Imagine... less confusion!

Are you OVERWHELMED and confused?

Uncross your eyes, take a deep breath and grab a cup of tea! Here is a quick and EASY guide of all you need to know about cloth diapers in a CliffsNotes format INCLUDING some of the most affordably priced cloth diapers and accessories available to purchase below. 

Why Cloth Diapers?

1. Save $$$ (lots of money actually - $1000's per baby)
2. Save the environment (reduce, reuse, recycle...enough said!)
3. Be healthy (no chemicals, no lead, no worries)
4. Be hip and cool (okay so cloth diapers won't make you cool but they are turning into the new trend!)
5. Be cute (I dare anyone to try cloth diapers and be able to fight the urge to take a picture of that cute little cloth diapered tush!)

Evolution of Cloth Diapers - deciphering the different types

• Flat Diaper: A big 'ol single layer of cloth that you fold and use as a diaper. A diaper cover is required if you don't want a wet lap.
• Prefold Diaper: Someone took that big 'ol piece of cloth and folded it into layers and sewed it hence the name "prefold". Though it has the name "prefold" you will still have to do some minimal folding (don't worry it is EASY!). A diaper cover is required to make waterproof.
• Fitted Diaper: Basically added elastic, snaps or hook & loop, and sewing the fabric into a diaper shape. Yup still needs a diaper cover to make waterproof.
• Diaper Cover: You guessed it, what you will need to make all of the above cloth diapers waterproof. Diaper covers do not have any absorbency but go over the top of what absorbs making the cloth diaper not leak.
• All-In-One Diaper: Take the fitted diaper and diaper cover and sew them together into an "all-in-one" diaper. They are just like a disposable except you wash them instead of throwing them away.
• Pocket Diaper: Take a diaper cover and sew stay dry fleece to the inside (yes if you put water on this fleece it will run through and the fleece will remain feeling dry - AMAZING!) with a "pocket"opening to put an insert (the absorbency part of the diaper) into the pocket so only the fleece is touching baby. That is confusing...think of a pillowcase as the pocket diaper and the pillow as the insert.
• All-In-Two Diaper: A diaper cover with snaps on the inside for an insert to snap into. You can reuse the cover and snap in clean inserts.

Washing - yuck!

Actually not! Actually really quite easy. Your washing machine does all the work - now is the time to thank your wonderful washing machine for saving you tons of money! After doing this routine several times it will become second nature!

1. Dump solids into toilet and put used diaper into dry diaper pail (if baby is solely breastfed skip this step or use a biodegradable liner and either flush or discard).
2. After 2-3 days dump soiled diapers into washing machine (this is the most work you will do when washing your diapers and it lasts only about 10 seconds!)
3. Cold water light wash cycle with no detergent (rinsing all the "stuff" down the drain where it belongs and leaving diapers ready to wash).
4. Hot water wash (highest water level, longer cycle) with 3/4 the amount of detergent you would normally use (the Imagine brand likes Tide Original).
5. Extra rinse cycle at any temp.
6. Tumble or line dry
7. DONE! Now was that so bad?!

*No bleach, softeners, homemade detergents or diaper creams without a barrier as these will "coat" your cloth diapers and make them not absorb.

What is the Imagine brand?

Imagine a brand that has been created for YOU! We do not want to simply tell you Imagine is the best, easiest, most affordable, highest quality, etc. We DO believe this but too many just use these words and don't tell you why or how they are different. Imagine is different. We have simplified the options, created diapers that work, and have done it at an insanely affordable price.

How is the price SO LOW?

Imagine is a brand made especially for Nicki's Diapers allowing us to pass the savings directly to you.

No matter who you are, we have thought about YOU!

1. Imagine a family that is BUSY. We get it, you want to use cloth diapers but you don't have the time or energy to research the hundreds of brands and go through the trial and error period. There is so much to learn about raising a child and your brain is on overload.Imagine is for you! They are cloth diapers created by an expert that has done all the research PLUS trial & error for you and created a brand with all the best qualities. We simply and concisely explain what cloth diapers are, how to use them, and how to choose the best system for your family.
2. Imagine a family that needs to SAVE MONEY. Let's face it, times are tough and raising a baby can be expensive. Imagine is for you! Not only can you save a ton of money using any type of cloth diaper over disposable diapers but Imagine saves even MORE money. Imagine is cloth diapers and baby products created at an affordable price without sacrificing the quality and fit. Each product has been carefully designed and re-designed to make it the very best while keeping the cost economical.
3. Imagine a family that wants the very BEST FOR YOUR BABY. We have all read the parenting books and have received an endless amount of parenting advice so we are not here to give more. Imagine is for you! The highest quality materials have been used to make our products great. We have several diapering options so you can choose the best for your family.
4. Imagine a family that wants to MAKE A CHANGE (no pun intended). It is no secret our environment needs our help. Imagine is for you! Using cloth diapers can help reduce your environmental impact. Yes, using cloth diapers uses more water because you are washing them however water is a RENEWABLE resource that is properly filtered into specially designed treatment plants. Using cloth diapers WILL reduce what you put in the landfills, which are not renewable. It is unknown how long disposable diapers will take to decompose in a landfill and anyone who has had a baby knows dirty disposable diapers can take up A LOT of space. Simply put, our world is running out of landfill space and we need to do something about it NOW for our children.
5. Imagine a family that wants OPTIONS. We understand every family is different.Imagine is for you! This is why Imagine is a brand and not a product. The Imagine brand was developed to give you an option on what type of cloth diaper works best for your family. Our goal is to offer your family options while taking away the overwhelming feeling too many options can cause. This is one of the number one reasons families who research cloth diapers do not end up cloth diapering their babies. We recognize it is a delicate balance between needing options and having too many options that confuse you.
6. Imagine a family that LOVES STYLE. Babies are cute. We want to dress out babies in cute things. Imagine is for you! Cloth diapers are cute!! We use bold, fun colors that are sure to make heads turn. You don't have to sacrifice color and style for affordability and function.

If you love the idea of the Imagine Products and want to try them for yourself, enter to win 3 Imagine One-Size Pocket Diapers in your choice of color and closure!

You can do each one of the entries however you must post back here to our blog and tell us WHAT you did. Be sure you follow the Nicki’s Diapers blog - publicly for your chance to win!  We will post our winner on Wednesday, November 16th!

How do you enter to win? (Each worth 1 entry per day unless otherwise stated)

REQUIRED ENTRIES:

• Follow the Nicki’s Diaper blog publicly.
• "Like" Nicki's Diapers on Facebook- Be sure to state your facebook name when you post back here.

OPTIONAL ENTRIES:

• Blog about our giveaway and link back to our site.  When you post back here you must link to the URL where you blogged.  (2 entries)
• Follow Nicki’s Diapers @nickisdiapers on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway.  Leave the URL where you Tweeted.
• Tweet @nickisdiapers #clothdiapers (1 entry for each unique tweet)
• Tweet @planetwise #clothdiapers #wetbags (1 entry for each unique tweet)
• Like Best Bottom Diapers, Planet Wise and My Swim Baby on Facebook - Be sure to state your facebook name when you post back here. (1 entry for each)
• Suggest the following facebook pages to your friends:  Nicki’s Diapers , Best Bottom Diapers , Planet Wise.  You must post back here telling us which friend accepted your page suggestion.  (1 entry per page for each person you suggest that LIKES us)
• Grab our button and place them on your blog.  Post a link to the blog here. (2 entries per blog - per button)
• Start or comment on a discussion on the Nicki's Diapers facebook page discussion board. 
• Blog about your choice to cloth diaper and include a link to www.nickisdiapers.com (2 entries)
• Tag @nicki's diapers or @best bottom diapers, or @planetwise in a facebook post (1 entry for each tag)
• Have a friend subscribe to our blog. Post their username in your comment. You can do this as many times as you can get friends to subscribe! 
• Talk about Nicki's Diapers on any forum and include a link to www.nickisdiapers.com.
• Sign up for the Nicki's Diapers newsletter (enter your email address on the top right of our homepage).
• Start a thread about this giveaway on any baby or cloth diapering related forum and include a link to your thread.  (2 entries)
• Place an order at nickisdiapers.com, myswimbaby.com or clothdiaperclearance.com between 1/1/11 and 11/15/11. Include your order number in your entry.
• Tell us why you chose to cloth diaper your little one!

GOOD LUCK!!