Yes you can!... cloth diaper your kids



my diaper covers

I was first introduced to cloth diapering when I had my daughter Sofia. I began hanging with a holistic living group of moms and many of them cloth diapered their children. The more I looked into it the more I realized that cloth diapering today is not your momma's cloth diapering. Prefolds and pins (and maybe elastic waterproof pants) used to be the thing. You can certainly still use these things but they are not as easy as other options. The new styles of diapers are fitted and stylish and nearly as easy to use as disposables. There are a ton of brands and systems from which to choose.

With Sofia I began a process called "elimination communication" at about 10 months. Elimination communication is a whole other post on it's own, but basically it is infant toilet training. During this time I used traditional prefolds and pins. Eventually I compromised and purchased a beginner set of g diapers. (http://www.gdiapers.com/) At the time g diapers were all about a cover with a snap-in liner and a biodegradable disposable/compostable insert. I used them with cloth inserts (to save money) and they worked great. I still love them and, if I could readily afford them, would re-stock right now.

So, I clothed with Sofia for about 5 months, between 10 and 15 months, until she grew out of the g diapers set I had. When I became pregnant with Leila, I was determined to start early and save money. With a sewing background I took on the job of sewing a set of cloth diapers in two sizes. It was a labor of love for my little darling. I looked at many different styles to determine the one I wanted to model after. A popular brand is fuzzi bunz (http://fuzzibunz.com/). They are pocket diapers, in that each diaper has a pocket and a soaker insert and one whole diaper is dirtied every time baby goes. They go for between $18 and $20 per diaper. Another system that I looked at was from green line diapers (http://www.greenlinediaper.com/#). At the time it was a cotton cover, waterproof liner and a soaker. Now, it is just one waterproof cover and a soaker (a much better design by the way). They go for $17 per cover or $23 for a cover and soaker. The prints are over the top darling.  I decided to go with a cover/liner/soaker system so that I could sew less and wash less too, because you can re-use covers if they are not wet or soiled.

I have had Leila in cloth full time for about 3 months and I love it, they are working great. At first I didn't know what I thought about it but now I am used to it. I have 8 size small/medium covers and 8 size medium/large and a ton of prefolds. I wash every 4 or 5 days. Yay!

Here is some cloth diaper vocabulary if you are just starting out and confusion is setting in:

• Soaker: part of a cloth diaper that is used to soak up messes when baby eliminates
• Prefold: an insert for a cloth diaper that you fold (if not already) and use as a soaker
• Diaper cover: can be waterproof or not, used to hold soaker
• Wicking layer: layer of diaper that soaks up moisture but keeps it off of baby's skin to keep baby dry. It can be part of the diaper or it can be a liner that goes on top of the soaker
• One-size: diapers that adjust to fit babies of different sizes and ages
• Wet bag: a waterproof bag that you keep in the diaper bag to carry soiled cloth diapers home
• Diaper pail: a bin where you put wet and soiled diapers until laundry day (can be wet or dry)



diaper pail

I have only skimmed the surface about cloth diapering. If you are considering it, know that you can do it and that there are options for you! I knew that I wanted to cloth so that I could be "greener" but it had to fit the budget. I couldn't afford $250 for a beginning set of diapers so I made my own. If your budget is a problem and you don't want to or can't really make your own, I suggest going with a simple prefold/waterproof cover system. A lot of times you can get cloth prefolds from garage sales. You can also check out www.myuseddiapers.com/ or http://www.diaperswappers.com/ to get diapers for a lot cheaper that still have life left in them.

Be strong! You can go cloth too!