"Poop is not my thang!"

"Poop is not my thang", I am stealing this comment from a fellow SUPERmom of triplets, who said this to me after I was encouraging her to try cloth diapers like myself. Well I have to say it, "poop is EVERY moms thang" whether you like it or not and in our case x's THREE! With that being said, I know that cloth is not for everyone and I wasn't even sure it was for me or my family until this week. While newly pregnant with the triplets I remember stressing over " How will we survive triplets? How will we afford triplets?  Our life is over!!!" Ok, I wasn't that dramatic because I had to keep it together for Brian, but I do recall researching the cost of multiples and seeing that the average cost of diapers for one child before they are potty trained is $1,600. So multiply that by three and in the first two years of the triplets life we would spend $4,800 on TRASH!! This was mind blowing and scary. So at that point I began to research, Facebook and question other cloth moms. There is a wealth of information and support out there for newbies like me. A few weeks later while at Target, I found Charlie Banana cloth diapers that were on sale so I decided to buy a pack. While at home I opened up the brightly colored diapers and after feeling the super soft cloth that would touch the cute tushes of my babes, I was SOLD!! They are soooo cute! I was able to get the rest of the diapers that were on clearance from surrounding Targets from the help of my best friend Kristin. Later on through my pregnancy I bought 12 bum genius diapers which came highly recommended as well. My plan was to use all of our "gifted" diposable diapers first and once they ran out begin cloth. We were EXTREMELY blessed and were able to last 8 months without buying any diapers!! What a HUGE savings. I also have to add one last THANK YOU to the "diaper fairy" that came occasionally and dropped off diapers at our doorstep. We are so thankful for very giving friends.

So, last week I did some last minute research and began to organize my house to begin the cloth diaper process. I cleaned out our changing table. Put two drawers, one filled with girl diapers and one filled with boy diapers on the side of our changing table. I then bought a trash can and put a large wet bag inside, this will be the storage for all the dirty diapers. I labeled it "cloth" and labeled our diaper champ "disposable" so the sitter and the Grandmas will know where to place things. I kept one tub with double stuffed diapers and labeled them "night", these are double stuffed so there is no leaking at night. I bought ECOS brand detergent which was found at SAMS, you can also buy a Clean and Free detergent from Target or look online at the following website and choose a detergent that can be used and also bought at your local store. http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/Articles.asp?ID=263 . I knew if I had to purchase a detergent online that one day I would forget to re order and I would get behind, I really like being able to have lots of options and buy locally.

So, diapers were stuffed, changing station was set and detergent was bought, I was READY!!! Agghhh, I had so much anxiety about starting cloth, I think my biggest issue was starting something and possibly failing. I don't like failing and I don't like to quit anything, but I wasn't going to get down on myself if this didn't workout. After all I am a VERY busy wife, mom of 5 young kids and running two personal businesses. If this didn't workout I at least tried and saved at least a few dollars.

Well I am proud to say that I am TWO weeks in and loving it just as much as I did on Day 1. I know it is still early but I feel that this is something that has been a very, very small addition of work to my day and will pay off BIG in the next year and a half! I am so glad that this is VERY do- able for my family including the husband and grandmas!! If Brian can do it, ANYONE can! So I got a few requests on writing a tutorial. So below I have a tutorial along with photos and included  the VERY VERY IMPORTANT TRICK that my friend Katie told me about. I think without this trick, I might have given up!

1. Buy diapers( I chose Bumgenius and Charlie banana), both one size all in ones. Just seemed most popular and got good reviews. 

2. Stuff your diapers. I put in the large insert during the day and at night, I double up. You can fold the second insert in half and stick the double fold in the front for boys and in back for the girls. 

3. The biggest issue with cloth is dealing with poop- but I had a very clever idea from a friend. If she had not told me about this I think my husband and the grandmas would not be on board. *** stick the wet wipes that you use to clean the baby ( not poopy ones) in the washing machine and dryer along with you diapers. They come out as very soft stretchy sheets that can be used as liners***. Isn't that brilliant? Yes you can buy liners but that's another cost. Because they are washed in the same clean and free detergent they are safe for babies skin. The wipes come out soft and stretchy. So as you line the diaper pull and stretch to cover most of the diaper. So once poopy happens pick up the ends of the wipes and place in the trash can. Most of the poop will be gone!!

4. Separate the liner from the diaper and place in a wet bag that is inside a trash can.

5. Just throw all diapers in the wash before putting babies to bed, have husband switch them to dryer before going to bed and there you have it!!!

Honestly, it takes no extra time during the day. I change diapers as fast as I did before. I have my trash can and cloth bin next to my changing table. It takes 1 min to start wash and to switch it over. I can stuff all my diapers while watching 5 minutes of the news or I can wait and ask the sitter to do it while the babies are napping.

Soooo, there you have it!! I guess it is safe to say "Poop IS my thang, and I'm making the best of a "stinky" situation!" I mean really, look how cute they look!!