Cloth Diapering Journey
When my fourth and youngest baby started getting severe diaper rashes, I decided to try cloth diapering after learning how irritating the chemicals in disposable diapers can be. For context-we live in the mountains on some acreage and are on well and septic.
The two brands I have tried are:
Honest was the first brand I purchased. I hate snaps on just about anything relating to babies (clothes, diapers, etc) and these have velcro tabs so I thought it may go better. They have a pretty beefy inner liner with an additional liner that can be added called a “boostie” if more absorption is needed as the baby gets bigger. I experienced a lot of leaks regardless of the inner liner configuration through the muslin cotton outer which didn’t allow me to reuse them as often as would be ideal. The inner liners also aren’t the easiest to get poop stains out of. All of mine look like they’ve been to war despite my best efforts. I have also experienced a lot of poop side leaks in the leg area. I speculate this is happening because the inner liner is so thick it prevents the outer from sealing tightly to the leg. I think these would be A LOT easier to use on a baby that isn’t super mobile. I did not start using these until my baby was crawling.
Recently, I purchased Nora’s Nursery Cloth Diapers. I was kind of over Honest leaking on me and staining so badly. Nora’s has an outer that snaps (I wasn’t thrilled about this) and bamboo inner liners that can be placed on top of the outer liner or in a pocket within the outer liner. I have chosen to place the liners on top to avoid soiling of the outer liner because I aim to reuse them as much as possible. I haven’t had leaking issues or staining and like that the outer liner is able to seal tightly to the leg……but the snaps. I just hate snaps. Four babies makes you notice the little things that take extra time.
I wash the soiled diapers at least every 3 days. I read going longer can breed bacteria. I store them in a wet bag and also have a diaper pail reusable wet bag liner I put in my diaper genie. I rarely use the diaper genie configuration and it is probably unnecessary unless you have twin babies and wayyy more diaper volume. Washing cloth diapers has been the most challenging part for me. Newborn poops can go straight into the wash since everything in their diet is water soluble, but once solids come into the mix its game over. I have been hosing down poops with a garden hose because there isn’t a sink close enough to a toilet for attachments in our home. We have just entered winter and no longer have a garden hose available because of freezing temperatures. ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. If your baby has extremely solid stools you can dump into the toilet, it won’t be an issue. My baby does not most of the time. I have not figured out how to navigate this and any suggestions are welcome.
Another critical tid bit I have picked up is to not wash cloth diapers with homemade laundry detergent that contains soap. It will cause a buildup that makes them smell musty and you will have to strip them. I have been down this path once and never again.
My journey on this one has not been without challenges but I am committed to sorting it out. I think its worth it to minimize a babies’ exposure to chemicals. For my moms in daycare/working full-time-I’ve been there and have only been at home for about 6 months. Just do what you can-you are amazing. Maybe that’s cloth diapering in evenings or weekends with non-toxic or minimally-toxic diapers during the day time for daycare. It is never an all or nothing.