Cloth Diapers Make Me Happy

I change a lot of diapers.  A lot.  I have a baby (and you know they poop a lot!) and a toddler (pre-schooler?) who is potty training but still in diapers overnight and usually for part of the day as well.

But I really don't mind changing diapers.  In fact, I kind of like it (weird, right?).  But here's why:

I am grateful for my cloth diapers.  They make the constant diaper changes a little less mundane.  They add some color and cushiness to my day (we can all use a little extra color and cushiness!).

Every time I change a diaper (and like I've said, I change a lot), I feel like I am doing something good for our environment and for baby, too.  So, not only am I saving the earth one diaper at a time (makes me feel a little less guilty about all those Keurig cups we go though, I guess), but I also get the added cuteness of a fluffy-butted baby whose diaper matches her outfit.  And who wouldn't want that, right?!

Yes, it does increase my laundry a bit.  I wash about a load of diapers a day to keep up with the non-stop pooping that goes on around here.  But you know what I wash less of?  Onesies. Baby pants. Tiny pajamas.  Because the great thing about cloth diapers is that they ACTUALLY HOLD THE POOP IN.  I would rather wash the poop out of the diapers (which are supposed to be pooped in) than the baby's clothes (which are not supposed to be pooped on, but which get pooped on a lot when you have a newborn with liquid poop).

My cloth diaper stash is extensive (I like to buy all the new colors and prints), but I haven't bought disposables in months.  A few more months and the diapers will have paid for themselves.  So there's that, too - cloth diapers save money.  I don't know about you, but I can always use a little more money (I should note that technically I could use a lot more money, but I guess that's neither here nor there!).

In case you are thinking about taking the plunge, here's the Reader's Digest version of What You Need to Know to Cloth Diaper.

Depending on the type of cloth diaper you want to use, they will run you anywhere from $5 to $35 (and up!) per diaper.  Supposedly, you need about 18-24 for a newborn...I had about 30 and I would have struggled with fewer, but as she's gotten older 18-24 is plenty.  You can buy diapers that are supposed to fit from birth to potty training (these are called "one-size"), but in most cases these diapers won't fit well until you baby is about 8 pounds (10 pounds for many brands) and has chunked up around the legs a bit.  You can buy special diapers made for newborns to fill in the gaps between birth and when they actually fit in the "one-size" diaper.

You will also need cloth-diaper-safe laundry detergent (super easy to find online), a wet bag for dirty diapers (a small one for traveling, and I recommend two large ones for your dirty diaper pail at home so you will always have a clean one), a diaper pail (I use a trash can from Target with a lid and a foot pedal to open it) and wipes (I am super duper grateful for my cloth wipes, I think I will do a separate post on those later, but totally recommend cloth wipes and a bottom spray for cleaning).  Some people also say they can't live without their diaper sprayer (attaches to the toilet and can be used to spray poop off of the diaper - you won't need this until you Little One is eating solid foods).

We use mostly pocket diapers.  I put baby on changing table, remove old diaper and toss it in the pail (because she's not eating "real" food, there is no need to clean off the poop first), spray bottom with bottom spray, wipe bottom, throw wipe in diaper pail, put new diaper on (in most cases you have the option of velcro or snaps...I recommend snaps for most brands because they last longer and are easier to launder as the velcro tends to come undone and attach to other diapers in the wash) and go about our business.

When the diaper pail gets full (which at this point, it does on a daily basis), I remove the wet bag and dump the contents in the washing machine (wet bag included).  I soak in cold water...anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight depending on the load and time available.  Then, add diaper-safe soap and wash on hot.  Do Do another cold rinse.  Remove diapers.  I take stained diaper covers and inserts outside to dry in the sun (the sun removes stains LIKE YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE...it is awesome).  I hang all of the non-stained diaper covers in the laundry room to dry, throwing the wipes and inserts in the dryer.  Once the stains have been removed (usually only an hour or so in the Texas sun of late) from the outside laundry, I bring everything inside (duh, right?).  I have a fan in the laundry room and the covers generally don't take too long to dry.  I toss everything in the dryer for about 5 minutes to fluff it all up and get the "outside" smell off...I don't like the way things smell when they dry outside (but that could be my own weirdness and you certainly don't have to throw anything in the dryer at all, actually).

After everything has been dried, it takes me about 15 minutes or so to stuff the pockets and stack wipes and get everything back in its place under the changing table.

And that's it!  It's an ongoing cycle, but once the pooping (here I go talking about poop again) lets up some I will be able to skip a day between laundry (I actually can skip a day now if I want to, but since I am home all day and I don't like to see the diaper pail get so full it doesn't close, I usually just do it every day).

Here is my reward:

Yeah.  A smiling little baby girl in a leopard print diaper.  See how fun they can be??