•Buy/get 2 diaper pails (or other lidded pails) - label one "dirty" and one "wet" & Line them with something (We use nylon "stuff" bags from the camping department - approximately $4)
•Buy 2+ dozen diapers (the more diapers you have, the less frequently you have do wash them!). We use Diaper Service Quality prefolds and a few Mother Ease One-Size (aka Pops). We are also enjoying some WAHM diapers - they are well made and we are supporting moms who work at home with their children. Please visit our links for mail-order diaper sales and WAHM diapers.
•Buy 4-12 diaper covers. We use Bummi industrial wraps, Alexis snap-ons, MotherEase Rikki & AirFlow covers, fleece covers, & various others found at resale shops. If you want to avoid using pins - buy all velcro wraps or mix & match and use a Snappi (see picture below), pins, or diaper clips.We have found Snappis at Born to Love (Canada) and Baby J (USA).
•Buy washing soda (or baking soda) and white vinegar and soap (or detergent) - We use Ultra Fresh Breeze Laundry Soap or Dr. Bronner's Castille soap. This will be for washing. It is NOT recommended that you use any bleach product, including "bleach alternatives" and Borax. It is also best not to use any fabric softener other than vinegar, as it will reduce absorbancy.
•Buy a Wipe Warmer (or something to keep warm water in) and several dozen washcloths. We also have 2 squirt bottles - one large one (seen below) for weekend trips, and a small one to keep in the diaper bag. There are many recipes for wipe solutions, but we just use castille soap and water.
This is what our cloth-diapering space looks like all set up
change table in left-hand picture, diapering accessories in right-hand picture. doll was hand-made for Mackenzie by her Great-grandmother's friend. Knight puppet was purchased at the Texas Rennaisance Festival in Houston, Texas.
storage - fitted dipes on top, prefolds in the middle, and prefolds being used as doublers on the bottom.
•Remove old diaper. Put it in appropriate pail. (just wet, or poopy)
Poopy dipes in the Diaper Champ on the left, and wet ones go in the Sterilite on the right.
•Wet washcloth in warm water/wipe solution. Wipe baby's bottom (remember to wipe front to back!). Put washcloth in appropriate pail.
•Put end of diaper under baby. fold front 2 sides in (like folding a letter in thirds), and bring front up. Fan out the front that was folded in thirds until it can easily meet the edges from the back around the baby (trust me, this is really easy, it's just impossible to describe). If using a Snappi, attach to each side, then pull up the middle and attach the middle part. It should look like this:
•Another fold that works well is to do a 180 degree twist as you are pulling up the \_/ shape - this creates a little poop-pocket and reduces leakage onto covers. See our diapering resources for other folds/diapering ideas.
•Now wrap the diaper cover around the baby, and dress as usual. Some brands of clothing do not fit very well over a cloth diaper, and you need to buy 1 size larger. The baby's butt will look bigger in a cloth diaper. But it's cute!
last modified by RRA 10/13/00
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