Determining Cloth Diaper Size

When it comes to buying clothes for your baby, purchasing the correct size is important. It’s necessary to not only buy clothing that isn’t too short or too small, but also clothes that they can grow into a little bit. If you’ve decided to use cloth diapers on your child—consider them an addition to your baby’s wardrobe and realize that buying the right sized diapers for your baby is just as important as buying the right sized clothing—actually, more so, because jackets and onesies have never been asked to contain poop or keep sheets dry at night!

There are a few factors to consider when determining what size cloth diapers to buy for your baby:

Age

Age is generally not a good way to determine size when it comes to cloth diapers, but you probably already figured that since you don’t buy your clothing based on age! Different babies of the same age generally don’t weigh the same, have the same waist and thigh measurements, or have the same height. Based on this, age is usually a pretty poor way to determine size, although it may be a good, rough starting point.

Weight

A fairly accurate way to determine which size cloth diaper will suit your baby best is weight. Generally, sizes list a weight range. For example, A Lil’ Joey All In One diaper claims to fit newborns who are preemies to twelve pounds or more. Size 2 of the Bamboozle Fitted Diaper claims to fit babies who weigh from 9-35 pounds. However, 9 pounds can look very different from baby to baby, so often weight is just a starting place when it comes to determining the correct diaper size. It’s a good way to give you a rough estimate on where to start.

Waist, thigh, and rise measurements

The best way to determine the correct sized diapers for your baby is by measuring him or her.

Measuring the waist is easy: use a soft tape measure against your baby’s skin starting at the belly button and going all the way around your baby’s tummy. If measuring for a cloth diaper cover, you will need to wrap the soft tape measure around baby’s waist ATOP a cloth diaper (or if you do not cloth diaper your baby yet, you can use a disposable diaper). Keep the tape measure snug, though not too tight – especially if using a disposable diaper as your measure for a cloth diaper cover; disposable diapers tend to be slightly trimmer than cloth diapers.

The thigh measurement is important because a diaper that fits big at the thighs will leak and one that fits too small will pinch your baby’s skin. To measure the circumference of the thighs, start almost at the top of your baby’s leg, at the fattest part, and measure around. It’s important that you don’t measure at the very top of your baby’s leg where the leg is slightly thinner than the chubby thigh because this can lead to diapers that fit too snugly and pinch or leave red marks.

Finally, the rise, sometimes called the “depth” of a cloth diaper, is important—sometimes the most important—because in sized diapers, it can’t be adjusted. Using the tape measure, start at your baby’s belly button, then go down, loosely through the legs, and back up the butt to the waistline at your baby’s back. This will give you the length your diaper should be when laying open, and flat. The same applies here as it does for measuring the waist. If you are measuring for a cloth diaper, you just keep it comfortably loose atop baby’s skin while you measure. If you are measuring for a cloth diaper cover, you should measure over a cloth diaper, or if you do not have one, a disposable diaper. And again, remember that disposable diapers are trimmer than most cloth diapers, so allow a bit more room in your measurement.

Sample First

Most manufacturers and retailers of cloth diapers offer both weight and measurement guidelines for each size cloth diaper they produce, distribute or sell. Without this information, you have absolutely no starting point by which to ascertain a certain fit. Occasionally, a diaper brand may simply give weight ranges. If that’s the case, it would be wise to start by buying just one diaper in the suggested size for your baby’s weight. When that diaper comes, try it on, checking that the diaper fits properly in all the right places before completing your stash. Often, your cloth diaper retailer will offer trial periods, which means you can try the diaper on your baby risk free, and consequently buy all of the correct size that you will need.

Brand

A size small might is not going to be the same from one brand to another. Each brand of diaper will fit your baby differently, and you’ll find that some brands work better for your baby’s body type than others. Again, it is recommended that you sample a brand before buying a complete stash.

One Size Diapers

One great way to take some of the guess work out of sizing is to use one size diapers. With many different adjustment options at both the rise and the waist (and sometimes at the legs too) these diapers fit a wide variety of babies with different weights, heights, and measurements. However, even with one size diapers, sizing varies from brand to brand. A brand that your friend swears by might not suit your baby’s body type—or it might. Again, it’s best if you buy just one of the diaper to try on your baby before committing to buying an entire stash.

Guest Blogger:

Becca G is a guest blogger for the Cloth Diaper Blog. Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

Support a fellow cloth diapering mom! Becca’s etsy shop: Cloth Diaper Mommy

Well, recently, Diaper Junction sent me the book Changing Diapers by Kelly Wels to read and review and my first thought was, “Man, this would have been helpful when I first started!” In this book, Kelly uses the simple, conversational tone found in her blogs to explain the ins and outs of the modern cloth diapering world. She deftly covers topics such as washing, brands, and definitions in easy-to-read language, and an easy-on-the-eyes format. Peppered throughout the body of the book are photos, drawings, tips, and tons of advice from other parents who have cloth diapered. And she covers everything—and I mean everything, folks!

There are a couple of things about this book that sets it apart. One of them is that Kelly realizes that she is not the only cloth diaper expert. Half of the book is written by regular moms and dads like you who have drawn upon their personal experience and shared it in helpful stories and cute anecdotes. Kelly uses couples these stories with the information she gives, making the book so much more accessible. What I also love is that she doesn’t make you feel guilty if you don’t use cloth diapers. She presents cloth as a viable option and tries to air out all of its mysteries without being pushy. Another great thing about the book is that she never uses abbreviations. I don’t know about you, but when I go on a mom forum and see conversations written in abbreviated Mom-speak and hardly recognizable acronyms, I feel frustrated, stupid, and unmotivated to connect with other moms out there. Kelly promises at the beginning of her book that she won’t do that, and she doesn’t. Not only that, but she does take the time to decode some of the cloth diaper related acronyms as she goes so that her reader will have a fighting chance to know what other moms are talking about when referring to diapers. Also, Kelly doesn’t overtly push any brands. Though certain brands are pictured in her illustrations and photographs, she makes a point to tell the reader that brand preferences really depend upon you and your baby’s needs.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to cloth diapering newbies. It would be a great book for you to buy for yourself if you’re just starting out, and a great book to slip in with the cloth diapers you’re giving as a gift at a baby shower. It simply decodes the language and products of the modern cloth diapering world, making cloth diapering accessible for all who are interested in it and probably for some who were not even considering it.

Guest Blogger:

Becca G is a guest blogger for the Cloth Diaper Blog. Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

Support a fellow cloth diapering mom! Becca’s etsy shop: Cloth Diaper Mommy

A couple of things you should keep in mind when you choose to cloth diaper are your budget, the different systems available, and the type of fabric you prefer.

Your Budget

One of the main things to keep in mind when choosing to cloth diaper is your budget. You are going to save money with cloth diapers, even if you decide to go with a pricier option, but it’s sometimes hard for parents to shell out $20 a diaper when they first switch from disposables. Not all diapers are the same and not all diapers have the same price tag. You can pay as little as $2 for a cloth diaper, and as much as $30 if you go with a pricier WAHM (work at home mom) option.

Take a look at the following price tags for a couple of the different diapering systems out there:

Disposable Diapers:

1 year of disposables (bought in bulk)-$430-$730

2 years of disposables (bought in bulk) $860-$1,250

3 years of disposables (bought in bulk)-$1,290-$1,770

These prices were taken from both the generic and name brand disposable diapers on sale at Walmart.com and are based on 10 diaper changes a day for the first year, and 6 diaper changes a day for the second and third years.

Prefold Diapers:

1 year of prefolds (24 prefolds and 6 one size covers): $89-$160

2 years of prefolds (36 prefolds and 6 one size covers): $119-$190

3 years of prefolds (48 prefolds and 6 one size covers): $152-$226

These prices account for the need to buy a size up on your diapers each year, buying a new stash of 12 prefold diapers in the next size up. The prices vary due to a differently priced one size diaper covers.

AI2 (All in Two) Diapers:

1 year of one size AI2 diapers: $200-$678

2 years of one size AI2 diapers: $200-$678

3 years of one size AI2 diapers: $200-$678

These prices include 6-12 shells and 24 inserts. The prices vary depending on different brands of AI2 diapers out there.

One Size Pocket Diapers:

1 year of OS pocket diapers: $240- $564

2 years of OS pocket diapers: $240-$564

3 years of OS pocket diapers: $240-$564

These prices are based on the cost of buying 24 OS pocket diapers.

The System

Rather than worrying over the specific brand of cloth diapers you might need, consider instead the type of cloth diapering system you want. What is your daily grind? Is your child an especially heavy wetter during the day, or only at night? Do you enlist the services of a childcare provider or grandparent to help you with your child while you’re at work? Is your caregiver comfortable and familiar with cloth diapers or have they expressed concern over the inconvenience? Some diapering systems are best for parents and caregivers who want quick, easy diaper changes, and other systems work well for those who don’t want to spend lots of time with laundry. It’s important to buy a system that will cater to yourself and any other caregivers who will be changing your baby’s diapers. You can refer to our list of different cloth diapering definitions to help you out, but a condensed list has been included here for easy reference.

All in One Diapers (AIOs)

AIOs are the most like disposable diapers in their fit and how they fasten. They are perfect for quick, easy diaper changes and require no extra folding, stuffing, or pins. They have an inner, absorbent layer against the baby’s skin, and an outer, waterproof layer—they are a cloth diaper and diaper cover all in one! They often require a few extra rinses when being washed, and take a couple of times through the dryer, or a few extra hours on the line to dry. They are often the choice for babysitters and daycares because they’re very recognizable to those who are accustomed to disposables.

Fitted Diapers (Fitteds)

Fitted diapers are much like AIO diapers except that they do not include a waterproof layer and they do require a cover. Many times, they are more economical than AIOs because you don’t need to buy as many cloth diaper covers as you do diapers—the covers can be used for a couple of diaper changes before needing to be washed. Fitted diapers are easy to use because they do not require any folding or pins, and they attach to your baby much like a disposable. Since they require a diaper cover, there are two steps to complete at every diaper change, attaching the fitted diaper and then covering it.

One Size Diapers

Many different systems of diapers (Pockets, fitteds, AIOs, etc) come in a one size option which basically means that the one diaper will probably fit your baby throughout all of their diapering years. Diapers that boast one size status usually fit your baby from about 7lbs-35lbs. These diapers generally adjust their size with either rise snaps or adjustable leg and waist elastics, plus a generous amount of snaps or Velcro at the waist. For smaller babies, they tend to be bulky, and many parents wait to start using them until their children are no longer newborns. Buying a stash of one size diapers will ultimately help you save even more money in the long run because you won’t be buying your full stash 2-4 times in each size.

Pocket Cloth Diapers

Pocket cloth diapers, also called pocket diapers or even just pockets, are a great diaper if you want to be able to adjust your absorbency, and have the convenience of quick and easy diaper changes. In addition to either snaps or Velcro at the closures, they have an empty space between a waterproof outer layer and a stay-dry inner layer where you can stuff diaper inserts. These inserts are usually made of microfiber, but can be made out of any absorbent fabric. What’s great is that with a pocket diaper you’re not limited to using the inserts that come with the diaper. You can use just about any insert from any brand, and you can stuff in as many as you need. You can also stuff your pocket diapers with trifolded prefolds, or pad folded flats.

Prefold Diapers

Prefold diapers are the most economical cloth diapering choice, but they also require more steps. They consist of a flat, layered rectangle of cotton that has a thicker strip of absorbency in the middle. They are folded and attached to your baby with pins or a snappi, and need a diaper cover. They require a bit of practice to get started, and they aren’t for everyone, but many parents prefer prefolds to more modern pocket or fitted diapers because they’re so soft and absorbent. However, when leaving your child with daycare or a sitter, it might be wise to use AIOs or pocket diapers to make cloth diapering more successful for those without prefold practice.

The Fabric

There are two options when it comes to choosing fabric for your cloth diapers—synthetic or all natural fibers. The great thing about synthetic fibers is that they boast amazing absorbency and also offer a stay-dry option. Microfiber, microsuede, and microfleece are examples of synthetic fibers commonly used in cloth diapers.

All natural fibers require a little more laundry prep before using (because of the natural oils), and they don’t have a stay-dry option, but they are very absorbent and usually get better and more absorbent wash after wash. All natural fabrics include cotton, bamboo, and hemp. When searching for all natural fibers, you may also want to consider the organic option. Organic fabrics should not contain chemicals as the plants harvested for the fabric have not been treated with any harsh pesticides that could compromise baby’s immune system. If a cloth diaper boasts an organic fabric, there will not be any synthetic (artificial) fibers woven into it. Organic fabrics are more expensive to produce, and therefore costlier to buy, but they are easier on the environment and therefore, a more sustainable cloth diapering choice.

With so many cloth diapers on the market today, it can seem impossible to choose just one style. Learning the different Cloth Diapering Definitions and Terms will help you select the cloth diapers, diaper covers and accessories to develop your own personalized cloth diapering system.

Guest Blogger:

Becca G is a guest blogger for the Cloth Diaper Blog. Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

Support a fellow cloth diapering mom! Becca’s etsy shop: Cloth Diaper Mommy

After we discovered that Bunny is quite capable of going on the potty without accidents when naked, we realized that we suddenly needed to start thinking about underwear or training pants.  Pull-ups just weren’t an option for us. Besides the fact that they’re disposable and I despise the idea of so much waste, my daughter is so accustomed to cloth diapers that she wouldn’t even realize she’d peed if she used anything else. As I questioned what the next step would be, I remembered the training pants my mother used on me and my 6 siblings—simply a pair of underwear made of thick terry cloth that came in beautifully, bright colors. They were more absorbent than underwear, but not so absorbent that they contained all of the mess which meant they really did the job of “training” well. I decided I wanted something like that to potty train Bunny, and found some similar pairs of training pants at Target.

But did you know that there are lots of options for training pants out there? Let’s look at some of them:

1. Disposable training pants. We’re all familiar with Pull-ups. They’re a disposable pair of underwear that kids can pull on and off and that actually feel wet when used. Ideally you’ll buy them less than you would disposable diapers because your child will remember to use the potty rather than the diaper, but you still have to keep buying them every time you finish a package which can be a strain on any budget. They rip open easily on the sides when they do need to be changed. This is convenient for particularly messy diaper changes. Also, they are supposed to feel wet when the toddler pees in them which is meant to start teaching the toddler to feel uncomfortable and start using the potty instead. Parents who use cloth diapers, though, don’t have to worry about teaching a child to know when they’ve peed, so this feature is not necessary for many of us.

2. Waterproof cloth trainers. Most of these are not fully waterproof on purpose, but they have an added waterproof layer somewhere in the mix to keep messes at bay. You can find the Gerber brand of these training pants in your local Target (they’re a potty training version of the rubber pants you all know and love :-D) or you can buy a more high quality pair of these at Diaper Junction. Some of them snap open at the sides, and all of them are capable of being pulled on and off, just like their disposable counterparts. What’s better is that just like a cloth diaper, some of these training pants have pockets that you can use to adjust your absorbency. Some of them are visibly waterproof, such as the Gerber pants, and Mother-ease training pants. Others, like the Blueberry, Eco Posh, Gro Via and Imse Vimse brands have a layer of waterproof material sandwiched in between soft layers of jersey or cotton so that the pants go on and feel just like real underwear. I’m excited because Flip brand is coming out with an all new line of training pants at the end of November that is water proof, has adjustable and interchangeable absorbency, pulls on and off like underwear, and snaps open at the sides just like their popular disposable counterpart. I can’t wait to get a couple of these when they come out for two reasons: 1) you can use the flip organic inserts that you already have for them (you wouldn’t wan to use stay-dry inserts because you want your toddler to feel wet), and 2) they are not one-use training pants. If your toddler has an accident in them, you can wipe them clean, and add another insert rather than changing the whole training pant system. In my opinion, that would save lots of money in the early potty training days as opposed to other one-time use trainers.

3. Asorbent, non-waterproof cloth trainers. These are simply thicker pairs of underwear that absorb but are worn without a waterproof layer. I’ve found that they are sopping wet when my daughter pees in them, but without dripping onto the floor and making more of a mess for me (and her) to clean. Again, Gerber makes these, and they are easily available in the sections of Walmart and Target where you find your prefolds. They’re actually my favorite for our little potty learner because we want her to stop relying on whatever is covering her butt to absorb her messes. I’m actually looking for something that will leak a little and cause urine to run down her legs because I want her to get used to the idea that peeing in her pants is gross and uncomfortable. Other than Gerber, I haven’t found any other options when it comes to non-waterproof cloth trainers. So, I found that you can also easily make them using some FOE (fold over elastic available anywhere that diaper making materials are sold) and a prefold. You cut out your underwear pattern from the prefold (I Googled one, but you can also cut apart a pair of baby bloomers and use that as a pattern), sew it up at the hips, and add elastic that is at least an inch shorter than the circumference of your baby’s belly and legs at the belly and leg openings.

4. Underwear. Of course, since I’ve found that naked potty training is quite effective, it might be true for some that going straight to underwear from the diaper is feasible. We’re not quite there yet in our house. Somehow, the feeling of something touching her bottom makes Bunny feel secure in being able to pee or poop anywhere she pleases.

What kind of trainers you use for your potty trainee will really depend upon the needs of your family. Different kids are motivated by different things. Some need to have the consequence of wet clothes to be motivated to sit on the potty, and others are content to be a big girl/boy and use the waterproof pants without protest. As the parent, you just need to be aware of the options out there so you can make the best, educated choice for your little big boy or girl.

Guest Blogger:

Becca G is a guest blogger for the Cloth Diaper Blog. Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

Support a fellow cloth diapering mom! Becca’s etsy shop: Cloth Diaper Mommy

The cloth diapers:

18 pockets (mostly Thirsties Duo, 2 Kawaiis, 1 BumGenius, and 1 Bamboo Baby AIO)
The washer:

Whirlpool Cabrio
The detergent:

Rockin’ Green Hard Rock
Other accessories:

Set of 4 clotheslines hanging across my laundry room; a drying rack on my front porch, flushable diaper liners

On Monday, I pick Burrito Boy up at daycare, pick up his sack of used diapers, and check how many clean cloth diapers are left over. While we play before dinner, I get the next two day’s diapers into his daycare bag (making sure they will have six for each day, all ready and lined with flushable liners).

When my husband takes Burrito for his bath (about 6:30), I grab his used diaper and put all the dirty ones in the washing machine. I shake out any additional solids and liners into the toilet, check the laundry tabs, and take all the liners out of the pockets. Supposedly Thirsties don’t need this last step, but I think it helps get them cleaner.

I run a “Rinse and Spin” cycle (cold rinse). This lasts 20 minutes, enough to get Burrito nursed, read to, and into bed.

Next, I run a “Heavy Duty” cycle with 1 ½ tbsp of detergent, and add an extra rinse.  This is hot wash, high spin, two cold rinses and lasts 64 minutes.

When the wash is done, usually just as I’m getting ready for bed, I hang all the diaper covers on my laundry room’s clothesline, and place the inserts in the dryer on high. (Thirsties’ inserts consist of a microfiber and hemp liner snapped together – I unsnap them before putting them in the dryer.)

If I’m still awake when the dryer finishes (which I shouldn’t be), I take all the liners out and hang the hemp ones on the clothesline. If I’m not awake, I try to remember to do this step in the morning, not an easy task at 4:45 a.m. If I forget to hang the hemp liners, I have to run them through another dryer cycle on Tuesday, because they don’t get fully dry on one cycle.

On Tuesday, when I get home, I finish drying the hemp inserts if necessary, then stuff all the diapers while Burrito plays with his toes in his Bumpo seat. That day’s used diapers usually just sit in my laundry room; I don’t even bother putting them in the diaper pail as long as they’re not too smelly.

On Wednesday, the cycle begins anew!

A couple of deviations to the routine:
• Badly stained inserts don’t go inside the dryer. They get hung on the clothesline until I have a sunny weekend day and all stained inserts and all covers get a sunbath on my drying rack.
• The outer covers almost never see the dryer. They dry fairly quickly on the line. BUT if I miss a day of wash and need diapers immediately, I will throw everything into the dryer on medium, and just run the hemp liners twice rather than bothering to line dry anything.
• We’re not averse to using disposables, so this helps me on days that I really can’t get washing done. I buy a jumbo box from Amazon, and Burrito uses them at night and when I just can’t get the wash done.  He also has a few at daycare, so if I can’t get them enough clean cloth diapers, they just use his disposable stash.
• Because I have 18 diapers and we use disposables at night, I can stretch to washing every three days, but I usually end up running out at the end. I think I can do this without major staining because we use the flushable liners.

Guest Blogger:

Laura M. lives with her family in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She’s a working mom who likes to beat her husband mercilessly at Scrabble in the evenings. Their son was born in October 2010 and outgrew swaddling long before he outgrew his nickname, The Burrito.

The answer came to us when I noticed a chalky white residue on our showerhead. Yup, we had hard water. We hadn’t known this because our town’s water department website actually claimed we had soft water, but then when I did some more research, comparing the actual numbers they gave to a water hardness chart, I found that claim to be an outright lie. We didn’t even meet the criteria for “moderately hard,” we were in “very hard” territory.

After doing some research, I ordered some RLR laundry additive. I’m always hesitant to try anything with proprietary ingredients, but desperate times call for desperate measures! I had to do about six or seven rinses to get the suds out (whatever is in it has a powerful foaming agent), but it worked. The cloth diapers stopped leaking!

My next plan of attack was to try a new hard water detergent to keep the mineral buildup from returning. I decided to try Rockin Green Hard Rock formula. Again, this has proprietary ingredients, but the owner, Kim, assured me they were eco-friendly and baby safe. So I gave it a shot. The diapers remained leak free for the remainder of our stay in that town.

Five months later, we moved to another town. I contacted the water department and found we now had only somewhat hard water. Since most CD detergents are now formulated to handle moderately hard water, I decided to try a new detergent, Lulu’s in the Fluff. It worked great!  At first.  Until I started to realize we had another water problem: we couldn’t control our water temperature. Because we live in an apartment community, each water heater in the building is under lock and key: keys we don’t have access to. As a result, our water heater tends to fluctuate between “lukewarm” and “hot enough for a comfortable shower.” There is no really hot water to be found in our apartment complex, unless you want to take the time to boil a couple gallons of hot water for every wash cycle.

This meant I had to start being much more careful about what I put onto my baby’s bum at diaper changes. If I wanted to use coconut oil, vitamin E oil, or our beloved CJ’s Spritz o’ Butter Plus, I absolutely had to use a liner. Even these cloth diaper friendly oils require very hot water to rinse out properly, and our water temperature didn’t cut it.

I am pleased to say this has started to help us keep the worst of the stinkies at bay. We have had one other water related problem in our cloth diapering adventures: ammonia. How is ammonia a water problem? Well, first of all, your baby needs to be properly hydrated, or his/her urine will be much more prone to strong smelling ammonia odor.  This has been a struggle for us in the summer, having a 15 month old who often turns his nose up at water, but we’ve been watering down his milk and it’s helped tremendously. The other way we’ve found water can keep ammonia at bay is by rinsing and wringing each diaper before it goes in our dry pail. This rinses out the uric acid from the diapers, preventing it from turning into ammonia while it sits in the pail waiting for wash day.

As you can see, finding the right wash routine with your particular water isn’t always easy, but it’s essential! I wish you all luck with whatever water woes you may run into, and encourage you to keep at it: whatever the problem, there is a solution!

Guest Blogger:

Hi, I’m Alicia and I’m a SAHM and licensed massage therapist. I specialize in prenatal massage and infant massage instruction. My husband and I get more serious every day about our commitment to being eco-conscious. Our son just turned a year old and has been in cloth since the day after he was born. He was born naturally into a warm tub of water, eats organic food, breast feeds and drinks homemade formula from stainless steel bottles, and plays with wooden toys made from sustainable forests or secondhand toys that I clean up using vinegar. We’re still a long way off from the commune, but we’re really making an effort! :-) I recently started a blog about all this here: http://jemsroom.blogspot.com

• Travel wet bags
• Diaper pail liners
• Diaper pail
• Cloth wipes
• Wipes solutions
• Diaper sprayer
• Diaper liners
• Snappis
• Pins
• Doublers
• Boosters
• Inserts
• Diaper creams
• Natural detergents
• Clothesline

I just couldn’t handle all that as I made my transition. So, instead, I just focused on what I could handle—which was only a couple of diapers at a time. Over the next few months of my daughter’s life I gradually grew my stash and as I did so I discovered the things that I really needed and the things that could wait.

A great side effect to gradually growing my stash and my necessary accessories was that I didn’t have to jump into cloth diapering all at once and I never got overwhelmed by the lifestyle changes that it included.

For instance, I was very excited about using cloth diapers, but I thought that the idea of cloth wipes was silly and even gross. It took me a couple of months buying wipes over and over again to realize how much money I’d save if I’d switch over to wipes.

I didn’t have money for a diaper sprayer at first but spraying off my diapers in the shower with the removable shower head started wearing thin and I realized that for me, a diaper sprayer attached to my toilet was absolutely necessary.

I used Tide for the longest time to wash my diapers and they weren’t ruined.   I just had to make sure to use a small amount and to add extra rinses, and to strip them regularly until I’d found a natural laundry detergent that worked for me.

The thing is, in my group of friends, some of us cloth diaper and some of us don’t. Those of us who do all have different styles. Some of my friends prefer to dunk their diapers and don’t need a diaper sprayer and some prefer the disposable wipes over the cloth ones. Since we’re all different, we all have different needs when it comes to how we cloth diaper our children.

So what do you really need to start out? In my humble opinion, the only things you MUST have to cloth diaper are the diapers and a diaper pail or some wet bags for dirty diaper storage. From there, you can take a couple of days, weeks, or months to get used to the change and you will soon discover what else will be absolutely necessary for your diapering style. I’m not saying you don’t need cloth wipes, special detergents, and diaper sprayers. You will most likely need some, if not all, of those things. What I am saying is that you shouldn’t overwhelm yourself at first. Give yourself time to get into your cloth diapering routine and to find out what your preferences are. Then, you can focus on which doublers are best for night diapering and whether or not you prefer to spray your diapers or dunk them.
Guest Blogger:
Becca G is a guest blogger for the Cloth Diaper Blog. Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

Support a fellow cloth diapering mom! Becca’s etsy shop: Cloth Diaper Mommy or you can visit her blog, Makin’ It.

I decided that we could use this sudden blossoming of her speech to work for a very important step towards her independence—potty training!  So we’ve been working hard to identify her bodily functions as well. When I use the potty, she comes in with me (mostly because I’m still too paranoid to leave her in a room by herself for the amount of time it takes me to pee). She’s used to seeing me on the potty and we can identify that Mommy is peeing on the potty. When her cloth diaper is wet and I change it, I make a point of saying, “Wet” and “Pee” while taking the diaper off, and “Dry” when we’re putting the new diaper on. That we use cloth diapers makes this whole process so much easier because she can actually feel if her diaper is wet or dry. Recently, she’s started going in a corner or hiding under the kitchen table when she’s doing number two, so I ask her, “Are you pooping? Poop?” She’s generally in no mood to talk to me until she’s done, at which point she may proudly announce, “Poop!” making it so much easier to change her. Sometimes, I’ll just ask, “Wet? Are you wet?” She repeats “Wet” so we go to the big potty, pull her cloth diaper off and she sits there for awhile. She’s never actually peed in the potty and I don’t know if that’s because she holds it for her diaper or because she hasn’t figured out that what I’m asking, but that’s okay. Eventually she will.

As we go through this new process of using speech to identify when she has a wet diaper or a poopy one, we’ll eventually get to the point where she will understands when she’s about to go. For now, I’m simply contented that she understands the difference. She knows what I mean when I ask if she’s wet or if she peed, and she is pretty proud about understanding the meaning of poop. Now, when I fold the clean diapers, she picks them up one by one and says, “Wet. Wet. Wet” I emphasize to her that those are the dry diapers, “Dry. Clean,” but she’s not quite there yet. I realize this is just a small step towards potty training, but it’s a step all the same. Potty training doesn’t have to start by quitting diapers cold turkey or switching to training pants, it can simply start with identification and explanation in order to help your toddler understand the process.

Guest Blogger:
Becca G is a guest blogger for the Cloth Diaper Blog. Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

Support a fellow cloth diapering mom! Becca’s etsy shop: Cloth Diaper Mommy or you can visit her blog, Makin’ It.

• I put the diapers in the washing machine and soak them (this makes them heavier and tricks the machine into adding more water).
• After the soak, I do a rinse and spin with laundry detergent on cool water.
• Next I do a hot wash on the bulky setting again with laundry detergent.  *I also put the extra rinse on this setting.
• Finally I follow it up by doing another rinse and spin on cool water.

Ta-da!!  Smell free diapers!!  This did take a few weeks for me  to figure out what worked best with our machine and our diapers.  My hope is that this might help other people with washing their diapers in HE machines.

Guest Blogger:

Joanna Barrette is enjoying being a stay at home mom to two little girls: a 1.5 year-old and a 1 month old.  She loves spending time with her family and also enjoys reading, baking, cooking, and making crafts.

My daughter’s changing table is an organization task that has morphed over time.  At first, we just had a couple of cloth diapers and so we kep a stack of disposables on the table too, to supplement the little bit of cloth we had.  Over time, however, we’ve been blessed to be able to grow a stash large enough that disposables never have to be an option if we don’t want them to be.

The following is a list of the things that my changing table has acquired over the first eighteen months of our parenthood:

*Cloth wipes

*Wipe solution

*A spray bottle just in case

*Rash cream

*Wet bags of all different sizes

*Snappis

*Diaper pins (which are rarely, if ever, used)

*Extra elastics for my Fuzzi Bunz One Size Diapers

*Doublers and inserts

*Cloth breast pads

* Personal Hygiene gear: Brush, comb, nail clippers, etc

*Washcloths

*15-20 prefolds

*12 Flat diapers

*20+ Fitted Diapers

*2-4 PUL Diaper covers

*8-10 Wool soakers

*2-3 Swim diapers

*30+ Pocket diapers

*disposable diaper liners

*reusable diaper liners

As we’ve added more and more accessories and diapers to her stash, I keep finding new ways of organizing the shelves so that everything fits well and is easily accessible. Currently, I have three woven baskets on the bottom shelf containing all her diapers, and a couple of baskets and a set of plastic drawers on the top shelf that hold all the diaper changing accessories.

The diapers themselves are what can get out of hand the most if I’m not careful . Each basket contains a different type of diaper. The first basket holds a full stash of prefolds and flats. The middle basket is full of my pockets. They don’t actually all fit in my second basket but that isn’t usually a problem when half of them are in the wash. It does become problematic if I decide to switch to prefolds or fitteds for awhile. The last basket holds tons of fitted diapers—all sizes together because my baby manages to fit into all of them simultaneously. I store the wool and PUL covers with my fitteds, mostly because there isn’t room for another basket.

On the top shelf of the changing table I have a box with her swim diapers, diaper liners, and my homemade wipes solution.  Next to that is a box full of newborn inserts and doublers. Finally, I have a little set of drawers with smaller accessories that I don’t want her getting into, and she is fully aware that touching this set of drawers leads to a time-out. In these drawers I keep smaller things—snappis, nail clippers, extra elastics for my Fuzzi Bunz OS diapers, samples of wipe cubes and laundry detergent, breast pads, rash creams, etc.

Once everything has found a proper place, keeping it organized isn’t that time consuming at all and it’s been nice watching my baby grow into a little girl who’s no eager to help me with my organization.

Everyone stores their diapers differently. I’ve seen people use square shelves with boxes to store their diapers, drawers in a dresser, linen closets, plastic bins, and even over-the-door shoe organizers. Some people have their prefolds and flats folded and ready to go, some people have their pockets stuffed and waiting, and some don’t find the need to fold or prep the diapers as long as they’re stored in the correct place. Some people categorize by diaper type or size, and others prefer to group the diapers by color so they can easily pick diapers out that match their baby’s outfits. How you organize them isn’t important, really. What really matters is having a layout that works for you and eases the daily flow of your life.

So do you find that organization is important in your cloth diapering routine? If so, how do you store and organize your cloth diapers and accessories?
Guest Blogger:
Becca G is a guest blogger for the Cloth Diaper Blog. Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

Support a fellow cloth diapering mom! Becca’s etsy shop: Cloth Diaper Mommy or you can visit her blog, Makin’ It.