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.
