I am so excited!  I finally get to dry my cloth diapers on a clothes line today.  The weather is nice and sunny and very breezy.  I have been wanting so badly to clothes-line for the longest time.  I line dry all the time when I was living in the Philippines, and when I got here I got a bit spoiled with the dryer.  Even though, I still missed line drying, especially when you line dry sheets, and whites.  There is this fresh scent to it.  Not to mention that the sun has this super-power to make whites, whiter and remove stains.

Anyway, ever since I started cloth diapering a year ago, I have wanted to try line drying again.  So, I went out and got myself a foldable hanging rack, some clothesline pins, and a retractable line, which Jeb will have to install somewhere later on.  The challenge here is to put the clothes line in a spot where it won't be too obtrusive, especially when Jeb's dad has to drive his skid-loader around, or with the Semi, whenever it needs to drop off supplies for him.

Right now, I put my little foldable rack in the driveway and chained my puppy up so it won't try to get and mess up my laundry.  Funny, how something as simple as this makes me excited and happy.  I love sun-dried clothes!  And this is awesome for cloth diapers. :)  You can tell how excited I am by the number of pictures I took of it.

I finally got to try the 2 brands of cloth diapers that I like, BumGenius and Smartipants.  These are the top 2 diapers that has the highest ratings and reviews, from my research.  Here are my initial thoughts when using both brands on my baby:

Smartipants

PROS:

• I love the fact that it is a ONE-SIZE fits all diaper.  No need to buy multiple diapers in different sizes!  They can adjust in size as your baby grows.
• They use snaps instead of velcro.
• It has 2 slits (top and bottom) on the diaper making stuffing for inserts easy.
• Can add another insert for more absorbency especially for overnight wettings.
• No need to pull out inserts when doing laundry.  They come out on their own in the wash!

CONS:

• They seem not to fit well around the thighs on my baby, therefore making it tend to leak on the sides.  Also, because it has 2 openings for the inserts, the top part of the opening would leak from the insert (when it touches baby's clothes).
• They seem to get too bulky especially with 2 inserts.

Overall Thoughts:

I still think that the Smartipants is a great diaper and will continue to use them.  I think the pros outweigh the cons and for the leaking part, I am hoping that the inserts will absorb more after a couple washings.  I am also going to try to make sure that the insert on the top part (facing the belly) is not pulled too far to reduce seeping out of the diaper and into baby's clothing.  They look so cute on my baby!

BumGenius - AIO (All-in-One)

BumGenius cloth diaper -- 2 Doubler inserts on the left. White and Pink colors are the One-Size diapers. Fuschia colored diaper is an X-Small size All-in-One. 2 regular inserts on the very right.

• No need to stuff or pull out inserts.  It is very much like a regular disposable diaper, only you can reuse it with washing.  It also makes folding and putting away quicker (not that it really matters to me).
• Fits well on my baby's bum, and around the tighs.
• No leaks.

CONS:

• You will need to buy a couple diapers in every size as your baby grows.
• The velcro seem to keep adhering to each other when I put the diaper on which makes changing a bit of a challenge.

PROS:

• It is a One-Size diaper meaning no need to buy multiple diapers for different sizes (just like the Smartipants).
• Fits better on my baby, especially around the tighs.
• Can add a doubler for overnight wettings.

CONS:

• Same as the velcro issue on the All-in-Ones.
• You have to take out inserts before throwing in the wash.

Overall Thoughts:

Other than the little bit of challenge in diaper changes when the velcro adheres to each other, I think this is a great diaper as well.  Because this diaper fits better on my baby and around her tighs, it does not leak.  I will continue to use this brandnd of diaper as well.

I do like both systems, snaps and velcro.  The snaps don't interfere when changing diapers, but do take a bit of time to snap on.  With the velcro system, it does get in the way by adhering to each other at times when doing diaper changes, but it is so much quicker to "fasten".  Just like a disposable diaper.  I am thinking in time, I'll get used to cloth diapering more and I don't think any of these issues that I came up with would matter anymore.  I  love both these brands of diapers already and might stick to just these 2 brands.

Check out where I order some of my diapers here.

I'm excited!  I finally ordered and got my first cloth diapers yesterday.  I'm trying out the newest cloth diaper line called Smartipants.  I only got one 3-pack (girl colors) for those diapers, to try it out.  I have heard a lot of great reviews about it and want to try it out myself.  So far, I am liking it.  No leaks yet, but we'll find out for the overnight wettings.  One thing I am liking about this kind of CD (cloth diapers) is that you don't need to pull out the inserts from the diapers, just stick it in the washer and it automatically comes out.  I haven't had a chance yet to wash the diapers after usage, but I did wash the diapers before using it, though.

Here are 2 of the 3 diapers I got (lavender, yellow and pink--Amberly is wearing the pink currently).
It is a one-size fits all.  The image on the right shows the insert that goes into the diapers.

I'm also wanting to try out another brand of CD.  I ordered a sampler pack for the One-Size BumGenius diapers, and their AIO (All-in-One) of the same brand.  I'm waiting to receive this diapers yet, probably by Wednesday.  This is the other brand that I have been looking into and wanting to get when I start my cloth-diapering adventure.  They also have the best reviews of cloth diapers out there.  I am tyring this out too before I order more diapers.  Cloth diapers are initially very costly, so I will need to build up my stash very slowly.  But in the long run, that is where you can save on diapers (disposables).

However, I am still going to keep disposable diapers.  This is because 1) I still don't have enough cloth ones, 2) for the convenience, 3) when I can't get the laundry caught up, and 4) when we go out of the house or long trips.

Amberly is modelling the Smartipants diaper for us :)  She is currently wearing the pink colored diaper. 
I think it fits her pretty well too.

I ordered some of my diapers here.