Oct
22
2009
22
2009
Cloth Diaper Fun & Giveaway
Filed under: Cloth Diapering
Cloth diapers are making a comeback…but these aren’t your mama’s cloth diapers. They’re easy to use, adorable, and they save you LOTS of money. Here’s the scoop.
This “modern” cloth diapering business has exploded into a HUGE industry in the last 5-7 years…and it can be quite overwhelming to dive into. But, the best way to begin is to JUST BEGIN! You can spend weeks and weeks researching if this pocket diaper is truly better than that fitted diaper…but in the end, it really comes down to your preferences and your baby’s body type. Each diaper will fit differently. If you just jump in and start, it’s much easier to determine what will work for you.
Instead of re-writing all of the information that is already out there regarding the logistics of cloth diapering, I’m going to send you to my friend Sarah. She is the cloth diapering guru. 
Why Use Cloth Diapers?
How to Cloth Diaper
Is Cloth Really Cheaper?
Now that you’ve read all of the basics and know the terminology…I’ll tell you my personal experience with cloth diapers. Before Bella was born, I bought pretty much one of every type of diaper so that I could see what I liked best. I found that for the newborn stage, I LOVED the Kissaluv Size 0 fitted diapers with a plastic or wool cover (we used Proraps). As she grew out of the Kissaluvs, we transitioned into pocket diapers. I also had a handful of hemp fitted dipes for nighttime diapering and I LOVED the Aristocrat Soaker. Awesome.
When it came to diapering Bella, I was pretty fanatical. It was at least a year and a half before a disposable even touched her skin I took them on airplanes across the country and everywhere else. While I certainly think it can be done (never using disposables)…I don’t want anyone to think that is the only way to do it. This time around we’re a little more laid back. We used cloth and elimination communication with Lucy until we went on the road in July, and then used mostly disposables while traveling. Now that we have a larger RV with a washer and dryer, I’m starting up with cloth again. I am hoping to get going with elimination communication again as well…I LOVED being able to “read” her that way, and it will cut back on how many diapers I have to wash!
I’m super excited to receive my order of pocket diapers from Sarah…I need a diaper that dries quickly (our washer/dryer in the RV is a combo unit and dries slowly) and a pocket diaper stuffed with a microfiber towel fits the bill perfectly. I will continue to use disposables when we are flying home and when we are out and about. When we are “en route”, we don’t always have water and electric hookups…which means to do laundry, I need to run the generator (loud!). When we settle in one place for a little while, it’s much easier to do cloth because we have full hookups.
My personal diapering system looks like this:
- 18 Pocket diapers with microfiber inserts (I get the inserts at Costco)
- Cloth wipes
- Wet Bag (one big one for the diaper pail and a small one for the diaper bag)
- Large stainless steel step can (for dirty dipes)
And that’s it! Pretty simple. I don’t use any sort of special wipe solution…I just run the cloth wipes under warm water. If I am out and about, I might use a spray bottle with a simple solution of apricot oil, Dr. Bronner’s and water…or just put some wet cloth wipes in a baggie. Or you could try Sarah’s wipe solution here.
As far as number of diapers, you CAN get by with just 12. In the newborn stage, that would last 1 day. I like to have at least 12-18 on hand so that I can go a little longer between washing.
When it comes to washing the diapers…it’s just as easy. I think this is the part that scares people away…but it’s really no different than doing another load of regular laundry. I just grab the wet bag out of the step can when it’s full and dump it all in the wash on hot water with natural detergent. If you want to avoid staining in the early poop stages, you can do a cold soak first or “sun” the diapers to get rid of staining.
For more information than you could ever possibly take into your brain in one sitting, check out the Mothering.com diaper forums here. Just be warned…you may feel VERY overwhelmed after reading there. I use it as a tool, but I don’t spend too much time there because it’s information overload!
Once you get into cloth diapering, you might also consider starting “family cloth” or cloth toilet paper. I blogged about it several years ago. We don’t do family cloth while we’re on the road, but I LOVE it when we’re in a sticks & bricks house.
Bottom line…cloth diapering is fun and easy. Yes, it might cost more up front..but you can use them with multiple children, it’s better for the earth, and for their little bums. If you’ve ever been curious about cloth diapers, now is a great time to check it out! If you’re still intimidated, you can always do cloth just at nighttime to try it.
And now for the fun part! The Giveaway!
Sarah, owner of Wallypop, is a friend of mine “in real life” and Lisa, owner of Full Circle Baby is one of my online friends. Both ladies have generously donated some cloth diapering goodies from their stores for me to giveaway. Be sure to visit both of their stores to see a variety of cool natural living stuff!
Here is the giveaway stash:
- 3 tie-dyed premium sized prefold diapers (see photo above…great for a burp cloth or dipes!)
- One dozen cloth wipes
- One medium fleece cover
- 2 Kissaluvs (size 0) or BumGenius Organic (winner’s choice!)
- Baby’s Bottom Butter Cream
If you are local in the San Antonio, Austin, or New Braunfels, TX area and you want to check cloth diapers out in person…you can go straight to Lisa. Same with Sarah for those of you Des Moines area locals. Sarah also has adorable custom t-shirt fitted dipes and other fun stuff at her Etsy store, Boulevard Designs. And she conducts cloth diapering classes…contact her for more info.
To enter yourself in the diaper giveaway…answer one of the following questions:
- If you are cloth diapering already or have in the past, what is your favorite brand or type of diaper?
- If you aren’t using cloth yet…tell me your favorite fall food (I know, not diaper related…but I like to eat!)
I will choose a winner at random October 30 at 12:00 MST. Have a great weekend!
Posted by Sara @ 8:32 pm | Leave a Comment
24
2009
I’m a cloth diapering momma of two. My oldest is 3 and my baby just turned 1 TODAY!!! My favorite diaper so far has been the tiny tush elite….great pocket diaper that is one size fits all. I love them and know that they’ll last through many more babies!!!!
Thanks Sara!
24
2009
We’re expecting baby #1 in April and I am planning to cloth diaper–too early to say which brand is my favorite!
I’m loving all the squashes–spaghetti squash and acorn squash are my favorites lately… or should I say Baby’s faves?
24
2009
We have been cloth diapering my son full-time since he was 4 months old (he’s 14 mos now, we did part-time the first four months). We have lots of different kinds of diapers, including Wallypops! My favorite nighttime diapers are Wallypop fitteds with a wool or fleece cover. Our second babe is due in March and I’m excited to use cloth full-time from the beginning!
24
2009
I have used cloth off and on for my first four kids, but with my fifth decided it was time to do cloth at least 90% of the time. Before he was born we invested in some Thirsties covers to use with our birdseye flats. I LOVE them and LOVE the fun bright colors. They don’t stain and dry REALLY fast. More than any cloth or cover though, I love telling cloth diaper rookies about snappis!!!! I used pins with my oldest and can’t give enough high praises to whoever invented snappis! I have been known to strip my babies’ clothes off in public places to show the snappis off to disposable using mommies who are afraid of trying cloth!
We are looking at options now for some good overnight options. My six month old sleeps for long periods through the night (which is good for sleeping, but bad for over-drecnching diapers). We are considering wool soakers.
25
2009
I haven’t used cloth diapers yet, but I’m excited to one day try them out!
So, well then..My favorite Fall food is a drink; Apple cider!!
It’s the best when sitting next to a blazing bon fire!!
~Thanks!
25
2009
I mainly use prefolds. I have a few Bumgenius which I also like. My favorite covers are Bummis Super Snap, Thirsties, and Totwraps. Thanks for the great giveaway, Sara!
25
2009
I have enjoyed the mother-ease.
I’m still using them at night with my almost 3 yr. old on the last snap.
I would love to try some different diapers for my soon to be here babe.
25
2009
I recently found out our pocket diapers don’t work well for our youngest (we just got them from a friend). So we’re an all cotton diapering family. My favorites are Snappi Contour/fitted diapers (no longer made), GoodMama’s (too expensive to have a lot), and Sarah’s fitteds. Its one of my favorites! The Kissaluv0′s are what I plan on using for our new baby this spring. So tiny and cute!
25
2009
My little love just started using G-Diapers. We are using the biodegradable inserts as of now. We’re eventually moving on to the pre-fold inserts. I would love to try these babies though! Thanks for the chance
25
2009
Dream-eze!!! That’s the entire extent of our stash. For diapering two I have about 50-60 and love, love, love them!
25
2009
love, love, love Bumpy cotton day covers with prefolds! I tried othersand nothing has compared. Cloth swaddled baby bottoms Rock!
25
2009
Ahhh…fall food. I’m just recovering from being blindsided by Hyperemesis Gravidarum ( severe pregnancy sickness) with my 1st pregnancy and have had 9 weeks without any food minus some dry toast. But fall is such a sweet time to be re-emerging into the taste bud world with baked pumpkins and squash coming in as my top food as well as a hearty lentil soup to put some meat back on my bones.
Am very excited to enter the world of cloth diapers although it is a bit daunting to face the myriad of choices. How lucky we are though! Nice to read about the favs that everyone has. Great idea to create this post especially for us newbie mamas looking for ideas on which cloth is best for the new bubs bum.
25
2009
i am SO glad you wrote about cloth diapering. i wanted to cloth diaper my son before he was born, but we live in an apartment and didn’t think we’d be able to do it without our own washer/dryer. he is almost 3 months now and we have decided it won’t be as complicated as we thought. i can’t wait to start! and thanks for posting about lisa’s store. we live in that area and i didn’t know there was a natural living/cloth diapering store near us! {so excited}
25
2009
i cloth diapered our first son and plan on doing the same for our second (due christmas day). i typically use a regular prefold with a cover (the cheap, plastic ones, although i just ordered the new econobums from bumgenius and am very excited to try them out with the new little one), but i use bumgenius one size diapers for trips out of the house, because they are so easy!
25
2009
My sister is using cloth diapers, she is trying out a few kinds. As of this moment, her favorite are Bumgenious.
My favorite fall food is pumpkin bread – yummy!
25
2009
We used cloth diapers with our first child and part of the time with our second. He started getting rashes so bad he would bleed (even though I changed his often) and it has scared me off from trying it again. We’re now expecting our fourth and I’m willing to give it another go, since we already do a “nasty load” of toilet cloths for our family.
We used basic prefolded diapers inside a velcro or snap cover – no brand preferences. Maybe we should have made a bigger investment; I may have stuck with it better!
Our favorite fall food is Icky Pie (named after my sister, whose nickname is Icky) – chopped apple and pumpkin with cinnamon and sugar in a pie crust.
25
2009
When my little girl was a newborn I used flats with Wallypops fleece and PUL covers. When she outgrew that I bought 15 bumgenius diapers. I use these at home and disposables when I go places. I prefered Sarah’s covers with flats to my system now. The flats were what I used with my son 6 years ago, only the covers changed.
25
2009
My fav cloth dipes were stay at home mama made- called Buckeye Bottoms. Unfortunately the SAHM who made them quit making them years ago, but the few lovely ones we have have held up well through the years. I used them when my now 8 yr old was little and then used them again for my youngest.
25
2009
I have only been cloth diapering for a couple of months and so far I have three different favorites…
a) for newborns my favorites have ben g-diapers with a cloth insert
b) for normal use I have liked wisper wraps with a prefold
C) for night I use a bumgenius
I know that that is a lot of different but is has worked so far for us!
25
2009
Well, we haven’t used cloth diapers, but look forward to using them in the future whenever we try for #2! Also, my favorite fall/winter food is the wonderful pomegranate!!!
25
2009
Oh! I’d love to be entered! My favorite for newborns are plain ole prefolds with bummis or thirsties covers. When they stop poopin’ 12+ times a day I like pockets- bumgenius or fuzzibunz with hemp inserts.
25
2009
Love love love love love cloth. It is almost the only granola thing about me. You make me want to have another baby with all those glorious things you are giving away! I really hope that at least one mamma tries cloth because of your post. Really, they are SO great and SUPER easy.
My favs at the time were BumGenius, but that is only because I could NEVER find Rumpsters used. Those REALLY fit my skinny heavy wetter!
25
2009
I recently discovered Thirsties. They are an AIO with a pocket. They are great for going out and I stuff them for a great night time diaper. I also have 7 year old fuzzi bunz in my stash that are still serving well. I have a couple rump a rooz. I also have prefolds and Bummi wraps. It’s so hard to choose a fave. I guess I’d have to say Thirsties for right now
) Happy cloth diapering to all who are doing it. And to all who are not – give it a shot! It’s easier than you think and you will not believe the satisfaction you, your baby, and your budget will experience!
25
2009
We started cloth diapering my daughter just before she turned 4months old back in August. We’ve tried a few mostly WAHM diapers and I love ones that a friend gave to me to help me out called Apple Bubble Baby(now Raven Tree) they are fitteds. I also like my 1 BG 3.0 that I have.
j.mcdilda(@)gmail.com
25
2009
We love the Happy Heinys one size! We have been using them for about 1 1/2 years and they are holding up great!
25
2009
My staples are Chinese cotton prefolds with Bummi’s Super Snap covers (and rice paper liners and the occasional fleece liner). I also have a few BumGenius 3.0 diapers for the church nursery or babysitters. I always go back to the prefolds – you can’t beat the absorbtion!
26
2009
i cloth diapered my twins!! it IS doable! we used kissaluvs size 0 with prowraps and wool soakers for overnight at first also. after they grew out of those it was goodmamas (one size) with wool soakers and some happy heiny pockets for us here whilst i used EC. they “potty trained” fully by the time they were 18 months. i lovelove EC and cloth diapering. just love it.
i will be doing that with the new little one coming sometime in the end of january/beginning of february
made our own wipes solution here as well. with the twins i used paper towels (cut roll in half) in a container with my solution i came up with after playing around with it: 2 cups of filtered water, 1 tsp burts bees apricot baby oil, 1/2 tsp global exchange unscented baby wash, 2 vitamin e gel capsules. stir it up, pour over paper towels in container, keep covered until needed.
this time around i’m shooting for cloth wipes and will probably make a half batch of the wipes solution to keep in a spray bottle.
26
2009
i love cloth!!! im on my 2nd baby with cloth and find prefolds and covers our best bet with goodmamas for night time:)
26
2009
Hi Sara!!!
I have two amazing older children and unfortunately was not as opinionated as I am now! hehehe! I used disposables back then and truly couldn’t believe how much trash and chemicals I was applying to my beautiful babes…blah!
Now that I am going to be an auntie, I would love to help my younger sister (who is so much smarter than I was) with getting started in cloth diapering!!! We are sooo excited…this is her first and our whole family would treasure the gift of a healthy life…and what better way than helping the baby and helping the environment!!!
I’d have to say hands down our favorite fall food is a simple apple in hand. The kids and I LOVE them! It’s super good for you, easy to eat on the go, and the crunchy, juicy, sweetness is quite frankly…HEAVEN!!! hehehee!
26
2009
I was so excited to see that you had blogged about cloth diapering…I’ve noticed from past pictures that you used cloth and so I’ve wondered specifically what you used, etc.
I’m due in January with our first baby and I’m definitely planning on using cloth! And I’ve had my whole stash planned out for awhile (which I know isn’t recommended, but I’m very much a minimalist and don’t want to try a whole bunch of different kinds of diapers)…using prefolds with Thirsties Duo wraps when the baby is a newborn and then using Gro Baby One-Size diapers with prefolds once the baby is around 10 lbs. or so. I actually have quite a bit of experience with cloth diapering from my unmarried days as a mother’s helper, and then we mostly used Bummis Super Whisper Wraps over prefolds and those worked okay most of the time though it seemed to me like the Whisper Wraps didn’t contain explosions very well…thus why I’m not planning on using them myself.
And favourite fall food…I definitely can’t narrow it down to one…probably either pumpkin pie or some kind of hearty soup…mmmm!
26
2009
Anything with pumpkin in it!
26
2009
We do a bit of everything cloth. Mostly prefolds with Thirsties covers with our 7 month on and mostly pockets with our 2 year old. I love the many options out there in cloth diapers!
26
2009
I’m 11 weeks along with my first baby so I don’t have a real favorite yet, but I’m planning on starting with a mix of pre-fold and covers and pockets. I want to just try a whole bunch of different kinds (used if possible) to see what brands works best with his/her shape before committing.
I would name my favorite food but I’m too far into morning sickness to think anything sounds appetizing at all.
26
2009
Wow, great giveaway! My favorite cloth diaper has to be kissaluvs!! I just love how they feel and look! I also always go back to just plain old prefolds and cute covers.
26
2009
My daughter is almost 2 (um, yikes), and we’ve used cloth from the beginning. Sadly, she goes to daycare and they won’t do cloth there, but when I think about the money and waste we’ve saved by doing cloth at home… well. It makes a cheapskate environmentalist like me just glow. I’m expecting kid #2 and am even more excited that I hardly need to buy a thing, just a few new covers.
I’ve sampled a lot of cloth diaper varieties, but I have yet to find anything that works better than plain ol’ unbleached Indian prefolds and Bummis wraps.
Normally I lurk, but I love a good cloth diaper discussion.
26
2009
My third baby is three months old and we just started cloth diapers. I LOVE them. I have no idea why i didn’t try this sooner! My favorite diapers are BumGenius 3.0. Right now we only have nine BG and Happy Heiny’s, and as soon as i can cough up the sweet moolah, we’re going to get more!
26
2009
I’ve been researching cloth diapering my 8 month old daughter (so confusing). I’m green in every other aspect, BUT diapering. This would be a great start!
And since I’m not a CD’ing mama yet.
Lentil soup after a chilly hike in the woods!
26
2009
I’m due to have my third baby in about 10 days. With my first two I did disposables and with this one a friend has generously lent me her hand me down cloth diapers!
My favorite fall food is Squash, Apple, Sweet Potato Soup! YUM!
26
2009
I love Fuzzibunz and good old fashioned prefolds w/ pins and knitted wool covers.
26
2009
We have 7 amazing children and have cloth diapered 5 of them. I love Fuzzibunz but currently only have 2. They are as soft as butter and the snaps are a breeze. We used Happy Heiney’s full time with our twins and they have seen better days! Our newest baby, Gus, is using the 2 Fuzzibunz and some handmade pocket diapers.
26
2009
My favorites are Bumgenius Organic. I only have a couple of those and I use them for nighttime because they never leak. Thanks for the giveaway!
26
2009
I love everything about fall and the food is the best. I would have to say that warm apple cider and pumpking bread would be my favorites. I love the way they smell and the taste is just wonderful!
27
2009
I would LOVE to use cloth diapers!
My favorite fall food is squash.
27
2009
Since I am WAY past the diaper stage and wasn’t enlightened enough back then… My comfort food of choice for fall is Sweet Potato Maple Soup… soul warming!
27
2009
I have settled on Fuzzi Bunz and Mother Ease one size. If I had all the money in the world I would like to sample all of the diapers and products that go with them.
May I tell you my favorite fall food?! I love a warm squash soup followed by a lovely cup of homemade hot chocolate and spice cookies.
27
2009
I didn’t start using cloth diapers until our fourth child, Sarah Jane, was about one years old. I used the prefold diapers with the bummies wraps at first, then I modified those diapers into fitted diapers, then started making my own fitted pocket diapers that I covered with wool soakers. This is my favorite method so far because it is so cost effective and the soakers are just so cute. Now that we have a new baby, I have two Bum Genius diapers and love them (great fit, never leak), as well as my old stash. At two months, Joe is still a super pooper, but once his, erm, output decreases I will probably designate the B.G.s for going out…I can definitely see that they will be very portable when soiled, and I’ll keep him in fitted diapers and soakers at home.
27
2009
We have been using the same Blueberry pocket diapers loaned to us from MiracleDiapers.org for the past 16 months. They have fit our daughter since she was 9 months old – she is now 23 months old. I think they are GREAT and especially love the one that snaps instead of velcros. I think she will fit in them until her toilet days come. We also use prefolds and other various brands that were donated to us and I like them all, but I’m not a picky person, so I choose the Blueberry ones.
27
2009
Hi! I love cloth diapering and have enjoyed my first year of girlie diapers after having 2 boys.
My favorite is a pink BumGenius, although this wiggler might be able to open the tabs here pretty soon. I’ll need to look into some snapping options! Thanks for all of this great info in one spot – - I’ll pass it onto my friends who are interested.
27
2009
After three babes and using a LOT of different cloth methods, I find I’m a *traditionalist* at heart. Meaning I really like natural fiber, so pre-folds and a wool soaker or cover are my most favorite for babes!
27
2009
oh my oh my oh! This would be so great to win! I bought a few different cloth diapers before I had WIll to try them out, and then when he had his skin reaction we were afraid of the washing process and just went straight to disposable. I have recently been researching a bit more about it and would like to give it a whirl again. thanks so much for the great info! Those tie-dye prefolds are adorable!…hum and my favorite fall food would have to be apples…straight up apples….yummmmm, and some caramel dip!