Wikis tagged with Diapering

When I first started cloth diapering I had a pretty sizable stash of Fuzzi Bunz one size pocket diapers. Most had suggested 12-18 for starting out, but we ended up with 22 by chance. This brings me to item one that I wish I had known:   1) Start out with more than you think you need. I recommend this, because we went through, and still go through, a lot of diapers. As a new mother, I was thankful to have the extra diapers so that laundry could be spread out to every 2 or 3 days, rather than every day.    2) A good drying rack or two will be cheaper and serve you well when cleaning the...

Mothering recently ran a fun reviews contest in our Diapering category and the response from the community was HUGE. It is clear that our mamas love cloth diapers!    So which diapers received the best reviews? We've pulled out 10 of the most highly rated cloth diapers to share with you here.   Check them out and then head over to our Diapering reviews section to find a ton of additional feedback on a wide range of diapers and supplies!      Charlie Banana 2 in 1 Size Diaper   9 Reviews | 5 Stars   Review from member "mummamal"   Pros: Easily adjustable, wash beautifully,...

By Lindsay Evans "I'll definitely give them a try." Before the birth of my daughter, that was my tentative answer to questions from friends and family about cloth diapers. In my head, I was weighing the stereotypical cloth-diaper routine of pins and plastic pants, smelly diaper pails, and red bottoms against the carefree ease of disposable diapers. I was familiar with the environmental problems caused by disposables, but did this first-time mother really want yet another hassle? In the first two months after Amelia was born, I didn't. Albeit with a slightly guilty conscience, I used...

Consider this: Nearly everything we know about diapering comes from the companies whose sole objective is to sell us more diapers. Through constant commercials featuring peaceful sleeping babies, colorful “New Baby” sample packs, and the writing of dozens of Mommy Blogger Brand Ambassadors, disposable diaper companies aim to control how you feel about diapering.  Specifically, they attempt to create in parents the lucrative mixture of self-delusion and disgust that drives Americans to consume– in this case, to buy more diapers.  According to the disposable diaper industry, you...

The Great Cloth Diaper Change is back to break the world record for simultaneous cloth diaper changes on April 21, 2012 at 9am Pacific Daylight Time.  To help you envision what a Great Cloth Diaper Change event looks like, Mary Jo Giufre writes about her experience hosting in 2011. Lucky for me, our premier local kids play gym, Rolly Pollies, is owned by a cloth diapering family!  They were very excited to host the Buffalo, NY location of this global event last April, and they’re hosting again this year. For me, organization is the key to a great event.  Everything just flows and the...

As of Tuesday, 3/13/12, there are 232 officially registered Great Cloth Diaper Change hosts planning events for April 21st in 13 countries.  Stacy Mojica is planning one in Savannah, GA and offered to share her experiences here. I am a new Real Diaper Association (RDA) leader. We just started our Low Country Real Diaper Circle (LCRDC) here in Savannah, GA in early January 2012. We attracted members from our existing vibrant and active local natural parenting community.  In just under three months, we already have 72 members, with a core group of about 10 who attend our twice monthly...

Consider these statistics: According to a 2010 study, one third of U.S. mothers are cutting back on basic necessities (such as food, utilities, and childcare) to buy diapers for their children. Approximately 90% of Americans use single-use plastic diapers, generating 7.6 billion pounds of garbage each year. This is enough waste to fill Yankee Stadium 15 times over. In the two minutes it will take you to read this post, another 106,000 throwaway diapers will enter landfills in the U.S. where they will sit for at least 500 years before decomposing.  (William Shakespeare’s diapers...

Cloth diapering is as easy as can be!  If you attend a Great Cloth Diaper Change event on April 21, you will have lots of experienced parents available to help you out.  In the meantime, here are some easy steps to follow for you to be able to successfully cloth diaper.     1. Find a diaper that works for you.  The same diaper that works for your best friend might not be a cloth diaper that works for you and your child!  If you are just starting out, I HIGHLY recommend getting a few different kinds of cloth diapers to try out before you commit to one kind.  Many different shops...

Yes, YOU can. Sewing cloth diapers can be very intimidating at first. Patterns and fabric choices can be overwhelming but, with a little guidance and thought, it can be a breeze! The key thing to remember in diaper sewing for yourself: It has to catch and hold whatever mess your little one is going to produce until you get the diaper changed. I started on the cloth diaper journey when my oldest child was born 10 years ago. Seemed simple enough, I took a cloth diaper a friend gave me and took it apart, I looked at a disposable, and traced that. Then, I bought a pattern at the local...

Each day of Real Diaper Week will focus on a different way to advocate for or educate about cloth diapers.  On Wednesday, 4/18, we’ll focus on the savings that families can achieve by choosing reusable cloth diapers, making them a great choice for low-income families.  Read on to educate yourself, then find a way to bring Real Diaper Week to your community. There are many reasons to consider using cloth diapers. You may hear things like “Do you have *any* idea how long disposable diapers will be in landfills?!” or “Have you seen the super cute new prints that [insert favorite cloth...

With Real Diaper Week approaching, many cloth diaper users are considering ways to educate their communities about cloth diapers.  On Thursday, 4/19, one of the focuses will be on educating daycare providers about cloth diapers.  But how easy is it to use cloth diapers in daycare?  Read on to find out… Choosing the right daycare is one of the hardest decisions parents face when going back to work.  The desire to cloth diaper your baby does not have to add to the anxiety!  With modern cloth diapers, it’s just as easy to use cloth in daycare as disposables. To begin with, familiarize...

You have heard that cloth diapers are better for the environment and for your wallets, but what about the babies themselves? Doctors recommend that babies be changed every 2-3 hours (except in the case of nap time and overnight) and even more frequently for newborns since they poop more often. A baby sitting in any diaper for a prolonged amount of time will result in a rash, though this is not the only source of rashes by any means since rashes can also be caused from food allergies and teething among other sources. Unfortunately, our society has gotten to the point that if the...

Anyone that is even remotely interested in learning what modern cloth diapers is all about, or currently uses cloth diapers, should join in the 2012 Great Cloth Diaper Change (GCDC)! This event is a great way to increase awareness about cloth diapering. GCDC brings caregivers of all kinds together no matter the reasons they chose to use cloth diapers. Some parents use cloth to save thousands of dollars over the diapering life of their children. Some parents use cloth because their baby has skin that is sensitive to the chemicals in disposable diapers. Some parents are choosing to use...

It’s the everyday decisions that can be the most difficult when it comes to being an environmentally-friendly mom/climate change activist.   Here’s one that all moms face: Should I use disposable or cloth diapers?  I’m deep into research on this question and am finding some surprising things.    For starters, here’s the answer: Use neither. You’ll waste less and save money. And as I’ll explain later, you’ll even be saving forests around the world like the Amazon rain forest.  So what should I do if I don’t use cloth or disposable diapers? If you can manage “elimination...

Nearly 10,000 babies on 4 continents lent their bottoms for a world record-breaking event to raise awareness about reusable cloth diapers on April 21st.  Hundreds of hosts in 15 countries held events centered around cloth diapers on that Saturday. At exactly 9:30am Pacific Daylight Time, organizers gave the signal for parents to change their babies diapers.  Each site had at least two independent witnesses overseeing that Guinness World Record(TM) rules for qualifying and counting participants were followed.  Their signed statements and photographic evidence were subsequently submitted...

By Laura Schmitt "I wish I could just wrap myself in the softness of my child's diapers!" That's something you've never heard a parent say-unless that parent uses cloth diapers for the child. Shortly after my first baby was conceived, I became obsessed with finding the best cloth diaper for my money. I no longer concerned myself with events of the day. My prenatal yoga tapes gathered dust as I scrolled through endless websites, absorbing every bit of data ever posted about cloth diapers. I became fascinated with prefolds, fitteds, covers, wraps-you name it. I was committed to...

Winner announced — see who it is here. Stay connected to giveaways by subscribing to our RSS feed or visiting our giveaways page. Mothering is teaming up with The Green Nursery to bring you an exciting chance to win a One Size Cloth Diaper Starter Bundle and a Sophie the Giraffe!! Find out how to enter below! The bundle includes: 1 GroVia Shell | 2 GroVia Snap-In Soaker Pads | 2 bumGenius 4.0 with 2 included inserts | FuzziBunz One Size with 2 Inserts  | Sophie the Giraffe The Green Nursery is a natural baby boutique that specializes in cloth diapers, natural/high quality toys,...

Thank you to Rev. Caela Simmons Wood for this guest post. There is a great irony in the world of cloth diapering. The parents who could benefit the most from the financial savings associated with cloth diapering are often times the very parents who can’t get together enough cash to begin the process. Sure, saving $2,000 on diapers sounds amazing. Especially if you’re a family that’s living paycheck to paycheck. But when you start looking into the options and find that you probably need at least $250 to get a decent set of diapers together it’s more realistic to just keep buying...