So, due to the large number of requests for cloth diapering info, I decided to construct a go-to guide for all things cloth+diapers. Matilda is now 100% cloth diapered. I am happy to say that she is a trendsetter and that many of her fellow peers are getting cloth diapered as well!
Here's the scoop poop. Poop is such a huge part of my life.
Ok, so in those first few precious weeks we went the easy route and used disposable. Those little heinies are swallowed up by ye old cloth and they use the bathroom like constantly, so in order to avoid constant laundry we used Swaddlers diapers by Pampers. They were the ones we used in the hospital and by far my fave.
We were also using Thirsty diaper covers in XS with Cotton Babies inserts. They fit snuggly and were a nice addition to the disposable.
Thirsty Diaper Covers $11.25
+
Pocket Diaper Insert $3.95
At about the two month mark we began using the Bum Genius One Size diapers and absolutely fell in love with them. Now we exclusively use BumGenius. Knowing that Matilda can grow in to them made them much more economical and I love how absorbent they are. We rarely have leaks. They are a bit bulky, especially on newborns, but I find them to be the most convenient and practical cloth diapers we've tried.
BumGenius One Size $17.95
A lot of retailers will offer bulk discount so make sure you ask! We have about 16 and I find that to be a great number. It's enough to get us through a few days, but not too much so that the diapers just pile up.
I use a basic trash can as my diaper pail.
Touchless Stainless Steel
Plastic will work just fine. The main thing is that the trash can has a lid. I prefer one with a touch lid to just dump the diaper in. With the pocket diapers you want to dump the insert in the trash, attach the velcro to the inner laundry tabs, and then the diaper itself.
You will also need a pail liner. I use these and I bought 2, one for the laundry and one for the pail. You will dump the entire contents of the liner in the laundry and then the liner itself:
Pail Liner $16.50
Next you will need to order a gentle, perfume free laundry detergent. The most recommended is Allens, but I've yet to find it in the stores so I use Seventh Generation Baby laundry detergent.
You will want to first rinse the diapers, then wash with detergent, then rinse again and determine rather or not to wash a second time. The liners and cloth wipes can go in the dryer and I air dry the covers.
I like to air dry the covers and inserts in the sun because the sun acts as a natural bleach. I need to get a drying line up...
You can also use a 1/4 cup of bleach once a month for cleaning and deodorizing!
For more answers to more questions go here.
You will also want to invest in wet bags for travel and cloth wipes which are amazing! Happy diapering!!
© copyright homemade grits
My ever "saves the day" Mama dropped off some organic brown rice cereal for Matilda's nighttime bottle. All of my friends had sung their praises of cereal at night for longer sleepy goodess. So, I thought "Oh heck yeah I'll try it" and so I did...
Matilda slept for NINE hours!!! NINE! Sweet dreams.
happy baby food
disclaimer: add an insert for the nightime cloth diaper. the cereal packs a whallop!
ps No one warned me about the four month wakeful period. Some kind of friends you are;)
© copyright homemade grits
First of all our lives have been eat, poop, sleep, stare, love, practicing patience with each other, and trial and error. We began cloth diapering almost as soon as we got home from the hospital. It has definitely been an adventure, but we're slowly getting the hang of it, however I could for sure see why parents would wait a bit to start on the cloth. In the beginning they mess up their diapers so much and a lot of our diapers are too big for her right now.
Here's what has worked for us:
XS Thirsty diaper covers
They're less bulky on newborns and they have a dip in the front to accommodate the lovely umbilical cord stump. They also contain the messes and are reusable once wiped down. By the way, we lost the stump today...hooray!
+
Bum Genious Micro fiber insert
These inserts keep her dry and they contain the mess.
I do recommend disposable for on the go. We have been using the Swaddlers and they're a life saver in a pinch.
Another crucial tip is to explain to your husband the difference between different baby items before baby arrives, ie burp cloths, blankets, diapers, cloth diapers, etc. Trust me, you'll thank me for this when you ask your husband to bring you a burp cloth to clean up the massive amount of spit up dripping down your arm and he returns with your favorite receiving blanket!
update: When nursing it's probable a good idea to avoid things like Little Ceasars Pizza. Let's just say it was a long night!
© copyright homemade grits
My friend Becky sent me an educated email concerning cloth diapering. She highly recommended the pocket diapers (ie Fuzzibunz, Bumgenius, etc). I am using a combination of pocket diapers, prefolds with covers, and "hybrid" diapers aka G-diapers. I also registered for Seventh Generation diapers for back up. As I get to try all of these different types I will give y'all my honest feedback. Until then...
Here is some advice from Becky:
Most of my stash is Fuzzybunz, but I also like swaddlebees and BumGenious. Swaddlebees run really sm and probably would have worked as a newborn diaper, my size sm Fuzzybunz lasted until 6months, but now my size m are too long.
Go ahead and order yourself some Allen's Naturally Laundry detergent, I was only able to find it online, but it is on all the diapers' approved list of detergents.
Consider line drying your covers to prolong their life.
{You need:}
2 waterproof pail liners
Several waterproof zipper bags for on the go
Place to line/sun dry covers
Baking Soda, Vinegar for periodic stripping or stain removal of inserts (shouldn't be a problem if you stay away from creams and if you sun dry-natural bleach)
cloth wipes and warmer-we LOVE ours! :)
I ordered lots of stuff from emibeans.com - she is local and has been super fast and friendly with all my orders, she doesn't carry fuzzibunz any more b/c you can order directly from the site. You can even register on her site! :)
Thanks for all of the advice Becky! It's so great to have Mom friends...
In researching water proof bags, I came across Petunia's Icky Bags on etsy. They are adorable and functional. You can use them for dirty diapers, wet swimsuits, grubby clothes, basically anything "icky". Genius!
This is my pick!
© copyright homemade grits
As soon as I found out I was pregnant I decided that I wanted our baby to be as "green" as possible. That word is being thrown around a lot these days, but one of the easiest ways that I can think of to be green as a parent is to cloth diaper your baby. It seems like a lot of trouble to some people, but you save sooooo much money and eliminate thousands of diapers that would sit in landfills and not decompose. One of my favorite parts about cloth diapering is that they are so darn cute! I love the sweet little diaper pins and Mom and I just ordered the most adorable diaper covers from Thirsties. These diaper covers are not only adorable, but they are waterproof and leakproof. The velcro tabs make the finishing touch super easy. You just line the covers with the cloth diapers and viola!
Look at the fun colors!
I also love their commitment to the environment:
In addition to offering a green consumer product, we strive to keep the carbon footprint of our business to a minimum. Here is how we do it...
Packaging materials are recycled and new packaging is made from the highest post-consumer content available.
All of our printing is done on recycled paper with 100% post-consumer content.
Our office and packing/shipping space (where we spend most of our days) is heated by solar hot air collectors and supplemented by a pellet stove on cloudy days. Luckily it is sunny in this part of Colorado 325 days of the year, and the average high temperature in the winter is 50F (11C) so we only need to use about 1/4 ton pellets each winter.
Our 1000 sq ft overstock area is heated with strategically placed southern exposure windows to allow for passive solar.
Only high-efficiency Energy Star rated compact fluorescent light bulbs are used.
Lights are turned off when rooms are not in use and we shut down all computers and components completely at the end of each day.
All of our fabric and components are sourced as locally as possible thereby cutting down on unnecessary transportation.
We choose fabrics that dry quickly and remain soft even when hung to dry to encourage our customers to retire their dryers.
All cutting and sewing is also done in Colorado so as to keep transport carbon to a minimum.
© copyright homemade grits
