Cloth diaper - where are we now?

When I was pregnant, I was very interested to use cloth diaper.  I was into this pro-nature thingy, about saving Mother Earth and being environmental friendly.  

But in the end, I couldn't do it.  I am a little sad because I wanted so much to let baby wear natural clothing, but we are now with disposable diapers.

We tried for a while.  It didn't work mainly because of laundry issues and my parents are babysitter and they are not comfortable with cloth diaper and I can't force it on them.

Their reasons are a plenty.  Bulky lah, hot lah, difficult to wash lah, difficult to dry lah, don't know how to snap lah, don't know how to put it on lah, baby poo too many times lah etc.  Disposable is so easy.  Just put on and throw.

So, I tried using only on weekends when I am around.  I love it.  Baby also looked very nice in cloth diaper.  But when she soiled, it was a headache.  You know breastfeed baby's poop can be very messy and difficult to wash.  The advice I got from cloth diaper groups is to use the bidet spray to wash off the soil into the toilet bowl and then soak it.  Some mothers just dump it into the washing machine together with other cloth diapers and wash.  The sun apparently would remove the stain.

So, when baby soiled, then I washed it with the bidet spray as instructed.  Then I dumped it into the pail and soaked it overnight to get rid of the stain.  I can't put it into the washing machine because I feel yucky of the shit getting on other clothes.  And we wash my nephew's clothes together with baby.

So I got DH (he doesn't work on Mondays) to scrub and brush to remove the stain but he said it's too stubborn.  When he finally did it, then we put it into the washing machine.  By this time, we don't really bother what washing liquid or powder that will help to protect the cloth diaper.  Because we want to get it done fast.

So, sometimes when DH it busy and forget to wash the diaper, then it will be soaked for days!!!  And DH's comments were that the cloth diaper is too thick and takes longer to dry, which is true.  You need to know how to put it on the hanger to expose the cloth thoroughly.  But of course, my parents who does the laundry, don't have the time to do it perfectly.

So, in the end, we are not back to disposable.  I am not happy because it is expensive.  But what to do?

So, during this short time of using the cloth diaper, I can review a little of what we bought.

1. Tiny Bibiya

These were my first purchase.  Locally made brand.  I was very eager to try out, but found that there were a lot of cons.

1. The inserts were bamboo material.  Researched and found that bamboo is not 100% natural.  So decided not to use it on baby.

2. Thought can use the cover together with the muslin cloths.  But found that the position of the snap is touching baby's bump unless we don't tuck in the muslin cloths.

3. When we used it with the muslin cloth, it became too bulky and big, especially when we were using for newborn.

Conclusion : Haven't use even once.  Brand new.

2. BumGenius All-in-One

I have to say, I love this very much.  It's especially good for overnight use as it contains the waste very well, even with poop.  However, it can be quite difficult to wash as the cotton material is quite thick.

3. Grovia Hybrid All-in-Two

I love these as well and if I were to pursue in cloth diapering, I would definitely buy loads of this.  It is easy to change the pads, just snap and go.  And it contains the waste very well.  Only leaked once because we put it slightly out of place.  The covers are easy to dry compared to the organic cotton soakers.  But comparably, easier to dry compared with the BumGenius All-in-One.  Highly recommend these.

4. Charlie Banana Pocket

Bought this preloved and never used even once.  Simply because I don't like the feel of the material, which is fleece.  And I find stuffing the inserts can be a hassle.  What a waste.

And here's the review of the accessories that I bought for cloth diapering purposes:

5. Cotton wash cloth

This is super good.  It's absorbent and easy to dry and easy to wash off stains.  It's not incredibly soft but gentle enough for baby's skin.  I just love this so much.  Am using it to bath my baby, to wipe her mouth after milk and just using it for everything.  It's expensive though since I bought it from the US. 

6. Prefolds

I have never used even once.  And I still can't find any purpose with it other than being prefolds.  Feels a bit wasted if use it as cloth to wipe things.  The cotton is organic and it's also very absorbent.  However, it's thick and big.  My husband prefers the muslin cloths than these.  So not using.

Hopefully one day we can go back to cloth diapering.  But right now, it's quite difficult.