On Cloth Diapering

Jun 9

Grovia Cloth Diaper .JPG — I was equal parts excited and super nervous about using cloth diapers. It was something I always had in the back of my mind that I would do with my babies one day but, when the time came, I was frozen by absolute overwhelm. I had no idea where to start.

Thank god for mom friends, right?? I moved to Singapore from Hanoi, Vietnam at 20 weeks pregnant and was determined to find myself a tribe of soon-to-be mamas so I could have a support system when my son was born. The first friend I made was a woman from Seattle named Kristen.

We hit it off right away - chatting about motherhood and what was coming our way. She was expecting a little girl, her second, a month before Charlie was due so she became an immediate source of motherhood wisdom for me. She also used cloth diapers with her son!

I would love to say that my goal in cloth diapering was to save the planet. In fact, it was financial with a by-product of being good for Mother Earth. But aren’t cloth diapers super expensive? Nope, not when you look at the long game!

Upfront, the sticker price for all that is needed can be shocking. You’re looking at about $550 for all brand new supplies to cloth diaper one child full time. Keep in mind, lots of parents do opt to buy shells second hand, which can be a big cost savings! So when you only spend $20-30 a pack every two weeks, it seems like a lot of money to spend on diapers all at one. But what about that same $20-30 every two weeks over the span of 2-3 years? Add in another child for another 2-3 years? It is estimated that parents can spend anywhere from $750-1,000 per year on disposable diapers.

All of a sudden cloth diapers cost a fraction of disposable.

With Kristen’s guidance, we decided to dive in and make this a reality. I am so happy we committed and I can’t imagine not cloth diapering at this point.

A few notes on cloth diaper best practices:

Make sure you are changing the diaper every two hours. The reusable pads are absorbent but not as absorbent as disposable diapers. Leaving them on too long will result in prolonged skin exposure to urine.
Make sure you are using a diaper cream that is compatible with cloth diapers. Petroleum based, in particular, is not recommended. I use a DIY spray made from 15 drops each of doTERRA lavender, tea tree and frankincense in 2oz of fractionated coconut oil. The good news - I have found cloth diapering to help significantly reduce any skin irritation for Charlie.
Do not bleach diaper pads. Simply lay them in direct sunlight to get rid of any hard to remove stains.
Make sure you are using a good quality laundry detergent - full power but not full of chemicals. I swear by the doTERRA On Guard Laundry Detergent. It has worked wonderfully on the hot cycle with our cloth diapers.
We opted to use disposable overnight for Charlie. He is a tummy sleeper and wakes up with a very full diaper. We LOVE the brand Offspring because their diapers are non-toxic, cruelty-free and earth-conscious that support social wellness without endangering forest resources. They are also biodegradable!
Add two tablespoons of fractionated coconut oil along with two drops each of tea tree, lavender and roman chamomile to the water when you make up your reusable wipes. Great for the tushy and it smells divine!

All this information may be slightly overwhelming but, I promise, it is not as hard as it appears. Cloth diapering slipped so seamlessly into our life, only adding 10-15 minutes of diaper time to our routine every two days when I have to make more reusable wipes and throw in the extra load of laundry.