Cloth Diapering Twins Part 2: Inserts

See the first post in this series here.

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get the next installment of the Cloth Diapering series up. If you want the honest truth, I have hesitated because we have been struggling over here with cloth diapering. It definitely takes some figuring out! I'm getting together a post of "what I wish I had known" to post as part of the series as well as a "troubleshooting" post. However, it is absolutely still worth it and we have got a really good thing going now! I love cloth diapering their cute little bums! It is so economical and the pros far outweigh the cons for us. I realize it's not for everybody, but it IS for us.

We have two types of inserts that I use. One I bought for the covers, and one I bought for the pockets. I like them both for different reasons.

First up: Osocozy Indian Cotton Prefolds

I bought these in the infant size off a recommendation from the friend that inspired me to cloth diaper in the first place. And, at first, I thought they were too bulky. NOT SO. They were pretty bulky when we started cloth diapering but my boys were 10 weeks old. And they were small. I still stuffed their diapers with them and they worked great. It took some figuring out how to fold them just right to fit their small bums, but I stuffed these into the covers and pocket folds alike. I got overwhelmed a couple times because my diapers were leaking and I couldn't figure out why. [There was a myriad of reasons, none of which were the prefolds' fault. I told you it takes some figuring out!]

Six months later, these prefolds are still going strong, and I actually need/want to buy another pack as soon as I can scrounge up the money! I have six pocket diapers we don't even use in our regular rotation because I don't have enough inserts to stuff them with! At only $2 a piece, these are definitely my go-to.

I absolutely love them. And in other news, I stuffed Nash's diaper with this and one of the inserts below and he slept twelve hours last night and woke up dryer than he has with a disposable on. The kid pees. A lot. We ran out of our last box of diapers we received as gifts at baby showers two nights ago. The boys have only been wearing disposables at night because I was too afraid to cloth diaper at night. I'd heard so many horror stories and I figured we had disposables anyway, we might as well use them up! But, that ended and last night, for the first time, the boys slept in cloth. And the slept SO GOOD. Normally Gray wakes up after 10 hours and I have to coax him back to bed. I've noticed a handful of times that his diaper is leaking and so he's wet and uncomfortable and cold and I had to change him. This morning, both boys had slept 12 hours straight and were perfectly dry! The diapers were full, but they were warm and dry and comfortable. I was so excited and encouraged. We won't be buying disposables for night time. So thank you to everyone who gifted us diapers! They got us through almost 8 months of baby-ness!

Second up: Thirsties Hemp Inserts [Love the sunflowers. lol. So classy.]

I bought these after I was so frustrated with my diapers leaking. I posted on a message board about how my boys' diapers are leaking and interrupting nap time. It was such a terrible week! I had worked so hard on making my cloth diapers and I thought everything was just worthless. I thought I had sewed them wrong. I was so ready to give up. Then, I found out my boys are heavy wetters. Honestly, when I exclusively breastfed them, they hardly ever pooped. They would just constantly wet their diapers like crazy. I didn't realize they were heavy wetters because I had nothing to compare to. And I thought that was the problem, so I bought inserts that absorbed faster thinking that would be the solution. I also bought Hemp Babies Diaper Doublers off a recommendation from the message board. And the two combined work really well. I have since figured out the problem and will post about it in the troubleshooting/what I wish I'd known post.

They are thinner and I like the boys to wear these to church so their pants don't look so bulky. Also, I like to pack diapers stuffed with these in the diaper bag because they don't take up so much room. They are slightly more expensive, so I really would buy the pre-folds and see how those work for your baby before splurging for these. They're nice to have around, but I won't be buying any more of them. I love them, don't get me wrong. And I'm glad I have them, but from a financial standpoint, I have to recommend the first prefolds. These are more than double the price of the prefolds.

Originally, the prefolds were for the covers and the inserts were for the pocket diapers, but now, I use the prefolds for the covers first and then stuff any pockets I can with them. I stuff the remaining pocket diapers with the inserts and hemp doublers. I have 12 prefolds, 8 inserts and 5 doublers. I stuff 20 diapers at a time to have on hand. I can't wait to get another pack of prefolds so I won't have to do laundry so often! Still, I wouldn't use disposables again. Once you try it, you'll never go back!