Cloth Diaper Information

Thoughts on Cloth (diapers)

Contents

My History & Overall Benefits
Why I think Happy Heiny’s are better
How I do cloth diapers
Tips on making cloth diapers even cheaper
Ordering Information
FAQ (washing, cost effectiveness, etc.)

History & Benefits

Before we had Evee, I had a couple of friends who put cloth diapers on their kids. I found that cloth diapers don’t have to be a major inconvenience. They are not hard to use, although, obviously more work than disposables. It is not what most people have in mind when they think of cloth diapers. Here are a few of the overall benefits…

It saves you a lot of money! You could spend about $350 on you cloth diapers and likely be set for your baby/toddler to get through potty training! Even though this is a one-time fee and may seem hard to put the money up front, you are saving a LOT of money in the long run. Estimates for diapering one child from birth through potty training range from $1500 - $3000! That is a lot of money! Also, you can most likely diaper more than one child with your cloth diapers!
Cloth diapering is better for the environment. The average baby goes through 5000 diaper changes in his or her life-time and we put about 18 billion disposables in landfills each year! It takes around 500 years for a disposable diaper to break down in a landfill. Also, it is putting human waste into landfills which is technically not allowed, but overlooked when it comes to disposable diapers. This could create bad waste getting into ground water.
It is better for your baby. There are chemicals in diapers and those chemicals get into your baby’s skin. The fabric used in cloth diapers is much easier on your baby’s skin.
Your child may potty train earlier.
With the cloth diapers available now, it is not time consuming or very hard to put in to practice! In some ways it is much easier for me!

For more on each of these and for extra info on environmental benefits,
check out this article.

Why I do Happy Heiny’s

A friend let me borrow diapers that her son had grown out of. Through the process of using hers and other diapers I was able to try Fuzzi Bunz, prefold diapers with Bummi’s covers, Bum Genius, Happy Heinys, and Mother Ease. I loved trying the difference kinds of diapers, but particularly loved the Happy Heinys one-size diapers.

Here’s why…

They are one-size diapers. So, you only have to order them one time (not three for small, medium, and large). One set of diapers, so less money out of your pocket.
They are not as bulky as a lot of one-size diapers. They come with two inserts – small and large. So, you can change the size of the insert as you change the size of the diaper.
They have Velcro closures. Sure, the snaps might be cuter to some, but that won’t matter much when your child is crawling or walking and you can’t get the diaper on! Plus, the Happy Heiny’s diapers are still really cute!
The elastic isn’t tight on their legs and they seem more comfortable in general for the baby since you can change the size at any time.
The customer service with Happy Heinys is great! You deal easily with the owner.

Sidenote: If you’d like my opinions on the diapers I’ve tried (prefolds with covers, all-in-ones, or pocket diapers) please e-mail me. I know some great onliine retailers who sell other kinds and I'd be more than happy to give you there info!

How I (personally) do cloth diapering

People probably do it differently than me and you should do what works best for you (in accordance with the diaper instructions). But, this is what I tell people who are interested in doing cloth diapering.

I’ve had 13 Happy Heiny one-size diapers since Evee was 6 months old. Before that, I had 18 diapers that my friend had let me borrow that I cycled through. With our next child, I will use the newborn disposable diapers that most hospitals give you for free. The Happy Heiny diapers are fine for 8 to 35 lbs. So, I personally, will use the disposables until the baby fits into the cloth diapers.

You can find washing instructions for Happy Heinys here and information on which detergents to use here.

How to make cloth even cheaper

Buy one-size diapers so you only buy one set of diapers.
Only buy what you need. Don't get sucked into buying too many; better that you have to get one or two more later.
Use a pail or diaper genie (that you get from someoneJ) to store the diapers.
Recycle plastic grocery bags to store diapers when you’re out.
Use Charlie’s Soap to prevent detergent build up and save money on laundry - it is a great detergent that is also very economical because you don't use much!
Make your own cloth wipes
Make your on cloth wipes detergent or just use water

Ordering Information

Right now, with transitioning (moving to New Jersey) and then living in an apartment, I only have a small inventory of Happy Heiny’s products onsite and am shipping out any other product orders directly from Happy Heiny’s (please see details below).

All other Happy Heiny orders can only be ordered from me if they are in sets of 6 or more and of the same color. So, for example, if you would like 6 red one-size diapers and 7 white one-size diapers, I will order them directly from Happy Heiny’s and have them shipped straight to you. But, they have to be at least 6 diapers of the same color. If you would like combinations that are less than 6 diapers of the same color, I’d be happy to refer you to a website offering Happy Heiny’s products. If this is confusing, please e-mail me with questions!

SHIPPING IS FREE (within the US) because of the inconvenience this may be to you!

Thanks for your patience!

For more information directly from Happy Heiny’s go to http://www.happyheinys.com/

The entire catalog can be found at http://www.happyheinys.com/catalog/Happy_Heinys_Catalog.pdf

Here are the different colors available for the one-size diapers. One-size diapers are $18.95, and they come with a small and large insert. To see the variety of colors click here.

To place an order: Just e-mail me what you would like to order. I’ll e-mail you the total cost for verification and the e-mail address for paypal. When the money comes through paypal, I will place the order and it will be shipped directly to you! To see what I would buy as a new person to cloth diapering, click here.

FAQ

How many diapers do I need? (what I do)

How many diapers are needed are another topic with a range of answers. A lot of people would say you need about 24 diapers per child. I do agree that, at the beginning, you do go through a lot more diapers with a newborn. After doing cloth diapering for awhile now, I would say that since our daughter was 2-3 months old I was fine with 12 – 15 diapers and washing every third day or so. It's up to you. I, personally, would encourage you to buy less (12 – 15) to save the budget and if you feel you need more, add to your stock.
When our daughter was first born we used the disposable package that the hospital gave us for free! We were able to use this the first week or so of her life. After that we moved into cloth diapers. It will depend on how big or small your baby is at first. I know some people use prefolds for the first month or so before going into Happy Heiny’s or just buy a package or two of disposables. Do what works best for you…either way you will be SO happy when you start using the Happy Heiny one-size diapers on your little one. It just feels right!

How much money will this really save me?

A good calculator to use is found at this link. It is helpful because it factors in how much you will spend in water and all as well. You will save money…it is just a matter of how much and how much overall (depending on how many kids you have). http://www.diaperpin.com/calculator/calculator.asp

How do I wash my cloth diapers?

Happy Heiny’s comes with instructions for washing. You can also find more info at their website http://www.happyheinys.com/diaper_care.php.
With my Happy Heiny’s diapers I put them into a Diaper Genie because someone gave it to us as a hand-me-down. I put a garbage bag in it to use as a liner verses using whatever normally goes with it (I reuse the garbage bag for a long time). You could use just about any kind of pail.
About every third day I put everything in the washer and put it on a cold soak – however long that goes. When that ends I turn it to a regular cold/hot wash and add my detergent. When the wash cycle ends, I turn it back to the rinse cycle for it to rinse one more time and then pop them in the dryer on high heat. It is really easy and pretty fast! I can have my daughter in her last diaper and easily be able to have the load done by her next change time!

I do one pre-soak, then a normal cycle, and then an extra rinse. The diapers go into the dryer at high heat. I do wash about once every three days.

Really, cloth wipes?

I made my own cloth wipes because it was simple. You can also find ones in the Happy Heiny's catalogue that are also great. It is VERY simple to make your own, but convenient to buy them with your diapers if you don’t want to mess with it! I love cloth wipes because you just put them in the pail right with your diapers. You don’t have to use disposables then and they all wash together – so easy!

What do I do when we are out and about?

For when you are out and about you can change like everyone else does. Instead of throwing the diaper away just put it in a plastic bag or a wet bag (found in our store). This will keep it until you get home!

Is it worth it?

Personally, I LOVE it! I have hated the few times that we have put our daughter in disposables and am so happy when she is back in cloth. Our water bill has not gone up, but I can definitely see the savings when I think of if we would have had to buy disposable diapers each week! No late night runs to the store because you are out of diapers or wipes, little to no diaper rash, feeling good about not putting diapers into landfills…yes! It is worth it!

BABY GET GREEN