Cloth Diapers/Nappies/CD/MCD/MCN/You Get The Drift...

What's all that cd/mcd/mcn mumbo jumbo?  That's cloth diaper world abbreviations for cloth diapers, modern cloth diapers, and modern cloth nappies (nappies = diapers in NZ, OZ, UK, etc).  The world of cloth diapers has its own language.  You get into things like ai1, ai2 (all-in-1's and 2's), os (one size), pockets, fitted, flats, prefolds, workhorses, pretties...  You also have brands: BG (Bumgenius), FB (Fuzzibums), RR (Rumparoo), GV (Grovia), and then you have MWAH nappies (mom working from home). The list goes on and on, and THEN you get into the fabrics they're made with: cotten, bamboo, microfleece, microfiber, minky, hemp, organic Himalayan silk (not really that last one, but it did sound good).  Once all of this is mixing around in your head, you're probably thinking exactly what I was...WTH!!!!  That's what the heck in case you didn't know, well, I said what the heck, but I'm sure there are other meanings.

What happened to the Gerber Birdseye diapers?  I just wanted to stick a piece of cloth on my baby's butt and be done with it.  In case you're wondering, the Gerbers are on the store shelf next to burp cloths, which is where they should stay unless you intend to use them for spit up rags.  Back on point, selecting cloth diapers...  Okay, so how did I decide which diapers to use?  The same way I make every other decision...I read and researched, albeit with a few tears and eye bleeds since I was trying to figure out what all that crazy lingo is about.  After countless hours, I finally decided upon a brand, much to Ben's pleasure.  I'm pretty sure he was sick and tired of hearing about all of it, and he probably would have used a plastic bag with leg holes cut out if it meant I would shut-up about all of it.

So, what did I choose?  Ta-da!!!!

BumGenius 4.0

I chose Bumgenius 4.0 with snaps, which are one sized pockets that have a suedecloth top layer and micorfiber inserts. Why did I choose these?  Simple...they're user friendly.  If I'm starting something new, I need it to be as painless as possible.  If it's too complicated, I'm not as likely to stick with it.  To use these, I make sure the cover and insert are snapped to the appropriate size, stuff the insert into the pocket, make sure the insert is correctly, and put it on Little Stevie.  It goes on like a disposable, but it snaps instead of velcro-ing (is that even a word?).

Largest Size Setting

Smallest Size Setting

Diaper Unstuffed With Insert On Top

Both Inserts

If you find snaps too difficult, there is a velcro option, but I didn't want to risk it wearing out before I was finished using them.

Velcro Option

See?  Cloth diapering made easy!  Everyone, and by everyone I mean all the cloth diaper guru momma's on the internet, said to start out with a couple of different brands to try.  You're able to more accurately determine what will or will not work for your baby and life style.  There are trial packs you can buy, or you can demo used diapers.  There are a couple of different options to help you decide what you like.  I decided to take a risk and go with BG.  I had read both good and bad reviews, so I knew what I was getting into.  For me, the pros outweighed the cons, especially when I checked out the New Zealand price.

Here, you're looking at over $30 per diaper.  Back in the U.S. I could get them buy 5 get 1 free, which came out to $14.35 per nappy.  As an added bonus, I got FREE shipping!!!  Remember I'm a tightwad!  Yes, money factors into my decisions.  So, armed with my knowledge, I bit the bullet and ordered the diapers in the U.S. before I moved.  I figured if I didn't like them, I could sell them and try different brands once Stevie was born.  I packed them into a suitcase, and they came over on the flight with me. 

Here's what a suitcase of nappies looks like.

Suitcase Full of Nappies

 You may be wondering why I didn't just wait until I was in New Zealand, order from the U.S., and have them shipped here.  Well, for one, shipping costs ALOT, and for second, BG won't allow international shipping in order to be fair to your local stockists.  I'm okay with that.  I could have had them shipped over by some of my family, but I don't exactly trust the postal system.  A box of my belongings took a tour of New Zealand before it arrived at my door.  It somehow made its way from Auckland (northern part of the the North Island) to Dunedin (southern part of the South Island) and finally, back to Hamilton (northern-ish North Island).  It arrived a little over a month after I shipped it, but I'm not complaining.  It arrived...could have been worse!!!  That's why I brought a suitcase of nappies with me.

So why did I decide to go through this "hassle"?  New Zealand is really pretty, so I want to do my part to keep it that way.  The bigger reason, I'm a tightwad!!    For less than $350 Little Stevie will be diapered from birth to potty training.  That's including her wipes and liners (diaper topper to make clean up easier).  Yes, there are a couple of added expenses such as laundry detergent and a slight bump in power consumption, but that cost is minimal in the grand scheme of things.  Here is a pretty good cost breakdown.

We decided that since we were going to be doing laundry, we might as well use reusable wipes and liners.  They're much easier than worrying about throwing away wipes or flushing liners before doing a diaper rinse.  We rinse it all at once and we're done.  In case you're wondering, we bought the baby wash cloths to use as wipes.  Fold them in half, and they fit perfectly into a regular disposable wipes container.  We simply put water in there with a couple of drops of tea tree oil, and Voila!  Baby wipes!!!  As a bonus, the tea tree oil is a natural anti-fungal that helps keep rash away.  The liners are made from microfleece that I bought and it's cut down to size.

Some think it's gross rinsing diapers.  Who wants poo all over them?  Well, nobody enjoys poo being all over them, but don't think you're immune if you choose disposables.  I've had more disposable blow outs than I care to think about.  Besides, you don't have to play in the diaper to rinse it.  Oh, and did you know, you're actually suppose to dump the nasties out of disposables?!


Proof!!

"If nappy is soiled, empty contents into toilet"

 I've been bombarded by people claiming I'm making the wrong choice by cloth diapering.  "It's expensive!" No, it is an investment up front, but it's much cheaper long term.  It's gross rinsing diapers.  Again, I don't play in it.  I've also heard all kinds of other reasons for not using cloth.  My favorite..."Who has time to sit around and wash diapers all the time?!"  Ummm...yeah, cuz that's what you do when you cloth diaper.  You sit around and wash diapers day in and day out.  Actually, we have a whopping 2 to 3 extra loads of laundry a week.  We wash them every 3 days, and it literally consists of dumping and starting the machine.  We're not using a washboard or anything.  Yeah, we take a bit of time stuffing them, but no more than it takes to go purchase diapers.  "It's too much work!" I'll admit, to begin with, it takes a bit of work to figure out what works for you, but by the first or two, you'll get a routine, and it's gravy from there!!

Yes, I like my cloth diapers, if you can't tell.  I'll get into some of the ins and outs such as washing, some problems that may arise, and a few other tid bits in part two.  For now, I'll leave you with this, and another reason you should consider cloth if you haven't.  There are no disposables that can compare to PRETTIES!!!!!!

Mini Muffets Click here for more info.

Scrumptious Nappies Click here for more info

Scrumptious Nappies Click here for more info

Those are reason enough to choose cloth over disposables!!  That's a few pics from some of our local MWAH nappies.  There are tons more out there.  Do you have any favorite nappy brands?