I think it’s safe to say we have moved on from the big “D”, and no, I don’t mean Dallas. Any Mark Chestnutt fans? I’m not talking about the Big D Texas Marathon either.

big d, dallas, diapers, parenting

Despite the fact that I live in the suburbs of Dallas and have run many marathons in the past, I despise going into the city mainly because of the constant construction and traffic so it’s just not appealing to me. That, and my long distance running days are long gone……by choice.

Oh yeah, I’m most certainly not talking about the other Big D know as Divorce. Although I know a great guy who moved right past his Big D and is now happier than ever, I’m perfectly happy as is. Thanks to Going Mom for being such an amazing wife and mother! Anyway, the Big D I’m referring to would be diapers.

YES!

Okay, technically, No, because we still rely on Honest Company Training Pants overnight and sometimes when running errands, but we have definitely moved on from cloth diapers. I shared about our cloth diaper collection/routine on this post, and while I highly recommend that route over disposables, it’s still a lot of work.

Avery and I have many memories of putting diapers together. She would sit in her Mamas & Papas Baby Snug or on the bed in our guest room as I put the inserts into each diaper and I called out each color to her blank baby stare.

Helping daddy put together cloth diapers

It seemed like it wasn’t getting through at the time, but now she’s a color-naming and counting whiz! Remember, parents, always talk to your babies! Their entire growth and development depends on hearing you talk to them.

She’s far from perfectly potty trained (I think I could even use some help sometimes), but it’s mainly undies from here on out. We have seen some impressive “snakes” followed by her announcing the movement simply by saying “Hiissssssss!’ and I *insert Chandler’s from Friends way of speaking* couldn’t be more proud of our daughter. As for her, I think she’s slightly annoyed with me…

potty training, toddler, poop, funny, humor, parenting

Guess I can’t blame her. Sorry, Avery!

While we’re on the topic of potty talk, our 2.5 year old is already learning anatomy. She’s been aware that her and mommy have vaginas for a while now, but when she tried to say the same about daddy, I had to quickly let her know otherwise. For reference, here’s a recent conversation we had….

Me: Okay, Avery, we need to wash your hands before lunch.
Avery: Mommy and Avery have vagina, daddy has peanut.
Me: —————–
Avery: Penis
Me: So we scrub our hands with soap for 20 seconds…..

And now we hear this several times a day. At least she no longer says peanut. Is that a good thing?

Meh, whatever the case, it’s bittersweet moving on from the diaper part of parenting. It’s awesome because, diapers, but sad because that means growing up. As always, it’s too fast. That’s one cliche that will stand the test of time as truth.

But we have plenty of fun ahead and she constantly reminds us how we will always be new parents each and every day as she continues to drop new bombs on us. Unfortunately, that’s a literal statement at times.

Do you remember the day you realized diapers were done?

If you still use them, are you impatiently anticipating the day?

We’ve been cloth diapering since Avery was born two years ago. Making the decision to use cloth instead of disposable diapers was a bit daunting at first (especially the cleaning part!), but it turned out to hardly be an issue.

cloth diapering, cloth diapers — Avery at 4 months helping me “organize” clean diapers.

Other than the obvious reason that cloth diapers are less wasteful than disposables, they actually save money. Another big reason is that so many disposable diapers are full of chemicals that found to be toxic to humans but still allowed use in diapers; at least in the U.S. Since I’m just here to show you our cloth diaper setup, you can read all about cloth diapers vs disposables on the Real Diaper Association site.

While I won’t claim that cloth diapering is enjoyable, far from, it is rewarding and poses many benefits to your wallet, baby’s skin, and the world. That said, cleaning crap off of the diapers several times a day can really get to you. So, in full disclosure, I admit that we do use disposables every now and then. Not the ones full of chemicals, but eco-friendly diapers from Honest Company are our go-to choice.

Just had to get that out of the way.

Our Cloth Diaper Setup

We use all BumGenius cloth diapers with most being their 4.0 model along with some Elementals and Freetimes. These are pocket diapers that require inserts. We use the BumGenius One Size inserts and stuff them into each clean diaper so they’re ready to go. They are all ~~nicely placed~~ crammed into a drawer in Avery’s room.

cloth diapering, cloth diaper

We never tried other brands, but we would if we could start over again. These work great, but now that Avery is older and so active/drinking and eating more, we have more leaks. The elastic can also wear out over time, but that’s probably a common issue in most cloth diapers.

For cleaning that precious bottom, we use bumGenius Natural Flannel wipes and a homemade spray solution that Going Mom makes.

cloth diapering, cloth diaper

To deal with the messy diapers, you NEED a diaper sprayer! The Bumkins Cloth Diaper sprayer is what we use and it has served us well. It does leak a little after spraying, but not much, and installation is easy with included instructions. We used heavy duty 3M double-sided tape to mount it on the side of the toilet and it’s been there ever since.

cloth diapering, cloth diaper

I also recommend the Spray Pal to avoid, ummmmm……splatters. It helps, trust me.

spray pal, cloth diapering

We use the Dekor Diaper Pail with the Dekor Diaper Pail Liner (of course) to store dirty diapers until it’s time for a dirty diaper load of laundry. Just remove the diaper inserts and toss everything in. Make sure you get rid of most of the poop!!

The liners come in a 2 pack, so when we take one liner bag out, we simply replace it with the other.

cloth diapering, cloth diaper

To wash, we the turn the liner inside out to get all of the dirty diapers out and run everything, liner included, on a quick wash/rinse cycle with no soap. What you clean your diapers with is very important as to avoid skin rashes on your kid. Make sure it’s natural and unscented. We have been using Charlie’s Liquid Soap without issue and highly recommend it for all of your laundering.

This is our basic setup that works for us. Some might have more of an elaborate setup and some may have less, it’s all personal preference. Since we’ve been at it for 2 years, I feel we have enough experience to share what we use in hopes it will help others interested in making the switch or just getting started.

Do you currently use cloth diapers?

Has this helped or deterred you from starting?