Everything you need to successfully start cloth diapering

Guys, I am so very excited about this new kit we are offering at Zukababy! I'm a little jealous that there was nothing like this when I was getting started cloth diapering!

When I first began doing cloth diaper consulting, I always tried to point people toward prefolds and covers because that is what I have loved from day one. However, as I've worked with more and more cloth diaper mamas, I realize that everyone has a different lifestyle, different baby, and a different preference. Therefore, I now recommend trying out many different styles to find out what you like best. I've spent many an hour sitting with cloth newbies making a list of what to try.

Well, we've made it simple for you. Zukababy now offers a complete cloth diapering kit that contains everything you'll need to get started cloth diapering!

Isn't it beautiful?

This kit includes (as copied and pasted from the Zukababy website):

• One dozen prefolds
• 1 Snappi
• 6 Fitted Diapers
• 1 Thirsties Duo Cover
• 1 Rumparooz Cover
• 1 Bummis Whisper Wrap Super Snap Cover
• 1 Flip One-Size Cover
• Flip Stay Dry Inserts – Your choice: 3 one-size or 6 newborn
• 1 pack Flip Disposable Inserts (18 per pack)
• 2 Overnight Hemp Doublers
• 1 Bumgenius 4.0 One-Size Pocket Diaper
• 1 FuzziBunz One-Size Pocket Diaper
• 1 Go Green The Champ One-Size Pocket Diaper
• 1 Bumgenius Freetime Stay Dry All-in-One
• 1 Bumgenius Elemental Organic Cotton All-in-One
• Planetwise Wet/Dry Bag
• Pail Wetbag – Your choice: 2 pail liners or one GroVia hanging pail
• 12 Pack of Flannel Cloth Wipes
• BabeeGreens Cleansing Set – wipe solution concentrate and spray bottle
• 1 pack of Flushable liners (100 per roll)

I checked and I just can't think of anything else you'll need. Other than soap to wash them with. But there's a kit for that, too. I'll write a short post about that tomorrow! Even if you don't purchase this particular kit, this is a great master list to go by as you build your stash. 

The kit contains 26 diapers, which is plenty to cloth diaper full time. It contains all of the types of diapers, (prefolds, fitteds, pockets, all-in-ones, and hybrids) including some disposable inserts. Several major brands are represented. It's just really amazing.

About the cost: if you've done any internet research, you'll know that almost everyone says that you need to be ready to invest around $400 to get started cloth diapering. Here are the costs for the Zukababy diaper kit, by size:

Infant size kit: $381.82 plus tax (fits size 5-16lbs)

Baby size kit: $412.35 plus tax (fits size 16-30lbs)

All orders over $99 qualify for free shipping, so there is no shipping charge.

You'll be hard pressed to find or build a kit that is this inclusive for such a low price. I haven't seen one yet.

But wait, there's more! (sorry, couldn't resist)

Next week, I will be posting a special way to get $50 taken off of the cost of your cloth diaper kit. Check back on Monday to find out how! (Sign up for my email updates to ensure you get a reminder! Or go find me on Facebook!)

If you want to go ahead and order your kit, or you want to check into purchasing some of these items individually, click through this link to get to my Zukababy page!

Shared at Fat Tuesday.

Cloth diapers (updated)

To read my previous posts about cloth diapering, check out these links:

Why should I fool with cloth diapers?

What you need

Washing Cloth diapers

Oh, yes, cloth diapers. I wrote on cloth diapers shortly after I started blogging. Since then, I've learned more about dealing with washing issues, toddler poop, and having two kids in cloth diapers. Also, I've been doing cloth diaper consulting for a while.

I have a lot more knowledge about cloth diapering now, and I'd like to update myself a little here.

When Korban was born, I initially didn't think I'd have to buy any more diapers because everything I used on Izzy held up great. However, Korban has turned out to be a seriously heavy wetter, so I ordered him some more diapers and doublers to help us make it a little longer between wash days. All told, between diapering Izzy and Korban so far, I've spent maybe $500 dollars. Yeah, that's still a huge savings compared to disposables! (Plus the cost of washing/drying, however much that is.)

First of all, I don't do a "wet pail" anymore. I got a sprayer, and I'm really glad I finally invested in one. It makes cleaning the dirty diapers much less icky. They're not necessary, but definitely worth the extra $50 or so. *update - We moved to an older house, and there just isn't enough pressure for a sprayer here. Bummer As of right now, we're spraying with a hose in the backyard. It's not as bad as it seems, and the flowerbed looks better than ever :)

I also have found that cloth diapering is really not a "one size fits all" process. I personally love my prefolds and don't care much for pockets or anything with microfiber, but I have more than one friend who swears by pockets.

Diapering two at once is not really a big deal, I don't have to wash diapers more often, I'm just washing a bigger load each time, so there's a little more stacking (I can't really call it folding, it's easier than that).

I'm not going to lie, though. Toddler poop can be a challenge. With a newborn breastfed baby, there is no stink. No trouble getting things out in the wash. But toddler poo? Well, we deal with it. It helps to have the sprayer and the liners I mentioned in the "what you need" post above. Definitely not worth giving up over, as even the worst diapers still only take about 10 seconds to spray clean.

The other diapering challenge we faced for a while was washing. When we moved we changed from hard water to soft water. My wash routine was suited for hard water, and I had a few fits trying to figure out how to tweak my routine to make it work. I finally found that I need to use Charlie's soap and add about 3/4 cup of vinegar to my final rinse. I also strip occasionally with Funk Rock and I haven't had any problems since. *Update- I found that it is important that our water is hot enough, and we need to keep it at around 125 degrees to get things really clean. Also, I add 2-3 tablespoons of bleach with my soap. I haven't had a single stink issue in over a year with this routine.

A good place to go for diapering advice is the Zukababy cloth diaper 101 page. However, when I was first considering cloth diapering, it wasn't hard to find information on the internet, it was just impossible for me to sort through it all. Everyone had different opinions and I couldn't quite get a grip on what "pocket", "prefold", and "all-in-one" meant. Fortunately, I had both a diaper consultant and a great place to shop nearby, or I'd have never ventured into this cloth diaper thing.

Cloth diaper booty! So cute!

If there's one piece of advice I offer to someone trying to get started with cloth diapering, it's this:

If at all possible, talk to a real person about it before you start buying.

Like I said before, there are tons of websites with info on cloth diapers, and they all say something different. From what detergent to use to what diapers are best, it's not a one-size-fits-all ordeal. You need someone you can ask questions to and who can show you their system in action.

If you have a friend who uses cloth, go with that. If not, I'd be happy to help you out. I'm a trained cloth diaper consultant. I've tried all the major diaper styles out there and I've helped clients through a number of issues, from heavy wetting to "diaper stink." I'd love to answer any questions you have or help you get started. I don't charge for consults, I think they're fun. I do receive commission on orders placed from Zukababy using my consultant  code, though. (More on that later.*)

So, give me your questions. You can leave a comment on this page or email me at sellzey123@live.com. We can also set up a Skype consult, so I can show you the different types of diapers in action, as well as how my diapering system works (wet pail, sprayer, etc.). Or, if you don't have Skype and want to talk on the phone, that works for me, too!

*Like I said, consults are free, I really do enjoy doing them b/c most people don't care to hear me go on about my opinions on pockets vs prefolds! :)
I am an employee of Zukababy, though, and if you are interested in ordering cloth diapers/diapering supplies, or you are looking into other natural baby/mommy items such as baby carriers, natural toys, bath supplies, natural parenting books and such, you can order them from Zukababy and support this blog!

Just remember to type "SE01" in as your consultant code when you place your order online. There is a $5 flat rate for shipping inside the U.S., so it's a pretty good deal.

Now, give me your questions! I'd love to help you out! This post was shared at Fat Tuesday, Frugally Days Sustainable Ways, Works for Me Wednesdays

How cloth diapering works part 2 - Washing

I realize that I was absent on Friday - I was getting ready for my cloth diaper party. We had a lot of fun, and I learned a lot! Many thanks to Erin for making the trip out here to teach us!

Also notable, yet unrelated - Izzy started walking this weekend! Yes, we are very proud, but I'm also sad to see my baby growing up!

Now, on to business. Washing your cloth diapers -

Waiting for wash day:

I keep 2 diaper pails, one by the changing table for wet diapers, and a small bucket by the toilet for "dirty" diapers. The wet ones just go straight into the big pail and wait for wash day. The dirty ones get rinsed out and put into the smaller pail to wait. (Those diaper liners I talked about last week really come in handy here.)

I actually still do a wet pail for my dirty diapers, but almost no-one does that anymore. A wet pail is just a bucket full of water and a little bleach or detergent to soak the diapers in. I can't seem to convince myself that I don't need to soak the dirty diapers...

Also, you can buy a sprayer that hooks up to your toilet to spray the poop off of the diapers. These seem great, but we haven't gotten one yet. They look like the sprayers that are on a lot of kitchen sinks.

Wash day:

It's best to wash diapers every 2 to 3 days, to prevent them from smelling. This may seem like a lot of washing, but it's really easy and there's not really much folding to it. Folding is my least favorite part of doing laundry anyway!

Tip: it's actually better to keep your diaper pail open, if possible. This allows air to flow through them and actually prevents stink. I can always tell when I accidentally left the lid down on my diaper pail because the diapers smell just like ammonia by wash day. It's not big deal either way, though. They still wash clean on wash day!

So, here's my routine:

1. Dump the water out of the wet pail and empty both the wet pail and the "dry" pail into the washing machine. Run a cold water wash cycle with "biokleen bac-out" as a prewash.

2. Run a hot or warm water wash with detergent

3. Do a final rinse with 1/2 cup of vinegar, just to make sure I got all the soap out.

That's it! Some people do skip one of those rinse cycles, some people may add another. When I lived in  New Orleans, I didn't do a prerinse, I just did a rinse after the initial wash to make sure they were clean. Now that we've moved, I find I need that extra rinse to get them really clean. It just depends on your water.

Also, it does matter what kind of detergent you use. Many detergents contain things that will build up in the cloth and make the diapers hold on to stink. Yuck! (This kind of makes me wonder what kind of buildup is in all of my clothes from using mainstream detergent!)  Fortunately, most diapers can be easily stripped if this happens.

Stripping you diapers can consist of simply rinsing them over and over in your washing machine several times or soaking them overnight in a little bleach water. There are many other options out there for stripping your diapers, too. Some women even boil their cloth diapers to strip them, I've read. At some point, most cloth diapers do need stripping.

Here's a great chart to help you decide what detergent will be best for you and your baby:

www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart

In New Orleans, I used All Free & Clear and it worked great. Since we've moved, I had to switch and now I use Country save. Both are cheap and will work great for all your laundry! When I run out next time, I'm going to try making the homemade laundry detergent some readers have asked me to test out for them!

I've been fortunate to have someone around to ask for help troubleshooting whenever I've had questions. There are (as I was reminded Friday night) a lot of options out there when you are cloth diapering, and it's easy to get overwhelmed! If you have any questions or need any help getting started, please comment, email or facebook me! I'd be glad to help you any way I can!

Also, I've started a Facebook page for my followers, so head on over and click "like" if you want to be a part of our conversations over there!

That concludes our cloth diapering series! I've got some great recipes to share the rest of this week!

How cloth diapering works part one - what you need

I told you on Monday that cloth diapering is easy, and I'm willing to bet that not all of you believe me!

I was surprised myself at just how easy cloth diapering can be.

For starters, here's what I recommend you purchase:

18-24 diapers

5-10 diaper covers

24 cloth wipes

a water sprayer

a garbage can big enough to hold 2 days worth of diapers (mine is like 20 gallons, 10 would be fine for diapering one child)

a wet bag

diaper liners (optional, but highly recommended)

3-4 doublers

Here's a couple photo samples of everything I just mentioned, except for the sprayer because I forgot about it. :P

Clockwise from top left: diaper cover, pock

et diaper with insert, diaper liner, cloth wipe, doubler, prefold diaper

Diaper pail and wet bag (also, a few wet diapers, in case you didn't know what to do with the pail, I guess!)

You can see two types of diapers in my picture. The prefold, which you fold into thirds and place inside the diaper cover, and the pocket diaper, in which you stuff the insert inside the pocket. Hence the name. When you change the pocket diaper, just pull out the insert before you throw it in your pail. I find that prefolds leak less, and pocket diapers travel better because they take up less space in your diaper bag.

The sprayer is to fill with diaper solution to spray your cloth wipes (or your baby's heiny) with. I've filled mine with a witch hazel/water mix, a tea trea oil infused water, water with a little baby wash. There are a lot of options, and the water seems to be the only important ingredient.

The doubler is to use at night to prevent leaks, you just place it on top of the diaper (where it will be closer to baby's skin). Many doubler also help to wick away moisture and help baby keep feeling dry.

The liners are designed to help remove solid waste. You simply lift it out and flush it down the toilet. These are not expensive and definitely a worthy investment! If your baby is still exclusively breastfed, these are not necessary because breastfed-baby poo is so runny. However, breast milk poo is water soluble so there's no need to rinse the diapers before washing, anyway.

So, there are the basics. There are ton more resources out there, but this is what we've been using in our home the past year.

If you're interested in ordering some cloth diapers or learning more about what's out there, here are two great resources to check out:

www.zukababy.com

www.greenmountaindiapers.com

Check back friday to learn how to set up a wash routine for your cloth diapers!

Questions? I know you guys have got 'em!

Why should I fool with cloth diapers?

Good morning, and welcome to another week on this journey to natural living!

This week, in honor of my cloth diaper party coming up on friday, I'm going to be talking a little bit about my experience with cloth diapers, starting with why I think it's such a great option.

It's better for the environment.
This was my first reason for being interested in cloth diapering. It's been estimated that it takes somewhere between 250-500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose. Think about all the babies in the world, then multiply that by the number of diapers they'll use by the time they're potty trianed. Where in the world are we going to keep all of those diapers?

Disposable diapers are the third largest consumer item in landfills.

Not to mention all of the natural resources used to make a disposable diaper.

It's better for baby.
Have you smelled a disposable diaper lately? I never really thought about it because, well, I'd never had experience with cloth diapers. After cloth diapering Izzy for a few months, I started to notice the chemical smell when I would use disposable diapers on her. Not just on her diaper area, but after a day or two, I could smell it coming out of her skin. Ew. It takes quite a few chemicals to make a disposable diaper, and I'm not really comfortable having Izzy sitting around in them all day long. Of course, there are some good options out there now for more natural, unbleached diapers. Also, we do use pampers sometimes. We're grateful to have been given enough disposable diapers that Izzy can wear them when we go out for the day, or when she's with a sitter. This definitely makes things easier on those days.

It's better for your budget.
I always tell people, I got interested in cloth diapering because it's good for the environment, but what really sealed the deal for me was seeing the cost of disposable diapers compared to that of cloth. Izzy will be one year old soon, and I've spent about 200 dollars total on diapers for her (not counting water and detergent to wash). Also, I've only had one diaper wear out on me in that time, and it could easily be repaired with a needle and thread. So, next baby will be practically free to cloth diaper.

*I have to say, Izzy has a little frog butt, so I haven't had to buy the next size up diaper for her yet. (The diapers I bought were adjustable, so they can "grow" with baby, to a point. I'll talk a little about different cloth diaper options later this week.) Most babies will have to move up a diaper size before they're one. I'm sure I'll spend another couple hundred before we potty train.

Now, lets compare that to the cost of disposables. It's been estimated that it costs somewhere between $1,600 to $2,000 dollars to buy disposable diapers for one child from birth to potty triaining. Compare that to the $500 or so it costs to cloth diaper a child, matched with the savings on future children. That's a big difference!

I found the facts and figures for this post at realdiaperassociation.org, check them out for some more interesting stats on cloth vs. disposable diapers.

So, now that I've told you why you should cloth diaper, I'd better also share how easy it actually is! Tune in Wednesday for more cloth diaper info!

Do you or did you cloth diaper your kids? If you don't have kids yet, are you thinking about it?

Check out zukababy.com, they're hosting my cloth diaper party and have lots of info on cloth diapering for ya!

Cloth diaper party!

Hi guys!

Before I get started on my Sourdough series, I'd like to share an important announcement: I'm hosting a party!

This is not just any party, though. This is a cloth diaper party.

I had a visit with Erin at Zukababy in New Orleans last week, and we've decided to have a cloth diaper party at my place in Ponchatoula!

I've talked to a number of people since I've moved here that are interested in cloth diapering, but just don't know where to begin. Believe, I've been there. I was so grateful to have Zukababy nearby when Izzy was born, where I could learn just how easy and affordable cloth diapering can be.

So, what do you do at a cloth diaper party, anyway? Well, Erin will come with her box o' gear (diapers, liners, wipes and such) and explain the different types of cloth diapers, the best way to keep them until wash day, how to wash, how to troubleshoot, etc. Also, you can order from my house that night, if you're interested.

Pretty soon, I'll write a little about my experience with cloth diapering and why I love it so MUCH! Yes, I'm a little crazy about my cloth diapers.

So, before I go, I'll share with you the details: The party will be Friday, September 16th at my place in Ponchatoula. We're still nailing down the exact time, but I'll let you know as soon as I know. It will be some time in the evening. Be checking back.

Let me know by comment if you think you might want to come, and do your friends a favor by letting them know, too! Share the link for this post on Facebook if you think any of your e-friends might be interested. I'll be creating a Facebook "event" shortly.

Even if you're not that interested, you may want to come by just to see how it's done. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I know that this post does not apply to all readers, only those in my area who have small children. However I do want to get the word out as much as possible so we can have a good turnout for Erin's first homeshow. If you don't live in the area but are interested in cloth diapering or just want another good natural parenting resource, you can still check out Zukababy's website.

TTFN!
Sarah