My Experiences with Cloth Diapering
After moving to Washington State and becoming more conscious of recycling and reducing waste, I found out I was pregnant with our first child. I’m not sure how or when cloth diapering came up, but since I was going to be a stay-at-home-mom, I figured, “why not?”
I did some research (jk, I did A LOT of research, it’s my M.O.) and decided to go with traditional cotton prefolds, snappi fasteners and PUL diaper covers. (Now that we’re going plastic-free as much as possible, I’d choose wool soakers, but you live and learn).
Cloth diapers were a bit of a learning curve but when you realize that you’re literally throwing around $1.50 a day into the garbage, you can be motivated to try anything. I did the math, and after 3 months of using cloth diapers, you break even; and from then on out you’re saving at least $36/month (not including the price of wipes or if your baby requires a specific brand of more expensive diapers).
And you’re not contributing thousands of diapers to the landfill or possibly exposing your infant to questionable chemicals.
Yes, you come in closer contact with body fluids than one might prefer, but let’s be real, that comes with the territory of having kids. Plus, it prepares you for potty training, during which time you DEFINITELY will come in close contact with nasty excrement (I’m still traumatized from our most recent poop-acolypse).
One of the many benefits of breastfeeding is that for the first 6 months (or for however long you’re exclusively breastfeeding) you don’t even have to rinse the poopy diapers, they can go straight into the wash.
Full disclosure: we did use disposables when traveling and when we were out of the house for longer than one diaper change, but overall, cloth diapering was a win for us. Even my husband was on board and became a master cloth diaper-folder. We moved twice before our second child was a year old, so we definitely didn’t do as much cloth diapering with him, but I plan to with our third.
Here’s what we used and/or recommend:
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that I earn a commission on any purchase made from using an Amazon link. I only promote products that I myself have used and proven, or have researched and can honestly recommend to be valuable resources.
Osocozy unbleached organic cotton prefolds— size small (4 packs) & size large (3-4 packs)
I chose prefolds (with diaper covers) over all-in-one or pocket diapers for a couple reasons:
- They’re cheaper
- They’re easier to maintain long-term
- They’re more eco-friendly
Apparently Osocozy has new “better fit” options that aren’t as long (small better fit & large better fit), but we just folded the extra down in the back and it wasn’t an issue.
We found that the jelly-roll fold method worked best for us. In fact, rarely did we have any blowouts when using cloth diapers — another cloth diaper bonus.
These are also better than any rag or towel to clean up misses during potty-training, or to clean up any liquid spills because they are super absorbent. I leave a couple handy in the laundry room for that reason.
Pros– One of the cheapest cloth diaper options, eco-friendly, easy to maintain.
Cons- You have to learn how to fold them.
Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted Prefold
I scored a couple of these at a consignment shop and they are awesome. They work underneath a diaper cover just like a disposable diaper, no folding skill required. However, since they are fitted, you need enough to last 2-3 days in each size and the cost adds up quickly.
Pros – all the benefits of organic cotton prefolds without the hassle of learning to fold.
Cons – very expensive, since you need 12-24 of each size. They also take a long time to dry because they are so thick. Might be difficult to thoroughly clean if you have an eco front-load washer.
Snappi fasteners
These are absolutely necessary if you are using prefolds. They come in two sizes: infant and toddler. I am not aware of a plastic-free option that is as good, but we have 2-3 in each size and they’re still going strong two kids later, so it’s still a reducing-waste win in my book.
Diaper covers
I did so much research trying to find a good and economic diaper cover…and I wish I would have just bought a couple different options second-hand until I found what worked best for us.
Here’s what we ended up with and pros and cons of each:
Gerber “plastic pants” (this link is for size 3-6 mo, their sizes go up to 3T, I believe)
Pros – super cheap, not bulky, and they contain EVERYTHING
Cons– plastic, crinkly, and the elastic can be too tight on chubby baby legs. Also, it’s a little more difficult to fold a prefold onto an infant with a pull-on diaper cover and pants around their ankles. Taking them off completely makes it easier but can be a hassle. In addition, you need multiple sizes (which isn’t as big of a deal since they’re so cheap).
I found a couple at a children’s consignment store and they ended up being a surprise favorite. They come in five sizes (newborn, small, medium, large, & x-large)
Pros– softer and less crinkly than the basic plastic pants, but they (as well as plastic pants) don’t let anything escape. I used these over a disposable when I couldn’t afford a blow-out while traveling. They also work great as swim diaper covers at public pools.
Cons– Plastic. Once again, pants have to be removed completely for each diaper change, unless you’re a pre-fold diaper pro. Not as cheap when you consider you need 2-4 in each size. Can be difficult to find in stock online.
Blueberry One-Size Diaper Cover
Another consignment store find, the Blueberry ended up being our favorite one-size cover. They are expensive, but since they are one-size the cost ends up about the same as a complete set of Bummis.
Pros– One size fits 12-35 lbs, snaps make diaper changes easy, easy to adjust to fit, contains almost all blowouts (way better than disposables, but not quite as good as plastic pants or bummis pull-ons)
Cons– Plastic. On the more expensive side.
This is the diaper cover I put on my baby registry, but ended up being my least favorite. They come in two sizes (link is for size one).
Pros– One of the cheapest options, since you only need two sizes. Snaps make quick and easy changes.
Cons– Plastic. The single row of front closure snaps allow the top to roll down and the wet prefold to leak onto clothes. I guess this was only a problem because we had two boys who were heavy wetters. If our next child is a girl, I’ll give these another chance before I get rid of them.
I haven’t used wool soakers before but if I find myself needing any more diaper covers with our next baby I’ll be trying these.
Pros– Plastic-free! Breathable and comfortable for baby
Cons– Can be expensive, washing/maintenance isn’t as simple
We bought a couple packs of Thirsties cloth wipes. They work great and now they are made with organic cotton. Yay, no plastic!
I folded them in half, stacked them up, got them wet and put them in an empty wipes container (they fit perfectly). Since you go through them quickly, you don’t have to worry about mold or mildew building up.
We got two of these to use in our diaper pail. They work great and can be washed alongside the prefolds in the washer.
We got this before our plastic-reducing days but the hands-free foot pedal and trap door to keep smells contained made it worth every penny. It was smaller than I thought it was going to be, but it turns out that is an important feature- you really don’t want to go very long before emptying your diaper pail or your nursery will start to smell like a hamster cage.
I recommend this product even if you’re not planning on cloth diapering. I have one that I leave in the diaper bag/backpack for accidents/blowouts/etc.
After six months (or whenever you stop exclusively breastfeeding) you will probably need one of these. I don’t remember what kind we got, but this one has good reviews.
Our Method:
We had a single story house so it wasn’t an issue to keep all of our diaper supplies in the nursery and do all of our diaper changes there. We kept all of our prefolds, snappis and diaper covers in the top drawer of the changing table/dresser, and I put the wipes in an empty Huggies wipes container that I left at the bottom of the changing pad. The diaper pail lived right next to the changing table, and every 2-3 days I would wash a load of diapers. Every couple weeks, I would do a second wash with just the prefolds in extra hot water to “strip” them (basically get all the detergent out so they have maximum absorbency and don’t get stinky).
When it was time for a diaper change, we had everything within arm’s reach. After we introduced solids, things got a little messier. I left a bucket by the changing table for #2 diapers so that I could spray them off with the diaper sprayer before putting them in the diaper pail.
There’s a lot of ways to do it, but since our tub was right next to the toilet, I held the dirty prefold in the bucket in the tub and sprayed it off into the bucket before dumping the bucket into the toilet and then rinsing it out.
Most kids start having more solid poops that can just be shaken into the toilet after they transition to solid food. I was not so lucky. On the positive side, neither of my boys struggles with constipation, so I guess you win some and lose some.
We ended up doing early potty training starting around 18 months because I was tired of diapers and that worked for us, although we still used disposable training pants for naptime and bedtime. Full disclosure: it did take both boys awhile to get #2 down, but they got it before they turned three. This book was very helpful if you’re interested in early potty training:
Final Thoughts and Advice:
- Borrow or buy second-hand: it’s more eco-friendly, budget-friendly, and you can figure out what works best for you.
- You don’t have to cloth diaper full-time for it to save you money and also drastically reduce your waste.
If you have any cloth diapering tips or tricks, I’d love to hear your advice!