On July 17, we welcomed Tim Aagard, owner of Tiny Tots Diaper Service, to our Online Parents Group to discuss cloth diapering options. Due to a loss of their laundering supplier, Tiny Tots was recently forced to give up their cloth diapering service, but continues to offer compostable diaper service, cloth diapering products for sale, and education regarding cloth diapering. Listening to Tim invoked a trip down memory lane, and thought it would be helpful to share my family’s experience cloth diapering all three of our children.

I first learned about Tiny Tots when I was pregnant with my oldest and living in San Francisco without my own washer or dryer. As an environmentalist, I was committed to greener choices and having the option to cloth diaper without worrying about the laundry was a no-brainer! Their service was fantastic! Each week we had a bag of “prefolds” delivered to our doorstep. The diapers were always fresh and clean, delivered before we were out of bed on our delivery day, and they were very forgiving and accommodating when we occasionally forgot to put our dirty load out for pick-up. If we needed to pause or alter service due to travel, or even just had questions about preventing “blow-outs” or potty training, their customer service was always friendly, patient, and helpful. We moved to the South Bay at the end of my daughter’s first year, and the service was so great, it wasn’t worth the pennies we’d save laundering our own diapers, so we continued with their service.

However, there was some laundering involved. The water-proof covers needed to be washed, along with our reusable “wet bags” used to carry dirty diapers home from a day out and about. I also washed my own cloth wipes. (More about that below.) We had a hamper from Tiny Tots for the dirty diapers and a large wet bag hanging from the changing table to accommodate the dirty covers and wipes. Running a load of diaper accessories a couple of times per week was easy- we just inverted the whole wet bag into the washing machine. Hanging the covers out to line dry, which prolongs their life, didn’t take long and was a welcome, peaceful chore.

“Prefold” is a bit of a misnomer, as these diapers are flat and you still need to fold it to put it on your baby. It’s a name that persists from a time long ago in which diapers needed to be folded to make a thicker layer in the center. Prefolds are sewn such that the strip running down the center is thicker than the edges. There are a ton of different ways you can fold a prefold diaper. We always used a very basic fold in which we laid the baby on the diaper, with the back edge just above their bum then folded the sides in lengthwise at the front edge, then folded that edge over and secured the back side edges to the front around the baby’s legs with a Snappiclip. (See video below.) Then we used a waterproof cover over the top of the cloth to provide a barrier between the diaper and the baby’s clothes.

My favorite diaper covers were the most basic, least expensive at the time: a breathable waterproof velcro wrap style made by Gerber. Unfortunately, by the time Maceo was born, they were no longer available. We used a very similar style, the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, which had very cute prints. The gussets on the legs made it very easy to tuck in all the diaper edges for a great fit, and the velcro made it easy to get off and on a wiggly baby. Diaper covers don’t need to be changed with every diaper- we used the same one for about three or four changes, and of course if we happened to have a poop leak. About ten covers was more than enough to get us from one laundry load to the next. And the quality is such that they last for more than one baby, so they are worth the investment. Diapering products have come quite a long way since Jeannessa was born, and even since Arya joined our family ten years ago. Now there are a lot more options- some snap covers, like Rumparooz are designed to grow with your baby.

We used cloth diapers on the go, too. A few wet bags like this one by Planet Wise made it easy to carry home the dirties. I even made a few myself- if you are crafty, JoAnn now carries PUL fabric and the supplies to make diaper covers and wet bags. (Back in the day I had to special order PUL.) With grandparents nearby, we never traveled by plane when our kids were in diapers, but when we took road trips, we simply brought the large plastic bag provided by Tiny Tots for our usual pickup. If you decide to launder your own cloth diapers, it should be easy to continue away from home as long as a washer and dryer are available at your destination. Or pack them home in a garbage bag.

Overnight, we used Fuzzibunz. This style of diaper cover was introduced to me at a La Leche League Area Conference (think business conference for the business of parenting babies) in 2001 when Fuzzibunz was a new product on the market. I purchased one to try out and was instantly impressed. It’s a “pocket style” cover, meaning that the diaper gets folded and placed between the layers. The inner layer against the baby is a moisture wicking fleece and the outer layer is waterproof making it the perfect nighttime option. The diaper inserted into the pocket held a ton of urine without feeling wet against the baby’s skin, so we could put it on before bed and even if we had to get up to feed or rock the baby during the night, we could skip the diaper change. In the morning, the insert was wet enough to wring it out, but the fleece felt dry. Highly recommend!

Back to the wipes: outside of the house, we used disposables, but at home we had a greener option. I used cheap terrycloth baby washcloths (much lighter weight than what I used for baths), and put them in a wipes warmer with a homemade solution (see the recipe below). A full warmer of wipes lasted a couple of days. Looks like Prince Lionheart now makes a warmer specifically for cloth wipes.

As my little ones grew, and we moved into the potty training phase, they graduated into Gerber training pants with a pull-on waterproof cover during the day (my mom used to call these “rubber pants” even though they are no longer made of rubber). Fuzzibunz stayed on at night until they were long out of daytime diapers and there was a pattern of waking up dry (and all three reached a point at which they refused to wear them anymore). During the transition out of diapers, it was easy to let go of diaper service and do the minimal laundering myself.

While I don’t miss the diaper phase, I do miss the sweet moments that often happened during diaper changes and those charming little diaper butts.

Cloth Wipe Solution

Ingredients:

2 cups distilled water

2 tablespoons aloe vera gel

1 tablespoon calendula oil

1 tablespoon Dr.Bronner’s baby unscented pure castile soap

1/2 teaspoon vitamin e oil

5 drops lavendar essential oil

5 drops tea tree essential oil

Heat up the water, then add in the other ingredients and mix well. Pour over a stack of cloth wipes inside the wipes warmer.

A huge Thank You to Elizabeth and Tracy for hooking me up with diaper supplies for this video!

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