Microfibers STINK.

That title is totally misleading. We love our cloth diapers. I’m actually making this post as an excuse to post some of my fav CD pictures. . .because HOW cute is that fluffy butt?

Almost exactly a year ago... my boys! I know. Adorable

I don't think I've ever posted this adorable picture- facebook or otherwise. I USED to think I was a little nuts for wanting to do the whole CD thing, ok sometimes I still do. . . but once we got into it, we loved it. I still had that moment of sheepish embarrassment when people unknowing we CD would say "Ew, I could never do that" and I responded with "We do." :) Now it seems more and more friends have stopped looking at me funny and thinking maybe there is something to it!

and from my 365 project Wednesday.

We use Bumgenuis 3.0 (with Velcro) and love them. We don’t love washing them, because who would *love* doing laundry? It is, however, totally worth the trade off, and really isn’t that bad. The first 6 months are bliss. . .breast milk poo just washes away, poof. Solid poo? Not as fun, but really it’s not too much more work. With a dirty disposable I have to take it outside because of the stink factor. With cloth you just flush the poo, throw the diaper in a bin and run the wash every other day. I think the trade off is totally worth it, for us. Especially financially. We live in government housing and don’t pay our water bill, bonus. We also have to pay more for disposables with only the commissary or PX to buy them from. I know many friends in the states who get GREAT deals on disposables, but without that option disposables are SO expensive! stock up (sometimes too much!) when there is a ‘good sale’ but the savings certainly don’t match up. We still use disposables for trips, busy weekends, and overnight. . .it’s just what works for us.

Washing: we do a cold cycle with soap, a hot cycle with soap, and an additional rinse. We use Rockin’ Green Soft Rock (even though we have crazy hard water) because Jackson’s skin is sensitive. I think if we could use the regular or even hard rock, it would be better, but we stick with what works.

Back to the stink. I actually didn’t use cloth diapers in November or December. Andy went out of town for two weeks, my mom came over to Germany for Jackson’s first birthday, I battled morning sickness, and we were gearing up for the vacations of all vacations- The Cruise. I think I was also tired of ‘The Stink’. Microfiber inserts are notorious for smelling bad. Like really bad. Some have problems with ammonia. I have problems with the dingy- I sometimes leave them in the washer too long smell. I honestly think the difference between loving and hating these diapers is** being able to conquer the stink. We ‘strip’ our diapers and liners with Dawn dishwashing liquid and chlorine free bleach about once a month. THEN I regular bleach the crap out of the inserts (and then rinse at least 3 times). I’m pretty sure cottonbabies condones this, and if not, I don’t care. It’s what works to get the smell out. I also know the sun has amazing bleaching factors, but we don’t really have a clothesline. . .

Velcro vs snaps. I’ve never tried snaps, and would like to. We haven’t had problems with the Velcro wearing out. (The laundry tabs never work well- those are little tabs that you are supposed to be able to attach the sticky part of the Velcro to so you don’t get a ‘diaper chain’ where all your diapers connect together. . .we have those often, but it’s not a big complaint). I really feel the Velcro was necessary for an itty bitty baby. I just don’t see how the snaps would work when at times I had to literally overlap the tabs. It DID scratch his stomach at times when he had nothing else on. With an older baby it isn’t an issue. I guess my concern would be getting the ‘perfect’ fit with snaps- and the amount of time it takes to snap- not much, but more than the Velcro and with my wiggly man, that’s almost too long :).

Ok, that’s what I have for now. Just wanted all of my thoughts in one place. Feel free to ask questions!

PS- another great thing about the diapers? Just the cover makes a PERFECT swim suit. It doesn't absorb (like all swim diapers) but does a good job of keeping 'things' in! I KNOW this isn't condoned by cottonbabies so don't do this if you want your warranty to be valid!