>>Some time ago I was forced to prioritize what I found more important when it came to my diapering system of choice: easy or fulfilling. Alas they do not always merge. But with many helpful advances over the years, cloth has grown more and more applicable to the busy on the go mum. And while cloth diapers are slightly larger in the bag, and washing a load of laundry every other day can seem daunting, the nearly $2,000.00 you save in the end (maybe more if you keep popping out puppies) is well worth the couple cons thrown in there.
After almost 7 months I finally feel like a system has been implicated and I can confidently share with you my cloth diapering world.
This is our station. Where we laugh and tickle and learn abc... and oh yeah, take one off and put one on.
It seems to be working. I have tweaked a few minor details, and come to a place where I can get in and out and on the road with an organized diaper change.
These two drawers store all of our bamboo inserts or pads- which are used to soak up... you know, and covers- which are the cute yet waterproof covers that are either snap or Velcro.
I tried to put them together with each load of laundry and it was exhausting. I find it a more simple procedure to get over with at the time of change. Slap the insert onto the cover, throw on a liner and onto bottom it goes. This may change when he wants to thrust himself off of the changing pad, who knows.
There are currently two laundry piles now that poo has approached its grown up stage (exclusively breastfed babes have a no-stink poo that is not thick or sticky. Once you add food into the equation things get real.) The blue bag houses soiled diapers, while the basket is for blankets toys and clothing.
Here are the necessities for a cloth diaper change:
Cloth wipe, wipe solution spray-bottle, biodegradable poo barrier, waterproof cover, and bamboo liner or insert.
Here it is all put together:
My diaper bag could be larger. But then I would probably spend too many minutes digging, like Mary Poppins for my keys. The organizational status is functional.
The mesh bag contains all of my "purse" items like lip stuff and pepper spray and all natural wipes, etc, so that I can just throw it into a purse or diaper bag without fishing for what I need. The little red number is what I currently use for Pine's travel food. Its nothing special, but I keep a jar of food, a spoon, bib, and wipe inside and toss the whole thing into the diaper bag before leaving home.
Unfortunately, no you cannot take an abundant amount of cloth diapers with you. If you need more than 8, I would suggest packing a few or more natural disposables. Over night trips are included here. Sometimes you just do what you HAVE to do, and not everywhere has a washer/dryer and not everyone wants to smell you toting around a bunch of soiled smellies.
In the diaper bag itself I keep a container of cloth wipes, a spray bottle of wipe solution (baby castile, water, neroli essential oil), 4-6 cloth diapers (stuffed and ready to go), a wet bag (waterproof zip cloth bag for dirties), and other various items such as sanitizer, a change of clothing, sun hat...
So there you have it. A walk in my shoes. I have never known anything but cloth, maybe this helps my optimism about what comes with them, but I really enjoy using them!
