When I discovered I was pregnant, I read every book I could researching what to expect and how to prepare. I wanted to know what was worth spending money on for the baby and what we could do without. One of the things I stumbled across pretty early on was the idea of cloth diapering. It appealed to my family initially for the financial savings. The potential to be gentle on the baby’s skin also seemed positive. At first it was a bit overwhelming to figure out what we needed, but we committed to making it work.
Types of Cloth Diapers
We weren’t immediately sure what would be right for us regarding cloth diaper styles. The three major categories, all-in-ones, pockets, and covers, each have their pros and cons.
The all-in-one style are a waterproof cover with the cloth diaper lining built right in. Most similar in use to a disposable diaper, this style requires you to change the entire diaper each time it gets wet or soiled. They can be a bit more expensive.
Pocket diapers are a waterproof cover with separate inserts that get tucked into pockets in the diaper. With this style, you have a bit more flexibility with the absorbency and positioning of the insert. Pockets are usually sold as a set with several inserts, though the inserts can also be purchased separately.
Covers/shells are a waterproof cover, basically the shape of a diaper that helps hold a cloth diaper in place. This style of diaper uses inserts called flats or pre-folds which look most similar to what our parents were using with safety pins back in the day. This style allows you to change out the insert and reuse the cover several times as long as it remains clean. These are usually the cheapest option since you don’t need as many covers.
The best advice I got when starting out was to try a few different diapers and figure out which style we liked best before purchasing a whole stash. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing either. Some families will use cloth at home but prefer disposables when they leave the house or have someone babysit.
Storing and Cleaning Cloth Diapers
The next big question was how to store and clean the dirty diapers. Storing is simple, “wet bags” are waterproof bags to store any dirty diapers, dirty clothes, or even wet bathing suits. They are machine washable and do a fairly good job of containing odors once zipped shut. They come in a variety of sizes. We keep a small one in our diaper bag when we leave the house. At home, we keep a large one inside a trash bin to store a few day’s worth of dirty diaper inserts at a time.
Cleaning cloth diapers was one of the more intimidating aspects going in. I initially searched online to try and figure out how people manage it. Similar to asking Google for medical advice, the results I got were terrifying. The internet certainly has a way of overcomplicating things. Thankfully, cleaning cloth diapers truly doesn’t have to be a specialized process. You don’t need a specific washing machine or any fancy detergent! Cloth diapers usually require a rinse either in a sink or a quick rinse cycle in the washing machine before washing them like a normal load of laundry.
Diaper Service
Still, with how many diapers newborn babies go through, finding a local business that offers diaper laundry service delighted me. Mother Earth Baby based in Oswego provides cloth diapering service to the greater Rochester area. They offer a few different service packages for each cloth diaper style. The basic package that we signed up for involves the rental of cotton cloth diaper pre-folds. (We decided to invest in our own diaper covers so we can use them again with our future children, but they also offer packages that include rental of covers or all-in-one diapers instead.) Each week, they collect dirty diapers from our house and drop off clean ones. It has been a huge help and made the whole process easier for us.
The average child will go through 8,000-10,000 diapers between birth and potty training. This means families today typically spend anywhere from $2,500-$5,000 per child just on disposable diapers. With the initial investment in diaper covers and the fee for the laundry service, my family has already saved hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on diapers. I am happy to report that my son used cloth diapers for a full 30 months of life before officially transitioning to big-boy undies. He rarely experienced diaper rash. We are now using the same diaper covers (and the laundry service) with our second son. I eagerly encourage anyone interested in cloth diapering to give it a try!
