Cloth Diapering - How To

This is the second post in my 'Cloth Diapering' series. The first was a diaper review. This is the 'how to' cloth diaper. And I've decided I need to do one more after this: 'Cloth Diapering - Would I do it again?'. Stay tuned...

So, if you're thinking about using cloth diapers, you might ask what does that entail? There are three things you need to think about:

1. Having a diaper supply.
2. Cleaning the diapers.
3. Traveling with diapers.

Each of these has some additional points to ponder, so I'll address them one at a time.

Diaper Supply
Check out my diaper review for my thoughts on which diapers to get. The summary: If cost was no issue, I'd get enough Kawaii One Size Heavy Duty cloth diapers to last me for a wash cycle. However, since cost is an issue, if I had it to do again, I'd got enough Kawaii for night/nap time, and prefolds for day-time.

Tristan is now going through about 8 diapers a day. So what I actually have are 24 prefold (with 4 diaper covers), 11 BumGenius, 1 Kawaii, 6 Thirsties fitted diapers, and 4 FuzzyBunz. With all of these, I can go 4 days between washings. Yes, I know the math doesn't add up, but I need something to put him in on day 4 when the diapers are in the wash, and more accurately, hung out to dry (Ah! Light bulb!). :)

One other thing to think of on the supply side, if you're using cloth diapers, why not use cloth baby wipes? I've got 30 wipes, I use them with a mix of water and baby shampoo. I have a tub of the mix on the changing table and just get the wipe wet when I need to use it. Then it goes in the pail with the dirty diaper. And I also use toilet paper to clean up baby poop from Tristan's bum, then that just goes in the toilet. May sound complicated, but its not, and I'm only using disposable wipes when we are away from the house.

Cleaning Diapers
There are a few things you need for cleaning the diapers. You need a supply that lasts you a how ever many days you decide to do laundry. See the Diaper Supply section above.

You also need some sort of diaper pail. We use 3 kitty liter buckets. Yeah, I'm serious. They work great. They're easy to dump into the washing machine, they hold the odor, and they were easy to get! We started using them because Tristan arrived in our lives a little early and we hadn't gotten a diaper pail. Then when they worked, we just kept using them. The only thing you need for inside the pail (other than the dirty diapers) is baking soda to help with the smell. I sprinkle some into the bottom of the bucket. Then when we do the wash, I put some water into the bucket using the detergent cap, and swish it around, and then dump the water into the machine.

Part of cloth diapering is dealing with baby poop. And until you start feeding your baby solids, baby poop is very liquid-y. I have read that you can just shake out the poop into the toilet and pop the diapers in the washer, but that didn't sit right with me, I really didn't think my old top-load machine would really clean the diapers. Which lead to the Diaper Sprayer. Best invention ever. Really! The diaper sprayer hooks up to the toilet water supply, and when you change a poopy diaper, you just hang it over the side of the toilet, spray the poop off, and put the diaper in the bucket. No fuss, no muss. E will tell you that cleaning the BumGenius diapers with the sprayer is a pain, but I found that you just need to put the diaper inside out over your fist, instead of draping it over the side of the toilet.

So now, onto the actual washing. As I said, I do the laundry every 4 days. I do the diapers at night because I only have 4 diaper covers, and I need at least 1 to be dry to use. So the diapers go in when Tristan goes to bed. I bring the buckets down to the machine, dump them in, rinse them out, and turn them upside down in the shower to dry out. If they smell a bit, I use all purpose cleaner to give them a quick clean. For pre-solids diapers, I used the extra wash cycle. For post-solids diapers, I just use a normal wash. And in both cases, I use Dreft detergent and an extra rinse cycle. When they're done, in the winter or wet weather, I pop them into the dryer, and the rest of the time I hang them out to dry. One great thing about line drying, it gets out the poop stains. The sun is the best bleach alternative ever!

Traveling
So now we come to the travel portion. I keep diapers and a wet bag in my diaper bag. Usually the diapers are the FuzzyBunz because I'm not too fond of them and would rather not use them every day. But they work well when out and about, as long as Tristan doesn't need to go more than an hour and a half in the diaper. The wet bags have a cinch top and when we change Tristan, we just stick the diaper in the wet bag. The wet bags help control the smell and keep the stuff in the diaper bag from getting soiled or damp. If Tristan's got a diaper cover on, I leave it attached to the outside of the diaper bag to air dry a bit before the next use.

For day or overnight trips, we just bring along the diapers and a kitty liter bucket or two, and we're all set.

So, that's it. I think I've gotten everything you might need to know to use cloth diapers. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to add a post!

Cloth Diapering - Diaper Review

When E and I were preparing for Tristan's arrival, there was no question that we'd be using cloth diapers. The only question was what kind. It was so very daunting how many different types of cloth diapers there were to choose... All in ones, prefolds, fitted, and there were so many different brands of each type on top of that! So, I asked for some advice from the few friends that used cloth, registered for a few different kinds, and hoped for the best.

I decided that I needed to make 2 posts about this, one for a diaper review and one for a 'how to' kind of guide. So, here's the first, the diaper review.

First, a short dictionary for those that don't know cloth diapers.

Pocket diaper - A waterproof shell with a micro-fleece inside that creates a pocket. You put an absorbent insert inside the pocket. The baby stays dry because the micro-fleece inside wicks the moisture away.

Prefolds - Your parents cloth diapers. But they're better than they used to be. They're made up of many layers of cotton (4 on the outer edges, 8 in the middle for more absorbency) and are very absorbent. They have to be held closed with something (now-a-days, Snappis, something like an ace bandage 'pin') and need a diaper cover.

Diaper cover - The waterproof cover that goes over all diapers that don't have a built in waterproof layer. These covers are what makes cloth diapers so much better than what our parents used. They're light weight, semi-breathable, and very waterproof. They go on over the cloth diaper like a disposable diaper, not underwear, which makes them easier to use then the old style rubber pants.

Fitted diapers - Diapers that are made to 'fit' the baby, so you don't have to fold it. These usually look a lot like disposables. They also usually have a thicker middle section to help absorb more liquids. All of the fitted diapers I have need a diaper cover.

And now for the different types of diapers:
KaWaii Baby One Size Heavy Duty Pocket Diaper
Best diaper ever. It's a pocket diaper, and they're easy to use, with Velcro closures and snaps to size them to the baby (supposed to work from 8-30 pounds). They come with an extra insert for heavy wetting/night time diapering. And the pocket has a flap to keep the inserts in place, which incidentally also makes rinsing the poop out of them easier than other diapers. They're very similar to the BumGenius (below), though they are better than the BumGenius in the flap closure and full size extra insert.

The only con for this diaper is the price. At $7 for one diaper, they're not as cost effective as others, but they're not too bad either.

I only have one of these, because I found them after I'd stocked up on the BumGenius (below). But if I need to buy more diapers, these will be what I get. You can find them at the Kawaii web site.

BumGenius 3.0 Cloth Diaper
I believe this is the 'original' of the Kawaii diaper above. It's almost exactly the same, so it's almost the best diaper ever, except...

The cons for this diaper are the price (really, $16 for one diaper when I got them, and now I see they're up to $18?!?), the pocket closure is funky and doesn't work as good as the Kawaii flap, and the extra insert is a 3/4 length, 1/2 thickness insert. When Tristan was wetting at his heaviest, I needed to put in 2 extra inserts, which made the diaper very bulky.

I got some of these as a gift, and the others I bought from DiaperJunction.com.

Diaper Rite Prefolds and Bummis Super Wisper Wraps
The Diaper Rite prefolds are very absorbent. Before Tristan fit in the BumGenius diapers, I had him overnight in these. I bought the prefolds as a package with the Bummis Super Wisper Wrap diaper covers. I use an 'angel' closure with the prefold, meaning I fold the diaper in thirds in the front, but leave it fully out in the back. Then I use a Snappi (another in the best inventions ever category) to keep the diaper in place. Supposedly you can just fold the diaper in thirds and put it into the cover, but that didn't work with pre-solid-foods poop. Maybe now it would though...

The pros for this combo is the price (worked out to $3.23 to $3.79 per diaper when you factor in the diaper cover) and the absorbancy.

The cons are the bulk of needing 3 things to do one diaper and that they are definitely not as easy as disposables. I've gotten really good at using these, and wouldn't consider this a con for myself, just not sure I can leave Tristan with someone with these diapers without having them practice using them for a bit.

Since these diapers come in sizes, I've gotten the newborn, small and medium sizes as Tristan grew. I got the packages at DiaperJunction.com.

Kissaluvs Fitted Diaper
I only used this a short time, as it was the newborn size and only fit Tristan for a month or less.

The pros (which I didn't grasp at the time) are the ease of use. They go on similar in style to disposables.

The cons, they don't hold as much as a prefold, making you change the baby more often, and and they cost more than the KaWaii diapers without having the waterproof layer.

I got this diaper as part of a diaper sample package from DiaperJunction.com.

Thirsties Duo Wrap Diaper Cover
I hated this diaper cover.

The cons, it just didn't fit over the prefold diapers, they stuck out at his legs and got his clothes wet. I might use it for the next kid if it fits over the Kissaluvs diaper. Or I might get rid of it.

I got this diaper cover as part of a diaper sample package from DiaperJunction.com, though I see that they now are offering the Bummis cover with the package instead.

Thirsties Fitted Diapers
I got these diapers at a second hand store, and I don't see that they make them anymore. But I'll still review them. They're pretty good diapers.

The pros, I can give them to anybody to use without worrying that Tristan will end up soaked and I don't have to have a Snappi handy.

The cons, they don't absorb as much as the prefolds and they cost (new) more than the KaWaii diapers without having the waterproof layer.

And that's it for the diaper review! Hopefully it was helpful for somebody. And stay tuned for the 'how to' guide...

Tristan through 6 months

Tristan on the day he was born

Tristan at 1 month old

Tristan at 2 months old

Tristan at 3 months old

Tristan at 4 months old

Tristan at 5 months old

Tristan at 6 months old

The Tristan Report - 6 Months

It's that time again! Here's the 6 month Tristan Report.

Tristan is 20 lbs, 14 oz. He's 28 inches long. And his head is 18.2 inches around. All of these are above the 93rd percentile. He's in 12 and mostly 18 month size clothes. He's still in the medium prefold diapers, which are supposed to fit through 30 lbs, hopefully they're right!

Tristan is starting to eat solids. On his 1/2 birthday, I gave him oatmeal made with breast milk. He didn't seem to know what to make of it. He seemed puzzled, and sat with his mouth open a lot. He did swallow some, and drooled some out too. And he played with it with his hands. He also did this weird shuddering thing a couple of times. But he didn't outright reject it. So, it's a start. The next month should be interesting.

Tristan is sitting in his high chair at the table. He sits there to eat his solid foods, but also to join E and me for our meals. He needs some help sitting, I have to stuff towels in around him to keep him upright. But he seems to enjoy being there.

Tristan's First Meal & First Time in the High Chair

Tristan is taking baths in the big bath tub. The little tub was just too little. The big tub seems huge of course. But, he seems to like it, playing with his rubber ducky and smiling. He especially likes splashing the water around with his feet.

Tristan has never slept in the car unless it's nap time. He usually amuses himself playing with a toy or looking out the window. And now that it gets dark at 5pm, we have discovered that he doesn't like riding in the car after it gets dark. He starts crying as soon as we get in the car and the overhead light goes off. And he doesn't stop until we turn the light back on for him. So I'm working on figuring out a way to give Tristan his own light that doesn't interfere with driving.

And lastly, Tristan gives me kisses, usually after I've just given him kisses. He leans forward and touches my cheek with his open mouth. It's pretty cute.

The Tristan Report - 5 3/4 Months

So, I'm a bit late in giving the 5 month report. But that's OK, we'll do the 5 and 3/4 month report.

Tristan can roll over now! On 10/18, he rolled for the first time. I had him on his play mat in the kitchen with me while I made dinner. I looked over, and he was on his tummy. I rolled him back onto his back, and he rolled over again. So now he can get from his back to his tummy, and does so every chance he gets. Especially when he's just finished eating, and rolling on his tummy is going to make him spit up. We have a new game: after he eats, I put him down and he rolls onto his tummy, then I roll him onto his back. And repeat! He's working on figuring out how to roll from his tummy to his back, he can get his hips and legs started, but his arms keep getting in the way of actually rolling over. For now, when he's tired of being on his tummy, and frustrated trying to roll to his back, he starts crying and I show him how to roll over again. I think he'll get it soon.

Tristan is somewhat mobile. When he's on his tummy, he scoots himself places. Not too far yet, but he can get to his toys that are scattered on the floor around him, given enough time.

Tristan gets bored with things. Especially walks in the stroller. Sigh. We've gone for some walks where about a mile out he decides he's had enough and starts crying. If I stop and pay attention to him, he smiles and is happy again. So, yes, he's bored with the walk. So far I've managed to stop him from crying by giving him a new toy to play with (thank goodness I brought the diaper bag!), and by going on shorter walks. Unfortunately, his lack of sleeping extends to the stroller, so I can't count on him taking a nap to keep him occupied.

Speaking of sleeping, Tristan is sometimes taking longer naps of 1.5 to 2 hours at a time. Woo Hoo! He doesn't do it every day, but it's frequent enough that I feel like I have some time to do stuff. So the house is not quite the disaster area it has been over the past few months, and E occasionally has dinner waiting for him when he comes home.

Tristan is imitating us. On 10/10/10 we were coming home from a friends wedding, and stopped to feed Tristan. We'd been in the car for a while, so after we changed him, we played for a few minutes. I had him standing on my lap, and vibrated my lips while making a bub-bub sound. Tristan looked at me, and then started trying to do the same! It was so very cute! He could make the bub-bub sound, or blow air, and was trying really hard to do them together. He still hasn't figured it out, but tries all the time now.

Tristan is starting to try different foods. We haven't gotten him on a normal eating schedule yet, that will come soon. But for now, when I have something I'm eating, and he seems interested, and it's baby friendly, I'm giving him tiny samples. He's had butternut squash and apples so far. He makes faces when I put the food in his mouth, but then swallows it, so I think he likes it.

Tristan is mister distracto-baby. He's so interested in what's going on around him (good!), that he will stop eating to check out a sound or even just to see if something has happened while he wasn't looking (makes feeding him take longer, not so good). It's really neat to see him exploring the world around him, and to see what makes him smile and laugh. It also means he's interested in books now, as long as they're colorful. The story holds his attention for a bit too, he looks at me as I read it to him, then looks at the book as I point out things that go along with the story.

Tristan is starting to cry when strange people (aka, not me or E) talk to him and he's tired. If he's about ready for a nap or to go to bed and someone talks to him, he starts crying, even if E or I are holding him. So we now know not to hand him off to a new person if he's tired. On the positive side, as long as the 'new' person has been around while he wasn't tired, then he's OK with them holding him when he's tired. I guess it's just that 'I haven's seen you before and no, I don't want you to hold me!' stage.

Tristan is now in 12 and 18 month clothes. He's been in them for a while, I'm thinking right around the 5 month mark was when we made the switch. There are two 9 month items that still fit him, barely, and they're so cute we're still using them. But otherwise, he's fully in the larger clothes. Some of the 12 month clothes are actually starting to barely fit. He's definitely a growing boy! I didn't get to the doctors scale this month, so I'm not sure what he weighs, but he is a heavy boy. We'll see what he comes in at during the 6 month appointment in a couple of weeks.


Tristan is playing in his ExerSaucer. I brought it in the house and set it up and his first time in it he was turning himself around and playing (well, trying to eat) with the different toys. He seems to really like it. And with it set to the shortest position, he can easily touch the base. So I guess he really was ready for it. In an effort to have some space in the living room for us too, we disassembled the swing and put that in storage. He never really seemed that interested in it, maybe the next kid will like it.

And that's it, that's all I can think of that happened in the last month and 3/4.

The Tristan Report - Prior to 4 Months

So, I've decided to compile a list of Tristan's firsts prior to 4 months. So, without further ado...


May 8 - Tristan is born!
May 9 (Mother's Day) - Tristan meets Grammy and Grandpi Thomas
May 10 - Tristan comes home and freaks out the kitties
May 15 - Tristan meets Grandpa Downing and Grandma Debi
May 21 - Tristan's first cold, and a visit to the pediatrician
May 26 - Tristan visits Grammy and Grandpi Thomas
May 28 - Tristan starts wearing newborn size cloth diapers
May 29 - Tristan is the youngest guest at our friends E & N's wedding
May 31 - Tristan meets his Great Grandma Downing
June 4 - Tristan meets Grandmamasita Phoenix who's come to visit for a couple of weeks from New Mexico
June 7 - Tristan meets Auntie S

June 8 - Tristan is 1 month old!
June 8 - 1 month pediatrician appointment, 11 pounds, 2 oz, 22 3/4 inches
June 13 - I have my first Guinness in over 10 months, yum!
June 15 - Tristan stays home with Grandmamasita while E and I go out to dinner
June ?? - Tristan swims in the pool
July 2 - Tristan and my first circus!
July 4 - Tristan and Daddy have a play date with N, while I go to the movies with E
July 5 - Tristan starts wearing small size prefold cloth diapers

July 8 - Tristan is 2 months old!
July 12 - I have mastitis, complete with fever, and I throw my back out, ugh
July 12 - 2 month pediatrician appointment, 15 pounds, 10 oz, 24 inches
July 15 - Tristan is really talking (baby talk anyway)
July 18 - Tristan sleeps through the night for the first time, 9:15pm-4:15am
July 20 - I give my 3 weeks notice, soon to be a SAHM!
July 21 - Our first visit to the mommies group at Leominster Hospital
July 22 - Tristan and I visit work so everybody can meet Tristan, and to say goodbye
July 30 - Tristan starts sleeping through the night on a regular basis, approximately 9pm-6am every day

August 8 - Tristan is 3 months old!
August 9 - I'm officially a SAHM now!
August 12 - First play date with our new friends M and S, whom we met at the mommies group
August 14 - First overnight trip and Tristan meets his twin cousins A and J
August 15 - Hulka family reunion, where Tristan meets all of his Great Great Aunts and second (and third and forth) cousins
August 17 - Tristan's first night in his crib
August 20 - First weekend trip, staying 2 nights at the island with N and E
August 25 - We attend E's company outing in the rain, but manage to stay dry
August 28 - Tristan stays home with Grammy and Grandpi Thomas while E and I go out on a date
September 5 - Grandpa Downing and Grandma Debi come to visit after returning home from 2 months in Alaska

September 8 - Tristan's 4 months old!

So, that, in a nut shell, is Tristan's first 4 months.

The Tristan Report - 4 months

I realized the other day that I couldn't remember when it was that Tristan was first standing on our laps. Or exactly when he first smiled (though I did write that one down in his baby book). So I decided to put some of what Tristan can do as of his 4 month birthday here for all to enjoy. Perhaps I should have been doing this all along, and perhaps I'll continue it at least monthly after this. We'll see.

Tristan is smiling a lot now. When I get him after a nap. When he see's E for the first time upon his arrival home. At some people, especially one of the mommies in my Wednesday mommies group. He's such a flirt!

Tristan has been really looking at everything. When we go on walks, he watches the trees go by. When we play on the floor, he looks at the pictures on the quilt I put on the floor. (Side note, it's my baby quilt. Which is blue. My mom really did think I was going to be a boy.) He examines the cloth pattern on the couch. He likes the shadows cast by the early morning light. The crane mobile I hung above his changing table is fascinating, from the crib or table.

Tristan can sit up by himself for a few seconds. I help him sit up, then he balances there for a few seconds, until he slowly leans to one side. He seems to like it. It doesn't happen every time he sits up (often he's trying to suck on my hand and can't be bothered with balancing), but it's happened multiple times.

Tristan is napping. Really napping. For more than 30 minutes. It's a new feat, it only started 4 days ago, so it might be a fluke. But suddenly I see how SAHMs can get things done during the day. I'm crossing my fingers it continues!

On his 4 month birthday, Tristan moved into the medium size prefold diapers and 6-9 month clothes. He's getting to be a very big boy, 18 lbs, 7 oz, and 26.5 inches long! I'm actually finding that the 9-12 month old onsies fit him pretty well, with only a little bit of extra length.

Tristan is laughing. Mostly when E acts like a monkey (see the video we posted on facebook). But also when we tickle him. We discovered how ticklish he is when taking off his shirt one night. Now he gets intentional daily/nightly tickles! His laugh is so cute!

Tristan is drooling. A lot. He doesn't have any teeth buds that I or the pediatrician can detect. But if this is his 'normal' drool, I don't want to know what it's going to be like when he is teething. He's already soaking at least 4 burp cloths (and my shirt) every day. And he drools more when he's standing on our laps. Which means he drools A LOT!

Tristan is talking. He babbles in the morning when he's ready to get up for the day (Mom, come get me and feed me, OK? Mom? Mom, get up!) And he babbles when he's done with his breakfast (Wow, that was yummy! But no, I don't want any more. A burp and a diaper change would be good though.) And he does his tongue exercises, where he sticks out his tongue and tries different sounds while wiggling it. It's pretty cute.

Tristan has not yest mastered rolling, but he's on his way. He can get from his back to his side, and especially likes to do this when he's done eating. Which means I get to play 'catch Tristan', because one second he's eating, and the next he launches himself from his side to his back to his other side, and starts rolling off my lap.

Tristan is able to lift his head and look around when he's on his tummy. He hasn't figured out the coordination to lift his head while pushing with his legs yet, but every day he's closer. It was just a week ago that he couldn't push up with his arms, and he started doing that a few days ago. You can see how much he REALLY wants to crawl, so he can get things more easily!

Tristan has started passing things from one hand to another. For a while, it seemed he might be a lefty, because he was grabbing and manipulating things with his left hand. But now his right hand has caught up. And he's grabbing with both. And passing things back and forth. So now I'm not sure, we'll have to wait and see which hand becomes more dominant.

That's all I can think of now. I'll try to keep this up, and maybe go back and blog about some earlier feats. Stay tuned!