So, they key issue here on these cloth diapers is can a working mom keep up with these. Thus far, I haven't really been working but a couple of days a week, and those have been from home. I am going back to work in a week or so full time. This means that my time here at the house (little one or no little one) will be greatly reduced. I anticipate this will make it more difficult to squeeze in a load of laundry (cloth diapers or otherwise), so we are nearing the moment of truth.
So far, I have really been impressed with the diapers. Each has endured being soaked and soiled to the max, and I can say that we've had no poopy leaks, just one wet diaper seepage where the thing was FULL and the contents reached out of the top of the waistband. I think that is pretty darn good compared to the messes we've cleaned from the disposables, whether we've needed to go up a size or not. I have been more than impressed with the sun's ability to remove stains from the diapers, and laundering is relatively quick (though I have had the luxury to just pop over to the washer any time, even mid-blog-post). I would feel better if I could run a more full load. And I've not tested having to cart these out-and-about with me much, as I haven't invested in a travel wetbag just yet.
Also, We have 4 diapers total. One of which is an overnight, and one is a pre-fold/cover combo, so that can last up to 3 diaper changes, depending on if the cover gets soiled since we have 3 pre-folds to swap out. This almost nearly has us covered for one day outside of daycare. At the moment, the hubby and I both agree that we like them enough not to send them back as we near our 30-day trial. However, we are going to give it a couple of weeks after I go back to work to evaluate the laundering situation (and the real crux of the working mom issue, in my opinion) to decide if we are going to order more to cover us more days of the week/weekend. We'll consult the math on the Dollars and Sense post to decide how many more we'll get if those weeks are successful. I think I would still like to order one more overnight diaper, regardless of the outcome, since I just feel so much better about the little guy hanging out in a cloth diaper as he is sleeping through the night more and more, rather than a bloated disposable (I changed one pretty full disposable diaper recently, to find a few little gel beads on his skin, which rather freaked me out).
So stay tuned: in a couple of weeks we'll have our verdict!
ps: My husband has reminded me that there is another pivotal issue involved in all this cloth diapering, that we will not be able to evaluate for another 6 months or so: solid poop. At the moment, our breast milk-soiled diapers go right in the cloth diaper pail. I am unsure of the diaper changing logistics when there is solid poop to be disposed of (seeing as how our changing table is in the nursery which is an entirely separate room from where we keep the toilet...). I suspect that by then, our little guy's bowel movements will be fewer, and more predictable (and perhaps all being taken care of at daycare on weekdays), so we may be able to strategize a bit to minimize this issue, if it really is an issue. I'd be interested in feedback on this if you have it! And you can look forward to another post as we get to that point!!
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