Then there are the rest of us.  The moms who bought into the “buy a little bit of everything” theory and never really got out of it.  The moms who have a wide variety of diapers, because different diapers work better for different days and different occasions.  The moms who have stash pictures that rival the photos in the cloth diaper stores.

They have Fuzzibunz, and Thirsties, and Kawaii.  They have Itti Bitti, and Ones&Twos, and Bottombumpers.  Their stash holds AIOs, AI2s, pockets, fitteds, covers, and prefolds—and they like it that way.  Some days, different diapers just work out better.  Some are more absorbent.  Others are more convenient.  There are nighttime diapers, and nap diapers, and daycare diapers, and church diapers…it all depends on what they need for a given day.

Inevitably, however,  moms with a stash that varied will notice that there are some diapers that they just don’t reach for.  Even if it’s at the top of the stack, they’ll reach for something else first.  Maybe it’s a smaller diaper that a big toddler has grown out of a bit too fast.  Maybe it’s an AIO, and this particular mom is really a pocket girl at heart (or vice versa).  Maybe they chose a diaper for the print, and then discovered later that it just didn’t have a good fit on their baby.  Whatever the case, it’s obvious that there are some diapers that just work better for them than others.

What’s a mom to do?

Some just let them sit there, in the back of the drawer or at the bottom of the pile, gathering dust and never really getting used.  Others pack them away “just in case” they work better for a future baby.  After all, they must work for someone, right?  Still others will go ahead and use them…on laundry day, or when they run out of options, or when that just happens to be the diaper that daddy or a babysitter grabs from the changing table.

On the other hand, there are options that don’t require moms to leave a diaper sitting around that they won’t use (and will drastically reduce the odds that Dad will pull it off of the changing table and put it on baby, inevitably causing leaks).

Diaper swaps.  These can be found on Facebook or in such locations as diaperswappers.com.   Moms who have diapers that they no longer use can sell them at reduced prices to moms who will use them.  In some cases, like-new diapers may sell for nearly as much as you paid for them in the first place.  Truly used diapers will go for quite a bit less, but it will be a little bit money in your pocket and a little bit less clutter on your changing table.

Be sure, if you do use the swaps, that you’re backing your sales with Paypal.  This will give both buyer and seller some protection in the event that something goes wrong.  Shipping labels can even be printed directly through Paypal.

Give one (or two) to a friend with a new baby.  In some cities, cloth diapering is becoming the norm.  In other areas, even the idea of cloth diapers causes some moms to look like they have something smelly (perhaps their chemical-laden disposables?) under their noses.  Too many moms have never even considered cloth diapers.  Often, it’s because they’ve never seen a modern cloth diaper.  They’re still picturing pins and plastic pants, leaks galore, and more trouble than it’s worth.  Others might be willing to try, but they want to try one or two out first—and this is the perfect start.

Find an organization to donate them to.  Some organizations, like Giving Diapers, Giving Hope, will accept diapers in any kind of condition, so long as they can be repaired.  Going through a reputable organization is usually a better idea than just donating to a random mom met on Facebook or through some other source, because this way, you know that they’re going to families who need them.

Repurpose.  Prefolds make great rags, as do microfiber inserts.  Your little girl might love to have a diaper or two for her dolls or teddy bears.  PUL-backed diapers can be converted, with a little bit of craftiness, into mama cloth.

Whatever you decide to do with them, know that you do have options!  They don’t just have to take up space in the back of your drawer—they can go on to a mom who will love them, or fill a new purpose, or even convert someone to cloth diapers once and for all.

And then Thirsties came out with a new print.  It’s gender neutral (for my little boy) but would be absolutely precious on the little girl that we’re pretty sure (according to the 12-week scan) that we’re expecting in November.

Meet Polka Dance.  It has a “Mud” (brown) background with all of the other colors from the Thirsties line in polka dots on it.  It’s gender neutral—mostly, in my house, meaning boy-friendly.  There are so many cute prints that just aren’t quite “boy” diapers, so when one comes out that Little Man can rock without a problem, my response is, “Yay!”  And since it covers every color of the Thirsties rainbow, it’ll go quite nicely under just about any dress that a little girl could ever possibly wear.

I need it.  Possibly in two sizes, since we’ve got a newborn coming in a few months who will need pretty diapers, too.  I think it’s my favorite Thirsties print yet.  And Thirsties AIOs are currently our favorite diapers.  They are the trimmest diapers that hold all the pee my little heavy wetting toddler can produce.  They are easy—babysitters can figure them out without having to stand there, scratch their heads, and wonder how on earth they are supposed to make this large, fluffy thing fit on a baby bum.  They line dry overnight.  Best of all, they’re all one piece, so there’s no stuffing, unstuffing, or otherwise messing with the diaper required.  If it’s been a busy week and the diapers haven’t been stuffed, it can come straight off the line and go right back on the bum.

I shouldn’t be buying diapers right now.  We already have an adequate newborn stash, and the bigger-baby stash is…more than adequate, even for two babies.  I don’t have the official gender results for the new baby yet (though the twelve-week ultrasound suggested there may be some pink in our future!), but if it does turn out to be a girl, there are at least a dozen adorable pink and purple diapers that are going to need to come live at my house.

This one just happens to make the list regardless of gender.

One more diaper can’t hurt…right?

What about you?  Have you ever had a new print come out that you just “had” to have?  What’s your favorite diaper print?

Here’s the first thing to keep in mind when you open that first package:  they’re going to look huge, especially if you’re used to disposables.  You will take one look at this humongous diaper and wonder how on earth you’re ever going to get it to fit adequately on your tiny baby, especially if you’ve been using disposables and are aware of how trim they are.  Surely, you’ll think, that’s a size large, not the one-size you think you ordered.

Then you start comparing…and you realize that they’re not all that big.  You try one on your baby…and it actually fits better than you thought.  Okay, maybe those diaper manufacturers know what they’re doing after all.  It’s a little bulky (at least compared to a disposable diaper), and it takes some adjusting to figure out what size is going to fit on your little one, but it really is the right size.

Promise.

That first one is still a shock—so be prepared for it.  Newborn and smaller sized diapers aren’t quite as bad—they look more like they’re going to fit on your baby, at least—but they’re still very fluffy.  Fluffy is normal.  It means they’re absorbing with fabric, not with chemicals.  They’re still two to three times the thickness of a disposable diaper, and that’s something that most cloth diaper manufacturers don’t prepare you for.

All right, you got it out of the package.  Now what?

You’re going to have to prep your diapers.  If you’ve ordered them brand shiny new, separate any bamboo and hemp from the rest of your fabrics.  Those will have to be washed several times—separately—to get out all of the natural oils to reach maximum absorbency.  I wash mine in with everything but diapers:  towels, clothes, rags…whatever is handy.  Just follow your regular diaper washing routine and use your diaper detergent.  Dry in between washes—it’ll make them reach their full absorbency faster.

Pockets, covers, and all-in-ones, along with their inserts, can be washed once and placed on the bum.  Prefolds should probably be washed at least three times (or six, if you have some extra time on your hands before they’re absolutely necessary) before they’re put in the rotation.  They can be used after the first wash, but it takes several for them to reach their full absorbency.  You’ll know they’re getting there when they start to quilt up and shrink a little.

If you’ve ordered used diapers, the process is a little bit more complicated.  Used diapers from a store are probably already disinfected.  Used diapers from a mom probably aren’t.  If you’re lucky, she washed them one last time before sending them off to you.

With that first wash, put about ¼ cup of bleach in with the diapers.  This will kill any yucky bacteria or yeast lingering about in the diaper and prevent your baby from being infected.  Most moms are honest, and wouldn’t sell a diaper in this sort of condition; but you don’t want to find out that you got a bad one after your baby breaks out with a yeast rash that won’t quit.

Now, when you get to the last rinse cycle in your machine, open it up and check for bubbles.  See lots?  You only thought you were on your last rinse.  Depending on how hard your water is compared to how hard the previous owner’s was, you may have to do a LOT of rinses to get all the soap out.  Go ahead and do this.  There are some mixtures of soap (the one that the last owner used versus the one that you use) that can cause rashes.  You also don’t want to discover the hard way that your little one has an allergy to…whatever detergent they used.  Detergent interactions can also cause repelling, so you want to get as much of theirs out as possible.  Once there are no more bubbles, you can dry your diapers according to your preferred wash routine.  Line drying is recommended for most covers/diapers containing PUL; using the dryer is fine for inserts, prefolds, and wipes.

Now what?  Once your diapers are clean, you get to do the fun part:  putting them on your baby.  If you’ve started cloth diapering from the newborn stage, then you can be pretty sure that they’ll begin on the smallest setting on the snap-down rise in every diaper.  If you’re cloth diapering an older baby, it may take some trial and error.  Snap it so that the top of the diaper hits at or a little below the belly button.  Try it on.  Make sure you run a finger along the elastic at the legs to ensure a good fit—the elastic is less likely to leave red marks if it sits in the crease of baby’s thigh.  Move baby’s leg around.  Do you see a large, gaping hole below the leg?  It’s probably too loose.  Try tightening either the rise snaps or the snaps that hold the diaper onto the baby.  No gap?  Great!  Leave it on for about two hours, or until it’s time to change.

When you take the diaper off, be sure to check for red marks.  Red marks can be a sign that the diaper wasn’t positioned correctly, or they can be a sign of a bad fit.  Some marks are normal (just like with a disposable diaper), but you don’t want baby to be uncomfortable!  If there are large red marks or welts on your baby’s leg, try loosening up the rise snaps a little.

Remember:  variety helps.  Different brands of diapers work better for different babies.  Babies, much like their parents, come in all shapes and sizes.  Some babies need wide leg holes to account for pudgy thighs.  Others need leg elastic that is very, very tight to account for skinny thighs.  Check out some reviews, talk to other cloth diapering moms (Facebook is a great resource for this), and make some educated guesses based on your baby’s body type, then try a couple of different kinds of diapers and see what works best for you.  You can always sell the diapers later if they don’t work.  Also, baby’s shape will change many times as he or she grows.  A diaper that was far too big one day may be too small the next—and a diaper that baby had absolutely outgrown may fit again when he or she starts walking or crawling and slims down.

Okay, the diaper is wet.  What do I do with it?  Different moms do different things with their dirty diapers.  Hint:  if you’re using pocket diapers that don’t have the double opening (which will allow the insert to agitate out in the wash), you’ll probably want to remove the insert as you take the diaper off.  From there, some moms keep them in an open pail; others prefer a closed hanging bag.  The easiest method is a large trash can from your local store with a pail liner inside.  Depending on your tolerance for stink and your local weather conditions, you can decide for yourself whether or not this pail needs to be closed up.  Most manufacturers recommend washing every two to three days to prevent stink problems in your diapers.  When the time comes to wash, you open your washer, pull the pail liner out, and dump its contents into the washer.

But what about the dirty ones?  Once your baby has passed the exclusively breastfed stage (breastfed poop can go straight in the bag—it’s water soluble), you’ll probably want to rinse off poopy diapers before they go in the pail.  If you’re lucky, you will go from breast milk poop to fairly solid poop that will just plop right off in the toilet to be flushed away forever—but you may not be that lucky.  Some babies have a sticky, tar-like poop that will not come off by gravity alone (unless your older child is twirling it around in their hands on the way to the toilet—then it will stick to the ceiling).  Under these circumstances, you can either purchase a diaper sprayer to attach to your toilet tank, or you can dunk the diaper into the toilet itself, swish around a little bit, and shake off the dirty bits.  It gets easier with repetition.

Now, however, you have a sopping wet diaper; and unless you have a massively large bathroom with room for a changing station, that means you have to trudge back down the hall to the baby’s room in order to get the diaper into the pail…dripping all the way.

Drip…drip…drip…little drips of poop water all the way down the hallway. Hope it’s not a carpeted hallway….

Or you can take the easy way out:  put a smaller wet bag on the back of your bathroom door, and then you only have to take the few steps from the toilet to the door before dropping it in, zipping it up, and ignoring it until wash day.  A good wet bag will keep the smell in, preventing your guests from realizing that they are washing their hands just feet away from a bag full of messy diapers; and in the meantime, you won’t have to worry about cleaning up the hall every time your baby poops.

Remember:  this can be fun!  You don’t have to swing to the “hobby” side of cloth diapering to enjoy the fun prints, or the adorable fluffy bum (just think:  when baby learns to walk, he or she won’t have nearly as hard a landing if they fall over backwards!), or the savings when you don’t have to pick up another pack of diapers every time you go to the store.  Take a deep breath, relax, and remember that it’s only as complicated as you make it—and once you get into a routine, you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.

And then there are the questions about the types of diapers.  Some moms are die-hard pocket diaper users—and those do seem to be the “gateway” for many moms.  Others won’t use anything but prefolds and covers.  Still others don’t want to have to “think about it” and prefer to use only all-in-ones.  Sensitive-skinned babies may spend most of their days in fitted diapers, with covers for outings and bedtime.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, nor is there a one-size-fits-all stash…but here’s my recommendation:  why not have a little bit of everything?

Suppose you’re just starting your cloth diapering journey.  Well, then, I would recommend a starter stash of pocket diapers, primarily because they tend to be cheaper than all-in-ones and because they are typically easy to use.  Daddys, daycares, and grandmas can handle pocket diapers, and you have the ability to quickly and easily adjust absorbency depending on what works for your baby—without having to worry that the next person to change the diaper “won’t do it right.”  Kawaii diapers make a great starting place—they’re inexpensive, come in a wide variety of prints, colors, and styles, and they tend to age relatively well—after over a year of use, all of mine are still in rotation.  Also, the Kawaii Goodnight Heavy Wetter (GNHW) diapers are awesome for overnight—we used them until my son was well over a year old with no leaks whatsoever.

Next, I would recommend at least a couple of all-in-ones for diaper bags, grandmas, and so on.  All-in-ones are, as a rule, trimmer than pockets—you can fit more of them in the diaper bag.  Plus, there’s no need to reach in and adjust because they’ve gotten crumpled in your diaper bag instead of being placed in neatly (or is that just my diaper bag?).  Thirsties makes an awesome all-in-one that I love like a new best friend; Ones and Twos are also nice.  These are literally the most like disposables, ever.  Anyone who can handle a disposable diaper properly (and there are those who can’t) can handle a Velcro all-in-one, especially one like Thirsties or Ones and Twos where all the absorbency is sewn right in and there’s never any folding or adjustment necessary.

Then there are fitted diapers.  Sooner or later, your baby is going to get bigger.  As your baby gets bigger, he or she is going to drink more.  What goes in must come out…and that can turn crib sheets into a puddle in a hurry.  Fitted diapers tend to be very, very absorbent and have lots of layers to soak up all that liquid.  Personally, I like Itti Bitti; there are, however, plenty of other brands to choose from.  A good cover over the top of these (many moms swear by wool) will keep most babies dry all night long.

You may think, with all of that, that you don’t have any need for prefolds and covers—and you may well not.  Here’s the thing.  No matter how careful you are, unless you have a ridiculously large stash, there will eventually come a day when you walk over to the changing table, reach for a diaper…and realize that you should have done laundry yesterday.  Maybe there are two loads worth of pocket diapers sitting in a basket waiting to be stuffed.  Maybe you have the “bare minimum” number of diapers to get by.  Whatever the case, suddenly, you’re running way, way too short.

Covers can always be reused, at least as long as they aren’t pooped on/in (and even if there’s a little bit of poop on them, often, it can be wiped off).  This can buy you enough time to get a load of diaper laundry through, even if you end up tossing some of your pockets in the dryer.  In times of utter desperation, you can also tuck a receiving blanket into a cover for a little while—anything to keep that little bum covered so you’re not running around wiping pee off of the floor every ten minute!

Prefolds also come in handy on that rather inevitable day when you realize that your adorable baby has turned into a heavy-wetting toddler, and while you have enough inserts for all of your pocket diapers, you do not have enough to double all of them up—plus, that makes for a serious case of overfluffed bum.  A prefold tucked into a pocket diaper provides a little more absorbency without quite as much fluff.

All in all, a great cloth diaper stash can be made from any of these options.  You will discover the type of diaper that works best for you in each situation, and decide for yourself what really works versus what you just thought looked cute when you saw it online.  However, many moms will agree that having multiple types of diapers—including a selection of different brands—will give you the diversity you need to make it from birth to potty training without ever needing to resort to disposables.

Here’s the thing:  when you switch to cloth diapers, you will probably notice that your “diaper pail” becomes where the diapers live when they are dirty.  You don’t want to throw disposable wipes in with it; so, if you’re using disposable wipes and cloth diapers, you have to have both a diaper pail and a covered trash can for the wipes.  You don’t use that many wipes over the course of a normal week (even with a newborn, wipes are small and don’t take up much space), so you’re going to have to empty a very small pail full of wipes pretty regularly to keep the smell down.  It rapidly becomes more trouble than it’s worth.

Cloth it is.  After all, you’re already using cloth diapers.  In order to clean cloth wipes, you follow the same process you do with your diapers—so it’s really no extra work.  Plus, they’re so much softer on baby’s bum, and it takes far fewer of them to clean up most messes than it does disposable wipes (though I seriously question those moms who swear it only takes them “one cloth wipe per diaper change.”  They have never met my son).

Then you start looking…and just like with cloth diapers, there are so many choices!  What to buy, what to buy?  Here’s my recommendation:  pick a diaper brand that you like.  Thirsties and Planetwise (okay, that’s a wet bag brand I love) both make cloth wipes that are excellent.  Buy a few of those to try out and see how you like it.

If you’re like me and have older kids who are constantly running off with your wipes, however, a couple of packs of cloth wipes flat-out won’t see you through between diaper laundry.  They disappear constantly—so you’re going to need something to supplement in between.

Here’s the best idea anyone has ever given me:  you know all those adorable, too-small receiving blankets that have virtually no use?  Gather them up and cut them into cloth wipe size.  They’ll have slightly frayed edges, and they won’t be very pretty, but they work great.  If you’re good with a sewing machine or happen to own a serger, you can fix up those edges pretty easily; or, you can just leave them.  Within a few washes, they’ll quit fraying much more, and they’re still perfectly functional even with ragged edges.  I’m lazy; I frequently make wipes out of whatever scrap flannel is left over after other projects, and I rarely bother to do anything to the edges.

Make sure you have plenty.  You’ll discover quickly that your cloth “wipes” get used for a lot of other things, too:  messy fingers; runny noses; and even swiping down a table that has been left in ill repair before you sit down for a meal.

Some of the die-hard mamas will deny me entrance into the club for saying this, but I do recommend at least a small pack of disposable wipes in the diaper bag for on-the-go.  Frequently, church caregivers or babysitters will have no idea what to do with cloth wipes (for example, I know a LOT of them who have never quite figured out that they should wet them down first), and if you’re in a public restroom, it may be easier to just wipe and toss.  Also, unless you have a separate bag in which to keep your wipes, they tend to be one of the first things to get lost.  We lose half a dozen a month (at least) because the big kids have stuffed them down in the outside pockets of the bag and they’ve fallen out somewhere along the way.

Curiosity is definitely rampant.  If you don’t like the feel of disposable diapers against your baby’s bum, you likely don’t appreciate the way disposable pads feel against your skin; and the chemicals in pads and tampons are definitely enough to give you pause.  On the other hand, the start-up cost for a menstrual cup or cloth pads can be just as prohibitive as the early cost of cloth diapering; and they’re much harder to re-sell if they just don’t work for you.  The concept is intriguing; but it would be awfully hard on your wallet to try it a few times and decide that it just didn’t work.

What are the advantages of reusable menstrual products?  Once you become accustomed to using a menstrual cup, you may notice that you have to “deal with” your period much less often.  Menstrual cups advertise that they can be emptied as little as twice a day.  For those with a heavier period, more frequency may be necessary; however, overall, they hold a great deal more than even the most absorbent tampon—and with far fewer leaks, once you figure out how they work.

In addition, disposable pads and tampons contain a number of chemicals—not to mention the mold risk in tampons (which, unless you don’t use the ones with an applicator, you might not even notice until after you’ve used it—if then).  When I swapped to mama cloth and a menstrual cup, not only did I cramp less, but I noticed a measurable decrease in the amount of bleeding I did—and a corresponding increase in energy.  We know all about the negative impact those chemicals can have on our babies down the road…what makes us think we should be filling our own bodies full of them?

And there’s a lot to be said for never having to run out to the store to grab a package of pads or tampons.  I’m pretty good at keeping up with it; but every once in a while, a heavy/early/longer than expected period can catch anyone off guard.  If you use reusable products, there’s never a need to run out and quickly pick up a pack (though sending your husband on an emergency pad run can be amusing).

Don’t cloth pads slide?  Not really.  Fleece backed are less likely to slide than PUL backed (since the PUL is a little bit slick), but for the most part, your body holds them in place.

Are they uncomfortable?  No.  In fact, I often forget that I’m wearing cloth pads—and that was never the case using disposables!  If I had a longer-than-usual period, I occasionally ended up with a rash or, at the very least, some rawness by the end of my period that had me desperately trying to get by with lower absorbency than I really needed.  With cloth, it’s never a problem.  Minky topped pads are particularly soft and comfortable.  A well-placed menstrual cup can also be forgotten.  Some women need to trim the stem to an appropriate length in order to feel completely comfortable with theirs (I’m one of them), but once you’ve figured out how to use them, they’re far, far less noticeable than your former menstrual products. 

How many do you really need?  Count the number of pads that you use throughout a day during a regular cycle.  Multiply by the number of days you want to be able to go between washing, just like you would to decide how many cloth diapers you need.  Add  a few to get you by while they’re washing…and then fall in love with the comfort and buy a few more, just because you can.

Do they work for postpartum use?  Some of that will depend on how many you want to buy and how heavy the flow is.  I will admit to using my menstrual cup during a miscarriage because I ran out of…um, everything…and it bought me an extra hour before I had to change the pad I was wearing with it.  (Shh…don’t tell my doc, okay?)  It’s not recommended postpartum, especially after a vaginal delivery, because let’s face it, you’re not going to want to put anything up there for a while.  Mama cloth, however, is a perfectly viable alternative to the diaper-sized pads you would wear post-delivery—just make sure you have a good supply to get you through those early days.

How do you wash them?  With my towels—and no fabric softener, just like I would with my cloth diapers.  Or, just as frequently, with my cloth diapers.  I’ve been known to run them with my dark clothes.  I use the same detergent on my pads and diapers that I do on the rest of my clothes, so as long as they’re well-rinsed and washed properly, they’re good to go.

Do they stain?  I haven’t had a minky pad stain yet.  Cotton-topped do, but it doesn’t affect function any more than poop stains affect the function of a cloth diaper.

So how big a wet bag do you need?  Obviously the bigger they get, the more expensive they are; and it’s awfully tempting to go with the smallest bag possible.  You can fit one dirty diaper in a wipes pouch in a pinch, right?

Sure you can.  But here’s something you’re going to want to take into consideration:  sooner or later, you’re going to go on a longer trip with your baby.  It may be that you need to go shopping for clothes for your older kids (which can turn into a production all by itself).  It may be a visit to family over the holidays that can stretch on forever.  It might just be a trip to the park—but whatever the case, eventually, you’re going to spend the better part of a day outside of the comfort of your own home with your baby—and when you do, you’re going to want a wet bag that will hold everything you need to put in it.

“But wait,” you’re saying.  “Do I really need a wet bag that will hold 6-8 wet diapers?  Even for a long day trip, we’ll probably only go through 3-4.”

Quite possibly.

The first question you have to consider is, how many children do you have in diapers?  Obviously, if you have just one, you can probably safely get away with something smaller.  If you have two, you may want a bigger wet bag just for that reason.  If you have three, or four, or more, you may want to carry along a hanging pail and give up on the idea of being compact.  (Okay, I’m exaggerating…mostly.)

The next question is…are you just going to use your wet bag for diapers?  Because it’s awfully handy for other things, as well.  Those dozen bibs a day your baby goes through when he’s teething…the outfit that got spit up all over five minutes after you put it on…these are also things that can be put in a wet bag for safekeeping until you get home.  So is the receiving blanket that you used to clean up the spitup all over the floor…the onesie that your baby leaked all over when you didn’t quite get her changed in time…or the t-shirt that’s covered in more of your toddler’s lunch than you believe actually went in his mouth.

I can remember one particularly memorable occasion when I took my middle child (and, as a result, his older sister and baby brother) to a fossil museum for his birthday trip.  It was an hour and a half away, so of course the baby had to be changed as soon as we got

Planetwise Wet Bag (size medium) in Midnight Curl

there.  (Diaper #1)  At lunch, which was at a fast food restaurant (a rare treat at our house), Little Man ended up wearing someone’s ketchup…on both his shirt and pants.  (Outfit #1)  He also had a messy diaper while we were eating.  (Diaper #2)  After lunch, while we were wandering around the museum, Little Man threw up half of his lunch—apparently, French fries didn’t quite agree with his digestive system yet.  (Outfit #2)  He got the floor, too—and I couldn’t find anyone who worked at the museum to provide cleaning supplies, so I wiped it up with a receiving blanket…or two.  (Blankets #1 and #2)  Since we had an hour and a half drive ahead of us to get home again, I changed him again before we left the museum.  (Diaper #3)

In my very fluffy, very well-stuffed wet bag before we got home were two full outfits (one of which included blue jeans), two receiving blankets, and three diapers.  I am pleased to report that they will all fit in a Planetwise medium wet bag…with room to spare for another diaper or two, so long as you don’t mind stuffing a little.  Sure, these occasions are rare.  They don’t happen every day—but when they do, you’ll be grateful for that extra room.

Even a good-sized wet bag will also fold up well in a diaper bag, and really take up no more space than a small one in the long run—so better to be prepared than not!

Now, that’s not to say that small wet bags don’t have their uses.  If you’re going to leave a couple of diaper changes and a wet bag in the car for emergencies, for example, a  small one might serve you just fine—but it’s going to be a tight fit if you need to put clothes in there, as well.

Translated? I was cheap.

I stalked a lot of stores that sold used diapers (since I didn’t know that swap sites existed yet). I chose cheap diapers over “name brands.” As a result, I only bought a few diapers at a time; and when I first started, it was either wash every evening and hope they were dry enough by bedtime, or supplement with disposables.

So when I walked into a cloth diaper store and found several used size medium Bumgenius AIOs for $5 each, I thought I had struck gold. They were in good shape, as far as I could tell. The Velcro was good…the elastic was a little relaxed, but still functional…only minimal shadow staining…they seemed perfect! Not only that, they would bump my stash up to enough that I could wash (gasp) every other day.

There was just one problem: they leaked. Every time I put them on my baby, they leaked.

Now, at the time, I knew next to nothing about cloth diapering. I had no idea how to troubleshoot, no idea what could possibly be wrong with them. It might have had something to do with elastic that was just a bit more relaxed than I thought and allowed the inner material to roll out, which, when combined with a onesie, causes wicking issues. It might have had something to do with the fact that I didn’t strip them before using them, and my detergent interacting with the previous owner’s detergent caused some repelling. Or it might just have been that they were older than dirt (which I didn’t realize until much later).

What I knew was that these were the only all-in-ones in my stash, and I hated them.

I ultimately passed them on to a friend with an older baby. She loved them, had no issues with them whatsoever, and thought they were awesome diapers.

I told her she could keep them…and I never bought another all-in-one while I was building my stash. I had been through practically every brand of pocket diaper on the market with no such issues, and frankly, while I still frequently had the urge to experiment with new diapers, I never strayed anywhere near the All-in-One section of my favorite websites. I was turned off by all the disadvantages: the long drying time; the rumors that they were more likely to have stink issues; the fact that the only ones I’d ever had leaked.

Eventually, however, curiosity got the better of me. I allowed myself to order one all-on-one: a Ones&Twos diaper that happened to be on sale. When I first took it out of the package, I was skeptical. It was small. The lowest rise on it looked like it would easily snap down to fit a newborn, and I wasn’t sure it was going to be big enough for my toddler. On top of that, I wasn’t sure what the layers were made out of (likely bamboo), but it looked awfully thin for my little heavy wetter, even with the extra soaker for added absorbency.

Then it went on him…and I was hooked. Right then, right there, I was hooked.

It was trim. Jeans that we’d had to retire fit right over his fluffy bum again. And while I’ve never tried it without the soaker, I’ve never had any problems with leaks. The fit was pretty nice, too—no bagging at the front; no extra stuffing at the back where the insert poked out.

So I ordered another one: a Thirsties Duo All-in-one. It was love at first squish. Once again, it was trim. It was also very absorbent; no need to add a soaker to the Thirsties, at least not for us. Little Man seemed to love it, too, though that might have had more to do with a perfect fit than anything. No leaks; no muss; and by then, I had more than enough diapers for it to be able to hang in the shower overnight to dry if it needed to, so dry time wasn’t an issue.

Aside from the fact that I really, really wanted to use it again.

I started to consider other advantages, too. As a babysitter/church diaper, an all-in-one really can’t be beat. No need to worry about whether or not the babysitter (or Daddy) will remember to pull out the insert before tossing it in the pail, because the insert remains part of the diaper. There’s nothing in an all-in-one to shift or bunch in a diaper bag, because it’s all attached, and most of them fit back together pretty intuitively. And speaking of diaper bags…I never would have imagined that an all-in-one would be any trimmer than a pocket diaper. Surely they had essentially the same things in them; the only difference was whether or not they were attached, right?

I can fit four all-in-ones in the space reserved for three pocket diapers. I don’t know why that is; I just know that it is.
Running out of diapers isn’t usually a problem at my house. We have more than we need to get through a week, and I do diaper laundry every other day. However, there are times when we do run low, and I get behind on stuffing; and it’s very, very nice to reach over and take an all-in-one off of the line and put it right back on the bum.

No muss, no fuss, no effort required.

I’m not retiring my pockets yet by any stretch of the imagination. Many of my favorite diapers are still pockets. However, I’ve been more than willing to open up a little bit of room in my stash for a new friend.

I am sure that most of the population use one of two forms to “collect” AF.These are what I was using prior to mama cloth. The first one I started with was pads, ya know the always, kotex, etc, kind. You can buy these at your local grocery store. These worked great until high school and then I switched over to tampons (I always preferred Tampax, but whichever). This was what I used, and most of us have only ever heard of!

Then about 18 months ago I started using cloth diapers. I fell in love with these. I joined a few chat groups and at some point saw someone talking about mama cloth….say what?

Ahhh…mama cloth. Yes, I was certainly skeptical about these. I mean where do you put them after you have used them? How do you wash them? What if you work, you have to carry these around? Yes, these were all my questions. I mean, I didn’t want to carry a gross pad in my purse all day at work, right?

So I am going to break it down for you. First mama pads are wonderful. I mainly only use them at night and for liners, and right in the beginning of AF since it is heaviest then. I also use a menstrual cup (which I will discuss next week). These are also great for those first 6 weeks home with your baby, when you cannot use a cup or tampon.

So this is what a mama cloth looks like:

Green Baby Goods carries Lunapads, which come in all sizes and flows, a great way to start out. All of the ones that I own have fleece on the back to help in them shifting. Some brands work better than others for this, and some even use PUL.

You can go about this in a few different ways. I have a small Planetwise bag that I use when I go into work, a ziploc bag will also work. I do not carry this with me to the bathroom, I just wrap it up into itself (see below) and carry it back to my desk to put into my bag. Most of the pads that I have bought have snaps that snap around your underwear, then you flip them to snap shut.

The top snap I use to snap onto my underwear, the one furthest out I snap when I wrap it up.