As many of you know, I have an abnormally large baby. We didn't really think to much about cloth diapers when he was born. (Mostly because we were living in student housing at UF and only had community washer and dryers. With only the option to wash every week, instead of the every-other-day wash needed, it was not a possibility.) I, personally, was grossed out about having to get "down and dirty" in the poop and clean up process (including laundering). For the past 26 months (all of Kaine's life) I have been going back and forth between the cloth diaper world and the world of disposable diapers.
My biggest hurdle in both worlds was one of cost. I like how cloth diapers are a one time buy option. I like the cost and quantity of disposables (especially when you buy in bulk. Not to mention, that they work, are easy to use, are not bulky and are proven to not leak). However, this option, over time, makes you spend A LOT more money. (Of which I can personally attest to.) Cloth, on the other hand, is a VERY LARGE initial out-of-pocket expense. One that bothers me a great deal, as it turns out. For the "normal" sized baby (ones that are 40lbs at, lets say, 3 years old) can have their pick from the cloth diapering world without much, if any, trouble to worry about. But, if your baby falls out of the "standard/normal" range, you are screwed! (excuse my language)
I love the idea of cloth. Not so much the searching around for what will work aspect of cloth. Especially for my over-sized child. I did finally give in and talk to the lady at Sunshine Diapers. This helped me to see and feel the products (and ask a ton of questions) before I made any purchases. Rhea is fabulous and very helpful. She opened my eyes to the options for bigger babies (which I was surprised to see that there were).
We started out with Gerber prefolds and plastic pull-on pants and planned to use pins (totally old school). When that option failed (because Gerber prefold SUPER shrink in the wash and also do not hold that much liquid. Plus, the plastic pants are super hard to put on a non mobile baby. Not to mention the pins! UGH!) The good side of Gerber: cost is excellent, they are good cleaning clothes (for home made wipes, wash clothes, general house cleaning). I then found out about gDiapers and LOVE them (still do, to this very day). They just don't have a "bigger baby" option (they only go up to 36lbs). Kaine stopped being able to wear these a while ago. We still plan to use these for other babies until they grow out of them. We are now using Thristies size 2 covers with some different sorts of inserts that I got from Rhea. I went ahead and decided to get an assortment of inserts to see which ones I like (before I buy). So far, the bamboo and hemp (with the terry and microfiber) seem to be excellent. I wanted to try this option before I buy a lot to see if it will be worth it. I have to say I am impressed and all of the research I have done about bamboo and hemp (being super absorbent) is seeming to pay off.
So, where are we now? I am planning on buying (from a bulk merchandiser in CA) 10 yards of hemp/cotton blend (55% to 45%) to make my own inserts. This is EXACTLY the same material that all of the hemp diapers on the market are using. But, since the market diapers are $5-8 a piece (ridiculous, if you ask me!) I will be able to get more (way more!) out of my purchase of 10 yards of fabric (not to mention, different sizes) and spend (with shipping) $103. At this price, for bigger hemp baby prefolds (which are my inspiration) I would only get 13 (and I would have to add $.35 cents to the total). This, in my opinion, is not a good option. So, I plan to make my own and even use the rest of the fabric for the already started diapers that someone is making for me (that I have not been able to finish because I could not find all good priced fabric to move forward on them!).
If you really want to give it a go and make it stick, I suggest learning all you can about diaper sprayers (saves in dealing with the poop issue at toilet time), washing and storing soiled diapers (biggy here, don't skimp on your research). There are many sites out there that will give you loads of information on all of these topics (much to my delight). Here are some sites I have found helpful:
Sunshine Diapers
Diaper Cuts
Diaper Pin
gDiapers
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