Cloth Diaper Tryouts

Cloth diapers have been my goal since I first learned I was pregnant.  I know that we live in a desert; therefore, disposable diapers are supposed to have less of an environmental impact.  However, I do not believe it.  How can something that goes to a gigantic landfill and "never" decomposes be better for the environment than something that you can was and reuse?  Even in a desert where water is at a premium.  Besides, the water used to wash the cloth diapers can be cleaned, recycled, and reused.

All that being said, I didn't actually start using cloth diapers until about 3 weeks ago.  It was really a vanity issue.  Jane looked so funny with these humongous cloth diapers on her bum!  Now that she is bigger, the giant bum didn't bother me as much. However, I decided to try the gDiapers because they looked trimmer.  The inserts are super expensive, and I have tons of cloth prefolds.  So I decided to look for patterns to make the inserts out of the prefolds I have already purchased.


I found a pattern for the inserts on Pinterest.  The website is:  http://seekatesew.com/handmade-gdiaper-cloth-insert-tutorial/

The tutorial is nice and easy.  But I just used the pattern and my prefold cloth diapers.  The ones I have are the unbleached OsoCozy prefolds size 1.  I was able to get three from each one.  After I tested them out, I found that one layer was okay, but it got totally soaked.  So I sewed two together.  That gave me two layers of protection.  That is one layer less bulk than if I folded them and stuck them in the covers I have (I also have a bunch of the Thirsties with snaps). 

So far they have worked great for me.  They work really well in the Thirsties too.  They look a little small for them but I have not had any problems yet.  I do have a hard time getting the gDiapers to seal correctly around the legs.  But I still like using them.

I decided that, since babies are more likely to get diaper rash in cloth diapers when they sit in them wet for extended periods, I would use disposable during the night to save my baby's bum.  Hopefully that will keep the diaper rash away. 

We have been doing this for about 3 weeks now and all is looking good.  Maybe if I get a chance I will post a picture of the inserts I made.