My first thoughts on cloth diapers

Last Thursday was the first day we used cloth diapers except for two disposables I put on my son when we went out.  Since then he has only worn cloth, including this morning at church and to lunch afterward.  My first impression is I really like them.  Not only are they better for the environment but they are simple to use.  The only complaint I have is the extra laundry - a small price to pay.

I bought three different kinds of cloth diapers: bumGenius Organic All-in-Ones, bumGenius Flips, and FuzziBunz Perfect Size.  The first night our baby wore FuzziBunz to bed and when he woke up was all wet.  Not good.  The next night we double stuffed a FuzziBunz and he was dry in the morning.  Yay!  Last night we double lined the Flips and his diaper didn't leak, now we know Flips work at night too.  We have not tried bumGenius Organic All-in-Ones at night yet.  Mainly because I don't want him to feel wet at night.  One thing I LOVE about the FuzziBunz and Flips stay dry is that the diapers are dry except for that one night when we only had one liner in and it filled up with pee.  Also his little bottom is rash free. in spite of the fact that we aren't using diaper rash cream anymore (we aren't supposed to use rash cream with the cloth diapers we purchased).  All of the diapers we bought are high quality and soft.

I do not know which is my favorite yet.  Each serves a different purpose.  Here are my thoughts on each thus far.

bumGenius Organic All-in-Ones - super easy to use. You don't have to stuff or take apart anything.  Everything is connected in one diaper.  The only downside is it takes a LONG time to dry.  I dry them on two cycles and they are sometimes still damp.  I bought twelve of these and they were the most expensive.  One cool thing is you can adjust the size and use them for your baby until they are potty trained.  We spent $264.95 for 12 diapers ($22.07 per diaper).  These are my husband's favorite.

bumGenius Flips - These are great for going out.  We have two covers and six liners.  You simply remove the liner and replace it except when the baby goes number two, then you replace the cover.  It's easy to carry the whole system in our diaper bag.  You just have to make sure the liner is in correctly before putting it on your baby, very simple to do.  They also dry super fast and are the least expensive of the three.  Another plus for the Flips is you can buy disposable liners to use when you go out too.  It adds waste to the landfills but not as much as a whole diaper would.  Flips are also adjustable to use from birth to potty training.  We spent $49.95 for two diaper covers and six inserts ($8.32 per diaper when reusing the covers).

FuzziBunz Perfect Fit - These are pocket diapers which means there's a liner to stuff in the diaper.  They are super soft and the baby stays dry.  These are perfect for at night or when you'll be away from the house.  They also dry fast.  The only down side is removing and reinserting the liner.  They cost somewhere between the Organic All-in-Ones and Flips.  However, if you buy the Perfect Fit they will end up being the most expensive as they have three sizes unless you buy the FuzziBunz One Size.  I bought four medium FuzziBunz and two large.  We spent $95.70 for six diapers ($15.95 per diaper).

Several people have asked how much everything costs.  It is expensive to get started with cloth but in the long run you will save money.  We bought some of the more expensive cloth diapers and have spent $410.60.  Along with the cloth diapers we bought two reusable trash liners, bottom wash, and two diaper wet bags to go which cost $48.78.  Like I said, there are cheaper cloth diapers out there but since we are planning on using these for more than one child we wanted to make sure we bought something that would last and be super easy to use.  Considering we used to spend around $75 a month for disposables, in less than six months we will have spent the same minus water and electricity.  So I think overall this was a good choice for us even though saving money wasn't our main reason for switching.