Miss Hadley in her Flip diaper, fall 2011

I get asked about cloth diapers allll the time. And I'm so happy to talk about them! Here's my answer. I think cloth diapers are...
no big deal. a pretty good investment. and cuuuuute.

My experience with them has been so great! I know that lots of people are putting cloth on their babies' bottoms nowadays and there's not much mystery left to it, but I wanted to write this post because this is one of the topics that I get questions about most frequently. And because I just think it's fun to talk about babies and their buns! Here are some of the questions I get asked about my diapers....

1. What brand do I use? Are you happy with them? We have Flip diapers and really like them. It's so simple. Just a one-size cover (with snaps, no pins) that you adjust as your baby grows, and a few choices for inserts. We have the stay-dry inserts. There are cheaper options than these, but we liked this system the best.
2. How many diapers do you have? We have 8 covers and 24 inserts. We bought 4 of these packs, if you're interested. I really like that you have the option of re-using the covers if they aren't dirty!
3. How often do I do diaper laundry? Ummm, right now it's about every 2 or 3 days. This has changed a lot since Hadley was teeny! It has varied from once a week to every other day. It depends on how often we re-use our covers before washing and if we're doubling-up on inserts (which I'll explain more later).
4. Where do you store dirty diapes until you're ready to do laundry? We bought this wet bag to store dirties. We hang it inside our basement door, which is where our washer and dryer are. (in the basement).
5. My diapers stink! Any advice? Yes! We had a stink last summer and got Funk Rock. It works. Also, my sister-in-law taught me the trick of putting in a couple big towels with my load of diapers so that the washer will use more water when rinsing.
6. Do you ever use disposables? Yep. We keep some disposables on hand for when we're going to be out and about, going to grandma's, or when we run out of clean cloth diapers. We also used disposables for the first 2 months of Hadley's life, because we were living at Camp Shetek and didn't have our own personal washer/dryer.
7. What about.... poop. If it's scrape-able or toss-able, take it to the toilet. If it's just from straight breast milk, it's water-soluble and will be fine in the washer. Wherever it ends up, it's going to be okay.
8. My diapers are stained! Don't worry, mine are too! When it's convenient, and I remember to do it, I put wet diapers outside to dry in the sun and they bleach like magic!
9. What about leaking issues? This could mean you need to adjust the size for your baby, or, in our case, we started doubling up on our inserts and that solved the problem right away! As Hadley has gotten older, we started laying two inserts inside the same cover, and I didn't need to change my babe every time I turned my head.
10. General thoughts/advice on cloth diapers? At first, when we put Hadley into her Flips, I hated it. I hated the hugeness on her bum and how it changed her shape. It just looked weird! Needless to say, after a few hours I was over it. She is adorable in her diapes! I think they are so helpful and cute. economical and clean. and not any more gross than changing a diaper that's not cloth.

Edited to add questions from the comments:

What's the monthly cost estimate for cloth diapering? What about special detergent? We spent around $200 on the diapers initially, and have been using them about 20 months now which = $10 per month so far, and obviously, it will be more cost-effective the longer we go. The diapers are still in great condition and will be used for more babies, so who knows how long we'll make that initial $200 last. I use the same detergent on the diapers that I use on everything we wash, so I don't have to buy anything extra. I use this jug of Charlie's Soap and it lasts forever.. like half a year at least.

Can you store a wet bag somewhere other than a basement?/Are they difficult to keep clean? Yes, but you might want to get a garbage can with a lid to store it in, just to prevent any smells taking over your house :) Our diapers come out of the wash really clean, but I do like to use Funk Rock once in awhile to deep clean and get rid of any lingering smell.

want to know what i've been up to when i'm not cooking, doing dishes, killing the bazillion flies in our house, taking pictures, editing pictures, helping preschoolers write their names, cleaning my house, reading my bible, searching for the perfect piano on craigslist, showering (i take long ones), blogging, figuring out how to fit all my dishes into my tiny kitchen, writing emails, eating apples and peanut butter (a good chunk of the day right there), using my running road, or trying to keep my hair parted on the side where it doesn't want to be parted?

i've been doing research. yes. please ready yourself for a bit of science. i've been a big nerd the last week- collecting data and coming to conclusions, and now i'm ready to turn in my homework to someone. i figured you guys wouldn't mind too much. (right? i hope?) the research has been about....what else? food. from now on we'll just call this my food renaissance era.

so how do we get rid of the bad and allow the good to come in? we neutralize the phytic acid by soaking (or sprouting or fermenting) our grains before we eat them! soaking is the key. such a simple process, and it only takes about 3 minutes + the forethought to set it out to soak before you go to bed! so far i've soaked oats for my morning oatmeal, flour for a loaf of bread, a pot of beans, and a batch of oatmeal pancake batter (just the oats, flour, and buttermilk part) and it is so much fun! it's exciting going to bed knowing that my food is already prepping for the next day. all you need to do the soak is: liquid to cover your grains, a tablespoon or two of an acid medium (buttermilk, yogurt, whey, lemon juice, vinegar, or kefir) and a bit of warmth is nice, too. if you're interested, find more detailed instructions on how to soak in this awesome post.

i just have to say: this whole soaking thing makes so much sense! why else would people have been soaking, sprouting, and fermenting their food for thousands of years? it is a very well-known and wide-spread food tradition, but here in america, where our food has greatly deviated from the old traditions, soaked grains and sprouted bread aren't nearly as common. and we have tons of gluten intolerance and grain sensitivities to show for it. in case it hasn't reached you in some way yet: food allergies are on the up and up, in a major way.

isn't this stuff so super fascinating!? i got sucked in one sunday afternoon and haven't stopped reading or experimenting since. and as always, when you learn something new, you start seeing it all over the place. soaking, soaking, soaking. everybody's doing it! if you happen to be as fascinated as i am by all this science, here are some of my favorite posts so far:

so, if you want to, come along and soak with me!

and thanks for indulging me a little "according to my research" time.

i promise to be back with my little lists and other stuff very soon!