My favorite (and affordable) cloth diapers!

Our cloth diaper journey started about two years ago. It was summer time and I was blown away by the steep prices of the disposable swim diapers. I decided to invest in a good cloth swim diaper that would last through endless summers and keep the cost down (also- has anyone else noticed that the disposable swim diapers are like baby high rise bikinis?! They never cover enough!). I purchased the Bummis Swimmi diaper and it has been great!

The next step on my journey to cloth diapering was when I made my own cloth wipes with some flannel fabric that I had on hand. Two of my boys have some dry and sensitive skin issues. Regular wipes irritate the heck out of their little bottoms. When I first made the cloth wipes, I also used a special solution to spray on them, but now I just use water and have had no problems! I still keep disposable wipes in my purse for outings around town, but using cloth at home has really cut back on our diaper/wipes bill. Any the little baby bummy's are a lot happier now too!

It wasn't long after these events that a close friend showed me her cloth diaper stash and got me interested in trying it for myself. It was a logical next step for us. I went to my local "green" baby store, Sweet Bottoms, to get an idea for what was out there. They have a great selection and the staff are very knowledgeable, but I found they only pointed me towards the most expensive brands. I did a cloth diapering "trial" where we could take some home, try them out, and return/exchange them later if needed. I didn't really like the feel/fit/durability of any of the diapers we tried so I went on the hunt for something high quality, yet affordable.

What I found is that there are high quality, low priced cloth diapers out there! We do a lot of shopping on Amazon, and they have some great options for cloth diapers. We now use and love the Alva Baby and Kawaii baby diapers found on Amazon.

Both brands are fantastic quality. They have microfiber inserts which have never caused leaking, without being too bulky. The diapers come in cute prints and colors, in minky (which is so soft), and you can also buy in sets of 6! The diapers are only ~$10, which is half the price of something like Bumgenius.

You can also find the same diapers on Alva Baby's website for ridiculously low prices ($4.50!). 

All in all, I have found that you don't have to make a huge investment to start cloth diapering! There are great quality diapers for low, affordable prices out there! You just have to do a little research. Some diapers work/fit differently for different babies, but these are the brands we have come to love!

Now I realize that cloth diapering certainly isn't for everyone, but it works for us! We still use disposables when out and about, but we have dramatically reduced our buying frequency. Cloth diapering also helps to cut down on the amount of trash we toss, as well as keeps our little one's bottoms free and clear of harmful rashes!

Do you cloth diaper? What are your favorite brands?