Tips for beginning cloth diapering….

12 Tips for Newbies to Cloth diapering

If at first you don’t succeed…

1)    Wash, wash again….seriously. These fluffy things need plenty of washing to get primed and ready to absorb to their fullest cloth diapering potential. Give them a chance to show you their stuff.  Follow the directions of your CD’s packaging or a basic laundry washing routine is cold wash with no detergent (get rid of the dirties), hot wash + recommended amount of cloth diaper friendly detergent & extra rinse. More about laundry to come soon!

2)    Use a different detergent and less of it. Wanna know if your detergent cuts it for cloth diapers. Check out this neat tool. I use local Toronto made The Laundry Tarts for my cloth diapers!

3)    Remember the BIG 3 Golden Rules: Wash diapers well, never put microfiber against baby’s bottom, and use a CD safe diaper rash cream . Unsure if your diaper cream is safe? Use a liner or some toilet paper between baby’s bum & the diaper!

4)    Check the fit. If you are using One Size or any with snaps, experiment. Yup, it took me several tries to find the perfect leak-free fit with each diaper. Think about Goldilocks and the 3 Bears…too small, too big, just right. Change the rise, adjust the belly….

5)   Change the diaper. About every two hours or as soon as you know your baby is soiled.

6)   Diaper leaking? You have a few options here!

a) See #4.

b) Add a doubler, a second prefold,  another insert, or  different insert (e.g., bamboo or hemp) to increase absorbency. Keep  your babe from peeing all over Grandma, your neighbour, or your couch…you get it!

b) Wash your diapers several times-there many be an oil issue that is making your fluffy diapers unable to do their job!

Which #clothdiaper are you choosing?

8)  Try a different reusable diaper, or two, or three. There are so many cloth diapering choices out there you are bound to find ones that work for your bundle of joy.  Wanna take some for a spin? Check out our diaper trial program.

9) Don’t worry about red marks left by the cloth diaper. It does not mean it is too tight. Not sure if you should worry? Read this.

10)   Google it. The web is full cloth diapering information.

11) Join #clothdiaper Twitter chat on Monday nights at 9 p.m. EST.

12)Email me. We will figure it out:)

Got any tips for all the cloth diapering “newbies”? Share your knowledge!