My Cloth Diapering Experience

Many of you know this already, but I have cloth diapered Lorelei since she was about two weeks old. I think I am at this point ready to give it up. The main reason is that since she started eating "big people food, she has been prone to a diaper rash that needs to have triple paste on it, and that stuff does not go well with CDs. The rash is not caused by the diapers; it is from her food I think. That said, I am so happy I had her in CDs as long as I did, and will absolutely have the future Paislettes in cloth too if I can. In fact, I will probably put Lorelei back in when she is potty training. I wanted to write a little post on my CD experience with hopes that it will shed some light on the decision I made (which many people thought I was nuts for,) and answer some of the most commonly ask questions that I get.


Lorelei in a SweetDollBaby velcro pocket

First of all, why did I even think to do this?
I first heard about present-day cloth diapering from my dear friend Julie, as she had her oldest in prefolds and covers. She answered my many questions about it, and the more I thought about it, it just made sense. Now, let me say that I did not choose to CD because of the environment or sensitive skin or because I am super into all things natural. Those are all perks for me, but not the main reason. I decided to CD Lorelei for one reason: Cost. As I was considering the expenses we would face once I became a stay home mom, and what things we could cut out or downsize on, cloth diapers seemed like a no-brainer. I have read that the average cost of disposable diapers can be about 750-1000 over the first year. We invested $300 in cloth diapering, and probably would have invested less had I known all the things about it I know now, and I can re-use my diapers for future children. For that reason alone, it was worth it.

But aren't cloth diapers those huge pieces of cloth that you stick with pins? Isn't that a pain, and unsafe?
Cloth diapers have really changed since my grandmother used them. They range from as basic as pre-folds and covers (which you do fold and "pin" with something called a snappi,) to All-In-One diapers (which look like disposables, but are made with cloth.) I am not going to use this post to get into all the details of different kinds of diapers and brands, because the information is so vast and there are so many opinions on it, but I will tell you what we did.

OK, then what DID you use?
We used a combination of pre-folds and covers, and then slowly moved to pocket diapers as Lorelei grew older. When Lorelei was two weeks old, the pre-folds came in the mail from this website. I ordered a starter kit of them, which included three dozen pre-folds (we really only needed about 2 dozen,) 5 covers (waterproof plastic covers, like a swim diaper,) and 4 pocket diapers (more on that later.) I also ordered snappis to fasten the prefolds with. There are tons of videos on the internet on how to fold them and fasten them, and I used about three different folds on Lorelei. Then, I put a waterproof cover over them so that she did not leak through her clothes. I had to replace the pre-fold at every change, but unless it had leaked through and was really messy, she could wear the same cover all day. At night, before she started sleeping through the night, we used disposables so that they were easy to deal with in the middle of the night. Even though pre-folds and covers are supposed to be the "hardest" cloth diapers to use (read: the ones least like disposables,) I did not find them hard at all. They took getting used to, but they were not ridiculously hard to put on an infant, and they held her mess in pretty well most of the time. And the best part- Allen knows how to use them too!


My package from WeeBunz



A prefold with a snappi. The cover goes over this.

Once she turned about three months old, I started using pocket diapers. These are bit harder to explain, but I will try. Basically, they look like a disposable diaper in their shape, and are fastened with either velcro or snaps (all sewed on the diaper, not separate like the pre-folds.) The part of the diaper that touches the baby is fleece or microfiber, and there is a pocket in the diaper where you stuff an insert (made out of an absorbent terry fabric,) and the insert absorbs the pee so it does not get all over the baby's skin. I had four of these diapers by name brands (FuzziBunz and BumGenius) which came with my starter kit, and I mostly used them for overnight, but never considered using them exclusively because they cost about 15-20 dollars PER DIAPER. However, through a message board I learned about this off-brand site called Sweet Doll Baby that sells them for $7.50 per diaper. I slowly started ordering from them, and now have about 15 of them which I used as Lorelei's main diapers until she was about 8 months old. I love them, and they are even easier for daddies and babysitters to use!



Lorelei in FuzziBunz diapers


What is so great about the Sweet Doll Baby Pocket Diapers?
Well first of all, they are cheap, and about as easy to use as a disposable. They are well-made, and the people who run the company have excellent customer service. If you have any problems with your diapers, they answer your questions, or sometimes send you a new one. The diapers are one-size, which means they adjust to grow with the baby (my friend had the same diapers on her big-for-his-age two year old, and her small-for-her-age six month old.) They come in both snaps and velcro, which is a nice variety. I personally prefer velcro for the fit, but within a few months and many washings, the velcro stops working. The snap diapers gapped a bit more on Lorelei (causing more blowouts and leaks,) but do not need fixing or replacing.


Velcro Diaper from SweetDollBaby

Snap Diaper from SweetDollBaby
Diapers and inserts

Alright, they sound cool and all, but aren't they gross to care for? What do you do with the dirty ones?
Honestly, I think that they are no worse than disposables. I put the dirty diapers in something called a wet bag, which is a vinyl bag that has a plasticky interior. When Lorelei was exclusively breastfed, I kept the bag in her room next to the changing table, and as her diapers became more stinky with solid food, I moved it to the laundry room. Having used both disposables and cloth, I can honestly say that the trash with disposables in it smells worse than the wet bag with dirty cloth diapers in it, and breastfed baby diapers hardly smelled bad at all. After every diaper change, I simply remove the diaper and pulled the insert out, and dropped both in the wetbag. Easy peasy. The only gross part is once she started eating solids and having more solid poo, I started knocking the poo in the toilet before throwing the diapers in the bag. There are these fancy pants thing called diaper sprayers that are supposed to make this easier, but I just shake it in, or use a piece of toilet paper/wipe. I can imagine some people would find that gross, but it is no worse than wiping it off your baby's butt.


Didn't you have to do laundry, like, every day? Wasn't your water/electric bill astronomical?
How much laundry you do depends on how much your kid messes the diapers, and how many diapers you have in your stash. With 36 pre-folds, five covers, and then 15 pocket diapers, I did laundry about every third day (so like three days per week.) I just took the entire wet bag and dumped the whole thing in the washing machine (and then dropped the bag in after (I have a top-loader; front loaders are harder to use for cloth.) Before her switch to solid food, I just did a cold pre-wash, a hot wash, then a cold rinse with a TINY bit of detergent. After her diapers became stinkier, I started adding in a pre-wash with vinegar before the detergent cycle. Diaper companies have super eco-friendly, sensitive detergent, but I just used generic Free and Clear. It is VERY important to use very little, and to not have anything with perfumes or anything or that will cause build up on the diapers. You can dry the diapers in the dryer, but they wreak havoc on velcro diapers and can make the plastic insides shrink. I toss the prefolds and inserts in the dryer, and line dry the diapers/covers either outside, or in my laundry room. When it comes time to fold and put them away, I try to pre-stuff the pocket ones with inserts. Lorelei likes to help :-) As for the electric bill and water bill, we did not notice a difference, honestly. I think line drying the diapers helped with that.



My little helper :-)

What about wipes, diaper rash cream, and going out?
Sometimes I used cloth wipes with a solution made of water, baby soap and baby oil. I personally prefer them to disposable wipes, but never have them handy, so I use regular wipes a lot. Diaper rash cream does not go well with cloth diapers, unfortunately. They cause buildup on the diapers, which can cause leaks. You can put a liner in the diaper to keep the cream away from the diaper(it looks kind of like a dryer sheet,) but sometimes that is not worth it. Normally when she is extra-rashy, I switch to disposable. I also tend to use disposables when we are out because they are easier to get rid of, but I do have a portable wet bag to put cloth diapers in on the go.

Are there any negative sides to these diapers?
Well, yes. They aren't ALL great. I do think that the pocket ones can leak a bit more than disposables (though not always.) Sometimes the diapers get detergent buildup and need to be stripped (I just wash them a couple times in hot water.) They require more prep-work (washing before initial use, stuffing diapers after each wash, etc.,) and it is annoying that I cannot really use cream with them (or else she would still be in them!) The extra loads of wash is really not that big of deal in the scheme of things; I feel like I am always doing laundry anyway, and I can co-ordinate diaper laundry with regular laundry. And I honestly do not think it is that gross! Not to mention the fact that they just look so cute with their big fluffy butts :-)

So, there you have it. I am very pleased with our decision to use cloth diapers, and probably will do it again with future children even if we can afford disposables. I find them more comfortable, cuter, more environmentally friendly, economical, and better for the baby's skin. And, honestly, I actually enjoy it!

If you have any questions, please contact me or comment away! I love to convert people to using cloth :-)


Most of my pocket diapers!