[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post in our Secrets of the Frugal Mom blog, contributed by MetroFamily’s Calendar Editor Sara Riester. Sara is a mother of two young children, and cloth diapers her youngest. She explains below how she came to cloth diapering and shares her experiences with the new GoGreen cloth diapers. See below for your chance to win a starter kit!]
I began cloth diapering with the most economical model of cloth diapers–covers and pre-folds. I loved them. They were easy to use, absorbent, inexpensive and took up less room in my diaper bag than other kinds of cloth diapers. However, I soon had a need for something that would be easier for the volunteers in the church nursery and would keep her dry overnight.
Enter the pocket diapers.
Pocket diapers are as easy as disposables to use and, therefore, great for nurseries, daycares and cloth resistant family members. Pocket diapers have an outer waterproof layer of PUL lined fabric and a wicking inner layer of fabric, usually made of suedecloth or fleece that keeps the baby’s bottom dry. The absorbency comes from the absorbent insert that is stuffed into the pocket between the inner and outer layers. When the baby is wet or dirty, you simply take the diaper off and put on a new one, just like a disposable. The only difference is, you can wash and reuse the cloth diaper. The pocket diapers do the trick for nighttime because they keep her dry and allow me to add extra absorbency. They also allow me to change her standing up since she has become a squirmy toddler who refuses to lie still for a new diaper.
Want to read more about pocket diapers? Read Sara’s review of GoGreen’s Champ 2.0 diaper and enter to win your own GoGreen Starter Kit!
While I was making the switch to cloth diapers for my baby, my son was fully potty trained during the day, but still had trouble staying dry at night. For nearly a year, we had been purchasing disposable pull-ups (which are even more costly than disposable diapers). Believe it or not, it took this college graduate nearly 2 months to make the connection that there may be a way to save money by using cloth pull-ups as well. Just as when I discovered cloth diapers, I was amazed to find all of the different kinds of cloth training pants out there that don’t involve giant, poofy plastic pants. There are many styles that have a few extra layers of absorbency in the “wet zone” and a hidden layer of waterproof materials to protect against small accidents. These are comfortable and trim like underwear, but will help to keep the clothes dry from those “oops!” moments. This style, however, will not keep a child dry overnight or during naptime. I found that out the hard way.
The style I found helpful for the overnight hours with my preschool son was a pocket trainer that works similar to a pocket diaper. It has a layer of PUL waterproof fabric on the outside and a layer of fleece on the inside that makes up the “pocket”. I just stuff the pocket with one of my daughter’s pre-folds to create the absorbency. This style is a little bit poofy, but it doesn’t really matter since he is only sleeping in it. The pocket trainers keep the sheets dry all night, but allow him to feel the wetness so that he can eventually learn how to stay dry.
In the meantime, I feel good about saving money and the planet with something reusable.
For more information about the GoGreen Pocket Diapers, visit www.gogreenpocketdiapers.com or find them on Facebook. For local resources and information regarding cloth diapers in the OKC Metro area, please contact Green Bambino (848-2330, www.green-bambino.com) or The Changing Table (290-8862, www.thechangingtableok.com).
