Cloth Diapers and Whatnot

This is probably a weird way to come back to my blog, but I've had a lot of friends who've recently had babies or who are pregnant that are asking me about cloth diapers. So I'm posting this for them. (And for all of you out there who could care less about cloth diapers. For you: you just keep using those disposables. I could care less. Confession: sometimes I miss them. And sometimes I still use them. Sssshhh...don't tell those crazy hippies.) I'm adding pictures of Emma in her cloth diapers so that you'll at least look at this post and make me feel like someone actually reads this blog.


Shopping list for cloth diapering (all links are to my favorite online cloth diaper retailer, sweetbottomsbaby.com. They have a great selection and fast, free shipping. But there are a billion websites out there, so feel free to shop around. Or find a local natural baby store. Here in Orange County we have Granola Babies, and it's awesome.):

My preferred system:

Covers and Inserts.

You'll need covers. How many you need depends on how often you want to do laundry. You'll probably go through 1-3 a day, depending on how often your little cherub poops. So do the math from there. My favorite covers are thirsties duo wraps. But there are lots of others.

Then you'll need inserts. You can use prefolds. If you go with those you'll need some snappis. Or you can use inserts. Honestly, you can put anything you want in there. I prefer hemp or bamboo, as they are super absorbent and trim. But microfiber are the most common, and they work great. They're just too bulky for my skinny minnie. :) You can be done there, if you want, but there are a couple of extras I like to add. I add some fleece so her bottom stays dry, and a flushable liner so I don't have to swirl the poopy diaper in the toilet. Gross. During the summer, or for big outings, or if she has a rash and I need to use cream (you can't use most diaper creams with cloth diapers), I like to have disposable inserts on hand. For the last couple of weeks she was on a strong antibiotic which gave her diarrhea. Liners were useless, and there was no way I was going to swirl all of that diarrhea in the toilet. So we used disposables, and I felt great about it. Choose your battles, folks.

Cover: Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, size small. Not my favorite--doesn't fit very well. Medium is 15-30 pounds, but they aren't adjustable, so they're huge on my girl.But ADORABLE prints. Insert: thirsties hemp, size one.

Cover: Thirsties duo wrap snap. Insert: prefold with snappi.

Cover: Bummis Super Whisper Wrap.This is the medium. Ha. Insert: thirsties hemp, size one.

Cover: Bummis Super Lite. Insert: thirsties hemp, size one.

Cover: Bummis Super Brite, size medium. Same notes as the Super Whisper. But it is a little better. Insert: thirsties hemp, size one.

Cover: Bummis Super Lite. Insert: bamboo

Cover: thirties duo wrap snap. Insert: bamboo

Cover: thirties duo wrap snap. Insert: bamboo

Cover: thirties duo wrap snap. Insert: bamboo

If my system is too complicated (and it kind of is--but it does save money and laundry), you can use pockets. I like thirsties, fuzzibunz, and BumGenius. But I don't use the microfiber inserts that go with them--I use hemp or bamboo. There are a lot of other choices for pocket diapers that I haven't tried. They might be amazing. But the three I've tried work great. You'll need about 5-12 a day, depending on how old your babe is and how often that precious wee one pees.

Cover: Happy Heineys one-size. Insert: thirties hemp, size one

Cover: BumGenius 4.0. Insert: newborn microfiber

Cover: fuzzibunz. Insert: microfiber

Personal preferences: I like snaps more than hook and loop (velcro) and sized better than one-size. Once you hit 15 pounds or so the one-size fit fine.

There are also all-in-ones that don't require stuffing or inserts or whatever. They're more expensive and take forever in the dryer, but having a couple can be handy for babysitters or busy days. I love BumGenius 3.0s, but they don't make them anymore. So you'd have to find them used. BumGenius makes new AIOs called the freetime. I've never tried it, but the reviews are good. I've tried (and loved) bottombumpers.

bottombumpers, size small

thirties AIO, size two (it's bulkier than it looks--I don't love it.)

Swaddlebees AIO, size medium. Again, bulkier than it looks. Probably my least favorite.

Other things you will need: a wetbag for your diaper bag to put dirty diapers in, a diaper pail bag, a diaper pail (I just use a cheapy trash can with a lid from Target), and cloth diaper laundry detergent (you can't wash them with regular detergent--it will eff them up). I also use cloth wipes. You can buy them, or just cut up an old receiving blanket (or t-shirt, or sheet, or whatever). You can use wipe spray or water. I keep the bottle the hospital gave me for my hoo-ha after giving birth filled with water on my changing table.








Suggestion for newborns: I would go with a newborn rental program. Most cloth diapers don't fit newborns, and they poop like a thousand times a day, so you go through a thousand diapers a day, and who can afford that many newborn cloth diapers? No one. So rent them. Granola babies has a great program. If I had it to do over, I would probably do this one.

BumGenius 3.0

Suggestion for swimming: Don't buy those ridiculous disposable swim diapers. Use a BumGenius pocket with no insert. It might not be a good idea to use it in a chlorinated pool. So for those use a cloth swim diaper. It might be pricey, but you really only need one. And if you think about it, it's still cheaper than those stupid disposables.


So those are my cloth diaper notes. Hope it's not too overwhelming.



I've also had a lot of people ask what Emma wants for her birthday. She's one, so she'd probably say "yayayayayayayayaya." If you can't afford one of those, she has a registry on sweetbottomsbaby.com. It's under Emma Miller. From that she mostly wants new wetbags and diaper pail bags and the bottombumpers AIOs. Or a gift card to Joann's so I can make her some new clothes. Or you can buy her whatever you feel like. Or nothing at all. She's one and won't care, and I certainly don't. :)


Happy diapering!