Learning the art of environmentally friendly diapering
Love the idea of cloth diapers, you save costs, the environment and its natural. Reluctantly, for my husband, learning the art of cloth diapering doesn’t come enthusiastically, but he is up for the challenge!
Because I have the most loving sister in the world I was delighted to be given a ton of amazing Kawaii Baby Diapers. They feel substantial and soft, come in great colours and have awesome personalities to match our kiddos. Needless to say I was extremely excited to begin to learn how to cloth!
To begin with I pre inserted all liners into the cloth diapers and allocated a drawer for them. This will make using and changing the diapers much more convenient and less fumbling involved as well. Being prepared, I find, is key to doing anything successfully. Because you cannot use regular wipes and need an all natural alternative, to clean your little one, I opted for the tried and true olive oil.
While in our Pre Natal class the Doula recommended using only olive oil, as they do in France, as the best way to clean your baby’s bottom so we had this on hand anyway. We find using olive oil a safe and all natural way that is soft and leaves TJ’s skin in great condition. Also note to date we have yet to have one diaper rash – Hooray! We do also use Pampers Sensitive wipes as well daily and when we are out.
So because we are a bit squeamish, by “we” I mean my husband, I ordered additional liners to help with the poop. Rather than “flushing” or “Rinsing” straight from the cloth diaper itself, I figured these would work much better for us. The ones shown are AppleCheeks Flusable Liners purchased from Well.ca – Although I would have preferred they came in a dispensing container and were a bit more durable/thicker I am happy with my purchase.
Not only will you need to have your soiled diaper bag holder (washing bag) on hand you will also need a “bin” to place the soiled liners into until you can make it to the washroom to flush them. Please do not ever leave your little one unattended on the change table to flush these while changing their diapers!!!!!
As you can see the diapers are adjustable and perfectly snug fitting to babe! Happily I report there were no leaks and though the flushable liners were bunched up a little; otherwise, worked perfectly to “grab and flush” leaving us with only the wet and lightly soiled diapers to wash.
Once the flushable liner is set aside, to flush later, remove the cloth liner, placing on top of the cloth diaper, fold and place in washing bag. Word to the wise wash your diapers every other day and beware not to be tempted to sniff the inside of the bags – it is not pleasing, but if kept closed no odours escape. Just dump out diapers, liners, toss in bag and wash.
The washer I have has a baby cloths option, I use this, and place the temperature on hot. Also use non scented baby laundry soap. I dry these on delicate, using no dryer sheet; however, you will want to hang dry outside for best results – not only do you save money and energy, the sun will also naturally bleach the pads!
So far we are doing well with the cloth diapering and loving it. Not at all as bad as we thought and feeling pretty good about helping out the environment and our little one:) Totally recommend the cloth diapers as well they are fantastic!
22 Comments
Tammy
This is a great idea for a new mommy. We just had cloth diapers back in the day. Love the idea of the liner though. And they are so cute!!
xavierblog2014
Tammy I couldn’t do without the liners and patterns! lol Nothing beats a cloth diaper bum 🙂 Thanks
coolchillmom
I am getting silver pins for my next baby shower and a bunch of cloth diapers. This is just so good for baby and the environment!
xavierblog2014
You are not going to regret it thats for sure! Congratulations on your little miracle xo
R U S S
My Mom is super old school and prefers cloth diapers over the commercial ones. I’d always hear her talk about it to cousins who are new parents. Aside from being more cost efficient, she says it’s best for babies, especially their skin.
This is the first time ( I think, or I probably didn’t notice ) that I’ve seen colored cloth diapers. I’m used to seeing them all white, but the ones you shared here in this post are cute.
I find your washer pretty cool too. I like that it has a baby clothes / cloths feature.
xavierblog2014
Russ, I started too with the help of my sister and her knowledge with it. Helps when you have the support and know how of people with experience! The designs are superb and my wash is a life savour! We also, at the suggestions of a friend, used a bin to soak them in and dry until we had enough for a full load – plus our washer has a disinfectant cycle too! Thanks
Michele
Cloth diapers are nothing new–back when that is all Mom’s had to use. What is new is the liners for them. What a blessing those are!! I love that diapers now come in all kinds of prints and designs instead of just white!
xavierblog2014
Michele, I am totally on side with that! Wouldn’t be my thing, I don’t think, without those liners;) Thanks for sharing!
Jeanine
I cloth diapered for a few years. I loved it for a short time but when my water bill showed up at $400 for a few months in a row, I gave that up quickly. I was diapering two at the time and I had over 100 diapers. I also worked for a pretty big cloth diapering company but when I left the whole experience turned me off. They are great for so many though!
xavierblog2014
Thanks for sharing Jeanine, we would hand wash a ton, leave them dry until we have a large load, to substantiate a disinfectant wash in our machine! We find the costs are a bit higher but try to do whenever we could especially to help the environment:)
Terri Ramsey Beavers
When my son was born, he had a terrible rash from disposable diapers and his doctor talked me into using cloth diapers. That was the end of the rashes and it was the best advice anyone could have given me. I was a stay at home mom at the time so I had plenty of time for didie washes.
xavierblog2014
Terri, thanks for visiting:) I completely agree on the benefits of cloth when it comes to preventing rashes as well! Also I feel consistent use allows for early and easier potty training!
Nikki
This is great idea for the new mommy. and i think i will need this on my 7 months old baby. very natural eco-friendly and saves money ! thank you for this idea
xavierblog2014
Nikki I think it will help with potty training as well!
Elizabeth O.
When my kids were babies, I used cloth diapers. The only time they wore disposable diapers were when we were out or when they had tummy troubles.
xavierblog2014
Elizabeth we are the exact same!
Rosey
My son and his wife said they’d cloth diaper. we all laughed, but they sure did. And they loved it too!
xavierblog2014
Rosey, my family did too (my husband is not one for diapers) but with the liners it made it a breeze! He still prefers the disposable though I prefer the cloth while at home 🙂
Lori Felix
Cloth diapers are so stylish these days. I can’t believe all the great colors and patterns they come in. I would definitely have to use the liners.
xavierblog2014
Lori, thanks so much, you are right they are! The liners certainly make a difference.
Jennifer
I have always thought it was great to use cloth diapers. I will have to tell my friend about these diapers because she has been talking about using cloth.
xavierblog2014
Thanks Jennifer let me know how she likes them!