Cloth Diapering with Charlie Banana

When I was pregnant with Evita, I never considered cloth diapering. Or maybe I did but I made up my mind very quickly. My thought process probably went something like: “Nope. Not for me. Gross.” It wasn’t until I found out I’d be moving to Tanzania that I reconsidered it. I didn’t know what kind (if any) diapers would be available there, and if they were, how much they would cost or what the quality would be like. So my friend Gina sent me two used cloth diapers all the way from Japan so that I could try them out. They ended up being way easier than I ever expected them to be. I was sold. Gina recommended that I try Charlie Banana. The ones she sent me were a different brand, but Charlie Banana was her favorite. So later that day I ordered a six pack of CB diapers from Target or Amazon or somewhere and the rest is history. From the age of six months to eighteen months (when she was potty trained), Eva was in Charlie Bananas:

So, other than obviously looking way cuter under clothing (or without clothing) than disposable diapers, what else made me fall for cloth diapers?

1. They save money. I went on Amazon and saw exactly how much disposable diapers cost a piece. Even when I bought them in bulk (which I rarely did) I was spending about 20-25¢ a diaper (I was spending more when I bought them at my local grocery store). That was like throwing a quarter out my window with every diaper change. It is estimated that you can save around $1000 in the long run (including washing machine costs) with cloth diapers. I often washed my cloth diapers with my regular loads of laundry so I’m pretty sure I saved even more.

2. They’re better for the environment. The average kid will use 6,000 diapers by the age of two, which equals about a ton of trash. Disposable diapers take 500 years to decompose, and may not ever fully disintegrate. I also thought about the process of making disposable diapers- the packaging, distribution, and sales… That’s a whole lot of energy and waste for each tiny diaper. (No pun intended!) Even though I had to wash cloth diapers, I’m pretty sure I used less energy and created less waste than with disposables.

3. Less harmful chemicals = less diaper rash. Eva never had diaper rash when using cloth diapers. Not even once. Disposable diapers often contain chlorine, perfumes, and dioxins that trigger rashes.

4. They seem more comfy for the baby. Besides not having to deal with a rash, I’m pretty sure I’d be more comfortable wearing cotton underwear than plastic underwear.

5. They’re not all that more “gross.” Even with disposables, I had to wipe a dirty bum and roll up a dirty poo diaper. The only extra step with cloth was occasionally having to dump dirty solids in the toilet. (I’ll even admit I didn’t do this every time, and I never had problems with stains.) Really, not that big of a deal. I’d much rather do that than change my cat’s kitty litter or pick up my dog’s poo on a walk. When I was on the go, I’d throw the diaper in a wet bag and that was that.

So… now that I have another wee one, I’m starting out with Charlie Bananas straight away. Well, not exactly straight away. I’ve been using disposables for the first few weeks until my newborn’s digestive system becomes a little more regular and I’m a little more comfortable with all my other responsibilities.  (All of our laundry has been put on the back burner for the past two weeks.) But I’ve already started using them here and there and soon I’ll be ditching the disposables for good.

Charlie Banana recently sent me this three pack of their “Americano” cloth diapers to try out… just in time for Memorial Day and Fourth of July.

Here’s what I love about Charlie Banana in particular:

1. They are one size fits all. I used the same exact diapers on Eva from the age of six months to eighteen months. Now, I’ll be using the one-size diaper on Damian starting now. (Charlie Banana also has a newborn diaper if you don’t like the initial bulkiness of the one-size option, which I’ll mention later.)

3. Adjustable leg holes. This goes with the “one-size” feature, but CB didn’t originally have this feature and they worked out for me anyway. Now they have an option to adjust the tightness of the leg holes from XS-L.

4. Cute logo. I love how the logo looks classy. It reminds me of Tory Burch.

5. Snaps instead of velcro. Some cloth diapers have velcro. I think snaps hold up much better in the long run. I still have Eva’s diapers that I’ll be using for Damian (but only around the house since they’re mostly pink… hah!).

Like I mentioned earlier, if you don’t like the bulkiness of the one-size on a newborn, Charlie Banana also makes an extra-small diaper for this stage:

Super cute!

If you’re on the fence about cloth diapering, Charlie Banana sells single packs of cloth diapers so you can try them before making a big purchase!

If you want to read more of what I’ve written about cloth diapering, check out my “Cloth Diapering Essentials” post. 🙂