Essential Keys to Cloth Diapering

Cloth diapering can be confusing to anyone new to the process. There are so many different style of cloth diapers, as well as different brands, and washing and storing methods, not to mention the fact that all diapers fit babies differently so what works for one person may not work for you.

There are some major benefits to choosing cloth over the more traditional disposable diapers.

1. The biggest and most important reason is the sense of security you have in knowing you are not putting anything dangerous near your baby. Almost every mom in the world does everything in her power to ensure she never allows anything of harm near her baby, and most people just don't realize how dangerous diapers can be.

Disposable diapers are loaded with extremely harmful chemicals; so much so that I'm curious as to how it's legal. Even the cloth diapers that aren't organic are going to be better for your baby than letting him come into contact with the chemicals in disposable diapers.

2. They are much more environmentally friendly than disposable diapers. There are ____ million tons of disposable diapers added to trash heaps every year. While cloth diapers do require you to use water to wash them, they still use ____ less energy than disposables.

3. Cloth diapering is cheaper than using disposables. I know this might sound insane considering some cloth diapers cost $20 each, but over the course of the three years your baby will wear diapers, you will spend less if you cloth diaper.

4. The new cloth options are so incredibly cute! When you put them on your baby, it's just as good as an adorable onesie, or better.

5. I've heard some moms say that their babies get potty trained faster on cloth. Somehow the toddlers learn elimination communication faster in cloth diapers.

The big questions for vegan mommas new to cloth diapering are:

• With so many options, which is the best diaper?
• How in the heck do you clean them?
• Can you outsource that cleaning to someone else?
• Where do you put dirty diapers before you clean them?
• How many do you need?
• Do I need different diapers for the different aged babies?
• Are cloth more expensive than disposable?
• Should I choose organic?
• Are cloth diapers really better for the environment?

What’s the best brand and style?

The answers are not always black and white. For instance, there’s no exact perfect diaper for every single person. Every baby and every mother is going to be different and have different preferences, so there will be some trial and error before you find the best fit for your individual baby.

As your baby grows, you will need a different size diaper. During the night, you will need a more absorbent diaper. There are many different brands that specialize in each of these needs.

How do you clean them?

The grossest thing to think about is throwing poopy diapers directly in your wash and then just crossing your fingers that there's no poop on your favorite sweater that you put in the next wash. Don't worry-- millions of people clean their diapers in their laundry machines and they don't walk around with poop on their socks. If you follow the instructions, the washer will do its job.

As far as cleaning diapers, you really can throw them in the washer. Usually you’ll do a rinse cycle first to clean the guck off and then do a regular wash. And there are plenty of organic, vegan detergents available to wash away all the grime.

Diaper services

If doing laundry isn’t your cup of tea, and the idea of laundering poop is especially not for you, big cities usually have diaper cleaning services. They’re often expensive and will require that you own quite a few diapers so you have something for the baby to wear while you wait for the clean ones to return. However, you pay for the convenience and peace of mind.

Where do the dirty diapers go before you wash them?

When you’re at home in the nursery, you can set up a wet pail with a special liner that will house your dirty diapers. On the go, there are incredible bags that can hold anywhere from 1 to 10 dirty diapers (or bibs, cloth wipes, etc) until you can bring them to be washed.

How many diapers do I need?

As far as how many you need, that will again depend on your baby. If you are breastfeeding, it’s likely you’ll have a mess on your hands more often than if you use a soy formula. That’s simply because the baby will digest breast milk faster than any synthetic milk (side note: however, breastfed babies have less smelly poops than formula-fed babies). It also depends on the size and age of your child, and what you eat personally.

Here are some quick estimates on how many diapers you’ll go through in a day:

From 1 to 3 months old: 5-12 diapers/day
From 4 to 6 months old: 5-7 diapers/day
From 7 to 12 months old: 5-6 diapers/day
From 12 to 24 months old: 2-4 diapers/day

So, if you plan to do a wash every day, you can get away with having only about 10 newborn diapers. If you do a wash every other day, you probably need just about 20 for newborns.

As your baby grows, you will need different sized diapers. This is true of both cloth and disposables. In the end, you will probably need about 36 diapers for your baby, in different sizes and styles.

Do I need different diapers for the different aged babies?

In short, yes. There are several popular cloth diaper brands on the market right now that all for several stages of your baby's diapering needs, so you can get away with using them for longer. Usually they have several snaps across the front of the diaper so as your baby grows, you can snap the closures onto different sections.

Most of the time you will need to get separate newborn diapers that are built to protect the umbilical cord and accommodate the most-interesting newborn poop.

Also, you might find that certain brands or styles of cloth diapers work better on some of your babies and not the others. If you have a long, lean baby versus a shorter and stockier baby, you might prefer a different style or fit. Many new moms will start out with a sample collection of a few different types of diapers so they can wait to see what works best for their individual baby.

Is cloth diapering more expensive than using disposables?

A lot of this depends on how you spend your money. There is a wide variety of quality and prices available, both for disposables and for cloth. You can’t simply compare the price of one cloth diaper to one disposable and assume it’s more expensive. You obviously reuse the cloth and discard the disposable, so you can get away with having about 30-40 cloth diapers for one baby.

However, you can assume that your baby would go through about 7000 disposable diapers in the course of the few years they are wearing diapers. While they range in price, even if you buy in bulk, you will still end up spending an estimate of about $2700 on disposable diapers. If you stay conservative with your spending on diapers (it can be easy to go overboard because the new cloth ones are so cute!), your cloth diapers will pay for themselves after six months of use.

Are organic diapers better?

You should choose organic for your baby whenever it’s financially possible. There are so many unregulated synthetic chemicals being used today that all you can is try to stay away from them. While the term “organic” isn’t as unadulterated as it once was, you can’t spend too much time worrying about whether or not a product is truly chemical-free. You’re too busy for that!

A great resource is The Complete Organic Pregnancy to guide you through the things to avoid while planning for your new addition.

Are disposables bad for the environment?

You bet they are! Even if you just consider how many your baby will go through, you can imagine them rotting away in a trash heap somewhere. 7000 diapers made of plastic is hard to fathom, and even harder for the earth to digest. Add to it the fact that they’re covered in excrement, which leaks into the groundwater, and you have a lot of environmental issues on your hands.

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