a mistake!!!

our daughter completely initiated that diaper, CD, us into CDing... with the MOTHER LOAD of all loads... OMG!  his eyes really widened... my mom and i were laughing forever... at 3a.m. when we were all so exhausted.  we went to use the diaper spray for the first time, washed the diaper, and threw it into the diaper wet bag in the diaper pail.

at this point, pretty sure that this is when my husband started to regret agreeing to CD... lol.  we weren't ready to switch over completely, so i started to CD during the day while i was home with them.  whenever he watched them, he'd throw a sposie on them.  he wasn't comfortable with it yet.  we were both learning.

yet, i was determined to make it work.  we needed to save $.  i didn't want to spend it on ridiculous diapers.

the girls still didn't have a predictable time frame for their booty business, so i'd have to use the disposable liner for almost each changing because i didn't want the prefold to already stain...

so far, so good... we were going to do this.

cloth diapers- my intro

forgive me... this post has not only been a long one coming, but i didn't quite know how to word it.... nonetheless, here we go.

growing up, we had tons of cloth diapers as "rags" around the house.  they were ever so soft, and i learned, very early, that my mom put my brother and me in cloth diapers when we lived in guatemala.  for some reason, i always envisioned myself doing the same thing... whenever i had children.  

when we found out that we were pregnant, i planned on CDing.  my husband grew up with CD and we both agreed to it (sometimes, i don't think men understand what they agree to until it's reality before their very own eyes- lol).  when we found out that we were having TWINS, i knew hands down that we would do this.  why, do you ask?  mostly because i didn't want to spend unnecessary $$$ on things that i could rather spend on something else.  

i was surprised at my findings/research.  as i expressed my desire to do CD to my mom, she mentioned a diaper service immediately following the hospital... until i could get a handle on the idea of CD.  as i went onto a diaper service's website, i was floored.  i felt disgusted.  absolutely dumbfounded.  i read the statistics about diaper rash, disposables, cancer-linked chemicals, a former chemical that used to be in tampons years ago, waste, our planet, potty training, $ spent on sposies, the history of cloth diapers, the risk for infertility, a risk of more UTIs...

still, i couldn't believe it.  could this be the reason so many have infertility challenges nowadays?  linked to cancers?  but, WHY is it that they keep some chemicals in there that ARE banned NOW in tampons and in europe!?  how, in the world can we put those next to our babies' bottoms?  i watched a video from envibum's site, and my stomach sickened.  wow... that's really what is in THOSE diapers?! 

i knew that i had to CD.  knowing all of this information, i couldn't weaken myself and lose myself to paying for sposies every week... for what type of return, investment?  just throwing $ away.  do we throw our clothes away?  our underwear if it's dirty? 

i started asking around... asking friends who did CD and their reasonings... and i felt lost.  it was information overload.  i didn't know what type of CD to start/buy, and i felt frustrated because it seemed like it could be such an easy decision, but it wasn't!  prefolds, fitted, all-in-one, covers... what?!  isn't there a pros/cons to each?!  oh boy.  

so, my mom started picking up things for me... the Gerber prefolds, diaper pins, and rubber pants.  the way she started.  i knew that there were MUCH cuter diapers, but i knew that it'd be a pricier amount to start up with two babies.  we'd have to be patient to get those.  meanwhile, at showers, my disposable diapers' supply grew and grew... i felt guilty even having them.

in the hospital, they were placed in sposies, and i felt so guilty because of the dangers of sposies.  yet, their bums were so small (they each weighed less than 5 lbs.) and quite bony without much fat since they were four weeks early... most CD start at 6-8 lbs... when we got home, we were changing 10-12 diapers/day.  i only had what my mom got for us, and it clearly wasn't enough to get me going, as well as my girls' bums were too small to even start.  so, we waited until they were five weeks old.  

my mom was in town visiting (her third) and we kept running errands around town... primarily baby stores (that's when you know that your life has changed- lol).  we looked at the Gdiapers at babies 'r us, and thought they seemed quite expensive, complicated... and, they didn't have the size to accommodate my little beauties. :(  a mom there told us that costco had CD... online.  we checked it out.  a three-part system.  the worst part about buying things online is not knowing what type of product it is until it's in front of your face.  the mom also mentioned this store in scottsdale, zoolikins.  little did i know i had already visited that store's site, as well as it was on my blog's links!  lol

we all went to zoolikins the following day... i wanted my husband to be apart of the process.  we bought their "simplicity" package, the diaper spray, disposable liners, and cloth wipes after learning a lot of information.  we went with the similar process my mom did.  why?
1.  my girls weren't quite 6lbs. yet
2. i didn't know if i'd be able to really KEEP with CD
3. didn't want to spend $ that i'd later regret by not keeping with it

my mom advised me to not switch completely until we got a grasp on CD and use sposies at night.  i decided to stop using the ones that people gave us and use seventh generation's diapers that were chlorine free, gel-free.  i felt somewhat better.  

yet, i still wanted to exclusively CD...