Henry's been in cloth diapers since he was about 8 weeks old. To be fair, he never actually wore them full-time. I always used a combination of cloth and disposable, switching to disposable while the cloth were in the laundry cycle, and always using disposable overnight. He's 16 months old now (that's almost one-and-a-half, if you're trying to calculate), and we're still using BumGenius 4.0 about half the time.
Since we're successfully cloth-diapering on a 30-lb pre-toddler, I thought it would be helpful to give some feedback on this stage, for those who might be jumping into cloth diapering for the first time, or who are a few steps behind us in the process and worried about losing heart.
What makes cloth-diapering a toddler possible - at least for me - is using throwaway liners which go inside the cloth diaper to catch the solids. They're about $10 for 200, or a nickel each. (Disposable diapers are between 20 and 35 cents each.) It didn't matter when he was a tiny baby and was just producing that grainy breastmilk poop. At that point, I didn't even bother to rinse out the diaper. The whole thing just went right in the washer. But once he started on solid food, especially once he moved from baby food to actual table food, the diapers got a lot messier to manage.
These liners are a lifesaver because I no longer have to carry a poop-filled diaper from the nursery to the bathroom, use a spatula to scrape poop off the diaper into the toilet, and then return to the nursery to put the diaper in my washing bag, all while managing to keep the child on the changing table and/or away from the soiled diaper. I just pull the liner out, poop and all, and toss the whole thing in the trash. The diapers are then much less messy when washing time comes. I use these liners.
The entire wash process is long. I do a short (35 minute) cold cycle first, which is basically for rinsing. Then I do a long hot cycle (my machine calls it "Bright Whites"), and I add an extra rinse for a total time of 1 and a half hours. For both cycles, I use this detergent which you can find at WalMart. When they're done, I put the inserts in the dryer, and hang the covers on a drying rack. If I do this in the evening, they are dry by morning. Or I might run the wash overnight, then start the drying process when I get up in the morning and they're dry by the time I get home from work.
On most Mondays Henry goes to spend the morning with my mother-in-law, so I send disposable along with him while he's not at home and I get the cloth ones ready to start up that afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday we're back to cloth diapers again and I usually get through most (maybe 10) of the 12 total diapers by Wednesday evening. Then I go back to disposables for a day or two, and get the cloth ones all washed and ready for the weekend again.
There are a LOT of opinions about how to wash cloth diapers. Stripping? Bleach? Vinegar? My BumGenius diapers are supposed to be washed only in BumGenius detergent. I confess that I do not buy the special detergent. I've gone with the simple wisdom from GroVia, a company that makes cloth diapers and also makes the disposable liners I use. Their recommendation is to keep the wash routine simple, use enough detergent, wash for a long enough time, and not add anything additional to the washer. The routine I describe has been effective in keeping my diapers clean. I do use bleach about once a month, since that is recommended by BumGenius for these diapers. And when possible, I let them dry in the sun, or lay out in the sun after drying. A good sun-bleach freshens them up.
From the start, one of my main considerations in choosing part-time cloth-diapering was saving money. Yes, it was also an environmental choice, and definitely a traditionalist choice, but primarily I was hoping to save some cash. The compromise we're using is definitely accomplishing that. A $25 box of diapers can go pretty fast. Using cloth part-time is a huge benefit. Surprisingly, I have not even seen any significant change in our water bill from the extra loads of laundry.
At this point, I'm planning on cloth-diapering all the way until Henry is potty-trained. We love our routine and love these diapers!
Please comment with any questions or with your cloth-diapering experience.
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