Go Team Wood

Cloth diapers. We LOVE LOVE LOVE our cloth diapers. Cannot say enough great things about them. We started the boys in cloth at about 2-weeks old and except for a couple of times while traveling, have used them exclusively since then. I have had quite a few moms ask about the cloth diapers, so I put together this primer I can direct people toward for more information. If you’re just here for the baby pics, I added those too. But feel free to skip to the next thing in your day if cloth diapers don’t tickle your fancy!

We use Bum Genius One-Size Pocket diapers. There are literally dozens of different types of modern cloth diapers. Some people still use the regular old fold-n-pin kind like your grandparents used, but we figured the modern ones with velcro and snaps would be easier for anyone else who ever wanted to change the diapers like our nanny, grandparents, other generous people who offer to watch our kids so we can see a movie…

We started in the XS Bum Genius Bamboo Fitted, which are small enough for newborns. These required a cover. There are other newborn sized diapers, but I think a lot of people just wait until their kids are big enough for the one-size. They say the one-size are small enough for newborns, but even though they say 8-35 lbs, they really didn’t fit until about 10-12 lbs. My guys were huge by twin standards and they were not ready for the one-size until almost 4 months. The XS was a better fit.

The Bum Genius diapers are one-size from 8 to 35 lbs. They are basically a cover/pocket and inserts. Each one comes with 2 inserts, a newborn one and a thicker regular one. I think we used just the newborn one for maybe 2-3 months, but always used the thicker at naptime and bedtime. Eventually they went longer between changes and we now transitioned to the thick insert all the time adding 2 of the newborn for night time. Truth is, we probably have too many diapers. We could have easily gotten by with 36. (For one baby I have read 18 is a good number.) However, the extras help us be a little more lax about laundry. We have about 1/4 in each the drawer, the washer, the diaper bag and clean and ready to be stuffed at any given time. Sometimes we’re better about it and they are all clean at once, save for the ones on their butts, however, sometimes we’re bad and we have 3/4 of them waiting to be stuffed. It gives us a buffer. Fewer would probably force us to be more on top of it. I do think that having more makes the rotation better and each one is worn and washed less frequently and will hopefully last longer. Our larger stash of them allows us to launder each one a little less frequently, so even after a year and a half in use they are in excellent shape. We do wash a load of diapers every day, however, I think each diaper is only washed every other day or so. That helps prolong their life. We have a standard diaper pail, which is the Baby Trend Diaper Champ. It’s not awesome for cloth but contains the stink and we can use cloth reusable bags. I think I would go with just a plain tight-lid pail instead of the diaper champ.
I was lucky to find a sale, which isn’t terribly common, where it was buy-6-get-1-free so we basically bought the 3 dozen we needed and got 6 free. All ours are velcro, but I wish we had split it 50/50 with snaps. I like the snaps because the boys can’t get them undone as easily, however, the velcro is way easier to get one a squirmy baby. Either way we calculated that we broke even on the cost by the time the boys were 6 months old. So every diaper change from here on out is free!

If they are just breastfed, the poo is complete water soluble, so you can literally jut put it into the pail and into the washer just like that. Once you add solids, you have to put the business into the toilet. We have a diaper sprayer we attached to the toilet and it basically uses high-pressure spray to clean the diaper into the toilet. As they get older you can pretty much dump it into the toilet and it doesn’t need the sprayer as frequently. Because you are putting poop into the toilet the house smells less. (Oh, and for those who are squeamish about putting poo into the washer, just think about those blowouts you get with disposables. You don’t throw those clothes away, right? Another bonus: no blow-outs with cloth. Never Once. Two babies, almost two years, no up-the-back catastrophes.)
The washing is pretty straight forward. Dump the bag of diapers into the washer and do a water-only cold rinse. (we have a front loader which has a quick cycle we use.) then do a wash cycle on hot with 1 tbsp of Charlie’s Soap. Do a second rinse. If you see any suds rinse again. Our washer has an option for extra rinse so it’s basically 2 steps, the quick rinse on cold then the heavy duty wash. I have heard a lot of people say they don’t put the covers in the dryer but we do, on medium and they are just fine almost 2 years later, after literally hundreds of wash/dry cycles. Too high though and the waterproof layer would probably separate. Usually about 1-2 times a month I put about 1/4 cup of regular bleach in the wash cycle which helps with any ammonia smells that build up. This was a recommendation from the Cotton Babies customer service after my boys developed a yeast rash. I am not super crazy about the bleach thing, but it does the trick. No fabric softeners, no detergent with whitener, enzymes, brighteners.

Our cloth diapering setup includes:

• 40 Bum Genius diapers. we could totally get by with 30. 40 allows us to be lazy with the laundry.
• 75 cloth wipes my mom made. I have read a lot of people just get dollar-store baby washcloths and use those. We end up using disposable wipes a lot though, they seem to really get the job done. and are much more versatile in the diaper bag.
• 2 medium wet bags and 2 large. We have a few small ones with two babies they are not worthwhile and hold only 2 diapers. we use the large when we are gone all day. They are handy too for wet clothes as well.
• 2 nylon diaper pail liners. got these at Amazon.com, they are Thirsties brand, they were cheap and we throw them in with the diapers and wash them every load.
• 1 spray bottle of wipes solution, which I make up myself, it’s pretty easy – castille soap, baby oil, couple drops of tea tree oil and water. You can find tons of recipes online.
• 1 tube California Baby diaper rash creme, just in case. it is one of the only creams you can really use with cloth, the rest ruin the diapers. but we almost never have to use it. We are on our 2nd tube of it in their lifetime. They are 22 months old.
• Diaper sprayer for the toilet. you would live without but this thing is awesome and it was under $50. Got this at cottonbabies also.
• Charlies soap

It probably seems like a lot but it is mostly buy-once stuff that will last us years. The diapers and pail liners have been washed literally hundreds of times and they are still in great shape. If you have other questions or anything, please let me know. I am eager to share. We do love our cloth diapers, and even buying 40+ of them, we still broke even over the cost of disposables at about six months! If you sign up for the cottonbabies.com newsletter you get a coupon code for 5% off your order, which helps a little too.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that the diapers are adorable. Check out this look: Yeah, baby, Diaper and Crocs.

Here are some online resources:The Straight Poop On Cloth Diapers – AlphaMom
AlphaMom – Lazy Mom’s Guide to Cloth Diapering
Cloth Wipe Solution Recipes – Cloth Wipe Solution
Finding the Right Cloth Diaper for You
Leslie’s Boutique wet bags
Charlie’s Soap