My cloth diaper advice to others – keep an open mind and don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.  Almost all the negative things I hear about cloth are said by people who haven’t even tried it.  I was really hesitant to try cloth diapers.   I just knew it was going to messy and gross.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I actually found it less messy — at least with cloth diapers the mess actually stays inside the diaper and you aren’t changing clothes, blankets, sheets, or having to wash the carseat liner.

When we started with cloth diapers I wanted something easy.  I was against prefolds because they seemed too complicated.  I didn’t want to be doing origami; I just wanted to diaper my kid.  While prefold diapers may not be for everyone, I have to admit I was wrong again.  It wasn’t until we started thinking about potty training that I bought a few to try.  Most of our diapers had stay-dry linings and I thought feeling wet would help my daughter with potty training.  Prefolds are super cheap, soft, wash and dry really well, and don’t have to be complicated.  I love the Better Fit Prefolds that can simply be folded in thirds and laid in a cover – no origami required.

Wool was the other category of diapers that I just didn’t think was for us.  The washing instructions seemed so intimidating and I always thought wool was itchy.  As my daughter became older, we found ourselves changing sheets a few times a week after she’d sleep her twelve hour stretch.  Many people told me how great wool was for nighttime, but I wasn’t convinced.  After changing sheets one too many times, I decided to give it a try.  The result – LOVE!  Not only is wool breathable and SOFT, it’s actually pretty easy to care for (Eucalan No-Rinse Wool Wash is great).  My daughter is now potty trained and only wears a diaper to bed.  When she gets up I just turn the wool cover inside out and let it air dry until we are ready to put it back on.  The sheets are dry and the cover only has to be washed every couple of weeks.  What could be better?

There are many options in the cloth diaper world.  My advice is simply to keep an open mind.  What works best for one person may not be the thing for you and your family, but you’ll never know unless you give it a try.

The best cloth diaper advice I can offer:  Prefolds and Covers! Rather than spend a lot of money on the “newborn” or “preemie” sized diapers, as cute as they are, use prefolds and covers.  Especially for newborns, it’s important to use cloth rather than disposable diapers which can be so irritating to a new one’s skin.  Then later, the newborn prefolds can be used as boosters with larger prefolds or as soakers in pocket diapers.  I find that my best night time diaper is a pocket diaper with a microfiber insert, plus a small prefold.

Second best cloth diaper advice I have: forgive yourself for using disposables occasionally.  When going on vacation, rather than pack your stash and have to use the laundromat or your host’s washer, use either the Nature Baby Care disposable diapers or the GroVia disposable inserts (which can be used in any pocket shell or cover).  Both use biodegradable corn-based products instead of petroleum, and do not use the same chemicals as the big brand disposables that are so irritating to baby’s skin.  By using cloth the rest of the time, and doing the best you can, I think it really is okay to use eco-friendly disposables where the situation warrants.

-Missy