Cloth Diaper "Must Haves"

I’ve blogged before about cloth diapering, but I don’t think I’ve really blogged much past the actual style we chose and how the process works.

In preparing to be a cloth diapering mother I have come to realize some things I need that perhaps a disposable diaper mother might not need. As the time to actually cloth diaper a baby draws closer the thought of cloth diapering is becoming slightly intimidating but I’m bound and determined to make it work. I also want to make sure we have everything we need to make it go as smoothly as possible. While it’s intimidating it’s also something I’m very excited to try and can’t wait to be able to say “I cloth diapered and it was so easy!”.

Item number one is the most obvious: cloth diapers. We are covered in this area – at least with enough to get started. Not knowing exactly how many diapers Jude will use in a day or how well the diapers we selected will fit and work for us, I got the approximate number he’ll use in a 2-day period of time. Typically you need to wash them every other day to avoid having the chemicals in the poo/pee breaking down the lining. So, having more than a 2-2.5 day supply is pointless. You should rotate them all regularly and wash them as soon as possible to keep them from wearing out too quickly, etc. We currently have a 2 days supply and will probably get about 6 more if we’re 100% pleased with the style we chose (Bum Genius 3.0). Other wise I’ll do some more research and get a few of another style to see if they suit us better.

Item number two: the toilet sprayer or laundry room wash basin. Basically any time Jude pees in a diaper it goes right into the dirty diaper pail until the end of the day when they’ll need to be washed. However, in the event that the little guy poo’s we’ll have to ‘scrape’ or ‘spray’ the solids off of the diaper (the scary/intimidating part of the process!). The most effective way of doing this from what we’ve gathered is in a toilet or a laundry wash basin. I have plans on installing both options in our home. Currently we have a stackable washer and dryer so making extra space in our laundry room for the wash basin is not a problem! I’m sure that it will come in hand for much more than cloth diapers and according to Ryan working into the plumbing should be fairly simple.




The other option – the toilet sprayer – is apparently a cloth diaper mothers most have. Basically you tap into the plumbing behind your toilet and add what I would compare to a kitchen sink sprayer to your toilet. Instead of getting out the plastic scraper (the standard de-pooing item, comparable to a spatula) you spray some high-pressure water onto the diaper and get the gunk off. You can either do this at the time of the diaper change or when it’s time for you to wash them all. I’ll have to see which option works for me as the time comes.



Item number three: the wet bag. While we’re out running errands or while Jude’s at day care we’ll need to put the cloth diapers somewhere. There are a number of solutions or options – the most practical in my mind is the wet bag.

Other options include disposable bags. Basically we would be taking a plastic bag everywhere we went to throw the diapers in until we get home. Once home the plastic bag would be thrown away and the diapers would be added to the diaper pail. Daycare would also be given a plastic bag every day to put diapers in and send them home in. considering we’re trying to be eco-friendly (and cheap!) this just didn’t seem like the best option for us. Plus, you risk getting thin bags that could rip or seep the odor out into other items in the diaper bag.

Another option would be to abandon cloth diapers while we’re out and about and while he’s at daycare. We could swap over to a more environmentally friendly type of diaper made from more natural fibers and only use cloth diapers at home. Another option is a mix of cloth and disposable called the G-diaper (disposable liners, cloth outsides). This just doesn’t seem like a good option either (but is something I'm more willing to try than other options). Basically you’ll be spending the cost of cloth diapers, PLUS the cost of disposables making it almost pointless (in my opinion).

So, I’ll be buying a couple wet bags:




Basically these are waterproof bags with zippers to hold in the scent and any liquids. It can fold up into the diaper bag and either myself or our day care provider can throw all of the yuckies from the day/outing into the bag. When the diapers get washed all you have to do is toss the bag in and it too will be washed – not using any extra water/energy or causing any unnecessary waste. I haven’t ordered my wet bags yet though because it’s actually something that there are about a million options for! There are oodles of prints, sizes, styles, brands, etc. I’ve found one I like a lot but can’t bring myself to commit yet!

It’s all very exciting and interesting and should be an adventure going into! I’m sure as I submerge myself into the cloth diapering world I’ll be blogging about the journey and offer any advice to anyone who might be interested. But for now, we’ll stick with all the research I’ve done and the opinions from other mothers (as outlined above).