Meet this week’s Fluffy Mama: Tara!

About Tara:

My name is Tara and my husband and I met just a month after I moved back to Minnesota from Michigan and in 2008 on our 5 year anniversary we married! We welcomed our daughter into the world in December 2009! Before my daughter was born I worked full-time in accounting and now I have my dream job, a stay-at-home-mom! I love sightseeing, taking pictures and blogging, thesmalltownmom.com, in my free time!

How long have you been cloth diapering?

I have been cloth diapering since my daughter was three weeks old, so a little over 8 months now.

What made you decide to start?

My start to cloth diapering is actually quite interesting. We received a bunch of bumGenius 3.0’s and AIO’s from one of my husband’s clients when my daughter was first born and at the time we were using disposables. They sat for awhile at our house while I decided what to do with them. After reaching out for help to my local Momslikeme.com cloth diapering group they gave me the support and confidence I needed to try it out. I’ve been hooked ever since, so I like to say that cloth diapering choose us!

What was your first purchase and why?

I wanted to try a few different things to see what I might like so my first purchase was prefolds, Bummis covers and Rocky Mountain pockets.To my surprise I fell in love with the prefolds and covers!

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total?

So far my total investment has been $350. This includes some diapers that I have purchased and then sold because they didn’t work out for us.

Have your family/ friends been supportive?

Most of them yes, a few of them I think hoped this would just be a phase and that I would eventually go back to disposables. But most of them love to learn about the different types of diapers I have in my stash and how to use them, it’s great!

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding?

Putting the dirty diaper in a wet bag instead of the trash can! The feeling is amazing because I am not only saving a diaper from the landfill but that is money I am keeping in my wallet!

What is your favorite diaper to use?

It has changed through the years, currently its a Fuzzibunz One-Size. With a 33 lb. 3 year old, she can tell me how the diapers feel. Just recently, several of our standby one-size diapers were “too tight”, and so we’ve had to look for a new option!

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding?

I think in the midst of a very busy work at home mom career and raising a child, its hard to find time to wash! Thankfully, testing different soaps we come up with and products does give me motivation to have dirty diapers handy at all times!
Also — they say that cloth diapered babies potty learn faster, and that hasn’t been the case with us! We’re still struggling with the potty unfortunately, and I think part of it may be my daughter loves her “bipers” so much!

And anything else you want to discuss!!!

I’ve been washing our own cloth diapers for 3 years now, but in the midst of all of that, I have answered thousands of questions and trouble shooted for many moms. I hope washing is never a hindrance to cloth users, so please contact me if you ever need help! I think I’ve seen it all!

This week’s Fluffy Mama of the Week  is Katie from Pickles and Paisleys  She has been a twitter pal of mine for quite a while.  If you follow her, then you know she is something of a fanatic over AppleCheeks!  You can see photos of her beautiful family on her website. Psst… you can follow her on twitter too!  @Katiespickles

About Katie:

My name is Katie. I’ve been married over 6 years to my best friend. We live in Charleston, SC with our chihuahua Cinderella and on Thanksgiving Day 2009, I gave birth to our GORGEOUS baby boy, Austin! You can read about our lives at PicklesAndPaisleys.com

How long have you been cloth diapering?

We have been cloth diapering for about 8ish months. I always planned to use sposies when he was newborn size, but I ended up using them a bit longer. Austin was born 6 weeks early and was in preemie and newborn sposies for a while.

What made you decide to start?

I wanted to start cloth diapering because it was so economical and CUTE! I really wanted a girl so that I could buy the pink ruffly ones, but now I suppose it was a good thing I had a boy, because we would NOT be saving ANY money. We’d live on the street, but she would have a CUTE fluffy butt!

What was your first purchase and why?

I bought a 2 pack of medium gDiapers from Babies R Us because they were on sale! I was so stinkin’ excited! I never actually used them though! I traded them before Austin even reached the 13 pound starting weight!

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total?

Between $300-$400

Have your family/ friends been supportive?

My husband had my back from the very beginning. As for everyone else? They were skeptical to say the least. But once my mom saw how hard I was working on our breastfeeding relationship (mine and the baby’s not mine and hers… lol) she believed I could do it. She was just worried I would spend a lot of money and then not use them. But once she saw how easy and cute they were and how serious I was, she got on board. As for everyone else, I kept getting “wait til you start formula and he starts eating solids!” 1. Formula? That wasn’t in my agenda, and 2. EYE ROLL. Like disposable diapers don’t stink?! I think they stink worse!

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding?

Through cloth diapering I have learned so much about how much money I am saving and how I am actually making an impact on the environment. I’m not a huge tree hugger (even though my mom absolutely is! I wish she rubbed off on me a little more) but you can’t do any cloth diapering research without stumbling upon astounding facts about the grossness that is manufacturing, disposable, and biodegradability (or lack there of! & is that a word?!) of sposie diapers. I also love helping new cloth diaper moms find their perfect cloth match. There are a LOT of choices out there, and once you find your fit, it feels great! And helping someone is even better! I’ve even converted a lot of people online and “in real life” from sposies to cloth!

What is your favorite diaper to use?

We love our Applecheeks! The fit is perfect, the colors are delicious, and their customer service is out of this world. Since falling in love and filling my stash with the majority of Applecheeks, I started working for their company as well. I am proud to be a part of something that is better for our babies, Earth, and wallets.
In addition to Applecheeks, I stash monster diapers as well. Austin’s “theme” is monster, so I am trying to get my hands on all things Oogas and monsters. I love using fitteds at home to give his butt a PUL break, and for some reason I feel like I’m “wasting” the Applecheeks when I use them at home. I guess because they are the only ones I can use out? My favorite fitteds are Nifty Nappy. She has a few Ooga prints and a Loch Ness Monster print

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding?

I wish I never bought 18 of one brand to start out with. It was stupid. I hated those diapers, but EVERYONE ELSE loved them, so I stocked up. Not one is in this house today. They did NOT fit right. Austin has an odd body shape, and these weren’t cutting it. I also have a hard time with some ammonia stinks lately with night diapers. I have been through A LOT of brands and systems, close to 30, trying to find the perfect fit! Thankfully I have found it!

And anything else you want to discuss!!!

My stash has evolved A LOT in such a SHORT time. I can honestly say I am 100% happy with my stash. I might still get a couple new ones here or there (in case Applecheeks comes out with more colors or new Oogas are too hard to resist), but I am definitely happy with what I have.

Tell me about yourself:

Ashley's beautiful family!

My name is Ashley, and my husband and I started a company making “green cleaning stuff” 3 years ago called Crunchy Clean. The link is www.CrunchyClean.com — we started with an everyday laundry soap that I made when I was in graduate school, and we’ve expanded from there to include a very popular Diaper Laundry Cleaner! We make a hard water version that has been very well-reviewed, and our products are all exclusively made from vegan minerals and nothing man-made.

How long have you been cloth diapering?

3 years — we have a newborn on the way due in the Fall, so I’d say we’ll be a consecutive 6 in a few years!

What made you decide to start?

I nannied for a little boy while I was in graduate school, and something bothered me about the way disposable diapers smelled. I always wondered what was in them, so when I heard about “modern” cloth diapers when I was pregnant, it seemed very natural to research them!

What was your first purchase and why?

My first purchase was a one-size diaper sampler pack — it was all the rage three years ago! It included a Happy Heiny, Bumgenius 3.0, Mother’s Touch, and a Haute Pocket! I put them on my little girl as soon as they came and took a picture of her in each diaper!
When we started, pockets were all the rage — many of you may not believe that hybrid wasn’t even a diaper type back then We haven’t even gotten to try a hybrid diaper yet!

The Stash!

On the left are two hanging wetbags folded up, then the covers, including Olive Janes covers (olivejanes.etsy.com), some wool, and sbish wool yoga pants!  Then there’s a large stash of one-size pockets — our favorites are probably the BG Elemental Diapers and the FB One-Size, but we even have some BG 3.0s in there from 3 years ago (that pink one on top!) that’s in great condition!  Next to those are fitteds in a plethora of brands and wipes!  Then, there’s the newborn stash starting in the back right — so far, we have some Thirsties Duo Diapers, Thirsties covers, Happy Heiny Mini One-Size, and a Monkey Snuggles Newborn Pocket — there are newborn fitteds and prefolds missing, as well as a bunch of toddler prefolds we use occasionally!  :O)  Can you tell we’re all girl here?

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total?

I’ve been so blessed with diaper costs — having a work at home mom business, I’ve been able to trade and barter a bunch. So, honestly? I haven’t really kept a tally, but I can tell you that many of the diapers that have come in our house have left via a trade so I don’t have nearly as many diapers as I could have
We have a new baby on the way, so now I’m focusing on the tiny diapers that have been introduced in the last 3 years — I’m so excited to give them a try!

Have your family/ friends been supportive?

At first, family and friends were skeptical that I’d follow through (and I think they were skeptical of how “easy” they are) and my husband used to say that if we didn’t have a business based on living green, I probably wouldn’t have continued.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding?

Knowing exactly what was going next to my very small and sensitive newborn’s skin was very important to me, and it still is. I also love not having that huge trash bag full of diapers weekly — it makes me feel good to know we’re not contributing our thousands of disposable diapers to landfills.

What is your favorite diaper to use?

It has changed through the years, currently its a Fuzzibunz One-Size. With a 33 lb. 3 year old, she can tell me how the diapers feel. Just recently, several of our standby one-size diapers were “too tight”, and so we’ve had to look for a new option!

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding?

I think in the midst of a very busy work at home mom career and raising a child, its hard to find time to wash! Thankfully, testing different soaps we come up with and products does give me motivation to have dirty diapers handy at all times! Also — they say that cloth diapered babies potty learn faster, and that hasn’t been the case with us! We’re still struggling with the potty unfortunately, and I think part of it may be my daughter loves her “bipers” so much!

And anything else you want to discuss!!!

I’ve been washing our own cloth diapers for 3 years now, but in the midst of all of that, I have answered thousands of questions and trouble shooted for many moms. I hope washing is never a hindrance to cloth users, so please contact me if you ever need help! I think I’ve seen it all!

Thanks Ashley for being this week’s Fluffy Mama!  I am so happy you have another baby on the way!  Your family is going to be even more beautiful!

If you want to be a featured Fluffy Mama of the Week shoot me an email at dirtydiaperlaundry at gmail dot com.

I am resurrecting Fluffy Mama of the Week and the first post in almost a year is a special one!  I contacted Glorimar Rosa who I had heard collected vintage diapers.  I was dying to learn more about her collection.  On top of collecting vintage cloth diapers she has also been cloth diapering for 15 years!  She has seen it all!
Tell me about yourself: My name is Glorimar Rosa. I am 38 years old and the mother of 6 kids, 5 here with me one (Zabi) in heaven with God. I am a pastry chef by profession, I went to culinary school in Puerto Rico and learned sugarcraft in England with the masters. I can make beautiful flowers in sugar and small sculptures. I did this for many years in Puerto Rico.  My cakes were featured in several wedding magazines.

I live in California now with my husband and 5 kids. I started Zabi Baby after my son Zabiullah passed away shortly after he reached 2 months of age. Sewing diapers helped me through my grieving process and kept his name very alive. We see his sweet name here every day at all times. Zabi Baby is a tribute to our little angel. We miss you Zabi.

How long have you been cloth diapering? – I have been cloth diapering for over 15 years. My eldest son Cesar used cloth.

What made you decide to start? – You know…I don’t remember. I think it have a lot to do with Mothering Magazine. I remember calling the toll free numbers and requesting catalogs, no websites back then (not that I can remember and I certainly did not have internet). I used to order my diapers at Babybunz and Babyworks. I was familiar with Nikky covers. Locally I could get Gerber diapers and covers. Gerber had a line of nylon covers with velcro that was pretty decent. Lots of pvc or vinyl was available.

What was your first purchase and why? – A few packages of Gerber diaper covers and prefolds. Those were available at department stores locally. It was basically my only option, till I decided to see what those companies that advertised in Mothering had to offer.

When and how did you begin collecting vintage cloth diapers? – 2 years back! My mother had something to do with this. I come from a family who use cloth diapers and support the idea a lot. My mom and auntie used to tell me how they washed and how they IRONED their prefolds and flats so they look super cute and nice. She told me about the Curity 21×40 that she used with pins. That triggered aninterest in me to find those diapers. I don’t use them, I just stare at them LOL.

Vintage Diaper Collection

Vintage Fasteners

Vintage Diapers and pins

How do you find your diapers? Online? Sales?

My vintage diapers? I find those on Ebay and have a team of friends looking in garage sales or state auctions. If you have some and are willing to sell contact me!!
The diapers I use with my daughter Tasneem I buy online as well. I use different kinds. My all time favorites are Nikky covers and I pair those with bamboo prefolds. This combination is the one we use the most at home. I use also Kiwi Pie fitteds, Bagshot Row Bamboo and Sticky Peas for the cute factor with GAD covers. Weehuggers give me a super trim fit to go out and it always open a conversation with a mama. I have seen mamas staring at them LOL. For nap time and night time I use Little Comfort Nappies. I am fan of natural fibers and use those exclusively, except for the Little Comfort that contains a few layers of microfleece but perfectly balanced to be an absorbent fitted with stay dry benefits. I am ok with one size diapers but never one size covers. I like my covers to be sized, or at least 2 sizes like Weehuggers.

What is your opinion of how diapers have been made easier over the years?
Cloth diapering has come a long way!! 15 years back we had no snappis, so pins were the only option unless you trifolded your diaper inside a wrap. Not many exciting fabrics. Fitteds and all in ones were not as trim as they are right now. Back when I started there was flannel, flannel/terry combo and cotton twill or birdseye prefolds and some of them with a horrible poly/rayon pad inside. Nikky covers have always been superbly made with the best materials on the market but besides those nylon and pvc were the materials more widely available back then. I remember a cover made of GoreTex fabric, that was supposed to be breathable. I wonder why other covers are not made of that fabric. I owned a few of those and they were nice. Aristocrats wool soakers were available too.

What is the most rewarding aspect of using cloth diapers?
Being able to say that my baby does not get a rash ever!
What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cloth diapering? - It was a challenge in Puerto Rico. I did not have a dryer and it rains a lot. I used to place the diapers to sun outside and then minutes later the black cloud came! Everybody had to run to pick them up and install a line indoors. There were times that we had to buy sposies because they were all wet. Indoor drying is not easy because of the level of humidity on the island. I don’t face that challenge here. No challenge at all right now. Cloth diapering is super easy!

Anything else (advice, etc)?
I advise mamas to buy different kinds of diapers to find out which one they like best. What works for me might not work for another mama. What I love might not be the favorite of another mama. Don’t buy all your cloth diapers at once at the beginning. I did that once and ended liking other things along the way as the baby was growing.

I hope you found this week’s Fluffy Mama to be extremely interesting and passionate!  It is amazing the changes seen in cloth diapering over the past 15 years!

Giveaway is now closed.

Glorimar also wanted to do a giveaway for an embellished prefold from Zabi Baby.  The winner will choose from a selection she has in stock from her store, and she is throwing in a snappi too!

Mandatory Entry:

(1 entry) Visit Zabi Baby’s online shop and tell me which item she sells that you would love to try or already tried and love! Leave it as a comment.

For extra entries do any or all of the following.  Leave a comment for each you do.

(1 entry) Follow @KimRosas on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Please tweet, “@KimRosas is giving away an embellished prefold from Zabi Baby http://n8taq.th8.us. #clothdiapers Sep 11”  Leave a comment with a link to your status.

You can tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Leave a comment with your status for each tweet. 1 entry per day.

(1 entry) Subscribe to my blog via email through feedburner. Leave a comment.

(1 entry) Follow me through Google Friend Connect or via a reader. Leave a comment.

(1 entry) Grab my button and post it on your blog. Leave a comment.

(2 entries) Blog about this giveaway and link to it. Post a link in the comment.

(2 entries) Get Creative: Post about this giveaway on a messageboard or forum. Leave a comment with a link.

(1 Entry) “Like” Zabi Baby on Facebook. Leave a comment.

(1 Entry) “Like” Dirty Diaper Laundry on Facebook.  Leave a comment.

(1 Entry) Go to Dirty Diaper Laundry on Facebook and start a discussion or reply to a discussion.  Tell me what you did. Just leave your comment

Giveaway ends on Sept 11. Winner will be chosen using random.org. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be drawn. *Open to US and Canada*

After a few weeks of hiatus, Fluffy Mama of the Week is back.  This week it is Rachel from GreenBabiesBlog.org.  Here is a little about her and her fluffy story.  If you want to be a fluffy mama, email me at dirtydiaperlaundry at gmail dot com.

My name is Rachel, I’m a new mom of an almost 10 month old boy.  I have been cloth diapering him since the first diaper was put on his tiny bottom!  I, like many I know in the cloth diapering world, have become a cloth diapering addict!  I am also very concious of the environment and my baby’s health.  I since started a blog all about my journey to find greener ways to raise my baby!  I have a true passion for what I do, including cloth diapering, sewing, blogging, staying up-to-date on natural childbirth news, and being “green!”  The blog I write pretty well documents it all, www.greenbabiesblog.org.

How long have you been cloth diapering? Almost 10 months!  Although, I began my journey to find the perfect cloth diapers even before I was pregnant!

What made you decide to start? I remember my cousin coming to visit with his family from Portland, OR and I saw his son had a g-diaper on.  I was very curious about the diaper he was wearing, so I began to research the g-diaper.  While this was long before I had a child of my own, I knew that their had to be some great new inventions since the days of pre-folds, rubber pants and pins.  What I found was not nearly as extensive as what is on the market today, but it was certainly a start!  I knew that I would be able to find something by the time I had a child of my own!

What was your first purchase and why? My first purchase was 6 Bum Genuis one-size, pocket diapers from target.  I bought these because I could use gift cards that I recieved as a baby shower gift and didn’t have to spend my own money.  I had also read great things about the Bum Genius diapers!  I think it is important to say, however, that my next purchase was 12 Blueberry x-small diapers that I found used on craigslist.  I bought these because the small setting  on the Bum Genius looked pretty big and I had a feeling I’d have a tiny baby.  When my baby was born he was 6 lbs-12 oz. and those tiny Blueberry diapers were a perfect fit (but he out grew them in 5 weeks)!!

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total? I’ve spent about $500, not including materials I have bought to make some of my own diapers and wool covers!

Have your family/ friends been supportive? Yes, thank goodness!  My step-mother and mother-in-law watch my son when I am at work and they have no problem with the diapers!  Some of my friends think I am crazy, but each time we start talking aout it I break some out of my diaper bag and pass them around and everyone is amazed at how different they are from what they imagined.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding? Knowing that I don’t have to ever go to the store to buy new diapers, passing on my cloth diaper knowledge to others, reducing the amount of waste on our planet, making a difference!

What is your favorite diaper to use? This is a hard one, I love all diapers for different reasons, but I guess if I’d have to choose, I’d say my one-size, all-in-one, organic Bum Genius diapers because there is no hastle in stuffing them!  I have recently discovered wool covers however and I am working on making some fitteds for my baby to wear and I think tose could become my new favorites!

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding? My biggest challenge was trying to figure out what to do with the poopy diapers once my son started solid foods!  I was using the flushable liners, until recently when we has a disaster of clogged pipes!  We snaked our pipes out and my husband pulled out a bunch of the liners that were clogging our drain!  I quickly went out and bought parts to make a diaper sprayer, problem solved!!!  Here’s my blog about my adventures, http://www.greenbabiesblog.org/diapering/diy-diaper-sprayer/.

Anything else? I am on the path to becoming a Real Diaper Circle Leader for Baltimore, Maryland.  I welcome any suggestions to spreading the word about cloth diapers to the local scene.  Please feel free to e-mail me, greenmama@greenbabiesblog.org.

Today’s Fluffy Mama of the Week is UpstateMomof3. She runs a cool blog and happens to live quite close to me! Read her fluffy story!

I’m Upstatemomof3 from Our Life Upstate. We are a pretty regular, all American family. We love going out and doing things – anything really. Whether it is the zoo, the museum, a site seeing trip or a hockey game we are out there loving life. We are the family who takes our ten day old baby out in the rain (it was only drizzling but still raining) to enjoy a day out together. We really have a great life and I could not ask for anything more.

How long have you been cloth diapering? I started cloth diapering last November, when my daughter was three months old.

What made you decide to start? We had been using disposables and they were constantly leaking. It actually took us awhile to give in and get cloth diapers because we had a stock pile of disposable diapers. We probably would not have ever had to buy diapers during her entire time in diapers. But they leaked at least once a day and sometimes more. So, I wanted a better choice.

What was your first purchase and why? The first thing I bought were prefolds and Thirsties covers. My mom had used prefolds on my brother and sister when they were babies and so they were the first thing that felt comfortable to me.

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total? I have spent $485 on my stash. Granted I have sold some things and bought others but I have always kept that number. I will not buy anything until I sell what I no longer use.

Have your family/ friends been supportive? My friends have. Hubby is very supportive. Our extended family is fairly unsupportive. My MIL actually offered to pay for our disposable diapers if we would switch back.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding? Seeing my baby in all that cuteness. Okay, is all seriousness I love not throwing the diapers away. I love know that every time I reuse a diaper I am helping to save our environment. It feels great. And it certainly does not hurt that it is good for the wallet.

What is your favorite diaper to use? Hmm… I really like my KCK One diapers from Purple Ducks on Etsy – she custom made them for me so they have Rangers logos on them. I love it. And they work fantastically.

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding? The biggest challenge is not buying buying and buying. I want everything. I want to buy more all the time. It is a big challenge. Other than that I have found the switch to cloth diapers to be so wonderful that nothing bothers me.

And anything else you want to discuss!!! I guess I would just say I love cloth diapers. I am so glad I made the switch and will most definitely never go back. We made the final switch to cloth overnight as well back in March and a disposable diaper will not be used by us again – not even when we take off to Ethiopia (hopefully this fall).

Thanks for sharing! I can’t believe your MIL offered to pay for your disposables. Craziness. If you want to learn more about UpstateMomof3′s family make sure to check out her blog.

Meet this week’s Fluffy Mama, Calley!

I’m Calley (also known as The Eco Chic) and I am a wife and mother of 2. Big B is our oldest, he’s 6 yrs old and in first grade. Lil’ B is our youngest, she’s 8 months old and our little spit-fire! I have many titles and roles in life including; Wife, mom, Environmental Scientist (yes, I am a real scientist), blogger, friend, daughter, sister, and the list goes on and on. As a blogger in my spare time (as if I have any spare time) I write The Eco Chic blog. www.theecochic.com

How long have you been cloth diapering? I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers before I got pregnant with our daughter. I had big plans of being able to use cloth from birth but we really started using cloth at about 2-3 months of age. I guess that means I’ve been cloth diapering for just over 5 months now.

What made you decide to start? As an Environmental Scientist I knew I wanted to look for an alternate to disposable diapers. I first found G-Diapers and Bumkins because Babies R Us has them on their website. Once I began searching I found more and more options. I knew that I could make it work.

What was your first purchase and why? My first purchase was one Bum Genius AIO Organic One Size diaper and one Happy Heiny One Size diaper. I really wanted to buy a BG 3.0 but the store (an actual brick and mortar) was closing their storefront and didn’t have any left in stock. I had to settle on the others. I chose the BG AIO Organic because I knew I wanted to use BGs. I chose the Happy Heiny because it was so soft. I don’t use either one of those diapers today.

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total? I’m a minimialist, I only have 20 BG 3.0s in my stash. (In addition to my first purchase that I mentioned above) I’ve never had any problems with them so I’ve never had a need to purchase anything else. I do have one GADBaby and one Knickernappie that I received in exchange for some marketing. If I had to total up what I actually spent on diapers I would say about $250 came from my own wallet. I got a few BGs at my baby shower.

Have your family/ friends been supportive? While they all think I’m a little crazy all of my friends and family are very supportive. The hardest person to convince was my hubby because I had to convince him that it was worth the initial investment. Once we started using our cloth I’ve had to give mini-lessons to my husband, my mom, our church nursery worker, and our nanny. My hubby will leave the dirty ones for me to clean up because I think he’s afraid of messing it up.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding? Knowing that I’m making a difference in the world. I know I’m only one person but I’m keeping thousands of disposable diapers out of the landfill.

What is your favorite diaper to use? I still like my BG 3.0s. Like I said earlier, they’ve never done me wrong. We’re still early in the cloth diapering journey so there is no telling what tomorrow will bring. Since I’m rather minimalist and frugal I don’t purchase a lot of extra diapers to try them out. I would feel horrible if I spent $20 on another diaper that I didn’t like.

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding? As a newborn I was frustrated with the fit of the diapers on Lil’ B. It wasn’t until she was almost 12lbs that her BGs actually fit her well enough to wear them full time. The next challenge was our first few rashes. Since you can’t use diaper creams I was at a loss for how to heal the rash. Then I found our Nappy Balm which I am in love with and our flushable liners. Between the two of those items we’ve been rash free for 4 months.

Thanks Calley for sharing your fluff story!  If you haven’t already, you should definitely check out The Eco Chic.  It is a great blog!  She also has quite a few giveaways.

Meet our Fluffy Mama of the Week, Pamela.  Here is a little bit about her:

“I am a wife to one, affectionately called The Mister, and a mama to four. Miss O is six and a half, Wee Man is four, HB will be 3 in November, and Sweets is 5 months old. I blog about many things at the dayton time (http://daytontime.blogspot.com), and it’s my understanding that much coffee is spat upon monitors by my readers. I just opened up an Etsy shop called Revel Baby (http://revelbaby.etsy.com), where I sell woven cotton wraps, podegis, and other baby items that I make. I decided to call the shop Revel Baby because I believe that my babies are precious, and that children are our rewards. I really try to revel in my children, and to soak up their wonderfulness… especially when they are crazy and crabby and having unpleasant moments.”

How long have you been cloth diapering?  ”I have been cloth diapering since February of 2007, so about two and a half years.”

What made you decide to start? “HB has extremely sensitive skin. From the time he was born, he had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad rash that he would scratch and scratch until his skin was raw and bloody. His yummy little neck looked like someone had actually taken a bite, and it was disgusting. I changed my diet, in case he was having a problem from my breastmilk, I eliminated every scented item in our house, including detergents, soaps…everything. I switched to organic and non-processed food, and none of my changes made a difference. The only thing I hadn’t changed was the disposable diapers. So I did some research into cloth, and invested in prefolds and covers from a seller on eBay who manufactured diapers and covers for diaper services around the country. I found the cheapest possible way to set myself up with a stash, even did the math to figure out how long I needed to cloth diaper to break even. Which, by the way, for the stuff I bought? Two and a half months. My husband and I decided to commit to cloth for two and a half months. We did not complain, we owned the decision to quit sposies cold turkey. We were flabbergasted that we did not hate cloth diapers. In fact, we invested in a set of toddler sized cloth and covers for Wee Man, and switched him to cloth at 21 months. The best part? Two days after switching to cloth, HB’s rash was gone. Not faded, not going away, not healing, but GONE. It vanished. It did take a little while for the raw, scratched-up skin to heal, but the rash disappeared.”

What was your first purchase and why? “My first purchase was 36 Chinese prefolds, regular size, for $30. I bought 7 medium sized covers, similar to Proraps, for $5 each, and a handful of Snappis for about $2 a piece. I also bought a wet bag and a pail liner from Happy Tushies, and those lasted more than two years despite being washed 3-5 times a week. I love Happy Tushies products!”

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total? “I have spent less than $500 to cloth diaper 3 children, plus a little more if you count the fabric I purchased to make cloth wipes. That total includes two pail liners, a wet bag, a wonderbag, and Snappis. Oh….except recently I’ve been captured by the wool bug, and have been buying wool yarn to knit into soakers. This is turning out to be an expensive and time-consuming hobby…but the results are too stinking cute to stop!!!

Have your family/ friends been supportive? My friends have been really supportive, because pretty much all of them use cloth, too. My family thinks I’m a little nutty, but they respect our decision because it is really fiscally and environmentally responsible. I do keep some sposies on hand for my MIL, because she spends a lot of time with my babies, and I am all about cultivating that relationship!”

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding? “Without even hesitating I have to say the health of my children is the most rewarding aspect of using cloth. The chemicals in the disposables (and we tried EVERY brand) had penetrated my baby boy’s delicate skin, and he was in constant pain because of it. I know that when I wrap a prefold around my baby’s bum that it is made of cotton. I don’t have to wonder what sort of danger lurks in the gel, or what is that substance pressed against his skin… It’s cotton. It’s natural. It’s not dangerous to his body.”

What is your favorite diaper to use? “I have tried a few brand name diapers, but I really like the prefolds. I have some wonderful Green Mountain Diapers toddler-sized that are fabulous. If we’re going to be out for the day, I use Smartipants. They go on in a flash, and you don’t have to pull out the wet insert.”

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding? “I think it’s great that the suggestions of challenges you listed are washing, money, leakage, fit…none of those were really a problem to us. I was really afraid of using cloth. I do not deal well with The Fluids (pee, poop, and barf), and I was certain I would spend our two month trial period throwing up. My own expectations that cloth diapering would be horrible was the biggest challenge I had to overcome. (That’s why I went with a pail liner that could just be thrown in the washer…no sticking my head or hands in a stinky, nasty diaper bucket for me!!!) I really had to work on my attitude in order to not fail at using cloth. Lucky for me, it was WAY easier and much less gross than I had imagined.”

And anything else you want to discuss!!! “I really encourage mamas and daddies who are thinking about cloth, and even the ones who are wrinkling up their noses at the very idea of cloth diapering, to give it a try. There are many inexpensive options available, and honest to God, it’s not that gross. If I can handle it, you can handle it.”

Meet our Fluffy Mama of the Week, Lauren!

Hi! I’m Lauren, wife to Brad for almost 6 years and SAHM to Libby (4), Emma Jane (2), and John (3 months.) In my spare time (hahaha) I love cooking, scrapbooking, reading and blogging. You can visit my family at www.snellingsstories.blogspot.com.

How long have you been cloth diapering? I have been cloth diapering for about 8 months.

What made you decide to start? I started cloth diapering because Emma Jane was suffering from severe diaper rash. She regularly would develop blisters on her bottom and even prescription diaper cream didn’t solve the problem!

John in a Smartipants

What was your first purchase and why? The first diapers that I purchased were a fuzzi bunz and a wonderoos one-size diaper. I wanted to try both a sized diaper and a one size to compare the fit and I had heard good things about both of those brands. I wasn’t completely satisfied with either of those diapers so I ended up ordering a trial kit from an online diaper shop that included 8-10 different diapers.

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total? I currently have two children in diapers. For the both of them I have probably spent around $500-600.

Lauren's Stash

Have your family/ friends been supportive? For the most part. When I first announced that I was switching to cloth, there were definitely a few raised eyebrows but since then I have actually converted a couple of my friends!

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding? I started cloth diapering for health reasons but I have found the environmental benefits of cding are just as important to me. And I LOVE how cute cloth diapers are on my babies bums!

John in a MonkeySnuggles Diaper

What is your favorite diaper to use? For Emma Jane I love Bumgenius 3.0 diapers. I stuff them with two inserts and they hold all night! For my newborn, I prefer prefolds or kissaluvs fitteds with covers. Those things are bullet proof! I have never had a blowout diaper with cloth!

EJ in a Smartipants

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding?  In the beginning, finding the right fit for my daughter was a challenge but once we settled on a diaper that worked we really haven’t had any issues. Restraining myself from continually buying new diapers that I don’t need simply because they are cute is probably my biggest challenge!

Anything else you want to discuss? Diaper laundry is not as difficult or time consuming as I thought it would be.

Thanks Lauren for being a Fluffy Mama and sharing your fluffy story!

Meet Jennifer, our Fluffy Mama of the week!

My name is Jennifer. I’m a stay at home mom. I’m married to a wonderful man named Jeramie and we have 3 beautiful children together. Tyler (5), Sierra (3) and Noah (9m). They keep my heart happy and my hands busy.

How long have you been cloth diapering? I’ve been CDing Noah since birth so 9 months.

What made you decide to start? I kept hearing about it from various websites, online forums and people in the community. When I became pregnant with Noah I decided to research it some more. At first I was going to use gDiapers thinking that that would be a good compromise with my husband. But I was worried if the flushable insert would clog the toilet and also the cost was higher than disposables. When I researched more I found that most cloth diapers are just as easy at disposables. I talked it over with my husband and we decided to go for it in hopes of saving money.

What was your first purchase and why? From what I remember my first purchase was 2 newborn All-In-Ones from Nana’s Bottoms. I got them because they were cute and on sale.  They were a great newborn diaper.

How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total? I am honestly unsure. I’ve saved quite a bit of money by buying used on diaperswappers.com. Also when Noah grows out of a size I sell those to fund the next size up. I don’t think I’ve spent more than $400 out of pocket.

Noah in a BG fitted.

Have your family/ friends been supportive? They’ve been great. My mom thinks they are adorable and we have friends who also cloth diaper. When family watches Noah I make sure to give them the “grandma friendly” diapers which are the bumGenius 3.0

What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding? I think knowing how much trash we are keeping out of the dump. With my older 2 children I was always bugging my husband to empty the diaper genie. It smelled so badly. Plus at the end of the week our trash can was overflowing with all the diapers. Now our trash can has room to spare.

What is your favorite diaper to use? I use fitteds with PUL covers during the day and bumGenius with hemp inserts at night. I think my favorite diaper right now is the Dream-eze fitted with a Thirsties cover. The fit on him is great and I love the absorbency.

Noah wearing a Goodmama fitted, and getting dirty!

What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding? I’d have to say washing. I have an HE washer and dryer. Due to the fact that the HE machine uses less water, I have to do more rinse cycles. We’ve had stink issues in the past due to not a lot of rinsing. Also with the washing it was trial and error to find a good soap. Noah has sensitive skin. It wasn’t until we switched to Charlies soap did he stop breaking out in rashes. Now that I have a routine down and found a good detergent we are good to go.Anything ese you want to discuss? I really urge new moms to at least check out cloth. I try to advocate them in real life as well. Its not as scary as it used to be when our grandparents did it.