So I'm totally obsessed with cloth diapers and I think ANYONE can do it. I used solely cloth diapers on our oldest son. We used cloth for the first few months with our youngest, but I switched to disposable because I was having a tough year and, honestly, I needed to focus my energy on other things. Thinking back on it, I wish I had stuck with cloth for Teddy. Cloth diapers are so easy and so much better for our environment. And they're so damn cute you guys! But they’re so expensive! Okay, okay, I know they're pricey, BUT... you shell out the money up front (around $400-$600) and then you never buy another diaper. Trust me, I've calculated, you save thousands!
My hope is that this advice can help anyone who’s considering the cloth diaper route. It’s a routine that comes with a lot of questions and if you can talk to someone who has done it before, I think it helps.
Here's my take on those commonly asked questions:
Cloth diapers are so dirty and messy though. Why would you use those?: News flash- kids are dirty and messy no matter what type of diaper you use. Having used both cloth and disposable, I can also say that the disposables leaked WAY more often than our cloth diapers. I get it though, you're grossed out by having to wash the diapers in the same washing machine that washes your clothes. With the tricks I used, we never had stool-soiled diapers in the laundry, just pee.
What kind of diapers should I use?: Cloth diapers these days are just like the disposable ones. Erase the idea from your mind that you have to wrap your babies in cotton towels with huge pins. Reusables come as an all-in-one diaper with a secure fit (Velcro or buttons) and are super absorbent. The coolest thing is that the diapers grow with your baby! You buy one set and that's it! These diapers have adjustable buttons that you adjust as your baby grows. Seriously- you can use the same diapers from birth to potty training.
Here are some of my favorite bands:
Bummis
BumGenius
GroVia
Where to buy: I've found that The Diaper Junction has the widest variety of cloth diaper choices.
What about reusable wipes?:We used Baby Kicks reusable wipes and they were great! Since they're cloth, they're very strong and can clean up big messes. I bought about 40 of them and they lasted for the entirety of Dexter's diapering life. If we'd continued with Teddy, I'm sure they would have held up. When changing a diaper you simply grab a wipe and spray it until 1/2 soaked. The soiled wipe can go right into the diaper pail laundry. Typically, I used 1 or 2 wipes per changing.
I also made my own diaper spray that was baby-friendly and smelled amazing. I loved that I knew the all the natural ingredients that went into it and it seemed to reduce diaper rash outbreaks. Each bottle lasted me about a month.
Here's the recipe:
1c Distilled Water
1 tbsp Dr. Bronner's Soap in the light blue bottle, usually in the baby section (I bought a big bottle at Whole foods for $9.99 and it will probably last for a year or two)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 drops of essential oils (I used lavender). You can find these at any natural food grocer. They're around $10/each, but will last you years.
2 drops tea tree oil
Using a funnel, pour all ingredients into a spray bottle (I used a cheap Target brand bottle) and shake to combine.
**You''ll need to buy a diaper rash cream that is cloth diaper safe.
Where does all that poop go? They make spray devices that attach to your toilet, but we avoided that whole scene. Instead we used diaper liners. You lay the liner inside of each diaper and if your kid poops the liner catches it all and you can throw this directly into the toilet. They're super thin and your kid will never notice the addition. Pro tip: Make sure the liner is entirely tucked into the diaper or you could get leaks.
How do you wash your diapers?: There are plenty of diaper washing service companies out there, but I'm too cheap to pay someone else when I can do it at home myself. Here's the run-down on diaper laundry:
Wash your diapers at least every 2 or 3 days. The longer you let them sit in the diaper bin, the more likely they are to smell. Plus, washing them regularly helps to keep their whites bright.
Cold pre-wash/spin, hot/cold wash cycle, extra wash with cold water then dry on medium heat. If you notice some stains you can put a wet diaper out in the sun for a few hours and they disappear. It's amazing.
I've tested a ridiculous amount of laundry detergents and found that the Rockin' Green brand is, hands-down, the best detergent for cloth diapers. They make a few different scents, but my favorite is their Classic Rock powder.
How do they hold all that pee?: Cloth diapers are surprisingly absorbent, but if you're still getting leaks, look into getting a microfiber or hemp insert for added absorbency. These inserts give your baby a Kardasian ass, but they do the trick. We used them at night when our kids were peeing buckets. I’ll admit that the diaper can get crazy large with all the inserts for added absorbancy, but my kids never seemed to notice.
How do you store the soiled diapers?: We used a cheap, tall white trash can with a lid and a Planet Wise washable pail liner (buy 2 so you can have a back up while the other one is in the wash). The smell wasn’t noticeable unless we waited too long to do a load of laundry.
My kid goes to daycare, how can I continue to use cloth diapers?: Talk to your daycare provider. Once they understand how easy it is to change a cloth diaper, they're happy to do it. A few mentioned that cloth diapers did not follow health code, but after some research we found that they were wrong. As long as they didn’t have to dump the poop at school (they’d keep it in the diaper and then we’d dump it at home-no biggie), it was within the health code regulations. Most of our kids teachers were surprised how easy it was. We would send a travel dry/wet bag to school every day along with 5 or 6 diapers. I obviously didn't send my reusable wipes/spray, but rather sent in a box of disposable wipes.
What do you use for swimming?: Reusable swim diapers are just as cute and SO much cheaper than those overpriced Dora-themed swim diapers. We use iplay diapers but there are tons of options out there.
How do you travel with cloth diapers?: A lot of people switch to disposables when they travel, but we've always stuck with the cloth diapers. If there's a washing machine you can use when you travel and you’re up for doing some laundry on vacation, then stick to your same routine. If your hosts are not too keen on you washing soiled diapers in their machine then you'll need to get disposables. I'll admit that while we did travel with cloth diapers, it was kind of a pain. They took up a lot of room in our suitcases and we had to stay on top of laundry while on vacation. Lame. Do what works best for you and your travel needs.
Just like any new habit, it takes time to get used to cloth diapering. But I promise it's something anyone can do. Here are some of the bebnefits I found:
It's cheaper in the long run.
My kids had an all-natural product (usually hemp or bamboo) against their skin all day.
They come is really cute designs. Seriously ya’ll!
It felt good not to throw 6-12 diapers in trash everyday.