Making The Switch To Cloth Diapers

A. L. is almost two now and having two little ones in disposable diapers is extremely expensive! Although she is doing very well on the potty training during the day and wears big girl panties, I will switch her over to diapers when we leave the house to avoid any “accidents.” I still have not figured out what the fascination is with little girls and wanting to use public restrooms! It never fails, go to a restaurant, shopping in a store, or church and I hear this little voice saying “mama I gotta go potty!”

Several months ago, in an effort to cut costs on disposable diapers, I decided to try the new style cloth diapers with the waterproof covers.  I started pricing them in the store and they were extremely expensive. I also found websites on the Internet where you can purchase them, both new and used. As luck would have it, we were able to get some off  E-bay really reasonably priced. I was hesitant at first because they were used diapers but figured a good washing with some bleach and the sanitizer cycle on my washing machine, they would be fine. 

The brands that we purchased are called Haute Pocket diapers.
These are the new style where the diaper pad slips inside a pocket in the waterproof cover.  I have a total of four and wish I had more!  If you are considering making the switchover to cloth diapers, I would suggest having at least a dozen covers and inserts to work with. One thing you do need to remember is not to dry the cover part in your dryer.

You can use liners that go over the pocket, between the diaper and baby’s bottom to make it easier to clean up “poopy” messes. It will also help keep the actual diaper pad part from staining so badly. These are sold at various stores like Wal-Mart, Target and even Toys-R-Us or at various sites over the internet.

One thing that I have not tried yet is taking a regular pre-fold cloth diaper and inserting it into the pocket for overnight wear. I need to see if that would be sufficient for handling overnight wetting.

I have not noticed any difference in problems like diaper rash because I use Parent’s Choice disposable diapers. With my first two, I tried several of the well-known brands, but with my children’s allergies and skin sensitivities, I had to keep changing brands until I found one that would not irritate their skin.

I do still use the disposable diapers overnight for both A. L and A. G. Hopefully A.L. will be able to go without diapers at all here shortly. We are in the process of potty training but overnight are still a problem.

During the day, A.G. is cruising in her Haute’s!