First things first. Which diapers are you going to use? I admit I was very overwhelmed when I first started. I was lucky enough to have my mom introduce me to one of her friends that cloth diapers so I could see and touch the diapers first hand. I recommend a diaper trial before making any big bulk purchases. There are several websites that offer this trial. My boys are very different sizes (one is a chunky monkey and the other is a string bean) so I needed diapers that could be used for both body types aka one size diapers. Please note that I do not work for nor am affiliated with any cloth diapering company. Here is my brief description of the cloth diapers that are available:
Fitteds
A tailored fitted diaper that gathers around the legs making it very trim. They come in snaps or Velcro. These resemble disposables, but these do require a cover over them. They are very absorbent and are great on newborns because of their trim fit. They come in different fabrics, colors, prints, but most come in white. You're going to cover them anyways. I never cloth diapered newborns, but if I had I would have gone with these. They seem easy to use and good at catching all the runny breastfed poop.Prefolds
These diapers have been around forever! These are very economical too. They are a simple one piece of very absorbent cloth usually made out of cotton, but can be found in flannel, twill, Birdseye, really any fabric will work. These can be folded several different ways around a baby (Newspaper fold, Bikini Twist, Angel Wing fold, Sidewall/Jellyroll fold). Obviously, different folds work for different babies and if you have a boy more padding should go in the front whereas for a girl the extra padding should go in the back. You can also tri-fold them into a cover and it works great for when they are older and moving around more. Once you got the fold you want over the baby you can use snappies or pins. I would go with the snappis. Much easier and you wouldn't have to worry about stabbing your baby or yourself. I currently use Bummies prefolds, but I imagine you can make your own. Got any old flannel pajamas lying around?Pockets
My absolute favorite dipes! They are so easy to use and with twins I needed EASY! My husband also was a little resistant at first so I knew that the only way to convince him would be a diaper that he could easily put on and off. They come in lots of fabrics, colors, super cute prints, and available in snaps and Velcro. I use mostly snaps because they last longer (at least that's what I'm hoping) and since I can't sew to save my life replacing Velcro was not an option for me. I must say that Velcro is much easier to put on a squirmy baby. I use cotton, bamboo, and microfleece pockets (I'll go into fabrics in another post). Basically, a pocket diaper is a diaper that you insert an insert or booster into. You can add or take out as many inserts as you want to adjust the absorbency. I like to use a bamboo booster with my microfiber insert for naps. They have a hidden PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) layer inside so it is waterproof and wick away the moisture. In my rotation I use Kawaii and BumGenius (I'll go into products in another post).AI2's/Covers (All In Two's)
These go with prefolds, inserts, or flats. Most have the PUL. You just snap or Velcro these on over your chosen wrap and viola you're ready to go. I like to use these for on the go. That way instead of lugging behind lots of pockets all you need is a couple of stay-dry inserts or prefolds and maybe just one cover in case there is poop. The great thing about these is that you don't have to change the cover every time you do a diaper change. Just replace the inner and put the cover back on. You can reuse the cover 2-3 times in a day. I use Flips with the stay-dry inserts, but I've also used Blueberry coveralls with prefolds. Both work great for my boys.AIO (All In Ones)
I don't own many of these (mainly for the cost factor). They are the easiest to use and you don't have to stuff inserts like the pockets. Again, come in various colors, fabrics, and prints. They have the inserts sewn inside the diaper. Simply, put on baby, change baby when needed, throw in wash, dry, and put back on baby. I have only tried two brands so far GroVia and Thirsties (both bought used). They are very cute and simple to use. My only complaint is that they take a long time to dry. Since everything is attached the many absorbent layers need some extra sun or dryer time. Since I line-dry everything it takes a long time compared to my pockets.What am I missing here? Those are just some of the basic diapers out there. These are just my options and thoughts on them so please try some out for yourself and see what you like.
Washing cloth diapers can be a little tricky. First, you need to know what kind of water you have. I have very hard water which means I need to use more detergent and add a hard water booster. Soft water means you use less detergent. The tricky part is getting them clean without leaving any detergent residue on the diapers. If you leave any residue this can affect the absorbency of the diapers and lead to repelling. It took me about a month to get my washing down and I haven't had any problems...fingers crossed. To find out what kind of water you have you can call or look up your local water board information or order a water test strip. They are very inexpensive, usually 59 cents or so.
Once you know what kind of water you have you need to know what is going to work with your type of washing machine you have. I have an old-school top loader and those seem to work best. The problem with the new energy efficient front loaders is they are built to not use a lot of water. This is not good since you need to make sure the diapers are thoroughly rinsed. Some moms with these HE front loaders have to add buckets of water to the wash just to make sure they get rinsed enough. I would hate to do that, but you do what you got to do. You need to wash diapers every 2-3 days. Some go longer, but I tired 4 days once and it took forever to get my diapers clean and the smell of ammonia was horrid. This is my current wash routine. I've heard that mine is pretty typical:
- Rinse all diapers on with either warm or cold water (no detergent).
- Wash in hot or warm water with CD safe detergent and in my case I add a hard water booster.
- Do 1-2 extra rinses (I usually do 2).
- Line-dry or put in dryer. I would recommend to line-dry as much as possible especially if you have a lot of dipes that have the PUL. They will wear out faster if you use the dryer, plus you will save energy if you line-dry. I use drying racks so that in the winter I can move them indoors. Never use dryer sheets with your CD's.
Detergents:
Go on any cloth diapering board and you'll get a lot of answers as to what detergent to use. The most popular ones are Rockin' Green, Tide, All Free and Clear, Ruby Moon, Biokleen, BumGenius, Eco Sprout, Charlie's Soap, and GroVia Tiny Bubbles. I'm sure there are a lot more out there, but those are the most common ones I see on the boards. I use Biokleen and Charlie's Soap hard water booster and haven't had a problem. You need to make sure that you get a detergent that is safe for cloth and rinses clean. Lots of power with little evidence of ever being there...sort of like Batman. Some moms use stain removers before washes, but again they need to be CD safe. The one most like is Biokleen Bac-Out. I spray this into my wet/dry bag if the diapers start to stink in between washes.Common problems:
My diapers stink - You either didn't use enough detergent or didn't rinse all the way. Wash in a hot wash with detergent and rinse till you see no bubbles.
My diapers are repelling - A very common problem usually fixed by a good stripping. It is recommend to strip once a month. I personally only strip when I start to see problems. The most basic way to strip is to use a squirt of dawn and rinse till you see no more bubbles. Another option is to use a 1/4 cup of vinegar, baking soda or bleach. I haven't tried any of these yet. I much prefer to use the Dawn method. BumGenius recommend using bleach once a month. I might try this just on the inserts.
My baby has a rash - Too much detergent. Sometimes the detergent residue is on the dipes and can lead to rashes. Some babies are just more sensitive than other. A good stripping should fix the problem. You can also use a flushable liner to go inside the diaper. This is also a good option when traveling so you don't have to leave poop on a diaper. Just remove and flush away.
I wish there was a magic map showing you this is how to successfully wash your diapers, but much like life its all trial and error. Don't worry once you get the hang of it you'll actually enjoy washing your diapers. Diaper laundry day makes me happy...yes I know I've gone off the deep end :)
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