This post was first written as a guest post for Green Mama's pad, by me, a couple of months ago.
My husband and I have ventured into the cloth diapering world. After 3 kids, we decided to take the plunge with our 4th child and our 3rd, Guinevere. Guinevere, who is 2 years old, has been using cloth diapers now for about 6 months and she loves them! She actually prefers them over disposables!
(Guinevere is now potty training!) We live in an apartment so we knew we had to figure out how to make this work.
After trying an electric-free washing tumbler that did not work for cloth diapers we purchased the Haier Portable Washer which we are still using and we love it. I spent about 3 days researching portable washers for apartments and this one had the best reviews and price. It is not huge and comes with casters when ordered from Walmart so I can easily move it around which is important, as I do not want it permanently sitting in front of my kitchen sink. It did not take long to put it together and we use it about twice a day now. The portable washer works very well and is easy to hook up and remove.
There are several different types of cloth diapers. There are "all in ones" also know as AIO. These diapers have a soaker layer and a water proof layer all sewn in one. They are the most like disposable diapers. They usually have snaps or velcro, no cloth diaper safty pins needed. These are the ones I thought I would like the most and they do work very well but they are the thickest. Because everything is sewn together AIOs take the longest time to dry.
Next there are fitted cloth diapers, or prefolds with diaper covers. Diaper covers, thankfully, are not plastic underwear anymore. Now you can find velor, cotton, handmade, almost any color and design you are looking for. Now the "fitted cloth diaper" is like an all in one diaper, it is thick with a soaker sewn in and snaps or velcro but there is no water proof lining sewn into the fitted cloth diapers. And the prefolds are what your grandma would call a cloth diaper. The prefolds are like a burp cloth that you fold to fit around your baby and pin together, it also does not have a waterproof layer. This is where the diaper cover comes in.
The diaper cover has a waterproof liner sewn in and is extremely thin. It has snaps or velcro and looks just like a cloth diaper except there is no soaker layer. You snap/velcro the cloth diaper over the fitted cloth diaper or prefold to prevent wetness from getting on clothes or furniture. The diaper covers can usually be wiped with a wet cloth and used for a second diaper before tossing it into the wash. The diaper covers dry quickly but the fitted cloth diapers take almost as long as the All In Ones and the prefolds dry in just a little less time than the cloth diapers.
Now for the last diaper we have in our collection. It is called a pocket diaper and it sounds the most difficult and intimidating. It is NOT, once you have done it once, that is all you need!
The pocket diaper is a diaper cover that has a soft inner lining and a soft outer lining and has waterproof fabric in between those two layer. There is a pocket on the front or the back of the diaper where you place a soaker insert or a prefold cloth diaper (folded into thirds) inside the pocket diaper. The diapers also have snaps or velcro. Now the awesome thing about cloth diapers is you pull the lining (soaker or prefold) out of the diaper before washing. And when you dry these separate pieces they have the fastest drying time of all the cloth diapers . Not to mention if you know you are going on a long car trip you can add an extra liner into the diaper.
Now usually you would by diapers in size XS, S, M, L, XL. But there is another option. Are you still following me? I hope so. Once you get into the world of cloth diapering it is not so scary but I understand feeling intimadated, I sure was.
Ok so there are diapers that are labeled as "One Size Fits Most" or OSFM. These diapers are very cool and you can save a ton of money investing in these. This is something you should know before diving into this world, I did not find these until I had purchased almost all of our diapers, if I had known I would have bought only OSFM. One size fits most diapers have snaps on the front and these snaps make the diaper shorter or longer depending on what you need and can grow with your baby.
There are also "liners" that you can place on the inside of diaper, between the diaper and the baby's butt. Liners are kind of a cross between a dried out wipe and a piece of toilet paper, they are very durable and non irritating. They come on a roll with perforations, so you can just rip one off as needed. You can find disposable diaper liners on amazon.com and cloth diapering websites.
Now diaper liners are what it is all about when it comes to cloth diapering. This product is what makes cloth diapering not so scary anymore. These are thin liners that you put in the cloth diaper to catch poop. Now if you know about when your baby will poop, or certain foods that make your child poop you can use the liners then, or you can use them at every diaper change.
You don't have to scrap the cloth diaper or swish it around in the toilet just pick up the liner and fluch it. And the liners biodegrade within 8 days of being in the sewage system. The other great thing I found out by reading reviews of different liners is that they are reusable! I am not saying I will reuse them after poop, what I am saying is when there is just urine on the liner, toss it in the wash with the cloth diapers and reuse the liner when it comes out, nice and clean. We have tried this and the washed liners work just as well.
Wetbags are also very useful when it comes to cloth diaper. I've done a whole post on them but to summerize, they are waterproof bags that you take out with you. When you need to change the diaper you place the used diaper into the wetbag and close it. It keeps the odor and wetness inside the bag.
Are you now considering the possibility of using cloth diapers? I know, I know it is itimadating, but you can do it and once you start it is easy. You make the initial investment and you will never have to worry about having enough money for a package of diapers again, your friends will be in awe that you have it together enough to cloth diaper and you will be helping the planet.
You can do it!
Labels: Life With My Kids
