Cloth Diaper Your Baby - Save Your Money and Your Planet

The advertisements for disposable diapers are compelling. No laundry, no pins, just sweet little baby bottoms and happy parents, right? But what happens to those diapers after you twist them away in little plastic baggies? Where do they go? And how long will they stay there? The average disposable diaper can take over 100 years to degrade, assuming it is exposed to the elements. Most diapers are disposed of in plastic bags, which means that they receive very little direct exposure, so they'll stick around even longer. Diapers that are in bags with punctures can leak out, contaminating soil and the water table with E. coli, and rotavirus.

That's not even counting the ecological impact of the manufacturing process of disposable diapers. The water used, the emissions from the factories, the exposure of assembly workers to thyroid disrupting absorbent gels...those little bum covers that seem so sweet on the commercials start to take on a diabolical feel. But what's a new parent to do? After all, nobody cloth diapers anymore. Or do they?

With the recent trend towards 'natural parenting', cloth diapering has been making a slow comeback over the last decade. The results are miles away from the pins and plastic pants your grandmother talks about. Cloth diapering can be a money saver, or a money pit. There are custom diapers, and mass produced diapers, and diapers with customizable absorbency, covers that breathe, covers that match your little angels hair, and diapers that don't need a cover at all! It's a diaper wonderland, when you step out of the baby aisle and on to the internet.

If you do an internet search for cloth diapering, you get pages upon pages of information. It can be overwhelming, especially when you consider the dialect that goes with cloth. Pockets, all-in-ones, prefolds, covers, soakers, longies, it's enough to make your head hurt. This article is meant to give you a head start on your own research.

The most economical way to cloth diaper, is with prefolds and covers. This system is sort of like the diapers of old, except that there's WAY less folding involved, and with the invention of the Snappi^tm there are no pins to worry about. Prefold diapers come in two varieties. Chinese prefolds, and Indian Prefolds. These refer only to the country of manufacture. Chinese prefolds tend to be coarse, and less fluffy than their Indian counterparts. Indian prefolds are also more absorbent. Prefolds come in a few sizes, from preemie through toddler. But you want to make sure you're getting diaper service quality prefolds. The ones you buy in the store are best suited for use as burp cloths.

Once you've decided between Chinese and Indian prefolds, it's time to learn how to put them on your baby. Basically, you lay the diaper down, long ways. lay the baby on the diaper, with the top of the diaper above the baby's bum. Bring the center panel of fabric up between their legs, making sure to create a gusset by rolling the fabric a bit, as though you were trying to make a pair of too-big sweat pants fit a little better. Hold the center in place with one hand, while bringing the left corner around, from back to front. Place the Snappi^tm on that side, and stretch the middle down to catch the crotch panel of the diaper. Bring the top right corner around from back to front, pull the Snappi^tm into place, and fasten securely. Put on your waterproof cover of choice, and get on your way!

Speaking of covers, you've basically got two schools of diaper covering. One is synthetic, waterproof materials like PUL, and nylons. The other, is natural covers, made of lanolinized wool. Both types have merit, and both are useful in different ways. Synthetic covers tend to leak less, and can be useful for car trips, or times when you'll be carrying your child in a sling or carrier. Wool covers are breathable, and, when properly lanolinized, they help keep moisture near the diaper, instead of near the bed sheets. If the baby has a diaper rash, a soft, Indian prefold and wool cover is the best cure, because of the airflow it provides. Buy a few of each type, see which ones work for you. One bonus of wool over synthetics, is that while synthetics need to be laundered every few days, lanolinized wool basically breaks down any urine in the wool fibers, meaning you only have to launder when the lanolin wears off, or if you get the odd leaky poo that stains the cover.

The next step up would be fitteds and covers. These work almost exactly like prefolds and covers, except that fitteds are cut like diapers, instead of rectangles. They also come in a wider variety of fabrics, from cotton, to hemp, to bamboo, to sherpa. The same rules about covers apply.

From there, the path leads to pocket diapers. Pocket diapers are basically a cover, and a stay dry fabric like fleece or suede cloth sewn together, with an opening. You place other, absorbent cloth like hemp, or microfiber into the pocket, and then put the diaper on the baby as you'd put a disposable on. They're very similarly shaped. These don't need covers, because the waterproof outer is part of the diaper.

Finally, you've got your all-in-ones. These are the closest things to disposable diapers, without actually being disposable. These diapers have the waterproof outer, the absorbent inner, and the stay dry cloth lining, all sewn together. They go on and off just like disposable diapers. The only difference is, you toss em in the diaper pail, instead of the garbage pail. The one drawback to all-in-one diapers, is that they take a long time to dry, regardless of whether you machine dry them, or line dry them.

Oh yeah. Washing them. We'll get to that. First, though, we'll talk a little bit about the odds and ends of cloth diapering. Once you've started diapering with cloth, it makes sense to start using cloth baby wipes. Again, this can be as thrifty or as expensive as you prefer. Plain water, and baby washcloths clean the poo off just as well as the more 'designer' wipe solutions, and velour baby wipes. Yeah, I said it. We still use the solutions though, because they do have that new baby smell. You won't have as much diaper rash in cloth, as you would in disposables, assuming you change the baby frequently. Still, diaper rash is a trial that every parent must face, and with cloth, you have to worry about the state of your diapers as well. Desetin can make your diapers smell like fish. So avoid that, or, if that's the only sort that cures your baby, use cut out squares of fleece as liners, so that the ointment doesn't get into your diapers. Otherwise, you can find a zinc based ointment that's cloth diaper friendly. Burt's Bees and Balmex have been approved by the cloth diapering world. You can also find some awesome ointments and wipe solutions made by crafty work at home mamas, so you can feel good about supporting another parent on this rough road of child raising.

One thing about cloth diapers, is you have to put the poop where it goes. In the potty. This isn't so urgent if you're baby is only on breast milk, because that's water soluble, and won't stank up your home too much if you just toss it in the pail as is. But if you're formula feeding your baby, or your baby has moved onto solid foods, and has that thick peanut buttery spackle like poo, you might want to invest in a plastic butter knife or spatula to keep next to the toilet. Typically, most of the poo will fall off into the toilet without too much hassle. Sometimes, it might need a little nudge with some toilet paper. Occasionally, you'll need to break out that poo spackle knife, and scrape the poo into the toilet. Just chant 'I'm saving the earth' while you do it. It makes it feel less awful.

Of course, since necessity is the mother of invention, you can also buy a fancy gadget to rinse poopy diapers in the toilet. Look for the Mini-Shower at your favorite cloth diapering retailers. This is a handy little sprayer that hooks right onto the waterline of your toilet, so that you don't ever have to dunk n swish, or scrape spackley poo again. I've never owned one, but seriously pondered it during the peanut butter poo stage.

So after you've bought the diapers, diapered the baby, the baby has soiled the diaper, and you have dumped the poo, where does the diaper go? Into a diaper pail, of course! If you got a Diaper Genie 2 (old style) for your baby shower, you can just take the blade and the insert tub out, and use that as a diaper pail. Otherwise, any plastic pail with a tight fitting lid will do. Some people line their pails with wet bags, which are basically nylon bags with a drawstring or zipper. This isn't a necessity, but it can be helpful at staving off pail-stink, because some plastics hold odors more than others. Or you could skip the pail, and use the bag. Just make sure you store it out of the reach of curious little hands. You might have heard your grandmother talk about pails of water and bleach. This is dangerous, and not necessary for modern cloth diapering. Wet-pailing can be a drowning hazard, so go ahead and splurge on that pre-wash cycle, and dry-pail your diapers till wash day.

Stay tuned for the next installment--how to wash the stank and stains right outta your cloth diapers.