Cloth diapering twins! People say. How do you do it? I would never!
My answer is really not that exciting, but here goes (because we all know that the internet needs another post about cloth diapering):
I don't think our method of cloth diapering is really any different than with a single kid, there's just more...diapering. Right now we have a system, and both Tyson and I like it. We tried a couple of things before finding what we liked. What we do now works, and works well, and quite frankly I don't have the time/money/inclination to try anything else right now.
Here's a look at our "setup":
From left to right (across the front): extra/travel wet bag, prefolds, Snappis (on top of the prefolds), wool covers, wipes, and disposable diapers (just in case). Also assorted creams, soap, lotion, etc.
Remember, we live in an apartment, so it's nothing extravagant. Space is a premium, so it really is just that one little drawer in the top of the changing table. Right now we have about 24 prefolds, which have to be washed every day, since we literally go through them in about a 24-hour period. It would be nice to have maybe double that amount, but then we run into more issues: storing the clean ones (24 barely fit in the drawer as it is), storing the wet ones, since then we would need another wet bag because 24 more than fill up the large one we already have, unless we wanted to KEEP washing every day, etc., etc., etc. Since I am home every day, this works for us right now, and I rarely have to supplement with a disposable diaper from forgetting to wash them in time (I know it's time to wash when there are about five or six left).
(Note: We use cloth diapers exclusively when at home, but still use disposable when we go out because EASY. Cloth diapers would take up a ton of space in the diaper bag that I do not have, since I'm already carrying things around for two little people plus myself. Also when we are out-of-town visiting family we don't bother with the cloth diapers, because it would again be a pain to lug them all and have to deal with washing them all the time.)
Anyway, when I was first researching cloth diapers I was slightly intimidated, because people were making it sound like a Big Deal, you have to wash them, prefolds are the option that are the MOST WORK, whine, whine, whine...
I don't know what those people were talking about. They are almost no work. Fold in thirds, place on baby, pin with a Snappi, (I admit that it took a couple tries to figure the Snappi closure out, (plus there are different variations) but now it's second nature. If I would have had someone just show me how to do it the first time it would have been easier. I figured it out from looking at pictures.), and throw on a cover. I'm partial to the Sustainablebabyish Knit Underwoolies. We have five, and again, it might be nice to have a few more wool covers, but at forty bucks a pop...eh, I'll deal. Also they are almost IMPOSSIBLE to find in a size one, except for the boring colors, like gray. It's ridiculous, there's practically a black market for freaking Underwoolies. (It's because they work and are so dang cute.) We have a couple of polyester covers also. They work fine if all the wool ones are wet, but aren't something I really like for all day every day use (although they do contain poo explosions nicely). Again, the wool covers are super easy. They pull on, and only need to be washed every two weeks unless they get poop on them first. (Yeah...ours have NEVER made it two weeks before needing a wash.) Washing involves: 1. Rinse off poop with cold water. 2. Fill sink with warm water. 3. Add a drop (literally, you don't need that much) of wool wash. 4. Add cover and soak for 15 minutes. 5. Air-dry wool cover. The end. The most annoying thing is that after washing, the covers take a good 36 hours or so to dry, but it's really not that big of a deal. If they get wet from pee they just need to air dry before reusing them again. Washing the prefolds is also super easy. 1. Set washer to largest load possible. Do one rinse cycle in cold water. 2. Keep washer at highest setting, add detergent (I use Tide Original for all diapers, adult clothes, and baby clothes, everything, and have not had a problem) and do a full wash/rinse cycle in hot water. 3. Highest setting still, one more rinse with warm water. 4. Dry in dryer. The whole process takes maybe 1.5-2 hours with our washer and dryer.
I thought I was really going to like the all-in-one style diapers, but...I didn't. Just like a disposable diaper?!? Only you can re-use them?!? Shut up and take my money!!! Gah...I hated them. I don't know if we didn't get the sizing right, or the washing or what, (even though we washed them just like the prefolds, and the prefolds worked fine while the all-in-ones always seemed to repel everything and/or leak), but they never really worked for us. All the snap/rise options, and velcro vs. snaps, and did I pull it tight enough around their legs (spoiler alert: NO NEVER), and why are there so many snaps again?. Also, did I MENTION THE SNAPS??? They also need to air dry if you don't want to completely wear them out, which took at least a good 24 hours. And, as I said, they never really did the job. They were cute to take pictures in, and I do miss the a-freaking-dorable prints, but they weren't worth it to me. Again, I didn't have the time or inclination to figure out why they weren't working, (because TWINS) and then the babies were big enough to move up to the next size diaper, so I just stuck with what I knew and ordered prefolds.
My current prefold stash cost me all of $56, which includes an order of 24 prefolds (size small) and two polyester covers. The wool covers I've bought randomly over time, but say that's another $200 (the size ones go up to 18 pounds, so you get a lot of use out of them), throw in a couple dollars for the Snappis, and you're at maybe $300 total. I figure that otherwise we would go through about a case of disposable diapers a week, so with my math skills, I calculate that we are saving approximately a CRAP TON of money. Plus being do-gooders for the environment. Yay!
Which reminds me that as another part of our saving money/better for babies/we're totally hippies scheme, we also use cloth wipes. We wet one in the sink with warm water before each diaper change (sounds like a hassle, but it isn't), throw it in the wet bag with the diapers when we're done, and wash them with the diapers. Some people are fancy and have separate wet bags for their wipes, or a wipe solution and whatnot, but...like I said, we're just hipppies. Keepin it simple. We've noticed a huge difference in their little bottoms between using the cloth wipes vs. the disposable ones, and a little bit of water is really all you need to get their bottoms clean. While we don't bring the cloth diapers with while we travel, we DO take the cloth wipes, since they don't take up that much space, we don't use as many, and they are easy to wash even with another load of laundry.
There's a lot more (WAY more) out there in the cloth-diapering world...pocket diapers, flat diapers, doublers/inserts, diaper liners, creams, diaper pails, not to mention that everything will probably change when they start eating solids...but, like I said, this is what works for us now, and it works well.
Holy crap I had no idea that I could ramble on this long about cloth diapers when our system is REALLY SO VERY SIMPLE and I thought I didn't actually have that much to say. I could STILL keep going. I'm going to stop while I'm ahead-ish and assume that I must have gotten all my most important points in already.
EXCEPT!
What everyone actually came here for: pictures of cute babies in cloth diapers. Enjoy.
