Super excited to be sharing our cloth diaper setup today. This is something I’ve been looking into pretty much since I found out I was pregnant and I love hearing other’s experiences and tips so I thought I would share what we plan to use for our baby.
Cloth diapering is a somewhat controversial topic and I’ve definitely received much skepticism and discouraging opinions on it. I understand that cloth won’t work for everyone but for us it feels feasible to at least give it a try. In the condo we have main floor laundry so I don’t think an extra load every other day or so is a big deal. If we were using disposables we’d be taking a load of garbage down to the main floor and then across our building to the dumpster room every day which is way more of a production than a load of laundry inside our suite, in my opinion. I’ll be honest that cost savings is my biggest motivator. We stand to save easily a couple thousand dollars cloth diapering from birth to potty trained and even more if we use that same cloth diaper stash on more than one child.
The amount of research I did before deciding on what brand to go with was outrageous. I probably seriously considered at least four brands and every type before deciding on Planet Baby’s All-In-Two package. I liked that the company is Canadian and they sell on Amazon so I was able to read a lot of reviews from verified purchasers on there. I know that some people like to try a mix of styles and brands but my goal was to choose well from the beginning and really get comfortable with one style rather than have a mix of items and potentially only a few that I liked. The diapers look and feel great, so I’m excited to see how they work.
What sold me on Planet Baby:
- Ability to purchase a full diaper package
- Reasonable price (plus free shipping and coupon codes)
- Cute prints
- Bamboo inserts
- The features: double leg gussets, snaps, one size (fits 8-35 lbs.)
- Close to disposables for ease of use
A list of everything we have to get started:
From Planet Baby:
- 20 Cloth Diapers and 40 Bamboo Inserts
- Small Wet Bag (for the diaper bag)
- Flushable Liners (for once we start solids)
From Well.ca:
- Kanga Care Large Wet Bag (for at home use)
- 5 AMP Hemp Inserts (for overnights)
Miscellaneous:
- Coconut Oil (in lieu of traditional diaper rash cream)
- Cloth Wipes
- Spray Bottle (to spray cloth wipes)
- Dryer Balls
- Country Save Liquid Detergent
We are going to wait at least a couple of weeks after the baby is born until the meconium passes and we get our bearings before we start using cloth. It will also depend on how well they fit him as a newborn.
In terms of prepping, I just prepped the diaper covers by washing and drying once. For all of the inserts, I washed them three times, dried once and then repeated this process, with everything on high heat. This is necessary to maximize the absorbency of natural fiber inserts and prevent leaks. You also have to be careful to avoid the softeners, fragrances and dyes in traditional detergents and fabric softeners with cloth diapers. I chose Country Save detergent, because it came highly recommended for cloth diapers in many of my readings and I can get it from the London Drugs in our neighborhood. We’ve also switched from dryer sheets to dryer balls to avoid extra chemicals.
That’s all I have so far. This is going to be a learning experience for us so I’m excited to get started and will let you know how we make out!
