The basics of cloth diapering and the choices we made

Many of you have written to me asking about cloth diapering: how to get started, what I do, where you should buy them, etc. I am excited to share our method of cloth diapering but it is important for you to know that there are so many different ways to approach it. I have written out the decisions we made below and added some of my favorite resources that helped me while I was learning about the process.

NEWBORN STASH

A lot of people skip cloth diapering during the newborn stage. And rightly so. Newborn cloth diapers require unique diapers and covers – both in size and style. Newborn diapers have a snap that holds the cloth diaper away from the umbilical cord area. In addition, they are the cutest little teeny tiny diapers you have ever seen (meaning they are SMALL). And if you decide to cloth diaper those first few weeks – you will have to buy these unique diapers and a lot of them (at least 24 diapers + 6 covers). Newborns need their cloth diapers changed about every hour or so! For these reasons, a lot of people make the decision to use disposable diapers until their babies grow into the next size up.

Our choices: I just couldn’t keep myself away from these itty bitty adorable diapers! Plus, I knew I was going to have more than one baby so I chalked it up to an investment. In retrospect, I am glad we made this decision because Sunday fit into her newborn diapers for five months (about 12lbs)!

To be honest, during those first few weeks I really doubted that we were saving any money. What with the cost of the diapers themselves and then having to wash them SO frequently in the newborn stage (almost every day)… but after watching her fit into them for five months, I am grateful for the decision we made.

If you are hesitant to build a newborn stash yourself, perhaps you could add newborn disposable diapers to your gift registry. Then you will save a ton of money!

Here is what our newborn stash consisted of:

• 8 Kissaluvs Cotton Fleece Fitted Newborn Diapers
  (fit her the longest)
• 12 swaddlebees organic cotton fitted diapers (our favorites by far)
• 6 organic caboose fitted diapers (grew out of first)
• 12 gmd newborn prefolds (low cost and excellent to have on hand for the “we’re out of diapers and haven’t washed them yet” days, as well as burp cloths!)
• 6 Real Nappies Newborn Diaper Covers
• 2 kissa’s wool lover diaper cover (never used)

AFTER NEWBORN-STASH

This is where things get a little confusing for the new-to-cloth-diapering-folks. There are SO many styles of diapers (prefolds, fitteds, all-in-ones, all-in-twos) and covers (velcro, snaps, one-size) out there. As much as I tried to make all the right choices – it really did become a trial and error situation for us. The good thing was that cloth diapers hold their value very well, so I knew if something wasn’t working for us that I could easily sell the diapers and buy replacements.

Our choices: I decided to go the fitted, one-size route with velcro covers. What this meant was that I was going to buy fitted diapers (they look like a cloth version of disposable diapers) that grew with the baby. If I was going to cloth diaper to save money, I wanted to do my best to save money. Buying diapers that grew with the baby only made sense.

We DID have some trial and error (read: diaper rash!) with Sunday when she was around 4-6 months old (as we transitioned from newborn to one sized diapers). In the end I discovered that one type of diaper we were using was not nearly as absorbent as the other and it was leaving her skin irritated. I ended up selling that brand and replacing it with more of the brand that was working for us.

I also chose velcro covers mostly because I wanted a quick way to put a cover on as snug as possible. Over time I have picked up a few snap covers from yard sales and friends to have on hand when Sunday learns how to use velcro herself.Tommy really likes the snaps, too, so I am glad to have them for him.

Here is what our current stash looks like:

• 18 Pooters Organic Bamboo Diapers
• 6 Kissaluvs One Size Contour Diapers (used only when all of the pooters are dirty!)
• 6 Bummis Super Brite Diaper Covers (Small)
• 4 Bummis Super Brite Diaper Covers (Medium)
• 2 One-Size snap covers

Here are other essentials for cloth diapering:

• Wet bags (2 trash can size & 2 travel size)
• Diaper pail (a trash can does the job here, just line it with a wet bag!)
• Cloth diaper safe detergent (we started with Country Savenow use Rockin’ Green)
• Cloth diaper safe rash cream (after trial and error with a number of products, we now use Coconut Oil)

My favorite resources I discovered during my cloth diapering escapade:

• Why Cloth Diaper? You can easily google this question and come up with a ton of resources. This is just one of my favorites – an easy little read from a KG mama.
• An easy explanation for the different types of cloth diapers
• Know the language (acronyms and definitions)
• Learn a diaper washing routine
• Choose a detergent
• Buy used diapers (I bought all of our newborn kissaluvs used!)
• And finally, a fantastic (but slightly biased since it’s from a diaper company) How-To Guide for all things cloth diapering (tutorial videos and lists galore!)

Stay tuned, I will be writing more about how our cloth diapering journey has evolved since Sunday was born.

In the meantime, I really want to know from those of you who made the decision either TO cloth diaper or NOT to, and why? I love to hear other points of views!