My Cloth Diaper Adventures | 6 Months In
I knew before my son was born that I wanted to do cloth diapers. You can argue they are more affordable in the long run versus disposable diapers. Also all the chemicals that can be found in diapers is almost horrifying. Just google it. You also can’t NOT mention the environmental impact of using cloth diapers over disposables.
As I was creating my baby registry, which was pretty much as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I started searching cloth diapers on Amazon. There are so many to choose from out there, and a lot of the big brands aren’t even sold on Amazon yet … BumGenius. So for convenience I definitely wanted to try to find something on Amazon, as I am an Amazon-aholic. What I found were cloth diapers by MamaKoala. They are relatively inexpensive comparatively speaking, on amazon, cute patterns, and a pocket style diaper.
The PLAN was to use infant disposable diapers after my son was born, for ease and sanity sake, and then switch to the cloth diapers after. Lucky for me my girlfriend gave me a practically full case of Pampers newborn diapers left over from her son. So I thought we were SET.
Then my son was born.
For the first month we did use disposable diapers for Paul. We used up the Pampers disposables and then switched to the Amazon infant diapers. This was to make our lives a little easier as new first time parents. The yellow indicator strip on the diapers that turns blue when liquid is present was so helpful in those early days as we tried to figure out how to take care of this new precious baby human.
After Paul turned a month old I tried one of the Mama Koala cloth diapers on him, using the smallest setting. He looked RIDICULOUS, to say the least. We had some weight issues with Paul around this time so he was small for his age, and the diapers just looked massive on him. His little feet didn’t even touch the ground when he was laying on his back. For this reason I purchased two 6-packs of the Alva Baby Newborn diapers off amazon.
These diapers were GREAT! They were an adjustable (small, medium, and large) pocket diaper made smaller for newborns. They came in a six pack, with six microfleece inserts, and were about $35. We used these diapers with Water Wipes for about six weeks. That was about the time that he started leaking out the legs or the front of the diaper pretty consistently. I made sure the fit was right, which it was, so determined the diaper was most likely too small for him.
This was when we purchased the Mama Koala all in one diapers. Including the ones we recieved off our registry we had five 6-packs, or 30 diapers total. These diapers also came with microfleece liners.
This was also the time we switched from the disposable diaper wipes to GroVia Reusable Cloth Diaper wipes. They come in a pack of 12, and we have five packs of them. So A LOT. We have a diaper warmer that we keep them in with some water, so they are ready to go. I also use them for bath time as washcloths, and as of recently we started using them for high chair clean with BLW (Baby Led Weening).
The Mama Koala diapers on their own worked great. For a while. Up until about 3-4 weeks ago, when my son hit 16 lbs, all of the sudden my son was leaking with EVERY diaper. It didn’t matter if he had the diaper on for 90 minutes of 20 minutes, he would leak out the legs. It was rather annoying because he was having an outfit change with every diaper change, getting me wet, or whatever he was sitting/laying on wet. It was not a fun time. I tried everything I could think of with the fit and even expanded the diapers out to the next size (medium). Nothing helped.
After a lot of research online I discovered the inserts were the culprit, and the fact that I suspected my son was a “heavy wetter”. The microfleece diaper liners that the Mama Koala came with were just not tough enough to handle my baby’s flow. So I purchase two different charcoal bamboo diaper inserts by AlvaBaby (same as my infant diapers), and Naturally Nature. I purchased one 12-pack of each type, so we have a total of 24 charcoal bamboo inserts.
There is a trick to these extra absorbent inserts. You need to prewash them. A LOT. The more you wash them, some how they magically become more absorbent. I washed these suckers a good half a dozen times, by just throwing them in with my regular laundry for a few days.
I also did get some hemp inserts by Thirsties which are AMAZING. They due tend to bulk up the diaper some, so for a while we were just using the Thirsties in combination with one of the charcoal bamboo inserts and night, and in the mornings after the first feeding. I purchased two 4-packs of both the small and large sizes, so we have a total of 16 hemp inserts.
Another thing I started doing was NOT stuffing the diapers. I would place the charcoal bamboo insert on top of the Mama Koala diaper, essentially turning it into a diaper cover. When using the additional hemp insert, I would put this below the charcoal bamboo insert or furthest away from the skin. This method seemed to stop leaks in their tracks!
As for Laundry …
I initially was washing my diapers with no detergent, on the rinse cycle alone. Then I would pull all the inserts out of the diapers, throw in any other baby clothes that needed to be washed, add my normal detergent Dropps (which is cloth diaper safe), and run a normal hot cycle. This worked pretty well until I read articles and blogs about using too much detergent and the impact on cloth diapers ability to absorb. Because of this I decided to give detergent designed specifically for cloth diapers a try, which was Rockin Green Dirty Diaper Powder.
This stuff is awesome! The directions say to use two scoops for a top loading washer, which is what I have, but I have been using just one scoop and loving the results. I have even skipped the rinse cycle on my washer at this point (it is worth noting that my son is not yet eating solid food).
And not since I don’t stuff the diapers anymore, laundry is that much easier! Dirty diapers go in large wet bags that hang by the changing table, on laundry day (every 2 days for me) I dump the wet bag into the washer, add one scoop of detergent and run the washer. I also am very lucky that my washer has a “steam clean” cycle and I am able to get out almost every poopy stain my son has made.
That is my cloth diaper journey so far. It has only been about five months but so far I am loving it. Challenging but I am still loving it. I look forward to continuing the cloth diaper journey into the world of solid food eating and eventually potty training. If there are any other tips and tricks I run across over the next few months I will do another blog.
I also did a vlog on this topic. Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/misula29/featured
Some additional resources on cloth diapers:
https://www.thirstiesbaby.com/
All the Products I use:
The Honest Company, Diaper Rash Cream, 2.5 oz
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFITCXS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_lCknFb8R5PDVK
Charlie Cloth Diaper Liners and Wipes, Natural
by Charlie Banana
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FQJ6216/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_oEknFbAMJY9YS
ALVABABY Newborn Cloth Diapers Pocket for Less Than 12pounds Cloth Diaper Nappy 6pcs + 12 Inserts 6SVB03
by Alvababy
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QK7PPL6/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_hFknFbJ7X66R0
Mama Koala One Size Baby Washable Reusable Pocket Cloth Diapers, 6 Pack with 6 One Size Microfiber Inserts (Jagger)
by Mama Koala
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LVWQY6K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_WFknFbSTQS7EP
AlVABABY Charcoal Bamboo Inserts,Cloth Diaper Liner,5-Layer Inserts,Reusable Liners for Baby Cloth Diapers 12pcs 12ZTN
by Alvababy
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JVBP8BK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AGknFbPMT0X3A
Naturally Natures Cloth Diaper Inserts 5 Layer – Insert – Charcoal Bamboo Reusable Diaper Liners with Gussets (Pack of 12)
by Naturally Nature
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ8K092/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_uHknFbMEWDG97
Thirsties Hemp/Organic Cotton Cloth Diaper Inserts, 2 pack Small
by Thirsties, Inc
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FB7FLE/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_TIknFbSH692F6 Rockin’ Green Platinum Series Dirty Diaper Powdered Laundry Detergent, 45 oz. – All Natural, Biodegradable, and Eco-Friendly
by Rockin’ Green Soap
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003N0JXNY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_zJknFbVRD6N57
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