I have a 4 year old daughter and a 20 month old son and both have worn cloth diapers…my son Frankie from birth and my daughter from 1 years old and on. I was so scared to start. I remember when I was pregnant with my daughter, I researched for hours on cloth diapers, but became so overwhelmed that I didn’t even give it a try. When she turned 1, I read an article on how much this mother had saved using cloth diapers. I did the math and realized I had thrown so much money away on disposables.
So, I ordered a trial package of like 10-15 different types of NEW cloth diapers from this site and gave it a try on my daughter. I fell in love! She looked so cute in them and they were so easy. I kept the diapers I liked from that package and returned the rest. I then ordered more diapers for her.
During this time I was confused on how to actually set up the diapers. Where do the poop diapers go? Do they all mix in together in one wetbag? How do cloth wipes work? Should I do cloth wipes too? So, to make it easy on you, I’m going to explain what has been working for me for the past 3 years.
This is my cloth diaper system…
I keep all my cloth wipes near the sink. In our house we are able to fit the changing table in the bathroom. In our last house we couldn’t fit in the bathroom so I kept the wipes on the changing table. When my son was a newborn and very sensitive to temperature, I put a batch of cloth wipes in a wipe warmer on the changing table. Now, that he is older and doesn’t mind cold water, I just keep them near the sink and wet them when I need them. I’ve also used a spray bottle to spray the wipes but this works better for us in this house.
Cloth wipes are just easier when you are cloth diapering. You don’t have to worry about throwing anything in the trash, it all just goes in the wetbag. I also don’t ever rinse off cloth wipes. They all go in the large wetbag (I have 2 of these; one for current use and one to use when the other is in the laundry) next to the changing table. I also don’t use anything fancy, just baby wash clothes work great!
Here is my changing table area…
All my diapers are underneath for easy access and there is a large wetbag, in a trash can, next to it. All the WET diapers go into that trash can and also all the cloth wipes
Aren’t the diapers so cute?!?!
So, what about the poop? If you plan on cloth diapering, I HIGHLY recommend you get this lifesaver…
It is called a diaper sprayer and it attaches to the toilet. You just spray the poop right off! It’s awesome…just make sure you have it pointed down when you squeeze it, cause I have, totally, sprayed myself in the face before! Then I have a bucket next to the toilet that LOCKS and I throw the poopy diapers in there. I keep the poopy diapers separated in the bucket because they get really sopping wet when I spray them and I would rather quickly throw them somewhere close instead of carrying across the room. Also, the bucket locks any kind of smell in and locks my kids and dogs out! :/
What are some other brands I have tried that didn’t cut it?
1. GroVia (one-size pocket diapers) – they are great for smaller babies, but if you’re gonna pay over $20 for a one-size diaper, then they better be able to convert to all sizes. Well, these didn’t do it for me. At around 20lbs, my son outgrew them. Thankfully, I didn’t spend over $20 on them since I got them online during a half off sale, but still…I was still upset they didn’t live up to the “Gro” part of “GroVia.”
2. FuzzyBunzs (one-size pocket diapers) – These are another that didn’t grow too well with my kids. They are another one-size diaper and I ended up selling them off before my son was even a year old.
3. I’m not a fan of microfiber – even though many of these diapers come with a microfiber insert and I still use them, I have my issues with them. Since it is not a “natural” material, it does not clean that well and requires extra care. However, microfiber is cheap and makes cloth diapering even cheaper, so I grudgingly use it.
What are my favorite brands?
1. I love BumGenius diapers. Anything BumGenius is great! I have never had any issues with them. In fact, they are on their 3rd year and going strong. I’ve tried other brands but they never worked as great as BumGenius.
2. For night-time, I really love Chelory Night–time Inserts. They are really thick and I stuff them inside a BumGenius pocket diaper. My kids pee A LOT in the night and these are bulletproof!
3. I also love the Flip System using their organic inserts. This is a diaper cover with an insert. You can use the cover over-and-over before washing, until it becomes soiled on. This is a very frugal way to cloth diaper. I also love the Flip system when we are traveling. It only requires you pack 4-6 covers and then the inserts. It takes up less space than packing a bunch of BumGenius pocket diapers.
4. Wetbags – I love this pail liner for in-home use. It fits perfectly into a trashcan with a lid. I recommend 2 of them. One for current use and one to use when you are washing one.
I use this wetbag when we are out-and-about (also, recommend 2 of them). You throw the diaper, with the poop, in there, zip it up, and take care of it when you get home! Very easy! I never use disposables when we go out…like some people.
I did cloth diaper my son from birth as well. He was a chunk at nearly 10lbs so it took him about 2 weeks to fit into the one-size diapers I had for him (his sister’s hand-me-downs!). However, the first few weeks we used Thirsties covers in extra-small and GMD prefolds. They worked out great for that tiny phase!
I hope this helps you get an understanding of how SIMPLE cloth diapering can be. There are some things that make it even more simple:
– If you are breastfeeding for the first 6 months, you don’t even have to rinse the poop off. Breastmilk poo disintegrates in the wash.
– You can RE-SELL your diapers if you don’t like them or if your baby outgrows them. You can sell them on Craigslist or Diaperswappers.com.
My Wash Cycle goes like this…
- Throw all the diapers from the poop bucket and the large wetbag into the washer.
- Wash on the longest cycle, in warm water, without soap.
- When the cycle is over, put on HOT water and wash again, adding soap (I now use Ecos detergent with no problems).
- When the second cycle is over, put on an extra rinse. This gets rid of any detergent left on the diaper.
Let me know if you have any questions!! I love converting people into cloth diapering ::insert evil laugh:: and over to the dark side! 🙂
“Posted at Small Footprint Fridays, Natural Family Friday, and Thank Your Body”