My Cloth Diapers - Revised

My cloth diaper stash has evolved quite a bit since I last posted about it. So I think we are due for an update!

First, let's go over the basics in case there are some newbies out there.

Cloth diapers ain't what they used to be. There are quite a variety out there on the market today, and cloth diapering is gaining popularity. Just google it and you will find all kinds of stores and resources online. The best place to start, in my opinion, if you are serious about cloth diapering is www.diaperswappers.com (DS). There are forums there where you can ask questions, and also buy used diapers from other mamas to try out. I got many of my diapers through DS.

I also have bought from EcoBaby Canada, Babes in Arms, kijiji and even garage sales!

Most people say to have 18-24 diapers minimum in your stash. But really, it's up to you, and how often you want to do laundry. I survived a few months with just 14 diapers, and I know a couple people who get by with 10 (and wash them every day).

Cloth diapering can save you a lot of money, or be really expensive. It depends what route you go. You can outfit your baby for about $300, or even cheaper if you buy used, or I've heard of moms who spend over $8000! It costs about $1000 I think to diaper a baby for 2 years with disposables.

There are several different types of diapers to choose from. Here are the basics:

1. Flats. These ARE your Grandma's diapers. They are just plain, flat pieces of fabric. Old school. You put your baby on them, fold them up and pin them, and cover with rubber pants (or some kind of cover). These are the cheapest type of diapers, they last well and are easy to clean. This is the only kind of diaper I have not played with, but here is a link to a blog post, with videos, on how they work: http://www.momaroo.com/693133348/how-do-you-fold-flat-diapers-check-this-out/

2. Prefolds. Similar to flats, but with several layers of material sewn together, thicker in the middle, for better absorbency. They are cheap, or easy to make yourself, last long, and are easy to wash and dry. They are not water-proof, so they also require a cover. You can get newborn size, regular, or large.



They are fairly easy to assemble. I fold them in 3, along the sewn lines, then open up the back, put baby's butt over the open part and bring the folded part of the diaper up through baby's legs to baby's tummy, and bring the corners of the open part around baby's sides, and pin or Snappi them to the diaper on baby's front.





3. Fitteds. These look a little more like a "typical" diaper we think of these days. They are sewn to fit your baby, and often will have doublers (extra pieces of absorbent material) that are sometimes attached, sometimes not. They are not water-proof, so require a cover. There are quite the variety of fitteds out there, some cheap, some expensive, some are super-absorbent, some not. Some are adjustable so they will fit your baby from birth to potty training, and others will only fit a certain size so you will have to buy more as your baby grows. They are easy to wash, some are easy to dry, and others may take a while.





4. Covers. Flats, Prefolds and Fitteds require covers. You can also use some covers as, or over top of disposable, swim diapers. There are quite a variety of these too. The typical ones are made of PUL (Polyurethane Laminate). They are thin and waterproof, and fairly cheap. You don't have to wash them after every use, only when soiled, so you only need a handful. They are easy to wash and quick to dry, can be machine dried, but best hung.



You can also use wool or fleece covers. These are not water proof, but they will just get damp instead of soaked (unless you are totally negligent or have an extremely heavy wetter with only a thin diaper). They are breathable, so good for baby's skin. They are fairly expensive to buy, or you can sew them yourself by recycling a 100% wool (or fleece) sweater, or knitting with wool yarn. You can get/make simple covers or wraps, or pants (longies), shorts (shorties), or even skirts (skirties)! Personally I think the wool and fleece covers are super cute. Fleece you can wash and dry in the machines, but you need to wash wool by hand with a special lanolin soap (I use LANAcare). They only need to be washed when soiled though. If they are damp you can just leave them to dry, then re-use them. Wool covers can be really bulky, so sometimes clothes won't fit over top. Which is fine, when there are things like BabyLegs! I have 7 pairs (but no photo, I didn't think of it until now), and they fit all 3 kids. Judith loves to wear them under her pants when it's cold!







(My personal favourite is a Goodmama/Longies combo)



5. Pockets. These are very popular, because they are so simple to use, just like a disposable. They are Daddy-friendly! They are easy to wash and dry. But they are expensive. The outside is like a cover, made of PUL, but there is a lining on the inside, with an opening on one end so you can "stuff" the diaper with an absorbent insert. A lot of pocket diapers are sold with a microfiber insert included. The nice thing about these is, if your child is a heavy wetter, you can add more inserts (even a cut up towel or like my friend uses, a Sham-Wow cloth), or you can buy separate doublers. Hemp is a popular material for doublers due to the great absorbency. You do have to "stuff" them before using, but I don't really find it all that much more work. You can wash them with the inserts still inside, but I don't recommend it. I simply shake out the wet or soiled insert(s) into the diaper pail when I change the baby, then the pail is ready to just dump into the washer. There are many good brands of pocket diapers out there, the most popular being BumGenius and Fuzzi Bunz. I like the BumGenius the best because they are one-size (OS), so they fit from newborn to potty training. Although I've had mine for almost 2 years and the aplix (velcro) is starting to wear out, which is a bummer. I may get them converted to snaps, so they will last through future children. I also like the Fuzzi Bunz because of the snaps (harder for baby to get off) and there is lots of room to super-stuff them for overnights. I also have a soft spot in my heart for all things minky (like, plush soft and furry). The photos below are of a Preston's Pants pocket diaper.







5. All-in-Ones (AIO). These are basically as close as you get to disposable diapers. Very Daddy-and-babysitter-friendly. They are expensive, a little harder to get totally clean, and take forever to dry. No stuffing required, there are absorbent layers sewn in. Some have pockets as well where you can stuff an insert if baby is a heavy wetter and needs the absorbency. The photos below are of a Chunky Monkey AIO diaper.







I also have cloth wipes that were made by a friend using scrap flannel (bed sheets at a thrift store are good for this!), 2 layers serged together. Or you could use old towels cut up, or do a combo of towels, flannel and fleece. You can also buy cloth wipes, or use baby face cloths.

I make my own solution using a drop of natural baby soap, 3-5 drops of tea tree oil, and about 20 drops of calendula tincture in a small spray bottle with water. I keep my wipes dry, then spray them, and baby's bum if it's dirty, just before wiping.

I recommend having a wetbag for outings. I cloth diaper all the time not just at home, and I honestly find it just as easy as disposables. I have a pretty wetbag, but I forgot to take a photo of it! When I'm out I just put the dirty/wet diapers and wipes in the wet bag, then dump the bag into my diaper pail at home. The wetbag can be wiped out by hand (I just use a wipe and the spray!), or thrown in the wash (and hung to dry).

For diaper pails I just have a couple of plastic buckets Dave got from work that were in the trash. You can buy a fancy diaper pail, but you don't need to. Any pail works, as long as it has a lid, and preferably a handle. I rinse mine out after I dump the diapers in the wash and they don't smell too bad. If they do need a more thorough wash, baking soda and vinegar does the trick. Or dish soap. If you want to prevent smells while the diapers are in there, you can put a few drops of tea tree oil on to a cotton ball and tape it to the lid of the pail, and/or sprinkle some baking soda in the bottom of the pail.

When a baby who is eating solids has a poop, simply knock the poop off into the toilet. I use a piece of toilet paper to help it along. If it's really messy I have to scrape it off with toilet paper, which yeah, is really nasty. But not as nasty as having a garbage bag full of disgusting disposables every week! I really want to get a diaper sprayer, I've heard great things about it, and it would make the poop-removal process so much easier.

You can also get diaper liners. You place a piece of it between baby's bum and the diaper. These are flush-able, so it makes poop-removal easy. Just toss the liner and poop in the toilet. It can also be used to protect the diaper from any bum rash cream (although if your diapers are under warranty, any use of diaper cream will void the warranty). Any rash cream or oil will ruin the diaper's absorbency, making the diaper leak.



I do diaper laundry on Tuesdays and Fridays. First I do a cold/cold cycle with about half of the minimum recommended detergent (I use Nature Clean, you HAVE to have a detergent without fragrances or harsh chemicals, or it can hurt baby's bum and wreck the diapers). Then I do a hot/cold cycle with about a quarter of the minimum recommended detergent. It's important to not use too much detergent, or it will not all rinse out, and that will make your diapers stinky (and possibly irritate baby's skin). Then I do an extra cold rinse at the end. I hang everything that has PUL in it, and the rest goes in the dryer on high.

Every 2 months I do a "strip". I do my usual first wash, but add a bit of baking soda (don't do this if your PUL diapers are still under warranty, it voids it). Then for the hot wash I use a bit of Nature Clean dish detergent (you're supposed to use regular Dawn, but I can't find it!). Then I do a full cold/cold cycle after, with a bit of white vinegar in it (again, don't do this if the diapers are under warranty).

Never ever ever use fabric softener on diapers! Fabric softener is just bad news in general, really.

The best way to get stains out is to lay or hang the diapers out in the sun. It does wonders!

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Sooooo... now that that's out of the way...

Here's my current stash!

Newborn (Please excuse all the stains, they will be sunned out when the weather gets nicer!)

Unbleached Newborn Chinese Prefolds (I can't remember how many I have, maybe a dozen, or just over that? Ruthie was wearing one and there were a few in the diaper pail as well as these)
2 Little Beetle Size 1 Fitteds (2nds), 6 Gabby's Newborn/Small Fitteds
2 Annie Marie Padorie Small Fitteds, 2 Kissaluvs Size 0 Fitteds, and Home-Made Wipes (not made by me though)



Small Fleece and Knit Wool Home-Made Covers
Little Beetle Small Wool Cover, 2 Bummis NB/SM PUL wraps, and 4 Newborn Motherease PUL Wraps



Here they are all put away. Awww...



Intermediate (These are what Gideon started out in at 1 month, but he was quite the chunk. I will slowly incorporate these into Ruthie's stash as she outgrows the others)

18 Regular Prefolds (there are also 6 more that I am currently using to double-stuff Gideon's night time diapers), 2 Snappis (I have another one but it was on Ruthie at the time), 6 Kushies Medium PUL Covers
2 Small Jamtots Hemp Prefitteds, 2 Medium Wool Wraps (no tags), Preston's Pants Minky/Minky Medium Pocket, RubyDaisy Medium PUL Cover
2 Sandy's Motherease Small Bamboo Fitteds, Medium Fleece Cover by The Eli Monster, Small Fuzzi Bunz Pocket, Medium Fleece Longies by RubyDaisy
Muttigan 3sr Fitted, PUL Medium Cover/Swim Diaper by The Eli Monster, 3 PUL Medium/Large Swim Diaper Covers (can't remember the brands off-hand)



Blueberry OS (cow) Pocket, Medium Chunky Monkey (giraffe) AIO
2 Medium Wool Knit Longies



Toddler (Gideon's stash)

Home-made wipes, spray bottle of solution, 14 BumGenius OS Pockets, 6 Large Fuzzi Bunz (stuffed with insert AND prefold, our night time solution), 3 Large Chunky Monkey Minky Pockets, 4 OS Goodmamas Fitteds , 2 Medium Little Beetle Wool Longies, 1 Large Kushies PUL Wrap, 1 Large Thirsties PUL Wrap



And, just in case you're curious, the newborn stash came to $81. Intermediate was $248. And toddler was $550. Yikes! A lot of them I got used too. So a grand total of $879. But if I were to buy disposables at $17/2 weeks, my total for Gideon would be $884 by the time he was 2 (he will use them longer than that though). And these will all work for Ruthie too, so that is where I am saving the big $.

I hope you found that informative! Let me know if you have any questions.

I don't know why, but cloth diapering is so fun! Seriously, I can't handle the cuteness.

I'd Say They're More Than Good...

So Gideon got to try out his Goodmamas yesterday. Wow, I was impressed! He had one on from about 9:30 or 10 am until after his nap at 4, when he had a poop. Normally he would have soaked 2 BumGenius' in that time frame. When I changed him, the actual diaper wasn't even wet! Just the inner lining was. He could have got away without even wearing a cover that whole time! And trust me, he is a heavy wetter! I can totally see how these diapers combined with wool covers would be the epitome of diaper zen, lol. Gideon wore the other Goodmama from when he got changed at 4 until bedtime at 8, and it basically felt bone dry too! Seriously, these diapers have ROAD TRIP written all over them!



Now if only I had the funds to have a complete stash of these! I can dream...

Oh, the Kelly of 10 years ago would be so ashamed! Hahaha.

Goodmamas!

So it's been a long time since I got some new fluff to love and cuddle and kiss goodnight. Well, my wait is over! Tonight I am going to pick up these lovelies, both brand new.





Why is this so exciting, you ask? Because it is, so there.

Check Your Diaper Pails!

If you use cloth diapers, and especially if you have other children as well as your baby, make sure and check to make sure that there are no other "treasures" in the diaper pail before you dump it in the wash!



Gel pens stain.

I hope this doesn't void the warranty.

My Cloth Diapers!

I have always been interested in cloth diapering. When my daughter was born, besides using cloth diapers in the hospital (awesome or what?), we used disposables because cloth wasn't really an option. We were living in a communal house in Australia, and about to move back to Canada. Then we were homeless and living with various relatives for a year after we moved back. I did try some home-made diapers when Judith was about 9 months old, but she didn't like them, and I didn't really know how to use them, so we gave up. I did start using cloth wipes then, however, and have not looked back!

The cloth wipes I use are simply 2 squares of scrap flannel serged (or could be sewn as well) together. Flannel bed sheets work well for this, and can be found at thrift stores. Receiving blankets work well too. And we all have a million of those... I have about 2 dozen wipes, and I never run out.

The wipe solution I use is simply a drop of a natural baby soap, about 10 drops of calendula tincture, and 3 or 4 drops of tea tree oil and water in a little spray bottle. I keep the wipes dry, and then when it's changing time I simply spray a few times on to the wipe, and wipe! Or if it's a really messy poop, I will spray the bum as well. Gideon, however, is not impressed when I spray his man parts, lol.



If there are solid poops in the diaper, I flick them off into the toilet (using a wipe). You can also purchase a "toilet shower", which I've heard is great, but I haven't tried yet.

I use a couple buckets that Dave got from work to store my dirty diapers and wipes in. Old kitty litter buckets or muffin mix buckets from Tim Hortons work well too (if they still have those, it has been over 5 years since I worked there!). Be creative, you don't need to buy one. Just make sure the bucket has a lid! And if you find that it gets too smelly, just put several drops of tea tree oil on a cotton ball and tape it to the inside of the bucket's lid. Don't put water in the bucket, it's good and normal for diapers to be stored in a dry pail. I couldn't imagine a diaper pail full of water and soaking diapers getting knocked over, ooooh the mess!

It is recommended that you have 24-36 diapers on hand per child that needs them (so if you have 2 kids in diapers, you will need double that). I have gotten by just fine for the last few months using only 18 though, I now have 24, and I have never run out or needed to supplement with disposables.

I wash my diapers on Mondays and Fridays. I use Nature Clean detergent, but other common detergents are Allen's Naturally and Claudia's Choice. Basically, you want a detergent that does not have dyes, fragrances, enzymes, or other irritating chemicals, and that does not leave a residue. You can also add 1/2 cup baking soda to the wash to boost cleaning power, and 1/4 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle to help remove all soap, although certain diaper manufacturers do not allow it (it will void the warranty). I find it helps a lot though, so I use it with whatever diapers I can (ie prefolds and fitteds).

I have a front-loading machine, and I first do a regular cold wash with 1/2 the normal amount of detergent, then a hot "power wash" with 1/4 the detergent, and and extra cold rinse, just to get all of the suds out. If there are still suds in the rinse cycle, then I do another full wash cycle with no detergent.You don't want there to be ANY bubbles in the final rinse. If there is any residue left on the diapers they will leak, and possibly irritate your baby's skin. I dry my prefolds, fitteds, pocket diaper inserts, wipes, and changing mat in the dryer on medium heat, and I hang anything with PUL to dry (covers, pocket diapers, All-In-Ones). In the summer I just hang everything outside, as the sun works wonders for getting stains out. Once a month I also do a bleach. Anything bleach-able that is stained gets tossed in (for me, pocket diaper inserts and pre-folds). Then I dry them on high heat. Every so often I will also dry my PUL things in the dryer on medium heat (unless they are labeled as "hang dry only"). All wool items are washed by hand with a wool wash, and dried flat. Woolen items, like diaper covers, don't need to be washed after every use though, only when they are soiled.



Going out and about with a cloth-diapered baby is simple too. I actually think it's easier because I don't have to worry about finding a garbage can. I just bring a few clean diapers (I prefer pocket diapers and AIO's for going out), some wipes, my spray bottle, and my super-cute wetbag (to put the dirty diapers and wipes in) along with me.

The initial costs of cloth diapering can be daunting, especially if you want to go with name-brand manufactured ones (although I think they are worth it and are of good quality, and still cheaper than disposables in the end). But really, cloth diapering can cost as much or as little as you want it to. I purchased 24 used prefold diapers and a pack of Snappis for $35. They were almost brand new and in excellent condition. Then I got 6 small Kushies wraps (covers) from Wal-mart for $30. This alone would have been enough to diaper Gideon until he grew out of them at 6 months. Then, if I wanted to be as frugal as possible, I could have found another couple dozen of the larger prefolds and some of the large wraps that would have fit him possibly until he was potty trained. So I could technically have diapered my son for under $150. (And the best part is that any future children could use the diapers as well, making the savings even greater.) Compared to the THOUSANDS that would be spent on disposables. On the other hand, I have read online personal confessions from a handful of mamas who have spent OVER $8000 on cloth diapers!!!! So really, cost-wise you can go either way. Generally people spend $300-$1000 total on diapers.

However, if you are crafty, there are TONS of free patterns online to sew your own prefold or fitted diapers, which you could make with fabric scraps, and then partner those with wool covers made from old sweaters, and you'd be uber cheap!

I know it may seem confusing, and like a lot of work, but it really isn't. I enjoy cloth diapering very much, and it is not a burden to me whatsoever. What IS a burden to me is having to deal with disposable diaper garbage, and knowing that all of the bulky waste and toxins from the disposable diapers will still be sitting in a landfill, even once when my child is long gone from this earth.

Cloth diapering can also be addictive, as there are some EXTREMELY CUTE diapers out there (just do a simple search on Google, Etsy, or Hyena Cart). There are also cloth diapering communities out there such as Diaper Swappers, that will get you hooked. Personally, I am in love will all things minky (see pics below)!

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Now, for the cloth diaper enthusiasts out there, here is my stash!

Right now I primarily use pocket diapers.



I have 14 BumGenius One-Size diapers (they adjust to fit an average baby from birth to potty training). These are my favourite. I got them from The Mom and Baby Boutique. I like this design the best out of all the pocket diapers (I did A LOT of research and tried several diapers before I decided which ones to invest in). They work very well, and I like that they come with a doubler (Gideon needs it), and are an adjustable size, making them very economical. The only downside is the Aplix (Velcro). Now, I like the Aplix, I find it easier than snaps, but I have heard from many people that it wears out and then the diapers fall off easily. I have had my BG's for 6 months now, and the Aplix are still fine and work well, possibly because the front-loader machines are gentler, and I hang them to dry. But I will be very disappointed if I am not able to use these diapers for all of my future children due to the Aplix. If these diapers only had snaps, I think they would be the ultimate diaper bliss for me.



I also just received 6 Large Fuzzi Bunz in the mail. I got these from my friend's store, ecobabycanada.ca, and am very excited about them. They are SO SOFT! I wish I could have underwear this soft, lol. I got them mostly because they are my favourite snap closure diaper. Gideon is getting good at taking off the Aplix diapers, so the snaps will be better for keeping them on if ever he is just wearing a diaper. Also, Gideon is a very chubby boy, and I am almost afraid that he will outgrow his BG's. His butt crack shows in them. They actually fit Judith better than they fit Gideon! So I decided to get some Large FB's, and they fit Gideon nicely. They are a tad big around the legs, but we have had no leaks so that's great. I put one of Gideon's old prefolds in each diaper as well as the insert that comes with the diapers, because I find that the FB insert isn't enough, Gideon is a very heavy wetter.





My personal favourites for purely aesthetic reasons are my minky diapers. They are pocket diapers just like the BumGenius and Fuzzi Bunz, but with a furry outer fabric. They are soft to the touch, and I just have to cuddle with them after they are washed and dried (even if they're stained, lol). These are my "luxury" diapers. I use them on Gideon when we go out so I can show them off. = ) I have one cow-print Blueberry, that honestly I am not all that impressed with, but is ok. It has Aplix, and I wish it had snaps instead. And then I have 3 Chunky Monkey diapers that I LOVE! I also had a medium Chunky Monkey AIO in a giraffe print that I loved as well, and my favourite minky of all time was a Preston's Pants minky/minky (it was minky on the inside too) pocket dipe (the one Judith and I are snuggling in the pics). But those diapers no longer fit Gideon. So that means I MUST have more children!

For Gideon's first 6 months I used prefolds, Snappis and covers when we were at home.



There are several different ways to fold prefold diapers, and they are really simple. They are also nice because they wash up really well, and are fairly easy to dry. They are also the cheapest way to go, I believe (besides making your own from recycled materials).

I also have several random fitted diapers.



These have mostly been given to me, and I use them as back-ups. They are all currently living in the kids' closet, because honestly, I don't ever need them. But they're there "in case". I did use a few regularly when Gideon was younger, I liked the Sandy's Motherease bamboo fitteds the best, and also the rainbow Muttigan 3-step-rise, but none of those fit him anymore.

I have other random PUL, wool, and fleece covers too.





The PUL ones have all been given to me, and I have a couple wool and fleece wraps. Wool is actually a wonderful fiber for covers because it is breathable, and also absorbent. They aren't 100% waterproof, but when urine gets on it, the lanolin actually turns it to soap, so it is sterile, and it also can hold 30% of it's own weight in moisture, and allows moisture to evaporate. Wool can be expensive, though, and must be washed by hand with special soap. But it only needs to be washed when soiled, if wool is wet it just needs to air dry and it is clean and good to go again. Fleece is breathable and water-resistant too. You can also get wool or fleece pants/shorts/skirts that are clothing as well as diaper covers, and I must say are extremely cute!







If you are interested in cloth diapering, but don't know much about it, I'd recommend going to diaperswappers.com and looking around. What I did was browse the for-sale-or-trade listings and went through tons of posts, looking at the photos and getting myself oriented with the different kinds of diapers available. Then I went to the chat boards and asked lots of questions. There are tons of lovely and helpful mamas there just waiting to impart their wisdom with you! I also bought several different diapers from DS, and that is how I was able to decide which ones I liked best before I bought a large quantity of new ones.

Happy diapering!