Cloth Diapers 101

When I was pregnant with my first, both my mother and my sister-in-law posed the question of cloth diapering to me.  I had no interest.  Negative interest, even.  In fact, it kind of frustrated me they even asked because then I had to feel all guilty and say no, when really, who cloth diapered anymore except hippies and fundamentalists?!  Folding flats, huge pins, swishing poopy rags in the toilet?  Yeah, no thank you. 

Then my son was born and I started frequenting online message boards for mothers and was introduced to the whole modern world of cloth diapering.  I wish I could say that it was the environmental reasons that piqued my interest, or even the financial benefits.  But truth be told, it was the aesthetics.  Cloth diapers are cute.  I mean think about it, when baby products, with the exception of disposable diapers/wipes, are advertised are the babies ever in paper diapers?  They are always in cloth or have a diaper cover.  I’m vain, and the cuteness of cloth, with it’s infinite fabric and texture possibilities were the sole reason I started down the clothy path.  Though, I’m happy to report, it was the many other benefits that sold me completely on the idea.

It took me 1.5 years to finally jump in and try cloth diapering.  We still keep disposables around and use them, but cloth is what we use 90% of the time.  My last two babies were clothed since birth.  And I have to say, there is nothing on this earth as sweet as a newborn in a tiny, soft cloth diaper!   But first starting out, cloth is overwhelming.  No longer all flats, pins and rubber pants (we use NONE of those in this house), there are dozens and dozens of choices. 

First, you can divide cloth diapers into two categories: those that require a waterproof cover of some sort, and those that do not.  Let’s go over the first type first.

DIAPERS THAT REQUIRE COVERS:

FLATS:  what most people think of when they think cloth diapers.  Large rectangles of flannel or birdseye material.  Special folds depending on gender and preference.  You can either use the traditional diaper pins, or there are also these little wonders called Snappis.  Snappis don’t work well with tight-weaved fabric, like flannel, but on birdseye or other loser weaves, they’re perfect. 

 

PREFOLDS:  a step up in innovation from FLATS, PREFOLD diapers are multiple layers of absorbent material, with a more layers down the center for what we call a “soaker”.  PREFOLDS, like FLATS, are generally folded up and around the child then pinned or you can use Snappis.  We own quite a few PREFOLDS, as they are cheap and easy and work awesome as spit rags, too. 

**You can find both FLATS and PREFOLDS at various big box retailers, but I’d avoid those.  The Gerber brand PREFOLDS, in spite of their claim of being diaper service quality (DSQ) are good for little else than burp cloths.  For not that much more money, you can purchase quality PREFOLDS through a diaper service, a brick and motor diaper store (if you’re lucky enough to have one in your area), or online.  My favorite place for PREFOLDS is http://www.clothdiaper.com/.  They are good quality, cheap and the customer service rocks.  If you want slightly higher quality, and more specifically sizes, http://www.greenmountaindiaper.com/ is a wonderful source I’ve also purchased through and been very happy with.**

 

FITTEDS: FITTEDS are where you really start to see modern innovation in cloth diapering.  FITTEDS are shaped like your traditional disposable, and go on and off just as easily through the use of fasteners attached onto the actual diaper permanently: snaps or Velcro.  FITTEDS come in pretty much any and every print you can find, generally made of high quality organic cottons, bamboo, and/or hemp.  Many FITTEDS have an additional soaker that either lays in the diaper or snaps in place.  There are more sources for FITTED diapers than I could even begin to list.  So instead, tomorrow I’ll help you make your own :)  FITTEDS are my favorite diapers.  They are the most absorbent, cutest, and just really satisfying to make yourself. 

Also within the category of “requires cover” are CONTOURS, basically hourglass shaped PREFOLDS, PREFITTEDS: a hybrid of a PREFOLD and FITTED, with a more disposable shape but still requiring pins or a Snappi. 

COVERS:  though rubber pants are still out there, they are a bit antiquated in today’s cloth diaper stash.  Most cloth users I know use PUL, wool, or fleece.
         

PUL: polyurethane coated fabric, it’s lightweight, breathable, waterproof and comes in any print you want, more or less.  PUL covers are usually “wrap” style, shaped like disposable diapers with Velcro or snaps on the tabs to fasten in place. 

**My favorite brand of PUL covers are Bummis, either the Super Whisper Wraps or the SuperBrites.  I’ve heard Thirsties are similar, but we’ve been so happy with our Bummis that I’ve never felt a need to look into any others. **

WOOL:  oh, how I love the wool!  Wool is, of course, a natural fiber.  Naturally antibacterial, absorbent up to 20% of it’s weight, and when rinsed in lanolin it is water resistant, wool is pretty much the perfect diaper cover.  But it’s pricey, many have allergies, and it does require special cleaning.  But the cute factor! I mean really!

When looking into wool you’ll often see “interlock”.  Interlock wool is a non-knit wool, kind of jersey in feel.  It can be puchased in bolts and sewn.  It is generally cheaper to purchase interlock wool covers (also called woolies) than knit wool, since knit wool takes hours of hand labor and interlock can be sewn on a machine.  We use both, I prefer knit because I think it’s cuter.  And that is how my priorities are ranked; on terms of “cute”.  There are also other wool covers: wraps and soakers.

FLEECE:  Some types of fleece are water resistant, and can be used for covers in cloth diapering.  Fleece is thicker than PUL, but breaths like wool and can be machine washed/dried.  I don’t really use fleece at all for my diapering, but many love it as it is also very inexpensive and easy to sew with, so you can make your own for very little money.

DIAPERS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE COVERS:

AIO/ALL IN ONE:  AIOs are, more or less, a combination of a fitted and cover all sewn in one.  They are what many refer to as “daddy friendly”, as they are the most like disposables.  They fasten with either snaps or Velcro, can be machine washed.  Just easy. 

**I don’t love AIOs because they can take a very long time to dry, even in the dryer.  All that absorbent material all sewn together, they just soak up a ton of liquid and take a long time to let it go.  And I, personally, run into a lot of leaking, or what we call WICKING in the cloth diapering world.  I’ve had some that work fairly well, but even the best have wicked frequently.  Others swear by them, though.**

AI2/ALL IN TWO: AI2 take the convenience of the AIO, but separate things into removable parts.  So you usually have a shell, that has an absorbent liner and waterproof outer, and then a soaker or two that fasten into the diaper.  This makes things easier when washing, and especially when drying.  Think of AI2s as a matching fitted and cover set.

POCKETS: Pocket diapers are similar to AI2s in that there is a shell with an absorbent liner and waterproof outer.  But between the liner and the outer is an open area, with a pocket to access.  Into that area absorbent material is placed, called “soakers” or “stuffers”.   These are also very “daddy friendly” diapers, especially if you stuff them right after washing, before putting away, so they’re all ready to go when you need them.

**other than FITTEDS, POCKETS are my favorites.  I love how customizable they are, stuffing as much or as little absorbent material as you need into the pocket.  BumGenius are my favorites because with the one-size snaps, I can get a good fit on my super skinny babies.  I love these for running errands and busy days.  They are easy, when pre-stuffed, to throw in the diaper bag and go.**

CLEAN UP
 Changing cloth is really easy.  If it’s wet, just throw it in a pail or wetbag (we’re going to go over wetbags on Wednsday. Real fast, they are bags usually made of PUL for storing your dirty cloth).  If it’s, uh, soiled you can either dump it right in the toilet, or we have a diaper sprayer and just spray the mess into the toilet, then throw the cloth in the wetbag. 

We also use cloth wipes.  Later this week Beth at Project:Project is going to share more on those, including a wipe solution recipe.  But we use the wipes, and throw those in with the diapers. 

It’s hard to believe unless you’ve used cloth, but cloth diaper pails smell FAR less than disposable ones.  With my first using disposables, we actually threw out our diaper pail after about a year.  It REEKED! But using cloth, we’ve had the same diaper pail (and it is the same brand as the one we’d thrown out with the disposables) for four years.  I’m sure it has to do with the chemicals used in disposable diapers, but I all I know is that my pail doesn’t stink.  Does yours? :)

I wash diapers once every four to five days, but we have a pretty much huge stash of diapers.  Our current rotation includes 2 dozen fitteds, 5 PUL covers, 6-7 woolies, 9 pockets and  a couple AI2s.

WASHING
Cloth Diapers do require special washing.  Don’t just throw them in with your regular laundry.  They need VERY little detergent, and too much (the regular amount you’d use for your clothing) will compromise their absorbency and lead to ammonia buildup, stink, leaks and rashes.  I have been using regular old Dawn dish detergent, original blue, for a few years now and have no plans of ever using anything else on my diapers.  I used some various natural detergents, even those marketed directly for cloth diapering and we had some pretty serious rashes.  Others swear by them, but Dawn is my tried and true soap for diapers.  Avoid bleach and/or OxyClean in washing diapers.  It will wear out the cloth faster and can also affect absorbency. 

NEVER use dryer sheets/laundry softener with diapers.  Those products work by creating a film on the clothing.  Film on cloth means they won’t absorb.  I also never dry my PUL, but always hang it to dry.  It gives it a longer life and with us going on our third kid using some of our diapers, we want as long a life out of them as we can get!

Wool requires special hand washing, unless otherwise noted.   But because of it’s antibacterial properties, you only need to wash it every few uses.  Every couple of washes, do a rinse with pure lanolin (the best is the stuff sold for nursing moms: Lansinoh.  Use a pea-sized amount dissolved in hot water.  Pour that into luke-warm water and just soak the woolies in it.  Ring out and air dry.  Never wash your wool in hot water, as it can felt and shrink.  Also don’t ever throw it in the dryer.  Unless you want doll clothes.

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Oh, man! there is so much.  Where do I stop?  What else do I go over?  I think we’ll call this good for tonight.  I hope it’s helped someone out there.   Beth at Project:Project is also talking about cloth diapers today.

This is about as basic a list as I felt I could do, and still provide an overview for those not familiar with modern cloth. The fact is, there are entire blogs, message boards, and websites dedicated to the subject of cloth diapering.  There is no way for me to go over, even the very basics, of this subject in a single post that anyone would have any desire or patience to read.  If you are interested in more details on your options as far as types of diapers, or whatever, at all, comment, email or otherwise let me know and I’ll get you more information.  I am considering adding a page to my blog that is all about cloth diapering, so maybe this will be the start of that?  Who knows.

Tomorrow I have an in-depth post on sewing your own fitteds using a free pattern available online.    If you want to learn how to embellish prefolds, you can check out my post here.  Feel free to ask whatever you want.  As you can probably tell, I can talk cloth all day.