Diapering Naturally

Cloth diapers have really gained momentum here in Spain. More and more families are choosing reusable, and online shops are popping up all the time with offerings for their varying needs and budgets. When I first started looking into cloth with my daughter, I decided to buy everything I needed on a visit back home to Georgia, but that would be entirely unnecessary now. A lot has changed in the last four years!

I knew then that a simple solution to replace the ease of disposables would work best for our family, but that didn’t stop me from trying out many different brands and diaper styles. Ultimately, my partner Oscar and I settled on covers, prefolds, and flats, because natural fibers and uncomplicated wash routines were our main priority. Anything else would have gotten old fast. 

As we prepare for the arrival of our second child, we’ve taken the time to reflect on our past experience and use that to guide us this time. For example, wool was our saving grace for naps and nights, so we decided to invest in more wool covers and attempt to use it full time. I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated by all the handwashing and lanolizing, but it’s much easier than it seems. Knowing that only natural breathable fibers would touch my child’s skin made it the right choice for us.

We saved some diapering materials like prefolds, fitted diapers, flats, and fasteners from our previous experience, so there was a lot less to buy. Cloth really can help you save money! Wool covers can be more costly, but you don’t need as many since it doesn’t need to be washed as often. As an added bonus, I found a few free patterns on Ravelry and knit up quite a few. I’m not sure how well they’ll work, but I’m excited to try them out when Baby arrives.

So what’s our stash look like anyway?

Newborn

24 50 x 50 (cm)  newborn organic cotton flats

7 organic cotton fitted diapers (leftovers from before)

5 newborn wool wraps + a few more covers knit by me

5 cotton doublers 

One Size (OS)

30 70 x 70 (cm) OS (one size) organic cotton flats 

6 OS wool wraps + a few more covers knit by me

Doublers (Newborn flats will be folded into doublers)

*We saved 24 small prefolds and two small fitted diapers as well, so those will be used before switching to OS flats. The covers I knit were all sized, so sometimes we’ll have more in rotation. Most websites recommend having four or five wool covers at a time, but drying takes long and newborn poop is explosive so we feel better having more.

Cloth can be as simple or complicated as you make it. At its core, it only takes two things: an absorbent layer and something to keep the wetness inside. Keep things simple and keep it moving!