I wrote an entry entitled The Diaper Dilemma back in June. We have since visited Baby aWEARness (Manoa Marketplace, Hawaii) and purchased our stock of cloth diapers in preparation for Baby Champuru’s arrival.

Whenever I mention to someone that we’ve chosen to go the route of cloth diapering Baby Champuru, it’s usually met with a skeptical look and a snide comment to match. It’s usually along the lines of:

“Are you NUTS?”

“That’ll last a week.”

“We’ll see how THAT goes…”

“It’s not as easy as you think.”

Well, for one thing, the upfront investment in cloth diapers is significant enough for me not to give up on it — also, considering the savings of using it in lieu of disposables in the long run. I feel that the benefits certainly outweigh the potential inconveniences that cloth diapering poses: to the environment, baby, and financially.

Let me tell you, the cloth diapering options available now are mind-blowing.

Here’s what we picked up, on two separate trips. The first time we went, they were nearly out of the Bum Genius diapers, so we came back for them this past weekend when a new shipment came in. I had the nice folks at Baby aWEARness look over my diaper inventory and they assured me that I should be set. Here’s what we got:

• 3 medium Swaddlebees (thanks, Lisa!)
• 3 Bum Genius one-size 3.0
• 1 Happy Heiny’s one-size pocket diaper
• 1 small Happy Heiny’s pocket diaper
• 1 small Fuzzi Bunz pocket diaper
• 1 Mommy’s Touch one-size pocket diaper
• 12 unbleached prefold diapers
• 2 one-size and 3 small diaper covers for use with prefold diapers
• 2 regular, 1 long (nighttime) inserts for use with pocket diapers

Bum Genius 3.0 one-size diapers

Diaper covers

Unbleached prefold diapers

Cloth diapers come in such cute colors and patterns!

Swaddlebees Pocket Snap Cloth Diapers
Purchased used from Lisa. (Thanks, Lisa!)

Handmade Washable Baby Wipes

How cute is this? I know, now you’re thinking I’ve gone off the deep end for using reusable baby wipes, right? Well, I figure since I’m washing the diapers, washing an extra wash cloth with each diaper change isn’t that much more. When you use this with a product like Bum Genius’ bottom cleaner, it’s just as effective as using a disposable baby wipe.

Being total rookies to diapering, Hubby and I have been practicing with this teddy bear. The pocket diapers aren’t a problem since they work just like a disposable, but the prefolds take just slightly more effort. Besides information found on the web, we’ve also found a great number of videos on YouTube explaining how to use cloth diapers. All I can say is that I’m glad we live in the information age.

The purple thing holding everything together is called a Snappi and it is used instead of safety pins (which never seemed all that safe to me). Sharp pin + moving baby + nervous mom = disaster waiting to happen! Thankfully, the Snappi is easy to use and poses no harm to the child — even in the hands of an inexperienced new mom.

Now, it’s just a matter of getting them washed and ready for Baby Champuru’s arrival. 52 days and counting!