Cloth Diaper Excitement!

Finally the post you've all been waiting for, I'm sure!
I was interested in cloth diapers before she was born, mostly because I saw how much the family I work for paid for their diapers, and also because I kind of like the idea of soft cotton instead of plastic on her little bum. In my research about endo, one of the things that they suspect has something to do with it is the use of bleached products (tampons, etc) in that area. Endo is also thought to be genetic, so I want to give her every chance to NOT get it.
But we started with disposables anyway, mostly because of the up-front cost of cloth, and for the convenience of course. It turned out they were not as convenient as I thought. Basically I had to change her outfit every time she pooped. (And believe me, I tried every brand.) Then the poor thing got a rash that would not go away, no matter what I did. We switched to Seventh Generation Diapers and that helped quite a bit, but they are really expensive.
Then I finally ordered a few Bumgenius diapers, and they were great. No more blowouts, and her rash went completely away. I only got 4 of them because they were so expensive, but I was using them and doing laundry every day. That got annoying really fast.

Here's Madeleine in her pink bumgenius.

We saved up for a few more weeks and I ordered a package from Green Mountain Diapers, with one fitted diaper, some prefolds and 2 covers. I really like these too, and they are way cheaper. I have never had a blowout with any of the cloth diapers, although if she poops with the prefold, it usually gets on the cover. I think I still need to get that right.
So now I have enough to wash every other day and use them full time, except I still use a seventh generation disposable at night, for convenience. I'm going to place another few orders and hopefully we'll have enough to let me do laundry a little less often.
I just do a short cold rinse to help prevent stains, then a long hot wash with Charlie's Soap. Then throw everything in the dryer (except I hang dry the covers and they dry overnight.)

For work, I just pack about 6 of them and take a tote bag to put the used ones in until we get home. I do that when we go out too. We have an extra large bag at home.

I was kind of nervous about the whole thing at first, but it really is no big deal. And surprisingly, I really like it! I love making her feel all nice and clean at diaper changes, and wrapping her up with soft cotton. We take our time, I let her air out, and we talk and I kiss all over her tummy. I really enjoy diaper changes - it's bonding time.

Here are three great posts about cloth diapering.

Now, we'll see if I still like it this much when she starts solid food.... :)