Cloth Diapering!

Lovelies, I should let you  know that many close friends and relatives think that I am absolutely certifiable for the choices I have made with for children (and for myself- mamacloth, diva cup, encapsulation) over the past few years, especially when it came to S4- midwife, homebirth, cloth diaper, (I breastfed all of them, currently nursing S4) cosleep and the list goes on! I get the raised eyebrow more times than I care to say!  However, a few of my peeps have come forward in asking questions about my choices- the most popular being cloth diapering.  Now, when you hear the words 'cloth diaper,' what comes to mind?  I will admit that before I even considered cloth diapering, I was determined not to subject myself to pins and plastic pants, because that was all I knew.  Then as I became more involved with my beloved Babywearing community, I discovered that cloth diapering was not as poopy (heehee) as I once thought it was.
This is my experience!! If you have anything to add, please let me know!  Ok, so there are AIOs, AI2s, hybrids, pockets, envelopes, boosters, prefolds, longies, shorties, snappies, covers, prints, plains, snaps, velcro, PUL, liners, sprayers, deoderizers, wetbags, and the list.goes.on.  I decided that in order to get hubby on board with cloth diapering, we would have to go with the easiest possible route- AIO (all in one).  This diaper is like a disposable, but it's cloth- usually made with a waterproof outer layer. It can come fitted according to your baby's weight, or adjustable to fit your baby through potty training. Then I checked out the AI2 (all in 2)- same outer as the AIO but with a detatchable liner (liners are what absorb the wetness and stuff).  For this one, all you have to do is replace the liner when your baby needs changing.  Easy peasy.  Hybrid- AI2s that you can use with a cloth liner or a disposable liner.  Yes! disposable (earth-friendly, flushable and compostable) liner.  For me, these are great for outings.  Alright. Do you remember that I won a bunch of diapers? The style/type that I won are called 'pocket' diapers.  The liner fits into a pocket, between the outside layer and the inside layer, never touching baby's skin. I love, love, love these for nighttime. Haven't had any leaks, especially when the inside layer is accompanied with a booster.  Is your head spinning yet? You have got to learn the language.  It really is a whole new world. LOL. Moving on- I admit that I got scared when I looked at prefolds and longies/shorties.  Even so, I made my own pair of longies from a felted sweater just in case.  The longies are adorable but they never made it onto S4. Prefolds- luciously thick liners made of hemp, cotton, bamboo or silk.  They come diaper shaped or square/rectangle and you use fasteners to keep them together,  (my friends mainly use Snappis no chance of sticking yout baby with a pin!) with wool longies- pants or shorties- shorts.  Oh- and there are these dryer sheet looking liners that you can put on the inside of the diaper to help with catching poo.  For me, it's a crapshoot (heehee) depending on if S4 poosplodes or not. 
I have been advised to get a diaper sprayer- an shower-like sprayer that hooks onto the toilet.  I am told that it is a godsend and after S4's poosplosion yesterday, a diaper sprayer will be going on my Christmas list! lol.  I have a wetbag (for dirty dipes) in my diaper bag and have used it not only for wet dipes but for barfy onesies. Love it. I also have one that hooks on the change table.  Holds in the smell.  I love the smell erasers, natural detergents and other stuff available for cloth diaperers (CDers- yes, we have a title!)- so many cool work-at-home-mom companies to try out!  Did I cover everything that I listed above? I am sure I missed something because there are so many amazing options and choices when it comes to cloth diapering.  So far, my journey has been a great one.  For me, it has been a learning experience as well. I've been playing around with covers and liners of different brands to see what works for us.  All I can say is don't be afraid of the cloth! Even my mom was impressed at how much it has changed!  Do your research! It took me 3 children to be convinced that cloth would be a good choice!
Wanna see my stash? This is a chunk of it because some were in the laundry when I took the pic.  Pretty stuff eh? Honestly, there is nothing cuter than a baby in a cloth diaper.  Fluffy bums!

So much fun, so much better for the environment!