Cloth Diapering Info

Your Cloth Diapering Handbook From Everything Birth

Your decision to cloth diaper is one of the most socially, environmentally, and physically beneficial decisions you could have made. At Everything Birth, we are very proud of your decision! We’re here to help ensure that you don’t get overwhelmed by your choice so that you can stick with it and enjoy all the benefits with none of the stress! Cloth diapering care givers repeatedly proclaim their delight with their decision, and we are confident you will to! There are four primary systems of diapering:

1. Traditional Cloth Diapers
2. Pocket Diapers
3. All-in-One Diapers
4. Hybrids 

This cloth diapering section will explain the different systems of cloth diapering that are offered and link you to specific brands to make your life easier.  We also included explanations of diapering accessories, advice and laundering instructions at the end! You may want to book mark this page!

Diapering Systems:

Traditional Cloth Diapering

Traditional cloth diapering involves using a washable cloth diaper combined with a diaper cover. Even though this is the traditional method of diapering, this two part system has taken on many evolutions in modern days. This system is a bit more work than the others, but the great thing is its cost.  You do not need to use a new cover for each diaper change. You would replace only the actual diapers at each change. It requires a little advanced thought and a little more commitment to cleaning, but they are exceptionally economical. There are a variety of diapers and diaper covers to choose from now. We’ve broken this classic diapering system down for ease of comprehension.

Part One: The Diapers

What’s the difference between Pre-fold Diapers, Contour Diapers and Fitted Diapers?

Pre-folds Diapers:   Pre-folds are the classic diaper that our parents’ generation remembers.   You can use these with or without pins. This is your most economical choice. They are a large rectangle of absorbent fabric that you fold in a variety of ways for effectiveness. Products include: Oso Cozy Newborn Prefolds, Unbleached Premium Indian Large Prefolds, Basic Cloth Prefolds Package Thirsties Duo Hemp

Contour Diapers:     Contour diapers work just like pre-fold diapers, but they are shaped to naturally follow the curves of the diaper area so that no folding is needed. Because of this, contour diapers are less bulky that pre-folds. Contour diapers also double as a comfortable postpartum pad! Products include: Kissaluvs Unbleached Contour Diapers, Kissaluvs Colored Contour Diapers

Fitted Diapers:   Fitted diapers are the most modern twist on this classic diapering system. The legs are gusseted to keep more of the mess in the diaper. This is especially helpful to keep runny breast milk poop contained! The waist has convenient snaps or Velcro tabs for ease of use. Products include: Kissaluvs Unbleached Fitted Diapers, Kissaluvs Colored Fitted Diapers

Part Two: The Diaper Covers

There are a variety of diaper covers to choose from. You can mix and match covers so that you have an assortment to suit each of your needs, or you can pick one style and stick with it.

Wool Covers: Wool diaper covers pull up over the diaper and they are also called soakers, shorts, and longies in the diapering world. Wool diaper covers are great at temperature regulation. Whether it’s hot or cold, wool keeps the baby’s diaper area at a safe temperature. Wool is naturally antibacterial. Wool maintains its shape astoundingly well over time. Wool is resilient and is very easy to care for.  Learn more about wool diaper covers on the Kissaluv’s Wool Diaper Covers product page.

Wrap Style Covers: Wrap style covers are a very convenient way to keep your pre-fold diapers, contour diapers and fitted diapers in place. These are available in standard white, colors and even prints. They secure in place with snaps or Velcro. Products include: Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, Bummis Super Brites, Bumpkins Diaper Cover Packages, Marvels One Size Covers, Thirsties, Econobum One Size Covers

Pocket Diapers

The Pocket Diapers are a remarkable invention. They cost a bit more than the Traditional System since you change the entire diaper at each change, but still save you thousands of dollars over disposables. If you go with this system, you can still consider yourself financially responsible. Many parents who opt for this system, choose to purchase one diaper a week so that the initial cost isn’t so impacting. With this system of diapering, you enjoy several benefits and choices. Washing is made very simple. These diapers are so trim that they easily fit under normal baby clothes. The pocket system is a two part system consisting of an insert and a shell.

• The Insert: The insert is specially designed with material that is exceptionally absorbent. It is place inside the pocket that is created by the two parts of the outer shell. Usually made of micro-terry, these inserts can absorb a whole night full of wetness and still remain remarkable trim. While you can use virtually any fabric as an insert, the inserts designed to work in pocket diapers work the best!
• The Shell: The shell consists of an outside layer of PUL (polyurethane laminate) which allows air to circulate, but holds wetness in. This eliminates the need for diaper covers all together. The inner lining of the shell is the fabric that is up against the baby’s skin. This can be made from a variety of material but serves to wick wetness away from the skin and into the insert.
• The Benefits: Because of the inner lining serving as a wetness wick, diaper rash is virtually eliminated. Most pocket diaper users report never having to use diaper creams or powders at all. The additional benefit of the inner lining of the shell is that poop has a hard time sticking to it. Consequently, there is no need for dunking diapers or soaking diapers in pails over night. The Pocket Diapering system has completely revolutionized diapering.

 

Note: You can also get inserts in hemp which provides extra protection from yeast and bacteria. Hemp is exceptionally absorbent, but will require extra washes in the beginning to soften up.  Pocket Diaper Systems at Everything Birth include: Fuzzi Bunz One Size, Thirsties Solids, Thirsties Prints, , bumGenius One Size Hook and Loop Organic, bumGenius One Size Hook and Loop, bumGenius One Size Snaps, Happy Heinys,  Happy Heiny’s One Size

All-in-One Diapers

All-in-one (AIO) diapers are especially useful for people who will be using daycare or for those with partners resistant to cloth diapering. These are as much like disposable diapers as they come. They do not separate into separate pieces, but are sewn together. They are designed for thorough cleaning with either a side air panel or as flaps. These diapers are so trim that they easily fit under normal baby clothes. It doesn’t get much easier than AIO diapers. Like the Pocket Diapers, you will not need an additional cover with the All-in-One Diapers. The only downside is that with some AIO versions, you can’t easily control the absorbency like you can with the other diapering systems by adding more inserts or doublers. Like the Pocket Diapers, they cost a bit more than the Traditional System, but still save you thousands of dollars over disposables. If you go with an All-in One system, you can still consider yourself financially responsible. Many parents who opt for the AIO system, choose to purchase one diaper a week so that the initial cost isn’t daunting. Products include: bumGenius Organic AIO One Size, bumGenius AIO, Bamboo Baby AIO One Size Package, Bumpkins AIO

Hybrid Diapers

Introducing the most modern of the modern cloth diapers: The Hybrids. The versatile Hybrid diapers are perfect for people who aren’t sure that they want the normal commitment of cloth diapers all the time. Hybrids have a washable shell to which you can attach an earth friendly, bio-degradable, chemical free disposable insert or a cloth insert depending on the situation. For example, if you’re on vacation, out on the town, or visiting a cloth unfriendly relative, you can use the attachable disposable inserts. If you’re at home, on a short outing, or tight on cash that month, you use the attachable cloth inserts. With Hybrids, you are getting the best of both worlds. You do not need to change the shell at each diaper change, only when it’s soiled. Most changes simply involve you changing the insert. This remarkable diapering system ushers in a new era of responsible parenting in that no one has an excuse not to be environmentally friendly and health conscious in their diapering any longer! Products include: Flip Hybrid System, GroVia

Accessories:

When cloth diapering, there are often accessories that are used. Here are the accessories carried by Everything Birth along with explanations and links to easily find them on our site.

Snappies

Snappies are used to hold your diaper together, in lieu of pins, when using the Traditional Diapering systems. Snappies are a wonderful invention. You can learn more about them on the Snappie product pages. They are available in a couple of sizes: Toddler Snappies, Infant Snappies

Diaper Liners

Diaper liners are not necessary, but many of our customers highly enjoy the convenience of using liners in their diapers. These are little disposable sheets that are flushable that you lay inside of the diaper closest to the baby’s tush. Diaper liners make cleaning easier, because you just removed the liner and the mess on top of it and toss it in the toilet. Then, you wash your diaper like normal. Grandma’s especially like using diaper liners if they are going to be washing diapers at their house because then there’s no mess at all. When using cloth at daycares or on the go, diaper liners can be a really handy tool to make laundering at home easier. When using the Traditional Diapering system, you can also purchase washable fleece liners that help keep your baby’s bottom as dry as it would be in a pocket diaper. Products include: Flushable Liners, Fleece Washable Liners

Wet Bags

No diapering system is complete without a couple of wet bags. Wet bags are bags made from a waterproof material that keeps the mess contained. There are a wide variety of sizes (and pretty designs) to choose from to suit your needs. You will want to get a travel sized wet bag to keep in your diaper bag for outings or daycare. There are also large wet bags to keep in the baby’s room or wherever you do your diaper changes. Wet bags are great because you just toss them into your laundry with your diapers! We suggest you purchase two smaller wet bags and two larger ones so that one is always available. Products include: Bummis Totes, Planet Wise Wet Bags, Planet Wise Diaper Pail Liners, Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bags, Planet Wise Hanging Wet Bags, Gro Via Wet Bags, Planet Wise Mini Wet Bags, Bumpkins Quickee Diaper Bag, Bumpkins Mini Bag

Doublers

Diaper Doublers are used to add absorbency for heavy wetting babies to any of your diapering systems. Many caregivers just use extra inserts and call them doublers, which works just fine. There are also specially designed doublers that are cut in such a way that they keep the diaper more trim allowing you to choose the level of absorbency that you need! Most cloth diapering caregivers like to have a variety of different doublers to choose from depending on the time of day. Products include: Kissaluvs Boosters, Kissaluvs Super Soakers, Gro Via Organic Cotton Booster, Gro Via Stay Dry Booster

Wipes

While virtually any old rag can be uses as a wipe, most cloth diapering moms prefer to have separate designated wipes. This satisfies the visiting relatives that are worried about if the hand towel they are drying their hands off with moonlights as a diaper wipe! Diaper wipes are so cute though, that they also make diaper changes fun, especially when at the park. Other moms will rant about how adorable your diaper wipe is compared to their toss away kind. Some cloth diapering caregivers still use disposable wipes, but at Everything Birth, we urge you to just go all the way with cloth and use washable wipes as well for a few reasons. Cloth wipes are much gentler on your baby’s skin. Cloth wipes are much more cost effective. You can wash them with your diapers, so they are not any extra work.  In your diaper bag, just carry a bottle of Diaper Lotion Potion or Booty Luster to cleanse the area during a wipe.  If you forget to stock up on that, you can also use a peri-bottle with just water. You will see on other sites that to add tea tree oil to a peri-bottle, but here’s why we suggest you don’t.

Bum Care Creams

One perk of cloth diapering is that it virtually eliminates diaper rash. In the rare event that a diaper rash does occur, it’s nice to have some good cream on hand that is safe to use with cloth diapers and healthy for the baby’s skin. We recommend: Baby Bum Butter, Weleda Diaper Care. It’s also handy to have the Hyland’s Kid’s Kit in your medicine cabinet for all of your baby’s ailments including skin irritations!

Laundering:

Laundering diapers is really not a big deal like the disposable diaper side would have you believe.  It’s much easier than heading out in the middle of the night to get more disposables, and your grocery cart will be far smaller during your weekly trips. One of the biggest challenges that disposable diaperers present is the idea that we waste water. On the contrary, water gets filtered, either by a septic field or a water treatment plant. There’s no getting rid of the incomprehensible amount of non-biodegradable waste that disposable diapering leaves for future generations to deal with. At everything Birth, we have provided you with all of the information and tools you will need to make laundering your diapers a snap (or Snappie, or Velcro, or pin, depending on your preference.)

Laundering Choices:

Choose your system:

1. Dry Pail Method: The dry pail system will work with any of the cloth diapers you choose, though a wet pail system is often used with the Traditional Diapering System. You will need a wet bag (explained above) or a dry pail. A dry pail can even be a plain plastic waste basket with a lid. The smell will barely carry since you’re not soaking the diapers in water. If it does carry at all, you can just toss a citrus disc into the pail.

2. Wet Pail Method: The only time you would need a wet pail would be if you have chosen the Traditional Diapering System, even then, many caregivers still opt to use the simpler dry pail method. When using this system, you will be adding water to a bucket to let the diapers soak while the await washing. This is the old school way of washing diapers. If you choose this method, you will also need a wet bag on the side to place the covers in. You will not want to soak any covers. Covers only need to be changed when they are soiled on or just get too wet and smelly.  You can change the diaper and reuse the cover throughout your day. When rinsing covers, be sure to close any Velcro tabs so they don’t catch on things in the wash.  Covers can be washed by hand or in with your diapers.  

Laundering Tips:

The most important tip we can offer you is to make certain that your hot water heater is set high enough. The medium setting will ensure that you don’t have to worry about your child getting accidentally scalded by water, but that the water also gets hot enough to get the diapers as clean as possible.

• Please do not add tea tree to your wash. One of our bloggers explains why here.
• Use 1/3 cup vinegar in your rinse cycle to help restore normal pH and soften your diapers.
• Use a few drops of essential oil of Rosemary in the rinse cycle to freshen your diapers.
• Newborn diapers from breastfed babies can go straight into the bucket.  You will want to shake more solid poop off into the toilet.  If some remains, it should just come off during the wash.
• People almost always use too much detergent. Then, they add more detergent to try to clean them more. Too much detergent builds up and can cause smells. This is just trapped odors, not necessarily bacteria. The key is to always use a very small amount. If using a store bought detergent, for regular washers ¼ of the amount it tells you to use is usually good. If using a detergent made just for cloth diapers, follow the instructions on the box.
• Do not use bleach. This will destroy your investment and will ruin the waterproofing layer of all of your covers. If you have stains, line dry in the sun. The sun kills bacteria and will act as a natural bleaching agent.
• Do not dry your covers in the dryer with heat. Heat will destroy the laminate that keeps the diapers water proof. Most cloth diaperers use a line, either in their laundry room or outside and hang their covers on that. They dry quickly, usually within an hour or so.
• Hang dry your all-in-one diapers and all of your diaper covers (or dry in the dryer with no heat.)
• Never, ever, ever use fabric softener. It creates a barrier on your diapers that will repel wetness and cause leaks. It’s also awful for your baby’s skin. If you want to freshen up the smell, get a nice essential oil like rosemary or lavender and put a drop or two on one of the wipes while drying.

Detergents:

Detergents with dyes and other additives can irritate your baby’s bottom. Many people feel the answer to this is to buy a detergent like Dreft or one of the Free and Clears. Those detergents will actually cause quite a bit of build up and should be avoided at all cost.  Each manufacturer has its suggested detergents, it would be best to check with the individual manufacturer if using store bought detergent. However, we carry detergents that we have successfully used. Products include: Rockin’ Green Soft Rock, Rockin’ Green Classic Rock, Rockin’ Green Hard Rock, bumGenius Cloth Diaper Detergent, Thirsties Super Wash, Gro Via Tiny Bubbles

Mini Shower:

The Mini Shower is a life saver. Well, maybe not a life saver, but definitely a time saver and stomach saver for those with queasy tummies. It comes with very simple instructions to attach this to your toilet. Then, you just rinse the diaper waste right into the toilet for a perfectly easy laundering experience every time! This Mini Shower also doubles as a wonderful tool to cleanse the peri-area after birth and to clean little bums that are potty training. Pick this up before the baby comes to clean yourself if you’re suffering from hemorrhoids. Learn more about the Mini Shower by visiting the Mini Shower product page.