Beginners' Guide to Cloth Diapers

Modern cloth diapering is not your grandma's safety pins and some wash cloths...or those ugly plastic pants at Wal Mart. Reusable diapers have come a long way, with a plethora of options. This is great, except it leaves parents feeling overwhelmed.

Cloth diapering can be a wonderful experience with the right information and tools. I have compiled some info to get you started.

Different Cloth Diaper Types

There are different types of cloth diapering options, because we love to make it overwhelming, right? No, really, it's just like there's a variety of disposable diapers. Every parent, baby, and lifestyle is unique and that's why there are so many options of cloth diapers. What's perfect for you might not be the right fit for your neighbor.

All In Ones

Also called AIOs.  AIOs are cloth diapers considered to share the most similarity to disposables. They're all one piece and most are somewhat customization because of a pocket option to add extra absorbency.

Pockets

Pocket diapers are basically a "shell" of a diaper that has a pocket to put whatever inserts/absorbency you want in them.

Covers

Covers are PUL, waterproof diaper shells that you can use with folded prefolds or flats laid in them or with fitted underneath. You can typically reuse covers multiple times in one day by simply wiping out the shell and allowing it to dry.

Hybrids/All in Twos

Hybrid systems and AI2s are combination systems. The most popular are cover-like systems with snap in inserts, but there are other kinds that combine multiple cloth diaper options.

Related Post: 4 Reasons to Cloth Diaper

Washing Cloth Diapers

When it comes to cloth diapers, this is probably one of the biggest reasons we lose parents. People are often 'grossed out' by the thought of washing poopy diapers or completely overwhelmed with the often contradicting advice.

I wholeheartedly recommend Fluff Love University as a resource for washing cloth diapers. The website also has a plethora of other information and a facebook group where you can live feedback!

For a beginner, here are some important and relevant cloth diaper washing facts:

• You do not need to rinse out diapers of exclusively breastfed babies. Breastmilk poo is water soluble.
  
• Older toddler poo often rolls right off into the toilet without you having to rinse the diaper.
  
• Fabric softener is not cloth diaper friendly.
  
• Homemade detergent is a no go.

Related Post: 6 Ways Babies Benefit from Babywearing

Buying Cloth

You can buy cloth diapers used on facebook buy, sell, trade groups like Cloth Diaper Swap or on DiaperSwappers.com. You can buy new cloth diapers from a variety of places online and, if you're lucky, a local retailer. Places like Kelly's Closet and Diaper Junction are good starting places.

So, now you have some info to get you started. I hope you're not feeling too overwhelmed. Feel free to drop a comment or question and I'll do my best to answer!

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4 Reasons to Cloth Diaper

I've mentioned before that we are cloth diapering my daughter.  I wanted to cloth diaper my son, but felt intimidated by all the options and chickened out.  Well, I took the leap with baby #3 and am so glad I did!

Here's four basic, legit reasons you should cloth diaper your babe.

1. Better for environment.

Disposable diapers are estimated to take over 500 years to decompose in a landfill, but last year the US threw away over 18 billion diapers.

2. Better for wallet.

You can buy all the cloth diapers your baby will ever need for $200-300 or less.  You can likely even reuse them for your next child!  Granted, cloth is typically an upfront cost, but disposable diapers will cost the average person over $2000 per child.

3. Better for baby.

Cloth diapers contain chemicals.  While major brands claim the amount are so small they're irrelevant, the point still stands that they're there.

4. Super cute!

Cloth diapers come in a plethora of colors, prints, and styles for all sorts of budgets.  After everything else that cloth diapering has to offer, the cuteness is just the cherry on top!

What reason most influenced you to cloth diaper?  Or what is keeping you from cloth diapering?

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We Cloth Diaper

Confession: I love cloth diapers!  I never thought I'd say that, but it's true!  If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen me sharing pictures of some of our diapers.

I did a ton of research while pregnant on cloth diapers.  Honestly, it's more than a little overwhelming.  All the information out there is great, but it's hard to figure out what you're really looking for because there's just so much!

Plus, there's so many different options available to the modern mom who wants to cloth diaper that it's easy to get intimidated.  So, that's exactly what happened to me and my daughter went straight into disposables (often referred to as sposies in the cloth diapering community), just as my two boys had been.

However, almost a month ago I got turned back on to cloth diapers and finally decided to take the dive after, once again, overwhelming myself with information.

The best advice I can give is to find a support group to help to you through making your decision and to help to find the essential information.  There are plenty on facebook, such as Everyday Cloth Diapering and Fluff Love & CD Science.  In groups you can ask specific questions you might have and have conversations with people to help guide you in your decisions!  It's so much better than giving it a go alone.

Anyway, we have really had a fantastic experience cloth diapering so far.  My husband has embraced the decision, and we love all the cuteness!  So bye-bye $50-$60 a month on disposables.  I now have a nice and adorable stash of cloth diapers, which I can even resell when I'm done with them.

Oh and it's definitely not hard or gross, like many people assume.

Have you ever thought about trying cloth diapering?

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