Everyone I know is pregnant! Or so it seems. Recently, I've received a lot of questions about our diapering methods. There are a lot of choices out there, and what we use is at the intersection of convenient and affordable. Hopefully this overview can serve as a way to navigate the no-landfill diapering landscape.
Here's what we do:
When we are in the house, we use cloth diapers. We pair the thickest ply organic Gerber prefolds with Diaper Safari covers. Both products are available on Amazon. The Gerber prefolds hold up amazingly well over many, many trips through the washer, and the Diaper Safari covers have lots of snaps so they grow with baby from infancy to toddlerhood. We used to use Econobum covers, but they didn't have internal pockets. Internal pockets are key.
We have two pails in the garage. The one for the dirty cloth diapering system elements has a laundry bag liner so the pail itself doesn't get too gross. We wash the liner every time we wash the diapers and covers. We have ten diaper covers and thirty cloth prefolds. We have to wash the diapers every few days.
Note: You don't have to change the cover every time you change the diaper. Just change it when it gets soiled.
We also have a wet bag that we use for the cloth diapers (if we do use them when we are out and about) as well as the compostable diapers, since they need to be disposed of properly.
We put the wet bag in with the diaper load, too.
We use our regular washing machine with a bit of mild, unscented soap to wash everything. No fabric softener.
Note: Don't dry the diaper covers! They will not retain their waterproofing over time with too much heat exposure. Place them on a drying rack instead. Just dry the cloth prefolds.
We always run the smallest cycle empty after we wash a load of diapers. We put about a quarter cup of vinegar into the empty load and it prevents the next load of regular washing from being gross.
For naps, nights, and outings, we use Tiny Tots diaper service in Campell. We use Aleva compostable wipes and Bambo compostable diapers. We have tried a few different brands of compostable wipes and diapers, and this combination has emerged as the best quality.
Tiny Tots provides a once-a-week pickup and drop off service. They have a facility that can process human waste. DO NOT TRY TO PUT SOILED COMPOSTABLE DIAPERS IN THE MUNICIPAL GREENWASTE BINS! The service is essential to properly compost the used diapers. The second bin in the photo above has a compostable bag liner (also available from Tiny Tots). A bin that locks shut is key to keeping odors at bay between pickups.
Some of the daycares we have used will diaper a child in cloth, and others will not. In the cases where we could not use cloth at daycare, we used compostables. We have only had one nanny experience, but she was willing to use cloth diapers. It's good to check in advance if you have a strong personal preference for cloth diapering.
No matter which type of diapers you use, the good thing is that eventually, all kids learn to use the potty and the diaper issue fades away. Until you reach that finish line, happy diapering, all!
