Tired of shelling out hundreds of dollars on disposables and lugging soiled diapers out to the trash?  It’s time to make the switch to cloth!  If you’re like most of us, cloth can seem overwhelming.  Here is a short list of questions and answers that many new parents have about cloth.

What type of cloth diaper should I use?

In our book, the Eco-nomical Baby Guide (now on sale for less than $8 on Amazon!), we give you diagrams and advantages of each type of diaper out there. If you can’t get your hands on the book, be sure to get your hands on some actual cloth diapers.  Go to a local diapering shop or ask around to see if you can find a family that uses cloth. Remember, you don’t have to settle on one type of cloth diaper.  At our house we use a mix of pocket diapers, prefold diapers, and all-in-one diapers. If you can’t actually find any of those locally, check out this YouTube video. (One note–the video says that you need pins for prefold diapers, which is absolutely untrue. We never used pins or snappies with our prefolds. We simply tucked our diaper into a cover and placed it on our babies.)

How do I wash cloth diapers?

Eliminate the bad odors that disposables produce by dumping solid waste into the toilet.  (If you’re baby’s waste isn’t quite solid yet, you may want to buy a diaper sprayer or make one yourself.)  Then store them in a dry diaper pail and wash them in a heavy load.  We both have great success with cold water, but some parents prefer to use hot.  You don’t need bleach but might want to add an enzyme based stain and odor fighter like Bac Out. Then line dry or toss them in the dryer.  Done!

Is it worth switching to cloth diapers now that my child is older?

Yep.  If you buy used cloth diapers or new pre-folds, the cost that you invest will still be less than disposables.  Plus, cloth-diapered children tend to potty train earlier since they have a better sense of what it feels like to be wet. And if you’re going to have more children, remember that you’ll have those cloth diapers when your next child reaches that age.

Why are cloth diapers so expensive?

Some types, like one size all-in-one diapers and one size pocket diapers, cost more but convert to fit baby from birth to potty training, so you won’t need to buy diapers for different sizes. Also remember that you can get any cloth diaper used.  Check out websites like My Used Diapers or Jullian’s Drawers for preowned cloth diapers.  You can also check at your local consignment shop or craigslist. Prefold diapers will be your least expensive option in new diapers, especially if you buy used covers.  If you do decide to invest a few hundred dollars in new cloth diapers, remember that you’ll never need to buy diapers again!  You’ll be all set for future children, or be able to resell them once your baby is done.  (Which just can’t happen with disposables!)

What if I try cloth diapers and I just can’t make the switch?

If everyone in your family gets the flu or your washer stops working, you can always use disposables for a few days.  The point is, once you do make the change, you’ll see that cloth diapering really is simple and fun.  And you’ll save hundreds of dollars and dozens of trips to the grocery store for more diapers.  (Plus you’ll keep one ton of waste out of the landfill for each child that you cloth diaper!)

If you’re anything like Rebecca and me, you may actually come to the point where you become a cloth diaper nerd.  You start up random conversations with people using Fuzzibunz or inquire about the latest Bum Genius innovations.  It’s tough to start hobbies as a new parent, but cloth diapering really does become one for many of us!

Remember today is the last day to enter the Monkey Foot Designs wet bag giveaway!

Rebecca and I survived years of poopy cloth diapers in our households without the help of a diaper sprayer. Still, if I would have seen this video and learned how to make one for so little, I may have taken the leap! (They’re about $50 on many websites but the do-it-yourself version comes it at less than $20 and takes just 20 minutes to set up!) Do you have a diaper sprayer? Have you yearned for one and felt they were too expensive? Check out this link to the video and you’ll have one for much less in no time at all!
DIY Diaper Sprayer for Less!

Here at Greenbabyguide.com, we’re all about simple eco-friendly changes.  They have to be things you can do while sleep deprived, nursing, and trying to get at least one load of laundry done per week.  That’s why we love Marcal Small Steps 100% recycled paper products  All you have to do is throw them into your cart instead of traditional toilet paper and you’ve just made a difference!

Marcal is a small company that has been making paper products for more than 60 years.  Their products are easy to find in mainstream stores, affordable, and high quality.  Since we just use rags around here, we haven’t yet given their paper towels a try, but we love Marcal’s Small Steps toilet paper.  While some other recycled paper products can be flimsy or extremely rough, Marcal’s Small Steps toilet paper seems indistinguishable from any mainstream brand.

If a family of four switches to 100% recycled paper products, in just one year they’ll save two trees.  And in 20 years, they’ll save about 34 trees.  (That’s a small forest!)  Imagine if businesses and schools switched to fully recycled paper products.  It seems like such a small change but the benefits are tremendous!

If you chose to “like” Marcal on facebook, you’ll get a $1.00 off coupon for your next purchase of Marcal Small Steps recycled paper products.

Do you buy greener paper products?  If so, what are your favorites?  If not, what’s holding you back?

When my son still hadn’t potty trained through the night at age four, I wrote a post about trying to keep him dry through the night. (Most of which totally didn’t work at the time.) Many readers commented that bladder control for boys doesn’t developmentally happen until they’re older—possibly around age six.

Giving up altogether seemed rather strange to me. My post on The History of Potty Training in America, shared that potty training ages in this country have gone up across the board—partly because of the ease of disposables. If everyone waits to even attempt night training until their children are older, there are years of waste (and expense) that could be avoided with some effort.

The only two choices for parents certainly aren’t the following:
A. Torture your child with extreme night training regimens.
B. Just wait. It will happen eventually. In the meantime, buy lots of pull-ups.

In our case, the successful solution was to cut off beverages at 5:30pm and give him a chocolate treat each morning. It’s successful about 95% of the time and my four and a half-year-old son feels really excited to wear underwear to bed.

I’m not saying that all kids can night train at five (or sooner), but it seems worth knowing that some of our efforts may help kids get there a bit earlier.

Have you had success or struggle with night training? The best tips always come from readers so please share your experiences from the trenches of early parenthood!

We just returned, browned and blissful, from our nearly two week family reunion in Hawaii. Family came from all over the United States and an aunt even flew in from Thailand to join the fun.  It was a glorious, peaceful trip that exceeded our wildest expectations.  (I should add that we never, ever could have gone without the generosity of our family.  The money we save with coupons and shopping at thrift stores would never add up to enough for our whole family to go.)

Was it packed with green efforts?  Yep!  We used cloth diapers 95 percent of the time by washing them in the rental home’s machines and later in the hotel Laundromat.  Since Jovi is also potty training at 20 months, she wore her cloth training pants a good part of the time. She’s showing off her Fuzzibunz pocket diapers in this photo.

In addition, we passed up new sand toys, since we envisioned piles of sand buckets in Hawaiian landfills, all of them barely used.  Now that you can’t carry liquids on planes, how many partially used bottles of sunscreen are tossed into the trash too?  If you’re heading there anytime soon, I’d recommend hitting a Hawaiian thrift shop for sand gear (and maybe even sunscreen!) and then donating it back at the end of your trip.

So what were our eco-failings?  It was tough to find recycling receptacles around the island.  Even in the recycling containers we did find, some items were excluded.  That meant that we had to occasionally throw away plastic bottles and paper.  So painful!  Plus, our party of twelve family members didn’t have access to a compost bin so we tossed several pounds of fruit peels and food waste into the trash.

I had thought that since it is a group of islands Hawaii would be far ahead of other states in terms of conservation, but they are still in process.  Still, I think recycling efforts are quickly moving forward.

Nonetheless, we found Hawaii to be an incredible destination.  The people were genuine, friendly and helpful and the islands themselves were emerald gems.  It was a rare privilege to get to experience “aloha” firsthand—and we still have a bit of it left in us as we make it through a rainy February in the Northwest. My son, Roscoe, is hopping waves with his grandpa in this photo.

Have you been to Hawaii? Are you planning trips to any destination with a new baby in tow?

I just discovered Baby Awearness, a fabulous green baby shop on the island of Oahu.  They offer hula classes in children in addition to cloth diapering and baby wearing courses.  It looks like a great place to hook into local green baby culture!

After Joy’s recent posts about The History of Potty Training in America and Training Pants for Babies and Toddlers, I’m sure you’re left wondering, “What’s new in eco-friendly potty training gear?” Well, we’re here to satisfy your curiosity.

Safety 1st Nature Next 3-in-1 Potty

($9.99)

According to the product description: The Safety 1st Nature Next potty is made of 50% bio-plastic in a zero landfill factory. Besides being eco-friendly, it’s also one of the most versatile potties available: a potty, trainer seat, and step stool, all in 1. Removable bowl for easy cleanup.

TrendyKid becoPotty

($12.10)

• Made from natural plant fibers
• Ethical manufacturing
• Biodegradable
• High back offers extra support
• Large splashguard helps keep potty training hygienic

Growing Up Green Bamboo Potty Seat

($17.81)

• Fits most standard and elongated toilets
• 100% bamboo
• Wash with mild soap
• Pesticide-free
• Eco-friendly

Growing Up Green Bamboo Wood Step Stool

($30.57)

• Multi-purpose
• 100% bamboo
• Wash with mild soap
• pesticide-free
• Eco-friendly

Do you own any of these eco-friendly potties, potty rings, or step stools? Please chime in with your reviews!

If you read my post on the history of American potty training, you know that infant potty training was the norm until the 1980′s when disposables gained a growing market share and experts re-thought toilet training norms from decades past.  In fact, I can’t help but mention that in the 1950′s and 1960′s, 95% of all toddlers were toilet trained by 18 months!

Today, most of the mainstream training pants come in size 2T and larger.  My daughter is 18 months old and her training pants invariably end up around her ankles after ten minutes of running through the house.  I’m searching for a smaller pair of training pants that will accommodate  younger children.

I’ve heard great things about Imse Vimse Organic Cotton Training Pants, mainly from Rebecca.  She used them with her small daughter and was impressed by their quality and effectiveness.   There is no waterproof layer, so they have to be used at home–but they give your child a full sense of how uncomfortable it feels to wet her pants.  A small sized pair of Imse Vimse training pants fits babies 24-31 pounds, which is still far too big for my petite sized daughter–but will fit other children that range from 15-24 months.

Mother-Ease Training Pants seem like a better fit, since a size small ranges from 20-30 pounds.  They have a waterproof layer on the outside, so would work more easily on the go.  They’re also a reasonable $13.50 a pair.

Although I have no idea what their sizing means, I have to say that Blueberry Trainers Pants are just about the cutest things I have ever seen.  They are not waterproof, but their vibrant colors and thick comfortable layers make them really appealing.  And what toddler wouldn’t want to start potty training in order to sport a pair of these stylish pants?

If you’re training an infant, you’ll be happy to know that Diaper Free Baby’s website now sells infant underwear for just $6.00 a pair, and baby training pants for just $8.00 a pair.  They’re not waterproof, but since they’re specifically from a site that emphasizes elimination communication, you know that they will actually fit!

Do you use pocket diapers for potty training, make your own, or find another great brand of training pants?  Please give me your tips on favorite cloth trainers for young toddlers or babies!

Are your cloth diapers disintegrating before your eyes?  Do you pull a larger lump of lint out of the dryer with every cycle?  Are you a bit ashamed to send those raggedly cloth diapers off to daycare?  You’re not alone!

My small batch of cloth diapers has seen some serious wear and probably kept thousands of disposable diapers from the landfills.  I bought them secondhand from a cloth diaper service, used them with Roscoe, lent them to a friend for her two children, used them with Jovi, and then passed them onto another baby.  Wow!  I have to confess they were looking a little tired by the end, but I also knew that concerns about their appearance were a little silly considering that their only purpose was to soak up her waste.  All that wear had softened them up quite nicely and while I was a bit embarrassed at times, I knew that she’d only be using that size for a matter of months.

How could I have kept the diapers in better shape?  By avoiding bleach.  When I first started cloth diapering I didn’t realize that you could use things like Bac Out or hydrogen peroxide to clean diapers and eliminate odors.  I also didn’t know that smelly diapers could need to be stripped by washing them in a few loads of hot water without soap.  (By the way, our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide: Down to Earth Ways for Parents to Save Money and the Planet is PACKED with dozens of cloth diaper care tips we wish we would have known about years ago!)

Jovi is now in the next size of diapers, which are in much better shape, and the most worn diapers have made it into our rag pile.  Those that were mostly intact are now diapering another baby.  I have to say that it thrills me that cloth diapers really don’t hit the trash until they are in shreds, while disposables head there after just one use.

Are you using diapers that are a bit worn?  Have you suffered from diaper embarrassment?  Did you buy your diapers secondhand?  Please share with other parents who may be in the same boat!

I was very proud of my potty training efforts with both of my children—but that overconfidence has quickly faded into green shame! (My melodrama is intended here…)  First, let me tell you of my brilliant potty training efforts.  My son was blissfully free of diapers at a little over two years and my daughter started regularly using the potty at about seven months.  (She’s now 14 months and still in diapers, but makes the sign for “poop” and helps us avoid toilet dunking diapers most of the time!)

So here’s my dark confession.. My son, who has worn disposables at night since babyhood, is still in diapers at night.  So even though he used cloth during the day for just a few years since infancy, he has filled the landfills with his nighttime diapers for four full years.  We buy gigantic disposables and he’s managed to still fit in them without moving to pull-ups.  Although we resolutely tried to use cloth at night multiple times, persistent rashes and yeast infections eventually wore us down.

We have tried less fluids, salty foods, waking him at night, letting him wet himself, and using treats for dry diapers, all to no avail.  He’s an extremely heavy sleeper who wakes up a bit frenzied and disoriented in the middle of the night and screams when we ask him to try and pee.

Everything I’ve read indicates that kids may take years to night train.  Even up to six years!  Still, since the rest of the world potty trains far earlier than we do here in America, it seems like the night training thing should be possible.  Do you have any ides to assuage my disposable diaper guilt?  Are you in the same boat?  Help!

I’m happy to report that our 13 month old is going strong with infant potty training!  To be clear, she still wears cloth diapers and our only focus is getting her to poop on the potty.  She started pooping on the potty at around seven months and her progress is continuing.  It means fewer poopy diapers to wash and strong steps toward actual potty training when she’s ready.  We even toted our little potty seat to Maryland with us on our family vacation and she used it many times while at her grandparents’ house.

During the trip, she started using the sign for “poop” which was even more exciting.  While we were driving home after nearly twelve hours of travel, she did the sign in the back seat along with the sign for help.  We were so exhausted and shocked that she would be able to tell us, that we didn’t stop.  When we did arrive home, she had pooped in her diaper and we felt horrid that we didn’t listen to her.

That’s the down side of this infant potty training business.  Yesterday we were on our way to blueberry picking when she needed to poop so we trooped back home, only to find she wasn’t ready.  She then filled her pants at the blueberry patch.  We have just the one potty seat so I don’t plan on toting it with us everywhere, especially when she isn’t always comfortable pooping in public restrooms.  Still, every chance that we make it to the toilet is one less poopy diaper to deal with!

I only share these stories because even though I used cloth diapers with my first child, it didn’t even occur to me to begin potty training until right around 2 years old.  He was trained by 27 months, but if I would have started sooner, I think it would have gone even faster.  In many other parts of the world, people don’t even use diapers and potty train their children very, very early.  If you have a potty seat and time on your hands, why not give it a try?