CLOTH DIAPERING | FROM BABY TO TODDLER

We are still  loving cloth diapering! We're going on almost four years of using them successfully and I would definitely recommend them for anyone who's interested in trying it out. As long as you can establish a good system, I think they're just as convenient as disposables. Getting a good system down has naturally taken a little trial and error, but all in all it's been a great experience.

We use the one-size BestBottom brand. It's considered a "hybrid" diaper- a shell + an absorbent insert that snaps into the shell. The cute colors and prints make it so much fun, and there's something really satisfying knowing that we're saving money and being eco-friendly all at the same time.

We have five shells {update, now we have nine}. Eight to ten are recommended, and those extra five sure do make a difference. I'd love to have more since they're so darned cute, but five- {and now nine}- are plenty.

When using on a younger baby, the outer shells generally they stay clean. But if they get a little messy on the inside I just rinse them with some soap and they're ready to be used again. They get messy more often once/if you have a toddler with loser bowel movements {like our little guy}, which means a little extra laundering along with the rest of the inserts. But otherwise, they get washed every two or three days. We have sixteen {we've since jumped up to 20} medium sized inserts, as well as 12 new large size inserts that snap into the shells {18 to 24 are recommended}. I skipped the small size since we weren't planning on using them right away {we weren't sure if he would fit into the shells until he was older, but surprisingly, they fit him well around three weeks old!}

THE METHOD


During a routine diaper change, I unsnap the dirty insert and throw it into a wetbag to wait for washing. The wetbag is great for storing them and for keeping the smells away. I just ordered another one so that I'll have one for dirty diapers only and a separate one for wet diapers only. That way, the dirty diaper bag can get thrown straight into the wash with the rest of the load, while the bag for the wet ones can just be wiped down from time to time. {I don't want my hand made Joel Dewberry bag to fade and/or leak color in the hot washes}. The shells go into a mesh bag so that they're always airing out and able to dry if I've had to rinse a little leak out of them.

Surprisingly, I don't even mind this whole laundering process. Maybe it's the diaper sprayer that makes it so easy and convenient. It only takes about 10 or 15 minutes every two days during the newborn stage, and a couple of minutes per day once he got older and started having more significant messes {the kind you want to take care of immediately!}

I also use cloth wipes, GroVia's 100% cotton version. I make my own wipe solution with a lavender essential oil concentrate and water, soak the wipes in it, then put them into the wipes warmer just like you would with regular wipes. See the whole cloth wipe process here. They stay nice and moist and are very gentle, since they're chemical-free. Also, lavender is naturally anti-bacterial and smells great.

OVERNIGHT

While Asher was young, I doubled up his overnight diapers with two inserts and generally didn't have problems with leaking. Once he reached about 14 or 15 months, stuffing the cloth diapers became too bulky and he was often leaking out, so I switched to disposables for night time only. By 22 months, even disposables started leaking on a regular basis. So I ordered a wool diaper cover by Ecoposh that absorbs the leaks and keeps me from washing sheets every day. Get the full review here.

Let me know if you have questions!