Cloth diapering... daily routine

I have been asked several times about what diaper I like best and what I do. I have written before about the different types of diapers, but now I am going to show you all exactly what I do.

I think it's easy to become a little obsessive-complusive about cloth diapering... or maybe it's just me. We recently went out of town for a marriage conference and in the chaos of last minute packing I actually forgot to pack disposables for the weekend. We scrounged a few diapers from the backseat of the car, but ended up running out. We had to go shop the hotel gift shop where they were selling 3 diapers for $5.99! OH, how it pained me. Clinton noticed on the bottom shelf there was a package containing 4 diapers for $5.99. So, we went for the "bargain" brand which was written in Spanish and looked like it had been on the rack for a few years.

I kid you not, it was the most plasticky, crunchy, ghetto diaper I have ever seen. I felt like I might as well have used Saran wrap on his bottom. There was no stretch, and the tabs were literally strips of clear Scotch tape. It was difficult for me to slap that crunchy excuse for a diaper on his soft little cheeks. Had we just been hanging out in the room I would have let him go without a diaper for a bit, but he was headed off to spending time with the little ol' babysitters so I had to put something on him.

Besides the rare occasions that we are traveling and spending time in a hotel, this is how I diaper my little punkin' head...

Flips!

This is the brand that I really love and that we use every day. Flips are a hybrid system consisting of a cover and an insert.

3 "Day Packs" = ($49.95 a pack) $149.85

+

3 Bumgenius pocket diapers (for night) = $53.85

total = $203.70

Every family has different needs, lifestyles and wants for a diaper. Not everyone would love my method, but it works for us. So, let me show you how it all works.

I like to make all my photos pretty, but for this I decided to take the photos in the laundry room. Why? because that's where everything happens.

Straight out of the washer the covers hang to dry. I leave them there until Caius needs a diaper change. I just grab a cover and an insert and I'm off. 

For night time we have three Bumgenius diapers. Flips and Bumgenius are made by the same company, so besides the insert style they are made very similarly. One bumgenius will get us through a whole night's sleep.

The insert simply get's "stuffed"

and it's ready to wear!

As you can see I'm kind of picky about the colors matching. Light green day, blue day, green day... (haha, "Green Day") I didn't realize how compulsive I could be about certain things, but when it comes to diapers I don't like mis-matched randomness. You may find that ironic if you were to unexpectedly stop by my house and see what a messy person I am. But, diapers must not be messy!

These are enough diapers for three days

Thanks to my mom and sister-in-law, Nicky, I have reusable wipes. Nicky, I bet you didn't envision that when you gave me a stack of blankets I'd be turning them into wipes :) 

I received two four packs of simple flannel receiving blankets before Caius was born. After running out of wipes one day I decided to just cut up some blankets into 8x8 squares and it has worked well ever since! (and they're cute!)

If a person didn't want to make their own, you can buy them in stores. There are also handmade wipes on Etsy if you prefer to support some small business! The best way to make them is with a serger. I didn't finish the edges so I have a little fraying from time to time, but for the most part it's just fine.

There are different brands of wipe solutions that you can buy and mix with water to soak your cloth wipes with. I just use water! :/ Now, I don't know if just using water is "recommended," but we haven't had any diaper rash or sores. Also note that I keep the wipes dry unless I need one. I just run it under the faucet and squeeze out the excess.

Laundry time.

This two dollar tub, I bought at the grocery store, holds dirty diapers until I'm feeling like I should do the laundry :P I just keep the inserts in a drawer next to the washer. I'll be honest, sometimes I just leave the clean inserts sitting in the dryer and take them out as I need them.

Cloth diapers To-Go.

When I am heading out of the house I add a little water to my wipes and throw them into my little plastic wipe holder.

This is a 'Planet Wise' wet bag. If you are wondering why it's floral, it's because I'm the one who carries it around, so I chose a pattern I like. Just because I have a boy doesn't mean I have to have boy things :)

I just throw a cover and a few inserts, depending on how long we'll be gone, and that's it! Pretty easy.

The clean, dry diapers stay on the outside until they become the dirty, wet diapers. Then they hang out in the waterproof zipper pocket.

Once we get home I plop the dirty diapers into my little white bin until I'm ready to do the laundry.

To wash I use a cap full of the generic, free and clear detergent and a little capful of bleach (if it's a "messy" load :) ) I set the washer to Hot/Cold with an extra rinse. The covers get hung to air dry and everything else get's tossed in the dryer.

Then you wrap those soft little cheeks in a soft fluffy diaper...

I think he likes it! 

And that is how we cloth diaper our little Bootsie's bootie!