Baby Must Have - Diapering

Baby Must Haves for Diapering

I used disposables with Child #1 and we started cloth diapers with Child #2.

The options are out there and lots of people have different things to say about it, and it’s completely up to you on what you want to do. I do not look down on people who do the things that they do. There are daycares who do not take cloth, and there are people who just rather not use cloth. Cloth does take a lot of time, especially when the baby is young and needs changes more often.

I started using cloth to help save money. We were spending a lot of money on diapers with two kids when they're under 20 months! And Child #2 is allergic to disposables, as we found out later.

Alright, on with the list!

Disposable Diaper Must Haves

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1. Diaper Pail. We got the Diaper Champ from my sister-in-law who didn’t need it anymore, and we bought a big box of tall kitchen trash bags. It was the original Diaper Champ, so, I'm not sure what the new one is like. It worked pretty well. Like any trash can, it would start getting stinky a day or two before trash day.

2. Wipes!!! You’ll be wiping a lot of bottoms! I don't think you need a picture of wipes. I like the thick ones as the kids get older.

3. Changing pad / blankets. We did not purchase a changing table. We didn’t have room for one and we didn’t think it was necessary. Since we’re always on the floor with them, with their tummy time and such, we just change them on the floor. We just changed them on the carpeted floor with a changing pad underneath them. I thought the water proof ones would work well, but it didn't. The moment my child "squirted" everywhere, the pee would run right off onto the carpeted floor. So, it was pretty pointless. I just used blankets.  We had gotten a lot from baby showers, so, I put them to use! If the blanket gets dirty, I just wash it with the baby clothes. No big deal, right?

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4. Butt paste. S is a brand kind of a guy. We used Destin. Every baby bottom is different. What works on one baby, may or may not work on the next. Destin worked fine on Child #1, but didn’t do much for Child #2. Aquaphor worked the best on Child #2. We also used Aquaphor for some eczema spots.

5. A little basket. We have a little wooden basket that we got from a baby shower. We put in all the essentials in there. Diapers and paste, and it was just easy to get to than having a box of diapers that the diapers came from. You can find some good cheap ones from Target or Walmart. It doesn't even have to be wood. If you want compartments, you can always find it at baby stores.

Cloth Diaper Must Haves

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1. Diaper Pail. We got a kitchen trash can from Walmart or Target, and got a large pail liner (picture above) and put it in the laundry room. It will get pretty stinky after a couple days, so, I got a deodorizer to help with the smell.

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2. Drying rack and clothes pins. You need to dry the diaper shells somewhere! I bought a cheap wood one from Walmart, and wood cloth pins.

3. Wet Bag. A bag for all your dirty diapers when you go out or for daycare! There are lots of cute handmade ones on Etsy. It looks like they're selling them in big box stores, like Kohls.com like this Little Luxe Transportation Zippered Wet Bag.

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4. Cloth Diaper Friendly Butt Paste. We LOVE Grandma’s El! S loves the one that comes in the tub. I’m indifferent. GroVia’s Magic Stick didn’t do much for our boys, it didn’t create a thick enough of a barrier from the bottom to the diaper.

5. Wipes. Either disposable or cloth wipes. We don’t use cloth wipes, I haven’t found a system that works best for me yet.

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6. Wool Balls. This helps to dry the diapers in the dryer. You’ll need about 4 – 6 wool balls. The picture above are the ones that we have.

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7. Toilet Spray. I highly recommend this! It's not easy to scrap poop off of diapers, and the sprayer makes it easy. If it's too strong, spray it in a 5 gallon tub to help with the over spray. That sounded terrible, huh?

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8.  BioKleen's Bac-Out. This is really nice. It helps with the strong poo scent (I did not say it’d get rid of it, it just helps), and poo stains. They have coupons on their website.

9. Large Bath Towel. We have a HE front loader, which is not the best washer for cloth diapers. So, I would soak the bath towel with all soaking wet diapers to help weigh the washer bin down so this lets the washer “think” that it’s fuller than it is, and it adds more water to the bin.

10. Renting the diapers for first 8 weeks. This is really helpful. Since Child #2 was a premie, he didn’t start wearing the newborn size until he was 4 – 5 weeks. We ordered our rental from Abby at Itsy Bitsy Bums, you should too. She’s awesome. So, after the newborn stage, we moved on to other diapers.

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11. Cloth Diapers. This is all really your own preference. We started out with GroVia's hybrid, but it didn’t seem to work out very well for our boys. During Black Friday, I bought lots of different kinds of diapers to try out for a good price. I like the Rumparooz, but my boys have thunder thighs, so, it was super tight on their thighs. The one that both S and I like is BumGenius (picture above), it was easy, and simple to use.  We also like the fact that they have a one year warranty, which I have used. They have great customer service.  I have heard that some babies are allergic to the microfibers of the diaper. So, I say if you can wait until Black Friday or if the company has return policies for used diapers, then buy a few to try what works best for your baby and you.  Make sure that your husband will like the diapers that you will be using. S thought the concept of the GroVia's hybrid diapers were too much of a hassle. When the boys were in the hybrid diapers, we just changed the whole thing, shell and all.  I personally like the hook and loop, because i can't seem to figure out the snaps, they'd always get loose. But be warned, the hook and loop doesn't last as long, so you'd have to replace the hook and loops.



For other moms out there, what have you used that is an essential to diapering?

Back from Leave

I'll be going back to work on Monday. It makes me sad, this is the last weekend home with my kids. I'm going to miss wrestling with David, snuggling with Isaac, and taking walks with them in the mornings. I'll miss David helping me 'sweep' the floor with his broom. I'll miss Isaac cooing.

Going back to work from maternity leave is so difficult.

As some of you guys know, we've started cloth diapering with the kids. This week David went back to disposables, he got an allergic reaction to something that we haven't figured out, and been having diarrhea all week. So, when that clears up, we'll get him back to the cloth diaper.

So, this weekend, I'm going to be making a wet bag for the daycare to put all the dirties in.
I'll also be making another to give away to try out. So, I can use the feedback and make a better one. Watch out for a giveaway in the next couple of weeks!