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A Day in the Life of A Cloth Diapering Parent 

Changing diapers – you don’t need a degree in origami nor do you need to poke anyone with pins!

Oh – and you don’t have to have a soupy diaper pail. Times have changed!!

In the domain of usability, there is definitely a range of easy to less easy with reusable diapers.

Easy means it’s basically like a single use diaper – take it off the shelf, put it under the baby’s cheeks and fasten up the snaps or Velcro on the front. Done. That simple. And the one you’re taking off, well you just throw it in your diaper pail. If your baby is still exclusively breastfeeding, then you do nothing extra – it all comes out in the wash so to speak! If your baby has solid poops or is taking formula then you need to knock it off into the toilet before you throw it in the pail. Your diaper pail is a bin of some sort with a lid. Even a garbage can will do. You can line it with a laundry bag so it’s easier to carry to the laundry or you can just leave it unlined. An unlined pail is going to need cleaning more often though.

There are two kinds of diapers in the easy category. The first is called an "All-in-One" and this has the absorbent materials and the outer wet proof layer all sewn together, so ultimately is a cloth version of the disposable. The other kind is called a "pocket" diaper which has an inner layer of microfleece sewn to a wet proof outer layer. There is an opening at the back where you slip in an absorbent pad. This pad is usually made of a microfiber material or hemp which are both super absorbent. This combo is usually the least bulky of the cloth diaper choices. And because it is two pieces, it dries really fast out of the wash.

Okay, onto the next easiest. This is a system that has two parts. The soft fluffy fabric diaper that goes onto your baby – as above (under cheeks, do up at front via snaps or Velcro) but this one needs a wet barrier between the diaper and the baby’s clothes or your lap for that matter! I’ve been peed on a bunch of times and while I don’t mind it, Great Aunt Flossie doesn’t take to kindly to having a wet lap!! The second layer is a diaper cover or wrap and can look like little pull on pants or similar in shape to the diaper you just put on (under the cheeks and fastens at front with snaps or Velcro). There are a few different materials but the most popular by far is called PUL (polyurethane laminate). It’s basically a gore-tex like material that has a soft material laminated to it so it feels nicer. It is breathable but it can get a little humid in there. The other possibility is wool. Very breathable and natural. Comes in pull on or wrap styles. You can often find beautiful hand made versions of pull on wool covers called soakers. Some mamas have their children wear “longies” which are basically wool pants so that there is one less piece of clothing to wear (diaper cover and pants all in one). A little more granola than Gap but still darned cute! A second breathable option is a polar fleece cover.Soft and stretchy and wetproof to boot!

Okay, this one is the least easy in my mind for a novice, but others would likely have something else to say.  And I have to say, with practice, prefolds and contours are much much easier and appeal to my longing for simplicity.  Diapering is so very individual. This method is similar to above – two parts, a fabric inner and then a cover or wrap. The inner in this method is called a prefold or a contour.  The Prefold is a rectangle of cotton or hemp that has is separated into thirds by stitching. The outer thirds have a couple of layers and the one down the centre has about 6-8 layers of material for the “wetzone”. These diapers need to be folded in various ways and can either be secured to the baby by your diaper cover or by pins or a “snappi”. A snappi is an elastic-y Y-shaped fastener with little claws that hold the diaper on. They hook on to the fabric and pull from the right, left and bottom to hold the prefold in place. This is definitely the most “old fashioned” in the diapering world of today but some people swear by it for its reasonable price and infinitely adaptable sizing/folding capabilities. Contours are similar with a thicker mid zone but are hourglass shaped and don't require any folding.  These are really durable diapers and heck, some people just like to get back to the basics.

As for the dirty fitted and prefold diapers, they get tossed in the pail as above. I find that my PUL covers do best if I just lie them on top of the pail now that I am washing every three days.  If you are washing more often, then toss them in the pail.  I use two PUL covers per day – one on and one airing out. As long as they don’t get pooped on and they don’t stink, they continue to get used. At the end of the day, they get taken out of rotation. And the wool cover – if it’s wet it just gets aired out and then when it gets stinky (usually around the one week mark) it gets hand washed. But seriously – put your timer on – I bet you can do it in less than five minutes!!