Posts Tagged ‘saving money’

Fitted diapers are a very affordable easy diapering choice. No folding needed like pre-fold diapers, and only a little bit more cost. To me that cost is worth not having to do any fancy folds.

The bum genius fitteds are sized, so that you get a good fit for your baby. It does mean that you will need to buy more as your baby moves up in sizes. But chances are they will not wear out on the first baby, so they will be good for future babies, or will resell really well. These diapers are made of a soft bamboo terry, and have easy to use velcro closures. They are actually quite a trim diaper, though your choice of cover may affect this. And yes, you will need a cover for these. I have tried quite a few covers with these and they work great with everything I have tried from Covered Caboose Wool covers, to Thirsties Covers, to Otter Blotter Covers.

Now in general I prefer a pocket diaper or an AIO or AI2 diaper to a fitted diaper, so they would not be my first recommendation for a diapering system to a customer in most situations. So when would I recommend them as a system? Well here is three times.

1. Cost. They can be a very cheap option. The Bum Genius Fitted Diapers are only $12.95 each. And you only need a couple of covers as you change the fitted diaper and only wash the cover if soiled.

2. Newborn. Most one size diapering systems are too big for most newborns and leaks will happen. A sized fitted diapering system is great for newborns. And the Bum Genius XSmall diaper has a little dip in the front for the cord. I know it can seem expensive to buy a set of diapers that will only last a month or two, but if you plan more than one child, these will last for more than one child. And if this is your last or only child, then you can sell the diapers used on places like diaperswappers.com. Those first couple of months after having a baby can be very tiring, and to me a good diaper system that is easy and leak free is a good thing to have. I know prefolds is the cheap way to go, but to me, folding and mucking around with them is not worth it when you have so many better options out there. When I had my first, they were the only option, but there is no way I am going backwards :) If you couple the XS Bum Genius Diaper with the XS Thirsties Cover which also has the cord cutout, you have a good little diapering system for a newborn.

3. Nighttime. A good fitted at night with a wool cover can be a great option. Now we did try the Bum Genius fitted at night, but it needed a g-flapper insert between the diaper and the cover to last the night.

One thing I did find about this diaper was it ran a little small and Braden was out of his medium before the recommended poundage even though his other mediums sized diapers were still fitting him.

When I moved to America, for the first time in my life, I didn’t have an outdoor clothesline. Even when I lived in a flat (apartment) in Australia, there was a clothesline, even if it was one for all the tenants to use. When Lauren was a baby, I didn’t even own a dryer, I line dried all her clothes and nappies, and in the winter, I dried her nappies (diapers) over a clothes horse. I must confess I did wish I owned a dryer in the winter time back then. I didn’t own a microwave until she was about 4 years old either.

Here I am in Texas, with sunshine most of the year, even in winter we have days of sunshine, and no clothesline! It just felt wrong. Well, it is wrong. And then I found out, it is even against our homeowners associations rules to have one! How unevironmentally friendly is that???

Well when we went with cloth diapers for Braden, I really hated having to use the dryer for them, so I finally gave in and went hunting for a clothesline on line. The hills brand one from Australia I really wanted, was rather pricey, but I found a great compromise. This one from Amazon was cheap, and it is like an umbrella, folds up when you need to take it down. So if the homeowners association ever bothered to tresspass into my backyard, I could prove to them that it was not a permanent fixture.

So we I ordered this clothesline, for less than $50, and shipping was free too! I had Greg install it. He had to get some concrete to set the sleeve into the ground. Which he did slightly crooked, so my clothesline leans to the west a little :) It is alot more flimsy than most clotheslines we had back home, but it does the job. You wouldn’t want to be really tall though. As the height on mine is not adjustable, and it is rather low to the ground. Perfect for me at 5’2″, but not for my 6’3″ husband. (Like he needs any excuse to avoid doing the washing). The one I have linked here says it adjusts though. I couldn’t find my exact one again on Amazon. I did find there is some affordable choices though, and be sure to look for ones with free shipping, there are quite a few that will ship free.

Sunlight is great for getting rid of stains on diapers, especially those viralent orange exclusively breastfed baby poop ones. It does however make clothes a little crunchy. Growing up in Australia, I am used to this, but if it bothers you, a quick spin around the dryer will soften them up. Clothes always smell better from drying in the sun, and no icky chemicals needed to make them smell good either.

So now I save money, energy and gain my daily vitamin D hanging clothes on the line instead of putting them into the dryer.

Christina is one of my local customers, so I have had the pleasure of meeting her in person. She actually found my store on the web when looking for cloth diapering options for her little man who has very sensitive skin. I have since introduced her to my favourite yahoo group, the gDiaper yahoo group. I know shes a great fit with these folk because she loves being green and talking about being green.

Christina has a cute blog about living green while saving money. Be sure to check it out.

http://goinggreenandsavinggreen.blogspot.com/

Christina also has a rockingly romantic husband. Christina was over at my place picking up an order, and she was admiring one of the diaper bags I had made, and bemoaning the fact she didn’t think she could justify the cost at this time. Later that evening the diaper bag sells, and it is the same last name, same address, but the first name is male. Also the order was to be shipped rather than picked up like Christina normally does. So that got me thinking, has her hubby gone and bought it for her as a surprise???

Well I put it in the mail and 2 days later I get an email from Christina. Apparently she was out when it arrived, so her hubby emptied out her old bag, and filled the new one and hung it in the spot where the old one used to be. She said when she got home she walked past it a few times before she noticed! She was thrilled when she saw what he had done. Now isn’t that one rockingly romantic husband??? :)

I have a bag in this fabric too, just a different style.