One year into cloth diapering, and we are still going strong. And by going strong, I mean we are still clothing diapering about 75% of the time. We obviously aren’t cloth diapering diehards. From forgetting to do the wash to overnight leaks, we’ve got a back-up of disposables on hand at all times. Now one year in, here are 5 things I didn’t know about cloth diapering before we started:
1. There will come a point where you have to load up on inserts or switch to a disposable at night. For us this happened around 6 months. Since we use all-in-ones, we couldn’t really add any more inserts, so we just made the switch to disposable diapers. Even still, she sometimes wakes up at night needing a diaper change.
2. Wet diapers smell just as bad as poopy ones. I wasn’t expecting this at all, but yeah, those suckers stink.
3. You need to strip your diapers. No one told me about stripping, then they started stinking even after being washed. Turns out, you should strip them on a fairly regular basis (once every month or so depending on what your read, brand, etc.). It makes a world of difference.
4. Routine, routine, routine. Habit, habit, habit. Cloth diapering can be a pain – if you don’t have a routine in place. Know how often you need to wash, how long it takes them to dry, etc. For us, we need to do a load about every other day. All-in-ones take a long time to dry, so we are constantly rotating new ones in. It’s a lot easier when it’s warm and sunny outside, but in the winter, we rely on a simple drying rack.
5. You don’t need a diaper sprayer. Hallelujah!!! They make disposable liners that you can just flush. So. much. easier. So. much. cleaner.
All this to say, I’m really happy we made the investment and decision to cloth diaper. My main motivation was to save money, which I believe we have. Also, it turns out Baby Snob has very sensitive skin and can only wear certain types of disposable diapers. She has never had any issues with the cloth and rarely has diaper rash. When she does, it is very very mild.
What do you wish you knew before cloth diapering?
Also, I picked a winner for the Little Green Pouch giveaway. Was it you?
laura@foodsnobstl.com
I feel fortunate that Jonas isn’t a heavy night time pee-er (knock on wood). We’ve been able to use either fitteds, or a pocket diaper stuffed with a regular insert and hemp. And I agree with you on the smell of those wet diapers – gross!
I have found that since it’s so dry here in the winter, my diapers actually dry quicker now than in the summer when they were in the sun. That really surprised me.
That’s crazy that they dry faster in the winter. I’m afraid of what my skin would be like up there in the winter!