ANOTHER DIAPER SWITCH-A-ROO

During our continuing preparations for Cora's impending arrival, there has been much discussion around the household about her diapers. It was an easy decision to pick her daytime cloth diapers for use at home, the BumGenius Organic One-Size All-In-Ones, like we use for James (in fact, we only have 3 more to purchase and that stash of 12 will be complete). Her overnight diapers will likely be the Bum Genius 3.0's, also like we use for James, but we're waiting to see what kind of overnighter she is (once she starts sleeping through the night, that is, which could be quite a while from now). And we thought we had the daycare diapers figured out too (if you recall my post about the New Baby Bundle by gDiapers), but then I decided that I didn't want gender-neutral size small gPants for Cora (because they would be hard to distinguish from James' orange and brown size mediums). Only problem is, they don't sell the tiny gPants (the ones you need for the first month) separately. So that led me to do even MORE searching (and review reading). Turns out there is a much cheaper cloth-hybrid diapering system than the gDiapers! Some of you living in other states may have already heard of it (there isn't a single retailer in Mississippi, of course). It's called FLIP, and it's by the makers of BumGenius (Cotton Babies)! And you know we love BumGenius, so I just HAD to try FLIP. Especially after I did the math and discovered that over the next 1.5-2 years, while both our babies are in diapers, we would save a whopping $1000 by switching to FLIP!!

Here's how it breaks down (in case you want to do the calculations for your own family):

FLIP diaper cover = $13.99 (and the FLIP covers are ONE-SIZE)

gPant diaper cover = $16.99-$18.99 (and you have to buy 3 different sizes throughout the diapering years: small, medium, and large)

FLIP disposable inserts = 18 for $4.95 ($0.28 each)

gDiapers disposable inserts = 160 small for $57.96 ($0.36 each) or 128 med/lg for $57.96 ($0.45 each)

(If you want to see my spreadsheet and how I calculated our potential savings, just email me and I'll send it to you.)

So, our thoughts on these new cloth-disposable hybrids now that we've tested them?

1. We love that they have snaps instead of velcro (they won't cause damage to other diapers during washing/drying and they will be even harder for the toddler to undo)

2. The one-size system is the same as our other BGs, so yes, we love that too (great custom fit)

3. The gDiaper inserts (both disposable AND cloth) fit the FLIP covers, as do some of our other cloth inserts, as well as prefolds (meaning that we COULD use them as cloth diapers should we choose to, without even having to buy new inserts)

4. They DO NOT LEAK (even the one daycare lady who couldn't get a gPant correctly fastened to James' bottom no matter HOW many times we showed her was able to figure out the FLIPs, and all the daycare ladies like them better than the gPants because there are less pieces - i.e. no liners - and they fit more snuggly around the legs)

5. The FLIP covers are made of the same PUL material as the BGs. If you have seen the semi-naked baby photos of James on the blog lately, you can see for yourself that the BGs still look brand-spankin' new, even after 9 months of use. However, James' size medium little gPants are faded, pilled (where the velcro came loose from the laundry tabs in the wash and stuck to the outside of the diaper), and losing their "g" (not that we care about the g's though).

6. If we decide to go a different route for overnight diapers with Cora down the road (I'm considering trying some fitteds, which require covers), the FLIP covers can be used (with just about every brand of fitted I've researched). Bonus! (And another money saver)

7. Most of all, we just LOVE that we're saving money!

However, just like the BGs we own, we hear that the one-size system actually fits best once the baby reaches 9-10 lbs (not the 8 lbs as stated in advertisements, and there is a chance that Cora may arrive smaller than her brother, who was 8 lbs exactly at birth). So, what to do during the first month? Well, instead of the tiny gDiapers with disposable inserts (since they can't be purchased separately anyway), we're going for gold and starting cloth diapering immediately with Cora. While I'm on maternity leave and Cora is still such a little thing, she will be sporting prefolds and diaper covers, which is the absolute CHEAPEST form of cloth diapering on the market. Even after ordering 4 Thirsties Duo Wrap diaper covers (size one, which fits 4-15 lbs) and 2 dozen Green Mountain Diapers prefolds in size newborn (in the unbleached version, which fits up to 10 lbs), the total came to less than $100. If we were to buy disposable diapers for the first 2 months (the Seventh Generation brand, of course), that would cost us $160-180 (newborns generally go through about 400 diapers in the first month alone). So we're STILL saving money! And for anyone who doesn't already know, cloth diapers can be resold. EASILY! In fact, I sold those GroBaby diapers that we tried with James back when he was 5-months-old and we were still figuring out what worked for him (and us), and I recouped almost full-price of what I paid for them. So when Cora outgrows these little diaper covers, I'll simply sell them on one of the cloth diaper swap boards, and probably get back about $40 of the $100 we just invested. Cool, eh?

We ordered 2 of the Duo Wraps in Orchid Purple and 2 in Rose Pink (which is actually a bit lighter in color than shown in the photo below). These come in snap or velcro, and Jay and I actually chose the velcro version because the tabs can be overlapped for a tighter fit if need be (and that need is likely with our baby girl, since James has such a slim waist - a big belly, but a very slim waist). Note the double leg gussets of these covers too - absolutely perfect for containing the newborn, runny, breastmilk BMs:

Of course, to be CERTAIN we have no leaks, and to keep the covers unstained (so we can get the highest resale value possible), we'll be pinning them on with Snappis for better containment of BMs (as opposed to laying the prefold straight into the cover), at least for the first few weeks:

Here are the GMD newborn prefolds (which will also make great diaper-doublers once Cora outgrows them, or we can always use them as rags or burp cloths):

Finally, I just thought I'd note that we're also making a switch in laundry detergent for our cloth diaper washes. We just ordered some of the Rockin Green that all the mommies on the BabyCenter cloth diapering board rave about. Due to James' sensitive skin, we went with the "Soft Rock" unscented version.

You know, they say cloth diapering can become a bit of an obsession... I'll jump onboard with that statement. It IS a bit addictive. It's fun. It's easy. It makes you feel good (helping the environment). There are SO many cute diapers out there (though I tend to choose only solid colors, mostly because I don't like them to show through onesies, and also because color-coding works well in our household to distinguish between the daytime, overnight, and daycare diapers). And they are great for James' sensitive bum - the kid NEVER gets diaper rashes with his cloth diapers (or the disposable inserts that go with the gDiapers or FLIPs, for that matter), but on the rare occasion that he'd come home from daycare in a random disposable diaper (when he'd blow-out the 3 gPants we'd send with him, due to poor fit and/or poor technique by one of the daycare ladies), those are the times he's had to deal with diaper rash...