Sunday, August 11, 2013

Cloth Diapering the Twin Way-The Stash

I have gotten a lot of questions about how I manage to cloth diaper the twins.  Really I don't think too much about it, it was a decision I made before I even knew we had twins on board.  Once I was committed I was fully committed, but I did read a lot of blogs about cloth diapering-so I am going to share our routine, our stash and what I have learned thus far for those are interested. 

The main reason I decided to cloth diaper was to save money-that dictated many of my diaper purchases.  For curious minds based on what we have spent versus the cost of disposable diapers we are on track to save 1,000 in one year alone. 

The Stash:
Our stash is a small one for two reasons- initial costs and space.  We are moving in 6 months and live in a tiny townhouse-we just don't have tons of space for diapers.  Also, the initial investment in cloth diapers is a bit high.  I know we will have to add, replace along the way and that is okay with me, but for now our small stash is working perfect.

I bought them directly off of the website from China.  Got them extremely fast (I paid for the fast shipping).  It was hands down the quickest, most cost effective way to build our stash.  We paid roughly 4 dollars a diaper and so far have little complaints.  I don't think they will last beyond our twins, but we rotate them a lot so they are used a lot!  I love the hip snap as it allows it to fit ok on both girls.  I prefer these diapers to almost any American made pocket diaper.  I hands down recommend these diapers, and will buy them again. 

I love these diapers!  If money were not a factor I would buy a ton more.  They are super absorbent, the hybrid system is amazing!  What can I say I just love them.  I hope the next go around to add more and use these for baby number three (if and when that happens!).

My first cloth diaper purchase.  I like it, but I don't love it that much more than the SunBaby Diapers to justify the cost difference.  SunBaby's run about 4 dollar, BumGenius run 15-18 dollars for one.  Don't get me wrong I have no complaints I just don't love it that much to run out and buy anymore.

These are a WAHM diaper that is amazing!!!  I have 2 of the sleepys (one windpro and one fleece-we prefer the windpro) and they helped us ditch disposables at nighttime.  The twins are pretty much sleeping through the night, but the pockets were leaking causing them to wake up soaked and unhappy. Adding another layer to the pockets just made them have larger openings at the legs (more leaks around the leg area at night). LFP saved the day!!!  They fit one of the twins amazing and even though they are bulky I love that we were able to re-claim our nighttime cloth routine. These are our most expensive diaper, but they are worth every penny.  They have a high re-sale value and are very hard to get so the used ones sell pretty quickly!  

One Sbish fitted diaper

I love this diaper.  We will be adding more for our other little lady at night.  It looks cute, it is squishy, and the company has an amazing mission statement.  It is not as bulky as the LFP, but pretty darn close in absorbency.  The diaper pin can be a bit tricky-but once you get it down it is no problem at all.  You will need a cover for this diaper.  The price is 7 dollars cheaper than the plain fleece LFP sleepy-but the re-sale value is a bit lower.  We ended up using this diaper all summer long, the LFP were just too bulky when it was super hot. 

One Pack of Lil Joey's Rumparooz
We liked these and even though they would still fit our tiny girls, they are not absorbent enough anymore.  I don't think I would buy another pack for another baby.  They were fine but I don't love them, or really hate them. I hear you have to wash them a lot to get them fully absorbent-I guess we did not stick with them long enough. 
 

What I have learned:
If it I had all the money in the world I would invest in fitted diapers from the start.  I love our pockets, but they are still not the perfect fit for the girls.  However, cost wise and the fact that I can use them on both girls is pretty amazing (they have a very different build so finding a diaper that works for both is a bit of a challenge).  I would and will invest in newborn diapers the next go around (probably a WAHM version).  Our girls could still fit them.  However, I would advise someone to find the most absorbent newborn diapers-like I said the Lil Joey's still work but just don't handle a large volume of liquid. 

Research, research and research some more a great nighttime diaper if you want to cloth at night.  It was very hard to have a week of changing the sheets, clothes, and sometimes our sheets for two babies.  I hated moving to disposable at night-but am glad we are getting a good nighttime system down. It can be hard, but the research will pay off.  The nice thing is most cloth diapering mommas, and dads, are more than eager to share their fluff, their experiences, and their advice.  However, always remember every baby is different (ahem my 2 little ladies) so be prepared that what worked for them might not work for you. 

Don't be afraid to try a diaper used.  I did not know if it was worth stalking the LFP site to get a sleepy diaper, I bought a used one feel in love.  If you want to try a diaper try going to swapper site, or site that sells used diapers. Again most swappers are more than happy to share ideas and feedback with you-the cloth diapering community is pretty amazing! 

Next up I will go over our accessories and washing routine.  Let me know if you have any questions at all!!!









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