This article was originally published in October, 2008.
Before our toddler was born my husband left the cloth vs. disposables decision up to me. I knew his preference was cloth for both financial and health reasons. I felt the same way, so I researched the different types to see what was out there. I hadn’t changed a baby’s diaper in… well… ever really so I had no idea what I was looking for. Somewhere in all of my research I came across Mother-Ease.
Diapers
These are what have made cloth diapering so easy that I find using disposables rather difficult and quite leaky. These are the Mother-Ease one size diapers. I love these diapers for many reasons, but one is simply because they were designed by a mother from Canada who wanted better cloth diapers for her baby.
The first thought that popped into my head when I thought of cloth diapering was “Oh no, not pins.” These are pin free and so easy. They literally work from 8 lbs. up. Both our 6 week old baby and our two year old toddler are using the same diapers as we speak. Granted, our baby has a huge bum, but it’s very cute and charming on a little guy like him.
When we first ordered diapers we ordered the complete package. This supplied us with diapers, soaker liners and covers. I know it’s a lot of money up front, but it certainly does pay for itself in the long run. I also realize there are less expensive ways to do cloth diapering, which I absolutely encourage.
Diaper Covers
We have used the air flow covers. We very rarely have leaks, and they generally occur not because of the diaper cover but because our little man is a heavy wetter. As our 2 year old has grown out of them we simply order new ones and save the old ones for the next in line.
We have not had to buy diaper covers for our youngest. He has simply used the same ones his brother wore without any leaking. This has been a big money saver.
Wipes
We also chose to use cloth wipes for the same reasons as cloth diapers – cost and health. To dampen the wipe we use a thermos with warm water and a couple of drops of tea tree or lavendar oil. This cleans them up with no added chemicals or alcohol and the essential oil acts as both a deodorizer and a disinfectant.
We purchased some wipes online and I (not so brilliantly) tore some old wash cloths in half and didn’t sew them up. I remember telling my husband “Look, I cut all of those washcloths in half and now we have twice as many wipes.” He looked at me and said “You know the edges are going to fray, right?” Whoops. We still use them, though. Our babies’ bums don’t know the difference.
Overall I have found cloth diapering to be a simple way to both save money and keep dioxins and chemicals away from our baby.
What about you… How do you diaper your babies and why?










