Okay, so I have a slight, completely overblown obsession with cloth diapers. I don’t know if it’s the shopping aspect, or the cuteness factor, or the part about doing what I truly believe is better for my babies and the environment. I just love everything about it. I’ll never forget saying to Ian for the first time, “I think I’d like to cloth diaper.” Of course he was not as enthusiastic as I was. I thought about it for a few months, but never pulled the trigger. When Henry was born, I used disposables (sposies) and didn’t really think anything of it. Then one day I left his diaper on a little longer than I should have, and when I went to change him, there were these little silicone balls all over his diaper area. I was so grossed out. (They are what keeps sposies so absorbent.) Then I started thinking about the chemicals. I did a tiny bit of research and learned that there are tons of chemicals in sposies, some are even being investigated for potentially causing fertility problems. About the same time, I had started shopping almost exclusively at Whole Foods. Henry’s allergies were being discovered daily, and I had begun my search for suitable substitutes for milk, wheat, eggs, etc etc. I came across some bumgenius! diapers and gdiapers. I bought one of each. I came home and began researching cloth diapers like mad. I figured that not only would it save us money, but it would be better for Henry. The rest, as they say, is history. From 6 months, until he potty trained at a little over 2, Henry was cloth diapered. I was the only person I knew that did this. I’m sure our families thought we were absolutely insane, but I’m not one to let that stop me. Now cloth diapering is becoming more mainstream, and we don’t seem like such freaks.
When I found out I was pregnant with twins, one of the first questions I asked myself, besides how the hell am I going to take care of two babies, is what will I have to do differently? Two very important things to me in mothering a newborn/infant are nursing and cloth diapering. I have been told the first one, while difficult, is definitely possible. The cloth diapering however, gets a lot of “good luck with that,” from most twin moms that I’ve talked to. If you know me, you know that the one way to get me to do something is to tell me that I can’t. And now we know where Henry gets it from.
So here is my newborn stash for twins. If you are planning on cloth diapering one baby, you will need about 2/3 of what I have. This list is stolen from diaperpin.com. An excellent resource if you are just jumping into cloth diapering. (CDing)
To cloth diaper one baby, you will need:
- 24 to 36 cloth diapers.
- 0 to 3 all-in-one diapers.
- 4 to 6 cloth diaper covers.
- 1 or 2 polar fleece or wool covers for overnight. (optional)
- 12 to 24 doublers. (More if your child is a heavy wetter)
- 1 diaper pail.
- 2 to 3 dozen cloth diaper wipes.
I HIGHLY suggest sticking with prefolds and covers for newborns. They are very economical, and have a great resale value. Plus it’s hard to say what will fit your baby at first, and you wouldn’t want 20 expensive pocket diapers that don’t fit.
Okay, on to my stash, (disclaimer: these pics are not very good. I’m having a hard time getting the proper angle for a shot, my equilibrium is a little off.)
The changing table:
top row is covers, all in ones and fitteds, and g cloth with an emergency pack of sposies. bottom row is prefolds, and then misc. supplies, babylegs, hemp inserts, etc. The Ikea trofast system holds cloth wipes, larger sized diapers and misc baby supplies.
On to the goods!
Covers:
clockwise are are Thirsties xs, Bummis Super Brites in newborn, preemie size prorap, Bummis Super Whisper Wrap and a Thirsties Duo size one. These will go over prefolds and fitted diapers.
Prefolds:
These are organic newborn sized orange edged and regular bleached preemie sized from greenmountaindiapers.com. Prefolds are the most economical cloth diapering option. They are trifolded for easy stuffing into covers, like so:
You can also use a snappi, which I will happily demonstrate on Henry’s Curious George. First, you start with a trifolded diaper, and fan out the top edge:
Next you lay your baby, monkey on the diaper:
Then bring the bottom up through the middle of the monkey’s legs:
Then you fold down the front and fold in the wings. You can use diaper pins or a snappi to hold the diaper on. I like snappis the best.
Finally, slap a cute diaper cover on, and you are all set! (This one is the thirsties duo size 1, in blackbird print.)
Next is fitted diapers and all-in-ones. Fitted diapers require a cover, think of them as an already folded prefold. These are from Clovers, an Ohio business for you locals. These will probably be our night time solution, and they are organic!
fitteds:
I have 4 velour and 4 interlock knit for the babies. The velour is more absorbent, the knit may be a tad more breathable, and they are less expensive than the velour.
All-in-ones are exactly as they sound. The diaper is all there, you just slap it on like a sposie, no cover required. I plan on using all-in-ones in the diaper bag to cut down on the shear amount of baby paraphernalia that twins require.
all in ones:
I have 6 of these. I could probably use a few more, but I’m waiting to buy some cute gender specific colors.
Next up is gdiapers. These get very mixed reviews in the cloth diapering community. (I bet you didn’t know there was a cloth diapering community, check out diaperswappers.com if you want to check it out.) You can get gdiapers at babies r us and whole foods. They are considered a “hybrid diaper” since you can put disposable liners in them. We have decided to go with the gcloth, since the disposable liners are a little expensive, and of course reusable is always better. I like this option because they are really trim, and the gpants can be washed with regular laundry. (Less diaper laundry = good) I think these are a good option for twins, since you do have the dispoable liner option if the laundry gets out of hand. These won’t fit them for a few weeks, but they will bridge the gap between prefolds and One sized diapers.
Here is a cover:
g cloths:
gpants with a gcloth:
Also in my stash is a few fleece liners, some CD safe diaper cream, 2 wipes warmers and some cloth wipe solution, and a bunch of doublers and other inserts for different diaper needs.
After the babies outgrow their newborn stash, I plan on moving to pockets, g diapers, and all in ones. I’m really hoping to like the bumgenius! organic all in one. They are one sized, so they will fit from about 8-30 lbs.
I used Fuzzi Bunz with Henry, they are a pocket diaper, which means there is a micro fiber insert that slides into the diaper. They dry faster than an all in one, which is the main draw for me. I’m trying to stay with mostly natural fibers this time, so I’m not sure if we will use these again. I did like them a lot with Henry.
So that’s that. I can’t wait to finally try some of these on the babies in about a month. (Not sooner babies!) I guess what I really want everyone to know about cloth diapering is that it’s really not as daunting as most people think, and it really can be a lot of fun. I didn’t even get into wool, which is an addiction all by itself. I didn’t really get into it with Henry, but I plan on trying some this time. I’m thinking I’m going to need some sustainable babyish for sure.
For more information on cloth diapers, check out nickisdiapers.com, diaperswappers.com and diaperpin.com. Or leave a comment below and I will gladly answer your questions!
One more thing, don’t forget to nominate Amber Campbell Photography for a Nickelodeon’s Parent’s Pick award!
http://www.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/cleveland-oh-usa/best-cleveland-family-photographer
