cloth diapering 101: part three – accessories

Like Shanna said, who doesn’t love accessories? ;)

If you’re using prefolds, you can choose to tri-fold into a cover with no problems (that’s pretty much all I do) — but sometimes, it’s nice to let them go coverless, or if you want to put them under fleece or wool. Now, you have two options.

You can use pins (I prefer Dritz diaper pins) or a Snappi, which is T-shaped with grips on each end. These grips hook into the diaper fabric to ensure a snug-fitting diaper with enough natural movement for the baby.

Here is a great video tutorial that my good friend Amy @ Peanutbutter & Ellie made to show how to pin the delicious organic bamboo velour preflats that she makes. The concept is the same for prefolds.

And here is a video tutorial on how to fasten a prefold using the Snappi

If you’re using cloth diapers, it only makes sense to use cloth wipes. I didn’t for a long time, but then I got tired of having to fish the disposable wipes out of the washer after I dumped the cloth diapers. So I finally invested in 12 cloth wipes, and then I started using them for everything – now I have about 5-6 dozen wipes. I make all of our own wipes now, but there are a ton of places out there to get wipes. You can also just buy cheap washcloths at Target.

Plus, they work a zillion times better than disposable wipes. I remember using 3-5 wipes per poopy diaper change, but with cloth wipes, I only need one (okay, maybe 2 if it’s really really bad).

I usually put about 10 of them into an unused wipes warmer and pour plain old water over the top of them – they’re wet and ready to go when I need them. You can use water mixed with a little baby shampoo or cloth wipe solution, but Emma has sensitive skin, and it’s better for her if I just use water.

So after you change the diaper, what do you do with it? Where does it go?

There are a couple of options here …

diaper pail liners – they are made out of waterproof PUL material, and you can get them in solids or prints. I just put a Wahmies pail liner in a white kitchen trash can in Emma’s room. It’s not the most attractive thing in the world, but it works.

You could also put one in a stainless steel trash can if you want it to look nicer.

hanging diaper pails -there are also many WAHMs making these, which you can find to match your room decor. This is our beautiful hanging pail that a dear friend gifted to us.

We currently keep this one downstairs since I change Emma’s diapers down there more than I change them upstairs. I’ll talk more about this later. ;)

I know of many WAHMs making hanging pail liners – RamieBaby Designs, Loving Touch Wetbags, Goodmama, Sweet Slings, VinhThi Designs, and that’s just to name a few.

So when you take the diaper off, just drop it into whatever you prefer to use. If you’re using pockets, it’s easier to take the insert out and then drop it all in so you don’t have to do it as you’re putting it all into the washer. Also make sure you attach the aplix to the laundry tabs for anything that has velcro so you don’t have to worry about it at washing time.

I know you’re thinking that the pail will stink, but I leave the lid off so that plenty of air gets in there, and I’ve never had any issues with a stinky diaper pail. I wash every other day, so I think that helps. Any longer than that, it does start smelling pretty bad. You could also close the lid, and you’d only smell it when you open it – but since there’s no circulation of air, the smell will knock you over when you open it. ;)

As for traveling, I use smaller wetbags that fit into my diaper bag. Same thing – just take the diaper off and drop it into the wetbag and zip it up. Just don’t forget about it when you get home.

A lot of people use disposable wipes for going out because it’s easier – I just use whatever I have on hand. Most of the time, I just grab a couple of wet cloth wipes out of the wipe warmer and pop them into a travel wipes container. Easy peasy.

Okay, I think I’ve touched on all of the accessories I think everyone needs. There are a lot of other accessories out there like pail deodorizers (the only ones I tried stunk bad), tushy spray (heiney perfume?), flushable liners (a great concept because you put them in every diaper and just flush it when the baby poops – but I just haven’t found that I needed to spend the $$ on those), and many other things. The great thing about cloth diapering is that you can try anything you want until you find what works for you!!

Up next … dealing with poop & washing diapers. Good stuff!