Switching to Cloth

For the last few months, Cadence has had a diaper rash that will not go away. At it's best, it just red and itchy. At it's worst, it bleeds and oozes. The only way (and we tried a lot of ways!) we can keep it to it's best is to use cloth diapers and wipes, and let her go naked for at least a few minutes each day. At first, I was trying to just put a burp rag (a.k.a. cloth diaper) on her, and slip bloomers over it. But um, let's face it... they leak that way. And it's gross. And it's a hassle. And she doesn't have that many bloomers. So I finally broke down and bought some "Real" cloth diapers and some fancy schmancy covers that velcro.

And I am in heaven. They are cute, easy, non-messy, and they don't leak. Best of all - her rash has been consistently at it's best since the switch.

Now, not wanting to get carried away, I only bought two covers, and one all-in-one. This means she wears cloth in the morning and through her nap, then disposable in the evening and through the night, and I do laundry every other day, just like I was before. If you want more details about cloth diapers, how they work, and how I've organized my new supplies, keep reading. If not, enjoy the pictures of Cadence modeling her new diaper covers!

The covers are pretty simple. You lay your cloth inside them, and velcro them on just like a regular diaper. When they are wet or soiled, you take the cloth out, throw it in your bag or pail, and put in a new cloth, then velcro it back up. This way you only have to buy one or two covers for each day, since you only change the cover if it gets stuff on it.

The all-in-ones are my favorite thing in the whole wide world. It is just like a disposable diaper. You put it on. You take it off and throw it in the diaper pail. Then you put a clean one on. And you are done. The problem is you have to wash the whole diaper every time, so you have to buy 8-12 for every day. That would be way too much money for what may be a temporary switch. I use the one I bought for taking with me in the diaper bag.

Cadence's changing table has three handy little basket shelves. I have always used the top one for diapering supplies and the bottom one for toys for her to play with while I change her. Now I also use the middle one for diapering supplies.

I went ahead and folded the cloth parts as I put them in the basket, so they are ready to go straight into the cover with no extra work when I am changing her. They are in the middle basket.

Ok, a side note about a wonderful product and my extreme laziness. I have always used these, and am totally spoiled. They are reusable changing pads. You just lay it on top of your changing table, and when you make a mess, you just wash it, that way you don't have to strip the whole table cover off every time something happens. These come in a package of several (six?) and are great for this, putting under babies head when they are newborn and spit up in their cradle a lot, and changing diapers on the go.

Ok, back to cloth diapers. Since we are still using disposables half the day, one side of the basket is disposable, and the other half is diaper covers and my lone all-in-one diaper. Don't be fooled by the wipes container - it has cloth wipes in it!

Since I'm a pack-rat and happened to have an empty wipes container laying around, I am able to keep my cloth wipes right at the changing table. I filled it about half full of water, with just a tiny squirt of baby wash and just stuck the wash clothes down in the water. When I want one, I just wring it out into the tub and go.