So you have a brand new sparkling clean stash of awesome fluff ready to rock. Besides the diapers themselves, what else does one need to commence this magical journey of cloth diapering??
After the first month or so of using cloth diapers, I wanted to fine-tune my system even more with things like booster inserts, cloth wipes, and the like. So while everyone’s “essentials” list will look different depending on stuff like budget and your favorite type of diapering, a lot of my faves apply no matter what system you choose (and there are always cheaper and more expensive options for things like boosters, so definitely keep that in mind)!
1. Wetbags
These are for sure the most important item gracing this list. Wetbags are where you toss your dirty diapers, inserts, wipes, you name it. There are TONS of options in everything from prints, colors, size, brand–and there’s for sure one that’ll fit your needs. In my last post, I geeked out about Nerdy Mommas‘ AIO diapers and their amazing fandom-inspired prints. To the surprise of absolutely no one, their wetbags are also my favorite (I personally love my Eternal Dragon print wet bag)!
2. Cloth Wipes
After I burnt through the free disposable wipes the hospital sent home with us faster than I could blink, I wanted to switch to cloth wipes. As weird as it sounds, if you’re cloth diapering it’s a lot easier to go all out and make the switch to cloth wipes rather than continue with disposable ones. After what felt like the millionth diaper change (and the twins weren’t even two months, what the heck?!), throwing the wipe into the trash and the diaper/inserts into the wetbag got old realllll fast. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s true–I just wanted to throw everything into one bag and be done with it. *Enter cloth wipes* I use white wipes to deal with pee, and darker colors for every shade of poop to cut back on staining.
Dark wipes: These by GroVia are my favorite, followed closely by those in Mama Bear Baby Wear’s Etsy Shop.
White wipes: Love these simple flannel wipes.
3. Wipe Solution
You can buy some premade online, but I just make my own! There are tons of variations using various oils and such if you’re so inclined. I just use three ingredients (as recommended on this awesome page): 1.5 cups of distilled water, 2 Tbs. of olive oil, and 2 Tbs. of Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Castile Baby Soap.
4. Spray Bottle
Some people prefer to pre-wet their cloth wipes, but I like to spray mine as I go. If you make your own solution, just throw it in something like this one and call it a day!
5. Snappi
If you’re diapering with something like a prefold or flat, a snappi is great to have! Instead of using a pin to fasten the cloth around your little one, a snappi gives you peace of mind in knowing you won’t accidentally stick your baby. Plus, they’re super simple to use!
6. Diaper Sprayer
Okay, so this is not required per se for cloth diapering. And if you exclusively breastfeed, you don’t even have to rinse your diapers separately from the wash until solids are a thing in your little one’s life. But when that time comes…shout out to all you cloth warriors out there who dunk and swish poopy diapers in the toilet (which is a totally viable and affordable option), I salute you…but I definitely took the diaper sprayer way out.
7. Hangers
Every three days, diaper laundry day rolls around–and when that day comes, be ready to face it equipped with awesome hangers like this one. The little clips help the process of hanging diapers to go by super fast, and it’s also a great space-saver. On days when I throw my diapers in the dryer, I obviously don’t need these–but I like to hang dry out in the sun whenever I can.
8. Booster/extra inserts
I use these overnight if all my AIO’s are dirty (because like I mentioned last week, the Nerdy Mommas AIO’s are enough on their own for us at the moment) or on road trips for more absorbancy along with my regular bamboo inserts (keep in mind bamboo retains quite a bit of liquid). I’ve also mixed and matched types of inserts–charcoal on the top for wicking and bamboo on the bottom for absorbancy. So you’ve got options–tons of them!
Hopefully this helps some of you curious about or just starting your cloth diapering adventure! What are some of your go-to diapering products?