Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Cloth Diapering for One


I knew long before I had babies I was going to be a cloth diapering mommy. With the twins I was all about diaper service. I loved not having to worry about anything more than setting out a bag of dirty diapers each week and that. was. it. 

Before Mac was born we did a potty training trial run in hopes of getting the big boys out of diapers before we had THREE kids in diapers. No such luck. However, I did end our service knowing that the boys would soon be in "big boy chonies" and I wanted to save even MORE money (and the Earth of course) by doing Mac's cloth diapers all on my own. That's right, poop and all.

I had tried some All In One diapers (AIO) through my service and decided try something new and purchase those instead of the pre-folds I had been using for the past two years. They were ultimately like a disposable diaper in that there weren't multiple parts (as opposed to the pre-folds which are set inside a diaper cover) but rather than throw in the trash, you throw it in a pail until wash day.



As there are seemingly endless brands of cloth diapers out there, but I went with Thirsties as I had used their covers with the boys and liked them well enough. I knew I would be making an investment up front which would pay itself off in just two months from canceling my service. I spent $300 for 18 diapers and of course bought through Amazon. Two days later, they arrived..gotta love Prime!


I pre-washed and prepped making sure to follow all the directions (you need to pre-wash the diapers to make sure all oils are removed to they are as absorbent as possible) but after a week of my boys being constantly soaked...I wasn't sure I had made the right choice. The company was great in helping trouble shoot possible issues, but I was struggling to keep up changing them every hour on the hour while taking care of an infant....so....I sent them back. Have I mentioned my love of Amazon?


I decided to go back to what I knew. Trusty, old school pre-folds. I had everything I needed except the actual diaper, so back to Amazon I went. After doing a bit of research I decided to go with Humble Bebe. I bought two 12-packs for $50!!! What a savings!!!


I followed their step-by-step washing instructions and saved this handy cheat sheet in my laundry room for later reference.  Once they were washed and ready, on those big tushies they went! And they were great!! I was so thankful to have something that worked and knew these would make it through until they were fully potty trained (thankfully just a couple months after the baby arrived) and then I could start using them on my little one.

The great thing about these pre-folds is they work for newborn to toddler so my $50 was going to go FAR!


Now The Dude is the only one in cloth diapers and since everything is easier with one, doing only his diapers is a breeze!

His changing table has two bins; one with covers and one with the diapers. My all natural, DIY wipe solution is within arms each as are my reusable wipes. And just like that I have no waste!





I use a plastic garbage can lined with a large wet-dry bag to toss in the dirty diapers. Before he started solids it was SUPER easy as breast milk is water soluble and requires no pre-rinsing. However, now that he is eating everything in sight if he has a big poop I knock it off in the toilet and take it down to the laundry room to soak before throwing it in with the others. Yes, that step is slightly annoying, but I only think of dollar signs being saved to get me through.


Every two days I take the bag downstairs, dump out the diapers while turning it inside out, drop it in the wash and grab my large plastic container of rinsed poop diapers. Then I toss everything in the washer, add a scoop of my cloth diaper detergent press a few buttons to make sure the water is HOT and add an extra RINSE.  Just like that...I have a new batch of clean diapers, nearly no waste and lots of saved cash, Whooo hooo!


While cloth diapering your little ones can seem like an incredibly overwhelming task, I think it all starts with a mindset and commitment. I knew I wanted to stay away from disposables as much as I could and I was dedicated to the cause. Here I am, three boys later and 100% self sufficient! I couldn't be happier and am flying that eco-mommy flag high!

Have you considered cloth diapering? If you want to learn more PLEASE leave a comment or email me directly! I'd love to help you make the switch from disposables to cloth!

Strive to thrive, 
Em

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