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Several of you have asked me if we’re using cloth diaps (diaps = diapers in CDspeak) for Summer. As of right now, we are not. I would like to try them in the future, but for now disposables are just really easy. However, we are using cloth wipes, and they work great.
Here’s the set-up…
Alongside Summer’s changing table we have a Prince Lionheart Wipe Warmer. Averie gave me the idea to soak the wipes (we use Fuzzi Bunz Wonder Wipes) in warm water with lavender and tea tree oil.
I love this NOW Lavender Tea Tree Oil Blend.
I then squeeze out the cloth wipes, roll them up, and keep them in the warmer.
Summer loves warm wipes on her tush. 
The dirty wipes go in our Mommy’s Touch Wet Bag, and then I wash them once a day.
And that’s how we wipe in the HEAB household.
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This is hilarious.
I started using CD when my baby was about 2 months old, and they are so easy, I was amazed at how easy they are to use. and I don’t even know how much money we have saved using CD, i bet lots (he is 5 months old now)
Nicole,
Yes, all my friends that CD love it and say it’s really easy. I hope to jump on board and try it soon.
How we turned out to be okay without warm butt-towels, I have no idea. Summer must be pampered and loving it. You’re an awesome mom; it definitely shows
I get so backed up on my own laundry without any kids… I’m seriously impressed that with a baby you can manage to tackle the wipes!
Jessica,
I know – I used to be the same way and tried to do laundry at least once a week. In college, I would go 2 weeks. Now, I do it everyday. Kind of a pain, but it keeps it from piling up.
I would love to have a wipe warmer for myself! Summer is a lucky gal.
No diapers? Haha.
I’m always interested in what is better for the environment: cloth or disposable. I mean, using cloth increases your need to run the washer and dryer immensely: using up lots more water and electricity.
On the other hand disposables last forever in a landfill.
Samantha,
Yes, there are pros and cons to both. I heard cloth are better for the environment, but they do require a lot of washing.
An interesting response I heard to this recently was that, yes, you seemingly use “more” water and electricity when using cloth diapers, but when you consider all the water and energy that goes into constantly making disposables, maybe it’s not much of a difference. Definitely something to ponder, especially because I had always wondered about cloth and excessive water use as well. I am cloth diapering with our second baby (2 months now) and really love it! It is definitely much easier than I ever imagined, so I think if you’re even remotely interested, you should go for it whenever you feel ready! : )
One other thing – I have learned (and am still learning!!) a tremendous amount from the blog “All About Cloth Diapers”. All of it seemed absolutely overwhelming until I did some research and actually tried some cloth diapers while still using some disposables.
A Clean, Lean, Green HEAB Mama!
Warm tushies are always wanted. I linger at the heated electric blankets every time I visit a Target or Wal-Mart store…;)
That’s a good idea! I always think those cold wipes, but be crazy shocking on a little warm baby.
Jasmine,
Yes, that’s why I do the warm cloth. I couldn’t imagine using a cold disposable wipe on Summer.
I bet that is great on a baby’s sensitive tooshie too. I never thought to do cloth wipes. What a great idea. I might have to steal it.
Tina,
Steal away. Wasn’t my idea in the first place, but it’s a good one. Love the cloth wipes!
I’m still on the fence about a wipe warmer. It seems like you either love them, or hate them. We got our first 6 cloth diapers yesterday in the mail–we’re working on stocking up slowly so that it’s not as big of a shock to our bank account. I hadn’t thought about cloth wipes though. My husband would probably think I’m really crazy…
Sarah,
That’s definitely the way to go with cloth diapers. I think if I purchased all I would need at once, I would freak out. I know it saves money in the long run, but that’s a large chunk of change to put down all at once.
P.S. LOVE my wipe warmer. Could never imagine using a cold wipe on Summer’s little bum. Tell your husband to use a cold wipe, and then he might understand.
l think cloth is great! i’ve cloth diapered all five of my kids. i think it’s easier than disposables and way cuter! i don’t get the arguement about them being unenvironmently friendly at all. we don’t throw away our clothes after one use or worry about washing them.
you are doing great! i can’t wait to hear about it when you go cloth some more!
Nicole,
Yes, everyone I know that CD’s loves it, but it all seems so overwhelming to me. The diaps, the liners. What kind of diapers did you use, and do you have to scrape the poo off before washing? What did you use to clean them?
For diapers we use some old school prefolds with a couple of cute covers plus some pocket diapers from Bum Genius and Katydids and some WAHM made all in ones. I really like the Katydids. I stuff my pockets with the liners that come with them and also some hemp or just prefolds. As along as they are stuffed they are good for me! A nice way start out is with the econobum or flip from cotton babies. It’s easy and cute! I think they make diasposable liners for both too.
I don’t shake off the poo since my little man is EBF. However when we start solids I’ll shake whatever comes off in before washing. I wash about every other day in Rockin’ Green and in the summer we dry them outside. I do a soak to get the nasties out and then a wash. When they are really nasty I do a double rinse. My little ones get terrible rashes with sposies so for us cloth works for us.
Check out diaper swappers too. They are a ton of great mommas with some awesome info.
The way I look at it is that when you have a baby everything is covered in poo so what’s the difference.
Nicole,
Hehe – so true about the poop being everywhere. We had a minor explosion earlier today. Thanks all the info on CD. Very helpful!
My sister uses a mix of cloth and a biodegradable disposable. I think she likes both. I think you do what works for you! I am sure Summer appreciates the warm wipes! I love the oil idea!
I liked the idea of cloth diapers, but thought it was too much work. I hate laundry! Hate it. Those warm cloths remind me of a spa! What a lucky little baby.
I love your polka- dot changing station– I’m pretty obsessed with polka- dots currently
And who doesn’t love to be wiped with warm, essential oil infused wipes?
Very cool and environmentally-friendly
Good idea!
Summer is one lucky baby! Lavender is so soothing – reading this post reminded me of how much I used to love to steam my (very sensitive skinned) face with lavender water.
Awww thanks for the shoutout, Heather!
I am so glad my tips and tricks are working for you, and making your bloggie
The days of cloth diapering are behind me now and I wish I had had my blog then…so that I could have chronicled the process. Because as you know, finding the perfect cloth diapers, or even disposables, that work for your baby…can be a bit of a scavenger hunt! And just about the time you find ThePerfectDiaper…baby grows. Or suddenly develops a really big bladder and all former diaper solutions must be re-evaluated. lol
But I STILL make wipes using tea tree + lavender oil. I saturate the wipes w/ the solution and put them in a ziplock baggie. They are our car and travel and around town wipes. So much more durable than disposable wipes and more enviro friendly, too. And I have all my cloth diapering wet bags, too.
I love this post…it’s like a trip down memory lane for me.
Averie,
Thank YOU for passing along the wipe tips. I love them, and they are really no trouble at all. I could never imagine putting a cold wipe to Summer’s bum now.
Wow! Warm wipes are a great idea! I can’t help but be a little jealous of Summer
What a great idea! You’re so organized, you inspire me!
I use both. I dig the BumGenius diaps. Babysitters and when we’re out are times for disposables. Although, the cloth diapers called for larger clothing to fit the ‘big-butt pants’. They’re easy though, if you decide to go cloth. We’ve saved a lot of money. We’re were thrown down about $100 in just diapers. Good luck!
Thanks Kari. Everyone I know who CD’s says that BumGenius diaps are definitely the way to go. They are really cute.
You got it down to a science! So cute
I went cloth wipes (for wet diapers–we still use disposable for dirty diapers) about a year ago and absolutely absolutely love them. The smell of the lavender and tea tree together is just amazing!
Devon,
Agreed.
I LOVE everything cloth; it’s so eco-friendly plus you get to save a ton of money each year. And I just bought myself some tea tree oil this morning; opened the bottle and smelled it. Smelled so refreshing; love it!
Wow, a warm butt towel sounds pretty good right now
And that’s how we wipe in the HEAB household <– that's funny Heather!
I love the idea of cloth wipes! And I totally want some of that lavender tea tree oil!
<3 the cloth wipes! There are so many chimcals in regular wipes. Thanks for the idea (for someday)
what a great idea! i’ll have to store it in the back of my head for when i have little ones of my own
There are some cloth diaper delivery services that will collect the dirty diapers every week and bring you a supply of fresh, clean ones. (In southern California we used Dydee Diapers, and the delivery fella even recognized my son and I when he drove by a coffee place we were sitting outside of!)
Alyssa,
Yes, I think we have a cloth diaper service here in Nashville. That would definitely make things much easier.
i skipped the disposable diapers and went straight to cloth from birth. yes, even through meconium. i am slightly crazy. but if you have any question, i can tell you what has been working for me.
Kathleen,
I would love to hear more about your cloth diapering experiences. How did you ever get the meconium off? I could barely wipe that stuff off of Summer!
Nice set up for Summer! I’m jealous of the towel warmer
haha
This is so awesome. Who wouldn’t like warm wipes on their tush?
Glad to see y’all have a great setup.
Wow, and I thought 9 yrs ago I was the only one with a warmer and washcloths. Ah, the memories. We had 3 of the warmers. One in our room, one in the nursery and one downstairs. One of our OB nurses gave us the idea with Bella being a preemie and her oh so sensitive skin. We didnt do the Tea Tree as it can be a bit burning on her skin (still does), the lavender oil always worked like a dream. Amazing how many “tricks” you forget to pass on after so many years….the warmers and nice, warm, cloths we did do, we did do disposable all the way. Was easy, and for us simple. With everything else we had going on with Bella, it was one less worry at the time. Our NMD gave us this wonder diaper rash ointment that I will re-look into for you. I swear is was a miracle in a jar, nothing absolutely nothing worked like this stuff. You are such a good Mom
Thanks Kim.
That’s such an awesome idea, warm wipes. I have to remember that in a few years
I LOVE lavender oil! It is so calming. I sprinkle it on my sheets before bed and smell it when I am anxious. There is so much research out there about how it really works to calm you.
Hey girl….long time no see! I’ve been super busy, but not too busy to keep up with you and the HEABlet. She’s adorable. I love this post…I love seeing how more mama’s are going green and showing that it’s actually doable. We’re thinking of baby #3 and I would love to try the cloth towels.
Hi Andrea,
I’ve missed you! You should definitely try the cloth wipes. They really are not much trouble at all, and I could never imagine using a cold wet wipe on Summer’s little bum.
you just brought back a cute memory for me
When my oldest son Ryan just started to talk he would say “diaps” and “diapiear” like he was French or something! It was so darn cute!
Colleen,
Haha – “diapiear”. That is hilarious.
if it makes you feel any better, we did cloth diapers with Jelly Bean for about the first 6 months… and then I couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t the extra laundry (I do that around the clock as it is) or the “ick” factor but the LEAKING. Disposable diapers are a scientific miracle! SO absorbent. Even using “doublers” and special (read: super expensive) covers, she was still leaking through her clothes nearly every wetting. Drove me freaking nuts. So now I’m back to filling landfills again. Sigh. PS> We still do cloth wipes too.
Wow I’ve never seen that wipe technique. It’s amazing how baby gadgets just keep coming.
We tried the cloth diapers but eventually ended up going back to disposables. I didn’t like having to store poopy diapers and also, I never felt like they were getting clean enough in the washer…even with really hot water.
Nothing but the spa treatment for your little peanut
I love it Heather!
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