Grand Finale

         

I have learned that with a newborn and a toddler the nights feel long but the days go by so fast! I cannot believe that Paisley has been a part of our family for over a month now. Not only do I feel proud of myself for surviving this first month with two kids but also for jumping right in with cloth from the very beginning; and it wasn’t hard at all!

Now that I can officially say I have cloth diapered a newborn, I am surprised by how many people wait until their babies are a bit older to start. As I mentioned in a previous post, the reason for waiting with Parker was mainly because our “one-size” diapers we had at the time did not fit his 7 lb 4 oz little body until he was much bigger (about 8 or 9 weeks later is when we started) and we didn’t want to spend the extra money to have a newborn stash of diapers when I had no idea just how long he would actually use them. I am thrilled that this time around, we found a true one-size diaper with Rock-a-Bums and even more thrilled that those same diapers also fit my 29 lb toddler

I think diapering a newborn is sort of like a how a Rock Star feels just moments before hitting the stage—a bit intimidated by all the people in the audience; or, in our case, intimidated by the amount of diapers a newborn goes through. I bet Rock Stars are a bit nervous about messing up on stage;  for us, we get nervous about having leaks and blow outs because “there is no way a diaper that fits my toddler can also fit my newborn.” Ha! I was SO wrong! But once they get on the stage and start performing, they quickly get in their groove and have a great show and I can honestly say it has been the same for us!

Clean Up!

The biggest adjustment with cloth diapering both a newborn and a toddler has been the amount of laundry I am doing. Clothes, towels, sheets, etc. for our family have obviously increased, and now, with two in diapers, I went from washing about every 2-3 days to at least every other day and sometimes every day. It’s a good thing I have a little helper! ;-)

Let’s talk poop… Parker is 18 months now, so it has obviously been awhile since I have dealt with newborn poop and I have to say, newborn poop is AWESOME and a million times better then toddler poop. Since Paisley is breastfed, I don’t have to spray the diaper that she poops in; I can just throw it in the diaper pail or wet bag and then toss it in the wash with the other diapers because breastfed poop is water soluble! As for Parker’s poopy diapers, we have to spray the poop off of those before sticking it into the wet bag or diaper pail. Although spraying a diaper is not as messy or as gross as many people would think, toddler poop smells absolutely disgusting compared to newborn poop but luckily, nine times out of ten, the poop is “plop-able” so it is a quick and easy task.

Pee diapers are the easiest because there is no thinking needed and it literally takes two seconds to take care of. Just take the diaper off and put insert into the wet bag or diaper pail and you can reuse the cover. Piece of cake!

                                                    

           

I also have to mention that I have an AMAZING husband, who not only is on board with cloth diapering and has been since I first showed him the numbers about how much money you can save, but he also does not mind changing the kids’ diapers AND he even helps out with the laundry every now and then.  I created a little “cheat sheet” for him that is taped to our washing machine with instructions on how to wash our diapers. He also knows to ONLY use the detergent we have and to never use fabric softener because that is a big cloth “no-no”.

Here is how we store our clean diapers. I know many people have more creative ways to store their diapers but this works for us and it is so quick and easy to throw the covers and inserts into one bin.

Between our clothes, sheets, towels and diapers, I felt like I was doing laundry ALL the time at first but it has quickly became part of my daily routine and now, it does not seem overwhelming at all.