Entering the world of cloth

Apparently, with every new baby, I have to come up with some fabulously complex research project. With Alison, it was an obsession with learning how to brew espresso in the moka pot. Since I've already read all the sleep/early infant care books, I moved on to the enormously varied world of cloth diapering. Buying two sets of disposables at once brought on a case of sticker shock, and I suddenly was willing to entertain the thought of cloth. Last pregnancy I was briefly entranced by the idea of gdiapers, but just couldn't quite commit to trying it out. We all know why: the issue of human waste in the washing machine. That just sounds super gross. This all changed, however, once I learned a key fact:

The poop of babies who are breastfed is water soluble. 

That's right, people. Water soluble. That means that all you really need to do to get it clean is soak it in a lot of water and then stick it in the sun to get any residual stains out. The whole "human waste in the washing machine" thing was what left Pancho cold, but once I persuaded him of the whole "water soluble means it just washes away and you NEVER see it in the machine," he was on board to try, at least until we introduced solids.

So after tons of research and a complex cost analysis involve some single-variable calculus (no, really, I wrote a formula that told me how many diapers I had to change with cloth before I broke even on my investment), I decided to try the Best Bottom Diapers, which is about as close as I can get to the convenience of disposables without washing a ton. Basic concept: a snap in cloth inner liner into a PUL (waterproof) outer. You can wipe off any small overflows onto the outer liner and just snap in new inner liners. Everything goes into a dry, waterproof bag (that is also washable) for laundry day in 2-3 days. Then a brief soak, a wash, a double rinse, and out in the sun to dry.

I get an incredible kick out of watching the stains magically disappear in the sun. It's almost worth it just for that little piece of mundane magic. That said, I still have about 55 days left before I break even...