Eco-friendly Mammas.

So many of you have asked questions about our decision to use cloth diapers.  I know for some the idea seemed like a lot of work, as time goes on I feel as though we are settling in to the process involved with cloth diapering and it's actually far more simple then anticipated. 

Because I am such a strong believer in putting the planet first I wanted to share some of the process fore anyone who becomes a mom in the future and may be interested in Eco friendly practices that come along with parenting. 

First of all, there are many types of cloth diapers out there. We found a few brand that we have been incredibly happy with, Best Bottom, Bummis and Thirsties. 

The price of building up your stock with cloth diapers is expensive in the beginning but obviously after months and years of use you save so much money it's ridiculous.  The most affordable means of cloth diapering is the use of pre-folds.  We were blessed to be given 5 12 packs of pre folds which come in handy not only for cloth diapering but you can set some aside for burp cloths also. 

A pack of pre-folds depending on the brand can run you around $20 - $30.  The orange clip you see is called a snappi, works great and is far better than the old school pins that some may think are needed with cloth diapering. 

Along with pre-folds our best bottoms have snap in inserts which come in super handy.  The cover is easily wiped down and reused and makes diaper changes simple.  We have both micro fiber and hemp inserts.  The hemp are more absorbent for night time diapering. 

Other than diapers as I stated previously, snappi's are incredibly important to have if you are going to use pre-folds at all.  You also need wet bags to store your dirty diapers.  I suggest three sizes of wet bags.  One for your diaper bag, a large one for your baby room and a medium sized one for overnights.

For us we wanted to go all out, so we did a little research on reusable wipes and home made wipe solution.  There are so cloth wipe options, fleece works great.  Then you need to create your wipe solution for us we used :  

Castile Wipes
1 cup water
1 tbsp. Baby Dr. Bronner's liquid castile
1 tbsp. baby oil or olive oil
2 drops tea tree essential oil 5 drops lavender essential oil

 
We also had to make some decisions about laundering our diapers which seemed to be the biggest area of uncertainty.  It turns out it's rather simple, there is no worry about staining, washing machine mess etc.  It's easy as pie. You run a pre soak/rinse cycle on cold and then wash your diapers on hot with a detergent that wont leave residue.  We use soap nuts and every 3-4 loads we may use Dr. Bronners Castile soap.  Using vinegar can help every 10 loads but over time can break down the elastics in the diapers. 

For everyone you need to find a process and items that work best for you.  I find reading online has helped me through deciphering a routine for us and so I hope to share our process with others to give the same insights.

It's not only a great way to save money but it's an amazing way to reduce your impact on the planet.