My cloth nappy*/diaper scheme

Disclaimer: Don’t read any further if you’re not interested in cloth nappies/diapers.
*Second disclaimer: I’m going to call them nappies, not diapers, because I’m not from the US

This is just a summary of my cloth nappy set-up. I’ve only been doing it for a couple of months (although now updated from the ‘have been doing this for 19 months now’ perspective), so things will probably change, but in the meantime, this is the sort of thing I found really handy to read before I started the cloth nappy process, as a lot of information out there was really short on detail and photos (although there’s heaps of fantastic information at Karen’s Diaper Pages (she’s also much better at doing the pre-fold folds than I am, I’m still getting the hang of it), and a bunch of photos of prefolds on babies at Green Mountain Diapers prefold page . There’s also a good summary of all the different types of nappies available these days here. So here we go…

 

My nappy pile

 

In general I bought a whole mix of things, as I had no idea what would and wouldn’t work for me. As he gets bigger I’m getting a better idea of what I’ll buy in bigger sizes, and what I won’t bother with.

I’m currently using (at two months):

3 x Baby Kicks pre-fold (size S) (cotton/hemp) (Kind of stiff and an awkward size, I don’t love these)
10 x Jamtots “pre-fold” (cotton/hemp) (They’re really just plain double layer, not pre-folds at all. Still handy. Can be used snappi-ed on, or just triple folded and lain in a cover.)
6 x Bummis pre-fold (infant size)(cotton)
8 x Big softies flat (cotton terry towel)
10 x AMPdiapers “insert” (cotton/hemp) (Great to use triple-folded)

In general the cotton/hemp blend stuff dries a bit stiff (maybe because I’m line drying) but is super absorbent, whereas the plain cotton is always nice and soft and pliable (but maybe a bit less absorbent).

 

 

Daytime

During the day I use prefolds/flats with PLU (that’s the plasticy stuff) or wool covers. I tend to just fold the prefold/whatever into thirds and place in the PLU with a microfleece liner on top. Place baby on top and velcro in place:

 

Thirsties XS PLU cover with an AMPdiapers insert folded in three, and a home-made liner

 

My wool covers are the pull on variety, so I find it easier to snappi a prefold in place (with microfleece liner), then pull the cover on. I did have a snap on wool cover, but found it annoying to use. Wool covers often get referred to as ‘soakers’, you can even knit your own.

(Oh, and snappis are those little 3 way things that grab into the material, and are used instead of safety pins. So far they’re working for me, although they don’t grip the hemp/cotton material very well, much better on plain cotton)

 

The two main folds demonstrated with Bummis pre-folds, snappis, and a Luxe baby wool cover (left), and Loveybums wool short (right – still too big for him, I don’t use it much yet)

 

The wool can soak up a fair bit of liquid without wicking it to the outer layers of clothing – and if it’s really well lanolised, it’ll hardly soak up any. Wool covers that have had some urine on them don’t get stinky either (unlike the PLUs), and so after airing them out you can keep using them for a couple of weeks without washing (unless there’s a poosplosion incident in the meantime). The only extra care they require is re-lanolising every few washes. So wool = awesome. Although I haven’t got the hang of re-lanolising yet; it’s supposed to just involve melting some lanolin in hot water (with a drop of some sort of detergent) then adding to warm water and letting the cover sit for half an hour. My lanolin always seems to go blobby.

 

 
Night

Overnight I’m using pocket nappies:

Fuzzi Bunz perfect size pocket diaper (size S, 7-18lbs)

 

 

Happy Heinys one size pocket diaper (snaps to adjust front-back length for growing baby)

 

 

Home-made pocket nappy (using the kit from this site, which actually made 2 nappies from a 1 nappy kit, with a bit of ingenuity from my Mum… it’s an Australian site, with a whole pile of terribly cute nappy fabrics)

 

I’ve got a Fuzzi Bunz and a Happy Heinys, then I have four home-made ones (similar to the Happy Heinys in that they’re velcro, but they’re actually lasting much better). Some people aren’t fans of velcro, but so far I haven’t had any problems with it creating laundry tangles, and it’s lasting. In comparison I find the poppers really irritating to use!

Pocket nappies can be stuffed with whatever seems appropriate – I’ve been experimenting, but a cotton/hemp blend prefold does the trick. Two will be able to absorb more, but then you don’t get a good seal around the legs, and so then there’s leaking! The downside to pocket nappies of course is that you end up frequently washing the water-proof outer layer, which doesn’t really need it. They are straightforward though, which can be handy at 3am – I only do one nappy change overnight, and it’s usually around then.

Lots of people use wool overnight, and I might start experimenting with that as he outgrows these nappies.

 

 
Liners

I bought some (Bummis 5 pack), then realised I’d just paid money for microfleece cut into rectangles. My Mum bought some awesome bright green microfleece, it was cut up to make a bunch of liners. Wicks moisture away and traps poop.

 

Some of my fleece liners

 

 

 
Cloth wipes

As with the liners, I bought some (a 12 pack from Bum Genius) then realised that I’d just paid money for hemmed squares of cotton flannel. So I bought some fabric to cut up and hem, now I’ve got a huge pile of them. I just wet them to use as wipes (just plain water, nothing fancy), and wash them with the nappies.

 

Stash of cloth wipes

 

 

 
How things work at 19 months

I’m now using:

12 x large Cloth-Eez cotton pre-folds
12 x medium Cloth-Eez cotton pre-folds
2 x large Mother Ease Sandy’s diaper (needs cover)

3 x Bummis Super Snaps diaper covers (medium)
1 x Thirsties Duo diaper cover (size 2, snaps)
1 x Bummis Super Brite diaper cover (large, velcro)
2 x large Wild Coconut Wear wool interlock pull-on diaper cover soakers
1 x home-knitted woollen longies

For a long time I was using disposables overnight, but now things have settled down I’ve started using wool with pre-folds overnight, and it works great.

 

 
Dry pailing

Nappies get thrown in a normal pedal bin, lined with a Blueberry diaper pail liner. I’ve got two of the liners, so they just get thrown in the wash with the nappies. The bin lives down in the laundry, and so far there haven’t been any smell issues – that might change once he’s on solids though. It fills up every two or three days, then I throw everything into the washing machine, and do a cold wash. Then add a small amount of no/low residue detergent and do a hot wash. Then an extra cold rinse. Hang to dry if you’re feeling eco-friendly, tumble-dry for nice soft nappies.

 

 
Travel

For days away from home we’ve got a Stinky Botz nappy changing pad. We can fit a spare cover and a couple of spare pre-folds and liners in there, and then used nappies go in one of the Kushies “On the Go” wet bags (a mini laundry bag, big enough for a few wet nappies). In December we’ll have some longer stays away from home with possibly no access to laundry facilities, so we might have to buy some disposables for that….

I managed to do a long haul flight to Australia, just using cloth. It was a little crazy, and involved carrying way too much cloth. It is possible, but on every flight since then we’ve used disposables.

Also brilliant are g-Diaper inserts. They’re an eco-friendly option that you can use for overnight hiking trips and the like. No plastic, and they can be burnt or disposed of down a composting toilet. I’ve used them with plastic covers, the covers can be rinsed/washed, while the inserts are disposed of in the most convenient manner.