Two Years in (and out of) Cloth Diapers.

Published on by Darlene Dee

I wrote about cloth diapering after a year in cloth already, and it is full of good information that is all still true.

All of the lessons I had learned still apply: diversify your stash, buy a diaper sprayer, resist the aftermarket (if you can and want to but at least be aware of it but maybe don’t completely resist the aftermarket because I will hopefully be selling some diapers within the year).

I still wish that I had used covers and flats for the HUGE money savings. Especially now that Babystar is wearing so many disposable diapers (yep) while the pretty easy-to-use all-in-ones sit quietly in the drawer.

Cloth diapering an infant is super easy and almost fun. The only downside is the extra laundry but I was doing laundry anyway. In fact, I barely had time to get dressed so there wasn’t really extra laundry, since I never changed my clothes. Infants have like one hundred diaper changes per day. (Ok, maybe fourteen-ish.) I enjoyed seeing my sweet newborn baby in cute cloth diapers and if there is any way at all to enjoy changing diapers, CARPE THAT DIEM.)


Cloth diapering a growing but relatively stationary baby is still pretty easy. Yes, the poop gets grosser, but the volume of poop is still reasonable. You know, for poop. And sure, it smells bad, but y’all, toddler poop smells REAL BAD.

Ok, I’m going to stop talking about poop now. Probably not forever, though.

The biggest challenge I’ve faced in cloth diapering my toddler is all of the tiny adventures every day. Between parks and libraries and soft play rooms (and Target), we go ALL of the places ALL of the time. Toddlers gotta GO, man. Babystar will just put on her shoes and head to the door talking about a ‘bye-bye.’ With no regard for pants.

When she was smaller, the diaper bag was mostly full of diapers. Cloth diapers and wet bags for the dirty ones take up a lot of space, AND REMEMBER, you have to carry the dirty diapers around with you at least until you get back to the car. (And they are heavier  once they are used.) Now that she is a person with opinions and advanced nutritional requirements, the diaper bag is full of snacks and her water bottle and my water bottle and at least two changes of (bigger) clothes and sunscreen and bug spray and sunglasses and books and probably some toys that she MUST HAVE but will not play with and there isn’t much room left for the cloth diapers. (And the disposable diapers are SO LIGHT. But yes, they will sit in a landfill until the end of time so I still try hard to use the cloth at home and during our shorter adventures.)

I use a cute striped Steve Madden backpack as a diaper bag. It has a lot of pockets but it was NOT AT ALL made to be a diaper bag. It looks like it belongs on a trendy tween in 2008.


I bought an actual diaper bag long ago that I literally never use. It isn’t a backpack and I NEED my hands free. The actual diaper bag is cool in that it will hang on a stroller but Babystar refuses strollers with me: this is the hidden downside of baby wearing. So maybe the answer for me is a better backpack-style diaper bag? Does anyone have recommendations?

I haven’t added in the cost of diapers in awhile (but they are still on the list). We bought the giant Aldi pack for $10.89 and I ADORE that price. The diapers are fine, but they do not at all work for overnight use. As long as you change the diaper after each pee, they are fine. Just beware of blowouts. I usually buy Target brand Up and Up diapers. I had been buying them by the 28-pack but after a good look in the mirror, I started buying the larger boxes. It’s a great deal at $14.99 and the diapers work well for Babystar. We never have overnight leaks and blowouts are super rare. (I’ve bought two boxes since the beginning of June. I have a bunch left so I’m maybe doing better than I think with the cloth.)

I guess my only new lesson is to be prepared for the bulkiness. I know I need a better diaper bag and a better system. I am loathe to buy a crazy expensive diaper bag now that Babystar is already two, though. But a better system could be free! Maybe I can pack less in the diaper bag and have a wet bag full of more emergency rations in the car?

MAYDAY MAYDAY: Do you cloth diaper a toddler? What are your tips for diapering on-the-go?

 RAISING BABYSTAR: $19,550.73

 

25 thoughts on “Two Years in (and out of) Cloth Diapers.”

  1. We’ve been in cloth diapers with our boys. The savings are massive. The waste you save is huge as well.

    Bulkiness is the one downfall. We actually have a mix. So maybe we are not full cloth diapers. Just so we don’t have to deal with massive bags and wet smell when we travel.

    Awesome post.

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    1. Thanks you! Yes, we were full on cloth for about eighteen months (except for traveling because nope). But now it’s only part-time. I already tote along so SO MANY THINGS. 🙄🙃

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  2. I cloth diapered my little girl for two years and loved it. We have done daytime potty training, so we’re sadly done with cloth. She does stil wear a disposable at night (she was peeing through the cloth ones and I found it wasn’t practical to wash now that we’re only using one a day). I hear you on the diaperbag issue. My solution was a wet bag that attached to the outside of the diaper bag so it didn’t take up space. My diaper bag has a shoulder strap, which makes it easy to carry hands-free.

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    1. Yes, we switched to disposables at night once she started sleeping moe or less through the night. She either leaked or got ammonia burns in cloth overnight.
      I like the wetbag idea-thanks! I currently hook a small wetbag to my backpack for the Tula, but she is up in the Tula less and less (especially in this hot weather).

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  5. This post was a great read and it made me smile! I didn’t use cloth diapers but if someone had offered me to by cloth diaper I would have tried them!

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  6. With baby number two, I want to use cloth diapers more, so I’ll keep the bulkiness in mind. With baby number one, we didn’t get to do cloth as much as I wanted because we live in an apartment and doing that much laundry is too expensive.

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  8. Honestly, any amount of cloth is good. You’re doing great! I guess maybe just try a separate bag for dirty cloths? It’s true that we moms are seriously taking a suitcase around with us every day … and no way around that…

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  9. That’s awesome that you stuck with cloth diapers for so long. I consider myself kind of a crunchy mom but I just can’t imagine having to do the laundry for cloth diapers, so we did disposables. I hear most moms do a mix by the time the baby is toddler age.

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    1. Thanks you! And you can still be ‘crunchy’ with disposables. But you have to use the diva cup to cancel it out. (Just kidding!)
      I AM glad to hear that most moms go hybrid by toddler years. They don’t really talk about that on the cloth diaper boards. (Although I’m sure that those hardcore mamas really don’t! I am not hardcore. 🙃)

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  10. i’ve used every type of cloth diaper (we are 2 years in) and I prefer AiO’s for on the go-because they are trimmer and take up less room in the diaper bag. And if say my friend needs to change him for me, they dont have to worry about how the pocket works (because they tend to dismantle them). Just put it on, don’t worry about the details.

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    1. Great point about the trimness of the AIOs! If I am having a hard time fitting those in now, I can’t imagine how difficult covers and prefolds (or pockets or whatever) would be. But, dude. YOU HAVE AWESOME FRIENDS. Not once has a friend offered to change Babystar’s diaper for me. Send them a heart emoji text this morning or something. 🙂

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  11. I use a JJ Cole backpack diaper bag (found at Target). It was a baby shower gift. Plenty of room for cloth diapers.
    I’ve used the same cloth diapers for three children. Occasionally I break down and buy disposables for night time use (but I coupon and refuse to pay full price for them). The savings have been amazing. The extra laundry can be annoying though.

    Good honest read!

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    1. Thank you for reading! I’ve heard of JJ Cole and Jujube and some others but I’m afraid to go down that rabbit hole. I want to find the perfect bag on clearance for $7 at Nordstrom Rack. And so I wait…LOL.

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  12. I have done both disposable and cloth diapers. They both have their pros and cons. In fact, I have to find the ones I bought and never used to give to a friend- now that I think of it! LOL

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  13. I have always been intrigued by cloth diapers but scared to give it try. Honestly don’t know if I would be able to keep up with it since we travel ALL the time! But this is a great look into the life of cloth diapers! haha love all the cute styles!

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  15. I loved this post. I must say the clothdiapers are so much in that out of curosity I got two last week for my son. But they were so perfect and the fit comfort everythis was amazing . thanks for sharing your post.

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  16. Great post! I tried so hard to cloth diaper with my first but like you said, all of the “little adventures” made it really difficult since I was in grad school and working so we were constantly on the go. I’m hoping that I can give it another try and make it work at least part-time with my baby who is due in November.

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