Cloth Diapers 101 – Where To Start

So you want to try cloth diapering. But you have NO CLUE where to start!

Here is a run-down of the BASICS!

All In Ones
-All In Ones (or AIO) are just like they sound. All the diaper you need in one single piece. Just as easy as disposables. On, off, in the washer, no extra work. Great for dads, grandmothers, and babysitters!

All In Twos
-All In Twos (or AI2) are two pieces. The cover (made of PUL) and the insert. You reuse the cover over and over and just change the inside.

Pockets
-Pocket diapers are the PUL cover and the stay-dry part that touches the baby’s skin. There are inserts that you stuff into the pocket between the inside and outside that absorb the wet. You can stuff a lot or stuff a little! You can stuff with whatever you want!

Hybrids
-Hybrids are just like AI2s, but they market disposable inserts as well as cloth. Great for traveling

Fitteds
-Fitteds don’t have a waterproof layer. They will feel damp after a little while. BUT They come in adorable prints and are great for hanging around the house in a diaper and tshirt or when your baby has a rash and needs a PUL break.

Prefolds
-Prefolds are a lot like your grandma’s cloth diapers. But now instead of pins you can use snappis (or pins if you really want) or just fold them and lay them in a cover.

Covers
-Covers are just a PUL layer. They are to cover fitteds or prefolds.

Those are the basic types. There are more, but that’s general things, you can venture into more details when you pick the system for you.

Not sure which to try? Many online stores have trial packs that include a few of each type and many different brands so that you can try what you want! I would suggest that, since I spent $200 on diapers that EVERYONE loves and raved about, only to turn around and sell/trade them. They did NOT work for us. At all.

Want to know what to do with poop? Storage of clean and dirty diapers? What diapers are best for your baby? How to wash? Talking your spouse into cloth? Stay tuned for the rest of my cloth posts! Also, I am hosting a ton of my favorite cloth diapering Tweeps and Bloggers and their experiences on cloth diapering!

Introducing ALYSSA! I heart her! We “met” a couple of years ago on our ol’ miscarriage/loss blogs. We have graduated to mommy blogs, and Alyssa finally jumped on the cloth bandwagon! These are her experiences as a rookie!

The Good, The Bad, and the Stinky: A Rookie’s First Week of Cloth Diapering

I never thought that cloth diapering would be for me. But, like many of the other things I thought before I magically became a mom one May afternoon, that was tossed out the window. When I caught the cloth bug, I caught it bad, and we went from full-on sposies to full-on cloth just 5 days after the final decision was made. I was a madwoman on DiaperSwappers.com, practically shelling out virtual b!tch slaps to moms that beat me to PMing the seller of the dipes I wanted. I eventually scored some good stuff, but it took a couple of tireless, web perusing nights and dozens of visits to PayPal. The fluffymail came, the diapers were cute, but the first week didn’t go exactly as planned.

Step 1. Learning how to use the diapers. All-in-ones, pockets? fitteds? soakers? doublers? prefolds? What the heck?! I clearly didn’t do enough research. I was confused, and so was Lyla (can’t you tell?). It took some trial and error before we figured out what fit her, what leaked, and what made her butt look bigger than Kim Kardashian’s. We got the hang of it, and learned that we like all-in-ones like BumGenius and pocket diapers with microterry inserts like FuzziBunz for daytime use, and all-in-ones like DryBees with a Thirsties hemp insert for overnights.

Step 2. Getting the daddy on board. Yes, Lyla was confused once again, but not as confused as the daddy who shortly realized that cloth diapering could be easy! His favorites are BumGenius all-in-ones with aplix.

Step 3. Staining and stinkies! My cute, clean diapers got dirty! Bummer! (get it? BUMmer?!) I crack myself up. Was everything going to end up with these gross stains? It was back to the internet to find some answers.

Step 4. Sunning. Sunning couldn’t possibly get the stains out, could it? I wasn’t buying it, but decided to give it a shot because I needed an excuse to get my paleness out into the daylight anyway. Since I live in an apartment and don’t have much of a yard or a place for a clothesline, I used my car. Looks a little ghetto-fabulous but hey, what’s a girl to do? Lo and behold, 4 hours later the diapers and inserts were stain-free! I’m now a believer in Mr. Golden Sun.

Step 5. Stinkies. According to my research, the diaper stinkage and an ugly rash Lyla got on her bum were both likely due to the fact that I’m a soap maniac and use too much laundry detergent. I was using a very popular brand of cloth diaper detergent that’s supposed to be easy-rinsing, so it’s also possible that Lyla has a sensitivity to that particular stuff. The girl’s got super-sensitive skin, just like her momma…Damn it! Either way, we stripped the diapers in the tub since our front-loader doesn’t allow my Type-A-ness self to see what’s going on inside the machine during a soak. After the water ran clear, we washed twice in a different detergent.

Step 6. Viola! The diapers were smelling fresh again! As you can see, this half of our stash was fresh out of the dryer and looking nice and bright! The rash looks like it’s clearing, too, which is fab.

Moral of this story: Alyssa is stubborn and forces things like breastfeeding and cloth diapering to work out, or else. You have to figure out what method of cloth diapering works for you. There’s no right way to do it, and so many things you can tweak to get it to fit your lifestyle. In the long run, our family is happy to be keeping chemicals from disposables off of our baby’s skin, be more eco-friendly, and to be getting so many compliments about how cute cloth is! Washing the diapers takes about as much energy as it did to be emptying my diaper genie every 2.5 days and lugging it out to the trash. Plus, I’m a weirdo that actually enjoys doing laundry. Like everything else associated with parenting, there’s a learning curve to cloth diapering with a great reward at the other end!

Thanks Alyssa!

Think you have to wait to have the baby before you start? NOT! Jen JUST had her BEAUTIFUL baby boy this week, and she was stashed up, ready to go! Read her journey of preparing herself for cloth during pregnancy! (@prgaftrmiscar)

Preparing For Cloth Diapering While Pregnant

I hate to admit it, but I have absolutely no clue what exactly turned me on to the idea of cloth diapers. Personally, I blame Twitter.

When I first found out I was pregnant this time around, I didn’t want to share the news with anyone until I made it through the first trimester, since my last pregnancy ending in a miscarriage at 6.5 weeks. But I wanted to tell someone, and what better forum to meet other people and blab to the universe fairly anonymously than Twitter?

Some of my first Twitter friends were CD-ing mamas who blogged about cloth diapers and reviewed different brands. It was easy to see that cloth diapers have come a long way since I was little, and soon I was hooked. The ease of use, the environmental benefits, the cuteness, and best of all, the impact on my wallet soon had me reading up on cloth diapers and plotting how to best build my stash.

Now, I was totally lost to start. I had read a few reviews of different cloth diapers, but didn’t really know what the terminology meant, or what cloth diaper options were out there. One of the first stops for me during my “research” phase was the All About Cloth Diapers website (http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/), which had some great “101”-style articles that introduce a newbie like me to the different types of cloth diapers and the benefits/challenges of each type. I figured out what I style I thought would work best for my husband and I, then started scouring Craigslist & cloth diaper retailers for deals.
One piece of advice I received repeatedly from other cloth moms was to avoid buying an entire stash of just one cloth diaper, since you might decide it doesn’t work for your little one.

Of course I ignored this advice when I saw (what I thought) was a great deal on Craigslist – a huge lot of brand new one-size pocket cloth diapers for a ridiculously (to me) low price. Thankfully, I did do a little bit of research first. I read the brand reviews on Diaper Pin and checked pricing other places. The ones I bought normally sell for $8-10 each new – Because I bought all 25 (yes, twenty five diapers) from this lady, I got them for $5 each. My thinking was – IF these work out for me, I just bought an entire stash that should last me a few years for only $125.

As my pregnancy progressed, and I chatted with more cloth moms, I realized I better diversify my collection. What if we didn’t like the pocket style after all? Or preferred fitteds over one size? I kept on deal hunting and growing my stash a diaper or two at a time – an AIO here, a fitted there, some prefolds, etc.. etc..

I also started setting myself up for success – not everyone has an easy time with cloth diapers when they start, so I wanted to do everything I could to get myself prepared BEFORE the baby arrived. I started attending the weekly #ClothDiapers chat on twitter Monday nights, and “listened in” to questions, advice, or concerns other moms had about their cloth diapers.

My baby is due Friday, August 20th, and I actually feel fairly well-prepared at this point. I have a stash of a variety of cloth diapers in addition to the “deal” I got from CL. I have a supply of detergent to use on my diapers, and I’ve read up on washing routines, different brands of laundry soap, etc…I have a diaper sprayer already installed in the bathroom, and some extra accessories like flushable liners, hybrid diapers (cloth cover w/ biodegradable liner), and cloth wipes.

Plus, I have the biggest & best resource of all – my online support system of Twitter friends, cloth retailer Facebook fans, and a network of blogs I follow that all have great info and support for cloth diaper users.

Take our advice y’all! Cloth diapering is so personal, and different for everyone! Stay tuned for more installments of Cloth 101, and of course, if you have ANY QUESTIONS, do NOT hesitate to email me or any of these fabulous girls guest blogging!

Tagged as: cloth diapers, guest post