Cloth Diapering: The First 3 Months

MJ will hit the 3 month mark the day after tomorrow, so I thought it was a good time to write up an update on how cloth has been working out.

We’ve done a LOT of travelling, so I don’t feel like the past three months have given me as much experience as I would like. We started late and had two straight weeks where he was in disposables out of state, so I’m still figuring out a lot of issues that I think beginners normally grapple with.

As a refresher, we have Sunbaby pockets, GroVia Hybrid shells, and Thirsties Duo Wraps. With those- I use a combination of microfiber inserts, bamboo inserts, organic cotton snap ins, no-prep snap ins, and bleached/unbleached cotton infant sized prefolds in various brands.

The Good:
-Laundry has been a snap. We have a simple enough routine since our washer and dryer don’t have many settings other than load size and an On button. We skip the extra rinse due to hard water and use Tide Free and Gentle detergent. As of yet- no issues with stink or repelling. The shells are air-dried and everything else goes in the dryer. After one dry cycle, the pockets come out and the inserts and prefolds stay in for another round since they are all still very damp. I stuff my diapers before putting them away and I don’t really notice the extra effort it takes.

The Bad:
-Sizing has been a giant pain in the neck. Before our trip, MJ was at the smallest setting on every diaper. Two weeks later when we got back nothing fit right anymore. His thighs got much chunkier while his belly stayed petite. This is proving especially difficult with the pocket diapers. I gave him more space by moving out a hip snap, but now I have to stretch the wings to keep his waist at the smallest size. This is causing the wings to curl out and the inner micro fleece to rub against his onesies which means I’m changing his clothes multiple times a day when they get damp from urine. If I move out a waist snap he has a large gap and leaks there as well, so there’s no winning right now.

-My inserts are junk. I bought the ones that came with the Sunbaby diapers and I can’t stand them. The bamboo inserts aren’t much thicker than a hand towel. If I want to get any use out of them I have to double them up and they still don’t last him more than 3 hours so he can’t wear them at night. The microfiber isn’t terrible but I usually have to end up adding one of the flimsy bamboo inserts with those as well if it’s an overnight diaper. I know my kid is a heavy wetter, but come on. I guess this is one of those cases where I got what I paid for. I’m wondering, too, if I would be having the wing issue had I purchased I higher quality pocket diaper. Who knows?

To combat the issues with leaks and poor absorbency, I’ve started stuffing my pockets with the prefolds he never got to use as a newborn. They’re bulkier than the other options, but work a lot better. They also work great in my GroVia and Thirsties covers, so that’s a win. I’m finally getting some use out of them!

Over the next few months, after we move, I’m going to invest in more GroVia inserts and some higher quality bamboo or hemp. I’m also going to purchase some boosters for over night since there’s a night or two each month that he sleeps  7 hours straight and I never know when that will happen (I know, I’m one lucky lady!) Looking at the issues we’re having, I honestly believe they’re all fixable. They aren’t deal breakers, they’re just annoying. I’m going to continue toying around with different combinations until we find something he doesn’t soak through.

If you cloth diaper, did you ever have any of these issues? What solutions did you find?