Hi, I’m Kim the mom behind GADbaby.com! I spend my days chasing around my 2 crazy boys and sending fluffy mail to the masses. I also recently starting selling my own cloth diaper detergent called Rockin’ Green, so I always smell like cherry almond, fresh linen, buttercream…etc. So if you ever come visit, you will be bombarded with lots of colorful fluff and the overwhelming desire to have cupcakes.
How long have you been cloth diapering? Oh wow, it’s been almost 3 years now I guess. I started when my son was about a year old and went until he potty trained about a year and a half later. My youngest son, who just turned 9 months has never been in a disposable diaper. My husband was there to put on his first cloth diaper! He was in the NICU for 3 days even, and wore cloth the entire time. He was a big boy at 9.7 pounds too- so all those cute little newborn diapers never saw the light of day.
What made you decide to start? My kids have really sensitive skin, and my oldest began breaking out in horrible bleeding sores. Diaper changes were really hard, and we would both be in tears by the end of it. My mom suggested that we get a few cloth diapers just to let his bottom air out. Within 3 days of being in cloth, his skin was healed and looked great. We never went back.
What was your first purchase and why? Our first purchase was a dozen huggabuns with trifold inserts off of craigslist. My son has really bad bleeding sores, and we were desperate! I found a girl down the street with a stash of diapers so I snatched them up. His rash was better in 3 days.
How much do you think you have spent on your diapers total? This information is usually classified, so we can’t send my husband this link! LOL Honestly, I have put in about $500 and then resell things when I am done with them to fund new things. I did go through a wool phase that got a little expensive, but I am still saving a ton of money over buying disposables. And my love of cloth has turned into a career, and that is really priceless. I get to do what I love every single day.
Have your family/ friends been supportive? Absolutely! My mom was the one that suggested cloth in the first place, and then when she saw how different they were from the prefolds and vinyl pants that she used on me, she was a huge supporter. My husband is the cutest thing ever though. He goes with me to trade shows, wearing a GADBaby t-shirt and talking to Dad’s about how easy and economical cloth diapers are. He passes out my cards to pregnant women in the grocery store, and is the delivery man for the business. Every morning he goes to post office to deliver fluffy mail. I love him so! I run a playgroup here in town with 90+ moms, and I have converted quite a few of them. Most people I think, really have no idea what modern cloth diapers are really about. And I make it a point to change my son’s diaper out in the open, and let him run around in just a diaper on hot summer days. I even wear a button that says “Ask me about cloth diapers” to get people talking.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of cding? I loved it when my son was old enough to tell me how he liked his “comfy diapers” over disposables. When they are little, you know that the yummy bamboo and microfleece inners are soft, but it really makes you happy when they say “thank you mommy!” Beyond that, I love helping others. My customers do cloth for so many reasons, some it’s due to allergies and skin issues, some are trying to save money, and others are concerned about their environmental footprint. Whatever the reason, I love being about to help. It just makes my day when I get an email or a note from a customer saying “thanks”.
What is your favorite diaper to use? I know I am a bit biased, but I stand behind my GAD diapers and think they really rock. It’s all we use in this house. I have dabbled in fitteds here and there, but I always go back to the GAD’s. I have 60 right now in my son’s stash. We have 2 of every color (except for pink) and I love the fit. We are all about the bamboo inners right now, with hemp inserts. Super trim, and oh so soft.
What has been the biggest challenge to your success at cding? For me, it was washing cloth diapers with our hard water. Commercial soaps broke my kids out, and caused repelling and stinkies. Then I started dabbling in WAHM detergents, and still battled with repelling and stink. I burned up the motor on our last washing machine because I was stripping diapers so much! So it became an obsession of mine to come up with a cloth diaper detergent that would work with all types of water and rinse clean. It took me over 6 months, and several rounds of testing to come up with Rockin’ Clean. I now know more about chemistry than I ever learned in college, and couldn’t be happier with the results.
And anything else you want to discuss!!! Hmmm let’s see- – A diaper sprayer is worth every cent, so invest in one once your kiddo starts solids. – If the poop isn’t “ploppable” don’t sweat it. Just throw it in the wash….it will rinse away. I am not going to get a spatula or anything else and work that hard to get poop off a diaper. I paid a lot of money for my washing machine, so I put it to work! -Don’t be afraid to dry PUL in the dryer. It actually works better when dried on medium or HOT heat, (it was created for the medical industry) If you have a cover or diaper that is leaky, put it in the dryer on hot to reseal the PUL. -Get involved in the cloth diaper community. Not only will you have like-minded people to talk diapers with, but they truly are a great group of ladies that care about each other. -If you hate changing diapers, then you are using the wrong kind. You change a lot of diapers, so make it fun by picking cute diapers, and yummy smelling detergents, wipe solutions, etc. Even my cloth wipes are cute. -Sunning diapers is like magic. I know when I first heard about it, I thought that it was a crazy idea that wouldn’t work. But an hour later my diapers looked brand new! – If your husband is hesitant on cloth diapers, buy him one or two that are especially for him. Get them in his team colors, etc and pick a style that are easy for him to use. My husband’s first pick was a camo print. He would pick that diaper at every change, and would pout if it was in the wash. Thanks so much for letting me do this!
Thanks so much Kim for sharing your story! I will be reviewing one of Kim’s Gadbaby diapers soon, so keep an eye out for that video! If you want to be featured as Fluffy Mama of the Week, send me an email at dirtydiaperlaundry@gmail.com.
