Many will find a natural path from breastfeeding to using cloth diapers, especially in this economy when every penny counts. So to answer some of the common questions I’ve asked a mother and friend to answer some of them for you.
So you want to try cloth diapers, but feel overwhelmed when you google “cloth diapers”? Never fear! Suzy Q Homemaker here and I’ll give you some very basic tips for those of you who are just starting out. Trust me- I’ve been there. For one thing, there are so many different kinds of cloth diapers these days that many give up because they just don’t know if they should choose prefolds over pockets, or All-in-One’s over All-in-Two’s! Are your eyes crossing yet?
Here’s my suggestion for beginners who want to diaper on the cheap and easy: use prefolds. Prefolds are the simple rectangular diapers. They are easy to wash and easy to dry. Plus, you get some great results from google on how to pin the darn things if you’re afraid of stabbing your baby.
What I don’t recommend, though, is buying prefolds from a store if they aren’t “Diaper Service Quality.” In baby sections of some stores, non-DSQ prefolds can be found, but they are just not absorbent enough. If it’s all you can find, though, consider getting some prefold diaper burp cloths to use along with those for extra absorbency.
I can’t recommend any one website to buy prefolds, though, because there are just so many to choose from! What I do recommend is going to what is considered the ‘Cloth Diaper Authority’- Diaperpin. This site has everything from store & diaper reviews, to guides on finding the right accessories and definitions of all the different kinds of diapers.
MotherEase Sandy's Fitted
So what about covers?Yeah, you probably don’t want your baby to pee on you. Prefolds do need covers, but the good news is you only need a couple of them to get by. What I do not recommend as far as covers go is those awful plastic or vinyl pants. For one thing, they aren’t breathable. They’ll hold in the moisture, yes, but your baby is more likely to end up with irritation because their little tushie doesn’t get any airflow!
I recommend getting a Velcro-closure diaper cover like Bumkins or something similar. You can even find Bumkins at Target and Babies R Us.
Ok, so where do I put the dirty diapers?
A good diaper pail is definitely something that I think you should purchase online. The things they sell in brick & mortar stores aren’t made for cloth diapers and you’ll end up with a pretty funky plastic bin after too long. I personally recommend the Mother of Eden Hanging Diaper Pail. It’s basically a leak-proof bag that you hang from a doorknob. Once it’s full, you just dump the bag of diapers plus the bag into your washer. How easy is that?
We got by with just one, but some recommend getting two so that you have one to use while the other one is in the wash.
Well, I hope that cleared some things up for you! Good luck with your cloth diapering adventure and I hope you find what works for you.
Elizabeth is a super-busy mother of three boys, with one new baby due in April. When she’s not chasing after her children, she’s getting paid to sing at weddings, knitting, or scrapbooking. Her blogs are: Suzy Q Homemaker and Suzy Q Crops.
Where did you by your Mother of Eden Hanging Diaper Pail? I really need one.
Hi Erin, I found this listing of place online that sell the Mother of Eden Hanging Diaper Pail. I hope it helps: http://www.shopwiki.com/detail/d=Mother_of_Eden_Hanging_Diaper_Pail/ — Judy
It would but they are out of stock until April. Thanks for looking though…
Sorry about that – it must be a backorder from the manufacturer. I just did another search and every single site that carries it is out of stock. — Judy
Erin,
You might have luck doing a search for “FuzziBunz diaper pail”. It’s been about three years since we got our MOE pail. There’s also a list of retailers on FuzziBunz.com where you can search for stores that carry diapering accessories.
Hope that helps!
Elizabeth
Erin,
There are many “hanging diaper pails” out there. My personal favorite is by Mommy’s Touch as well as the ones by Swaddlebees. Basically any form of a waterproof pail will work. At home we use a standard plastic diaper pail ($12 at local chain stores) and I just rinse it out when I put the diapers into the washer. The one thing you need to look for is one that does not use plastic as the barrier for the moisture but one that uses a fabric (typically polyester) that is referred to as a PUL. You can try looking at KellysCloset.com as she carries a number of different brands of “wet bags” which is another term for the diaper pail.
Alaina
I can recommend a place to buy prefolds.:-) http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com
I’ve been one of Karen’s customers for over 5 years now, and when I bought prefolds somewhere else, I regretted it because they weren’t as good as hers.
I’ve been using cloth diapers for 10 years now, and love it.:-)
We use a Whammies (washable) pail liner with a standard kitchen trash can with a flip lid. It works great (3+ years now) and I agree with the suggestion to have 2 liners so there’s always a clean one when the other’s in the wash. There is a great website with different folding techniques for prefolds here at http://www.gumbush.com/home.htm.
Great article. Thanks! What can I do to switch my 2 yr old to cloth, while in the process of toilet training? Oh, and I’m in Australia so if anyone can advise on products here, it would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Jackie, I had looked into this for my son when he was toilet training as well and I found this company in Australia that makes a cloth diaper with a disposable liner. http://www.eenee.com.au/ – they were the only ones that I could find at the time that came in size 6, which is what my son was at age 2.5-3. I hope that helps. — Judy
As a avid cloth diaperer and cloth diaper promoter to every pregnant woman I know, I have to also add that if you’re terrified of pins, one should look into getting a couple snappis. They’re not cost prohibitive and can give a nervous new parent a great deal of ease of mind. Also, some companies are starting to make one-size diaper covers, so you don’t need a new set of covers each time the baby has a growth spurt.
There are also great patterns online for making your own prefolds out of old t-shirts and for making fitteds too, which is great if you’re crafty or really going at this from a green perspective.
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Hi! I am so glad you have this post about cloth diapers. I think many people are prone to think of only the kind that our mothers or grandmothers used. So much has changed in the diapering world just in the past few years. Modern cloth diapering that requires no pins, no pails, no plain white cloth. Cloth diapers are inexpensive and moms are no able to move to cloth without the fear of expense. Thank you again for educating others about how easy and affordable cloth diapering can be!