You only get to sing that part of the song if your kid is in cloth diapers. Since I KNOW you want to sing that part, I’m going to teach you everything I know.
Just about cloth. Not about life. That’s for my book.
How do you catch and release your baby’s pee and poop? This is apparently a very interesting topic to talk about.
This actually happened to me once.
No I’m lying.
No I’m not.
Many of you have asked me for an update on the cloth diapering. If you missed the first post on my pending saint-hood, please read here and come on back.
So here we are, a year into cloth diapering. I’m going to give you some genius tips that I’ve learned in this year of the hippie butt. I’m also going to tell you why in fact it doesn’t take a saint to do this and you can catch and release too. I’ll even certify you.
We use bumGenius One-Size pocket 4.0
Now I’m going to tell you about the stuff I learned that will help you:
Acquiring them:
We have 20 and were using 10 a day when he was little. Now we use about 5 a day. You can get them on ebay or craigslist. No it’s not gross. You can literally sterilize them. Also it’s babies, not meth addicts. My diapers are in primo conditioned and we’ve washed them almost every other day for a year. They are expensive, this saves money.
**DO NOT BUY THE VELCRO KIND EVER EVER IN YOUR LIFE EVER.***
There are people out there whose only job it is to switch from velcro to snaps. This is because velcro is stupid. It doesn’t last forever. Snaps do. It’s science really. I had to convert 5 of mine.
I have a friend that switched to cloth when her baby was 15 months to save money. You can switch over any time. It’s never too late.
Cleaning them:
Charlie’s Soap
When you are ready to wash them, do a speed cycle on cold and then a cycle on hot with an extra rinse. Throw in the dryer (it says don’t but I say do. You don’t have all GD day) and you’re done.
Bleach those bitches once a month.
Once in a blue moon you need to put like 4 tiny teeny drops of dawn dish soap in. This strips the diapers and yes it’s totally as sexy as it sounds. It helps with absorption.
Extra stuff:
Dudes. I WISH I knew about this during the breastmilk poop days. GET FLUSHABLE LINERS
We do have the Diaper Sprayer
Eventually G got to the point where he was peeing a lot at night and the diapers weren’t doing the job. TRUST when I tell you that I was not waking me or him up to change his diaper. Then we got hemp inserts
I have to tell you that sadly, your run of the mill diaper bag will not cut it with clothies. You should have 2 with you at all times and a wet bag
And that’s it my friends. It’s honestly so easy I can’t believe everyone doesn’t do it. We always keep a pack of disposables on hand in case I get lazy with the wash or just in case I need him to wear skinny jeans (need). But I really really believe that anyone can do this. Not just saints and hippies. I’m going to be way honest here, sometimes I’m too lazy to recycle. But I’m not too lazy to cloth diaper.
There’s a cost upfront but a big savings in the long run.
Ask your questions and I’ll answer every damn one of them. Because I love you and the baby penguins. Also, you are now certified in cloth diapering. Here is your certificate:
I just really wanted to use a picture of that weird baby again.
________________________
Coming up in MODG
-My hunt for the perfect white T shirt. From low end to high end. I’ve found fashion gold.
-Did you know G speaks sign language? He tells me to F off. I’ll tell you how we did it.
-My interview with a robot. Well, she makes robots. Well she works for people who do. SECRET ROBOTS.
xoxo
MODG
Hi I’m MODG. But you can call me MODG. You say it like Modg, like a Grandma name. Not like M.O.D.G. That’s a lot of syllables and I don’t have that kind of time. 
{ 170 comments }
Thank you for this post!! Cloth diapers are SO SUPER EASY, and I can’t stand it when people act like it’s some big deal that will be gross and take all sorts of time. I have about 25 diapers, wash them every 4 days or so (I heart Charlie’s!), and don’t put them in the dryer most of the time (unless I waited too long to wash them and let myself just about run out, and can’t wait for them to air dry) just because I’m trying to save a few cents on electricity.
I love the Bum Genius. And yes, snaps are the only way. Velcro is the devil.
I’ve also been using Flips & regular prefolds. They’re pretty rad, too.
And Dawn dish soap, did not know about that. Sweet!
Do you like the Flip covers? 9 weeks out from my first baby and I’m considering the Flip covers but there are other covers with extra leg gussets… wondering if those make a big difference or not? Thanks for any insight!
I didn’t like the Flip covers (and I LOVE every other BG product we’ve tried). Have you considered a trial package? Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique does one, and Jillian’s Drawers does, as well. That way you can see what works with your baby before you invest a lot in one particular brand.
Thirsties covers, which do have the extra leg gussets, are wonderful for us!
Jillian’s Drawers s awesome if you don’t know which diapers will work for you. I haven’t tried it cause I immediately loved BG’s with my first and haven’t looked back. Anyways, at Jillian’s you can try the diapers for 30 days and return them for a FULL STORE CREDIT!! how awesome is that!?
how do the flushable liners work? do they let the *pee* through to the real absorbant cloth liner? do you use a cloth liner underneath the flushable one? i nee like a cosby hoagie sandwich diagram, i think…. thx!
yes, the flushable liner just goes everything else that you would normally use.
We are expecting our third in July and I have thought (not that seriously) about cloth diapering but feel too lazy. I feel like we have the same sensibilities when it comes to free time (catching up on DVR, internet and all that entails) so maybe I can jump on this train too. Two questions: First, did you start right away? I know they say one size, but my kids have all been in newborn diapers for the first couple weeks and I can’t imagine these being small enough. I’m sure you still save money even if you wait until they would be a size 1. Second, are you really doing them all the time? I remember a stuff you like post awhile back where you recommended Huggies Overnights (they are my go-to at night), but you said here hemp inserts are good enough?
The extra large diaper bag scares me because with three kids under the age of four there will be a lot of crap (there already is a lot of crap). They don’t stop needing drinks, snacks, etc. for awhile and with potty training some extra clothes is always a good idea.
We did not start right away…maybe around 2 months.
Yes…all the time. We use the hemp instead of huggies overnights now
What brand Hemp inserts are you using? I too have BG’s and my7 month old is a SUPER SOAKER overnight …soo much more than my ODD. Need to find some that fit in the BG pocket.
I have a 6 month old and I was actually thinking of trying cloth diapers ( mostly because they make them so cute these days, is that bad?). He ruins at least one outfit a week from the poop explosions, and I was wondering if the clothies hold the poop in better?
I cloth diaper my 11 month old and I found that cloth diapers hold the explosive poop in way better than disposables. Whenever I used disposables (visiting family, at night, etc.) I would always put a cloth cover over it (until his poop stopped being runny a few months ago) to keep in whatever leaked out of the disposable.
I also use Bum Genius 4.0 and find that that they are MUCH better at containing explosive poops. We occasionally use disposables when traveling, or when he has diaper rash (you can’t use Aquaphor or diaper rash cream with cloth diapers), and Pampers and Huggies both let the poop right out of the back. We rarely (maybe once) in 4 months of cloth diapering have had this issue with Bum Genius.
Awesome article! Your comments on Charlie’s Soap made me laugh! I’ve converted a few friends so far, and the rest that I’m working on, I fwd’d them this link. I have a couple things to add:
1. My diaper sprayer will peel paint off the walls. I have to adjust the water pressure or else shit goes everywhere.
2. I don’t use fancy “wet bags”. That’s what Target sacks are for. It’s also my only real recycling contribution to Mother Earth.
I also love BG 4.0′s. They are BY FAR the best. Lotus Bumz I’ve found are really similar and a bit cheaper. I got my Lotus from zulily a couple weeks ago.
1) hint * flush the toilet first and use the sprayer as it’s flushing…tones down the spray.
You’re so smart
Thanks for the tip!!
MODG,
I feel like you wrote this for me. Thank you for your smartness when it comes to cloth diapers, you are a life saver (I imagine the pineapple kind). I’m going to a used diaper sale this weekend and this helps soooo much. I owe you cupcakes and a bottle of vino, I am indebted to you for the weekend.
- Aub
Wow, I was just unexpectedly inspired. I recycle (mostly), had a drug-free birth, make all my baby food, will breastfeed until my son is 12 (he’s 9 months now), and love saving money, so I’m not really sure how cloth diapering passed me by. I guess it seemed intimidating? My husband might sh*t himself when I suggest it, and he’s not wearing cloth diapers. Actually, he’ll roll his eyes and ask if Pinterest told me to do it, but lets be honest, I’m doing the work here so the decision is mine.
I’m 1.5 glasses of wine in though, so hopefully I’ll be equally inspired tomorrow.
I will prioritize all CD questions. email me if you need me.
I use the same BumGenius diapers as you, but have had such a hard time with stink. Any suggestions? Do you use an entire scoop of Charlie’s soap?
Use 1/2 scoop of Charlie’s. 1 full scoop can lead to build up resulting in your need to strip the diapers more often. Works like a charm for me. Good luck!
We cloth diapered 2 of the 3 (by the time we discovered cloth our oldest was old enough to rebel). We LOVED bumgenius but you’re right – the only (or at least the main) reason we quit cloth diapering is because the velcro had gotten old and the diapers would literally fall right off our kids the second they stood up/started crawling. If we’d gone with snaps, we’d still be doing it.
We LOVED our diaper sprayer, but our kids tend not to have the “fall right out in the potty” poops. And dryer sheets/fabric softener is the cloth diaperer’s worst nightmare. After a few accidental trips through the dryer with some Bounce, all the stripping in the world doesn’t put the absorption back in the diaper (which is where having extra inserts comes in handy).
Thanks for this post! Cloth is so much more do-able than people think, and it makes for much happier little bottoms. OH! and have some disposable inserts or ‘sposie diapers on hand for days your need diaper cream, too – it destroys the heck out of your clothies.
Love that you are still cloth diapering! We used the NB AIO’s as a splurge when our daughter was first born. I really wish I had bought the one size as well for her to grow into. I use a pocket diaper as well so thanks for the hemp tip!
Rock on MODG!
modg, i’ve been cloth diapering my baby for the past two months and it’s going really well so far. question about what you said about washing: for the bleaching once a month and adding the dawn soap, do you do that after they’re already clean in a separate load, or can you do it while they’re being washed? how much bleach, and when do you know they need the dawn? thanks
you know when they need dawn when you’re getting leaks. That means they are “repelling”. Otherwise they should never leak
I use the bleach while they are being washed. Just about a few cap fulls. My fancy washer has a spot for bleach so it dispenses when needed.
Do you put the bleach in with the colored covers? Or only with the inserts?
With everything. If you dilute it in the water first or put it in the bleach dispenser it is safe with colors.
There is a great bleach alternative to keep all the toxic bleachy grossies of your babies bum. You won’t even need the Dawn, because the laundry det. & brighteners contain surfactants!!!
Melaleuca! So in love, so easy, green, non toxic!
les
Thanks Elise, that’s good to know. I didn’t realize you could ever use bleach with colors.
Thanks for writing this! I’ve heard their clothes don’t fit as well with cloth- do you have any problems with that?
This is true. G has always had to go up a size in pants and has always had to have stretchy waist bands. Gap is good for that
Not necessarily true. I bought 6 Simplex 2.0 diapers. They are literally almost as trim as a disposable diaper. We only use them when out and about so my daughter can still wear her skinny jeans. Before we bought these we had to go a size up in jeans, but now she wears the size she would wear in disposables.
We did cloth for our daughters from the time they were placed in our home at ages 2 yrs and 10 months. Our older daughter potty trained pretty soon after that but our baby wore them until she potty trained. We stopped because she only needed a night diaper and honestly it wasn’t worth the laundry but now with three in night diapers we might pick it back up again until they are night trained.
Cloth is teh awesome. Seriously. Everyone should try it. And don’t get overwhelmed by all the lingo – there are always some rockstar moms who are willing to translate as long as they are assholes.
I LOVE cloth diapering! I use Thirsties covers. Are you a super hippie like me and use cloth wipes?? If not DO IT NOW! So great and you end up saving lots of extra baby penguins!
I’m a lame o and don’t use cloth wipes. I know I totally should. I’m just nervous they won’t do as good of a job getting him clean.
I made my own cloth wipes with some microfibre dusters, cut up into quarters. I have a recipe for a solution to soak the wipes in- cleans my Stinkbomb’s bum really well and doesn’t cause a massive rash. Yell if you’re interested
they do a way, way better job getting poop up than sposie wipes!!!
OMG, ditto these guys. They work SO MUCH BETTER than disposable wipes. I always feel like poop is about two seconds from getting all over my hands with disposable wipes. Cloth is awesome. I store the wipes dry and have a little spray bottle with a booty spray in it (you can also just use water) and then spray her butt down, then wipes with a dry cloth. SO EASY.
They do a much better job cleaning than disposables! I love love love cloth wipes. If I had to give up one and money wasn’t an issue I would give up the diapers. Also way better to remove those glue boogers from noses.
I completely agree with the peeps above. Cloth wipes are so so so much easier and do get the job done much better. I have 3 small spray bottles…the push down with your finger kind, not the hand squeeze kind…I have one in the diaper bag, one on the changing table and one extra. Fill with water and a few drops of baby wash (I use CA Babies lavender & tea tree) and you are set. Spray the tush, wipe with the wipe, put the wipe in the diaper, diaper in the wet bag. Easy peasy. I get my cloth wipes from the etsy shop TurtlesRUs. Best deal…2 dozen for $12. Different colors, different prints. Awesome. And they do come in handy for other messes.
My daughter is 2 months old and we’ve been CDing since her cord fell off. My husband uses disposable wipes, but I’m hoping to convert him to all cloth before long. It’s so much easier to just throw them in the wash with the diapers. I got 8 million crappy baby washcloths for my showers (how many washcloths does a baby need??) so I kept the cute ones with nice edges for washing, and use the others for cloth wipes. Their perfect. I got little wipe solution wafers from the local hippie shop (yay hippies!) and make it up in a spray bottle. 1 washcloth cleans up her slimy gross breast milk poops. I even fold it over usually and use the dry half to dry her off before putting cream on her.
Also, you should totally use prefolds and covers before you’re next one fits into the BGs. The covers are viciously cute and prefolds save baby penguins AND are Asian (origami AND cloth diapering in ONE!!)
I tried cloth wipes for awhile, but washing them with my diapers led to repelling issues. I’d really like to try again. What do you use for solution?
I just use water on mine. They do a way better job than disposables, especially on poos.
So if my baby is approaching a year, it is still not to late to switch (to recoup the expense in terms of savings)? Also, doesn’t it create a ton more laundry, and how do you have time for all that?
totally not too late. Def worth it especially if you may have more kids.
Every 3rd day I do a diaper load. It’s not a big deal. I just throw them in and I have to set it once for cold, set it again for hot and throw them in the dryer. It takes like 0 time.
Do you always do a separate diaper load, or do you ever mix the inserts and covers in with other laundry?
We are a BG4 family too. Wish I had known about the liners earlier too! I have some tips to offer…when the baby has a nasty blueberry poop that stains the diaper, leave it out in the sun and the stain magically disappears in like 2 hours. To avoid leaks, I doubled up the newborn insert with the big baby insert. However, my mother blames the bulky cloth diaper for why our 13.5 week old has yet to walk. We’ve used disposables occasionally when the baby would have baboon ass from acidic food/urine, b/c even w/ the paper liners the diaper cream would leak through and no amount of Dawn or scrubbing seems to bring it out, which can decrease the absorbency. Lastly, we use flannel wipes and bum spray instead of wipes. Then the only waste is the paper liner. I don’t see how people live with themselves filling up the landfills.
You know, you could be right about the walking. G was a late walker.
And YES I forgot to mention about sun bleaching. That is a great tip.
My nephew was a great big huge ass cloth diaper wearing kid, and he walked at 10 mos. just sayin. all kids are different, yadda yadda yadda.
I worked at the NYU infant action lab, and we actually did a study on the effects of diapers on infant walking. Turns out that, basically, thicker diapers modify how babies walk- they force infants to take steps that are wider apart than they would be normally (aka when naked). Cloth diapers had more of an effect than disposable diapers, but naked babies still were the most efficient walkers.
Infants reach different motor milestones at different ranges in age, so I wouldn’t say that cloth diapers would have a huge effect on when/ how long it takes a baby to learn to walk, but it does make them more inefficient.
Whoa! We EC and so my barely-7-month-old DD is usually nakey-bottomed at home…and she’s already cruising (and can crawl like a pro). Who knew the nakey bottom was helping her become OMG-scary-why-are-you-making-my-life-hard-by-being-so-mobile-already advanced?
On another note, I loved this post. When DD is not nakey from the waist down, we use prefolds and PUL covers like Bummis Super Whisper Wraps (with velcro–yes, quickly-wears-out velcro…but all our covers were used and we like being able to pull off the covers with the quickness for fast pottying) for ease. Ijust got a Flip cover and I’m loving it, too.
Whoa! We EC and so my barely-7-month-old DD is usually nakey-bottomed at home…and she’s already cruising (and can crawl like a pro). Who knew the nakey bottom was helping her become OMG-scary-why-are-you-making-my-life-hard-by-being-so-mobile-already advanced?
On another note, I loved this post. When DD is not nakey from the waist down, we use prefolds and PUL covers like Bummis Super Whisper Wraps (with velcro–yes, quickly-wears-out velcro…but all our covers were used and we like being able to pull off the covers with the quickness for fast pottying) for ease. I just got a Flip cover and I’m loving it, too.
And, as usual, I now have a Baby Signing Time song stuck in my head.
I dont know about that. My daughter has been in cloth since birth and was full out walking by her 9 month birthday. I know 2 other cltoth babies who are early walkers. I just say that because CD’s DO TAKE a hit for “causing” delayed walkers and its just that all babies are different. Not due to cloth
Sun bleaching…another reason to switch with #3 (and the remainder of #2 if I really want to). We’ll be moving out of rainy Washington to sunny Florida right before he/she is born, so what better time!
I always laugh when people say the bulkier cloth diaper is going to cause gross motor delays and hip problems.
People do realize disposables have really only been mainstream for like 30 years right? Pretty sure everyone before that (including your mom who was most likely in cloth diapers) had no problems walking.
My son hit all his milestones on time. Fluffy butt and all!
my kid has been in cloth since he was two months old and he took his first steps at nine months. i don’t think there is a connection between cloth and late walkers
Cloth diapering freakazoids always say clothies are the best.
Here’s what I know. I have been a pro Nanny (that’s right, I am a stay at home mom on her own kid’s adderall… I mean ON SALARY, bitches!) and I will diaper my little monsters in Seventh Generation diapers from now until Kingdom come. I work with large families. I don’t have time for all of this nonsense.
And Also, it is not my Black Card that pays for the infinite amounts of eco friendly and organic bs that parents find cool these days. Don’t get me wrong, it is cool and I wish I could afford cool, but I’m just the busted @$$ hire that’s doing the menial work. Which I am contractually no longer allowed to blog about, and that is why I would like to praise JESUS for you and this blog.
I can’t wait to be a real mom and say the real shit that I want to about parenting and how f’ed up the PTA and the new school district lines are. Wait til your little Ivy League Ankle Biter tries to play sports or the trumpet in 5th grade band. OH, will you have writing material then. Yes you will.
I digress: cloth diapers are (sort of) amazing if you have like one kid and lots of time and like to carry luggage to and from Target, the park, and the local whorehouse. You’re the only person I know that can get me thisclose to consider converting though. Hats off to you for doing the shit-work most of us are too lazy to.
PS. I was ALSO a pro nanny so back down with your pro status. I nannied SIX kids at ONCE. bitchplease.
cloth takes no extra time.
I’ve done both.
I like everything about this exchange.
I like everything about that exchange, too. I hope our studmuffin of an author won’t mind if I quietly girl-crush on her. And I also hope my Mister won’t feel threatened by me crushing on yet another smart-mouthed blogger.
Without naming names… there’s a coupla DIY’ers that have out-cheesed themselves from my Must Read list. Not to mention a particular Mormon that sold her life for sponsors and then watched her marriage hit the fan. Did Nick and Jessica teach us nothing about the price of selling our relationships as entertainment? Christ.
Speaking of Him. I am tickled like my Mom upon discovery of a wine spritzer: When my bitchass was getting DOOCE’d for airing the filthy laundry of my employers, I could’ve used the affirmation of the appropriateness of my inappropriateness from someplace like this.
DING. It is now 4pm, let my drinking commence. Cheers to you, MODG. Pure deliciousness.
Woah, lady! What’s your deal? Why are you all hating on Heather? Her success in blogging (and having killer sponsors) has nothing to do with her marriage. Your comment was out of context and out of line (we’re talking about fucking diapers here!) – you need to caaaaaallm down.
So even though my baby is approaching 1 it is still not too late to do the switch? I hear the clothies help in Portugal training.
Also, does your life get sucked away with lots of extra laundry?
not too late.
not any extra laundry
promise
Hemp inserts, eh? We use the Bum Genius AIO and love, love, love them. But we use disposables at night. I hate it, but he leaks like crazy at night in the cloth diapers. I will have to give the inserts a try…
Also, I’m telling you, go learn about Elimination Communication. Do it. It is the next step in baby hippy pee & poo awesomeness. Do it.
I know about EC. I’m just not dying to do it.
Did you really scrape off the breastmilk poo? We threw that stuff right in the wash and it dissolved. I miss those days! Also: jealous of all moms whose babies do poos that can fall off of a diaper. My baby, let’s just say DOES NOT DO THAT.
when he had breastmilk poos we used the sprayer and the liners. I would not throw a full poo diaper in the wash. But I hear you can
I winced in fear the first time I opened up the washer after my washing cycles where I had thrown in FULL-of-breastmilk-poo diapers and expected to find something truly awful. I found spotless scentless clean diapers. Magical. I did spray bac-out on every one before I threw it in the pail, but ahh it was so easy.
I second that! I was SO afraid but NOTHING to be found in the wash but clean diapers!
Oh you totally can! Starting solids was very bittersweet for that reason
I freaking love liners now. My 23 month old doesn’t have consistently “rollable” poos.
Also, I love Velcro. I feel like you get a better fit. Different strokes!
Oh man you made it way harder on yourself than you needed too! Just throw that shit (literally) in the washer. It’s totally water soluble and washes right out. Save the sprayer and liners for solid-food poops!
Meant to say… which is why the diaper sprayer is worth its weight in gold over here. Plus we’re all fancy-like and have the potty pail.
I just started cloth diapering with my fourth at 11 months old. I’m hooked already! I started getting AI2′s, I got the Flips, to save money. Then I made the mistake of joining a few CDing groups, and I saw all the cute diapers that are out there. I bought 3. Don’t tell my husband. They are soft and fluffy and lovely. Plus I can always sell them after he potty trains, right? That’s what all the ladies tell me. Please tell me you have a few cute ones just for fun. Oh and yes, first I had to learn all the Leaky B@@b mom abbreviations and felt stupid, now I have to learn all the cloth diaper ones. It took me at least two weeks to figure out what the hell they were all talking about. I’m still learning. Thanks for this post
I actually have no cute ones. And believe it or not, I have no interest. I bought mine in bulk in ugly colors to save money. I figure huggies have winnie the freaking pooh on them and that is worse than anything I can imagine.
Thank you SO much for posting this! what size of hemp inserts do you use with the BG 4.0?
I think I have medium but you can use any size. The diaper is totally adjustable
We have the exact same ones and I love them. We do have about half that are Velcro. They don’t hold up as well as the snaps but are easier to put on. Honestly it’s sort of a toss up. I’m glad we have both. The sprayer was a huge pain, sprayed water everywhere and eventually leaked everywhere causing a huge mess. I say forget the sprayer and go with the liners only! I agree…cloth diapers are awesome and soooo cute.
reveal velcro to snap conversion secrets, please. also, did i put those cloth diapers in the basement or the attic?? hmmm…..
no secrets…I just sent my diapers to that lady that I linked above, she did it for me and sent them back. I probably would have paid double to have it done
So I am about to start my four week old on cloth. I have some bumgenius and some fuzzibunz. My question is how tight do you want the legs etc? The one time i put one on him the elastic left marks. Also do you bleach both the inserts and the covers? Do you put bleach in the cold water wash or the hot water wash? Thank you for your hippie goddess guidance exactly when I needed it!
You want them pretty tight. That’s where the leaks come from. It’s ok if they leave marks. It doesn’t hurt. I just always would give each side a tug up to be sure it was snug.
bleach the inserts AND the covers. Put it in the hot.
I love it! I cloth diaper my 11 month old an agree with everything! We mostly use pocket diapers too (an assortment of brands from the bargain bin at a local store plus a few I’ve made) and some pre-folds with covers. Super easy, even the pre-folds, which I thought I would hate. The one thing we don’t do is cloth diaper at night. Elliot pees sooooooo much at night and always has so we’ve always used disposables and even then we’ve gone through periods where I’ve had to change his diaper once or twice a night. Now that he’s not nursing at night anymore it’s not as bad so I’ve been thinking about trying cloth at night but I’m hesitant because he’s been so iffy on sleeping I hate to give him any new excuse to wake up. So anyway, my question is, how do you stuff the diapers for night time sleeping? Do you just use the hemp inserts? Just one or do you double them? Or do you add a hemp insert to the regular BumGenius insert? I have one insert that is hemp and I tried it once on him at night and he peed through it in a few hours. Any tips would be great. Thanks!!!
my son is also a heavy wetter and we used disposables at night when we first switched to cloth, too. i recently bought a hemp insert and now he sleeps equally well wearing his cloth with the insert or a disposable (since i only have one insert if i didn’t do diaper laundry that day he sleeps in a disposable still). you should def try it, i bet it would work for you
We put the hemp inserts underneath the microfiber in our BGs. Apparently the hemp is a slow absorber so it works better if the pee goes through the microfiber first. We tried a lot of stuff for overnight and this works the best for us… we still had some leaks now and then when he was waking up to nurse at night but now that he isn’t we never (KNOCKING FURIOUSLY ON WOOD) have leaks with the extra hemp insert.
We do the same thing as E. Hemp under the microfiber.
Ooooh. I didn’t know that about the hemp. I’ve got several hemp inserts, and not once have I thought they were more absorbent. I’ll try the cotton insert on top of the hemp now.
My daughter lives and breathes Signing Time, I kid you not. She is 3, has Down syndrome, and can rock the shit out of some signs. Complete lifesaver. Oh, and cloth diapering is cool.
I love love my bumgenuis. Except now my 7 mo old is peeing through them like every hour…what gives? I’ll try those hemp ones I guess…we were using a (gasp) disposable one for nighttime…go hemp!!
I bet they are repelling water. Google “stripping cloth diapers” it’s very easy and fixed that problem for us.
Thanks for this post!! I’m 27 wks preggo with baby #2 and know I want to CD but still have moments where I wonder if I’ve lost my mind. This makes it sound doable for sure.
Oh Modg, I am so glad to hear that you think cloth diapering is easy a year down the road. I was really reluctant at first but I 100% agree with you. We are saving money and I feel like I fit in with the hippies with my cloth diapers and Amber necklace. What wet bag do you use? I really need to get one for my diaper bag, I use disposable when we go out for convenience but we go through disposable like crazy and that shit gets expensive. Keep up the great hippie, magic mom posts. I think you are doing a great job with G!
We use the brand that I linked to above in 3 different sizes.
Dumb question – do you use the hemp insert with a MF insert or alone? We had been using BGs until a few months ago. We had such major leak issues at the legs that I abandoned cloth because I was just.so.tired of wet clothes multiple times a day.
But maybe hemp is the answer?
Have you stripped them recently? If they’re leaking they might be repelling and need stripping. Do the Dawn thing and see if it helps.
Yep, I agree with Lisa. Strip them (google it)
We use hemp with MF at night
k. so i have 14 month old twin girls and i’ve thought about cloth diapering, but i think it would be waaaaaaaaaay too much work. and i’m concerned that none of their clothes would fit if they have to wear a big, bulky cloth diaper. but i’m sick of spending $45/month on diapers that i’m just throwing away {i used to get 30% off a huge box from amazon but they’re jerks and i only get like 15% off now}. and that makes me mad. and doesn’t all that washing use SO much water? and i’ve read that fuzzibuns are better? no?
am i crazy? or should i just do it? thanks modg.
i heard fuzzibuns are equally as good as Bum Genius.
JUST DO IT. You’ll be so happy with yourself.
We have a newer washing machine that regulates water levels with what is in it.
I started cloth diapering my twins around 12 months and have never looked back. You will still save money starting now and using “SO” much water. You will have to do laundry more often than a singleton. Around your kids age I washed every 2-3 days. Mine are potty learning now so we don’t have nearly as many diapers to wash. I use Fuzzibuns among many others and I really like them. They never leak and fit my kids well. There are lots of good brands out there.
I heart you. I cloth diaper, too. I’ve done it for 4 months so far, and have never had to strip. I read warm water rinses out the grossness better than cold. I rinse on warm twice (because I’m OCD and I can’t see into my machine), wash on hot with the soap, and rinse twice more on warm (gets all the soap out and OCD again). Also, maybe more soap or less diapers will get them cleaner. I am the hugest fan of pockets. You can consider me part of your saintly mafia because I convert everyone I can. Preach the fluff, sista.
The cold first is for staining. The hot is for sanitizing. Be careful with more soap…it can ruin the diapers over time
Weird…that’s my name.
THANKS for taking the time to write this… I’ve been cloth diapering with my 5 month old since she was born and love it. I already do everything you mentioned in your post except diaper stripping and bleaching – but I would def like to. Do you add the drops of dawn to the charlie’s soap? And also, do you bleach the entire diaper or just the inserts? Thanks again
Do a totally separate stripping load with no charlie’s soap…just the dawn. You should google it for exact details.
bleach the cover and the insert
I agree- cloth diapers are much easier than people think! I cloth diapered my first who is now 5 and am doing the same for my 18 month old and plan on using cloth for our new little guy expected in June. My 18 month old has super sensitive skin and he never gets a rash with cloth diapers! We use BG also and Fuzzi Bunz, both with the snaps. I did go to disposables at night for awhile but then he would get a rash. So now we stuff 2 mf inserts and the I fold another one in half and stuff it also, but put it in the front where he needs more absorbancy. He never leaks at night anymore. To get the stink out, I soak all the diapers before I wash them for a few hours in cold water and mix in some baking soda. Then I do a hot water wash with a pre-wash and an extra rinse. It does add an extra load of laundry every other day but it is so worth it to have no diaper rash to deal with and of course to help the baby penguins!
I thought it would be a good idea to take a big gulp of coffee when I read this part… Now that he eats solids, the poops just fall into the toilet. I love a good solid poop.
It wasn’t. I almost threw it up.
No questions (Charlie is, truly, Alabama’s master soap maker). We rock Bumgenius Flips. (Imaginary fist bump,) You are awesome. This is an awesome post for me to show people when they act like I’m a moronic shoeless toothless backwater hick for cloth diapering. And what’s more awesome? You’re not being willfully confusing or in-crowd about it. Where is your book deal, mama?
Like all 52 people before me, I agree that this might be the best CD post ever written.
I too cloth diaper, also love the Bum Genius’ (and wish I hadn’t gone through 6 other types first).
And I too have a night-time pee machine and HATE those middle of the night diaper changes. I stuff the crap out of my BGs but sometimes still get leaks. Hemp inserts you say… what kind do you use?
Oh, and maybe it was already mentioned before, but I use vinegar to strip and it totally works- the whole bleach thing freaks me out too much
I use the kind I linked to above in the post.
Bleach isn’t for stripping, it’s for sanitizing. Once a month we do it with 2 extra rinses. We use dawn to strip
My second baby is due in April and I’ve been really, really considering doing cloth this time around. However, I’m not a SAHM, so I’d have to check with the daycare (it’s an in-home one, so I think she might be ok with it since there are only 4 kids there) to make sure she’d be willing to work with me on the cloth. My question is that since I can’t really ask that she spray off the diapers and all of that, if we wait until we get home to spray them and all of that, will they still get clean? Meaning, can you leave poop and all of that on a diaper for 7 hours or so and still have it come out easily?
Oh, and to any readers who cloth diaper while the kids are in daycare, do you have any suggestions? Should I get extra diapers to make sure that I have enough to send every day?
use the liners. Then she just has to peel it off and flush. Super easy and no sprayer needed.
My daughter is in daycare and we use BG4.0. I checked with the daycare before investing but they were willing to work with me. Now that she’s been there for 4 months, they LOVE them. They have even said that they like them better than the disposables. I just send them already stuffed with a wetbag for them to send home with me. With the breastmilk poos, they can stay like that until you wash them and they come out perfectly clean. (I never messed with the sprayer.) I am, however, trying to decide how to handle now that she’s on solids. I haven’t had any problems just cleaning off the poo when they get home, but am considering sending them with liners. TBD if they’ll be willing to deal with the poo for me. I have about 25 diapers and have never run out. I wash them every other night and hang dry the covers. Since I have extras, I am not having to scramble to stuff them in the morning. Hope that helps!!
There are websites where you can look up your state’s childcare licensing laws in case you want to be in the know before talking to your provider. That’s what I did in case they tried to say they weren’t legally allowed to do it even though they can. Fortunately, I didn’t have to get in that debate with mine.
I send 4 pocket dipes every day with flushable liners already in them in a clean wet bag + one empty wet bag for the soiled dipes.
She flushes any poo and sends the dirty diapers and the un-used diapers back home every night.
Works really well for us. She had never cloth diapered before but she says it’s super easy.
Make sure you make the diapers as easy as possible: an all-in-one or a pocket diaper and might consider velcro strictly for daycare. By the time the velcro wears out they may feel more comfortable and be okay with snaps. The poop can sit for 7+ hours and still come out. I love my sprayer
, but flushable liners would work too. I use Viva brand paper towels folded in half to line. They aren’t flushable, but they just throw the majority of the poop in the trash with the other disposable diapers.
Awesome. I’m due in May, and I have my cloth stash ready to go. We’re going to go cloth from the very beginning (extra hippie points?), but I am also very lazy so I’m glad to hear that you can be lazy & still love cloth!
I do not have any babies, but I am obsessed with breastfeeding ,cloth diapering and baby-led weaning posts. What is wrong with me?
P.S. I love the picture of G in his fancy pants!
Ok just spent $95 to get my hands on some of these with liners (hemp/regular), laundry soap, and 3 diapers. I am spending 100 bucks a month easily to diaper my child but he is a big boy (size 7 diapers only in Pampers) and we just bought a potty but it will be interesting to see if I can even use these on him. If they don’t work for him, I keep my sister’s baby (6 months) all day and I can start using them on her during the day and saving her some money on diapers and guinea pigging her for my next baby. I have been so intimidated by this idea but my mom was like oh heck that is all we used and I am SO OVER my son’s disposables leaking all over the blessed place. He doesn’t leak pee but from the friggin stuff that is supposed to stop the pee so he wakes up covered in these little particles from the absorbency pampers stuff….ANNOYING! Anywho, since you are learning as I have been for 19 months then I trust your judgement completely! What is your approach going to be on potty training? My peditrician says not to do it until he shows “interest”….we bought him a toilet so he can look at it and get used to it I guess lol
someone left me a comment on here about potty training and this super secret online goddess of potty training. You have to pay like 30 bucks and you get her secrets. I like secrets so I’ll prob do that. We’re going to start around 20 months
I really wish we were Cding, but my son’s daycare will only do disposables. I’ve thought about just using CDs at night and on the weekends, but the expense of CDing AND buying disposables is not an option. sigh. any advice?
I have a friend who told their daycare their son was allergic to disposables. BAM instant accommodation.
Smart.
Ha yeah we had to get a doctors note for “sensitive skin”
Anyone have any problems with Fuzzi Bunz and leaking? We have used cloth diapers since my daughter was around 2 months old but we recently had to stop because the leaking was becoming a problem. I’m so bummed because they came highly recommended by a mother of 3. Am I doing something wrong? I emailed the people at Fuzzi Bunz and got no response (I thought hippies were nice?). It’s time to buy the next size diapers but I’m considering changing brands. I love cloth diapering but I don’t love changing outfits 5 times a day . I’m also afraid our daycare will stop letting us use cloth because of leaks. And we’ve never been able to use cloth overnight because the leaks are out of control. MODG, it sounds like you haven’t had leaking issue with Bum Genius?
They shouldn’t leak. Have you tried stripping them?
If not, google it to learn about the different ways to do this.
Or maybe it’s the fit? If there is large gaping around the leg they might leak.
I didn’t like the fit of my FB but the never leaked.
Sounds like you need to strip them! A squirt of Dawn should do the trick!
Yes strip away. Little bit of Dawn and lots of hot water. Rinse until you don’t see bubbles. And just in case do it again.
You only need a small bit of detergent. I was completely surprised at just how much detergent I DID’T need to use…and that’s not just with cloth diapers. I seriously think that the detergent manufacturers put those lines on those dispensers to that you DO use too much, and hence, buy more, more often. I use much less detergent for all my clothes now. If there are bubbles, you are using enough. And if the bubbles are gone during the rinse you are golden
If you are going to buy the next size up you may want to try something different though. Every momma is different just like every baby is different.
I’m lazy and that’s part of WHY I cloth diaper. Can’t see the drug store from my window anymore and I don’t want to have to get dressed to go get diapers. On top of that, I’m also cheap, so I went for the old prefolds and Thirsties covers. I love it- and have been doing it since Charlie was 7 weeks – and she came to work with me from 7 weeks to 6 months and I cloth diapered on a desk for months so it’s doable even if you’re not a SAHM. I use Planet detergent and sunbleaching, but I think I will move to Charlie’s Soap (for obviously cute reasons only).
Thank you Thank you Thank you for this post. We are pregnant with our first and I’ve been saying that we are going cloth from day one. My hubby is 100% on board (probably because he knows I will be doing most of the work) but all of our friends (and parents) look at us like we’ve grown an extra head or sprouted horns when we say we are going to do cloth diapers. Oh wel, maybe one day they will get it….
I’m excited to try it out and happy to hear that it’s been so easy for you. Here goes nothing! Oh and P.S. thanks for the tip about Craigslist/Ebay. You can bet your bottom dollar (ha!) I’m buying from there.
1) thanks for my autographed headshot of G. i used a groupon to get it canvas wrapped. i’m going to hang it in my hallway.
2) i like the idea of cloth diapering, but i don’t get it. i need a flow chart i think. do they pee in the cloth and you just wash the pee out? how does the pee not leach (leech?) through the diaper and get on you life? is that where the inserts come in?
i am confusicus?!
blatant adoration: i adore your blog. i came into the game way late, like 6 months ago. i have since read from post #1 and you are an inspiration. i really like your honesty and funny and that you are a pretty family. i don’t think i would be a super fan if you guys were yucky looking. not nice, but true..
The pocket diapers have a lining of PUL that is “waterproof”, keeping any of the pee off of your clothes.
Yep, cloth, love it. Just want to add that I have found it very helpful to use a fleece or Minki (sp?) liner next to baby’s skin. This keeps baby’s skin dry and also lets poo roll off into the toilet, all but the very wettest (so that’s not going to work for newborn bf poo, but after that). My kids are prone to rash when their skin is damp, and these liners have made all the difference. It is very easy to make them: just cut rectangles or hourglass shapes, as you prefer, out of old fleece sleepers or blankets or fleece (I mean polyester fleece) or minki yardage from the fabric store. Wash with the diapers. Brill.
(Note with my more sensitive-skinned baby I use a large rectangle that covers the whole surface of the diaper. With my other one I used an hourglass shape that fit just in the poo/pee zone.)
I love cloth diapers. But I think the biggest problem for why people don’t do it is that it is confusing as hell. If you go online to research it, there are so many different types. And washing isn’t quite intuitive (bleach some of the time, dawn occasionally, yadda yadda) so thank you for writing this.
One other suggestion you might want to make is that you can “rent” diapers from some CD stores to see what type you like the best. I have friends that love prefolds and covers. I have other hippy friends that love all in ones. Personally I loved my GroVia 3 in ones. Bottom line is that there are SO many different types, if someone is really confused or trying to figure out what will work best for their kid, they can “rent” a sampler package for like $20-$40 (or something like that) to give it a try and figure out what they’re most comfortable with.
And if someone is super worried about washing, there are cloth diaper washing services. They come every other day, drop off a bag of clean diapers and take your dirty ones. If you don’t want to make the investment in diapers… some services also “rent” them to you if you use their washing service.
Also, you should point out that cloth diapered kiddos potty train, on average 6 mos to a year before their disposable diapered friends. We started CDing at 1 year, and our son was fully potty trained by 2.5 years. He has friends 9 months older that didn’t potty train fully until 3 and a half. So not only does it save you money on diapers… you won’t be diapering nearly as long.
The point of this comment is just to point out that cloth diapering is easier than people think. But if someone is still worried about taking the plunge, there are many options available.
Thanks again from all the hippie moms!!!!
Thank you! FTM here. Knew I wanted to CD, but when I got online to research it, I got SO confused and stressed! I’m glad I decided to do it anyway, even though people look at me like I’m crazy. It really is SO easy and for the most part, convenient!
We were all set to cloth diaper and then I found out I was having TWINS. I bet we’ve probably added more than our share to the landfill but seriously, I couldn’t (mentally) do it.
BUT…..if we have another baby (and just ONE) I’m going to use all of your advice.
Thanks, MODG!
xo
cortnie
You can still cloth diaper with twins. I PROMISE!!! Plus you will save way more money! At least keep it in mind when they get a little older and things get a little easier.
Good luck! Twins are awesome.
i have twins too and am starting cloth diapering. in the beginning, i couldn’t even wrap my brain around it, but now that they are just over a year, i’m taking the plunge. i can’t really describe why, but emptying out such heavy trashcans full of pampers disturbs me. and i’m not all hippy landfill crazy…it just seems so crazy to be throwing away that much heavy stuff. take the plunge with me!
I WISH we could cloth-diaper our 13-month-old, but we rent an apartment and thus have to pay for laundry, which would add up to a WHOLE LOT of quarters in the long run. Sigh.
~F
You could always use a diaper service
Faith, I live in apartments too but I have found it’s cheaper to CD and pay for laundry than pay for diapers!
I just pre-rinse in the bathroom and throw in the pail damp, than laundry day, wash once with soap than rinse and dry. Unless you want to use prefolds and flats than just the once wash cycle.
Word. Awesome post. The biggest secret about cloth diapers is how EASY they are! I tell my friends who are skeptical to buy a couple and try them and see. Every single one has eventually gone all the way. There’s just no reason not to.
OMG I’m surprised you have all bg dipes. Have you not heard of hyenacart & congos?
They are the hippiest thing ever! And it’s super fun to collect all of the different patterns (& super addicting, then you get FLUFF mail when you buy one)
<3 your blog! I just found it a few months ago but wish I found it earlier!
Cloth diapering intrigues me but I still have a few concerns.
1. We don’t have energy efficient washing machines….
2. I am a working mom, and to ask our caregivers to cloth diaper is a lot… especially since their not getting paid.
But if I were a stay at home mom I definitely think I would try it.
You’re actually better off without an HE machine. If you use pocket diapers like MODG, the only thing different your caregivers have to do is put the dirty ones in a bag instead of the trash. If you want to do it, ask them!
I don’t have kids, yet, but I love your blog and read along anyhow. I read this post last night before going to bed and then had a dream that my grandpa was using cloth diapers (for adults) and was making his case to the family as to why we should all consider them too, once we need adult diapers. He was even using the hemp inserts.
I tell everyone who says they work and don’t have time to cloth diaper that they should wash the diapers before bed, and either toss them in the dryer in the morning or after they wake up. Either way when they come home from work there will be clean diapers.
This method means you might need a larger stash but if you cut the washing in half (sort of) it feels like less work.
I work from home basically full time running a website (about cloth diapers….) and it isn’t exactly the same because I am home all day but I do tend to put the diapers in at night. Just feels like less work.
Great post and super timely for me since I was thinking about making the switch from disposable to cloth now that he’s 11 months. What’s your opinion on G Diapers (the brand, not G’s diapers
). Yay? Nay?
Awesome post – we’re big CD users over here and I have to give a serious shout-out to zorb 2. If you’re a pocket diaper lover (or you stuff your AIOs) this is the way to go: http://www.etsy.com/listing/60943518/3-zorbbamboo-fleece-inserts-fit-ml and I suggest a few of the exact same but as in the doubler form for night (she usually has them listed but if not you can request). I considered hemp but heard it can get smelly after a while. These guys still smell fresh and new after MANY washes and I plan to use them on multiple future children! Zorb 2 is the most absorbent material I’ve found. Period.
Also, to the commenter who asked about G Diapers – I wanted to love those (so cute! so trim) but the leaked for us and I think a lot of people experience the same problem.
PS Meant to add this in my last comment – I think you can get away with just a cold rinse and not a full cycle for staining purposes. Also, I have a small etsy artist-made diaper bag (that does NOT look like a diaper bag) that I adore and I can fit two BGs and a small wet bag in there in prob (plus snaps, clothes, etc). Sometimes I keep an extra CD in my trunk.
My daughter is 21 mos and we still cloth diaper and love it. We’ve used all kinds of different diapers which has decreased our savings… but BG/FLIP has been our fave. We used the AIOs, but if I had to do it over again I would choose the pockets.
I have to say though- at 21 mos, my daughter’s poop still rarely rolls off (she’s still nursing, and maybe that keeps her poops super soft? I don’t know.), so there is now way we would survive without the sprayer. When poop consistency is somewhere between peanut butter and clay, not even the liners catch it all or save the diaper from needing to be sprayed. I have said to other moms before that every once in a while when we do get a solid one that rolls off, it’s like a little gift from God.
We’ll see how long it takes, but, my daughter just peed on the potty for the first time yesterday- at 21 mos, so, early(ish) potty training might be in our future!
Oh, and seriously I have to say… using liners, or spraying when the baby is only breastfeeding? Just a waste. Breastmilk poop might stain your diapers yellow, but, it washes out totally and completely every time, even when it’s been sitting in a wet bag for a day or two. I never rinsed (or used a liner) for a single breast milk poop, and we never had issues with getting diapers clean. Save yourself the extra work of using a liner or spraying when it comes to those poops! Seriously.
Love this post! I love reading positive things about cloth diapers. I use Fuzzy Bunz and Bum Genius… uhh the version before 4.0. I too love solid poops like woah. When I don’t have a happy solid poop, and I don’t have a sprayer, I still rinse the diaper out quickly in the sink with Dawn. I love that Dawn takes poop and other assorted stains out.
High five!
All I have to say is…
THANK YOU!
I. Am. Jealous.
Not about the cloth diapering. (We do that, too.)
Not about the diaper sprayer. (Well, maybe a little.)
But about the poop. (Yeah, I really just said that.)
Past the exclusively breastfed stage here, and… oh, look. Our poops is not solid.
I think it has something to do with the fact that I was recently diagnosed as having non-celiac gluten intolerance, and the naturopathic doctor (whom I went to for a second opinion, because my MD was all, eh, your iron is a little low, eat more veggies, and completely ignored that I was like.. twenty pounds lighter than pre-preg aside from the major fatigue) was all, “Yeah, antibodies are passed through breast milk (which I knew), so if your body is creating antibodies against gluten, they are being passed to him.”
D’oh.
So, yeah. Then again, when I mentioned his loose stools to her at our follow up appointment, she said that with his system getting used to eating solids, she wouldn’t really be concerned about loose stools until after he’s two years old. Bah.
I am hoping, hoping, HOPING, that the longer the time I am off gluten, the fewer antibodies I will be creating/passing along, the more solid his poop will become. Hoping. Praying. Would love that.
So yeah..I’m jealous.
Although my jealousy is tempered by the fact that I feel distinctly less grossed-out by having to “swish” his diapers IN the toilet rather than having the poops just roll off, or having a diaper sprayer, since I recently read this – http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2012/02/treasures-of-darkness-part-2.html – and was just like… oh my goodness. I feel so small right now. I am blessed to be able to do this. It is a blessing for my son to have me do this. These kids… have nothing. I will gladly scrub my Wee Goon’s diapers and be THANKFUL to have them.
So yeah. Wavering between humble pie and jealousy right now.
*points* http://aiketgate.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/cloth-diapering-poop-and-humility/
This is an addendum to the comment I already left.
I love cloth! Switched over when baby boy was 6 months and it has already been a year. I’m not going to lie, I wish I had someone to do my laundry, but whenever I have to put a disposable on (usually for vacation where I don’t have access to laundry) I’m just thinking, these aren’t as cute! And on that, for anyone who reads this comment, you can cloth diaper part time, it doesn’t have to be one or the other, anything helps
My friend gave me her cloth diapers and I loved them. Until we had to put the kid in daycare and every single GD daycare REFUSED to use them. That’s what I get for living in redneck country. So the kid is in Seventh Generation during the day then we put them in my friends compost pile at home. Oh the looks we get from our neighbors are so baffling. They don’t understand. I also think some may be inbred, but I can’t be sure.
I have a question! Because I’m a huge planner, I’m already debating cloth diapering my yet-to-be-conceived first baby. Apart from being so much more earth and baby butt-friendly, I love the idea of night buying case after case of Huggies. My mom is a huge proponent and champion of cloth diapering, and after reading your post, I’m more or less convinced. However, I want to know whether or not you think you’re actually saving money? Obviously, you’re not buying as many diapers, and I understand the up-front costs will be higher, but what about the utilities costs associated with doing multiple heavy-duty laundry loads per day? Do you still think (cost of washer and dryer not included) that you end up saving money, overall?
Charlotte – I am also a huge planner, and this almost kept me from CD’ing. I did SO much research and got more and more concerned because some of the blogs I read make it sound so difficult, but I decided to just jump in with both feet, and we LOVE it. Even my husband tries to convince his friends to try it (and he is maybe the laziest person I know). Every couple of months, Cottonbabies.com has a “Buy 5, Get 1 Free” Sale, which is pretty much the best deal around for BG 4.0 (we only bought the ones with snaps). Our power and water bills have not increased noticeably at all since the baby got here, and that also includes keeping the house warmer for him. It’s basically an extra load of laundry every 2 or 3 days. We have 2 portable wet bags and 2 can liners for the diaper pail (so one is in use while the other is being washed). Wet bags were about $6/ea and can liners were about $15/each (on Amazon).
Our total up front cost was around $400-$500, so I think that within the first 8-10 months they will have paid for themselves.
Thanks for the reply, Mary! Glad to know I’m not the only crazy planning lady…is it weird that I have my stroller picked out…and baby carrier….and now the cloth diapers I’ll use. Ha!
That’s good news. We’ve been trying to conceive for a few months and when we first started, I thought I would definitely not CD, because it seems really intimidating, but I’ve really warmed up to the idea. This new info and the research I’ve done over the course of the past few months makes me pretty sure that I’m going to be going the cloth route.
PS. I definitely meant “the idea of NOT” in my first reply, I don’t know why I typed “night.”
We’ve been CDing since birth and have seen ZERO change (maybe MAYBE cents) in our water or electric bill. I am part of an online CD group with a couple hundred members and we did a poll once and literally not a single person saw a difference in their utilities.
I also CD and LOVE it (unless my girl needs to have a skinny butt for pictures or something…. so with you on that!). I have the BG AIO’s and I WISH I had bought all BG pockets… for reasons you shared. She’s in the medium AIO’s and Im thinking of selling my Larges she hasnt used and getting more pockets. She was too little for the small AIO’s when she was born (under 7 lbs)… so we did sposies then. Im expecting #2 now and not sure if I get super small CD’s or not…. did you use newborn sized ones?? Oh, and GroVia Liners were AMAZING. My girl took FOREVER to transition to solids enough to get through the peanut butter stage… nasty nasty. Stubborn baby led weaning baby.
1. While reading this post, I found myself humming Samwell’s “what what in the butt” song…awesome.
2. GroVia 4 Life! We use all-in-2′s for my guy, and they work great (except he’s a super pee machine, and have been linking a bit at night…so will try out some hemp inserts)
3. What is your fave wet bag? I have a few, but they annoy me sometimes.
4. I read somewhere that one can legally exempt the up front cost of CD’ing from their taxes if one can prove that it is medically necessary for your child. Um, diaper-rasheyitis? Yes.
5. When you do your first rinse on cold, just cold water and no detergent?
6. Can we get a post on the hell that is teething? We’re in the midst right now and I need some humor relief…Gracias!
I didnt read the comments so someone may have said it, but NOOO you dont need anytyhing for breast milk poop! ITS ALL organic and washes out in the wash. NEVER need to rinse poop from a baby who is EBF! Once solids come into play- yes. I didnt touch the sprayer or poop until solids. TRUST- it washes out in the wash. Also, Biokleen bac out in the First rinse cycle is awesome. bac out is also awesome when your dog (or cat in your case) is sick and does the nasty on your rugs. bac out just makes poop, pee and vomit go away becuase it loves to eat organnic stuff like poop, pee and vom.
I completely agree with you about regular diaper bags just not cutting it for cloth diapers! I have been given 3, and bought 2, and am so fed up that I feel like strapping the diaps to my thighs would be simpler lol. What bag do you use/would recommend? Thanks
So I’m totally ignorant about cloth diapers, but I really, really want to start using them. The thing that has been holding me back is this – do you put the dirty diaper, poop and all, in a bucket and then rinse them all with the sprayer every two to three days before you do laundry? Or, do you change baby, rinse right away, then put it in a bucket to wait for laundry? Seems like it’d be a pain to rinse with each diaper change. Also, what kind of diaper pail/bucket do you keep them in before laundry day that keeps the house from smelling like crap?
Great and funny post — so true, and I wish someone had told me about the velcro before I bought 2 dozen BGs with it!! A friend and I just started a funny blog, hopefully we can talk about poop as much as you do.
I am using cloth diapers on my kiddo. And he has had a diaper rash off and on now for a couple of months (yes, months, it is awful). I recently discovered that yeast can live in the cloth diapers and pass them to the baby, who passes it to the diapers, etc. So my diapers are getting crazy washed, he is using disposables (boo!) until he is healed up, and we are using coconut oil on his tooshy to kill the yeast. Any other ideas about this? Is there ANYTHING else I can be doing?
Great post, we have been CD-ing our 9 month old since she was about 3 weeks old. We have some bamboo fitteds that we inherited from friends, and use Thirsties covers with them. I’ll admit sometimes I just want to watch Law & Order and not do diaper laundry, but it is somewhat meditative to fold diapers while watching TV…Sometimes we get lazy & have to use sposies, but for the most part we are dedicated. Our daycare provider just sticks them in a bag for me to take home and wash, and we don’t have a special wet bag, I agree w a previousposter, that’s what Target bags are for.
this is awesome. HOWEVER, i’m currently in poop purgatory. we’re using cloth diapers and they’re awesome — but my son just started solids so his poops are all mushy and g.r.o.s.s.
how did you deal with poop at that stage? and you’re not allowed to say you just sprayed it off with the sprayer, because we don’t have one.
Diaper sprayers? My parents have one in every single bathroom. They have no babies. My friends always thought we washed our vegetables over the toilet. I don’t know why they kept eating at our place if they thought that.
I have a 4 mo old now and before he was born, I REALLY wanted to CD, so I started my stash. We BF for about a month and struggled and struggled…. and much to my disappointment, he is now 100% FF (but healthy and happy so…..). FF babies poop is NOT water-soluble! And then I had to go back to work; and state regulations do not allow daycares to use cloth diapers. So double-fail. I bought 6 of the BG organic one-size AIOs, and while he is tiny, there is ALOT of liner material scrunched up in there, I’m afraid if I even use them on the weekends, he will be just too hot. We are all hot-natured and live in a hot climate- go Us! So I may be looking at selling mine- just wanted to share my experience.
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