How we do cloth diapers

**This post is about diapers, so if things that go on in diapers gross you out, don't read this!
I have had three friends ask in the last couple months about cloth diapers. I am no expert but I have learned a lot since we first started the cloth diaper journey a year ago. I wanted to put together a little “how to” so that when people ask I can direct them here. Feel free to let me know if you have tried something else that works better=) Before I even got pregnant with Brett, I kinda wanted to do cloth diapers. Sean was really skeptical at first because he was thinking of old style cloth diapers with folding and pins and rubber pants. When a friend showed us her cloth diapers, he was sold. We decided to go with Bum Genius 4.0 which we purchased new on cottonbabies.com . We were given half or our diapers for a Christmas gift which really cut down on the cost. I haven’t done any of the fancy calculations for cloth vs. disposables but I believe all the other people that have found cloth to be cheaper. If anything, its super super nice to not have to buy diapers every time I go to the store! Here is 3 1/2 month old Brett with his cute cloth diaper:

  How Many?
I have 20 diapers that I wash every 3-4 days. How often you need to do laundry depends on how often you change diapers and how many diapers you have. As Brett has gotten older, he only poops once a day usually which saves on laundry. I change his diaper every 3 hours or so (unless he has pooped and requires a more immediate change).
  When Can You Start?
I started using cloth with him around 4 months. I think with future children I will start somewhere in the 1-2 month range. You can start using cloth immediately (I just don’t want to have to wash all those newborn diapers while recovering from child birth). We have used cloth overnight in the past, but right now I use a disposable since he has really wet overnight diapers and I don’t want wetness to wake him up.
How Do You Wash Them?
I use the bum genius brand of detergent. It’s only $11 from cotton babies and ships free. A box seems to last 3-4 months. I have heard that you can also use any free and clear detergent. I just like to remember that cloth diapers are an investment and you want to care for them well. I separate all the inserts from the diapers and put them in the washer. I do 1 cold wash with 1 scoop of detergent, then 1 hot wash with 2 scoops of detergent, then 1-2 rinses. Once a month I add 1/4 cup bleach to the hot wash. Once every 3-4 month I strip them for mineral and detergent buildup by adding 1 tbsp of original formula blue Dawn dishwashing soap to a hot wash (after I have already washed them with the detergent). Line dry the diapers and put the inserts and laundry bags in the dryer. When I first started researching cloth diapers I heard that and exclusively breastfed baby’s poop doesn’t need to be rinsed, you can just put it in the washer. I disagree! I like my diapers really clean so I spray them down even with breastmilk poop.
 
Do I need a Diaper Sprayer? Yes! I went the first few months without one and I spent a lot of time with my hands in poop! Gross! We started with a cheap $10 sprayer that you have to attach to the faucet of the tub. It has worked fine but isn’t that convenient. After a year we have decided to upgrade to this
 
It should come Wednesday and after a particularly unpleasant experience this morning I am really excited. That all being said, once your baby start eating solids, most poop just falls right off the diaper without any spraying at all. You just dump and flush=)
What About Wipes?
Many people use cloth wipes as well, I don’t. We found some great flushable wipes at costco that work great.
Traveling
When we are gong to normal day to day activities, Brett wears cloth. I have a little yellow bag that I can slip a wet or poopy diaper into and I just bring along an extra cloth. When we are vacationing at a hotel or someone else’s house I use disposables. I don’t like the idea of having to haul around a bag of stinky diapers!
 
We use cloth diapers almost all the time! But the great news is, its not all or nothing. If Brett has diarrhea, I use disposables. If I am super sick or slow on the laundry, we use a few disposables.
Putting it all Together
Bum genius offers two kinds of the 4.0 style: Velcro or snaps. I thought I would like snaps more but I don’t! Have you ever tried to diaper a wiggling baby? Velcro is much easier for us and after a year the velcro isn’t showing any wear.

 After you have washed your diapers, hang them on the line to dry. I put the inserts in the dryer, but you can line dry those too.
 
After everything is dry grab an insert and a diaper.
Stuff the insert into the pocket in the diaper trying to make sure the inset is lying nice and flat.
Then we fold em up like this and put them in a basket in Brett’s room. They are all set and ready for diaper-changing time.

When its time to change the diaper lay your little cutie down like this=) and change their diaper like any normal disposable.

Take the wet diaper to the pail (we use a big garbage can with a lid). Make sure to secure the velcro tabs so they don’t get worn in the laundry. Slip out the insert and dump the insert and the diaper in the pail. (if there is poop either dump or spay)

We got some leak resistant diaper bags from cotton babies. I got two, but have found that I really only need one.

The bum genius 4.0 diapers are a one size diaper. They have snaps so that you can adjust the rise and you can also snap the inserts so that they are different lengths. I also have newborn insert which are a lot smaller but they are in storage.
 
 Please let me know if you have any questions! Cloth diapers aren’t for everyone but I sure love them a lot!