dirties on diapering:: SmartiPants Q&A

I have meaning to post a cloth diapering update now that we have two boys in diapers of many different brands, colors, and prints.  I will get to that later, but for now, here is a Q&A form that SmartiPants just asked me to fill out.  We have many favorites, but SmartiPants takes the lead with easy snaps and inserts that come out in the wash.  What's your favorite cloth diaper?

1.       How did you first hear about cloth diapers? I used to work in a preschool where several families cloth diapered.  I always knew when I had kids that would be a choice I would make.

2.       What are some of the reasons you chose reusable diapers for your family? I was an AmeriCorps*VISTA living in Montana when my husband and I became pregnant.  I was earning $750/month and knew the only way we would be able to afford diapers was to use cloth diapers.  The more I researched our decision the more I learned about the other benefits of cloth diapering ie the environment, baby's health, cost saving etc.

3.        What are other ways you choose or would like to choose to reduce, reuse and recycle? We make every effort to live a simple low-impact life.  We recycle, turn off lights, line dry clothes, buy in bulk, and shop seconds instead of new.  Even though we have 2 kids now we produce less waste then we did when it was just two of us.

4.        How old is your baby now? What age did you begin cloth diapering?  We have 2 kids--a 14 month old and a 3 month old.  We started cloth diapering when our oldest was 2-days old and have never switched. When our second was born (our surprise baby!) we were even happier with our decision to cloth diaper.  We had everything we needed!

5.       What are some of the advantages you feel cloth diapers have over disposables? Cloth diapers have so many advantages over disposables.  They are cost-saving, better for the environment, better for babies health, and best of all, they are so much cuter!!!!

6.        What are some of the advantages you feel Smartipants offers over other cloth brands?  I love that SmartiPants is a one-size diaper with snaps---so many one sizes are velcro which we quickly discovered only lasts so long.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the inserts on SmartiPants come out in the wash.  It makes for easy outings, diaper changes, and saves me time with an already busy day!

7.       Tell us more about your family, share anything you are comfortable with. We live in Seattle with our two boys. Our family and friends support our decision to cloth diaper, even if they don't know how they work.  We have ended up with diapers on backwards, inside out, or stuffed with wash cloths when we were out of inserts.  I know there are other cloth diapering families here but they are like vampires--no one sees, hears, or talks about cloth diapering.  That is until a sunny day when you see everyone's diapers line drying in their front yard. 

8.        What is your favorite color of cloth diaper? I love the chocolate brown diapers! My husband laughs at me whenever I see one because I squeal with excitement!

9.       What is your favorite milestone your baby has reached so far? Laughing. With both kids, those first big belly laughs made me fall even more in love with them.

10.   Tell us about your wash routine, include detergent brand used, type of washer you have ( ie. Top loader, front loader, HE) whether or not you use a diaper sprayer or a wet or dry pail etc.  We use a a dry pail (a garbage can with a flip top lid stuffed with a wet bag) in our bathroom next to our changing station.  Every two days we empty the bag into our top-loading washer with biokleen detergent.  We do a cold wash, cold rinse, followed by a hot wash, cold rinse.  We line dry the covers and throw the inserts in our dryer with homemade wool dryer balls for about 30 minutes. 

11.   Do you use a daycare for your child and do they use your cloth diapers? I am a stay at home mom.

12.   What is your number one can’t live without it baby product? Besides diapers?  Lol.  We love our baby carriers, we have an Ergo and a BabyHawk mei tei that get used daily.

13.   What has been your biggest challenge with cloth diapers so far? Buying too many diapers :) Actually, during the summer we didn't have a washer and dryer so we were washing our diapers in a laundromat.  We really questioned our decision to cloth diaper when we started spending $10/week at the laundromat.  But we got over that hurdle when we remembered that it is not just cost that keeps us cloth diapering, it is the health and environmental benefits as well.

14.    What part of using cloth diapers has been surprising or easy for you? I was worried about the wash routine when we first started.  It seemed so complicated and I could never get a straight answer on the process.  That's when I learned that everyone has a system that works best for them, once we discovered our washing routine we no longer think about it!  So easy!

15.   What would you like to see most from Smartipants in the future? I would love to see prints, natural fiber inserts, and I would LOVE to see fleece on the inside of SmartiPants!