(Note: a full supply list for a registry will be be provided in the last post of this series if you are wondering "What all the crap do I need if I'm going to do this!?")
Onwards. Anatomy: With gDiapers, there are 3 pieces. There is the outer cloth part referred to as “gPants”,
then the white inner liner called the “pouch” and then the third piece which actually absorbs everything called the “insert”.
Here is a picture of some gPants and the inner “pouch”.
The pouches snap in and out of the gPants, so this is what it looks like with the pouch snapped in...
Now, when it comes to inserts, there are three options:
1. gDiaper disposable inserts - These are allegedly biodegradable, compostable and flushable. We do have a package of these on hand which we have used in emergency situations, but they aren't my favorite. I have also read of some horror stories where people have caused some big time plumbing issues by flushing in an unfamiliar toilet so we have never attempted this, even in our own toilet.
2. gDiaper cloth inserts - These are microfiber hemp inserts produced by gDiapers. Because of the material, they do require a little more "specialized" wash routine. The detergent must not contain any softeners or added enzymes so as not to affect the fibers of the insert. I definitely don't dislike the gDiaper inserts, but they are probably my second choice for inserts.
3. Cotton prefold - These are my top choice and what we use 100% of the time currently. I purchased organic cotton prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers because they are half the cost of the
gDiaper brand inserts for TWICE as many and I feel like the work JUST as good,
if not better. (gDiaper inserts are
roughly $33 for 6 whereas Green Mountain organic cotton prefolds are $18 for
12.) However, note that with the Green Mountain brand prefolds, their preemie size fits best in the small gDiapers and newborn fits best in the medium/large gDiapers. (I have been meaning to test out what the small prefolds are like, because there are some days now where Heidi can soak that newborn size pretty good! But I'm not sure if the small would fit inside the gDiaper pouch or if it would be too big/bulky.)
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| From left to right: disposable, gDiaper cloth and cotton prefold. (Please excuse the poop stains. Yes, no matter what you do your inserts WILL stain! You can put lemon juice on them and lay them in the sun to bleach them out, I just haven't gotten around to doing this yet.) |
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| A fully assembled diaper: gPants, pouch and cloth prefold insert! (And some greyhound feet!) |
The organization: Here is what our top drawer looked like right when Heidi was born:
You can see (from left to right) disposable Honest Company diapers and wipes for backup, gPants with pouches already snapped in, extra pouches in the front center section, prefold inserts in the back right and the gDiaper brand inserts in the front right. (I found this set of 6 drawer organizers at Ikea for $7.99! And apparently they also now come in pink and black too!) I used to fold the prefold inserts before placing them in the drawer but after a while I found that this wasn't really saving me any time and was just creating more work for me when putting them away. Now I just lay them all out flat in one stack. Also, since we are now just using the prefolds exclusively, we obviously don't have a spot for the gDiaper cloth inserts anymore.
On any given day, we typically have 2 diapers in rotation. (By "diaper" I mean gPant/pouch combo.) The pouches are breathable and sometimes make the diaper slightly condensation-y so we will usually air one out while she has the other on. (This also came in very handy when she was little because SPEED is important when the diaper is OFF! We had one diaper 100% ready to go before removing the one she had on. Luckily we only had one explosive diaperless poop episode when Heidi was just a few days old...hehe.)
The changing: When it's time to change Heidi, I get the fresh diaper, load in the insert and brace myself (just kidding. We're way past that.) I remove the diaper she is wearing and pull the insert out and place it in our diaper pail/trash can.
When changing a gDiaper, essentially you remove any/all pieces that are dirty. If Heidi just peed, then I just pull the insert out and throw it into the pail. The gPants and pouch then get a break and usually just sit on top of our diaper pail until the next change. If it's more than just pee (and poop has gotten on more than just the insert) then I unsnap the pouch and throw the insert AND pouch into the diaper pail. 100% breastmilk poop is water soluable, so there is no need to scrape or spray or wipe off any poop - it all just goes straight into the washer. I used to separate the pouches into a lingerie bag that was draped on the inside of the pail, but I found that they didn't get clean all the way when in the bag. So now they just get tossed in with the inserts which is a lot easier anyway. If the gPants get poo or pee on them (or if Heidi has been wearing them for a few days without incident) then they get put in the regular hamper and washed with her clothes like normal.
Here's where it gets fun: Now that we have started incorporating solids into Heidi's diet, there IS an extra step in the routine. Transition poop is hard because it's not solid enough to peel out of the diaper just yet, but it's too chunky (sorry) to just throw into the washer. SO... when Heidi poops in her diaper (which thanks to early potty training at this point is less than 50% of the time!!) we then must scrape the poop off of the insert and into the toilet. They do sell diaper sprayers that attach to the toilet that you use to spray the poop off of the insert, but this seemed like it would be really messy to me. A friend suggested using a spatula and this has actually worked surprisingly well! We just keep our designated poop spatula in the little trash can that sits next to the toilet and pull it out when it's time to use it. We have had to do this for a month or two now, and we are SO close to not having to use it at all. Between Heidi pooping in her potty more that half of the time and her increased consumption of solids (3 "meals" of solids a day at this point) I'm guessing/hoping we have just a few more weeks of this before she is either pooping in the potty 100% of the time or the poops just peel out. So THAT ladies and gentlemen is how you clean a transition poop cloth diaper. Good times. (But really... it isn't THAT bad. I promise.)
Here's where it gets fun: Now that we have started incorporating solids into Heidi's diet, there IS an extra step in the routine. Transition poop is hard because it's not solid enough to peel out of the diaper just yet, but it's too chunky (sorry) to just throw into the washer. SO... when Heidi poops in her diaper (which thanks to early potty training at this point is less than 50% of the time!!) we then must scrape the poop off of the insert and into the toilet. They do sell diaper sprayers that attach to the toilet that you use to spray the poop off of the insert, but this seemed like it would be really messy to me. A friend suggested using a spatula and this has actually worked surprisingly well! We just keep our designated poop spatula in the little trash can that sits next to the toilet and pull it out when it's time to use it. We have had to do this for a month or two now, and we are SO close to not having to use it at all. Between Heidi pooping in her potty more that half of the time and her increased consumption of solids (3 "meals" of solids a day at this point) I'm guessing/hoping we have just a few more weeks of this before she is either pooping in the potty 100% of the time or the poops just peel out. So THAT ladies and gentlemen is how you clean a transition poop cloth diaper. Good times. (But really... it isn't THAT bad. I promise.)
Let's continue, shall we? We purchased this can at Bed Bath and Beyond (don't forget your coupon!) and the can is lined with a Planet Wise diaper pail liner found on Amazon! We have 2 liners and it has been sufficient.
We also have chosen to use cloth wipes. Because honestly, why not? No but seriously it actually makes so much more sense to cloth wipe when you are cloth diapering. They just go straight into the pail with everything else! If you use disposable wipes with cloth diapers, you will need to have 2 receptacles near the changing table - one pail for diapers and one trash for wipes. Plus, it's one less thing you have to go out a buy over and over again. Once a week or so, I make a solution similar to this, dunk the wipes in and lightly wring them out. I then place the fresh wipes into the wipe warmer and then put the extras in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator. Placing them in the refrigerator prevents them from mildewing while they wait to be used! (See the registry supply list in the last post of this series if you're curious what we actually use!) I personally really enjoy the times I get to make the wipes. I use it as a time to focus, relax and just enjoy how GOOD it smells! It's very therapeutic.
The washing: When we're down to a few inserts (or every 2 days or so) and the diaper pail is telling me that the time has come - it's time to wash! I grab the whole wet bag and head to the laundry room (leaving the diaper pail open to air out a bit). I turn the whole bag inside out into the washer, dumping all of the inserts, pouches and wipes. I throw the inside out bag into the washer as well. I run one rinse cycle first. (This allows the water during the actual wash cycle to be not quite so dirty.) Once the rinse cycle is complete I go back and put the smallest amount of detergent into the washer and run a full cycle, with extra rinse. (You really need the smallest amount of detergent, and the extra rinse helps remove any extra suds. If you open the washer after the wash cycle and the inserts still feel soapy then you can run another rinse cycle and you know to use less detergent next time!) I do all pouch/insert washing on "warm". A "hot" cycle could compromise the waterproof-ness of the pouches and wetbags and could even possibly melt them.
*A small note regarding detergent: With cloth diapers, (especially anything with microfiber/hemp) you can't just use any old detergent. After what felt like hours and hours and days and days of research, I ended up going with Charlies soap - a popular cloth-diaper friendly "detergent". However, after using this for several weeks/months I just really felt like it didn't do a very good job and things weren't getting as clean and they should be. Once we quit using the gDiaper microfiber/hemp inserts and switched to the cotton prefolds, I changed detergents. We now use "All Fresh and Sensitive" (found at our local grocery store) for not only Heidi's diapers but her clothes too! (I like it because it's dye-free and "sensitive" but it also smells SOOO good! You lose that fresh scent with most "free and clear" or organic detergents.)
Once the wash cycle is complete, I move the inserts into the dryer. The pouches ARE heat sensitive, so they get removed from the washer and placed on top of the dryer to air dry. The wet bag gets turned back right side in and placed in the dryer. (The "inside" of the wet bag is the shiny side, or if you have a pattern that's the inside - the side that the dirty diapers actually touch.) Our dryer usually takes two full dry "cycles" to dry the inserts and wet bag. Once the inserts are dry, I grab the wet bag out of the dryer and put all inserts inside. If the pouches are dry I also put them in the wet bag too. I then head upstairs and put all items away! (By now I have usually changed Heidi at least once, so the second wet bag that we own is inside the diaper pail by now. The freshly washed wet bag gets folded and placed in the dresser drawer for use once it's time to wash the other one.) Here is a link to a page on the gDiapers website which gets more into the suggested wash routines for the gDiaper brand cloth inserts. Again, if you go with cotton prefolds the system is a little less complicated.
I realize this seems a LOT of information to take in, but TRUST me it's SO simple. (Especially once you have done it once or twice!) Even my practical engineer husband is now 100% on board with our choice to cloth diaper and with the routine. Trust me - if this was a complicated system or if it took a lot of time to learn/do neither of us would be into it! Every system/routine is different from person to person, but this is what has worked for us over the course of the last 11+ months.
Continued here: gDiaper Series Part 3 - What I Love Most and Practical Ways to Save Money on gDiapers
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