Cloth Diapers

While my cloth diapering experience (as I hinted in the previous post) hasn’t been quite perfect, I find that most of the time it’s something I really enjoy doing and that I’m proud of for the environment and my baby’s health. In the grand scheme of things, it really adds very little to the amount of laundry I’m already doing weekly and I’ve secretly (okay, not so much anymore!) found it to be sort of a hobby. You have to admit those big fluffy buns and cute colors are fabulous! :)

So, you might be surprised to hear that I have been most successful with…drumroll… prefolds! I use Bummis organic cotton prefolds and  absolutely love them. In my experience, pee NEVER leaks out of these. EVER. The one and ONLY thing I don’t like about them is inherent with any prefold- there is no stay-dry feel and baby must be changed more often or they will stay soaking wet. For this reason, I’m not quite comfortable doing them at night, even with extra layers when baby sleeps so long.

And guess what, no more safety-pins for doing prefolds these days, I have a set of 2 Snappis (and could really use a couple extra because they tend to get lost easily in the diaper bag) and they have some small plastic sharp edges that hold the diaper together. You just have to be careful that they aren’t grabbed by little fingers or accidentally caught onto other fabrics during a change.

I have 18 prefolds, not quite enough for 2 days worth so I do wash them a LOT. They are a little bulky, too, like any cloth diaper meant to last as a baby grows, but I like buying clothes in a bigger size anyway so baby girl can wear them for a while.

But what’s especially nice about prefolds, is that even though I have to change the prefold, unless I get a big poopy blowout, I really don’t have to change out the cute covers often. Although I could get by with 3 total, I have two Bummis snap covers and 2 Tweedle Bugs snap covers. The polka dot picture is one of the Bummis covers- love that cute bum in it!!

When I started my diaper collection, I also picked up 6 brand-new Bum Genius pocket diapers that have an microfiber insert and a stay-dry liner for against baby’s skin. I really, really want to love these diapers. But, right now, I can’t. Unless I do them so tight on baby girl’s waist that she can hardly sit up right, they leak pee. I’m not sure if it’s her particular body shape or if I’m really supposed to do them that tight, which I refuse, but either way these bad boys pictured above are rarely used.

I know they technically do work because I’ve stripped them of any possible buildup, but I can’t get them to comfortably fit my girl without leaks. However, since they should work until she is potty trained, I’m hoping to hit a point in her growth where they do fit well. So, I’m not selling them and I’m holding out and rooting for them yet.

In my cloth diaper collection is also a Bum Genius sprayer connected to the toilet. I now use it since baby girl started solids, but at this point I still have a hard time keeping that mess contained to the toilet. Boy, does that thing almost have too much spraying power. Luckily, I can adjust it a bit and think it will only take practice. We’ve only been doing solids for about a month so far so I’m pretty new to using this convenient accessory.

I also have a natural butt cream/salve that I was able to get from my local store (beware, you can’t just use regular grocery store brands with cloth diapers as they can cause major build-up and then absorbency issues) and some lovely flannel wipes (which I’ve switched to using with just water) although I also have some of this amazing smelling homemade diaper spray made up with California Baby shampoo. Baby girl has sensitive skin though and I guess I just don’t feel there is a need for soap with every wipe. I mean, it’s not like toilet paper has soap on it and we use it no problem. You also have to be careful for build-up on diapers, although prefolds as I understand are the most forgiving when it comes to this.

My diaper pail is a dark brown FuzziBunz hanging pail. I do love that it can hang on door handles or wherever and that it has a bottom zipper so absolutely NO touching of dirty diapers as they go into the wash machine. The bag also goes right in and gets washed with the diapers. Air flow to the hanging bag is supposed to help with odors, but for me, this is not a perfect fix. I could try adding essential oil to it for smell, but in reality, don’t always have time for that. That said, I’d be open to any great pail suggestions, even if it involves a covered one.

I also have a fabulous waterproof wetbag that is a very stylish accessory to my plain brown diaper bag. I bought it from a local friend who also sells them on Etsy (this pic is the one I have and love!). The wetbag makes cloth diapering on the go convenient, smell-free, and without leak issues. I also wash it right in the wash machine after use (although separately than my dipes because it only needs a cold or warm (not hot) wash cycle. I should note though that *sometimes* when out and about I use disposables for the stay-dry feel and when most people watch baby girl, I leave disposables and regular wipes (except my mom who prefers cloth dipes because she used them for me!!).

My washing routine is a cold rinse cycle with the biggest water cycle and then a hot wash with Soft Bottoms natural detergent meant specifically for babies and diapers on a regular water cycle based on the actual load size. While I haven’t found an ingredients list, I am trusting in this company and my health-focused local store who carries it (even for bulk refills in the same bottle at a discount!). After the hot wash, I run another cold rinse in the biggest water cycle and then dry them in the dryer because I don’t have a clothesline at the time. I heard though that if you dry them on the line, a few minutes in the dryer is still nice to soften them up. I really love the way they come out smelling from the dryer. Fresh and clean, and although there might be stains (helped by sunning and cold water rinsing right after baby poops), they are otherwise perfect and ready for more uses.

So I think I’ve shared all of the info. about my current process, but let me know if I missed anything! If you are new to cloth diapering, you will be absolutely amazed by all of the options available today. All-in-one styles, pocket styles, fitted diapers, natural & organic diapers, and tons of colors and styles. And if you are really searching hard, you can decide if you also want ones that are made overseas or in the U.S., or maybe even locally hand-made. There are so many options that you can see why it becomes almost a hobby while you are helping the environment and saving money. What could be better? :)

P.S. If you are in search of more information on cloth diapering, my local store, Hopscotch, has a ton of great info. on their website and you can also shop online!