Parents choose cloth diapers over disposables
for environmental, health and comfort reasons. Cloth diapers are made from
cotton, which is soft on the baby's skin and able to absorb any mess your
little one makes. Instead of disposing of the diaper after a single use, you
wash your cloth diaper and use it again after it is clean and dry. Use cloth
diapers by determining which type of diaper is best for you and your baby and cleaning
the soiled diapers as soon as a mess is detected.
First, choose the right cloth diaper
1, Test a few options before you buy a batch of
cloth diapers. They come
in different forms and features.
2, All-in-one diapers (AIOs) are most
like disposables. They are
made with the absorbent cloth inside next to your baby’s skin, and a PUL cover
attached to the outside.
3, Use
pre-fold diapers for simplicity. These are
rectangular in shape and divide by length into 3 sections.
Follow the divisions that show you how
to fold, and use a Diaper safety pin, or a snappy (stretchy plastic T shaped
thing with teeth) to hold the diaper together, or place a diaper cover that
snaps over it.
4, Try
a pocket cloth diaper for extra protection against wetness. This type of diaper has a waterproof exterior and a
pocket where you put the insert.
Shop for extra
inserts (also called soakers) that will fit any diaper size. These provide the
baby with extra protection for nap and night time.
5, Use
a fitted cloth diaper. Perfect for
night time because the front, back, and side tabs hold pee where any other type
of diaper does not. They usually fasten with snaps or Velcro, and are easy to
take on and off. Fitted diapers need a cover.
Place a diaper
cover over a fitted cloth diaper, flat or prefold diaper to keep them from
leaking.
Wool diaper
covers are great for night time use also instead of a PUL cover. Just be sure
to read about washing and applying lanolin to water proof them.
Second, Buying Enough Cloth Diapers
1, Remember that a newborn requires 10 to 12 changes
per day, and older infants and toddlers will need 8 to 10 changes.
2, Pay attention to sizing. Many brands offer a "one-size" diaper
that will fit after the newborn stage until potty training. One-size diapers
save much more money than buying cloth diapers in many different sizes.
3, Think
about how often you want to wash diapers. If you want to wash every 2 or 3 days, buy
enough cloth diapers to keep your clean supply well stocked. Never leave dirty
diapers unwashed for more than 3 days.
4, Buy
necessary accessories. Such as diaper covers, extra inserts, Diaper liners
(reusable, or disposable make cleaning poo much easier!) snappis or pins, cloth
diaper safe rash cream, a pail or bucket with a lid to store the dirty diapers.
5, Consider
using your cloth diapers for other things. Some parents also use them for burp cloths,
bibs and changing pads.
Third, Cleaning Cloth Diapers
1, Change your baby as soon as you
notice she is wet or soiled.
2, Remove a wet
diaper and place it in a diaper pail for washing.
Rinse the wet
diaper before placing it in the pail if you prefer. While this is not
necessary, some parents prefer to rinse it out before placing it a pail to
eliminate the odor of urine.
3, Allow your baby's bottom to air dry. If you want, you can use a wet or dry wipe to
clean the diaper area.
4, Remove a soiled
diaper and clean the baby's bottom with a soft damp wipe, consider buying a
wipe warmer which is perfect for storing cloth wipes.
Shake solids
into the toilet and flush. Rinse the diaper and place it in the diaper pail for
washing. If your baby is having ONLY breast milk, there is no need to rinse or
dump because breast milk will be broken down in the wash waster.
Scrape unformed
poop into the toilet with a spatula or other tool that is set aside for this
specific purpose. Rinse the diaper to remove as much poop as you can, and place
the diaper in the pail for washing
5, Remove any diaper inserts, such as
a soaking pad, before you wash them.
6, Start your wash cycle with a cold
rinse (to prevent staining and rise out pee.) Then add a small amount of laundry soap to a hot wash (too
much soap will cause build up, and your diaper will leak.) It helps to do an
extra rinse to make sure there is no extra soap left in your diapers.
7, PUL covers need to be air dried. Anything else can be dried in the dryer.
m� 2 o t `�� 0-� 0pt'>to keep
them looking nice! Remember to always fold back the laundry tabs on your PUL
covers.
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If line
drying your diapers, to keep diaper elastic in best condition, try pegging your
diapers on the line 'horizontally' (like you would a bed sheet) rather than
'vertically'. This way, the weight of the wet diaper does not stretch the
elastic whilst drying. Alternatively, drape diapers over a clothes horse
instead. If tumble drying your diapers use the warm setting only.
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