Everything you need to know about cloth diapering a chunky, heavy wetter

Taking care of an infant is beyond a full time job, so if you're like me, the thought of adding additional responsibilities can seem daunting.  Right before my daughter was born, I took an interest in cloth diapering and thought I was going to give it a try. After having her though, the struggles of breastfeeding took over for awhile, and I let the cloth diapers just sit in her dresser for weeks. Once I got started though, it was way easier than I thought. That's enough of an intro though, so let's go over the basics.

Cloth diapers are bulkier than disposables, but your little one won't notice

If you can get over the huge booty bump made by cloth diapers and are okay with putting your baby in the next size up of clothing, then these tips and tricks will help you get the most out of your clothies, avoiding unnecessary wetting and prolonging the life of your diapers. This is what has worked for me and my daughter, but if parenting has taught me anything it's that every baby is different. Hopefully this advice helps, but don't treat it as the rule. Wait. Actually, you probably should treat the laundry advice as rules that are set in stone.

Before we get started, here's a quick review of brands I've tried
While reading this, keep in mind that my daughter is a heavy wetter who doesn't poo often, and she has chunky thighs and a small waist. She was exclusively breast fed until seven months old, when she started eating fruits and veggies.

I have tried:

• Happy Diapers - these don't seem to exist on the Internet. My mom got them for me on Craigslist
• Just Simply Baby - great quality, but the bamboo upgrade did not work for us
• Trendlab - great quality, but the elastic isn't very stretchy and the bunched up inserts make cleaning poo difficult
• Wish (lol, I know) - these are okay, but the elastics aren't stretchy
• Rumparooz - soft and SO VERY ABSORBENT, but pricey
• Soft Bums - people rave about these, but the snap in folded inserts just don't work for us, and they're pricey
• Doodle Dypes - these look and feel the most comfortable for baby and will stretch for any size and shape, but the outside is cotton, so you have to be extra vigilant about checking for dampness or else you'll have ridiculous leaks

The only two brands that I would recommend are Rumparooz, because they stay dry for so long, and Just Simply Baby, because they are incredibly affordable and the diapers have extra snaps above the hip to hold the front flap in place. The rest work fine for a short amount of time, but if you are leaving your child with a caregiver who doesn't know cloth diapers, there will be much unnecessary wetting and laundry. In my case, the daycare teachers ended up asking me to switch to disposables (which was fine because my husband often forgot to bring home the dirties anyways.)

Cloth diapers are adjustable, but they will likely not fit a newborn

Way too big for a newborn

When Madison was born, I tried to put a cloth diaper on the smallest setting, and it still swallowed her and got pee everywhere. We ended up waiting until she was eight weeks old, and by then those newborn poops were gone and she was down to only pooping once or twice a week because she was exclusively breastfed.

As she grew, I noticed that some types of clothies fit better than others. You can purchase diapers that are fastened with hook and loop (picture Velcro) or snaps. From what I've seen, the snaps are far more popular, but I know that Soft Bums offers a hook and loop option, which is the style of Soft Bums that I use. It can get stuck on other diapers in the wash, but so far it has held up great, with no pilling or weakening of the hook and loop. I much prefer this to snaps, but I usually don't see it as an option with most cloth diaper manufacturers.

It should rise to right under her belly button

That leaves us with snaps. My little one has enormous thighs and a tiny waist, so most snap diapers fit her poorly, either squeezing her thighs, or bunching up into the crease between her hiney and legs. It makes her clothes look a little awkward, but she doesn't seem to really notice the difference, so I still use them. The diaper from Wish and the set from Happy Diapers don't fit as well. The picture to the left was taken to show her grandma a birth mark, but it captures how bunched up cloth diapers can get around the hips when your little one has chunky thighs. You can't really tell from the picture, but her leg rolls pull the front of the diaper down because it doesn't have additional snaps to hold that front flap in place.

Night time cloth diapering requires several normal inserts or special overnight ones
My little one sleeps in disposables because she is such a poor sleeper that diaper changes lead to her being awake for up to thirty more minutes after a feeding. I prefer to nurse her while she's still kind of asleep and then setting her back down without changing her diaper. If she were to sleep in cloth, I would feel the need to change at every feeding. However, I have seen lots of overnight cloth diapering tips on Pinterest like this one that I may some day try!

Poop doesn't have to be a deal breaker
After buying a diaper sprayer and spray shield, I cannot believe that I spent six months shaking poop diapers out in the toilet or bathtub. Because I had been told that breastmilk poop would dissolve in the water in the washing machine, I didn't buy a sprayer for rinsing. However, every poop diaper that I ever threw straight into the wash came out looking exactly the same as before. Once, I even had to do a self-clean cycle immediately after because the washer itself stunk like poop. So gross. So, here's what I use:

• To spray the poo off: diaper sprayer
• To avoid splatter and ring the water out: spray shield

Cloth diapers should not be bleached, so I lay them in the sun to get stains out. It works in just a couple of hours, even on colored inserts.

You need to wash them thoroughly and often
Normally, I prefer to wash clothes on the short setting to save water and time, but I had to drop that mindset right away when I started cloth diapering.

I hang diaper shells up along with my undies, and they are dry in under an hour

My wash routine is based on a combination of manufacturer recommendations:

1. Store soiled diapers in a pail for no more than 48 hours to avoid stink
2. Separate inserts from diapers and toss into wash
3. Use Tide or a free and clear detergent that has absolutely no added oils or fabric softeners. I prefer Tide because it is more powerful than free and clears and the diapers come out smelling wonderful. It also works better than free and clears to remove poo. I tried Dreft but it didn't get poo out, and one manufacturer told me that it was slowly going to decrease the absorbency of my precious diapers with its added oils.
4. Set the washer on some variation of "heavy duty" with a "pre soak" and "extra rinse". Don't skimp on this to save time. They'll either come out stinky or you could risk giving your little one diaper rash.
5. Machine dry or line dry (indoors or out). You can dry them on a delicate setting to go easier on the fabric, but I prefer "normal" because the inserts are guaranteed to be dry and ready for use. I'm not too worried about wearing out the elastics or fabric in the heat because A) I'm not planning on having many more babies, and B) most of my diapers were used before me, so I am not as worried about preserving them and C) I usually line dry the expensive part, which is the diaper shell itself. 

• I use dryer balls from Mighty Fix instead of dryer sheets
• I prefer to throw inserts in the dryer and hang the diapers above the washer with old pants hangers 
• Avoid additives such as fabric softener, Borax, those scented bead things, and dryer sheets.

I have never needed to use bleach, vinegar, baking soda, Borax, or any other additives that I've seen on blogs. When my diapers get a stain, I put them outside, and when they stink it's because I have been neglecting to wash them as often as they should be washed, so I wash them one more time and more often thereafter. Tide and dryer balls for the win! *If you have read online that you should strip or bleach your diapers, please STOP and contact your manufacturer first, even if you bought the diapers used.*


You absolutely do not need to purchase a special diaper pail
My diaper pail is a 5 gallon bucket from Lowe's with a matching lid. It's ugly but I love it. Hacks are your friend when you have just spent a ton of money on cloth diapers. Plus, you'll be able to repurpose the bucket after your little one is potty trained.

 My mother in law made two diaper pail liners for me by sewing PUL fabric from Joann's into a bag shape and sewing elastic around the top.

When we go out, I bring a small travel sized wet bag for the dirty diapers. They were home made but can easily be purchased online from most manufacturers, and there is always Amazon.

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I may add more tips as I think of them, but look for separate posts for a more detailed review of the various brands that I've tried.

Good luck on your cloth diapering journey!