I am posting this as a request to a few people. I am aware how long the post is and WILL respond to all questions pertaining to cloth diapering in the comment section. Feel free to ask me anything cloth diapering related via comment or e-mail and I will do my very best to find you an answer to your question. I hope this will help those of you who have given a thought to cloth diapering but just don't know where to start. And I also hope I don't confuse you more in writing this. ;)
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So you’re thinking about getting started in the world of cloth diapering. If you have looked into it at all you are probably rather overwhelmed – AIO, AI2, Pockets, Fitteds, Flats, Prefolds – what are all these things and how do I know what I am going to need?! Hopefully with a little explanation I can have your mind a little less jumbled a little more confident that you can pick a method that will work for you, your baby, and your family.
First I’ll explain the different types of cloth diapers out there –
All-in-One/All-in-Two (AIO/AI2)
These are your convenience diapers – they have been designed to make your life easier. They work just like a disposable (or “sposie”). Just as the name reflects they are everything in one piece or there are quick dry options out there that may be called AI2. They will have the absorbent core on the outside to make the drying time quicker. Some options for AI2s will be a lay in soaker where you just simply place the soaker inside the diaper for added absorbency. There are sewn in where the doubler will be stitched into place on one end so that it is still attached, but you won’t be hunting and matching up doublers after the wash. There are also snap in soakers where you can take the soaker out and then snap it into place to keep it put in the diaper.
Other than the obvious convenience factor these diapers are very daddy and babysitter friendly. Those that maybe scared at the whole aspect of cloth diapering often can be sold on the use of an AIO/AI2. Some things to think about is that AIOs can take a LONG time to dry – 2 cycles or longer in the dryer. For that reason I am a huge fan of quick dry versions or AI2. Another thing (that is solely my opinion) is that I feel that if a diaper is that thick and that the one side is waterproof that sometimes cleaning can be an issue. I have sometimes ran into stink problems from build up in AIOs. That is definitely not an all the time and again my opinion. There are people the use and love their AIOs.
I, myself, have 4 AI2s that I keep for use in my diaper bag. They are easy and I am not using them every day. They have the external soaker and therefore dry fast and get clean. I have had no problem with this system.
Pockets
Pocket diapers are much like AIOs that they are rather convenient and daddy and babysitter friendly. These diapers are made up of a waterproof outer and an inner that is made of fleece or some other material that will wick (or pull the moisture) away from the baby’s behind. At one end there is an opening that you are able to stuff your absorbent insert into. Popular inserts for pocket diapers are made of microfiber…any absorbent material is good though – hemp, cotton, flannel, etc. Out of the wash you will pre-stuff your diapers and they will be ready for use on your baby. After soiled, you will shake (or pull) out the insert before putting the diaper into the diaper pail.
Fitteds
Fitted diapers are much like AIO other than they are not waterproof. These diapers WILL REQUIRE an additional cover worn over top so that they are waterproof. Fitted diapers are still easy in the fact that they work much like a sposie and close with snaps or velcro. Some fitteds can take a long time to dry as like AIOs they can either have an internal or external soaker. I tend to gravitate to diapers that are quick drying. It kills me to have to run the dryer longer than I have to and again I feel that the less layers inside the diaper the cleaner the diaper will get.
There are also some fitted diapers that are “pocket fitteds” and will have an opening where you can stuff additional absorbency into the diaper which is especially nice at nap time and night time.
Prefolds & Flats
These are the diapers that most people think of when they think “cloth diapering”. Both will require the use of a cover to make the diaper waterproof. They also both require a bit of folding on your part and thus have a small learning curve.
Prefolds come in a few different sizes. The most common prefold sizes are premie, infant, regular/premium, and toddler. They are called “prefolds” due to the fact that they are a large piece of fabric pre-folded and then stitched together. The common layers are 4x6x4 or 4x8x4 – the middle number referring to the number of layers in the center panel.
Flats are one large piece of fabric that you have to fold down. There are many different folds including the kite, origami, or prefold. Flats are probably the most intimidating to a newbie.
Once you learn your folds with either Prefolds or Flats you will soon find that they really aren’t that hard to master. Some of the perks to these diapers is that they clean out well, they dry rather quickly (ESPECIALLY flats), and they are most definitely your most cost-effective method of diapering.
I am a prefold lover. Honestly, I have never tried a flat so I really can’t say much about them. I got prefolds because they are cheap and I figured I would give them a try. No matter what I always go back to my prefolds. They fit for a much longer amount of time than sized diapers do and due to the fact that you are folding them onto your baby you always have a custom fit. When your baby is moble and wants to crawl everywhere prefolds do get a bit more difficult, but in my opinion it can be equally as trying to get a fitted or an AIO on a wriggly baby.
Prefolds often come in either bleached or unbleached. This is a matter of opinion as to what you prefer. If you want them white you’ll want bleached and a more “natural” color you would choose unbleached. Another option you will find with prefolds is Indian vs. Chinese. The difference between these is another one preference. I have heard that Chinese are slightly more durable but not as soft and Indian tend to wear faster, but are softer. Both are good quality diapers.
When it comes to closing your prefolds or flats you can either use pins or a snappi. A snappi is shaped like a “T” with little teeth to grab onto the diaper. First you snag one side, then you stretch it across the diaper and snag the other side, and last you snag the lower middle foot to keep it all in place. These take the stress out of prefolds and flats for those who are intimdated or down-right resistant to the use of pins. Don’t worry I’m not a fan of pins either. I tried…but that’s as far as I got. ;)
One-Size
One last type of diaper is the One-Size. One-Size or OS diapers are made to fit babies through multiple sizes. Some start at 8 or less pounds some start at 15 lbs. OS can be bulky on a little baby, but some are not. They typically cost a little more but when you break down the price it would cost to buy multiple sizes they often times are MUCH more economic. There are OS AIOs, OS Pockets, OS Fitteds, and even OS Covers out there.
Covers
When you choose fitteds, prefolds, or flats you will also need to get yourself some covers as these diapers are not waterproof on their own. Covers go on top of the diaper and then make the diaper waterproof. There are also different kinds of covers.
PUL
These are probably the most used cover. They can be laundered with diapers. PUL is a waterproof material. These covers close by snaps or velcro or can be pull on type as well.
With prefolds, some people trifold their diapers and simply lay them in the covers. It is a method in which is easier than folding and still gets the job done. Be prepared if you choose to do this that there will be no poop containment as if you were folding the diaper around the baby. However, your cover will contain the poop and keep it off of baby’s clothing.
You can use pretty much the same cover all day long. If your cover gets overly wet you can switch to another cover and air dry the wet cover until next diaper change and use it again. However, you should be changing often enough that your cover really doesn’t get that wet. Now, obviously, if you got poop on the cover you would not want to use it any more.
Fleece
Fleece can be used as a diaper cover as well. Sometimes you will see these as pull-on soakers, shorties (shorts), longies (pants), or can be closed with velcro in wrap style.
Fleece is not 100% waterproof and can wick moisture and have compression leaking – think carseats for a long ride.
Fleece will need to be laundered regularly just like PUL.
Wool
Wool is an amazing fiber. Wool has natural antibacterial properties and self cleans which makes it a perfect material to make diaper covers from. At first you will need to lanolize your wool which makes it waterproof. This only needs done every few washes depending on how hard you use your wool. Otherwise you only need to wash your wool (which is by hand) ever few weeks or as you notice it developing a smell to it.
You may notice there are many different styles of wool covers as well. You can have wrap style covers, soakers, shorties, longies, skirties. It can be made of interlock which is a wool material. You can have crocheted wool or knitted wool.
There is a bit of a learning curve when starting out with wool, but it’s quick to pick up and well worth learning.
As with fleece, because wool is not 100% waterproof you may have wicking or compression leaks which can be caused by long car rides or an overly saturated diaper so you will want to pay attention to those things.
Now here is a little bit about why I chose what I chose –
I started cloth diapering when my daughter was 15 months. I found out about cloth diapering and I decided it was something that I wanted to do with my next child. I also thought that with all the craziness of having a new baby that perhaps I could use my daughter as my guinea pig so that when it was time to cloth diaper a new baby that I would already know what I was doing. I sold my husband on it and the rest was history.
With my daughter pockets and AIOs really appealed to me. I liked the idea of something so simple. I also tried some prefolds and fitteds with her as well. At first it went really well but with the pockets and AIOs I did develop some stink with build up. I also decided with her to give it up when we were down to just nap and night time diapers. I was doing diaper laundry less frequently and just couldn’t shake the stink and felt that doing diaper wash with just 2 or 4 diapers was just not worth it.
Then I got pregnant with my son. I was so excited to get back into it but honestly I was a little intimidated with the fact that I had encountered some issues my first go around. I did more and more research and this time I decided that I was going to stick to fitteds and prefolds as I felt I could get them cleaner.
My son came along and from leaving the hospital on he was cloth diapered. He has only been in sposies for two long trips away from home. I have had no problems with Cding this time around and am glad that I decided to give it another go.
Ok so now you have a good idea about all the different types of diapers that are out there. You need to weigh the pros and cons of each kind and decide what method is going to work best for YOU.
Now that I know what I want, how many should I have?
Washing is a big thing when discussing cloth diapering. Everyone has this idea that the extra amount of wash is just going to be too much and they will be doing nothing other than washing diapers. In reality the extra wash that cloth diapering amounts to is one extra load every other day (ideally). If you can afford to have enough diapers to go every other day I would strongly recommend it. Just the difference of washing every day versus every other is huge. Cloth diapering has actually helped keep me on top of my wash better, but the diaper laundry has never bothered me.
Newborns and young babies go through a lot of diapers. As they get older they will go through fewer diapers a day. This is also another reason that cloth diapering a young baby is such a great idea. Think of all those diapers you are saving.
I usually recommend having between 30 – 36 diapers to wash every other day with a newborn. That should allow you enough diapers that you can go every other day AND have enough when the diapers are being washed as well. This is also when most people take a look at the method that they have chosen and just double check. At AIOs running approximately $20+ per diaper and a dozen prefolds costing around the same as one of those AIOs and the other diapers falling somewhere in between you have to take into account the diapers that your budget allows. It may not allow for an entire stash of AIOs, but you may have more than for an entire stash containing prefolds. Assess your budget and go from there. But 30 – 36 is going to be a safe number.
If you are using flats, prefolds, or fitteds you also are going to need covers. For my stash of diapers all needing covers I have done well using 6 covers. Especially in the beginning, count on poop getting on the covers often. Newborn poop is amazing and hard to contain. If you have half a stash of either AIOs or Pockets and the other half is fitteds and prefolds I would probably recommend 4 covers. And if you have a majority AIOs or Pockets and just a few needing covers I would recommend either 2 or 3 covers.
So I have the diapers and I have the covers, what’s next?
Now you know how many diapers you are getting and you know what kind you are getting and if you will need covers or not. You’re not quite done. You are going to need just a few more things.
Diaper Pail
You need a place to put all those soiled diapers. With my daughter I used a dry pail – actually a 25lb pet food container with a locking lid from Target. I had issues such as the condensation on the lid just kind of grossed me out. It never let the smell out but when you opened it…well it was stinky. I also had to clean it out after every load of diapers. It just wasn’t the ideal for me.
With my son I decided that I wanted to get an extra large wet bag. A wet bag is a waterproof bag meant to carry around your soiled diapers (also work wonderfully for potty training accidents or trips to the pool). Wet bags come in many sizes but there is one that is rather large – about the size of a trash bag – and those are my favorites. They don’t take up a lot of space. When you have a wet diaper you just toss it in. If it’s pooped you take care of that and then toss it in. When wash day comes around you just take the bag, dump out the diapers into the machine, and toss the bag right in on top. Everything comes out clean together. There is no ick factor using this method.
If you would choose to go with a large wet bag you would need to have two and rotate them when the one is in the wash you’ll have the other on hand for use.
Wipes
You also need to decide if you want to use cloth wipes or if you want to use sposie wipes. Here are the pros and cons in my opinion.
Sposie wipes you wipe and toss. You don’t need to worry about cleaning them and therefore would not have an ick factor. They are convenient in the fact that you pop them out of the pack and go. They are often times what we are used to and therefore comfortable. This is sometimes the last thing people that are hooked on sposies can give up. The biggest con that I have found is that when you have that yucky wipe where are you going to put it? You used to roll it up and toss it out with the diapers, but instead now you just have a stinky wipe to deal with.
There is a middle ground that I have heard of people using and those are flushable wipes. These moist wipes have the convenience of sposie wipes but help solve the problem of where to put the wipe by tossing them and flushing them in the toilet. The con is that you are still using something that is single use and you must replenish when they run out.
Your other option is cloth wipes. I use cloth wipes and this is why. Cloth wipes are convenient to me. They are always there just like cloth diapers. When I am done with them I toss them in the diaper. I don’t have to pay any more attention to make sure I am not washing any throw away wipes. If there is a poopy I take care of them just the same as I would a diaper and there is nothing more to worry about. There are solutions that you can make to use to wet the wipes, but honestly I just wet them using tap water. When my son was younger and the tap was not as convenient I kept a sposie wipe container of water at the changing area that I dipped the wipes in when it was time to change him. The thing to remember about this is that standing water will get funky. Make sure that you change the water and wipe out the container often. Another great idea is the peri bottle that you get at the hospital. That works great for holding water to wet the wipes.
How many wipes you need is roughly how many diapers you have plus half more. Often times one cloth wipe can do the job that 4 or 5 sposie wipes can do so you won’t use that many. However, newborns poop A LOT. I think that a safe number is usually as many diapers as you half plus half. So if, for example, you have 36 diapers get yourself 54 wipes.
Wipes can be anything from wash clothes (you can usually find cheap regular wash clothes at Wal-Mart where a pack of 18 is about $3.00), baby wash clothes like the little Gerber ones make good wipes, and many diaper retailers will market diaper wipes out of many different types of fabric. Anything will really work though. They don’t have to be velour or anything super special to get the job done.
Diaper Sprayer
This is NOT a requirement, but I strongly strongly recommend it. A diaper sprayer looks like the sprayer that is attached to your kitchen sink, but you connect it to the plumbing on your toilet. It is easy to attach and you don’t need to know much or anything about plumbing to do it. The diaper sprayer will make life with poop so much more enjoyable. I started out with my daughter thinking that I would not need one. I was told that a “poop-spatcula” would suffice. After a few times of scrapping the not-so-solid poop from the diaper I decided I had enough of it. With a sprayer you do not need to touch anything you simply swish the diaper in the toilet as you would have before but anything that doesn’t easily come off you can spray off. When you are done you just hang up the sprayer and toss the diaper in your wet bag. Easy peasy. My husband especially full recommends having a sprayer. He doesn’t mind cleaning up a poopy diaper with the sprayer. My sprayer has been up since shortly after I started cloth diapering my daughter and three years later it is still going strong.
Another perk is that if you use a little potty for potty training the sprayer comes in handy for cleaning that out as well. ;)
Wet Bag
If you plan on cloth diapering outside of the house you will need something to put your dirty diapers in until you get home. You can use anything from a plastic grocery bag (although still wasteful), to a gallon Ziploc (ditto), or you can get yourself a small wet bag. Like I spoke of before, a wet bag is a waterproof bag that you can put your soiled diapers into. You can get drawstring, velcro, or zipper closure. I happen to prefer zipper because I believe the smell gets contained a bit better. Most wet bags will tell you how many diapers they should hold. You need to look at that and decide what suits your needs depending on how long you are typically out.
Diaper Pins *or* Snappi
If you are using flats or prefolds you will want to have either diaper pins or snappis. I would recommend having two sets of pins or two snappis. You never seem to have one near you when you need it or you will have a back-up should you break a snappi. Make sure to read your package if you purchase a snappi but you should pre-stretch them and replace after about 6 month of use.
Doublers
There are times when you are going to need a little extra absorbency to your diapers – nap times (if your baby takes a long naps), night time (after your baby is sleeping longer stretches and no longer needs changed at night), running errands or long car rides where you may keep baby in the diaper a little longer than if you were at home. These are all times that adding a doubler to boost the absorbency of your diaper may be needed. Doublers are made from many different types of material. Hemp has a natural antibacterial property to it making it a common material to find in diapers and doublers. It is also rather trim for the amount of absorbency. Another doubler you may find is microfiber. Microfiber is very thirsty but please DO NOT place microfiber next to your baby’s skin as it is will pull the moisture from the skin and can make a nasty rash. For times that you want the baby to have stay-dry such as when sleeping you may want to get a fleece topped doubler as fleece will pull the moisture away from the skin.
The amount of doublers really depend on how often you are going to use them and how heavy a wetter you have. I would recommend somewhere between 4 and 10 depending on your needs. This is also something that you can just get a couple and see what you will need and go from there. Don’t over estimate. If you get in a bind you can use a lot of things in a pinch such a wipe, a wash cloth, or pieces of scrap receiving blankets.
Diaper Rash Cream
This is not really something that you “need” but I just wanted to mention that NOT ALL diaper rash creams are cloth diaper friendly. Your Desitin, Butt Paste, and the like are not friendly for cloth diapers. There are many that you can get online that are specifically for cloth diapering but if you want to be able to stop at Target for rash cream you can pick up Burt’s Bees Rash Cream or Aveeno diaper rash cream and use it without having to worry about it harming your diapers.
Laundry Detergent
Another thing that I just should mention is that you cannot use just any laundry detergent on your diapers. Please make sure that the detergent that you are using is safe for cloth diapers. The link for Pin Stripes and Polka Dots is at the end of this document and they have compiled an amazing list of the different laundry detergents and if they are safe. That is what I consult about my choices. They also are my go-to for washing advice. Because everyone’s water is different and different machines do things differently – there are front loaders and top loaders – I cannot tell you exactly what washing routine will work for you. Pin Stripes and Polka Dots has information that will get you off to a great start there. And if you need any help feel free to contact me with specific concerns and I will do my best to help.
For what it’s worth I wash with a Front Loading LG Steam Washer and use ECOS Free & Clear laundry detergent. If you use the same or similar machine I would be more than happy to share my washing routine with you.
Anything else?
Another little tidbit that you may want to know concerning the washing of your diaper is staining. Everyone fears poop stains, but not everyone knows that most every poop stains can come out. If you end up with a poop stain – make it wet and lay it in full sun. The stain should come out within a few hours of being in the sun. If the stain does not come out after just sun – wet the diaper, apply lemon juice to the stain, and lay in full sun. The acid in the lemon juice will help to remove the stain. This should remove almost ALL poop stains. VERY few of my diapers have any staining in them.
Confused about terminology?
Here is a link that gives you the definitions to commonly used cloth diapering terms:
http://www.diaperjungle.com/cloth-diaper-terminology.html
My recommendations…
Some of my favorites are BayBee Diapers (http://www.baybee.ca/merchant/merchant.mvc? ) …unfortunately I am sad to say that at this point in time they are no longer making diapers and BayBee is up for sale. If you happen upon some of these used – they are wonderful wonderful diapers.
Susie One Size or SOS (http://sosdiapers.wahmweb.com/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=Diapering&Sub=6 ) are also great diapers. They are a one size fitted diaper. I have found them slightly bulky on a little baby, but once they get to about 15 lbs they are just great!
My favorite covers are Thirsties (http://www.thirstiesbaby.com/covers.htm ) because they have gussets which really contain wonderfully.
My favorite prefolds come from Green Mountain Diapers (http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm#prefolds) and I also really like Little Lion Prefolds (http://www.little-lions.com/ ).
I really like Green Mountain Diapers Small Hemp Doublers (http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/doublers.htm ) and for night time I throw a Polar Babies Fleece Topped Doubler (http://www.diaperware.com/productpage/doublers.htm#polar ) to give my little guy a dry heiny through the night.
My favorite store to purchase covers is Nicki’s Diapers (http://nickisdiapers.com/ ) as she offers free shipping on all covers.
For newborns I hands down loved my Sandy’s Diapers made by Mother-Ease (https://usshop.motherease.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=8&cat=Sandy%27s%99+Diaper ). They are easy on the budget, they last a while without being overly bulky. They lasted on my little guy till he was easily 15 lbs. and able to fit into OS diapers well.
My "Go To" for cloth diapering basics - PinStripes & PolkaDots - http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm The washing is under its own heading and then there are a few different to pick your detergent and whatnot. GREAT info all over that site.
I have also previously written two informative posts containing a lot of information regarding cloth diapering. Feel free to check there for more information as well:
I love my baby’s diapers (http://gohnfamily.blogspot.com/2007/08/i-love-my-babys-diapers.html )
AND
9 months and still cloth diapering (http://gohnfamily.blogspot.com/2008/03/9-months-and-still-cloth-diapering.html )
Everything contained in this document is strictly my opinion. If you have any questions about anything that I have included please feel free to e-mail me at gohncrazy at gmail dot com. I will be posting this to my blog and any questions that I receive will be answered in the comment section so please feel free to look there for additional information.
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