FINALLY! Cloth Diaper Update

I kept putting this post off because I felt like I needed to use our cloth diapers long enough to give them a fair assessment. The original plan was to get a few different brands of cloth diapers and evaluate them, but I didn't want to spend too much money on cloth diapers not knowing if I would really stick with it. So for those of you who have been following along, in my original cloth diaper post I talked about how and why we decided on gDiapers:

Pluses: Covers are easily reusable over several diaper changes, hybrid use allows for cloth inserts or environmentally friendly disposable inserts. Disposable inserts are great for travel and on the go when I don’t want to carry around wet diapers. They seem to have less bulk than other cloth diapers.

Minuses: Sometimes leak if any part of the absorbant insert is not inside the plastic shield. Disposable inserts are a bit pricey.

Overall consensus: We LOVE gdiapers. The velcro make them easy to put on a wiggly baby and the fact that the covers have a plastic pocket that allows them to be used over several diaper changes cuts down on the number of diapers we have to wash. I’ve found deals on the gdiaper disposable inserts on ebay to cut down on the cost, and honestly we just use cloth inserts with them 98% of the time. (Cloth inserts can be ordered through the gDiaper website or Babies R Us carries them in-store. I think Target and Wal-Mart carry them online only)

And a note on our experience in general: It’s so much easier than I imagined! I was really nervous making the switch to cloth, but after only a few days I was so surprised at just how easy they were to use. There has only been one day we slacked and she was in one of the leftover disposable diapers in our supply, but I really truly mean it when I say using cloth has been an awesome experience. It feels good to know that we aren’t contributing to the waste in landfills and the soft, brightly colored diapers are so cute on Aliyah. We haven’t had a single instance of diaper rash and the best part is that "blow-outs" have decreased dramatically... actually, we haven't had to change her outfit due to a dirty diaper since we switched to cloth - TMI???

Wipes: We have also been using cloth wipes!! I would have NEVER thought cloth diapers, much less cloth wipes would be in my future, but here we are... loving it. The cloth wipes seem easier when you are doing cloth diapers because it can all be thrown in the same bin vs. trying to find a trash can for wipes after you have taken care of a dirty cloth diaper. I bought plain white baby washcloths and use a simple recipe of water, baby wash & baby oil (Thanks Beth & Dena). I spray the solution on the washcloth or directly on her bum. Easy!

One more quick tip: the thought of actually leaving the house with Aliyah in a cloth diaper frightened the bageebiz out of me. Again, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was, but I admit that things got SO much easier once I started using a wet bag. We were using zip-locks to store the dirty cloth, but there were a couple reasons why I was not feeling the zip-lock... 1. see through = gag reflex for myself & friends 2. Throwing away the zip-locks after unloading the dirty diapers each time seemed like a waste of money and back tracking my green efforts. Now with a wet bag I just throw the whole thing in the wash and don't even touch the dirty diapers - perfect!

Do you have another brand you recommend we try? (I know Beth and Katherine LOVE bumGenius) Tips and tricks that make your cloth diapering life easier? Detergent that you use? We are still using disposables at night... any tips/tricks for night time? Let me know!