How to use and store cloth wipes!

Guest Post by Laura

I made the choice to start using cloth wipes about 6 weeks after I started cloth diapering. I was sick of sorting the disposable wipes out from the diaper pail before throwing them into the wash, and I just didn’t want a small wastebasket sitting next to our diaper pail with dirty wipes in it.

When you’re choosing to start out using cloth wipes, you should consider buying a couple packs of baby washcloths at your local grocery store. They cost about $4-6 a dozen, and cloth wipes are usually around $2 a piece. It’s worth trying the washcloths because if you don’t like it in the end, you’re not out a lot of money. I purchased 20 washcloths. For us, that’s almost enough for 2 days with 2 of our girls wearing diapers.  *Some find that the cotton terry washcloths are too rough, in this case you can purchase cloth wipes made of flannel, cotton or velour from a cloth diaper retailer.

There are 2 methods of using cloth wipes: the dry method and the wet method. With the dry method, your wipe solution (or water) is placed inside a spray bottle and you spray your baby’s bottom and wipe it up with a dry wipe.

With the wet method, you mix your wipe solution in a bowl or pitcher, submerge your cloth wipes and wring them out and store them, wet, in a wipes container until use.

You can buy a pre-made cloth wipe solution, or you can make your own at home. I have tried several homemade wipes solutions and I will share with you my favorite. I don’t like to put any soaps in my wipe solutions because I am terrified that it will cause buildup on my cloth diapers and they will start to have leaking issues. So this one is my favorite:

~2 cups hot water

~1/4 cup Aloe Vera Gel

~2 Drops Tea tree oil

~1-2 drops lavender oil

To store my cloth wipes, I use a plastic Huggies brand wipes container. It holds about 16-18 of my cloth wipes.

I also use an accordion style fold. (see photos above) To achieve the accordion fold, place one wipe on top of a flat surface, place a second wipe on top of the first wipe, but only covering half of the first wipe. Next, fold the other half of the first wipe (that is not covered by the second wipe) over top of the first wipe. Place a wipe on top of the top portion of the first wipe and continue on until you’ve used up all of your wipes. Using this method ensures that when I pull one wipe out, another one pops up. It’s much easier to use that way. You can also store them folded or stored flat until use.

It takes a little bit of trial and error to find what works best for you, but once you start you’ll find using cloth wipes is much easier than disposable if you’re already cloth diapering!

Laura’s Bio:  Laura is a wife and stay-at-home mother to her 3 daughters. She enjoys cloth diapering, bike riding, reading, walking, and arts & crafts.  You can read more about Laura on her blog www.ChaloobyBaby.blogspot.com

How to Pack a Cloth Diaper Diaper Bag!

Guest Post by Samantha

One of the biggest fears when starting in the world of cloth diapers is taking cloth diapers on the go. As a busy mommy-on-the-go, I know how important it is to keep things simple and quick so having a diaper bag at the ready is at the top of my list. Apart from your normal diaper bag necessities (whatever those are to your day to day), here are some things to include in the bag when you cloth diaper:

Diapers!

Obviously, as any mom knows, it’s essential to bring some diapers whenever you take baby out. With that in mind, I personally pack some of my cutest prints, but the diaper selection is entirely up to you! I like to consider the trip I’m taking for the day, mentally calculate how many diapers I think baby will need, and ALWAYS pack one more than I actually think. (My luck usually lands on using all of those diapers!) 

For shorter trips (i.e. grocery store, quick errand run, short playdate), I pack about 2-3 diapers (including my extra). For longer trips (i.e. outlet mall shopping, days at the zoo, day trips to the grandparents), I pack 4-5 diapers. Again, this depends on your outing as well as your baby! If you find that your diaper bag is considerably full of diapers (leaving room for not much else), consider bringing prefolds with covers or something like the Flipsystem where you bring inserts with perhaps one or two covers. This can lighten your load while also still adequately covering your baby’s bum!

A wet bag for your diapers!

One of my favorite cloth diaper must-haves is a wet bag. I purchased one from a local work-at-home mom and picked out an adorable print! You are welcome to order one from anywhere, but I find this to be an essential item for the cloth diaper diaper bag. When going to change your baby while out and about, you want a wet bag to store all the soiled cloth AND something that will protect it from the other things in your bag – a wet bag does just that. They have a great lining inside and usually zip up which keeps the wetness & smells out of your way!

Cloth wipes & storage
This step and the next depend entirely on your way of cloth diapering. Some moms will only use cloth diapers, while others will use cloth diapers and wipes. I fall into the second category and so having cloth wipes in my diaper bag is a must. I grab a stack of fresh cloth wipes to take with me. I usually take between 5 and 6 to accommodate messy diapers and any other quick wiping I may need to do while we’re out. I find that storing them in a plastic wipes case (trial-size) works as does a reusuable snack sack or resealable plastic baggie. This depends entirely on your own preference. Either way, be sure to grab some cloth wipes! 

Cloth wipes solution

Finally, a cloth wipes solution is not always a necessity. Sometimes, simple water from the sink will do. However, I usually have some on hand already (made up from that morning) and so I’m inclined to grab that bottle and store it in a side pocket. This way, I’m still getting that great soft texture for baby’s bottom and I don’t need to worry about finding water if we’re out somewhere (like at the park or forest preserve).

Packing a cloth diaper diaper bag takes just about as much times as a regular diaper bag. It may seem daunting at first, but you will get the hang of it! 

Remember to pack any of the other essentials you may need for your trip, such as extra outfits or onesies, snacks, bottles/water/formula if needed, sippy cup, changing pad, bibs, etc. Be sure to account for more than one child also (especially in those instances where you have more than one in diapers at the same time!) Keep the bag organized and simple with extra room. You never know when you’ll need that little bit of extra space and it makes finding things much easier!

Remembering these four essentials can make packing the cloth diaper diaper bag a breeze!

My packed bag – ready for adventures!

My finished bag includes 3 diapers, cloth wipes in plastic case storage, 1 wetbag, 1 outfit, changing pad, wipes solution, lipstick, small First Aid kit, crayons for my oldest, an extra pacifier and room to grow!

I am happily very close to potty-training with my oldest and so thankfully, packing for one bottom nowadays.

.

By: Samantha Schultz

I am a mostly SAHM of two boys, Charlie (28 months) and Jack (4 months). I enjoy making the most of my family scrapbook online at The Peanuts Gang (www.thepeanutsgang.com) and sharing our adventures with the world!

My Cloth Diaper Story

Reader Submitted Article

When I found out I was pregnant, I started thinking about cloth diapers. I don’t even remember why, but I thought I wanted to use them. At the time, I didn’t know much more than prefolds because my mom had used those and flat birdseye for me and my sister (30+ years ago!). I started doing some research and found Fuzzi Bunz. Originally, that’s what I thought we’d use. But, we went to Babies Bottoms and More in Dallas, TX, to see what all was out there. The sales person showed my husband (a semi-willing participant) and me all the options, including prefolds & covers, pockets and all in ones. In the end, we decided on prefolds because they were cheapest and we could use them to stuff pockets, should we ever decide to go that route. We bought 24 infant prefolds and 4 x-small Thirsties covers (in gender neutral colors because we didn’t know if we were having a boy or girl).

We prepped the diapers and waited. When our daughter was 1 month old, we started using cloth. (We moved when she was 11 days old, so disposables were much simpler for the first month!) I’ve loved not having to buy disposables all the time, like we did for the first month. I’ve continued using the prefolds (up to the premium size) and Thirsties covers (up to mediums now!) and I still like them.

In March, I won the Fluff Friday contest and won a bumGenius one size diaper fleece in ribbit, a bumGenius one size diaper snaps in grasshopper, a Blueberry one size Deluxe Diaper in Green aplix and bumGenius Babylegs in Sweet Greens. (I had just bought a bumGenius one size diaper in grasshopper from DiaperSwappers when I found out I won!) I like the one size because they always fit. I have had pilling issues with the fleece diapers because I wash them with my prefolds. However, they still hold in the mess!

I kept entering cloth diaper giveaways and was surprised to find out that, in October, I won again! I won a Baby Beehinds One Size Hemp Diaper, a Baby Beehinds One Size Bamboo Diaper, and Baby Beehinds Wool Cover. I love these for overnight because they are much trimmer than double prefolds or even fully stuffed pockets. I’m slowly using fewer inserts to see just how trim I can get it without leaking.

Since receiving my pocket diapers, my husband has told me that he’d help out with diapers more if we had more of “those that go on like ‘regular’ (disposable) diapers.”

So, when I found some HuggaBuns pockets on clearance for $5 at Maine Cloth Diaper Co., I jumped on it. I bought 4 for just $25, including shipping.

Through the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, I found Diaper Discussions. They have a Pimp My Stash giveaway each week, so I started entering. Just a couple weeks later, I found that I’d won there too. I won a Happy Heiny's Onesize Diaper. I love that the suedecloth doesn’t pill!

Also, now that I have pockets, I’ve decided to start using cloth when we’re out and about. (I bought a Planet Wise wet/dry bag to use when we’re out instead of the plastic grocery bags I’d been using!)

My sister loved using my pockets when we were home for Thanksgiving, calling them “cheater diapers” and said that she might consider cloth diapers when she has kids, now that she’s tried more than just my prefolds!

In total, we’ve spent just over $450 on cloth and only $175 on disposable in the last 19 months since my daughter was born. Considering we won't have to spend much more on cloth for another baby, I'd say it's well worth the investment!

Reader Submitted Article by
Heather
babyratliff.blogspot.com

Wipe Out! A Cloth Wipes Tutorial

When I first began cloth diapering, one thing I never thought I’d do was use cloth wipes. For some reason, the thought was a little gross to me. But then, the sample pack of cloth diapers arrived, I began (loving) cloth diapering my son and I realized that I had to have a special trash can just for wipes in his bedroom.

I also began thinking about the money that I spend on wipes. I usually try to get mine on sale. Let’s say I spend about $1.50 a week on wipes, assuming I’m using one package a week. That adds up to $6.00 a month, and $72.00 a year. For me, those savings were worth trying cloth wipes, especially if I was doing diaper laundry anyway! You can buy great wipes at Earth Angels Diaper Company! They also have all kinds of wipes solutions you can use on your new, deliciously soft, wipes.

I decided to try making my own wipes. My mom is a quilter and she had all sorts of left over flannel material in cute baby patterns that she let me have. So here’s a step by step process of how I made my own flannel wipes. Please keep in mind that I am by no means a professional sewer!

1. I doubled up the fabric with the pattern side facing outward and cut out 6” squares.
2. Then I set my sewing machine to sew zig zags (later I experimented with other patterns like a square shaped zig zag and an intricate lace design).
3. I sewed around the four edges of the square.
4. When I was finished, I washed and dried all of the wipes. The edges had frayed a little and I had to cut the fray off.
You can either keep your wipes in a container with water and wipes solution or you can keep a small spray bottle in the wipes box and spray each wipe as you need it. I prefer the second method!

If you haven’t tried cloth wipes yet, give it a go! I think you’ll find, like me, that you (and your baby) prefer the softness and naturalness of cloth wipes (not to mention the savings!). Plus, think of how many extra cloth diapers you can buy with the money you spend using cloth wipes!

Reader Contributed Article by
Tamara Sz.

The Art of Diaper Spraying

Let’s just say I love my diaper sprayer, but it wasn’t love at first sight. It was a learning process that required a lot of practice to master the art. Fortunately, my daughter swore off solids and was really breastfed-only for about 10 months, so I had lots of time to practice.

I started off with my diaper pail next to the changing table for a quick deposit at changing time. As my daughter finally began eating more solids, I would change her and let her play with her shoes in the closet (which she loves) while I’d run 5 steps to the hall bathroom spray the diaper, flush, and make a mad dash back to the pail desperately trying not to drip on the carpet. Might I add, I almost always got water everywhere including the toilet, shower curtain, and floor. It was a disaster. I’d just hope that she wouldn’t go big potty until my husband was home and he could spray the diaper. I’m sure he had some of the same problems, but at least he didn’t complain.

Now that every diaper, after a big potty, needs sprayed I’ve finally got a handle on it.
So here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Put the diaper pail next to the toilet! We only have 1, so now the wet diapers make the 5 step trip across the hall to the bathroom (they never drip)!
2. Lift the lid and seat.
3. Spray downwards, and put the diaper as close to in-the-toilet as you are willing to risk.
4. Fold the cover over the diaper holding the newspaper fold in place so you don’t have to spray the front and back of the diaper (for prefolds only).
5. Roll the diaper in the cover squeezing out excess water.
6. Quickly dump into pail.
7. Don’t let your child follow you into the bathroom during the process, as she might try to throw her ball in the toilet.

There are certain gadgets to buy that go over the toilet and reduce spraying. I was fairly close to purchasing something like this (google Potty-Pail if interested) or rigging up my own. But I think this system works; for now I’ll do without a bucket. I’m sure everyone has their own special secrets and sprayer tricks, what’s yours?



Reader Submitted Article
by
Andrea, mama to Mary Elise
http://3muirs.blogspot.com/

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: Big Brother Helps Out!

I wish I'd had my camera handy (or my new FLIP video camera that is coming in the mail this week!) to capture this moment.

I was about to change Ethan's diaper when Brennan comes up.

"Mom, can I do it?"

Me, thinking about it...this could be messy, it could be cute. It is definietly a skill he needs to learn to be a good husband one day.

"Okay Brennan, sure."

I mean...seriously, who says NO to a free diaper change?

Brennan pulls off the snaps of the Blueberry, removes the diaper, wipes Ethan up (with guidance on where to wipe. Bren says, "But he's not dirty!"), and puts the dirty diaper in the wetbag.

Then, Brennan (with me holding Ethan's hinny in the air) gently puts the new diaper (this one a BumGenius with velcro) under his bum. Once he feels it is positioned just so (and just in the knick of time...Ethan was getting restless with his body raised in the air), he covers the front, pulls the velcro tabs and declares himself done.

Not bad for a six year old, I only discreetly tightened one side a tiny bit. Maybe this can become a new hobby for him...

Now, if only I could train Jackson to stuff clean diapers, I'd have it made!

Comments: I write posts from time to time called "Adventures in Cloth Diapering". It's a place for me to share what I am learning as I began CDing my youngest (and last) son at the age of seven months (he's almost one now). This is my latest post about my son changing Ethan's diaper for the first time.

Contributed by
Jessica
http://www.geauxremingtons.blogspot.com/

New! Blog Contribution incentives, get rewarded for your submissions.

Well you know how much I love receiving your Blog Submissions and I know how much you all love earning prizes and rewards, so what better thought than to reward you for your contributions to the Diaper Discussions Blog!

How will it work? Each month one contributor from that month will be chosen to receive a $20.00 Gift Certificate to Earth Angels Diaper Co. Contributions will be evaluated on content, creativity, inclusion of photos, unique topics covered, and more!

Have writers block? Here are some ideas to help inspire possible contributions.

• Photo Tutorials of your favorite folding technique
• How to Video's or Slideshows
• Washing Tips or Techniques
• Product Reviews
• Tips and Tricks for Cloth Diapering
• Cloth vs. Disposables
• How you got started with cloth
• Cloth Diapers in Daycare
• Traveling with cloth
• Cloth Wipes
• Stripping Diapers
• Funny cloth related stories & bloopers
• Storing your stash
• Wet Pail or Dry Pail
• & more!

Have any questions? Feel free to contact me. Have a contribution? Use our nifty Blog Contribution form and submit your articles today!

Do you want the chance to show off this cute award on your blog?? Start writing and send your contribution(s) TODAY for a chance to win!! The more contributions you send, the more chances you have to win!!

Why You Should Use Cloth

I have recently been helping one of my friends get started with cloth diapers. It has been a lot of fun and reminded me why I started using cloth diapers in the first place. It also reminded me why getting fluffy mail is so much fun. :)

Cloth diapers are cute. There is nothing sweeter than a little bum in a cloth diaper.

Cloth diapers are expensive . . . up front. I have not had to purchase any more diapers since and have saved a lot of money that way. Not having to purchase diapers means being able to spend that money somewhere else. Maybe something for mommy?!

Cloth diapers are better for the environment. I feel better about cloth because I don't have that extra garbage to throw out everyday & I know that I am not contributing soiled diapers to an already overflowing landfill.

There are a lot of people who love cloth diapers and I have met many new friends this way! I haven't met anyone crazy about disposables. :)

My baby hasn't had a rash since we switched to cloth. This was a great positive for cloth diapers for me because my little guy - in the short time we used disposables - had a terrible rash that wouldn't go away.

So, between, saving money, the environment, having fewer or no rash problems, meeting new people, and seeing such cute fluff every day, who wouldn't want to do cloth?!

Reader Contribution by
Andrea

A Love/Hate Relationship with Prefolds

Prefolds are all about necessity for me. I chose to start cloth diapering about a month ago for several reasons, one of them being cost savings. When I looked at the potential savings over time, especially when reusing cloth diapers for future children, the choice seemed obvious. The up-front cost of initially buying 18 to 24 diapers to have on hand for an older baby was a bit daunting, however.

Before making my initial cloth purchases, I created a list of my “dream diaper stash” with the associated costs, and then a companion “for now diaper stash” that fit within my current budget. My dream diaper stash did not include prefolds. My second list included six. I use a combination of Bumgenius 3.0's, KCK Ones, Bamboozle fitted diapers, and prefolds. While I plan to purchase additional pockets and AIOs in the future, I had to settle for depending on some prefolds for now.

Truthfully, prefolds are a lifesaver if you’re starting out with cloth on a limited budget, as they are the most economical cloth diaper available. I own three one-size diaper covers, one Thirsties Duo Wrap and two Wonderwraps. I rotate in my prefolds during diaper changes throughout the day, primarily when I know we’ll be staying in. Prefolds are durable, getting softer each time you wash them, and they certainly do their job. Learning to fold them, and finding the right fit for your baby, can involve a bit of a learning curve at first, but I eventually got a routine down. In fact, I own two snappis, but generally don’t even bother to use them anymore.

I’ve read several blog posts from experienced moms who’ve learned to love prefolds, who consider them to be “tried and true,” and who turn to them again and again. I want to be one of these moms, I honestly do, but I’m not. I can’t get over the bulk of prefolds or the extra hassle involved in folding, placing on baby, then getting a cover on. My little guy is nearly 10 months and placing a prefold on him today involved a mini wrestling match. Whenever I use prefolds, I indulge a little fantasy about the day they’ll be used as last-choice on laundry day or even as cleaning rags.

This being said, I’m grateful for the option to use prefolds. When we potty trained our daughter, many experienced parents recommended we fully ditch the diapers, skip pull-ups, and simply commit to underwear. I approached cloth diapering with the same philosophy and my baby only wears disposables during our Friday babysitting-trade nights with friends. This would have been impossible without prefolds.

Days when I look at my prefolds with a bit of disdain, I remind myself how much I love cloth diapering. I love to pull them out of the dryer, fresh and white. I love how we no longer have to recycle enormous value-sized disposables boxes, make last-minute runs to the store for diapers, or deal with the cost and trash associated with disposables. I love placing a soft, clean diaper on my baby with its adorable, colorful shell. Mostly, I love feeling like I’ve made a choice that is good for my baby and the environment, all the while saving money – and I’ve got prefolds to thank for that!

Contributed by Mindy F.
http://theinquisitivemom.blogspot.com

A review of BumGenius 3.0 Pockets

I had solemnly sworn that I would never use cloth diapers and I stuck to that, well, for awhile. I had received so many disposables for my son as gifts that I literally didn't need to buy diapers for his first eight months of life. I only had to buy a few packages of disposables before the reality of the expense starting hitting home.

I had made a couple new friends who cloth diapered their kids and started asking questions. I was surprised that they didn't hate the experience and was intrigued by the savings. I started doing some research and was absolutely overwhelmed by the possibilities that are out there. I asked my new neighbor and now good friend what she recommended and she replied BumGenius 3.0!! I did more research and was a little horrified by the reviews of the velcro breaking down but decided that if it did it would be easy enough to replace. I then bought 4 diapers to try, loved them, and then bought 12 more!

Since then I have kind of jumped into the cloth diapering world and my husband keeps telling me that, "They just hold poop"! However, they seem so much better than that to me. The BumGenius diapers come in such cute colors and look so good on that I often let my son run around with just his diaper on!! I've never had an explosion (which I just expected daily with disposables) and love that I'm not throwing away tons of diapers. My son's room smells so much better with his cloth diaper pail than it did with his diaper genie with disposables- and I don't have to remind my husband to take it out when it gets too heavy for me!! My fears of the velcro breaking down were largely unfounded as I've had them for about 6 months now and they still work perfectly. I know now too that free tab replacements are available if the velcro does go after the warranty and before that you can just send the diapers back to them!

The velcro is also really nice for a quick diaper change and for daddies/grandparents who might have a hard time getting snaps just right. Overall, I think everyone should have some BumGenius 3.0's in their stash!!

Reader Submitted Article by
Sera, mama to Owen
http://mummasinjh.blogspot.com/

Cloth Diapering "on the go" : Tips for traveling with cloth!

When I first started cloth diapering, I was scared to death of traveling with cloth. I still purchased disposables so that I would always have them when I needed to be out and about for more than just a couple of hours.

I have since come to my senses, and wanted to share a little bit of how we make it work while we travel. It would be fun to hear all of your travel tips as well, as I am always on the lookout for things to make my CD world a little easier.

First of all, having the right kind of diaper is essential. I mean, you can travel with AIOs, but it will be harder to deal with the laundry if you aren't near a washer that isn't off limits to poopy diapers (mother-in-laws house, for example).

We like to use flats and prefolds so that I can wash out diapers in a sink or bathtub easily if I have to. I don't do pins or snappis, just fold and lay in pockets or in covers.

The other essential is a very good wet bag. The size of the wet bag will be determined by how long you will be out of the house. I have been stuck before with a wet bag that only held 3-5 diapers, and needed more room. It was an ugly sight!

Finally, there are the wipes. I keep an old bottle of baby wash filled with my wipes solution. If I am going to be gone for more than just a day or two, then I try to use just water for the wipes when available, and save the wipes solution for really poopy bottoms, and when I don't have easy access to water. I just squirt/pour a little solution on the wipe right before I use it, and never have to deal with stale wipes.

On to the nitty gritty:
I bring along one rubber glove in order to wash out any sticky poo in the potty of whatever hotel or house that I am staying at. (I use a diaper sprayer at home).

I just rinse/wash the diapers (pee ones, too) in the sink/bathtub if I am going to be away from a washer for very long. That keeps the stink (even in the wetbag) down to a bare minimum. I really try to bring enough diapers with me to cover the bums until I get home and can wash the dipes in my own home with my own washer. If that isn't possible or reasonable, then you can easily wash flats out in the sink and they will dry overnight over a shower curtain.

I actually really like not having to hunt for a trashcan, running out of wet wipes, stinking up my friend's trash cans, and all of the other pains that come with using disposables on the road. Plus I know that my little one's tush is nice and comfy in her car seat!

Hope that helps someone with at least a few ideas.

Reader Contribution
by Jenny of http://wife-and-mommy.blogspot.com

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My Case for Cloth

I'm addicted to cloth diapering for my little one (2.5 years) and am prepared to do it with #2 when she arrives. I am not someone who I thought would have cloth diapered six months ago. I'm a pretty typical stay at home mom. I am not particularly eco-conscious and I don't spend a lot of time worrying about chemicals lurking inside diapers or plastic, though maybe I should. I have pretty mainstream wants. I've found that many cloth diapering mamas seem to be right where I am. For the most part, cloth diapering mamas seem to be a pretty diverse group and don't fit my previous stereotypes. I have found that the ones I've encountered (entirely via the Internet) are friendly, accepting and willing to teach.

The Cost
There is a wealth of information online about cloth diapers, particularly through blogs. When you google "cloth diapers vs. disposables", the vast majority of results lead you to cloth diapering websites. Thus, they are heavily slanted for cloth. On the other side are articles that use information that comes from studies funded by disposable diaper makers. Who to trust? Now that I am completely indoctrinated into the idea of cloth, I agree with many of their points. I did have a lot of frustration that I couldn't find very much balanced information when I was first started researching. I used disposables happily and successfully for two years. Since I've been pregnant with my new baby I started going to pregnancy chat boards and found a lot of chatter about cloth diapers and became intrigued. Money was my main reason for looking into cloth. The attractiveness and softness of cloth diapers is what caught my attention. I've also developed an irritation for buying things over and over again if I'm just going to throw them away. I'm humored that being cheap parallels being eco-friendly.

One thing that stuck me when doing diaper research were the numbers and cost comparisons between using cloth diapers and disposables. I may be in the minority, but I'm a little dubious about the cost comparisons provided by a lot of the pro-cloth sites. Sadly, it is already hard to remember how many diapers I changed at any given stage of my daughter's life, but I am certain that I don't change her the estimated 6-8 times a day that many websites suggest I change her at this age. I don't think I've changed her that much in a REALLY long time. She usually uses about four disposables on any given day. More if her stomach is upset, less if she never poops. She rarely had a rash problem, so I feel like the changes she had were adequate. To be fair, my daughter does not seem to be a "super soaker." Maybe the estimates are based on children who pee more than my kid.

When I was buying disposables full time, I bought the Target brand for $13/ish a box and went through a big box in somewhere under a month. Before I switched to the Target brand, I went to great lengths to use coupons to save on diapers. For awhile, I consistently spent close to 13 cents per diaper change while using Pampers or Huggies. Many of the calculators put the cost per diaper closer to 20 cents. While I've spent more money than I want to think about on disposable diapers, I don't believe I've spent 2 grand or more.

In contrast, I know EXACTLY what I have spent on cloth diapers. I have spent $464 to build a pretty respectable cloth diaper stash. The retail value is closer to $950. I've bought new, used, seconds, and even won a few. I have 23 one size diapers (pockets and all in ones, one all in two), 13 prefolds, 13 Kissaluvs 0s, a handful of covers and six small or newborn pocket diapers. I'd like to have more one size diapers so that they won't wear out with frequent washing. Since I've spent more than I'd like to admit, my goal is to win them!

I plan to sell off the majority of my newborn stash to re-coup some of my costs. In the future, I plan to buy mostly new diapers so that I can care for them from the start and don't end up paying too much for diapers of questionable condition.

The Verdict
The energy output for cloth diapers is the first thing people usually mention when I tell them I've made the switch. They ask about the laundry. I launder every other day. My daughter still only uses 4-5 diapers a day, so I can easily go longer. However, I actually get satisfaction out of doing cloth diaper laundry. I don't think it is very hard. I do a cold rinse, hot wash, extra rinse, then I'm done. I line dry the PUL and use the dryer for everything else.

The energy output was there when I was using disposables, it was just in a different place. I visited websites that tracked diaper sales, I clipped coupons and made special trips just to get the best price on diapers. I dealt with check out clerks that mangled my coupon savings and dealt with the line of annoyed customers behind me who rolled their eyes because my coupon use was making the line go slowly. I spent extra money at the store because I bought more than the diapers I went in for.

If you are on the fence about cloth diapering, be prepared, there is a loss of convenience. This seems to be glossed over a lot on the "pro-cloth" sites. You can't just roll up the poopy diaper, toss and forget. You have to do something with the poop. However, the trade off is that your child has a cute, comfortable diaper on. The poop is also only once or twice a day. If you hold a cloth diaper next to a disposable, it is easy to see what is more comfortable. My daughter is very verbal and clearly prefers her "soft" diapers over her "paper" diapers.

What really convinced me...
We took a trip to see grandma out of town and took disposables. Within 18 hours, my daughter had a terrible rash on her back. Remember, this is the child who has worn disposables her ENTIRE life. After a month in cloth, disposables irritate her. I broke my baby. We had to make an emergency run and get a package of G-diapers. This makes me wonder whether disposables have bothered her skin her entire life and she was just used to it. That makes me sad. Now we use disposables in a pinch for an afternoon, but I'm a full time convert.

Contributed by
Ruth
www.mykidcenteredlife.blogspot.com

Comparing the fit of the sized Thirsties Cover vs. the Duo Wrap

I’ve been using Thirsties covers on my baby for the last six months, and I love the way the leg gussets help contain leaks. They really make cloth diapering with prefolds and flats just about as easy as using all-in-ones. Since, like most cloth diapering mamas, I love to save money on cloth diapers, I was especially excited to see the new Duo Wraps. (I only wish they had come out with these earlier this year, since my baby outgrew the extra smalls in less than two months!) Although the weight range for the Thirsties Duo Wrap Size 2 is the same as the regular Thirsties medium and large, the Duo Wraps are trimmer and the fit is a little bit different. At almost 6 months and 17 pounds, my chunky monkey can still fit the size small Thirsties covers, and the mediums are a bit big in the legs, even with the tabs overlapping all the way.

The new Thirsties Duo Wrap Size 2, however, fits just fine already with the snaps on the smallest rise setting, so it’s a great choice for babies who are “in between” a small and a medium, and it can grow along with them! For now, we still use a small Thirsties cover during the day for a trim fit over a birdseye flat or infant size prefold, and the new Duo Wrap over a standard prefold with a preemie prefold as a doubler at night. These photos show a size small Thirsties cover in white, a size medium Thirsties cover in baby blue, and the new Thirsties Duo Wrap Size 2 in ocean blue, all over the same birdseye flat with a Snappi.

Contributed by Christy

Doing diaper laundry can be simple!

When I first started using cloth diapers, I had this fear that I would ruin them. That somehow I would add too much soap, or the water would be the wrong temperature, or I would use the wrong soap, or something bad would happen. I would mess up all my new diapers that I just bought! I don't know why, but I seriously feared washing my diapers.

A silly thought, sure, but that's actually a common concern of many new cloth diaper users! You just spent $15 + on a diaper. The last thing you want to do is ruin them!

I've learned that washing your diapers is actually really simple and I'm pretty sure it's virtually impossible to ruin them. My wash routine is very basic. There are many ways to wash your diapers, many different detergents to use, many different ways to dry them, and really- they all work at cleaning your diapers- it's just about doing what works for you!

My routine is very simple.

We keep a regular trash can with a lid ($10 plastic bought at Fred Meyer) in the hall bathroom which is across from my son's room. Inside the trash can we have a normal trash bag which contains all the dirty diapers. Because this is more wasteful, I would prefer to use a wet bag/pail liner. I will hopefully be getting one eventually, but they are certainly not necessary. It works just fine to use a trash bag and throw it away after each wash.

After the trash can is full, I wash! I wash about every 3 days. Currently I'm using Purex Free & Clear detergent. I'm not in love with this detergent, yet I have no reason to complain about it either. I've found something that works to get my diapers clean, so I'll stick with it! I always do two loads and one dry. The first load is a cold wash, the second is hot. Through trial and error I learned that you should always do a cold wash first. This helps prevent any stains from occurring. With both washes I use a tiny bit of detergent. It takes very little detergent to get your diapers clean!

Drying my diapers can be done two ways; the lazy way or the smart way. The lazy way is to throw all my diapers (covers, inserts, rags, etc) into the dryer on medium setting. It usually takes less than 20 minutes to get everything dry. I call this the lazy way because I don't believe this is the best way as I've noticed it really wears and tears on my diapers. Just like our clothes, the more times things are dried, the more wear is caused to them.

The smart way, and the way I believe that really helps contribute to long lasting diapers, is to either hang them to dry or lay them on your kitchen table. Really, anything better than the dryer is better. A clothes line is optimal and nice, however your couch, bed, table, heck even a clean floor! would work as a place to lay your diapers to dry. Avoiding the dryer is going to make the elastic and velcro last longer and keep them looking newer for longer.

After my diapers are dry I stuff them and prepare them for wearing! This takes less than 10 minutes and is almost always done while watching TV. :)

And that my friends, is it! Sounds simple doesn't it? That's because it is! Using cloth diapers doesn't have to be complicated or include 12 different steps. It can be and it is easy! Does it take an extra 20 minutes of my time every few days? Yes. Does it cost more money up front? Yes. Are the benefits of using cloth and the cuteness factor totally worth it? YES!

Reader Contribution
by Samantha at Mama Notes

Confessions of a CD Addict

Things began so simply. I was totally overwhelmed the first time I visited a cloth diaper store! I was 8 months pregnant and figured I would just cloth diaper part-time. My sister had dabbled in it with my niece for a few months several years earlier, so I guess I was expecting something similar. She had used cheap prefolds, pins and rubber pants from a discount store. WRONG! It was nothing like that, but I did settle on something similar.

When my son had several allergic reactions to the 'sposies, we went from part-time in cloth to full-time. Thankfully, it was very early on and I a had few diapers and covers. Now my stash is well over 40 diapers and covers, including some I made from recycled t-shirts. We have everything from prefolds to pockets, one-size, all-in-ones, and made from bamboo, cotton, and microfleece.

Since I discovered Twitter and a bunch of other Mommy bloggers, my son has won 5 diapers for our stash. He is only our first child, so this cloth addicted mommy will hopefully have many more fluffy bottom diaper changes ahead!

Contributed by Sara J.
http://johnsonandcollins.blogspot.com/

Not Your Grandmother's Diaper!

I would not consider myself a "crunchy" mom by any stretch of the imagination. Sure I breastfeed, make my own baby food, and wore my baby in a wrap for the first two months of his life (the only time he was small enough to not break my back), but I can't really conform to the flowy-skirted, Birkenstock-donning mental picture that this term conjures up in my mind. I do these things first and foremost for my baby, but I also find them very convenient. Instead of slithering out of bed and down the stairs at 5:45 am to prepare a bottle for my hungry 8-month old, I can just pluck him out of his crib and latch him on. Rather than running out of baby food and frantically dashing to the grocery store for some culinary delight like pureed lasagna (gag), I can whip up a mean chicken, rice and veggie dinner for my little man in no time at all. And for the brief time that my son fit in a wrap, I could finally get stuff done around the house (I can't remember what is was, but it must have been something). I like things that are beneficial for my baby, cost-effective, and easy, easy, easy.

So I must admit that when I first heard about cloth diapering my eyes glazed over and my brain shut down. Who wants to deal with scraping poop off diapers, pee leaks all over the house and ever-growing mounds of laundry collecting dust in a corner near you? Who does this anyways? And why in the world would you want to when you can get disposable diapers for $17 a box?

And yet I, even the toughest of cloth scrutinizers, was somehow converted.

I began to notice other moms around me looking into cloth diapering. And these were not the hippy-chic mamas who swear off meat and buy only organic. These were moms just like me, all about convenience, somewhat thrifty but still wanting the very best for their babies. So I took a nosedive into the world of researching cloth diapers. I soon realized that the pool was empty.

If you have ever researched cloth diapers then you know how confusing it can be at first. With abbreviations scattered about the internet like AIO/AI2, OS and UCIBFP, I honestly tossed the idea around that I had stumbled upon some sort of secret society. And in a way I had, only this exclusive club wanted as many new members as possible. As I started learning the different meanings and brands, everything started to come together and I found myself able to make sense of the acronym jumble.

I clumsily stumbled upon many websites that claimed to debunk the myths around cloth diapering. I rolled my eyes at first, but upon reading them found that they actually made sense to me. I was intrigued by the idea of this age-old method of diapering your baby and how it could be convenient, a money saver, and be so great for the environment. (Yep, that's right! Mommies like me care about the environment too!) But on the other hand, my less expensive disposables were working just fine, and finances were just not that much of an issue. Sure I like to save money where I can, but I certainly didn't need to switch to cloth out of necessity. If it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Wrong, at least not for me. After doing the math and realizing that my baby would have gone through about 7,300 diapers by the time he potty trained, only to be discarded into some stinky landfill somewhere, I decided that it was my obligation to at least try cloth. Not to mention the thousands we would save over his diaper-days, multiplied by the number of little brothers and/or sister he ends up with, if cloth ended up working out for us.

So with a deep breath I took the plunge.

Now all I can say is that I can't believe it took me six months to try it! The diapers nowadays are not your grandmother's cloth diaper, for the most part. You can get cloth diapers that have everything all in one, meaning that if you can velcro on a disposable then you can velcro on these. There are diapers with pockets for faster drying, soft fitted diapers that go under cute covers, and yes, there are still the inexpensive, yet-oh-so-soft and squishable prefold-style diapers that our grandmothers used. I have tried every kind and love them all for very different reasons. We have explored around and found what works. We didn't put all our eggs in one basket and stick to one brand or type. We decided to try everything and see what worked for us and are very happy with the selections we made.

And yes some cloth diapers can be expensive, but cloth diapering is very doable even on a budget. There are plenty of sales and less pricey styles if you just take a little extra time to look, and even the priciest diapers will pay for themselves over time. With so many cute patterns and prints, the main problem here is self control. (I will not go online and order than adorable paw print fleece cover, I will not, I will not...oh, you accept Paypal?)

As far as laundry goes, it is admittedly a little extra, but it is a labor of love that does not require the monotonous sorting and folding of regular laundry. And a wonderful little side-bonus about having cloth diaper laundry is that my other laundry gets done in between diaper loads, so the heaping mountains of laundry have shrunken into oblivion. My hands don't get any messier than they did with 'sposies, and my trash can is no longer over-flowing with poopy diapers. Now if only I could find a solution (or an excuse) for that stack of dirty dishes...

I can now proudly say that my baby's bum is wrapped in the adorably-patterned, gentle, chemical-free goodness of cloth. I am happy that amidst all the "green" chatter, I know I am doing my part to help out with our waste problem. And on top of it all, my pocket book feels a little bit fatter these days.

Madison
Follow her @ Life happens during NapTime