Cloth Diapering 101

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When I was pregnant with my first baby I heard a lot of people ask if I was going to cloth diaper, and since I have an earthy crunchy side to me, I was really interested.  I had no idea where to start, but got a ton of information from friends and Facebook groups.  Cotton Babies is a really great website that has a ton of information and you can actually purchase your diapers from there.  Yummy Cloud is a local retailer and the owner is really knowledgeable about all things related to cloth diapering.

I will be completely honest, I am a part time cloth diapering mom.  For the full time moms out there, I am impressed!  My two children are 16 months apart so cloth diapering took a back seat as soon as my second was born.  I was way better at it when I only had one baby in cloth at a time.  We just potty trained my two year old so I am planning on going back to using cloth more with my 9 month old.  I only use cloth when we are at home for the convenience.  At the beginning I tried to do it when we went out, but it became too difficult and I am much happier just doing it at home.  With that being said, I am saving approximately 40-50 diapers a week doing it part time, so it’s better than nothing in my book!

There are so many different types of cloth diapers out there and I am not even going to pretend to explain them.  I mostly have pocket diapers and prefolds.  I personally did not like using the prefolds, but I do know some people that do.  It is just a personal preference, I do use the cotton inserts that came with my prefolds instead of the microfiber ones that came with my pocket diapers.  Cotton and hemp inserts have the best absorbency since they are made of natural materials.  Most people will use those at night while I still use a disposable diaper, again for the convenience.   I prefer pocket diapers because they dry quicker since you take them apart to wash and they are the easiest to explain when someone else is changing your baby.  When I was buying my diapers BumGenius 4.0 pockets were being phased out to make room for the 5.0 so I bought all of my diapers half off.  Otherwise I might have bought the all-in-ones since they seem easier to put together.

Now to the question everyone always asks me and many other cloth diapering moms…WHY are you using cloth diapers??

I can only speak for myself, but my main reason was due to the amount of chemicals disposable diapers have in them.  I use Seventh Generation Diapers which are better than most, but still have their pitfalls.  The other reason is to save money on disposable diapers and to reduce my carbon footprint.

How many should you buy?

I have 26 pocket diapers and three prefold covers.  The answer to this really depends on how often you plan on washing them and if you plan to use cloth full time.  I wash every other day and still have enough diapers left over when I am only using them on one child.  Basically you should have enough for two days worth of diaper changes.

Wash Routine

As I said previously I wash every other day and store the diapers in a pailwith a reusable liner.  I use a sprayer that attaches to the toilet for those messy diaper situations.  All poop must be disposed of in the toilet before you wash unless it is breast milk poop.  Breast milk poop is water soluble so that can just be washed, but to prevent staining spraying the diaper to give it a quick rinse is best.

I do one wash with cold water to rinse off the diapers then a warm/hot wash with an extra rinse.  (IMPORTANT, don’t forget to use finger guards to prevent your hands from touching the diapers when you take them apart for washing!) I add Seventh Generation Baby Laundry Detergent, Free & Clearduring the second wash.  Once a week I will add a small amount of vinegar and baking soda to help with the smell.  Although I have read to be careful when using vinegar and baking soda as it might affect the diaper’s material.  Usually once a month I put my diapers outside to let the sun naturally bleach them.

Drying

I never dry my diaper covers in the dryer so it won’t ruin the material.  I was told to lay out the diaper covers on a flat surface to dry them so it will preserve the elastic.  Since I am limited on space, my husband came up with an amazing idea to use two parallel retractable clothes lines so I can dry my diaper covers flat.  I line dry my inserts to save on energy.  I am constantly using the drier so whenever I can give it a break, I do.

I hope all of my tips help you on your cloth diapering journey.  If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to contact me!