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Hands down the most popular modern cloth diapers on the market right now are one-size diapers. There are many benefits to using one-size diapers!
- They are incredibly economical since they grow with your baby
- They are a great option for families who have more than 1 child in cloth diapers since children can "share" diapers
- They allow you to change settings on the diaper to accommodate change in baby's body shape as well as extra bulk for overnight diapers
There can also be a few cons to one-size diapers, especially when it comes to using them on a newborn.
- Most one-size diapers don't start fitting till 8-10 pounds (depending on baby's shape) so you will have to use a "newborn" diaper in the mean time, or some families choose to use disposable diapers till their little one fits into their one-size diapers.
- Since the diapers have to last through toddler hood, there will be some extra bulk on a smaller baby.
The good news is, I believe the pros certainly outweigh the cons! Since cloth diapers have such an awesome resale value (try your local craigslist or a cloth diaper resale website like undermycrib.com), you can start with a newborn stash for the first couple months and easily get a good amount back from re-selling!
When you are first trying one-size diapers on your little one, keep a few things in mind.
- They're going to look HUGE! But remember your baby is going to grow SO fast and they don't move around much as a newborn anyhow.
- Check the common spots for leaks do to poor fit. Lift their legs up and make sure you don't see any gaps. Make sure wings are tucked in and there is no gapping around the front.
- Try a few different brands. Something that fits your baby at 3 weeks might fit completely different at 3 months. I generally do not suggest people build their entire stash out of the same brand if they haven't tried other brands yet.
- Use a sized insert! Many one-size diapers come with 2 inserts, one of them usually termed a "newborn" or "small" insert. Take advantage of these as they will reduce bulk. Another great option is a system like the Best Bottom Diaper with the sized inserts that keep the diaper fitting nice and trim!
I've chosen some of the most popular brands of one-size diapers to show you on Emmett.
The BumGenius 4.0 One-Size Pocket Diaper is stuffed with 2 newborn inserts. It adjusts with a snap up rise and the stretchy tabs allow for a really custom fit around the waist. These started fitting Emmett (who has very skinny chicken legs) right around 10 pounds. These are also available in a hook & loop closure.
The Fuzzi Bunz One-Size Pocket Diaper is stuffed with the "small" insert. It adjusts with elastic in the back and legs to get a great fit! I did find these to have a little more bulk to them when the legs are cinched very tight but they fit closer to 9 pounds.
This Best Bottom One-Size Diaper has a small hemp/organic cotton insert snapped in it. These adjust with a snap up rise and close with either snaps or hook & loop around the waist. The extra leg gussets hold even the messiest of messes. These started fitting Emmett at about 9 pounds.
This Blueberry Coverall has a small Imagine Smart Fit Prefold under it. These generously sized covers fit suprisingly well on a small baby. The extra leg gussets also contain messes well! And just a sidenote, this particular cover was originally purchased for my now 4 year old when he was 1 1/2! This is the third child to wear it! :)
Something I learned very early on with my first child is that no matter how small the baby, they are fully capable of putting out obscene amounts of urine. I'm all too familiar with double stuffing pocket diapers, adding extra inserts to prefolds and searching for the perfect solution for overnight.
It was no surprise to me when our 3rd some came along that he was also a heavy wetter! Even though we were changing him at least twice per night, I still had to construct a properly absorbent diaper to last more than a couple hours without leaking! My search for the perfect night diaper came to an end on night, thanks to a mis-communication between me and a small error by my husband! Instead of putting one of the assigned "night diapers" on Emmett before bed, my husband had a slip of the mind (sleep deprivation?) and put a simple prefold with one of our hand-me-down wool soakers over it. I also forgot to mention to him that I was going to try to avoid changing Emmett's diaper at night because the cool air on his bottom was keeping him awake. Normally, I'd say this was the perfect storm for a full clothing and sheets change in the middle of the night. I was FLOORED when I woke up the next morning and changed his diaper to find that combination. So then I got thinking, if a prefold could hold, can you imagine what a good fitted could do?!
Enter, the Babykicks One-Side Hemp Fitted! This diaper is soft, stretchy and can hold a river! It's a pocket fitted that includes a Joey Bunz Hemp insert but can be stuffed with more if you need it! I love the color coded snaps because it makes diaper changes a breeze, knowing which snap I'm snapping without searching. The side snaps make for a nice trim fit, even on my youngest son, and allow for my potty training 2 1/2 year old to pull it up and down on his own. This one-size diapers adjusts with a snap-up rise that fits birth to approximately 40 pounds. Is your baby between snap sizes? Find out how to use a Snappi for a custom fit with the Babykicks One-Size Fitted Diaper here! The gentle elastic in the back and legs hold in messes without leaving red marks and the natural fibers against my boys' SUPER sensitive skin allows for breathability. There is a very informative video explaining all the feature of the Babykicks One-Size Fitted here.
Emmett is 2 months old and just over 12 pounds. I use this diaper for him overnight paired with Little Beetle Wool Soaker Shorts. I found the diaper to be absorbent enough with the single hemp insert it comes with, but for larger children I might suggest adding an additional Joey Bunz Hemp Insert. Emmett wears this diaper on the smallest rise setting and on the second smallest waist setting. Lots of room to grow!
Why wool you might ask? Wool covers or soakers are really nice for daily wear, but even BETTER for overnight! Wool is a natural fiber, so it's breathable and allows air to your little one's bottom at night, often preventing irritation. It's naturally antimicrobial and won't retain odor. Unless it gets soiled, it only needs to be washed every couple weeks. The best thing about wool for overnight it is absorbs 40% off it's weight in liquid without feeling damp, so it's great for super soakers!
Sean is 2 1/2 years old and about 30 pounds. He wears the diapers on the 2nd largest rise setting and since he is potty training, I snap is on the largest waist setting so he can easily pull it up and down. The natural fibers allow Sean to feel if he wets in it, which encourages him to use the potty!
I'm so in love with this diaper that I want you to try it, too! Now though February 7th, get 10% off all Babykicks Products! Also, look for a giveaway for your chance to WIN a Babykicks One-Size Fitted Diaper!
One of the greatest benefits of using cloth diapers is the amount of money that it can save you. That amount is multiplied when you use them for multiple children! If you're like me, you may find that you have more than 1 child in cloth diapers at a time! Now that Emmett has joined our family, I'm finding myself with 2 in diapers for the second time. My middle son is 2 1/2 and although he's partially potty trained (when he chooses to be!), I'm still doing cloth diaper laundry for two!
Here are a few tricks I've picked up along the way:
- One-size diapers are the most convenient, particularly diapers that have a snap up/down rise to make changing the diaper size between children a snap (haha)! It's also convenient when you're on the go, bring any 2 diapers with you and you're covered for both kids!
- Don't go too long between washing! When you're filling your pail up with diapers for two kids, you may not realize just how many diapers are in there. You don't want your loads to get so big that your washer isn't able to get them clean enough. I would suggest not washing more than 18-24 diapers at a time. If you're using a system like Best Bottom Diapers, you can push that a bit more since they take up less space in your machine.
- Relax! Go into each day knowing you're going to be changing a lot of diapers and ENJOY it! Savor those couple one-on-one minutes with that child! Make goofy faces and sing silly songs. Embrace the fact that every cloth diaper you are changing that day is going to be reused over and over again.
Before you know it, you'll have one in diapers, then none! If you're like me, you'll have to get a new hobby :)
When we got our last shipment in of Imagine Prefold and Flat Diapers and I helped count dozens upon dozens of them, I had a lot of time to think :) Think about how I had tried just about every cloth diaper type out there and why I liked each one for different reasons. As I stacked up the pile of Imagine Flats, I realized that was one type of diaper I had never tried. Flats certainly aren't a "modern" cloth diaper, but we still sell quite a lot of them at Nicki's Diapers and I like to be able to share my experiences with diapers when customers ask! So that solved it, I was bringing home a dozen Imagine Organic Flats that night!
You should have seen the look on my husband's face. "These are... diapers?", he asked. I showed him several ways to put them on our 2 year old, and he still didn't understand what makes these better than prefolds (by the way, he is a prefold guru). Here are some of the reasons that I gave him for why people might chose flats:
- They are one-size. Meaning, we could use those same flats that we were trying on my 2 year old with the baby I was pregnant with at the time. Extremely economical, especially when paired with a one-size diaper cover!
- They are very easy to clean. When flats are completely open, they are just a single layer of birdseye. When washing this allows lots of water and detergent to get the diapers VERY clean!
- They are versatile. There are a variety of folds you can do to suit you and your baby's needs. They can also be used as doublers and to stuff pocket diapers.
- They are useful after cloth diapering! After your little ones are out of diapers, use your flats to wash your car, as a dusting cloth or general cleaning rag, or to get your mirrors and glass surfaces clean without lint!
Now that our little guy has arrived, I've tried flats on him multiple times. They are so much easier than I had anticipated! Can you imagine how much money you'd save (especially over the course of multiple children) if you used flats and covers exclusively?!
There are quite a few ways to fold flats, probably even more than prefolds. I've found 2 folds that I prefer on my 6 week old. The first is called a pad fold. Basically you just fold it several times till I lays nicely in your cover. Below is a picture of a pad fold in a Thirsties Duo Wrap size 1. The pad fold is nice because it's quick and puts lots of absorbency where you need it.
The other fold that I found to work great on Emmett is the Origami Fold. I would love to provide you with detailed pictures on this fold, but I find it more helpful to look at a video. If you search Origami Flat Folds on Youtube, you'll get lots of great results :) Since Emmett is a heavy wetter, I trifold an XS Imagine Smart Fit Prefold and lay it in the wetzone. I also fold in the wings since he's still pretty tiny around the waist.
  
In the picture below, I held the flat on with a Snappi before putting the Thirsties Duo Wrap Size 1 over it, but I've also found it nice to just wrap the wings around him and put the cover over the top. I like the Origami fold because it's a little bit more trim between the legs, and it also prevents the newborn poop from getting on the inside of the cover.
 
Are you wondering just how economical using flats and one-size covers exclusively could be?
That's just over $100! Can you IMAGINE saving that much money?! And you can use those diapers for future children, too!
And just because my little guy's bottom half has been getting so much publicity... here's his sweet face. Can you believe how much he's chunked up?! WUB!
When I first started cloth diapering 4 years ago, I was far too intimidated to use prefolds. I mean a diaper that has the word "fold" in it has to be complicated, right? Wrong! When my oldest son hit about 6 months, I felt like I was in the cloth diapering groove and decided to take on the challenge. I purchased a dozen prefolds and a handful of covers. Two kids later and I'm still hooked! I've found that the only thing easier than using prefolds on a baby is using prefolds on a newborn! Here is why:
- Newborns go through a LOT of diapers. You'd think since I'm on my 3rd child, I'd remember just how many. I'm still floored as to how often I'm standing at the changing table every day changing a diaper that I feel like I just put on him! Prefolds are incredibly inexpensive, so with all those diaper changes, you're getting a lot more bang for your buck!
- Prefolds are easy to clean! In my experience, prefolds and flats are two diapers that you will rarely have stink issues with. The natural fibers don't hold onto odor like some synthetic fibers do, they sun out stains very easily, and my favorite part.. no folding or stuffing when they're dry! Just stack them up!
- Putting a prefold on a newborn is easy peasy. No newborn I've ever met can pull out the alligator roll and try to jump off the changing table like many toddlers do. So if you're still getting the hang of your favorite fold and getting that Snappi on, don't worry! Your newborn isn't going anywhere!
- We all have things we look for in a cloth diaper, but when it comes down to it the most important thing is that it contains the poop and pee, and a prefold does this wonderfully! Newborn poop can be runny and explosive, so I love to use a Snappi to contain the mess in the prefold itself. If you prefer to trifold, a snug fitting cover will contain the mess, too. No more poop up the back, out the leg, or anywhere else it manages to get :)
And now onto the part that initially intimidated me... the folding! Google "prefold folds" and you'll find a never ending list of videos and how-tos on a dozen different folds. If you can, try a bunch out and see which suits you and your baby best! I have two folds that I find to be the easiest and I use on a regular basis: - Trifold: This is exactly what it sounds like... folding your prefold into thirds! Quick and easy! Then lay your prefold into your cover of choice and wrap onto your baby! This adds a ton of absorbency front to back and even your husband, grandparent or babysitter can do it! There are two small cons to this technique. It can be somewhat bulky to have so many layers, especially in the back of the diaper. Also, the newborn poop can sometimes get on the INSIDE of your diaper cover, meaning you may have to have more covers on hand.
- Angel Wing Fold: This is the fold I use with prefolds 95% of the time. It's quick, easy, absorbent and very trim in the back. While I use this fold on my 2 1/2 year old, it's my favorite on a newborn because it contains all the poop in the prefold and I'm able to get many uses out of my covers. Below are step-by-step pictures on how to do an angel wing fold on your baby.
I've found my absolute favorite prefolds are the Imagine Smart Fit! They are cut more square to reduce bulk. Emmett was 7 pounds 12 ounces when he was born. We started with the Imagine Smart Fit Extra Small and they fit beautifully! They were hands down, our trimmest option. My kids like to give me a challenge, though. All 3 of them have been heavy wetters! The Imagine Smart Fit Small were considerably bulkier on him right away, but gave lots of absorbency. Here he is just when we came home from the hospital at a little over 7 pounds, first in an XS size (orange stitching), then a Small size (green stitching):
  Now he is just over 10 pounds at 4 weeks old. We're still using both the Imagine Smart Fit XS and Small. I've found the XS size trifolded makes a great doubler in our small pocket diapers, too! I've also been adding one trifolded into the diaper cover when using the XS with the angel wing fold for some extra absorbency. Again, the XS on the left, Small on the right (both with a Best Bottom Diaper Cover).
Hopefully this may help some of you who were nervous about using prefolds and covers! They really are not difficult at all and there is something so simple and natural about a basic cotton prefold on a baby. Here is a quick price breakdown of what using prefolds for the first 3 months may cost:
8 Diaper Covers (will vary slightly with brand): 8 x $12.25 = $98 Total: $169.75
In rough estimate, you'd spend about $270 using your typical disposable diaper in the first 3 months of diapering. You can see how much using prefolds and covers will save you, and don't forget that cloth diapers have an amazing resale value (or you can use them on your next children), saving you even MORE money!
Anyone who has ever had a new baby knows just how much laundry they produce. It still amazes me after 3 children, just how many tiny pieces of clothing a tiny little person dirties! You might be overwhelmed at the thought of adding in cloth diaper laundry. Here is the good news: Washing newborn diapers is EASY! And when I say easy, I mean that I'd rather wash the 12-15 diapers/day that my 3 week old is putting out than the 2-3 diapers/day that my almost potty trained 2 1/2 year old is putting out!
Here is what makes it so easy:
- The poop! If baby is exclusively breastfed, there is no need to do any spraying, scraping or dunking to get rid of the poop. While the bright yellow poop (or the hot mustard explosion as my husband calls it) may look, well.. disgusting, think of it as the consistency of yogurt. It's water soluble and will rinse away when you do your first rinse or cold wash in your wash routine.
- The smell! Better yet, the lack of smell! I'm not getting all high and mighty by telling you my kid's poop doesn't stink. I'm telling you that newborn poop doesn't stink! Breastfed poop is generally void of a foul odor, which means you are less likely to have to deal with stinky diapers!
I have 2 places I store dirty diapers. I have a dry pail with a Planet Wise Pail Liner in Emmett's nursery and a Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag in our bathroom. My 2 1/2 year old's diapers get thrown into the bag in the bathroom (convenient after spraying off a #2) and my newborn's diapers are in the pail (poop and all!). On wash day, I empty both of these into my washer and throw in the liner and bag. I do a cold rapid wash followed by a hot wash with detergent and an extra rinse. All covers and pocket shells go on a folding drying rack and inserts, prefolds and fitteds get tumble dried.
Special Considerations - Stains- It's true that the bright yellow poop does seem to stain cloth diapers. The good new is that even with a stain, they are clean. The other good new is that breastmilk poop stains fade over washing and sun out easily!
- Meconium- I've had quite a few people ask me about meconium poop and how it washes out. This was honestly one of my biggest concerns before embarking on this journey! Emmett passed most of his meconium while we were still in the hospital. I didn't use any liners with the cloth diapers during that time. All of those diapers were stored for 2 days in our wetbag before being washed and all came perfectly clean!
- Detergent Sensitivities- I don't have to tell you just have sensitive a newborn's skin may be! If you find that your little one is getting a rash or reaction only where their diaper touches, they may be sensitive to the detergent you are using. Make sure you are using something free of additives and free of fabric softener. Although specially advertised to be for babies, Dreft detergent is not a good option for cloth diapers. Also make sure you are rinsing your diapers well after the wash to ensure all detergent it out!
It's hard to believe it's been more than 2 weeks since my little guy came flying into the world! At just over 38 weeks, he surprised us by coming earlier than we expected. He also surprised us by being the smallest of our children, weighing in at 7 pounds 12 ounces! He was 2 pounds lighter than my first born and 1/2 pound lighter than our second born! I'm proud to officially present to you, Emmett McIntyre, born at 1:48pm on November 22nd! Here is he in his first cloth diaper ever at not quite an hour old.
We had an incredibly positive experience using cloth diapers at the hospital that we delivered at. In fact, before we were even admitted to the hospital, we were getting great feedback! While in triage, one of the nurses asked me if I worked at Nicki's Diapers. She was a blog and facebook follower :) This brought up the topic of cloth diapers with another nurse and she was very interested to hear about modern cloth diapers and wished she had tried them on her children. While in labor, we told our nurse that we wanted to use cloth, gave her the first diaper for him and showed her how to put it on. As you can see from the above picture, after nearly an hour of loving on our new baby, the first diaper on his bottom was a GroVia Newborn All-In-One.
After we were transferred to our family suite, I set up the "bassinett" drawers with everything we would need to use cloth diapers for the next 2 days. I hung our Planet Wise Large Wet Bag from the handle for easy storage of dirty diapers. All-In-Ones, pockets and fitteds went into one storage slot. Prefolds, Snappis and covers went into another storage slot. Liners, CJ's BUTT-er and my Planet Wise Small Wet Bag filled with Imagine Flannel Wipes went into another slot along with the provided disposable diapers. The picture below is actually taken just before discharge so many of the diapers have already been used.
 
I think the most important thing to do when trying to have a good experience with cloth diapering at the hospital is to have good communication with anyone providing care for you or your baby. Everytime a new nurse came on shift, we let her know that we preferred the cloth diapers and showed her how they worked (this was the main reason we brought some "easy" diapers like the pockets and all-in-ones). We also let her know that we were ok with a disposable diaper being used on the baby. While it was mainly my husband and I who changed Emmett's diapers, there were a couple times he was brought to the nursery for exams/tests and he returned in a disposable diaper. I'm happy to report they put the dirty cloth diaper in the correct place, though :) We came home with a nearly full wetbag, and just emptied them into the washer along with the diapers left from my middle son's pail. One load of laundry is a drop in the bucket to the laundry that newborns produce, and in all honestly cloth diaper laundry is my favorite because no folding is necessary :) I highly suggest anyone who is interested in trying cloth from birth bring their diapers to the hospital. I'm so glad we did!
38 weeks pregnant with baby #3 sounds like a good time to get packed for the hospital... right?! :) My other 2 boys both came at 39 weeks so I guess I can't be putting if off any longer! The good news is I've had my regular hospital bag packed for a week now, I just needed to decide which cloth diapers and accessories to bring! I'm planning for about 48 hours in the hospital. I know some people like to get home as soon as possible after birth, but my hospital is incredibly baby and mama friendly and it's really like a vacation being there! I openly admit that I milk it for all it's worth :) My first son was 9 pounds 11 ounces and my second was 8 pounds 5 ounces. That makes it somewhat difficult to guess the size of this baby, so I'm bringing a few options with.
It will primarily be my husband and I changing the baby and since we've already cloth diapered 2 kids, we are very comfortable using prefolds and covers for the bulk of our newborn diapers. I do realize that on occasion a nurse or a visiting grandparent may change the baby's diaper so I'm bringing along a few easier options for them, just in case!
Here is what I have stuffed into a Large Planet Wise Wet Bag:
My plan is to bring this bag up after the baby is born with his bag of clothing, etc. I have 2 diapers packed into my labor/delivery bag so that the first diaper to go on his tush is cloth! I had my husband decide which ones would be first, since I'm *hoping* he will be the one to put it on him! I'll post more about that with my "Cloth Diapering at the Hopsital" post at a to-be-determined date!
Even the best laid plans can sometimes fall through. I do have 2 dozen Imagine Smart Fit Size Small prefolds prepped and ready to go that any of the grandparents can bring when they visit if they little guy turns out to be not-so-little!
Did you bring your own cloth diapers to the hospital? How does my list sound? I'd love to hear about your experiences!
Some expectant moms like to have everything ready for their baby months before they arrive. Others are running around making sure clothes and diapers are ready for baby just days before their arrival! No matter what type of "preparerer" you are, having your newborn's cloth diapers prepped and ready to go is a piece of cake!
Just like any cloth diaper, there are different prepping techniques for different types of newborn diapers. If you are using a diaper with a synthetic material like microfiber, fleece or PUL, it will need just one wash and dry before use. You may also want to wash any wetbags or cloth wipes with your load of diapers.
We suggest prepping your synthetic materials like this:
- Warm or hot (not sanitize) wash with CD safe detergent
- Extra rinse (any temperature)
- Hang dry covers and pockets, tumble dry medium inserts
If you are using a natural fiber diaper like cotton, hemp, or bamboo, you will need to do a little more prep. These fibers have a natural oil on them that needs to be washed off and the fibers need to be broken up to reach maximum absorbency. You will want to wash and dry them 4-5 times before use. They will continue to become more absorbent even after these initial washes, though! If you're due tomorrow and you're trying to figure out how you're going to wash your diapers 5 times, along with 2 loads of baby clothes, your bath towels, and your sheets, no worries! Your cloth diaper friendly detergent is also clothes friendly! I would do your first wash with the diapers on their own, but after that you can mix the diapers with your regular laundry. You do want to avoid using any fabric softeners with your diapers, though.
We suggest prepping natural materials like this: - Warm or hot (not sanitize) wash with CD safe detergent
- Extra rinse (any temperature)
- Tumble dry medium- your diapers do not have to be 100% dry before your next wash, slightly damp is ok!
- Repeat 3-4 more times till your diapers are nice and fluffy!
It's that easy! Once your diapers are ready to go, decide which you'd like to take to the hospital (if you decide to go that route) or get them stacked and ready for baby! Now comes the hard part... waiting for him or her to arrive! :)
Welcome to the second installment in our series, Cloth Diapering From Day 1! In this post, we will discuss everything you need to start cloth diapering your baby at birth, including how many diapers you will need (and various options that work well with newborns), what accessories are "must-haves" and what accessories are "nice to have".
First, we'll start with the diapers!
How many diapers? A newborn may go through anywhere from 12-15 diapers/day! If this is your first baby, you might be floored by that number, but don't worry, you'll be a pro after just a few days! Also remember that some of those diapers will be from when baby decides it's "go" time right in the middle of a diaper change! Aren't you glad you can just toss that in the wash instead of throwing it out?! We recommend washing your cloth diapers every 2-3 days to prevent stinkies and stains. Put those 2 numbers together and to successfully cloth diaper a newborn, you will need 24-36 diapers! Remember that if you are using a system that has separate covers (like prefolds with covers or Best Bottom Diapers), you will need on average 1 cover for every 3 diapers.
What kind of diapers? This is really a personal preference and is going to depend on how much you want to invest in your newborn stash and what type of diaper you are comfortable changing. Some people like to have all of the same type of diaper, while others find that different types work best for different situations. I'm in that last group! Since one of our main reasons to cloth diaper was to save money, we like to use prefolds and covers.to make up the majority of our newborn stash since they are so cost-effective! But I'm like many of the sleep deprived moms out there, and the thought of trying to Snappi a prefold on and make sure everything is in the covers during middle of the night changes wears me out! In order to get the most use of our covers, I love using fitteds at night with them so make it just a bit more user-friendly in the dark :) I also like to have several newborn size all-in-ones or pockets on hand for those changing my baby who may not be familiar with cloth diapers, and some uber-trim Best Bottoms for light packing in my diaper bag!
So for me, an ideal newborn stash would be:
18 XS or Small Prefolds
6-8 XS or Small Diaper Covers
6 XS or Small Fitted Diapers
6 XS or Small Pockets/All-In-Ones
3 Best Bottom Shells and 9 Small Best Bottom Inserts
Other very popular options for many of our Nicki's Diapers customers for cloth diapering their newborn:
Option 1 "Economical": 36 XS or Small Prefolds, 10-12 XS or Small Diaper Covers
Option 2 "Easy": 24-36 XS or Small Pocket Diapers or All-In-Ones
Option 3 "Economical and Easy!": 9 Best Bottom Diaper Shells, 24-36 Best Bottom Diaper Inserts
Next, the accessories!
Must-haves: Besides your diapers, there are a few things that I strongly suggest you have on hand to make cloth diapering successful for you! The following things I consider "non-optional":
- Dirty Diaper Storage- You will need to store the soiled diapers in either a diaper pail with a pail liner or a hanging wet bag. You can use a simple flip-top kitchen can or a pail designed specifically for cloth diapers. The most important thing to remember is to find one that allows air flow to the diapers. A tight fitting lid actually causes more odor than one that is loose fitting! Most pail liners will have either an elastic top to stretch to fit your pail, or a drawstring. I would suggest having 2 pail liners so that there is always one on the pail when washing. Another great option for dirty diaper storage is a hanging wet bag. I LOVE the Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag for several reasons. They are seam sealed so I have zero leaking of odor or moisture. They have an extra "dry" pocket for storing clean diapers and the come in a huge variety of prints to match my baby's room! My favorite thing though, is that they travel SO well! No worries about toting a diaper pail with you, just toss dirty diapers in your Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag and zip it up!
- Diaper Closures- If you're using prefold or contour diapers, I strongly suggest using a Snappi or diaper pins to close the diaper under your cover. Newborn poop is notoriously runny and by making sure the diaper is on nice and snug, you'll be able to use your diaper covers many more times between washing. That means fewer covers to buy! There are many people who still like to use diaper pins, but I prefer Snappis to prevent poking myself or my baby :)
- On-the-Go- Believe it or not, you WILL get out of the house those first several weeks and when you do, you'll need something to store a dirty diaper in your diaper bag. I suggest a Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag. These smaller versions of the much-loved Hanging Wet/Dry Bags are perfect for keeping a clean diaper and wipes in the front "dry" pocket, and holding in any odor or moisture in the "wet" pocket. You might even find that for quick trips, you can toss your keys and wallet into the dry pouch and leave the big diaper bag at home!
- Cloth Wipes- You're using cloth diapers, why not make it even easier with cloth wipes?! 20-30 or so cloth wipes should be plenty to get you 2-3 days between washing and instead of having to have a separate garbage can next to your changing table for disposable wipes, these can be tossed right in with your diapers! You can keep your wipes dry and spray them (or baby's bottom) when changing a diaper, or you can gold them in half and store them wet in a disposable wipes container. Try your hand at making your own wet wipe solution with water, lavender oil and chamomile oil, or use a pre-made concentrate like Lusa Wipe Juice!
- Cloth Diaper Friendly Detergent- You'll want to make sure to take care of your diapers and keep them nice and absorbent! Chose a detergent that is free of additives, including softeners. Many people think a baby-friendly detergent is good for cloth diapers, when in reality many of them contain ingredients that may harm your diapers. Nicki's carries a wide selection of detergents that will work beautifully on your diapers!
Nice-to-Have: If you want to make cloth diapering even EASIER, you might want to consider looking into these accessories, although I do consider them "optional".
- Cloth "friendly" Diaper Cream- I say that in quotations because I really don't consider any diaper cream to be truly cloth diaper friendly. Some creams are certainly easier on your diapers and if you get a small amount on them, it won't ruin them! My favorite creams are Lusa Booty Balm (LOVE this on dry hands and faces, too!) and CJ's BUTT-er. If you are going to cloth diaper from birth, you will likely have to deal with sticky meconium poop and putting a little cream on your baby's bottom will make it easier to wipe it off. Again, I do recommend using a liner (see below!) with your CD "friendly" cream.
- Liners- You can use either disposable or reusable liners to prevent diaper cream (see above!) from getting on your cloth diapers. Fleece liners can also be used to make natural fibers stay-dry. Both of my boys have been pretty sensitive to feeling wet, so I like to keep these on hand to use in our prefolds and fitted diapers.
Are you ready for your chance to win a Cloth Diapering Accessory Kit?!
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 Thursday, November 17th!
How do you enter to win? (Each worth 1 entry per day unless otherwise stated)
- "Like" Nicki's Diapers on Facebook- Be sure to state your facebook name when you post back here.
- 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)
- Tweet @bestbottomdiapers #clothdiapers (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'sdiapers or @bestbottomdiapers, 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 11/10/11 and 11/16/11. Include your order number in your entry.
- Tell us what your essential cloth diapering accessories are!
 Welcome to the first post in a new series on the Nicki's Diapers Blog, Cloth Diapering from Day 1! Many of you have been reading my posts since the Nicki's Diapers Blog started, but let me re-introduce myself! My name is Annie. I've been married for just over 5 years and have 2 little boys, Ian is (almost) 4 and Sean is 2. We are expecting our 3rd little boy (name yet to be revealed ;-)) in just over 5 weeks! I've been cloth diapering for (almost) 4 years and I've been working at Nicki's Diapers for just over 2 years!
Although we started cloth diapering early on with our boys, I wanted to challenge myself to start cloth diapering from day (or minute!) 1 with this baby. I'm not saying I will never use a disposable diaper, or that I will drive myself into the ground in order to make sure a load of diapers gets into the wash at midnight, but this likely being our last baby, we thought it was something different and positive that we could try!
Soo... here's my plan! I have a series of posts planned out, including some that will come before baby even arrives. I will discuss building a newborn stash, what I plan to bring to the hospital, washing and prepping newborn diapers, using cloth diapers at the hospital, circumcision and cord stump care with cloth, and have feature posts on different types of diapers on newborns. I will try to include as many pictures as possible (because who doesn't love newborns in cloth?!) and we will do some fun giveaways along the way! I welcome any and all suggestions on more topics, so if you have an idea, feel free to leave it in the comments on the blog or post it on our facebook page!
I hope you enjoy the ride! -Annie
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