So many people have asked me about my system for cloth diapering, so, naturally I am going to post about it so that I can refer all those people directly here. There are so many ways to cloth diaper and my way is just one of the many ways. My system of choice consists of prefolds, snappis, and wrap style covers.
The prefold that I use is a chinese prefold from
Green Mountain Diapers. This is where I buy all of my cloth diapering supplies. The one pictured is for my lil one who is currently 8 months old and around 16 lbs.
The covers that I ADORE are the thirsties wrap style covers. This one is a size medium and also fits my little one currently with some extra room. This cover gets reused several diaper changes unless it's wet or soiled. I can usually use one all day depending on how messy my lil one gets.
A snappi is used in place of diaper pins. It's an elastic band with claws at three points that grabs the prefold and holds it in place.
This is how it all goes together to fit on the lil ones...
Place the prefold under the babe and fold the corners into the middle (I didn't want my babes bum all over the internet, so I used Ragedy Ann!)
Then you gather the edges towards the middle like so...
Flip the diaper up over the babe and spread the top out so you have wings to attach the snappi to.
Attach your snappi starting on the babies right side first then stretching it over to the left and then pull it down the middle and attach it.
Place your cover and VOILA you have a successful placement!!
I'm not going to stop here. I am going to tell you have I go about disposing of the unwanted and how I launder my diapers.
When I was exclusively breastfeeding my lil one I could throw the soiled diapers both #1 and #2 directly into my diaper pail, I use a dry pail system. The #2 from breastfeeding is water soluble and requires no rinsing. However, once I introduced solids I had to rinse the #2 but I still throw the #1 only directly into the pail with no rinsing. Mr. V had the solution for my #2 rinsing that would require minimal handling...a DIY diaper sprayer. I don't know what link he used to find how to assemble it, but I know you can GOOGLE it and you'll find it.
Once the diaper is rinsed it goes directly into the pail. Here's my setup in the bathroom, right by the toilet. The covers and my wash cloths I use as wipes go right in here too.
You can order the pail liners from the above mentioned website. I just have mine in your ordinary kitchen trashcan. The best thing about this liner is that it goes directly into the washer with the diapers and you don't have to handle the soiled diapers very much to get them into the washer.
When it's time to wash the contents I just pull the pail liner and march it out to my washing machine. I dump them in and the first thing I do is run a cold rinse.
You'll want to make sure it's COLD for the first rinse so that no stains set in. I also add a little Borax to this rinse.
Once the rinse cycle is complete I run a HOT/HOT wash/rinse with an extra rinse cycle.
To this cycle I add my free and clear detergent (essential so that your diapers don't have a funky smell due to the enzymes and dyes in other detergents that build up in your diapers.) I also add more Borax and some white vinegar. The vinegar softens the diapers and also neutralizes the pH.
Once the wash cycle is complete they all go into the dryer and I run them through two drying cycles. Then they are ready to use again.
Frequently asked questions...
How often do I wash diapers: every other day. I usually wash them once lil one is in bed so I have a fresh stock to start the morning.
Does your lil one have diaper rash: NOPE! I haven't had the first diaper rash with her. This was a problem with my other two babes when I used disposables. One major reason I decided to cloth diaper this one.
Does your husband do it too: YEP! He's awesome!
Do you cloth diaper at night: Yes and no. I still tend to use a disposable at night just because I don't have enough larger covers so that I can double...however, when I cloth diaper at night I have NO LEAKS and when I disposable diaper, I have leaks :(
As I mentioned, I use wash cloths as wipes! I spray them with homemade wipe solution and use that in place of disposable wipes. There are several recipes out there for wipe solution but I wanted one that didn't use soap. Here's my recipe:
2 c. tap water
1/3 c. witch hazel
1/3 c. aloe vera juice
5-6 drops of tea tree oil
I mix this all together in a big spray bottle. A bottle will last me for a while! Very cost effective.
What about older kiddos? My 2-year-old (youngest) is still in diapers. I am thinking about using cloth as a transition into potty training. I am wondering if cloth will hold all of his "messes." Any experience with older ones in cloth diapers?
ReplyDeleteTo the Incredible Shrinking Mama--
ReplyDeleteI am Katie's cousin-in-law and I (hope) one of the reasons behind her decision to cloth diaper! I started cloth diapering when my oldest was 2 and youngest was 6 months. My youngest is now 2 and we occasionally cloth diaper him still. He's just a REALLY big kid (99 percentile in height and weight) and our supplies, while the largest size we've found available, are too small for him. :(
Our oldest, who is smaller than our baby, wore cloth until potty training. It worked great! Cloth will catch more mess than disposable any day of the week. Sometimes it's even nicer to cloth diaper a toddler because their #2s are more solid and can fall right off into the toilet upon shaking. Cloth will definitely give your child the sensation of being wet to help prepare with potty training.
One thing to consider, however, is cost. There is some start-up cost involved in cloth diapering (with one child at that age, full-time diapering, you're probably looking at around $200). You might not want to invest that if you're done having children.
The company that Katie buys her supplies from, Green Mountain Diapers, is amazing. We've used them for all of our stuff, too. Hands down the best prefolds and covers on the market!
And Katie, I love that you still use the wipe solution. I swear, I think if everything else about cloth diapering went away, I'd be okay as long as I still had my wipes and solution. :)
ReplyDelete