Mama Learns to Cloth Diaper [ How we got started and transitioning from part-time to full-time cloth diapering]

Global pandemic have you wondering if you should start cloth diapering? Looking to have a more sustainable diaper routine? Wanting to save some money? Like the look of all those cute diaper prints?

Whatever the reason you have considered cloth diapering your child, hello and welcome!   Thank you for joining in on the cloth diaper journey. ✨

Before I became a mom myself my cloth diaper knowledge consisted of horror stories my mom would tell me of my dad pinning my older sister to her diaper (ouch!)  Not the best intro to the world of cloth diapering, but that was then and things have changed quite a bit!

When I found out I was pregnant I started researching cloth diapers (or clothies) as a way to cut cost for our family.  I knew we planned on me staying home with our little one, and I figured why not try it out? We can always use some disposables (sposies) when we needed to.   The initial monetary perk of cloth diapering is what drew us in, but we loved the process and the sustainability of it all as we continued to learn more.

Let's get on with our tips to start cloth diapering and how we are transitioning into a full-time cloth diapering family.

#1 Add a variety of options to your baby registry to build up your diaper stash and save money

Cloth diapers are a bit more expensive at the initial purchase, but they more than make up for it with the amount of use you will get out of them! Most clothies are adjustable to grow with your baby, so you will have them the entire time your little one is in diapers. The first cloth diapers we received were gifted to us by my sister from our baby registry.  We used Babylist, which allows you to add items from multiple websites all in one registry.  There are so many options out there for cloth diapers now, you will probably want to experiment and see which types you like and work best for your family.  Trust me when I tell you once you start buying clothies you will want more and more. Adding different varieties to your registry is a great way to build up your collection of diapers, and save you money because they are so lovingly gifted to you by friends and family! It's SO hard to pass up buying new ones! When you find the types of diapers your family likes best, you will have no problem selling any pre-loved ones that you may not use as often. And those things sell like hot cakes (Pro Tip: Join a cloth diapering community, like the Pooters Facebook Group, to buy & sell pre-owned clothies, tips on diapering, and more!). Once you have a decent stash of diapers you will have no problem cloth diapering full-time.

#2 Figure out your wash routine

We personally have about 28 diapers that we rotate through. We have 2 wet bags that we store dirty diapers in, that holds about 10 of them.  Once one is full we will wash that set of diapers first a cold rinse, then we will wash again on hot with detergent, and lastly we will do a third rinse on hot without additives. We dry ours in the dryer on low (optional) and then we are all set!  This works for us but there are many ways to wash cloth diapers and you will find what works best for your family.  We already do so much laundry adding this to the list was no biggie to me!

#3 Use a night-time specific diaper

Pooters overnight fitted hemp with stay dry insert

This one was a biggie for us to learn. And of course we learned the hard way 🙈  Starting out we used the same diaper at night that we would use during the day with no added layers for more absorbency.  My partner got so frustrated with the leaks and our little guy waking up soaked in the morning that we started using disposables at night.  I finally realized after many wet nights, I needed a night-time specific cloth diaper - Oops! One that is designed to stand up to the longer hours of wear and has more absorbency than what he was wearing during the day.  This is when we found Pooters 🙌, they offer an overnight bundle with a hemp overnight fitted diaper, a stay-dry hemp insert, and a diaper cover.  They are extremely budget-friendly for the quality of their products , using materials like organic hemp, bamboo, and cotton to keep it natural 🌱. Trust me, when the product is up close and personal with your child's bottom, you want it to be as natural as possible! The hemp diaper with hemp insert worked perfectly for us.  The first night we tried this overnight diaper we were amazed at the difference, he stayed dry and comfy!  This has eliminated our need to use sposies at night and I feel so good about that!

#4 You may need to adjust your inserts to your child's absorbency needs to prevent leaks

Absorbency needs are different for each child and change throughout the course of their diaper-wearing time.  You may notice your child is leaking through their diaper often or when you remove the insert it is soaking wet. Before you decide to give up and switch to sposies it may be as simple as adding inserts/ boosters to up the absorbency of your diaper.  Again our favorite go to is Pooters hemp boosters (holds 2.5 ounces) and stay-dry hemp inserts(holds 13 ounces). We love that they are made from quality organic cotton and hemp fabric to provide a trim, ridiculously absorbent boost to your diapers.  These have come in handy for our heavy wetter! 

#5 Cloth diapering outside of the home

Not gonna lie, this is the area we’re struggling with most, we still use sposies when we go out.  For some reason I am having a hard time giving up the convenience of a sposie while on the go.  There is no real reason not to cloth diaper while we are away from home, I simply just need to do it.  So for this we will need a wet bag to keep in the diaper bag to store any dirty diapers and a few extra clothies for changes - It’s really that simple. I also would make sure to have my hemp inserts to up that absorbency because we don't want leaks while we are out. This is our area of opportunity that I hope to improve upon and make our cloth diapering a full-time gig!

#6 Research, ask questions and join cloth diapering parent groups

I briefly mentioned this a bit earlier, but I love this part of being a cloth diapering mama!  The community you find with this shared interest is amazing!  They are so helpful with any questions you may have, and a lot of times have dealt with similar situations.  The parents I have come across have always been ready with recommendations and support when needed.  We all share a common love for our little pooters, and reducing our impact on the world. 🌎