Cloth Diapers

There are so many people that are curious and interested in our pregnancy. I am so happy to answer any questions and tell them how I am feeling, planning, doing, etc. Although, it does get sort of annoying when I tell people we are going to cloth diaper they look at me like I have totally lost my mind. Then they follow up with a comment similar to if not exactly, "Wow, you are more daring than me."

When I hear comments like the one above, it makes me feel like I am doing something totally bizarre or something incorrect. Here are some examples of some "other" options I might suggest ;-) "Wow, that is cool." "I don't know how that works, what do you need to do that?" "I would really like to know more about that." "I never thought about doing that, what made you want to?" In their defense, cloth diaper has come a LONG way from safety pins, rubber pants, and toilet dunking. Some people may not know about all the advances they have made in the world of cloth diapering.

First, I guess it would only be fair to divulge some information about why we decided to do cloth diapers.

• My mom did it, why wouldn't I do the same?
• Cost savings- If you figure that the average newborn goes through 8-12 diapers a day, 6-8 diapers a day for an older baby, that can really add up; at the cost of about $0.29 per disposable diaper. In 6 months disposable diapers can cost up to $650!
  
• Better for baby-cloth diapers do not have irritating chemicals in them to "wick" away wetness. Less chemicals = less diaper rash.
• Less time in diapers-when babies/toddlers can actually feel they are wet in cloth diapers, they will know what it feels like when they have an "accident" and will progress to potty training faster.

You can also read more about the "Reasons to Cloth Diaper" in THIS link.

Some the "advances" that will be helpful and make the process easier are:

1. There are 2 types of cloth diapers out there. Pocket diapers and prefold diapers.

Pocket diapers look like this:

Pre-fold diapers look like this:

The covers for pre-fold diapers look like this:

If you go with the pocket diaper, the insert goes into the "pocket" that is sewn into the cover. So they are an "all in 1" kind of diaper. We went with the pre-fold diaper b/c we didn't want to mess with pulling a soiled diaper out of a pocket and then having 2 cloth things to launder. With the prefold you can rinse out the cover and hang dry it (as long as no poopies get loose) ;-) I have heard the pocket option is the way to go for sleeping. The other thing to keep in mind, with pre-fold diapers you will need to buy different sizes. With some pocket diapers they are adjustable and go from newborn to 'big' baby all in 1 diaper. So there are advantages/disadvantages to both.

2. Wet bags are the way to go! No need for a diaper genie (less waste and less expensive there too). All you need is 1 large wet bag (that is washable) that will fit into a garbage pail with a lid. Here is a look at what we are going with:

Here is a picture of what we are going to give to the day care/babysitter (1st) larger and holds dry and wet diapers; and what we are going to put in the diaper bag (2nd) smaller and wet only diapers:

3. Sprayer to rise the poopies off into the toilet. It attaches to the water source on the toilet. (BTW, I heard this could be really good for post labor).

4. Lastly, I heard you don't have to have these, but they would seem to help secure the prefold diaper better, especially if you have a wiggly active baby. Snappies:

Here is a video I found REALLY helpful for folding and securing a prefold diaper:

So that is all the information I currently have on cloth diapers. There are tons of other resources out there too. I am sure I will have more info when we actually get to diapering baby Sweet. ;-)

To finish, I don't think it is bad if you use disposable diapers. It is just not for us. I really hope this blog stops some of the crazy looks I have gotten. Maybe it will give insight into the fact cloth diapers are better for baby Sweet, better for the environment, less expensive, and really not all that much more time consuming.

Thanks for reading and leave a comment if you have any questions.

Heather