Cloth Diapers...Not That Hard, Really!

For all those who told me I would give up and move to disposable diapers, guess what? My daughter will be a year on Saturday and she is still rocking cloth diapers. Oh, and here is another shocker for you, my husband is still on board too! Why, you might ask? Well, money for one thing and it is in some ways easier than disposables. I thought I would take a moment to walk folks through my arsenal of cloth diapers and my process.

There are many different types of cloth diapers on the market. What you choose to use really depends on your child and your lifestyle. For instant I am a stay at home mom and have a child with skinny legs and is a heavy wetter at night. These are very important things to know when deciding on what cloth diapers to purchase. We chose three types of one size diapers for our arsenal. One size means they are not fitted and adjust to your child's size as they grow so you only have to buy them once. Here are the three types of diapers and purpose. 

1.) For our daughter's everyday wear we chose an "all in two" diaper (means cloth inserts can be removed from shell and replaced). Since, our daughter has skinny legs we wanted a diaper that had adjustable legs so we chose the fleece lined "Soft Bums: Echo." We purchased 6 shells, 18 standard inserts, and 24 infant inserts for the first two months of infancy. Three of the shells are Velcro and three are snaps. Velcro may seem like the easier route until your child learns how to pull off his or her's diaper in a public setting, then you will be wanting those more complicated snaps!

All in two diaper, Soft Bums: Echo

2.) For night time wear we chose a "pocket" diaper (means you stuff the inserts into the diaper instead of laying them in the diaper like an "all in two"). Pocket diapers allow you to stuff in more inserts if your baby happens to be a heavy wetter. For this we purchased four the fleece lined, adjustable leg "Soft Bums: Omni"  pocket diapers, which came with one insert each. We also could use the inserts from her everyday diapers if needed.

Pocket diaper, Soft Bums: Omni

3.) For out and about we chose the thinner "Flip" diaper. We purchased four shells and six cloth inserts. This is a fairly inexpensive diaper shell with no lining so the can be rinsed and dry quickly when traveling or on the go. The inserts can be cloth or disposable. That's right! You can purchase composting inserts that can be disposed of on the go and will actually break down in the dump. These take up half the room of her everyday diapers in the diaper bag.

Travel diaper, Flip with disposable insert 

Finally, the odds and ends:

• Cloth wipes are a must really. If you are already washing cloth diapers it would be silly not to use cloth wipes. We purchased three dozen wipes.

• Cloth wet bags for the diaper bag. Just throw them into the diaper pail with the diapers after use. We have two of these which I made from waterproof PUL fabric from the local fabric store.

• A sprayer that hooks into your toilet to spray that poop right into the toilet is not a must but very nice to have.

• A diaper pail! We have plastic pail with a locking lid designed for bio hazard material. Never an issue with smell. Wipe clean after each time you empty it.

• Bac-out by Biokleen is a must. It keeps bacterial growth in check. After you spray poop off a diaper add a couple sprays of bac-out and into the pail. Use it to wipe out you diaper pail and add to the wash if it is a particularly stinky load of diapers. Also, it works great on stains such as food, blood, and vomit.

Got everything! Now to washing. Some people have a very strict washing routine when it comes to cloth diapers. I wash when it looks like I am getting low on either shells or inserts. Wash once on cold with 1/3 the amount of detergent (free and clear, of course) you would use on a normal load and again on hot with no detergent. Then into the dryer or air dry and that's it.

Easier? Well, I never have to make extra trips to the store for diapers or wipes and fewer trips out to the garbage can. The washer is closer and inside, I might add.