Free Cloth Diapering Made Easy (Chapter from New Moms, New Families: Priceless Gifts of Wisdom and Practical Advice from Mama Experts for the Fourth Trimester and First Year by Gloria Ng Page A

to the ARC readers, co-authors, and
supporters of the New Moms, New Families Book Project. Without you,
the book would not exist, nor would this exclusive chapter excerpt!
    Last but not least, thank you to my readers—those
whom I have met and those whom I will meet. I hope you enjoy this
book; please blog, post or tweet some reviews to help others find me.
I write for you, for the world we are creating together.

Author's Note

    As
a new mom for the third time, it amazes me how much re-remembering I
need to do to get back in the groove of things. So I can imagine how
hard it may be to even get things going the very first time around!
    One of the passions I have is a commitment toward
environmental stewardship in my daily life, in the quiet daily
rhythms of life unseen by the masses. One of the ways this shows up
is in my laundry load, namely my use of cloth diapers.
    When I talk to a lot of new moms, however, they
find cloth diapering a burden—as if it is something extra to do.
That's why Cloth Diapering Made Easy exists. I hope you find
it as easy as I have enjoyed it.

    Gloria Ng
    Oakland, California
    January 21, 2014

1. Introduction

    A
photograph of a disposable diaper floating in the arctic miles away
from human habitat fueled my daily determination to save at least one
disposable diaper from being used and created. One cloth diaper after
another, days accumulated into years and now our next child is using
the cloth diapers we bought for our firstborn.

    Best
of all, cloth diapers “live” long after they fray, thin or
pill—they serve well as rags, kitchen towels, hand towels, burp
cloths, baby wipes, etc. Plus, you can always pass them onto new moms
or resell them.

    Staying
entirely on cloth is rare, for the very moms who inspired me to use
cloth eventually resorted to disposable for convenience. I realized
then I needed to share how I made it through the years—thus, my
cloth diapering tips follow.

2.
All-in-Ones or Other

    If
you have no idea where to begin, you can start cloth diapering in one
of two ways:
    (1)
all-in-ones (diaper covers+cloth diapers)
    (2)
diaper covers sold separate from cloth diapers.

    An
“all-in-one” means that the diaper cover and the cloth diaper is
all in one piece. Typically, you put an insert into the diaper cover
to soak up the pee and replace the insert when wet. Usually, you also
have the option of “one-size,” which means you can secure the
diaper cover multiple ways as your child grows from newborn to
potty-trained. The only downfall with all-in-ones is that on poopy
days you may run out of them before laundry day, especially if you
are operating on the lowest start-up budget possible.

    With
option #2, when you invest in diaper covers separate from cloth
diapers, you then have the flexibility of cleaning the diaper covers
separately from the cloth diapers. So for very poopy days, perhaps
only the cloth diaper got poopy but not the diaper cover. In this
case, you can reuse the diaper cover. However, you encounter a
different problem: which system of diaper covers will you use?

    Diaper
covers come in three different fabrics: cotton, wool, and
microfleece. Cotton takes the longest to hang dry, if you are only
scrubbing the part of it that got poo on it. Wool and microfleece are
similar breathable materials that wick away moisture to reduce diaper
rash. The drawback to wool and microfleece is that some kids can have
sensitive skin and may be allergic to these materials. In addition,
wool diaper covers naturally contain the moisture-wicking substance
lanolin and need wool wash, a soap that relanolizes wool.

3. Cloth
Diapering on a Budget

    Cloth
diapers come in three fabrics: cotton, hemp, and microfleece. Cotton
soaks easily. Hemp, even if same weight as cotton, can soak up more
fluid than cotton. Microfleece loses its absorbency over time.

    Before
you choose which system is best for you, ask these questions:
    1.
How many children do I plan to have? I knew I wanted