Cloth Diapers

Yes, I use cloth diapers.  No, I am not a hippy. 

Cloth diapers are so much easier than they sound.  I started using them when Kamden was 1 month old.  There was just way too much going on for the first month of his life to start earlier than that.  He is now 3.5 months old and I am still happy that I made the initial investment.  I might have a different opinion when he starts solid foods!

Anyone wanting more information on cloth diapering should continue reading.  If you are not that interested… stop now!

Diaper of choice:

We use mostly bumGenius 4.0.  They resemble a disposable diaper pretty closely.  I currently prefer the Velcro option but I have heard the snaps come in handy when they get bigger and think taking off the diaper is a good idea.  We have about 16 diapers we use regularly.  I think that is plenty but some people prefer more so they don’t have to wash them as often.  

Storing dirty diapers:

We put them in a planet wise wet bag.  We haven’t had any issues with smell but I wash the diapers and wet bag every few days.  We have a few wet bags.  A small one that holds about 2 diapers that is good for a short trip out of the house, a medium size that holds about 5 and a hanging one that holds all of them.  I really dislike the large hanging wet bag because it gets twisted in the wash machine and retains a lot of water. 

Washing the diapers:

Cloth diapers require special detergents that don’t cause build up.  I use Country Save that is found at my local natural food store.  I wash them once on a cold cycle and once on hot.  I usually use a drying rack to save on the cost of running the dryer.  They usually dry overnight without a problem. 

Cloth wipes:

I recently got really crazy and added cloth wipes to the regimen.   It is also a lot less scary than it sounds.  I simply use baby washcloths or some squares of flannel that my mom had left over.  I made a solution for the wipes that I just keep in a bottle with a pull-up spout (like on a bottle of water) and dribble it on the cloth.  This is the solution I made:

1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin not necessary)
1/8 cup gentle baby bath
A few drops tea tree oil
4 cups water

That is probably more information that anyone could ever want but I do have a few friends that have asked me about the details.  I will say that some daycare providers are not willing to use cloth diapers.  We didn't have to worry about that since I am staying at home (for now).  I think my initial investment was less than $500 and I have heard you can spend over $2,000 to diaper one child.  Assuming we have more kids (fingers crossed), this will be a gigantic money saver.