Part 4: What I learned from cloth diapering twins, tips and anecdotes

Here we are, at the last post in my cloth diapering series.  I am going to share tips and a few funny stories and address some of the questions.

I started using cloth when they were about 6 weeks.  Keep in mind the twins were premies so the diapers, even the small ones didn't fit for awhile.  Even if the twins were full term I would wait atleast until the meconium (weird newborn poo) is done, and the umbilical cord is gone.  I started with flips (a hybrid prefold system) because some of the pocket diapers seem really really bulky when you have to make them fit a small babe.  I also really used sized diapers for the first month or two.  These were diapers that were small and wouldn't size up, not as much bang for your buck because you only use them a short amount of time, but they fit the best.

Something else to think about while buying diapers is the fact that some babies like to take their diapers off, and velcro makes it easy.  They like the sound and they like being diaperless.  One afternoon I went in to get Ben from nap to find him sans diaper.  Luckily, it's wasn't too messy if you know what I mean, but I wasn't going to take the chance.  So if we are at home (where we usually just have on a t-shirt and diaper) we use snaps, or we put the diaper on backwards.  Just something to think about.

Another way Velcro can come off, getting caught on something else.  Penny Crawled out of her diaper one day when she was still transitioning from army crawl to real crawl.  Penny also took of her diaper the other day and put in in the toy box.  So yeah... think about snaps.

As for how many diapers you need I would say twentyish unless you want to wash them everyday.  I have 33 for my twins.  I wash diapers everyday and 1/2.  I feel like usually have diapers drying and the rest are half dirty half clean.  So I say better safe than sorry because some days laundry can get away from you.  Although if you choose prefolds you can get by on a couple dozen prefolds and a handful of covers.

As for shopping, I get most of my bum genius diapers from the cotton babies website.  That is a great website for all things cloth diapers, they also have all kinds of eco-friendly products.  Also baby boutiques usually have cloth diapers as well.  I have gotten the rest of them at Babyland which is a baby store here where I live.  Green Mountain diapers website also has some great diapers too especially if you go the prefold route.

Here are some other things I do.

I bleach them once a month.
Get a wet bag to keep in your diaper bag for easy changing when you are out and about.
Use doublers for heavy wetters
Change them more often than you would a disposable
Keep diapers handy, every floor of the house
Don't be scared or grossed out, they are easy to use
Appreciate the cute baby tushie!!

So there ya have it.  My views on cloth diapering.  It is not as hard as it sounds.  It is eco-friendly.  I produces the most adorable baby tushies you will ever seen.

If you've missed any of me posts you can see them here

The diaper series
Part 1: Why I chose cloth diapers
Part 2: My favorite brands and why
Part 3: My must have accessories
Part4:  What I learned from cloth diapering twins, tips and anecdotes