Campbell's Cloth Diapers

I know what you're thinking. I'm either a hippie or crazy...and maybe I am, but I'm hoping to put some real effort into this cloth diapering thing. I have been researching it for, well, too long. I feel like an expert and I have never even done it before (with the exception of this kid I babysat one time). Cloth diapering ain't your mommas kind of cloth diapering though...although, if you want it to be it can be. They have CD (cloth diapers) now that are as easy to use as disposables. With the exception of you having to clean them! hehe. Washing CDs seems to be the only downfall of doing it. However, I have read of many-a-cloth diapering mom that says you're doing so much laundry anyway, you hardly notice one more load.

I wont go into all the different kinds of CDs that are out there. That would just take too long. I am going to tell you what kind of CD I will be trying out on Campbell though. Our little girl already has 8 CD. Ours aren't the kind that are as easy as disposables. I didn't really want that kind because while they are easy, after the child pees/poos in them, they have to be washed and cannot be used again. I will be using prefolds, or what we know as burp cloths, and diaper covers. These cost less money than the easy kind and the diaper covers can be used over and over again without being washed (given your child doesn't get poo on them, and they might). Prefolds, however, are what the child pees/poos in. They contain the mess and are changed at every diaper change. I don't know if that makes since or not, but I hope it does. The great thing about prefolds is you can get a dozen for the price of one really easy to use CDs. The more CDs you are able to purchase, the longer you can go without washing (although it's not highly recommended to go more than 3 days). And frankly, I don't consider myself a person who loves to do laundry. I will be purchasing 2 doz. prefolds and will hopefully only do laundry every other day. Now might be a good time to show some pictures of how prefolds and diaper covers work....

This is what a prefold looks like when it's used as a diaper. The little yellow thing holding it together is called a Snappi. It's what replaced the pins that our moms and G-ma's used.
There is a vast array of CD covers out there. The two I have chosen to use are called Booroi and Fleece Soakers (which were made by a woman in Charlestown, IN...not too far from Louisville).
These Booroi covers go right over the prefold pictured above.
Here is a sad little picture of our stash of Booroi (by the way, dont ask me how to pronounce that word...I don't know?!). I got all neutral colors because I plan to use these on future babies. And yes, I diapered the Teddy Bear....make something of it.
And here are the fleece soakers I ordered from Monster Fluff Studios. These are not so gender neutral, because it's a lot of fun buying little girl things!!! haha
I hope to use the cow print and the gray one very early on. These also just get pulled up over the prefold. Now that I've covered what we are using to CD Campbell, I want to give you just a couple of reasons WHY I plan to CD.

The main reason, for us, is because of the $$ money. As I have mentioned, I do not like spending money. I especially don't like spending money on something I know I will be throwing away within a few hours. Some people I know (ackhem, Sarah) spend next to nothing on their disposables, and if I were a coupon queen I might be able to pull that off too...but Im not. The average kid will go through $1,600 worth of disposables before potty training around 2 years old. By the end of my CD purchasing, I will spend probably close to $400 total. Maybe a bit more for cute prints and stuff. But the thing about that $400 dollars is that it's a one time cost. Sure I am buying these for Campbell, but I am also buying them for our future children. Spread $400 over 3 or 4 kids and that's $100ish to diaper each kid. I don't know about you, but I like those numbers. Nuff said.

The second most important reason I want to CD is because of the chemicals found in disposables. Sadly I haven't done a ton of research on this, but I do know that disposables contain trace amounts of Dioxin. That is a chemical used in the process of bleaching paper. It's a carcinogenic chemical linked to cancer and is banned in most countries. Nuff said.

And the last reason I want to CD is because of the environmental effects of disposables. For one, no one is sure how long in takes a disposable to decompose, but it's estimated to be between 200-500 yrs. Um....that means your children's great grandchildren, etc, etc. will be dealing with that waste someday. No thanks. Also, disposables are the third largest consumer item in landfills. In a house with one child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of that households waste. Nuff said. Here is where I got all my facts.

So that is my cloth diapering tangent. I don't look down on anyone who uses disposables. I think every family is different and CD for some people is just not doable. I'm not saying I will never use a disposable either...I think to say that would be borderline crazy and unrealistic. I am saying that we have already made a conscious decision that our family will make a valiant effort to CD as much as we possibly can. Here are some links to learn more about CD:

Cotton Babies
Mom's Milk Boutique
Green Mountain Diapers (great because it shows pictures of baby's in all the products)
And I find searching CD on You Tube really helpful.