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#17174
Do you like the environment? Do you like wearing cute clothes that turn heads? Do you love diapers and want to try new things?
Cloth diapering might be for you! (and yes there are such things as cloth training pants and pull ups)

PROS AND CONS OF CLOTH DIAPERS
Okay so cloth diapers. The biggest thing to know about them is that they are COMFY. Comfy comfy comfy! I originally started wearing cloth diapers because they're lighter and more breathable and I was living in Florida where I'd sweat most diapers into an uncomfy, wicked up, grossness really quick. Cloth diapers are lighter and if you sweat, they won't wick up.

They have several pros and cons to consider. One pro is that they come in a variety of colors and patterns. They are beautiful and they make me stand out when I go to parties. They're hipster clothes and very fashionable. They are also very cheap in the long run. I wear diapers every day and if I was going to wear expensive diapers that actually worked (as opposed to the bulk diapers I'd been buying from club stores) I would be spending thousands of dollars every year. Cloth diapers are reusable and they're just about as good as mid class disposables. This means they're good for using every day or when you just want to feel comfy but don't really have anything else to wear. I personally no longer have any regular underwear. It's very nice. Another pro is that they're eco-friendly. Self explanatory. Finally, a great pro is that they just feel really nice. When you're wearing them it's like a pillow between your legs. It's a different feeling from disposable and I find it very nice. Even when you wet them they feel different. Like soggy underwear. It's just different and after using disposables for so many years. I just like the change of pace.

There are several cons though. One con is that while they're reusable, they have some laundry issues. So if you get cloth diapers, there will be diapers in your laundry---and if you use them, you'll be dealing with a wet diaper in your laundry. So you need some wet bags (bags that don't let wet stuff seep through but which can still be washed) and some special chemicals (as well as laundry detergent that works on cloth diapers. Never use detergents that contain fabric softeners, which I discuss below) if you're going to handle them like that. It costs around fifty dollars to get all the stuff, but it lasts a while. Another con? Cost. I have about nine cloth diapers and three pairs of plastic pants and it cost me like four or five hundred dollars to get them all. Now, after working and searching, I found a lot of cheap suppliers, so I no longer have to order custom stuff from Etsy. But if you buy custom cloth diapers, you're looking at spending like, 40 dollars on a single diaper. And yeah, that can get you a whole case of disposables. So it's definitely an investment. Now the places I've found can sell diapers with some cosmetic defects for like 13-15 dollars (not including shipping) and fancy printed diapers for like 20, but it took me forever to find a good supplier that consistently fits me. That's another con, you need to know your clothing size really well. Because I had a heartbreaking expenditure that didn't fit me and set back my collection 40 bucks. I was able to give it to a friend, but still. It felt useless. Now if you know your sizes? No problem. Buy away. Another con is that they are not as easy to take in public. Maybe that's not such a big deal to you, but I use diapers 24/7. Now I don't always use them, I usually use the potty. But if you go to a party or something? You're going to need wetbags to store your diaper if you use it. That's another con: they can cause rashes easier than normal. Because unless you buy special fabric (usually custom), the wetness doesn't really go away. Maybe it's just that I'm more prone to rashes so I change out really fast. But still. You will feel wet and it will be very present. Finally, cloth diapers are definitely not as absorbent as high end disposables. They're still super thirsty, but I have had one or two instances of...having to change in the shower because I had a puddle in my plastic pants. Rest assured, if you use plastic pants or wet yourself carefully, you're not usually going to leak. But it's still a very important consideration for heavy wetters.

TYPES OF CLOTH DIAPERS
Oh gosh. Well there are soooo many different types of cloth diaper. Let's talk about that. Okay so making your own cloth diapers? I tried that myself. I bought some like towel cloth and tried to make a prefold diaper. Prefold diapers are litterally just a strip of cloth with absorbent layers built in that you pin to yourself with diaper pins. Let me tell you though. I HATE PINS. Diaper pins are a darn nightmare and they're really hard to put on yourself. I have stabbed myself too many times and I'm not going to do it anymore. Now there's a good alternative to pins. It's called a snappi. Snappis are diaper closing systems that do not use pins. I 100% recommend getting a snappi if you're going to make your own diapers. That or sew on velcro or something. Just not pins. Good lord not pins.

Now the next kind of diaper is your average prefold that has been made into a diaper shape. I really like the ones that have been fitted with velcro as the closure. Usually you'll find these custom or in crappy white. You can find them from a variety of places, like fetware or rearz. A lot of diaper selling authorities will have their own hourglass cloth diaper. Now a con of these is that they don't come with a cover, so you'll need a pair of plastic pants. Plastic pants usually run about thirty dollars, but they make ANY diaper you wear more effective. I prefer PUL fabric for plastic pants. You can find a lot of good types of a site called Fetware, but a lot of other diaper authorities sell them too. And if you're looking for custom threads in this category, there's a bunch of good sellers on Etsy, like Chchchchanges.

Also in this category are training pants. One of my favorite suppliers of training pants is baby-pants, but you can find them in a lot of other places too, like Rearz.

The next most common type of diaper is a pocket diaper or an all in one. A pocket diaper usually is a combination of a cover and an absorbent material. So you put the absorbent core into the cover, usually held in a pocket for safe keeping. This is a super great type of diaper because you can remove the core and launder the core and the cover separately. That's important because drying most covers (usually made of PUL) can cause unnecessary wear and tear. I like them a lot because they're cheap too. My favorite supplier of all time is happy endings diapers . They make an excellent one size fits all diaper. I definitely definitely recommend it if you're starting out because the sizing is easy to get right. You just buy the diaper and it will fit. It's also really comfy. I'm wearing one right now. Not only that but if you order one with cosmetic defects you'll be looking at spending like 13.99. All in one diapers aren't bad, but I dislike them because the maker usually makes them too thin or something like that. You can find a lot of AIO diapers for adults on Etsy, but make sure you get your sizing right!

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF CLOTH DIAPERS
And that's about it. Except for laundry instructions. The laundry stuff is like...a really complicated affair. Because they're such an investment, you really don't want them to have permanent stains or for them to turn smelly or for them to lose their absorbency. You need a special detergent. I personally like Rockin' Green, but there's other brands like Molly Suds, honest, babyganics, and Mrs. Meyers. Whatever you use, don't use fabric softener and use as few dyes and stuff as possible. Because fabric softener will basically ruin any absorbent material you use (towels included) and you will start leaking a lot. Wetbags are easy to find from just about anywhere and you'll want a separate laundry hamper usually to keep things contained.

And if you're the kind of bab that likes having messy accidents, prepare for like, the most annoying deal ever. Because you can't launder them with mess on them. You have to like wash it off. I never ever use them for that because it's gross and difficult to deal with.

And that's just about everything I've learned in seven months of wearing them 24/7.
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