Cloth-curious parent or soon-to-be parent? Thinking you’ll maybe try both cloth pads and cloth diapers at the same time?
Hi! Menstruating mom of 2 here who has been cloth diapering for 4.5 years and counting. Let me give you a quick, comprehensive guide. We’ll walk through what to put in your starter kit, how to remove solids and smears, staying on top of laundry, and what to do with your reusables when you’re out of the house. Stick around. 🙂
Before we begin, please let me make one thing clear- nothing about cloth/reusables is all-or-nothing! Just like eating vegan aside from the occasional BLT still counts as mostly eating vegan, choosing reusables at any point in your diapering or menstruation journeys counts as using reusables. According to ReduceReuseYourCycle.uk, using a cloth pad just two times per cycle could save $21 and 2lbs of trash over the course of 5 years! That’s $63 and 6lbs by 2041 with replacing just two disposables if you start now. <3
The Starter Pack:
8-30 Cloth Diapers
6-12 Cloth Pads
1-3 Wet Bags
8-30 Cloth Diapers
Depending on how often you do laundry- plan on ~6 diapers/day. Choose prints you’re excited to put your baby in, because you’ll absolutely reach for the cutest ones first.
Genuinely, don’t get too hung up on what kind of diaper you choose. We used trifolds, snap-in inserts, pocket diapers, and all-in-ones, and there weren’t any major differences between them. If you plan to have multiple children or rehome your diaper stash later, I’d recommend spending a little bit more on diaper covers from reputable brands, and considering used, discontinued lines like BumGenius or FlipDiapers.
You may want to purchase newborn-sized cloth diaper covers if you plan to start shortly after birth- my babies were both 8.5lbs at birth and didn’t fit in one-size diapers until around 2 months old.
6-12 Cloth Pads
Depending on your flow and how often you do laundry- plan on changing a pad about as often as you change disposables
Party in my Pants stocks **kits** that can help you start your collection. To start off, I’d recommend purchasing a variety of sizes and shapes.
If you’re hoping to start your cloth pad journey during postpartum, the Queen Pads are soo good for postpartum bleeds.
Pick fabrics that feel like you! Your pads are something in your parenthood journey that is just for you. That can be a big deal when you’re sharing anything and everything. Whether it’s a little silly and fun to have disco cats in your undies, or you’re excited to bleed onto organic, unbleached cotton, let this part of your journey be yours.
1-3 Wet Bags
If you plan to use reusables outside of the house, you want something waterproof. Day tripper totes or “wet bags” from diaper companies, or even a used grocery bag in a pinch work well.
Optional, but helpful additions to a starter kit:
1 Bidet per toilet
1 drying rack
1 sprayer shield
1 5-gallon bucket or bin to dedicate to wet clothes in your bathroom (this is nice to have in the bathroom throughout baby+toddlerhood anyway)
Removing Solids and Smears:
This section mostly pertains to diapering, but can be used to clean pads from clots as well.
(Exclusively breastfed babies have water-soluble poops after the sticky, stain-y meconium clears. Depending on your comfort and the power of your washer, it’s totally normal to simply toss soiled newborn diapers into your wet bin/bag, keep them wet until wash time, and then wash them in your machine like normal. If that grosses you or the people you share your washing machine with out, use another method first)
Whether it’s a clot on a pad, a little smear on a diaper, or a whole other level of chunk to remove (sorry for that visual, hah), you can try out any of these three techniques to see what might work the best for you:
The toilet paper grab
If something solid it sitting on the top of your reusable, you can simply pull it right off with TP and flush it. Easy-peasy, but use one of the below methods if there are any particles left behind.
The OG (for a reason) Swish and Flush
This is almost certainly how our grandmas handled their reusables: In your own toilet, put the pad or diaper face-down and give it a little swish in the toilet bowl. Then, for good measure, flush the toilet and let the jets rinse off any remaining solids or smears. Repeat as necessary.
Bidet/sprayer
For a little more power and a little less direct contact (hello, communal bathrooms), you can install a bidet or use a handheld sprayer to remove solids. We got the cheapest handheld bidet we could find online and it’s just now starting to show signs of wear after 4.5 years. I’ve also used a peri bottle in a pinch! Consider investing in a spray shield if you can, especially if you have baby on the bathroom floor with you while you’re spraying.
Laundry:
If your machine has a pre-wash setting, you can go ahead and give that a try. Otherwise, give your reusables a little extra love before they hit the washer with a little rinse. You can do this in the sink or the shower.
Now for laundry, there are a LOT of big opinions on the internet, but I keep it mega simple: use a heavy-duty cycle and just wash them with your regular clothes if you do wash a few times a week.
I’m a big proponent of washing reusables with your regular clothes. In my opinion, if you feel like your clothes aren’t clean after washing them with diapers or pads, then your diapers and pads are definitely not getting clean. And with babies and/or toddlers in my house the last 4.5 years, the heavy-duty cycle is basically the default anyway. Just use a free and clear detergent for baby skin.
Hang any wool or plastic diaper covers to dry on a rack.
Leaving the House:
Don’t overthink it; bring a wet bag.
Change the diaper, switch your pad, pop them in a waterproof bag of your choice (I’ve used an old grocery bag in a pinch), and live your life. Then come home, rinse them quick, and put them in your wet bucket/bin until it’s laundry time. If you’re concerned about odor while you’re out and about, consider storing your reusables waterproof-side out.
Overnight:Â
How you choose to navigate reusables overnight will depend on your personal circumstances on any given day. Here are some scenarios:
Pads (just be sure your undies fit well!)
Day 1: Overnight Pad
Day 2: A Queen Pad with a diaper insert over top for extra absorbency
Day 3: Overnight pad
Day 4: Jetty Pad
Day 5: Flannel Liner
Diapers:Â
Young babies wake through the night. Diaper them like normal and change at every feeding. I found a bedside “wet bag” helped to keep on top of cleaning in the morning.
One of my kiddos kept up that routine until they were about a year old, so we did cloth 247. The other slept through the night by 8 weeks old, and would wake with a completely full, leaking diaper, even when we doubled-up on inserts. I made an easy, guiltless decision to choose one disposable diaper each night over soaked sheets every morning. Again, whatever works for your specific situation is the right decision for you.
Some closing thoughts:
This is a big step! But don’t let it feel heavy. Reusables can be so fun, and once you get the hang of it (and all things in parenthood for that matter), they become second-nature. You can do it!!
And remember, every time you choose your reusable, you’re doing the dang thing. <3