Cloth Diapering from Start to Finish

I've been wanting to write this blog for about 8 months now. I think it's time. I'm not going to write a lot of fluff in this one as my desire is to show you how easy and inexpensive it is to use cloth diapers. I found it a little overwhelming when I first started, just because there are so many how-to sites and so much information.


This blog will give you my personal routine from start to finish. If you want to veer from it and change things here and there to suit your needs, please do! All in all, you will probably spend anywhere from $150-$250 initially, just depending on what you decide to buy. This is a small cost up front considering how much you're saving in the long run.


Getting Started
You'll need a few things to set up your nursery and laundry room to be ready when the baby comes. I will mostly reference my favorite cloth diapering site, Tiny Tush because I love their products and their prices. I also include some items from the Cotton Babies site in this post as well. If you want to look elsewhere, be my guest!


Checklist:

1. Diaper Pail - I use a 13 gallon trash can with a lid that I bought at Target. I don't add water, just keep it dry.
2. Diaper Pail Liners - I have two of these. That way, when one is dirty, I can use the other one. They have little pouches to put the scented discs in, if you so choose. Also, for when you're on the go, you can purchase one of these Travel Liner Bags to put in your diaper bag for soiled cloth diapers.
3. Diaper Pail Scented Discs - It's not incredibly necessary to get these, but it makes the diapering process a little less smelly:)
4. Cloth Diapers - I use the basic Chinese Prefold diapers. Not only are they great to use as rags once you're done, but they last forever and are so inexpensive. I bought 60 to start with because I don't want to wash diapers every day. With 60, you'll be washing 2-3 times per week, depending on how old your child is and how much you're changing them. When you click on the link, you have the option of buying a couple different types/sizes of these prefolds. Personally, I just like the 15-30 lb. diapers because you can fold them down for smaller babies in the beginning. I'd rather not buy another set of diapers, just because they're going to grow out of them so fast. Also, I prefer the "White Regular" diapers. Email me if you have any questions.
5. Diaper Covers - There are two types I like: the pull on covers, or the wrap style covers. Right now I'm only using the wraps and they work just fine. You will probably want to get 6-8 of these so you can rotate them. They get wet or dirty sometimes, so it's nice if you don't have to dig one out of the pail and wash it in a diapering emergency:) I always buy the medium size to start off with, just because again, I don't want to keep buying different sizes as the kids grow. I have big babies, though, so it's up to you.
6. Wipes/Liners - Now, you can always just buy wipes at the store, but I really like my cloth wipes. Not only do they wipe the "mess" off a lot better, but you are helping the environment and your pocket book! I don't use any special solution or whatever these sites try to get you to buy. After I pull them out of the dryer, I just get them wet, wring them out, fold them in half and put them into my diaper warmer. Note: I don't keep the diaper warmer on, just because it tends to dry them out fast. I just use it as a holder. Liners are good if you have heavy wetters. I like to use the liners at night, just to give the baby extra protection. You just put the liner right into the cloth diaper as you're folding it.
7. Pins - I just like the good old fashioned pins. I'm sorry, but the fasteners and the fancy covers just didn't do the job for me.
8. Laundry Soap - After much research and my own personal testing that I've done, I've decided that Tide's Tiny Bubbles is the best laundry soap for cloth diapers. It doesn't leave any residue, and the diapers get very clean.  

So, if you were to buy everything I suggested here, the grand total would come to $228.94 (pre-tax). On disposable diapers and wipes, per month, you would spend approximately $80-$100 - even more in the beginning! Knowing that, you'd recuperate your expenses in just a few months! What a deal.

The Pre-Wash

If indeed you purchased the Chinese Prefolds that I recommended, then once you get them in the mail, you will need to wash and dry them a few times to make them soft and absorbent. Just wash them according to the instructions in the package. Once you've done that, you're ready to start! 

Changing Your Baby

Watch a basic video on how to change your baby's cloth diaper.

Washing Your Diapers

Here's the part where everyone gets all "ohmigah, you do WHAT?" on me. So look, if you can't handle touching your children's dirty diapers, then you can purchase a diaper sprayer. But come on, people, it's your child...just clean the dang diapers.

With poopy diapers, you need to rinse them in the toilet to get all of the "matter" off of there before you put them in the pail. Diapers with urine can be placed directly in the pail. Also, if your diaper cover was soiled, rinse that off as well before you put it in the pail.

To wash your diapers (I do it once I'm about half way through my clean diapers), start with a pre-soak/soak cycle and two scoops of Tiny Bubbles. I do hot soak, cold rinse. (People say that using hot water first sets the stains, but honestly, I don't care if they stain. I want all of the bacteria gone.) Then after the soak, I do a normal wash cycle with cold water and two more scoops of Tiny Bubbles. 

Once the cycle is finished, you can hang the diapers dry. This not only saves money, but also the sun bleaches out any stains that might be left on the diapers. I used to be able to do this when I had the space and I really liked it. Once they were dry I would just throw them in the dryer for about 5 minutes to soften them up; however, now that I don't have the space, I just put them in the dryer on high and they get nice and soft. That's all there is to it!

Pictures of a Diaper Change

Here is a picture of my changing area, just so you can see. The pail is on the left and the trash on the right. It's really efficient to keep the diapers and covers in the same area. (The covers are in the basket in the middle cubby)

All of my wipes, powder and butt paste is up on the shelf above. So easy!

Step 1: Place diaper under the baby's bottom.

Step 2: Fold the outer edges in.

Step 3: Pull the folded diaper through the legs.

Step 4: Fold the top of the diaper down for a good fit under the belly button. For a boy, this fold also serves as a way to give extra leak protection in front. For a girl, you can fold the back down to keep leaks in the back at bay.

Step 5: Pull the wing from underneath and over the top of the folded part.

Step 6: Repeat on other side.

Step 7: Marvel at your amazing cloth diapering abilities!

Please forward this on to anyone you might feel would benefit from this blog. I want to spread the word far and fast about cloth diapering as the amount of disposable diapers we are dumping into our land fills is staggering. Help our planet and help your pocketbook...CHOOSE CLOTH!