What?

Who in the world would get attached to a cloth diaper?!  Not me.

Neeeeeever.

Okay, so maybe one time I had a teeny little obsession but I matured past that.

And now I may have reverted just a little bit. But, it’s not my fault! It’s completely the fault of Goodmama diapers.  I was doing just fine with my very plain stash for Sterling.  Then, I began buying cloth diapers for the new baby.

They’re all cute, don’t get me wrong.  How could a minuscule diaper not be?  But, Goodmama Newborns are beyond delicious.  I’m not exaggerating.  Ask my kids (they won’t stop stealing them!) or my friend Grateful for Grace.

She came over one day to let our dogs out and her eyes beheld the beauties tossed like rags in the lounge chair.  I wouldn’t normally toss them around like rags but they came in the day we left for a weekend conference.  I barely had time to ogle them.

All squishiness and cuteness aside, it doesn’t really matter if they don’t work well, right?  I’ll have to wait 4-5 months to test that out.

Before this episode though there was one other time that I just could not part with a diaper.  It was one of Paisley’s.  It was a terribly UNabsorbent diaper but the print is the most precious I’ve seen. It’s the softest cotton knit with tiny little bunnies on it.  Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever use the diaper again but I kept it for sentimental reasons.

Do you have a diaper that you’ve held on to?  I’m sure not. Only I would suffer from this terrible disease

I said need.

I am often asked this question from moms of children of all ages.  The number will vary depending on the age of your child.

During the newborn stage, regardless if one uses cloth diapers or disposables, babies go through a lot of diapers.  Which is yet another obvious reason why one would choose cloth diapers.

A newborn poops a lot therefore absorbency isn’t as big an issue (except at night).  Since the majority of newborns eat on average every 2 hours, you can count on them pooping during or after the feeding.  This comes out to roughly 12 diaper changes a day.

If you did laundry every day you’d need 18 cloth diapers.  However, that can be cutting it close for most.  I recommend at least 24.  Often I will suggest 20 to readers but the safe side is 24 if you are washing every other day-ish.

During the night you may or may not choose to change your baby. It’s your call and you’ll know what is best for your baby.  For our 1st and 2nd babies I changed them a couple of times at night.  For our 3rd I wanted a cloth diaper that would work all night.  I had a few systems but it wasn’t until our 4th that I found the best.  Sustainablebabyish bamboo fitteds are excellent nighttime diapers even from the very beginning.

Again, your baby might need to be changed every time they pee which would mean a couple (or a few) changes at night.  You have to make that decision.

As your baby grows closer to a year they will poop less (usually) and can go without a nighttime change (usually). 

From 10m to 15m, they may only need 10 diapers a day at most.  If they only use 1 for a 12 hour night stretch then you’d really only need about 8 per day.  Most parents don’t like to cut it that close but if money is tight you can make it work.

When we began cloth diapering in 2005 our funds were very limited.  I bought 2 dozen prefolds and 6 prorap covers for my 15m old son.  I don’t like prefolds but they work well for a newbie who knows nothing else.  These diapers were wonderful.  I soon learned of other diapers and saved up to buy 4 Happy Heiny’s.  These were the bomb! (to a newbie going from prefolds )

I was not interested in using anything but those 4 diapers…so I washed them a LOT. At night I would still use a double prefold/prorap combo.  So you can get by with a very small stash.

When your baby is a full-blown toddler they often poop a couple of times a day (again usually) and diaper changes can stretch to every 3-4 hours. I say this, which is contrary to what is “recommended”, because if I change Sterling every 2 hours I’d find a dry diaper most of the time.  At 16m, I go through maybe 5 diapers a day.

I use Bum Genius Elementals during the day and usually the diaper is wet but not soaked.  To relate this to fluid intake, Sterling drinks about a full sippy cup of goat milk in the morning and throughout the day water as he asks for it or sees it and wants it.  He weaned last month (sniff, sniff).

My friend (Grateful for Grace) had just 13 Rumparooz in her stash for a long time and this was enough for 2 days (her son is 2). She says it was tight sometimes and found 15 to be better.

There is no magic number of cloth diapers you will need in your stash.  It really depends on your baby’s preferences and how often you desire to do laundry.  Some moms wash only once a week, obviously they have a large stash.

I’ve found though that even if you have 40+ diapers (which I’ve had), you really only use your favorite dozen over and over.

****CONTEST CLOSED. WINNER CHOSEN!****

CONGRATULATIONS, KRIS I.!

Honestly, I never really understood this love for wool dryer balls.  I’m curious who the person is who came up with the whole idea.

Did they one day say to themselves, “hmmm, what should I do with this crazy wool collection I have.  Ah! I’ll wrap it into a ball and toss it in the dryer to help evenly dry my clothes, cut down on static and speed up the whole process!”

If they thought that, then they certainly deserve an award or something.  I would have never come up with the idea.

So, why use a wool dryer ball?

1) They bounce around your dryer (basically pounding your clothes and diapers) thereby keeping your laundry soft.

2) They bounce around your dryer (…) thereby separating the items and decreasing the drying time.

A month ago, Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique sent me 4 Buddha Bunz Wool Dryer balls to try out.  I have been using them in every load and I have definitely noticed that the clothes are softer.  Beth did tell me that the Buddha Bunz wahm suggests 8 for extra large loads…which is pretty much every one of my loads.

Because of this I haven’t noticed a decrease in drying time BUT I do have a new dryer and I don’t think I have the thing figured out.  I thought it’d be the washer I’d have issues with!

Another very slight effect of using dryer balls is a minimal decrease in static.  I feel like this has been a big improvement for me.  Athletic shorts don’t stick to everything in the load and you don’t hear that crackle that I use to hear.

Over the course of a year the price of 4-8 Buddha Bunz dryer balls would be worth it.  If you are currently using dryer sheets and/or fabric softener (not good for cloth diapers unless you are using a safe brand) then you will see the savings quickly.

On a slightly different note, while I was looking for the Buddha Bunz dryer balls on Sweetbottoms Baby I discovered a very neat program that she has.  It’s called the Newborn Diaper Rental program. I *highly* encourage you to check it out if you are expecting.  If I didn’t have so many newborn diapers already I might have done it myself!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique is giving away 4 Buddha Bunz Wool Dryer balls to one of my readers.  There are a few ways to enter this time, PLEASE make them separate comments if you want more than one entry!

1. Become a fan of Sweetbottoms Baby Boutique on Facebook.
2. Visit http://www.sweetbottomsbaby.com and tell me one thing you’d buy right now if you didn’t have to think about the budget you’ve already done
3. Make a guess as to what I just bought as I was typing out these giveaway guidelines– seriously! I have a problem!
4. Buddha Bunz are great for everyone! Send someone you know that uses a dryer (and maybe you want to influence them to cloth diaper ) over here to enter the giveaway.

I will be camping from Monday-Friday this week.  I will approve comments off and on so if you don’t see your entry don’t panic, it will be.  The contest will end Saturday around noon.

I get this question ALL the TIME! I love answering every comment and email but it can get overwhelming.  Therefore, I’ve created a page that lists all my recommendations.

I’ve only include cloth diapers I have used (Lil’ Joey’s aren’t on the newborn list yet) and ones that are still being made (no more Blueberry minky sidesnap pockets ).

I will add to the list as I try new products.  Let me know if I’ve forgotten one that you know I love!

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

Recently I’ve received some very good cloth diaper questions, questions you may have as well.  This is just a sampling of what you will find in the comments of every post.  I answer every question asked in the comments, making them as helpful as the blog post!

Please tell me your thoughts about the disposable liner inserts? Will these work on newborn BF poop? Should I use one each time? Which ones do you recommend? Thanks!

I have never used disposable liners.  I have a package of Bumkins liners that I do plan to use when Sterling gets a little bigger.  I think the idea of a liner is great.  Bumkins are really soft and not to thin.  They appear that they will hold up well when transferring the poo to the potty.

I am not a fan of swishing in the toilet (who is?!) and I don’t have a diaper sprayer so liners would be the perfect solution for me.  I wouldn’t use liners with a newborn because (and this answers the next question) I just toss newborn poo diapers straight into the pail.

When your child reaches an age where their poo is solidifying a bit and you notice a semi-consistent time they go, then I would begin using liners.  Sterling is 8 months old and he is very non-consistent and because he is still 90% breastfed his poo isn’t really solid.

If any of you have a disposable liners brand that you’d like to recommend please let us know!

Can you please explain exactly what happens when you take the soiled diaper off of:

a newborn with bf poo or pee it goes straight into the dry pail or hanging wet bag

older child with semi solid poo dunk it in the toilet, swish if necessary and put in dry pail

toddler? dunk, swish, pail

Like do you take it off then rinse them out then put in pail or have a wet pail system? What do I do for daycare? Would you recommend this to me my whole stash: Flips, Soft Bums & Grobaby, if yes how many of each should I have on hand with a newborn & to do laundry like every 2-3 days? Thanks a million!!!!

Between Flips, Soft Bums and Grobaby the system that has worked best for me is Flips.  All of them are excellent though. Soft Bums has the best fit by far. Literally, fits like a glove.  Grobaby are absorbent and natural.  Flips are trim and simple.  What I didn’t like was: the fleece on the inside of the Soft Bums cover and Grobaby’s rise was too short and their tabs started rolling.

For daycare the Soft Bums may be your best choice because of the velcro tabs.  The consensus I have seen is that the less snaps they have the more likely a daycare is to use them.  But, you should go with what you like and find a daycare that is willing to learn in my opinion.

Any of these systems with a newborn will require more covers.  Their poo is going to get on the covers (but with Flips you could just rinse and let dry).  Here is my recommendation:

Flips: 10 covers and 36 inserts.~3 shells/day, when one gets poo on it rinse and let dry while using another.

Softbums and Grobaby: 15 covers and 36 inserts. Maybe Sterling was a messier pooper but he got the Soft Bums and Gro Baby shells dirty every time he pooped.  I am estimating 3 soiled covers a day + 2 interchanging covers/day.  Inserts are estimated by changing baby on average every 2 hours.

If you have a different experience please let me know in the comments! Every baby is different

Hello. I am very VERY new to the CD world. I do know that I’m partial to the AI0’s and AI2’s. In my quest I have noticed 2 things….my son gets a rash from the pee touching his skin and i noticed that he has had friction blisters in his inner thighs. Can anyone offer suggestions to prevent these things?

Thanks!

Lisa

Lisa, I am going to speculate on a few things since I don’t have all the details.  While it is possible that your son gets a rash from the pee touching him it is very possible that he is sensitive to the fabric touching his skin.  I make this assumption because of the “friction blisters” you described.

When Paisley was born I had these amazing Essential Saltes cloth diapers.  But every time I put them on her she would have a rash on her private area and “friction blisters” on her inner thighs.  After removing different diapers from her stash I realized she was extremely sensitive to suedecloth.  Bummer for me because I couldn’t use a lot of great diaper brands!

I battled the inner thigh thing for a long while.  Serged diapers irritated it so I tossed all those out but in the end I found it to be yeast related. Here is a post I wrote on battling the yeast rash.

My suggestion to you is to look at all your cloth diapers, divide them by inner material.  If they are not all the same try to notice if by not using one the rash clears up.

Here are some things to remember:

Microfleece, suedecloth and athletic wicking material will create a “stay dry” feel.  Your baby will not feel any wetness.

Bamboo, velour, organic cotton, flannel all work great but your baby will feel wet…sometimes very wet.

Detergents can build up in the cloth diapers and irritate baby’s skin, therefore causing strange rashes. Even if baby doesn’t react to clothing washed in the detergent he could still be sensitive to it when it’s used on the diapers.  Rockin Green is a great natural laundry detergent for clothes and cloth diapers.

Yeast causes rashes and will stay in the cloth diapers unless you treat them for it! Natural Disinfectants

Do you know that I could buy everything I need to cloth diaper my baby all in this great state of Texas? That’s right, us Texans are mighty talented…well, it is a big state so there’s bound to be a few, right?

One of my favorite Texas cloth diaper products is Muttaqin Baby cloth diapers, aka Mutts.  Mutts are almost a perfect 10.  If you’ve tried one I’m sure you’ll agree.

Let’s start with the prints.  Michelle always carries the most sought after name brand knit prints.  If you’ve seen it on another diaper she probably has it.  All of the knits that I have used have held their color very well which is important because fading is one of those things that drives me crazy.

Besides adorable prints, Michelle’s prices are affordable.  They range anywhere from $15-25.  $22 for the Muttaqin 3sr (one-sized) is a super price for high quality materials on a cloth diaper your baby can wear birth to potty training!

When shopping for newborn diapers I ended up going with all Mutt’s for three reasons: 1) soft knits, 2) affordable price ($15), 3)widest fit range.

The fit range was important to me because I didn’t want to have to change my stash at 2 or 3 months.  I wanted a sized diaper that would last the longest.  Mutts were the only newborn sized cloth diaper I found to range up to 15lbs.  I always recommend new moms go with Muttaqin baby because I truly want you to get the most for your money.

The only negative to Mutts is they are not my most absorbent diaper.  But I don’t want that to completely deter you.  No it won’t be a nighttime diaper but it is an EXCELLENT day time cloth diaper.

Other qualities that make this an almost perfect 10:

• Mutts are so trim it’s hard to tell there’s a diaper on.
• Inner material is luscious. The elastic on the babyshapes is hands down fabuloso!
• It’s the stretchiest thing you’ve ever seen.  When you receive a Babyshapes Mutt in the mail you’ll think you were sent a newborn size.  But before you try and send it back put it on your 2 year old and you’ll be amazed.  I don’t know what she uses but I like it.
• They are all made 100% by the WAHM and her husband (I may be getting Michelle confused with another WAHM but I’m pretty sure her husband does the sewing!).

In our house I’m not the only one who uses Mutts.  “Johanna”, sometimes called “Rachel”, wears the same Mutt everyday.  My children use cloth diapers for their “babies” and are highly educated on the subject Today Haley and Haven disappeared with my camera for a bit.  When they were done they showed me their cloth diaper video that they worked so hard on.  I will post it for y’all to enjoy but there is a huge warning MAY CAUSE MOTION SICKNESS! The cameraman is only 5 and I do think this was his first gig.

I can’t go a whole post without any words so I’ll put the words on the pictures!

When Sterling was born I couldn’t imagine putting a one-sized diaper on him. Mainly because of his umbilical cord and his super skinny legs.

But as soon as I cut off that horribly big umbilical clamp, I just had to try a Soft Bums PerfectFit on him. Sarah’s brilliant toggle design enables me to tighten the legs while simultaneously shortening the rise for a perfect fit even on an 8lb infant.

I had my doubts about any one-sized diaper fitting a tiny newborn – I did try on a Goodmama, Patooshie Pants nighttime fitted and bumGenius Organics AIO to find they were way too bulky for my preference. But the Soft Bums is not bulky. I use one of the long snap-ins and fold it in the front for Sterling.

More often with a newborn though at a diaper change you’ll find that the cover has gotten soiled. This doesn’t happen every time because of the wide insert but with newborn poop they can all the sudden produce a large amount! I mainly use fitteds and covers with Sterling so it is a nice break to use a Soft Bums. If I use a PerfectFit for overnight I add one of the doublers. As he gets older I’ll let you know how they perform for heavier wetters.

I have found that life with 4 kids leaves me with a lot less time. This blog post took 2 days to write! Every time I get started with a task someone needs a diaper change, a bottom wiped, or Sterling needs to be nursed.

I have had quite a nice break from diaper laundry thanks to my awesome husband! But he has let me know that he’s ready to hand the reins back over to me lol.

Oh, and I’m easily using the same Soft Bums cloth diapers on both Sterling and Paisley.  Paisley is very thick in the waist so she is pushing the limits but theyll last through her potty training.

Sarah has informed me that she is working on a snap version along with some fantastic new prints and fabrics!

Since the birth of our new son, Sterling, I have quickly found my favorite newborn diaper.

Before I get to my favorite here are 2 things I learned right away:

1) I can’t imagine putting a one-sized diaper on a newborn! Sterling was born 8lbs 9oz and 22″ long.  His legs are so skinny!  A newborn diaper is the perfect fit, a one-sized diaper would swallow him.  If you want to use one-sized diapers I’d suggest waiting until your baby is near 12 lbs before making the switch.

2) Boys and girls have different parts!  Okay, yes we all *know* that but you forget it until you’re trying to cloth diaper a newborn baby boy.  Girls are easy.  Different parts also means different coverage needs.  Cloth diapers with a sewn-in soaker are not ideal for my boy.  A snap-in or lay-in soaker is perfect for folding at the top and catching any spray out the top of the diaper.

Early on in my pregnancy I built up a nice cloth diaper stash that consisted of Muttaqin Baby, Nanipoos, Kindhearted Woman and Righteous Baby fitteds.  I had heard great things about Mutts and especially Nanipoos for newborns.

The first cloth diaper I put on Sterling was a Mutt.  I was in love.  Mutts are fantastic, amazing, perfect…get the picture?  Without a doubt Muttaqin Baby is the best newborn diaper available. They stretch easy and have just one snap per side to worry about.

The Nanipoos I have, although cute and tiny, are not a good newborn diaper for boys.  The built-in notch is great for missing the umbilical cord but allows the little pee-pee to come right out!  For a baby girl this would not be a problem.  Also, the Nanipoos have a thigh and waist snap on each side.  This makes diaper changes on an already unhappy newborn even more cumbersome.

Righteous Baby and Kindhearted Woman(KHW) fitteds are great as well.  They both have a similar design to the Mutts but neither is as absorbent. KHW diapers are not being made new at this time but Righteous Baby diapers have a few instock and I’d recommend them to anyone looking for newborn cloth diapers.

Here are a few pictures of Sterling in a Mutt (green/brown stripes), KHW (purple) and his wool covers (a NB Luxe soaker and knit shorties w/ embellishment by Nissi of Sapo Verde).

And because he’s so darn cute, here is our new prince Sterling Marshall:

As I was packing away everything for our move in 9 days, I decided to stop and enjoy the fluffy newborn cloth diapers that were about to be boxed up.

I am excited to use the cloth diapers on my new baby but honestly the thought of washing them is a little sad.  Right now they are hot off the sewing machine- no fading, ultra soft bamboo, no stains.  Perfect squishiness.

Of course, I’ll get over that and have them all ready in a few weeks.  This is not the first time I have cloth diapered a newborn.  Paisley was exclusively cloth diapered from the beginning.  However, for her I used mainly Kissaluvs size 0.

Like many of you, 2 years ago I was seeking guidance and reading dozens of reviews and opinions on what was best for a newborn.  I wish I would have had a guide, but at the time I only knew of diaperswappers – and you know how easy it is to find something there lol.

I never had any doubts when cloth diapering Paisley.  That’s what we had, so that’s what we used.  I do remember wishing the diapers weren’t so soaked after one pee or wondering why  she got a horrid rash when I used serged or suedecloth diapers.  But those experiences taught me that not every diaper will work for every baby.

This time around I have chosen to use bamboo inner diapers.  Goodmamas, Mutts, Kindhearted Woman, Nanipoos and a few miscellaneous brands.  I also have a dozen green edged prefolds.  For covers, I have opted to use wool.

With Paisley we used wool and PUL covers.  Although I liked the containment the PUL covers offered, I didn’t like how hot the diapers were.  There was zero breathability.  Honestly though, I’ll have a few on hand for going out to church or dinner.  That security is needed when you already have enough other things to worry about!

My favorite PUL covers are Proraps, but I’ll also be buying Thirsties this time around.

My biggest advice that I would offer to someone hesitant to cloth diaper their newborn is to just do it.  Dive in and ignore all those “what-ifs”.  Is there anything easy about a newborn anyways?

I never had problems with meconium staining and if a stain did arise the sun really is miraculous!  Having discovered Bac-out since Paisley’s birth I will be using that this time.

The cord was never an issue, especially when using diapers with a snap down notch.  With wool I would either fold down the waistband or pull it up over the cord.

Washing is super easy because you don’t have to dunk the diapers.  Man do I look forward to that!  All diapers go into the pail and wash as you desire.  (my routine: prewash with bac-out, wash, second rinse, dry in dryer)

If you are a first time mom, I applaud you for considering cloth diapers.  Entering motherhood is a crazy time!  But you couldn’t have made a better  decision about diapers.  It only takes a couple (or a few ) of weeks to hit that groove.  Then after that everything is second hand….until something pops up like a rash.  BUT don’t panic!

There is a solution for all problems and I will do my best to get you through them.

Here are a few pictures for you of  baby #4s stash:

Goodmamas: One size fitted

Newborn Mutts: fitted cloth diaper

Kindhearted Woman, Nanipoos, Pampered Cheeks, and a couple of others

Interlock Wool Soakers - the bus was done by Nissi of Sapo Verde

Wool covers