Cloth Diapering 101

By Meaghan Primm

February 10, 2012

%!@& Happens. The question for new parents . . . how do you want to deal with it!?

In the “old days” you used flat cloth diapers pinned around baby’s bum and lived with the leaks, messes, bulky vinyl pants and dunking diapers in the toilet. Mothers prevailed and along came disposable diapers…a parent’s best friend. Of course, we have learned over the last several years that decades of disposable diaper use has resulted in landfills full of them. An ‘investment’ that most parents easily spend $1500-2000 on in the first two years of their child’s life just lives on as garbage for literally hundreds of years. Add to that the harsh chemicals needed to make those paper thin diapers ‘ultra’ absorbent and more and more parents feel that disposables are not much better than the poop they catch.

So what’s a parent to do? Of course there is always a diaper service, where you simply toss the soiled diaper in a diaper pail, set it out on your front porch and some angelic, saint like person comes and picks it up, washes and disinfects them, and leaves you fresh diapers for the week. Convenient, although services often leave many budget focused families looking for less expensive options. And options there are!

Cloth diapering has evolved. You, as a cloth diapering parent, have choices! The trick, however, is to not allow yourself to be overwhelmed at first glance. Thanks to many Work-at-Home-Moms seeing the benefit of cloth diapering and designing modern cloth diapers around actual use and need, cloth diaper designs have come a long way! There is variety beyond flat t or prefold diapers – although the basics are still in use and loved by many families – including simple almost-disposable-like diaper designs. Vinyl pants have been replaced by washable, dryable, even breathable waterproofing fabrics. Pins are no longer mandatory as modern diapers offer snap or Velcro closures or can close with a Snappi, an ingenious cloth diaper accessory. Elasticized legs and waists that actually keep messes where they belong are standard, and one can simply use a diaper sprayer to remove the “yuckies” into the toilet without dunking! All in all, many cloth diapering families find the experience pleasant and empowering. The hardest part of modern cloth diapering is determining what type of diapers will best suit your priorities and family.

Budget, health and convenience are the top three priorities in cloth diapering.

1. If keeping your diaper budget as non-existent as possible is your number one goal, you can go with basic flats or prefolds and diaper covers for around $300 birth to potty learning.

2. Know that if chemical exposure reduction is most important there is a world of organic and earth friendly fabrics at your beckoning. Organic cottons, hemps, bamboo and user friendly, washable wool offer limitless options.

3. In the instance that using a diaper most like a disposable is necessary for a daycare or reluctant parent, simple all-in-one cloth diaper designs make cloth diapering nearly identical to disposable diapering, minus of course the trash can and monthly disposable diaper budget.

Any way you go you’ll be reducing your family’s footprint, saving money over disposable costs and reducing exposure to toxins. A far better legacy than the chemical laden, expensive mound of of 7000+ disposable diapers each child would otherwise leave behind.

Interested in more information on cloth diapering? Go to www.realdiaperassociation.org and for local support, please join www.SpokaneClothDiapering.com for support and cloth diapering groups.

About Meaghan Primm

Meaghan Primm is a mother of three very active kids that she home schools. She also is the owner/work-at-home-mom (WAHM) of Primm and Proper Baby, a cloth diaper company. She, along with Lacey Heinz, started Spokane Cloth Diapering, a support group for families in the Spokane area who choose to cloth diaper.