I have been meaning to write about our cloth diapering experience. Recently, one of my college friends, i.e. "Salem Sister", started a Facebook group. But this here blog is much more global, so I thought it very appropriate to throw out my thoughts thus far on cloth diapering. Enjoy!

Whenever someone asks about cloth diapering, I always start off by telling them it's my "favorite green thing" that we do. We compost and recycle, but it's amazing to know that for every poopy diaper I clean, there is one that is not damaging our earth and water.

I am just going to copy the text of a couple of emails.

//All-in-ones are pretty self explanatory -- you have a cloth diaper that functions like a disposible. Some have inserts that help soak up wet. Use them, toss them (in the hamper or pail), wash them. Ta-da. I don't prefer them for two reasons. One: they are expensive, and two: they're usually big and bulky (don't fit in cute little baby clothes! That's my vanity ;))

Prefolds -- there are a million ways to do prefolds. A prefold is what you think of when you think of a cloth diaper -- a long, rectangular piece of cotton with 3 sections, the middle one being the most absorbent. I've heard of a number of different types of prefolds -- bleached cotton, unbleached cotton, hemp, wool & chinese cotton. Obviously, the bleached v/s the unbleached is white versus organic, not white. Hemp & chinese cotton are supposedly more absorbent. I've never tried them, so I don't know. My experience is that the unbleached cotton is more absorbent than the bleached.

The only hemp & wool I've seen are not technically "prefolds," but that's how they function, same premise. I think the ones I've seen are called panels (?). I guess they can be simpler to use (because you don't have to fold them...). The reason we don't use them is that they are more expensive. I might actually try a wool panel (tucked into the prefold) for night. Wool is supposed to be really absorbent and it 's naturally antimicrobial. (More on night diapering later :))

I got a great deal on 75 bleached prefolds from a cloth diapering service that went out of business. I'd definitley suggest getting in touch with a local service for this very reason. I am SURE Raleigh has one... Just ask if you can buy some used prefolds. Sustainability, baby!

We use a prefold and a wrap. A wrap holds the prefold on and *usually* keeps the wet from the clothes (this is called wicking, when it does leak). There are TONS of wrap brands. My favorite are Motherease, a local (to Fayetteville, AR, where we live) lady's brand, and Swaddlebee's Blueberry. (Swaddlebee's most well-known is what's called an ABC wrap, and I like them, but they wick REALLY easily...their Blueberry is much like the local wraps, but comes in a one size fits all and they fit Abe really well.)

I do not recommend ANY velcro. It gets all linty and it wears out really quickly. I do recommend snaps :)

Basically, you fold the prefold and place it in the wrap and them snap it up. Google "folding cloth diapers" to see some visuals. There is a way to do it if you have a girl or a boy. ...Really, though, there is not wrong way...

A good start would be 40-50 prefolds and 5 wraps. At our local cloth diapering store, it'd be a total of about $150 investment. You'll definitely add to your stock as baby grows. When they start having poo blowouts, it may be time to go up in size. I used a "Snappi" for awhile, but they do have to be replaced. They're great for holding on the prefold...or if you just want to use a prefold with out a wrap. Definitley cheap!!! I don't prefer to feel baby pee.

As for cleaning, I have a pretty basic thought process -- it's baby pee & poo. Seriously, it's digested breast milk. It doesn't even stink until they start eating solids. Get a hamper. That's it. You don't need a pail. And you do laundry every other day or so, depending on your schedule and supply. Some people use a liner, a cloth laundry sack, in the hamper. I don't use one anymore because it got annoying. Condensation gathers at the bottom of the hamper whether you use the liner or not. This "condensation" is pee, so I just rinse the hamper like once a week. If a little poo gets on the inside of the hamper I just spray some bathroom cleaner and scrub it a little. Simple.

**HAHA! We went back to using the liner when Abe starting eating solids regularly. His pee and poo has started to look and smell more like adult pee and poo. The cloth liner will absorb some of the wet and therefore some of the smell.

Abe just started eating solids, so I've changed up how I deal with it. His poo is real sticky now, so instead of tossing it in the hamper right away, I toss it in the toilet. I have a pair of rubber gloves that I put on and I use the toilet water to get the poo off the prefold. Then I wring the prefold, flush the poo, rinse my gloves, get a clorox (or green works) wipe, wipe the toilet & sink out and toss the wipe in the toilet. It keeps the bathroom as disinfected as before... There are sprayers you can buy that hook up to the toilet basin, so you dont' have to touch poo with your hands. But you'd still want to use gloves and wipes. Again, my thought is that it's just baby poo.

Think of it this way: your baby's diapers start to fit him/her like your favorite jeans fit you. Diposibles are more like wearing a paper sack. It makes sense that the disposibles are more of a hassle. Also, what have mothers been doing for centuries? Throwing aaway their baby diapers. Oh no...they've been cloth diapering. The cool thing is that we have the ability to use reusable plastics that keep us a wee bit cleaner.

When you do your laundry, you just do a rinse cycle before the regular wash. Then do a hot wash with 1/2 the amount of detergent. I've heard that you're supposed to use a natural, "green" detergent. Again, we're poor, so I use a powder Arm & Hammer. Abe's never had any rashes or anything, so we're good. If they do get a rash, you just run a couple hot washes to get the detergent residue off the fibers of the prefold. AND experiment with various detergents. The gentler the better. Contrary to popular belief, Dreft has all the same harsh chemicals as Tide. :/

**Charlies soap is supposed to be MAGNIFICENT. It seems expensive, but you only use a tablespoon per load. It's "green"! You can usually refill the bag wherever it's sold locally. Perhaps Whole Foods, if you have one. Or your local co-op. And certainly if you have a cloth diapering store... http://www.charliesoap.com/

Wash the wraps with the prefolds. Try to line dry. The sun is a natural disinfectant and bleach. Some poo will stain, but the sun will bleach it out.

**I've recently learned two other ways to "bleach": peroxide is totally harmless, as it turns straight to pure water when it oxidizes. And the process of oxidization turns things white (same concept as OxyClean). Another is drying them on bushes. A plant's job is to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, and they do this with the help of the sun. So in the middle of a sunny day, bushes are releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere and turning. If you lay the diapers on the bush to catch some of that oxygen, it will do essentially the same thing as the peroxide; "oxygenation bleaches."

Night diapering: I just use 2 prefolds. Because nighttime sleep is so groggy and you just want to nurse and fall back asleep, I don't change his diaper unless he pooped. He pooped at just about every feeding until he was about 2 months... But then he started sleeping through the night. We use a Motherease wrap (because they're so big) and 2 prefolds and he rarely, if ever, wicks or leaks. There are wool wraps that are supposed to be great for nighttime. But, again, I am cheap and have never invested in one.

That's about all I've got. :)

Obviously, I breastfeed, so if you're planning on formula, I can't swear it won't stink. :) A great resource is La Leche League. Yes, they're all about breastfeeding, but I am going to venture a guess that they'll have TONS of information about cloth diapering and where to go to get the best service in your area. I don't agree with some of their advice on certain topics, but they know their stuff about breastfeeding and cloth diapering to say the least. :)

**http://www.llli.org/ to find a local LLL leader!

Hope this helps!

From another email: First of all: if you have a chance to find and visit a cloth diapering store, you are going to find SO much more there than you will online.

**an addendum to this: Mothering magazine has a bunch of ads of fabulous brands. What you Google and "find" online doesn't give as much variety as you can find perusing mags, like Mothering. Some examples of amazing brands are: Mother Ease, Blueberry, Swaddlebees.

All-in-ones are amazing for big babies. If your newborn is smaller than 10 lbs, you will have a hard time keeping them from leaking.

**I don't do all-in-ones, so this is just heresay. If there are any mommies who do, please add your two cents!

There is a one-size wrap and I use them and LOVE them; they are called Blueberries. It is the same company that makes Swaddlebee's. Swaddlebee's wick a lot (pee pee soaks through the wrap if you don't change the prefold after every pee or two), so they are not my favorite. But the Blueberries have a waterproof (kind of) layer on the inside, so they work really well.

Here's another thought: Abe is STILL in a small. Granted, he was 9.7 at birth, but his skinny butt still doesn't fit into medium wraps. So, while, the all-in-ones seem logical, they may not be as simple as they seem.

Really, it's all about personal choice. Whatever works for you. We chose wraps and prefolds for a couple reasons: less laundry, less expensive, longer life. I wish I could send you some of mine, just so you could try them out.

The main reason I didn't go with all-in-ones was price and the amount of laundry. Also, you can reuse the wrap over and over until it's soiled or stinky. Do you have your daycare picked out? Ask them if they have a preference. As long as they're using gloves when they change diapies, there's really no difference with popping a prefold into a grocery sack and tossing a soiled disposible.

Target sells some all-in-ones. WalMart sells prefolds and plastic undies. ...I use neither...

**I find that store bought things are just cheap. Again, you have to get a little creative; it's very worthwhile to visit a cloth diapering store and develop a relationship (like all things new-to-mommies, this can be VERY maddening when it's not going well or they're changing...). Visit a store *even if you have to drive a couple hours on the weekend.* If you're in NC, I am pretty sure there are good stores in Raleigh and possibly in Asheville. Charlotte has GOT to have something, lol.

There are different levels of absorbency depending on what material you use. A lot of the all-in-ones are fleece, which is really absorbent. Hemp is more absorbent than unbleached cotton is more absorbent than bleached cotton.

Maybe you can do all-in-ones during the week and prefolds and wraps at night and on weekends??

You can always order through our clothe diapering store if you can't find a decent one. Bernice is AWESOME! terra-tots.com

**punkinbutt.com is a great resource, too.