Cloth Diapering Overview: Post from Mama Smiles

While we are enjoying some extra snuggle time with the Monkeys, we are so pleased to be able to bring you a series of posts from some of our favorite bloggers. 

Today’s post comes to you from MaryAnne of Mama Smiles, one of the truly nicest people I have run across in the blogosphere.

In addition to our shared interest in multicultural kids’ activities, we are also both big fans of cloth diapering.  Here is a great overview on cloth from MaryAnne, along with some tips for using them!

I’ve been using cloth diapers for over six years now! The layout above is what I used with my two middle children – these days I use flats and Thirsties covers, and you can read more about that cloth diapering system here.

I do care a lot about the environment, but my original reason for trying cloth was selfish. My oldest child’s diapers were constantly leaking, and I figured that, if I was going to wash her outfit every diaper change, I might as well wash the diapers as well. Plus, cloth diapers are cute! I ordered a set of Happy Heiny diapers. They worked great during the day, not so well at night (love my Thirsties covers for night time). They solved the diaper blow-out problem, and my daughter seemed much more comfortable in them! I eventually switched over from velcro to snaps, because snaps are harder to undo and they don’t get stuff caught in them in the wash. I started off using pocket diapers, because they seemed fairly economical but still can be put on just like disposables. With baby #4 I use flats, because they seem to work better, are easier to get clean, and dry super quickly. You can make your own baby wipes, and I’ve switched from pastels to bright colored covers, because bright colors make me happy.

Here are a the main benefits we’ve found from using cloth:

• More comfortable. Would you rather wear paper clothes, or fabric clothes?
• More economical. Many of my diapers were used for multiple children. I bought new diapers for my youngest, but the flats and covers are still much less expensive than disposables.
• Cute.
• Fewer blow-outs. I’ve had only two minor blow-outs with my youngest, and several diapers that would have been blow-outs if she were wearing a disposable diaper.

Want to give cloth a try? I recommend getting flats or prefolds and a handful of Thirsties snap covers. It’s a relatively small investment, and you can see if it works for you. A lot of people wait until their babies are older to start using cloth, but I really recommend starting early! Newborn babies go through a lot of diapers, and disposable diapers tend to leak the most with younger babies.

Have you tried cloth diapers? What system works for you?
Thanks to MaryAnne from Mama Smiles for today’s post. MaryAnne lives near Boston, Massachusetts with her husband Mike and their four children. Before having children she spent most of her time teaching and learning; she has degrees in Music, Education, and Medicine and has taught everything from piano lessons and French to research methodology and ethics courses. She is now a stay-at-home mother, and enjoys the learning, creativity, and play that happens naturally in a young child’s everyday life, which she shares on her blog, Mama Smiles. Follow Mama Smiles on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for creative inspiration!