Fiona's Fluffy Baby Botty

Advance warning to my loyal British readers... this post will contain numerous references to diapers. I'm sorry. I have to choose one or the other, and I figured you were clever enough to understand what I was talking about... :-)

Anyway...

Fiona has worn cloth diapers since she was born, but in the last few months I've become completely obsessed with the various kinds, and I feel the need to share some of my exciting discoveries with you all.

First, cloth has come a long way. There are many different options which are just a simple as disposables to use. 

Far left is a natural unbleached cotton prefold. This is the cheapest of all, and the kind Fiona wears most often. It's called a prefold because it's like an old fashioned flat dipaer, but condensed... it has lots of layers all sewn together. I fold these and hold them on with a 'snappi' - no pins required - and cover them with a waterproof cover (see below...)

On top of the prefold are doublers... one hemp, and one cotton terry (like a towel). One of these adds extra super absorbancy to whatever kind of diaper she is wearing if she needs to be in it for a long time.

The cream-with pink-one is a 'fitted'... it's shaped to fit round her body, and has snaps to hold it on, but needs a waterproof cover on top.

I should also note, as it will be important later, that many people use tightly fitted lanolized wool shorts to cover diapers... the lanolin repels moisture, and the wool absorbs any wee that leaks through... it works very well.

The blue and white ones are 'pockets'. They have a soft inside, a waterproof outside, and a pocket to stuff absorbant things into... like microfiber towels (pictured below the blue one). These are super absorbant and we use them at night. 

Here is Fiona modeling her prefold...

So it turns out that I am not alone in my obsession... those are the 3 main categories of diaper, but there are hundreds of different makes and models. One particularly popular kind are 'goodmamas'... 

Goodmamas are fitteds, and come in very very cute patterns (though still need a cover). Cloth enthusiasts get very excited about the various patterns, and love to buy these. They're cute, and fit really well, and are very absorbant. Unfortunately they are $35 each. Ben calls them 'designer diapers'. Some of them are even collectors items... I've seen discontinued prints being re-sold on second-hand websites for $75 each. Yep, for something your baby will poo in. 

Craigslist is a website where people sell their used things, and someone was selling second hand Goodmamas for $15 each, or 3 for $30. You never see them at this price, so I jumped on it, and Ben and I drove to her house one evening last week...

It was very very strange. I felt like I was taking part in some kind of drug deal! First we go up to her apartment, and there is a crib, but no sign of a child! Then she displayed her stash, and I looked through it to see what I might be interested in. Then her friend turned up with some more, and emptied a box of brand new, never opened $35 diapers onto the floor... there must have been hundreds of dollars worth of diapers sitting there, and she was pretty vague about how/why she had so many. Then the seller asks me in a shifty mumble... 'do you want any wool? I've got wool, if you need wool'... as if she was offering me crack! I told her no, I don't need any wool, chose the three that I wanted, gave her her money and got the heck out! I don't know what kind of crazy backstreet black market diaper selling scheme they have going, but the whole thing was very fishy. 

Anyway, I am very happy with my bargain basement designer diapers, and here's a picture...

Awww cute!!

And just to prove that Fiona loves to have a fluffy baby botty as much as I love it, here's a thumbs up...