Diaper Doodie: My Cloth Diaper System (+ Giveaway)

The other day I shared with you my Essential Gear for cloth diapering…today I want to share with you how I use it!

My System:

I have 10 diapers. It depends on your budget and how often you will do the washing. I do the wash every day. To start I bought 2 BumGenius3.0 to make sure they would work well for my son. They did and I bought more. In the beginning it was barely enough but as he got older, it was/is completely sufficient. I also really like the FuzziBunz diapers. I have to admit that I send John and Chloe to church nursery in disposables but other than that, we use cloth. After I wash the diapers, I immediately put the absorbent liner back into the pocket, put a biodegradable liner in it, fold it over and it is all set for use again! I like to have them ready; making diaper changes as quick as possible! I keep some in the two areas I change John in the most.

If you’re cloth diapering, you may as well use cloth wipes! I used disposable wipes with my daughter because I always had coupons for free packages with diapers. Once I stopped buying disposable diapers, I stopped getting free wipes and suddenly the cost started adding up. There are tons of cloth wipes you can buy out there but I have found that baby face cloths from the Dollar Store work wonderful for me! I also have some wipes sewn out of flannel that I use but I find that for messy diapers, the baby wash cloths grip solids better. Traditional wash cloths are just too big to get into little places. I would love to try out some of the fancy reusable bamboo wipes and such but the cost is a deterrent.

While you can certainly change baby in the bathroom all the time and simply wet your cloth with water, that didn’t really work for me. I also found that just water in a container with wipes seemed to have a musty smell. Then Moms and Bums sent me a sample of Monkey Doodlez Wipes Cubes. I love them; the cloths do not smell moldy or musty but have a fresh light scent. I immediately purchased some. It was $10 for a small jar. I’ve used it for 6+ months and there is hardly a dent in it. I seriously think that this one jar of cubes will last for John’s entire diapering lifetime. I have a few samples of these cubes to giveaway. I’m sure you will love them!

I boil a liter of water, dump it into an empty pickle jar and add a cube. I shake it up and the solution is ready. Since I used to use disposable wipes, I had lots of those nice containers lying around. I simply fold my cloth wipes in half and put them into the container and pour enough solution over the wipes to have them be damp (not dripping!). If I have leftover solution, I just leave it in the pickle jar until next time.

I change John in his room (upstairs) or on our couch (downstairs). I’d like to interject here that since having children, I am a big fan of leather furniture. Each time there is any sort of accident, I grab my disinfecting wipes, clean it up and am thankful for how easy it was to do so. Anyway, our coffee table has a drawer in it so I keep a tub of wipes and diapers in there. I also keep a tub of cloth wipes in John’s bedroom, the kids bathroom and the main floor powder room.

Outside our laundry room I keep a metal trashcan with a lid and a foot pedal. Inside the trash can is a Bummis tote. When a diaper is soiled, I flush the biodegradable liner, remove the absorbent insert and throw the cover and insert into the tote inside the pail. This is the last time I touch the diaper until it is clean! Each evening I take the tote out of the can, dump it into the washer and replace it in the can. I love that the Bummis tote really cuts down on the ‘ick’ factor as well as the smell. I wash the diapers, dry them, then put the insert back into the cover, line it with the flushable liner and put them back into the areas that I diaper John in. Every second day or so I throw the Bummis tote in with the diapers for a good wash. Doing this ensures that I never have an odor in my pail as sometimes plastic can absorb odors. Speaking of odors, I have a sample of Pail Pals (thanks Moms and Bums) to giveaway to a reader. Having used the tote with the pail, I have never had a need for a deodorizer however I am told that this one is a good one.

When I am on the go, two things really help; my wipes pouch and my wet bag! I use the Sugar Booger Wipes pouch which I purchased from The Baby Boutique. I originally purchased the one with the zipper in the middle however I had some problems with it. I contacted ORE. They were extremely prompt in responding to my concern and very helpful! They have come out with a new design where the zipper is on the top. They replaced mine with the new design and I love it. You can use a baggie, one of the disposables hard travel cases…it just needs to be something that you can keep your wipes in and not have the dry out. I use my reusable wipes not only for John’s bottom but also to wash hands and faces while we’re out!

I use a Monkey Doodlez Wet Bag when I am on the go for dirty diapers and wipes. It is indispensible to me! I also use it for soiled clothing and wet bathing suits! You don’t have to have a fancy bag but you do need to have something!

Chloe is pretty much potty trained but sometimes there are still accidents. Though she wears panties during the day, I use a FuzziBunz one size diaper for her at bedtime (she’s 2 1/2). If we go out, I usually put a pair of Kushies cloth training pants on her…just in case.

For swimming we used to use little swimmers but the cost really mounted! Then I discovered Monkey Doodlez swim diapers. I just love it. With Chloe, we have a bummis swim diaper. Swim diapers are the way to go! More economical especially if you will be using it with more than one child. Chloe’s this year (turtles) will be John’s next year! For Baby with Love wants to give one reader a Mother of Eden swim diaper! Though summer is almost over, these are perfect for the pool in summer or winter!!

It’s been 2 1/2 years since my first cloth diaper disaster. it’s taken a while but I finally have a cloth diapering system that really works for me!

GIVEAWAY: #1 Mother of Eden Swim Diaper or #2 Diaper Cubes and Pail Pals

1. Leave a comment (or link to a post you’ve written) with a cloth diapering tip.
2. Subscribe to Beautiful Calling (reader, email)
3. Visit Moms and Bums and tell me a product that caught your eye!
4. Visit For Baby with Love and tell me a product that caught your eye!
5. Sign up for the newsletter at For Baby with Love (it’s in the left sidebar of their site)
6. Blog about this giveaway

• Open to US & Canadian Friends
• Ends September 18, 2009