Once you start cloth diapering your child, you won’t want to go back to disposables again!
However, before you start saving money and the environment with cloth diapers, there are a few things to learn first.
I would be lying if I told you that cloth diapers do not come with a big learning curve.
You do have to research everything you need, different brands, and how to properly clean them.
Because of this, I am happy to share with your all the things you need to know before you start to cloth diaper your child!
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Things To Know Before Cloth Diapering
There’s a BIG learning curve
I was not prepared for this before cloth diapering. Once I began to research everything I needed to cloth diaper I was astounded!
There are way more options for inserts, brands, and styles than I ever expected.
Cloth diapers have come a long way! No more are the days of pinning a diaper on with clothespins.
Now you can choose a specific brand according to your price range and style; style of diaper to suit your needs; and inserts of different materials and absorbency.
There are many combinations of cloth diapers to choose from which can be daunting for a new mom and beginner to cloth diapering.
But you shouldn’t take this big learning curve as a sign that you weren’t meant to cloth diaper.
It just means you need to consider your options, research more, and find what will work best for you!
You need to know how to clean them
Yes, you will need to know how to properly clean them! The one benefit of disposable diapers is that they are convenient. You don’t have to clean them in any way.
Once your baby pees or poops, you fold it up and toss it away. That’s the entire appeal with disposables compared to cloth. But all those disposable diapers have to go somewhere- landfills.
To save both money and the planet you need to take care of your investment of cloth diapers by cleaning them properly!
While you won’t need any special soaps, you will need to skip the fabric softeners, chemical add-ins, and fragrances in typical laundry detergents and go with all-natural detergents instead.
And for white-colored diaper inserts like cotton, line drying them in the sun will fade any discoloration.
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Cloth diapers fit differently than disposables
Disposable diapers do come with ease of use. You simply place under the butt, stretch it over, and Velcro both sides.
Depending on the style of diaper you get you will either have to Velcro or button the front of the diaper.
I have the button type of cloth diapers, and I will say it does take a little bit longer to change it.
So if your baby is in a wiggly sort of mood, then it’s frustrating to diaper your baby.
With disposables, you can just tighten and Velcro both sides.
Cloth diapers also require a different fit. They don’t have the same stretch that disposables do.
Therefore, when placing the diaper under your baby’s butt you want the top of the diaper to come to the top of your baby’s butt crack.
This will pull the front of the diaper up over the belly button, then you fold the sides over to button or Velcro.
You don’t have to exclusively cloth diaper
Many parents feel they need to “all in” mentality when it comes to cloth diapering.
But that’s just not true at all! There will always be situations in your life where cloth diapers become a hassle because of a lack of time for cleaning.
Some situations may include going camping for a week, daycare, someone babysitting your child, or whenever you are away from the home.
Because of these situations, many parents who cloth diaper use disposable diapers to make their life a little easier.
Sometimes you don’t want to trouble a grandparent or a babysitter with cloth diapers, so instead, you swap the cloth for convenience.
My mom is always extra happy when she finds disposable diapers in the diaper bag for changing when she babysits my boys.
It gets messy
There’s always the dreaded and unspoken question from cloth diapering beginners: “What do you do with the poop?”
Well, it is more complicated than throwing it away. You have to spray it off, wring out the diaper, and throw it in a wet bag to be washed later.
If you’re a squeamish person and the thought of having to do anything with your baby’s poop grosses you out…
Then cloth diapering may not be for you! I can recall many messy situations I’ve had when cleaning diapers including getting poop on my hand. (Sorry for the TMI!).
Final Thoughts
I love to cloth diaper, but when I first started I walked into it as a newbie cloth diaper parent. I didn’t know a thing!
After researching more and more about cloth diapers I was under the spell of cute “fluff butt” styles and patterns of cloth diapers.
I wish I could have got a few honest tips about cloth diapers as a beginner.
Now with the above tips, you won’t be surprised with anything in your cloth diaper parenting adventure!