DiaperVine

Cloth diapering a newborn can be a bit overwhelming.  There are a lot of questions:  What about the umbilical cord/circumcision, how many do I need, what size should I buy, etc. etc. etc.  I’ve learned a few lessons about cloth diapering a newborn by just digging in a doing it, so hopefully I can help some of you by passing along what I’ve learned!

Lots of parents are worried about the circumcision and/or belly button aspect of cloth diapering.  My youngest was in cloth at 1 week, and the cloth diapers did aggravate her belly button to some degree. There was often a small amount of blood on the area where her diaper rubbed her belly button, so I asked the doc if we should just use disposables until it healed.  Now, I need to put a disclaimer here.  I am NOT a doctor, nor am I giving medical advice of any sort.  I am simply repeating what my doctor told me – take it or leave it.  Anyway, she said that it was okay to use the cloth.  She said it may take a little longer to heal, but if it wasn’t healed at 3 weeks, we could come back and put a little ointment on there to take care of it.  Taylor’s belly button healed just fine by a little over 2 weeks.  I only have 2 girls, so I can’t speak to the circumcision healing in cloth, but I would assume it would be similar to the belly button situation.

Many cloth diapering parents out there (even the die-hard ones) find themselves wondering if cloth diapering is worth it at the newborn stage.  Buying newborn cloth diapers is expensive, and unless you plan on reusing the diapers on multiple children, you’ll probably find that you won’t save money in the long run.  I find a lot of parents who are starting with cloth diapering from birth will use disposables until their child fits into a Small or One-Size diaper.  This is probably the cheapest route overall, and I found that Taylor was able to wear a Small by the time she was 1 month, and her One-Size diapers fit by the time she hit 2 months, so the amount of disposables used was very small.  However, for those parents who are cloth diapering solely for the purpose of the environmental benefits, there are some options available.

Prefold diapers are a good choice for parents looking for an economical way to cloth diaper a newborn.  Prefolds often come in a one-size or two-size option and you simply fold the diaper to fit your baby.  Since newborns pee and poop fairly often, you’ll need quite a few diapers and covers.  To be comfortable with washing every other day, you’ll probably need at least 18 diapers and 6 covers.  Just to give you some rough numbers, a dozen prefolds run about $30, and you can get good quality covers for about $12, so all together you’ll spend about $117 on a diapering system that may fit until your baby reaches 15 pounds or so.  However, if you save your diapers and use them on several children, it is definitely possible to save money in the long run.  Plus, you won’t be filling the landfill with diapers, so your great great great grandchildren will thank you for being green!

Another option is to use X-Small or Newborn pocket, fitteds, or all-in-one diapers.  These will generally run an average of $16 per diaper, and you’ll still need about 18 to get through and wash every other day.  This option will cost you about $288, a hefty price in my opinion.

All-in-all, parents choose to cloth diaper for lots of reasons.  If you are choosing to cloth diaper solely to save money, it may be best to wait until your little one will fit into a size small or a one-size diaper.  If you plan on using your diapers for multiple children, prefolds or even pockets can still be an economical choice in the long run.  However, if you are cloth diapering to make our planet happy, then cloth diapering is a great way to go green from birth!

Welcome!  To all my fellow cloth diaperers (and hopefully future cloth diaperers), I am so glad you’ve visited our site!

I decided to start DiaperVine because it was so hard to start cloth diapering on my own.  I would’ve loved to have found a site like this where I could read all of the information, view virtual workshops, and then buy what I needed!  Instead, I scrounged around on Google for days on end trying to find the information I needed!

In the spirit of trying to share information, I’ve decided to start a blog about our cloth diapering experiences.  Hopefully this will help you to see what works for us and hopefully avoid some of our mistakes:).   Questions, comments, and general silliness are welcome.  Thanks for checking out our blog!

Hey everyone! Since everyone is raving about Rockin’ Green, I thought I’d share our experience and let you know how great it is!

When we first started cloth diapering, we used Allen’s Naturally as our diaper detergent, and then Gain for our clothes, etc. I found that Allen’s was a bit pricey, especially when you have to pay for shipping, so I thought I’d give 7th Generation a try. Since I could get it easily and it wasn’t too expensive, I just started using it on all of our laundry. Big mistake. We had horrible stink from Day 1, and not just on our diapers. Our clothes had a fishy smell too. I actually ended up throwing out half of the bottle because of the stink.

Luckily, my first shipment of Rockin’ Green had just arrived, so I immediately followed the directions for first-time users and soaked my diapers overnight. It was a miracle-worker! My diapers were immediately de-funked and came out fresh and clean! We also decided to use it for all of our laundry since it smelled nice, it was cheap, and it’s eco-friendly!

I know that lots of moms use 7th Generation with no problems, but it wasn’t a good choice for us. Luckily, Rockin’ Green was able to save the day. So far, we have tried Fresh Linen, Baby Powder, and Monkey Snacks, and I love them all – Fresh Linen is my fave! It’s nice to know that we are going green without sacrificing nice-smelling laundry. I highly recommend it!

Hey fellow cloth diaperers! I know some moms are iffy about using a liner with their cloth diapers – why not just use disposables, right? Well, we recently started using a liner with Taylor, and I thought I’d pass on my thoughts about the Bummis Bio-Soft Liner that we tried.

When Taylor was itty bitty, she was totally breastfed, so diaper cleanup was a breeze. Now that she’s started solids, her poops are…well, gross. I was having a hard time getting rid of all of that poop before doing a washing. I figured I’d just try the liners and see how it went.

We decided to put the liner (which is like a very very thin cottony gauze) in her daytime diapers and use one every time since she poops often. I had thought that the liner would just stay put in the diaper and then you would just toss it out. Not so. Once she poops, the liner sort of sticks to the poop, so you have to scrape the poop off the baby, then flush. Sorry for the graphic description, but I’m sure some of you moms will appreciate the direction!

However, once I get all of that accomplished, the diaper needs no further preparation for washing – no spraying, no scraping…just toss it in the pail and go! The liners are bio-degradeable, and they’re going in the toilet, not the garbage, so it’s much better for the environment. All-in-all I’m very happy with the liners. It’s made poop cleanup much easier and I definitely recommend giving them a try!