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 B

two or more.
    2.
How often can I do diaper laundry? I do laundry once every 7-9 days.
    3.
What is my initial operating budget? I set aside $500 for cloth
diapering.
    4.
Are household members and childcare providers committed to using
cloth? In my case, yes.

    So
here is how I stayed on cloth diapers—the easy way:
    1.
I got 2 big diaper pails at $16 apiece.
    2.
I purchased 72 cotton prefolds that were about $1 apiece.
    3.
I purchased 10 hemp prefolds that were about $4 apiece.
    4.
I got 24 microfleece-hemp inserts that were about $5 apiece.
    5.
I got a $125 newborn bundle with 80 biodegradable diapers, 12 newborn
diaper covers for the first month postpartum, and 6 small diaper
covers that fit my child up to 4 months postpartum.
    6.
I got 6 medium diaper covers that fit until my child turned 15 months
and 6 large diaper covers that fits until my child becomes 36 pounds
(over 3 years old). These diaper covers are at about $15 apiece.
    Altogether,
I invested about $550 in the system I now use and listed above. I
spent much more than that before, investing in and trying different
cloth diapering systems before using the system I choose to use
now—and that's where the $550 comes from. To adjust for inflation,
if you were to employ my same system now, expect to use up to $600
altogether.

4. Day
Diaper System

    I
use cotton prefolds during the day when I am at home with my
children. I want my children to grow up aware that when they pee or
poo, they will feel the wetness in the cotton diapers; the longer
they go without changing out of the wet diapers the more
uncomfortable they will feel and the more likely they will give me
cues to change their diapers as soon as they pee in the future.
Microfleece diapers wick the moisture away and can trick children
into feeling no wetness in their diapers at all.

    Day
diapers usually last about 1-2 hours for very young children and up
to 4 hours for older children. Newborns can use at least 12 diapers
every day for the first weeks of life. As they grow and their bladder
size increases proportionally, you will be down to 8 diapers per day
by 3 months old. These numbers vary, if your baby is born before full
term.

5.
Elimination Communication

    During
the day, I combine cloth diapering with Elimination Communication
(EC). EC is early potty training. Some people do it from birth. I
started when I felt ready. When my child was two months old, at every
diaper change, I brought her to the toilet to see if she had anything
else to eliminate before putting on a new diaper.

    In
the bathroom, I simply hold my child over the toilet. I hold her
under the thighs, knees bent, with back leaning on me. I sound out
“pss” to indicate to her she could pee or poo. Some mamas make
grunting sounds for poo. I do not. At first you may feel weird and
your child may be confused. Just be consistent. Before my child was 3
months old, she picked up on my cues. When she pissed, I mentioned
the word “pee.” As she pooed, I mentioned the word “poo.” By
3 months old, she understood what those words meant.

    EC
only works if you have some way to enforce its consistency. The added
benefit of EC is that your kids tend to be daytime potty-trained
before two years old.

6. Travel
Diaper System

    I
double-layer my kids when we go out for the day. I use
microfleece-hemp inserts to put on top of the cotton prefold. So the
microfleece that is next to my children's skin will wick away the
moisture to the hemp layer and then to the cotton prefold. This helps
keep their skin and their pants dry.

    This
double-layer system lasts at least 4 hours. If they poo, I use a
plastic bag to bring the wet diapers home. For longer trips that can
last up to 8 hours before a diaper change, I utilize my night diaper
system.

7. Night
Diaper System

    I
figured out how to get a full night's sleep without getting up to
change diapers when my firstborn was 4 months old. I used a
microfleece-hemp insert over a hemp prefold. Since night time