If you cloth diaper your kiddo, do you remember the first, all-important question people asked you? You know the one.

“Where does the poop go?”

And you gently told them the rules. If the baby is exclusively breastfed, you just washed the poop out. If the baby was on formula or solids, you either sprayed it off into the toilet or used a bioliner and threw the mess in the toilet. You assured them it wasn’t a big deal. You assured them, unlike most parents, you do not have a trash can full of rotting diaper contents in your child’s room.

Then they wanted to know something else. The laundry question…

You explained that the diapers just go in your modern washing machine with the diaper-safe detergent of your choice. You may have told your laundry recipe to them (mine is cold rinse with Oxy Clean or Bac-Out, long hot cycle with soap nuts, extra cold rinse) so they would see that it wasn’t a big deal.

A while back I heard about “mama cloth”, or reusable pads. I’d heard people raving. Yes, raving about their cloth pads. And even after cloth diapering my girl for well over a year, I admit, I was totally grossed out by the prospect of reusable pads. I mostly used tampons. I’d sworn off disposable pads in 1989 with the exception of two post-partum interludes.

But then I remembered all that sage advice that had come out of my mouth to people considering cloth diapers. Even the oft-mentioned “I wish they made these for ME!” when loving on my daughter’s velour diapers. You know…the ones that, when fresh from the dryer, you want to bury your face in?

I could quote from many friends who converted me. I could tell you about the environmental impact. I could tell you about the money savings.

Naw. I’ll tell you one thing and I hope it’s enough. My body is SO much happier with cloth pads. No longer is any part of my monthly bill upsetting. Cloth pads just feel like underwear, only softer. I’ve never had a leak. I don’t do a blessed thing with them after I’ve used them other than fold them and snap them closed and throw them in the laundry basket. Seriously. That’s it. Wash them with your underwear, towels or child’s diapers. Just unsnap them before you throw them in the washer. 90% of the time they don’t even stain. And, as a mother I had to make peace with stains a long time ago.

I highly recommend washing your cloth pads the same way you would cloth diapers. I use Soap Nuts or Rockin’ Green for all my laundry now because I adore how soft my clothes are and that there’s not a chemical factory brewing in my washer anymore. You want to keep buildup off your cloth pads so they’ll continue to absorb and keep you dry.

I will drop one more bit of anecdotal evidence. Many commercial disposable pads contribute to cramping. The same “technology” that pulls moisture into the core can pull on your insides a bit, leading to cramping. So many of my mama friends who convinced me came to cloth pads because of missed days of work and one-too-many Advils popped in an effort to ease their pain.

Some people care for the their pads a little more than I do. Some women have a wetbag for their used pads and actually rinse their pads out. Some people keep a little pail by their toilet with some cleaning agent inside to soak the pads clean and then pour the whole shebang into the washer. If you need to be out and about (and let’s face it, you probably need to), many women like mini wetbags to keep in their purses. One side is for clean pads. One side is for soiled pads. Easy peasy…

The most luxurious pads we have in stock are Blossom Pads. They are backed by waterproof fleece and topped a layer of cotton velour against your skin. They’re SO soft and comfy…you’ll be so thrilled. If you’re a pantyliner wearer, consider the cotton velour variety. SO much softer than the disposable variety and you’ll save SO much money in the first few months, too.

If you’re having a baby, you want Blossom’s postpartum pads. The bleeding is bad enough without a stay-dry layer rubbing your bits to, well, bits. The incontinence that plagues you before and after the delivery is so much easier to tolerate with cloth pads. Just think of them like super underwear. You’ll be fine!

We also have economy packages of reusable pads in stock. ImseVimse pads are simple, affordable, and easy to use. They come in a convenient 3-pack and are backed with a hidden PUL layer, the same material that waterproofs pocket diapers and diaper covers.

Step out of your comfort zone and GET COMFORTABLE! You’ll never regret it, I promise. I haven’t missed opening that icky, special trash can for pads and tampons. Nope, not at all.

Help! My prefold is too big…

How to use a flat diaper on a newborn without crying!

Bummis Super Brites are great for newborn diapering. Super Whisper Wraps are great if you don’t care for or need gussets. Bummis Whisper Pants are not classic “plastic pants”, but are SO SOFT and gentle on newborn skin. These are high recommended by several friends who had babies with really sensitive skin. They’re not classically cute, but are actually quite adorable on and are a joy to touch.

Bummis have been restocked recently and you should be able to find a perfect fit for you. Flats will be stocked at Cloth and Carry late this summer.

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The long and the short of it is that I have always recommended having a newborn stash, even before I sold diapers.

Little Miss was a small baby, and the only one we used cloth diapers on. She left the NICU at around 6 pounds. She had no fat anywhere and more frustrating from a diapering standpoint…she had NO BOTTOM.

Off to the big diaper store we went…and my husband’s first question was, “Does she REALLY need the sized diapers?”  Honestly, the mindset switch to using cloth was still not quite complete and my husband was pretty convinced we’d hate this AND be out a lot of money we could have used on sposies.

Little Miss was JUST two pounds away from the recommended lower weight limit on our preferred One Size diaper. We couldn’t help but think…”Surely they would work, right?”

One look at our itty bitty baby and the salesgirl assured us to start with the newborn diapers. We left with 3 newborn AIOs, 6 infant prefolds, and two Bummis newborn covers, a Bummis XL wetbag, 2 Snappis and a bottle of cloth-safe detergent.

The good…the newborn AIOs were PERFECT to start cloth diapering with. There is nothing easier than an AIO for ANYONE to use, especially the cloth curious. Seriously…I loved them at first use. The Bummis newborn covers were also perfect. The fit was trim and the gussets held everything in even better than the AIOs.

The not-so-good…the infant-size PFs were ginormous. I hated them. I was sure that prefolds were a horrible idea. I just couldn’t understand what the fuss was about. I didn’t know about folding down the rise and when tri-folded, the diaper was just huge. Today I could have made that diaper work, but at the time, I just didn’t know better.

I got online and immediately bought more newborn AIOs and we never looked back. Little Miss was born at the end of May, and due to VERY slow growth associated with significant amounts of healing, she could fit into those diapers all summer. In fact, she didn’t really fit well into the One-Size diapers until September. This would NOT have been the case with Big Guy, our son. He was born at a healthy 8 pounds, 11 ounces and outgrew disposable newborn diapers almost immediately. I’d estimate he wore newborn sposie diapers for about 2-3 weeks.

So I get it…if my kid is more like Big Guy, won’t newborn diapers be a waste?

The long and the short of it is still “NO”.

Here are my best suggestions.

Buy a dozen Bummis Tiny Fit, a dozen Bummis Organic Prefolds (size preemie), and 3 newborn Bummis Super Brite covers.

Why this combo?

First, by buying a dozen Tiny Fits, you get a price break of $1 per diaper. Every little bit helps, right?  Tiny Fits will fit until about 12 pounds, unlike newborn sposies that do not adjust to such a high weight range. Trust me…these babies STRETCH and will be trim as many sposies and just as easy to use. Also, the Tiny Fit comes with a booster that makes it as absorbent as its older brother, Easy Fit. Fully stuffed, it will accommodate all the joyful noises your newborn makes down below.

Second, by buying a dozen Bummis Organic Prefolds in preemie size, you will get value and longevity from your purchase. Start by using the prefold either fastened with a Snappi or simply tri-folded in a Bummis Newborn Super Brite. This is easy for those fast-moving newborn poops…just use a liner for easy clean up. If you can’t get the diaper around your big baby, tri-folding is still fine as long as the cover still fits. Once these diapers don’t work alone, use them as doublers to boost absorbency. Honestly, you’ll never stop using preemie prefolds. They’re perfect from birth to potty learning in some manner or another. They may still be dusting your furniture when the diapered child gets married. Don’t laugh…there are still flat diapers from my birth 35 years ago being used  at my parents’ house. My father used one every day to clean his glasses. Seriously…

Last, 3 newborn Bummis Super Brite covers have the all important hallmarks for a prefold cover…GUSSETS! Gussets are the part around the legs that create a little extra space for, um, stuff to collect without coming out of the cover. They are the ultimate mess catchers!  The Super Whisper Wrap is awesomely cute and VERY functional, but I recommend Super Brite for newborns because their poop is particularly menacing. The other selling point of Super Brites is the wipe clean interior. There’s no fabric over the waterproof layer (PUL), so even if there is a mess, rinse it out in the sink or wipe it clean at the changing table and let it air dry. It will likely be ready to put on at the next diaper change, allowing rotation of covers without overbuying.

The inside of a Bummis Super Brite is very easy to wipe clean or rinse and hang to dry.

Make a “Y” fold with the prepped preemie Bummis Organic prefold. The is an extra layer of containment as it creates a pouch for the diaper’s contents.

Feel free to tuck the front of the diaper into the cover’s flap. This is another easy containment step…

Gorgeous gussets!

Voila! Close the diaper and affix the tabs just like any disposable diaper. Easy peasy!

So, you’re sold on a newborn stash but can’t imagine what you’ll do with all those Tiny Fits and Super Brites when your child outgrows them in record time. The answer is selling them on sites like Diaper Swappers (DS). DS is like eBay for diapers and is easy to figure out. If you need help, email me and I’ll walk you through it. Start by selling…it’s easy to establish your feedback score, which is what makes people want to do business with you in the first place. Newborn diapers have a high resale value compared to other diapers because buyers know the diapers were likely not worn much. Start with a new stash, as there are few things more lovely than a new baby in new diapers. I’ve sold many diapers in my day, but I rarely buy them preowned. However, many mamas choose to buy preowned diapers, so there’s definitely a market out there.

How much should you ask?  I always think 50-70% of retail is fair for great condition newborn diapers. Know that offers are common and that nobody is necessarily trying to mess with you. You can always say “no” or counter. Larger diapers will likely not go for much more than 50% of retail these days, but newborn diapers are sort of special.

I lent my newborn stash to a friend who wanted to cloth diaper her baby. She returned it and I sold it for 50% of retail value. I then used that money to fund new diapering purchases.

So, there’s money to spend up front with cloth, but it’s an investment. I guarantee nobody will ever pay you for a used sposie…it’s just money down the drain and trash in the landfill. In fact, one child in diapers creates over one ton of landfill waste, whereas reusable diapers can be used for years on multiple children if properly cared for. It’s a win/win!

We started with the easy AIOs. They’re still easy. I have lots of wonderful bumGenius AIOs for quick on/off when I just don’t want to mess with a diaper.

There there were one-size pockets…price point is amazing. Easy to use. The only downside was the velcro and keeping track of the inserts. Oh, how I loathe inserts.

Prefolds are cheap and easy, but the dry time wasn’t as fantastic. And, the bigger your baby, the bigger the diaper. Not exactly super-trim…especially since baby clothes are cut to go over the ultra-thin sposies.

I kept going back to the idea of flats, but I was afraid. I harkened back to my mother’s stories of the week she attempted to cloth diaper me as an infant. They just weren’t working out…I hated the wet diaper against my skin (cue crying for hours) and at one point, a dryer full of flats actually blew its door open and spit the flats out. And then there were the pins and those creepy plastic pants. EPIC FAIL.

When I started using cloth, it was mostly reactionary. After nearly a month of watching my daughter’s bottom bleed in sposies in the NICU, I knew we were going to have to do something different. Happily, we found bumGenius AIOs and all was right with the world. I steered clear of the flats, opting for the slighly less-scary prefolds and Bummis covers.

I finally decided to take the plunge after several threads on Diaper Swappers led me to believe that flats wouldn’t be the end of the world, but were actually useful. Two things have made flats far more functional since my infancy…the Snappi and the modern cloth diaper cover. No folding required (but it’s sort of fun…admit it) and they get softer and more absorbent with every wash. What’s not to like?

Sometimes I love a good kite fold. Works like a charm…

Sometimes I’m just REALLY lazy and fold a couple together and throw them in a Bummis cover.

Sometimes I don’t want to dig for a doubler and just fold up a flat to get the job done.

They wash up beautifully. The dry in a snap even draped over a shower curtain in a hotel room. Add a bio-soft liner  and the dirty work just goes down the toilet with a swift flush.

Ironically, in the middle of writing this post, I got a message from a cloth convert friend who at one point this year had two boys under two in cloth.

So at first I loved flats, then moved on to a love for OS and now I am back to flats! So easy and no stinkies!

When she was considering cloth, I brought a buffet of diapers to her to try out on her little guys. At the last minute, I threw in a few flats and some covers that my girl had outgrown. I figured I’d show her how to fold the flat and simply place it in the cover. Not exciting…it’s certainly not a cool pocket with wild orange PUL. The cover was even white and boring. I figured I’d never hear another thing about it.

A week or so later, I asked her what she thought of the diapers and she said it was going well. I asked her which one was her favorite…and she stunned me by liking the flat/cover combo the best. After a battle with microfiber stinkies, I think the natural fibers are going to win the war.

My last flats tale comes from one of my favorite online pals. She and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things…and she convinced me she was NOT going to do any cloth diapering, thankyouverymuch!

One day I posted a flats tutorial and she was ALMOST convinced…so I shipped her a dozen flats and two cheap covers. She tried them. She loved them. She’s now a complete cloth junkie, trolling the interwebz for the next cool diaper for her cutie pie.

The laundry issue when traveling is sort of a non-issue. With bio-lined flats, you can travel with cloth pretty effortlessly. Pack two dozen flats and 4-6 covers, a bottle of Dawn, and a wetbag or two. Remove solids. Fill the tub with hot water and soap. Throw the diapers and covers in. Agitate a bit. Rinse them under the faucet. Throw them over the shower curtain rod. Use them again the next day.

I have two-dozen flats. I’ve used them for just about every diapering and baby-related need imaginable. The oldest ones are so soft I want to make sheets out of them. If you’ve got old flannel receiving blankets hanging around, they’re great, too. Some people even use old t-shirts…but I’m a purist. Give me my birdseye, please!

I just wanted to give flats a proper shout out. I’ll be stocking some later this summer!

Bummis covers should arrive in about a week. Super Brites are great for flats because they have wipe-clean insides and amazing gussets to grab anything that escapes the diaper.

A shout out to Ayesha at Comfy Joey for working out amazing slings for me to start up with. The Sasha sling, while it doesn’t scream “GIRL”, is just right for my little commando crawler!  Mackenzie and Max are truly vibrant…to see them is to love them.

Mackenzie is perfection for Minnesota Vikings, LSU and WIU fans and Max is a Notre Dame fan’s perfect tail gaiting accessory!

Tristan slings are expected to stock in mid-June and will be PERFECT for your 4th of July festivities. $20 from each sling goes to Tristan’s family.

Bummis diapers are coming soon. The first order has been placed and the website is ready. I’m practically giddy over the Easy Fit colors…so gorgeous!

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