When Sharee asked me to write a guest entry for her blog, I was very honored. Cloth diapering has come a long way in the last few years, and I hope that I can help you save money, live a little more green, and give some soft comfort to your little baby’s bum!
First of all – why in the world would anyone use cloth diapers? Here are my 3 reasons:
1) Comfort & Health: Would you like the wear paper underwear? What are your favorite underwear? Probably, the softest, best fitting ones. Now, imagine wrapping your little one in oh-so-soft velour, or cuddly microfleece, or organic cotton. Imagine how much happier your baby would be. As for health, modern disposable diapers use a gel to suck up the liquid, and the gel is made from chemicals. (Dioxin, Tributyl-tin, Sodium Polyacrylate). And all of these chemicals have been studied and can have harmful side effects.
2) Cost: Cloth can seem like a big investment in the beginning, but for between $100-$500 dollars you can be set from birth – potty training. The average child will cost about $1,600 to diaper in disposables for two years. Oh, and if you have more than one child, you can keep using what you bought, cutting costs even more!
3) Environment: A disposable diaper seems to take up to 250 years to decompose. And diapers make up about 50% of a household’s waste.
Not your Grandma’s Diaper!
There are 5 main categories for modern cloth diapers. I’ll give you a brief overview of each, and then some pointers for doing each cheaply.
1) The All-In-One: this is a diaper made of cloth. Literally. The inside is absorbant fabric and the outside is waterproof. It has elastic around the legs, on the back, and Velcro or snap fasteners. Easy Peasy.
PROS: easy to use, comfy for baby, lots of options for colors, prints & fabrics!
CONS: can take a while to dry, a little bulky for storage
$$$ TIP: buy second hand (links below) or make your own!
2) The All In Two: this is similar to the AIO but the absorbant inside can be detached from the outside cover.
PROS: easy to use, faster drying, less bulky for storage
$$$ TIP: buy second hand (links below) or make your own!
3) Pockets: similar to the AIO, it has a waterproof outside, and a soft inside, but rather than having the absorbant fabric sewn in or snapped on, you can stuff it with whatever absorbant fabric you want.
PROS: cheap and easy to use, you choose how thin/trim or absorbant you need. Great for nights and naps.
CONS: take a little extra work to unstuff and then restuff
$$$ TIP: buy second hand (links below) or make your own! Use anything lying around the house to stuff – t-shirts, old washcloths and hand towels, dish clothes, etc.
4) Prefolds and Flats: This is similar to what our grandmothers used. A square piece of fabric that you fold, place on baby, and then pin or Snappi closed. A snappi is an amazing plastic piece that holds on to each edge of fabric without worries about poking the little belly. These are paired with a diaper cover.
PROS: Very cheap, very comfy for baby, fun to use, and you can use them later for other things – burp clothes/cleaning/etc.
CONS: There’s a bit of a learning curve for the folding
$$$ TIP: With a pair of scissors you can cut a “flat” out of anything soft, like those old T-shirts you’re holding onto. You can also make a “flat” out of kitchen towels, and old wash clothes & hand towels. Very popular at the moment are the kitchen towels from Target, only $1 each!
If you have a sewing machine, or access to a friends, you can hem what you cut (knit fabrics don’t need hemming, but towels do) and you can make a prefold. I’ll put some tutorial links at the bottom of the post.
5) Fitteds: these are the cutest, most luxurious, and sometimes priciest of the new cloth diapers. It is a diaper made all of cloth, but without a waterproof layer. You need to use a cover with these.
PROS: so soft, so comfy, lots of beautiful prints and colors and options
CONS: a little bulky and not waterproof alone. Can be pricey.
$$$ TIP: buy second hand or make your own. A great cheap fitted is the GMD Workhorse from www.greenmountaindiapers.com
Sizing: You can buy One Size diapers, that usually fit from about 1 month up, or you can buy “sized” in newborn, small, medium, medium-long, large and extra large. Sized fits the best, but one-size is the cheapest! Also, consider renting a newborn setup. They grow out of them fast!
Liners: if you use microfleece or disposable liners, all you have to do with the mess is lift it off the diaper, and dump it in the toilet – then flush! Microfleece also helps a baby’s bottom feel dry. $$$ TIP: make your own microfleece liners by cutting up an old fleece or footie pajamas into rectangular strips.
Diaper covers: these are the waterproof barrier used with prefolds, flats, and fitteds. These are NOT plastic pants. Thank goodness. You have 3 types. 1) Wrap – it is the same shape as a diaper and goes on the same way. 2) Soaker – just like the cute diaper covers that come with girls’ dresses, just pulls on and 3) Longies – pants that double as a waterproof barrier. Diaper covers are usually made of PUL (polyurethane laminate), fleece, or wool. I’d love to write another post on the wonders of wool. It is a miracle fabric. But I won’t go into detail here.
$$$ TIP: Raid your closets, second hand stores and walmart fabric sections. You’re looking for good fleece or cashmere/merino wool. Once you have a few big sweaters or fleece hoodies, you can sew your own soakers and longies. (Links at the bottom of the page)
Buying Diapers & Covers: Now it’s time to go the internet. Amazon.com carries PUL covers (Bummis is a popular brand) and with Amazon Mom you get free shipping! Bum Genius (www.cottonbabies.com) makes 2 types of covers – Flips & Econobums. And they have free shipping too!
Last but not least, look for second hand diapers. Don’t worry, you’ll wash them thoroughly before use! The top 3 places to search are:
www.diaperswappers.com - Diaper Swappers
and good ol’ www.ebay.com
Links for DIY
Diaper Covers:
Diapers:
Sewing Supplies:
LINKS FOR MY FAVORITE DIAPERS
www.greenlinediaper.com (the best system to fit from birth-toddler!!)
http://www.muttaqinbaby.com (fitteds)
Intrigued? Curious? Want to know more?
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