Birth and Babies

So you’re having a baby… Have you given thought to what kind of diapers you want to use?  Most moms think disposables are the only option out there.  But there are a few - yes, your typical disposable diapers are ever present.  But you can also find cloth diapers, environmentally-friendly disposable diapers, even diapering systems that include a reusable cover and a disposable inner pad. 

My only option with my kids are cloth diapers.  Why?  They save us a ton of money (I haven’t had to buy any diapers for my second, nor my next baby!  You can re-use cloth diapers through several children), they are environmentally friendly, healthier for my baby’s skin, and make great cleaning rags when they no longer have a purpose as a diaper.  Cloth diapers of today are not what they were years ago.  Today they come in many different styles including all in ones (diaper and cover combined), diapers in which you can adjust the absorption to suit your needs, you can still find the original cloth diapers (flatfold and then prefold) in which you will need to fold, pin, and use a cover.  The options are about endless.  Want color?  GREAT!  Cloth diapers come in many colors, patterns and prints to suit your desires.

So where can you go to learn more about cloth diapers?  You can visit www.diaperpin.com or read some articles Here.  To save yourself some time you can also purchase The Do It Yourself Cloth Diapering Handbook which has all of the information you’ll need to get started in one spot. 

I use prefolded diapers on my kids during the day (speaking generally, as my daughter is potty trained, but we have another on the way and my son is still in diapers), and pocket diapers at night. The pocket diapers are great for customizing the amount of absorbency you need, especially for night or nap time.  I have bought and even made some fitted diapers (and in fact, any style of cloth diaper can be made at home - is anyone interested in how-to links and patterns?  There are some great free patterns online!).  I use a Snappi diaper fastener instead of pins, and like to use velcro-closing diaper covers, but we have also have had good luck using the pull up vinyl pants from most any store that carries baby products.

One word of warning: If you do buy cloth diapers from a baby store chain or megastore, only buy the diapers described as “DIAPER SERVICE QUALITY”, or “DQ”.  These are the best variety - the birdseye and gauze diapers are better off used as burp rags (and almost led to the demise of my childrens cloth diapering experience). To get the best quality diapers, you’ll have to buy online. 

Anyone want some great stores to buy from??  Let me know!  I also know how you can have cloth diapering products demonstrated in your own home, and you can also order from there, and there are cloth diapering classes locally in the Monroe area to help you get started.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 16th, 2007 at 4:08 pm and is filed under Cloth Diapering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.