Cloth Diapering 101

This post is for my friend, Beth , who is not sure if she wants to start using cloth diapers for her 3rd child (a girl!!) who is due in May. I told her that I would put together a little tutorial to show her how easy and mess free it really is. Now, if you're like me, the word cloth diaper brings this image to mind:

And if you're also like me, your parents STILL have those cloth diapers and use them as cleaning rags. So when I first heard of people who use CDs these days, I immediately thought of the rags and safety pins.

When my sister-in-law showed us the diapers she used, I realized that CDs, like everything else has kept up with the times, no more safety pins, no more plastic pants, now they look just like regular diapers and save me a TON of money, wooo hoooo! Oh, and they give Dax some junk in the trunk, but that's ok :) We use the Bum Genius brand, so Beth, here are your step by step instructions on what they look like and how to use them:

Step 1: The diaper all folded up



Step 2: How to expand the diaper as your baby grows



There are neat little snaps on the front, these will fit your kid from birth through appx. 50lbs, just an FYI, Dax is probably 16 or 17lbs and we're still on the smallest size, we may move up soon.

Step 3: How it works (excuse the skid marks lol)



This is the diaper opened, now notice by the velcro, you have what appears a little overhang of material - this is a pocket where the insert gets put in the diaper.

Step 4: The insert



This is what gets shoved into the diaper's pocket, and keeps the baby dry

Step 5: The pocket



This is where you put the insert into the diaper, and they come with an extra one that you put in once your baby sleeps through the night.

Just a small note: Dax rarely leaks through with these, we have the MOST accidents, blowouts/diaper explosions, when he is wearing disposables. Our overall invest on these was about $200 - we were given several for gifts, we started out with 24 which was great, I only have to wash them every 2 days, and if I ever get irritated about having to wash them, I just remind myself of the amount of money I am saving.