Dirty Diaper Storage
Diaper Pail: IKEA Knodd (it has a tight fitting lid that has held up through 2 kids and 5 years of diapering)
Pail Liner: Planet Wise liner (We rotate through 2 of these and haven’t noticed any waterproofing failure over hundreds of washes)
Diapers
I started building my cloth stash knowing I ultimately wanted to use BumGenius 4.0 (since updated to 5.0!) because they were about as simple as cloth diapers can be. My husband had never changed any diaper before our first son was born and we felt we didn’t need to add more complication to our lives. I still feel strongly that we made the right choice!
However, I knew there would be a period of time between newborn stage and when our babies reached the BumGenius weight limit that I would have to find an alternative. Enter Green Mountain Prefolds and waterproof covers. If I were to start off my stash on a shoestring budget today, I’d definitely go with all prefolds and covers. Two dozen newborn size prefolds and 2 dozen small prefolds kept us fully supplied until the boys were around 9 lbs.
We tried many different kinds of diaper covers (wool, fleece, PUL) but liked the PUL best, particularly the kinds with extra leg gussets for my skinny legged boys. Thirsties Duo Wraps with snaps were my top favorites (I’ll likely have to buy more for Baby 3) but Bummis Super Whisper Wraps were a close second. The Bummis covers don’t have the leg gussets so we had a few more problems with explosive leaks. For older babies, we liked (and still use) Flip covers, made by the same folks as BumGenius diapers.
Washing Cloth Diapers
Every washing machine is different but essentially you’ll want a cold soak, a hot wash, hang dry anything made of PUL, and dry everything else on high to kill off bacteria. I wrote more about our specific washing routine in this old post.
A few helpful additions:
Charlies Soap: An additive-free detergent that rinses clean and doesn’t leave build up in diapers or clothes. Since starting to use Charlie’s 5+ years ago, we’ve since switched to washing all of our clothes in it. I bought a large 5 gallon pail in 2013 and am just starting to scrape the bottom in 2017, in spite of washing diapers, clothes for 4, and household items in it.
Diaper Sprayer: Breastfed baby poop is completely water soluble so this wasn’t something I needed to bother with for the first 6 months but you might need it! Any solids should be removed from the diaper before putting it in the pail for washing and the easiest, mess-free way to do that is investing in a diaper sprayer that connects to the water line of the toilet. It’s super simple to spray off solids, flush, and put that diaper back in the pail.
Biokleen Bac-Out: If you find that your diapers are a little funky smelling and don’t smell clean after washing, try spraying them with Biokleen. The enzymes in the spray start breaking down the odor causing bacteria while the diapers are in the pail and gives you a fresher smell after the wash (and prevents build up that can cause diapers to repel liquids)
Diapering Accessories
Bummis Fleece Liners: Cotton cloth diapers don’t do a great job of keeping moisture away from sensitive newborn skin and my babies kept getting rashes. Those rashes stopped once I started using a fleece liner. To be fair, these are literally rectangles of microfleece and anyone with scissors and some cutting skills could make their own for much less money
GroVia Magic Stick: An excellent everyday diaper rash stick (that you don’t have to get your hands gooped up to use!)
Earth Mama Angel Baby Diaper Balm: Definitely a more intense ointment but still cloth-safe
A wet bag for dirty diapers on the go: I started off with a smaller wet bag but quickly decided that a bag that could only fit 2 diapers tightly rolled wasn’t very helpful. I fell in love with the wet bags from Alva Baby; they’re roomy enough for many diapers and include a second pocket for dry clothes or spare diapers. As a bonus, they work GREAT for spare clothes during potty training as well (I bought a second bag for our preschooler’s backpack when he started 3s preschool).
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