Review of eBay Cloth Diapers

Last year, I blogged about our recent purchase of pocket diapers off of eBay. I decided now, after several months of use, I should write an update on how they are holding up.

I have mixed feelings towards these diapers (babyland variety) and here's why. As a stand alone diaper with a single insert, they are pretty horrible as far as leaks go (major wing droop- a second row of snaps would solve this issue though). I will only use one like this if I know it will only be a short time before I change them into something else. However, with a cover over them, they actually work just fine. Now, this sorta defeats the purpose of pocket diapers since you still have to use a cover like you would with a prefold. The only thing that is different is that you don't have to worry about a snappi or pins, which Daddy C really likes. But it also takes more time to change diapers this way (so many snaps!), and with a squirmy baby, it can be a challenge at times. One insert really is not enough for more than an hour, so we typically make sure we have 2 in them.

Now, I also have several of another type of diaper I bought off eBay from China with minky and patterned fabrics. These actually hold up fairly well, and the inserts that came with them are much thicker and more absorbent than the Babylands. I use these with an extra insert for Peanut without a cover, but if I know we will be out a while, I put a cover over it for added protection against leaks. This can be a bit bulky, but that kinda comes with the territory with cloth diapers!

So, do I think the diapers were worth it? I do. We have gotten a lot of use out of them, and at an average price of only $3 a diaper, they are comparable to what we would have paid for prefolds. Daddy C likes to use these over the prefolds, so we end up using cloth more and disposables less, which saves money and the environment. Just make sure you have some good covers on hand to help contain leaks!

The covers we use are the Econobum covers (LOVE these, only $9) and Dappi covers ($5) The Dappi covers are just nylon pants and they are quick to put on and work surprising very well. We rarely have any issues with them.

For nighttime diapering, we use either a heavy-duty flannel fitted diaper that we bought from an Amish general store or a babyland with cover and several inserts. These work really well at keeping the little bottoms dry, rash free and cozy.

New Cloth Diapers!

In the past, we have simply used prefolds with covers for cloth diapering. It's worked out well for us, but we still found we preferred disposables, and we were reluctant to use them. With the cost of diapers quickly escalating, I knew we needed to invest in a few cloth diapers that functioned similar to disposables. But we didn't have a fortune to spend on them either.

Enter the pocket diaper! I was able to get 18 different one-size pocket diapers with inserts off e-bay for just under $60 total. I bought them all individually to save the most money. We got the Babyland diapers sold from China. True, they probably won't be as nice as a Bum Genius diaper, but they were so budget friendly I figured it didn't matter! I did some research before purchasing them, and most of the reviews of these diapers were satisfactory enough.

Now that we have had them for several weeks, I am kicking myself for not buying them sooner! They are so easy to use! I stuff all the diapers after washing and keep the snaps on the desired setting so it's as close as they come to using disposables! They are not the most absorbent at times, but we're dealing with cloth here, not chemical laden paper. Stuffing an extra insert in seems to help with that issue, but since cloth is typically changed more frequently than disposables, it's not that big of a deal.

We are also using flush-able liners in the diapers to help with poo clean up. I find it much easier to just shake it off into the toilet than wadding up a nasty disposable! These liners, if just used for a wet diaper and not a poopy one, can also be washed and reused a few times, which helps save even more money! This has been the biggest change in the way we cloth diaper. Since our daughter is prone to extremely messy diapers, the liners were like a miracle!

As soon as the new baby comes and is big enough, we will be using cloth on him/her as well! At that point I will probably buy more or just use the prefolds to tide us over.

If you are considering cloth diapering but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a stash of the "nicer" diapers, I encourage you to look into these Babyland e-bay diapers! They get the job done nicely with the ease a pocket diaper provides.

Back to Basics: A Lesson in Frugality

Last month we moved into our first house- an out of state move that required lots of planning and praying. God has provided for us in tremendous ways since we've been here, but one thing that has been difficult to adjust to is the temporary dip in monthly income. Daddy C was able to land a work-from-home position with his company, but the start date isn't until later this month. So we've been tiptoeing around practically everything, trying to save money and get back to the basics when it comes to practicing frugality.

It's hard to remind yourself to be cautious and do without when you're used to not worrying too much about extra unplanned purchases or little impulse buys. Going out to eat is a luxury, not a right. Cooking meals from home is the standard, as is baking your own treats.

With the rapidly rising gas prices, it's also been hard to remember to stay home as much as possible in order to stay within the gas budget. We've been walking to the park instead of driving and combining errands as much as possible. Sometimes, it takes all day when we combine 5 different things at once, but the savings make it very worth it.

We've also been using the cloth diapers during the day to help conserve the disposables we do have. It's not much effort to use them instead, but when you get used to the disposables, it does require an attitude shift!

As we started our vegetable garden, we tried to reuse as many materials as we could. The wood for the edging were all scrap pieces leftover from the previous homeowner home improvement projects. The walkways were made from spare bricks leftover from the front garden beds, and the the mulch was leftover from last season. So far, we've only had to buy extra topsoil and composted manure as well as a few transplants. To date, the total cost for our vegetable garden hasn't even topped $100, a truly frugal garden indeed!

What kind of things do you do differently when money is tight? Have any favorite frugal tips?

Cutie in Cloth

Before Peanut was born, I had full intentions on cloth diapering. It seemed so eco-friendly, not to mention cost effective. But then, I discovered the drugstore diaper deals, and I realized that I could get packs of diapers regularly for under $4 a pack! It's been wonderful to not have to spend too much money on disposables, but since I did purchase some basic prefolds, I figured I had better at least give them a try.

So below is Peanut modeling a basic pre-fold diaper fastened with a snappie. So cute! She is also wearing a nylon cover (this is very BASIC cloth diapering folks!). I know there are many other all-in-one cloth diapers out there, but at $10-20 a pop, these prefolds just fit our budget much better. I tried to time this first attempt after she already pooed, so we'll see how it goes!


UPDATE: Cloth diapering is much easier than I thought it would be! Peanut didn't seem to mind her new diaper at all! The cover, although very basic, didn't leak at all and I was surprised to see how wet the prefold had gotten in the 2 or so hours she wore it. It was really easy to just toss it all in the wetbag and put another one on her. I resued the cover since it was still dry. The only downside was that I think she wasn't used to feeling a little bit wet, and this might have cut the one nap she took while in it a bit short. Other than that, I loved it! It's a great feeling knowing you don't have to run out and get diapers at the last minute since you always have some on hand!

Sunday Best

Yesterday we went to church, and I dressed little Peanut and myself up to make a good impression. Since it was the first day of our new membership classes, we would be meeting quite a few people, and so, Peanut needed to look adorable :D. I put her in a cute dress with a matching giant flower headband. And since I knew I might have to NIP (nurse in public), I wore a nice nursing tank with a white sweater.

We ended up being a tad bit late to the service, but that's pretty much how all of our life is now that Peanut is here! Our church is rather large (sanctuary can sit over 10,000 or something like that), and we normally sit in the second balcony so I can slip away with Peanut if need be.

Well, as you can guess and probably already see this coming, I did need to slip out. Just a few moments after the sermon had started, I finished nursing Peanut and had her sitting in my lap. She was sucking on her fingers and very content. Daddy C and Mommy C were extremely proud of their little baby!

Then, the explosion happened. Oh, yes.

I quickly walked out of the sanctuary and looked around for the family restroom. I didn't see it, so I peered through the women's restroom searching for a changing table. However, there was none to be found. Desperate, I popped into the cry-room and asked other parents for directions to the family restroom, which I KNEW had a changing table in it. It had to, right?

A particular lady was very helpful, and she walked me to it (which just so happened to be right in front of the women's restroom, meaning I must have been blind not to have seen it!). She was quite kind and asked me if I needed any help. Since I only needed to change a diaper (I was unaware that it had exploded at this point), I though this strange and replied, 'No, thank you!'. But as I shut the door and turned to face the mirror, I discovered a horrific discovery and the reason why she had offered to help.

Poop was everywhere.

All over Peanut. All over me!

I stood there, feeling completely helpless for a couple of seconds, wondering how on earth I was going to be able to clean this gigantic mess up.

My white sweater was covered in yellow poo. So was Peanut's dress, and bloomers, and socks, and bib, and hands, and feet and stomach- you get the picture.

And if you were wondering, YES, she was wearing the dreaded HUGGIES (I had so many in my stockpile that were free, I figured maybe they wouldn't be so bad- WRONG!!)

And no, there wasn't a changing table! So I had to plop Peanut next to the sink.

Luckily, I had worn a black tank top, so although it was soaked after being scrubbed to death in attempt to rid it of all poo smell, you couldn't really tell. And luckily, I had a plastic baggie to put all the poo covered clothing in until we could get home to wash it properly. I ended up having to wash Peanut's whole body under the running facet and dried her off with paper towels. It took me the remainder of the church service to get both her and I cleaned up and somewhat presentable for our class that was to follow. But I still smelled like baby poo.

Peanut must have sensed how distressing this whole episode was, because she was perfectly content for the rest of the time we were at church. People didn't seem to notice she was once a poo-covered-baby either, although I'm quite certain they probably thought, 'Hmmm, that baby sure smells funky....'

The Great Awakening

Yesterday I woke up only to find Peanut lying sideways at the bottom of her crib. She is such a wiggle worm- I don't understand how she managed to break free of the sleep position-er (which wasn't moved at all) and scurry herself not only a foot and a half away but turn herself perfectly sideways in the process. I should have taken a picture, and I would have, had it not been for the fact that I smelled pee. Yes, pee.

As soon as I picked her up, I took in the damage. The crib sheets were soaked, as was her SwaddleMe and PJs. I quickly carried her over to the changing table and undressed the poor thing. That's when I made the horrific discovery. She was in a NEWBORN diaper, not a size 1! The diaper was actually halfway off her butt because of her sliding around and the fact that it was way too small for her.

Now, in case you blame me for such a terrible mistake, please be aware that Daddy C is in charge of night-time diaper duty. He really must have been tired during this one, because the old newborn sized diapers were right next to the size 1 diapers. His defense? "I couldn't find the right size, so I had to put her in that one!". Um...Ok. Well, he does have a hard time seeing whenever he takes his contacts out for the night...

Back to the diaper change. I gently removed the soiled and scrunched up diaper and began wiping poor Peanut's bottom. As I reached for a new diaper, that's when it happened. Yes, the mothers who are reading this know exactly what I'm talking about. Thank goodness I removed my hand in time! Peanut had let loose, and instead of being covered in old pee, she now was covered in the fresh stuff as well as a nice batch of yellow, seedy poo.

I stood there for about 2 minutes trying to figure out what to do.

Finally I realized she would have to be bathed, because who wants poop smeared all over them all day long? So Peanut had her bath, and I then proceeded to add a mountain of fresh dirty laundry on top of the already Everest-high pile.

And that, my friends, is what I like to refer to as 'The Great Awakening'.

Not all diapers are created equal...

Due to my uncanny ability to unearth good deals on diapers during the last months of my pregnancy, we have quite the stash under Peanut's crib. I'm not brand loyal to much of anything, the lowest price generally gets my attention, so we've used several diaper brands on Peanut.

The first ones were Luvs, which worked quite well, until she outgrew them. Next, we tried out the Target-brand diapers, which, although a bit more roomy, proved to result in fewer diaper blowouts. We've also used Pampers here and there (I had an odd assortment of free samples), but the super-absorbency of these preemies made it difficult to tell when she had peed. Now, I'm just getting into my Huggie's stash. And I've come to the conclusion- I HATE Huggies.

Now, given that Huggies diapers are more expensive (regular-priced, not Mommy C-priced) than either Luvs or the Target brand diapers, this comes as a shock. I don't know why they think making diapers super snug, fitting almost like underwear, will be good for babies. Especially babies that tend to let loose with such force their parents have resorted to yelling, 'Release the Cracken!' every time she relieves herself. The inevitable result is poo spilling out from all sides, seeping onto all sorts of pretty outfits Mommy C proudly put together, often just moments ago. And usually, she is being held during these times of tiny explosions, meaning Mommy C or Daddy D end up covered in the poo as well, forcing them to change into a new outfit of their own.

The result of all these Huggie blowouts is that I have a never-ending volume of laundry to attend to each day. What used to be one load a week before Peanut was born has morphed into one load a day. This gets complicated quickly considering I usually forget to turn a load over or don't have time to fold the finished load from the day before. And although a distant memory chants, "sort the whites, separate the colors, add the bleach, apply stain remover", my frazzled self does not stop to listen. Which results in more problems since poor Peanut now has ample amounts of poo stained clothing in shades of yellow-orange.

So, although I may occasionally pick up a package of Huggies Diapers in the future, they certainly don't make the Campbell Household Hall of Brands. Choose your diaper wisely!