Cloth Diapering: Part II

The best way to buy cloth diapers is through an online company. They have a large selection; there is a lot to choose from. Unless you live near a specialty baby shop, you are not going to find many options at the colossus chains. From my friend Nelly's advice, I bought our diapers off of clothdiaper.com. I like our diaper package, but I found Green Mountain Diapers more helpful in exploring options (I ran into this site after the fact). They provide more information about differences in the of choices of diapers & accessories as well as pictures of the diapers on real babies. Another good site is Julie's Stuff.

From my experience, I've created a list of what is needed for a cloth diapering system. Once again, I would like to re-iterate how economical, earth-friendly, and easy it is. People who aren't exploring this option are missing out.

Everything you need to diaper your baby:


Pre-fold diapers: This is your standard diaper, sewn together so you don't have to do any fancy "folds" before you put it on baby. The package I bought has 48 newborn and 36 large sizes (to fit up to 30 lbs). This has been more than sufficient.

Snappis: Instead of pins, use Snappis! They are so easy, quick, and there is no risk of poking baby (or yourself). They hold the diapers with small claws on each end - kind of like an ace bandage.

Bummi Super-Whisper Wraps: These are not the plastic pants of yester-year. They have velcro (or snaps) and go on like a disposable diaper. So handy! Having 6-8 of each size (newborn, small, medium) is sufficient.


Flannel Wipes: I like these so much - they are very gentle on little bottoms. Just wash them with your diapers. I keep them in a basket near the Wipe Solution. It feels good not to throw them away! I have 2 sets of 15.

Wipe Solution: 1 cup distilled water to 3 drops lavender oil & 3 drops tea tree oil. An olfactory delight! Use distilled water; it is void of impurities and doesn't get stinky as it ages.

1-2 squeeze bottles: Use them for the wipe solution. Keeping the wipes wet is silly and putting the solution in a spray bottle is even sillier (oh, your aching wrists!). Just wet your wipes right before you use them.

2 Bummi Water-proof Totes: 1 small tote for the diaper bag, 1 large tote for the diaper pail. Just pull out the tote and bring it down to your washing machine; it's as easy as that. Instead of cleaning out dirty diaper pails, wash the totes with your diapers.

1 diaper pail: Scented disks are not necessary.