The Cloth Diapering Guide for Beginners: Bummis Boutique Review

I’m going to spoil it all for you here and now.

I LOVE cloth diapering Baby Bun.

I was actually hesitant when we first said and committed to doing it, but over time, I have realized that I prefer it.

Of course, there are cons, but hey.. what doesn’t suck about diapers?

This was all me when I first had my baby:

PROS OF CLOTH DIAPERS

• Reusable, Eco-Friendly, Green, Great for the environment
• Some municipalities GIVE YOU MONEY to cloth diaper your wee one
• No poo blowouts or peeing mishaps; everything has been contained
• Baby can’t take off said diaper (no for real now.. my toddler can rip the velcro straps off his disposable night diaper now)
• Can use them for all your future kids if you plan on having more (cost per use goes down)

CONS OF CLOTH DIAPERS

• Very hard to make it work at night; I know parents do it but mine must just hold a reservoir of pee or something and let it loose at night because he has been soaked a number of times from us trying.
• Have to clean them every night / every other night WITHOUT FAIL
• Can be expensive to shell out as an investment at first
• Can be a learning curve / experience & a pricey one if you don’t seek out advice or know in advance what you want

(Foil is not a type of cloth diaper. LOL)

There are two types of cloth diapers:

1. All-in-one + cover
2. Cloth inserts inside a cover

I don’t see the point of All-in-ones.

We bought 6 of them and I barely use them because they’re so strange and finicky for the very reason that you can’t just put them on the Baby Butt and let them go off. You still need to put a cover on the all-in-one diapers!

So what’s the difference between the cloth insert + cover and all-in-one + cover?

No clue. Couldn’t figure it out. Still don’t get it.

WHAT BRAND I USE

Bummis.

A local brand made here in Montreal. They are very helpful, super sweet and extremely excited about cloth diapering.

Turned us into converts. I love cloth diapering.

They are now ONLY ONLINE.

HOW MANY DO I NEED

Newborn:

• 12 – 20 cloth inserts (reuse them as diaper wipes)
• 3 covers (don’t buy too many; try and keep it to a minimum until they’re bigger)

3 months+:

• 36 cloth inserts (you will use these until they grow and grow)
• Buy the next size up and up each time you need it, and buy at least 5 of them

So far, I have purchased at least 3 small covers, 3 medium diapers, then when he went to daycare, I bought 6 large ones because we needed extra to give them one per cloth insert to make it SUPER EASY.

I definitely say that you should try and save money on the covers, but don’t go so cheap that you are stressed out when they poo into one and you are down to your LAST CLOTH DIAPER and need to do a laundry load, STAT.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR BEGINNERS TO CLOTH DIAPERING

Understand that it takes some practice

After about 25 diaper changes, I was a pro. I could whip off that diaper and put a new one on Baby Bun in less than a minute.

You also start learning little tips and tricks on what works for you.

Have a clean stash of those cloth diapers nearby to use for various purposes

I used the clean stash of diapers ALL THE TIME, especially as a way for me to put a dirty diaper on.

So what I normally do is lay out a fresh cloth diaper insert (by itself) on the ground and then when I change Baby Bun, I put the dirty diaper cover with the insert inside on that fresh cloth diaper to stop it from touching the floor.

I even use the clean cloth diaper insert as a diaper changing pad cover for under his butt while I change him (sometimes he peed or pooed unexpectedly especially as a newborn).

I put them underneath his butt, take off the diaper, let the mess go on the clean cloth diaper “pad”, and then after he gets cleaned up, I remove that now dirty cloth diaper pad and put it on top of that fresh cloth diaper pad on the floor & I pick up the whole kit & caboodle by using the ends of the clean cloth diaper, not the dirty one.

Then if I have to, I scrape the poo into the toilet (yes, gross but that is reality), and I dump the whole thing — clean cloth diaper mat, and dirty diaper & cover into the pail to wash without dirtying my hands.

Things can get messy.

Use what you have without buying more.

Use toilet paper to scrape the poo off

Some parents have a special sprayer attached to the toilet. We don’t have that, so we juse use toilet paper to scrape the poo off into the toilet.

Then we flush it and the toilet paper. We don’t use disposable inserts, we don’t use anything special and we wash the diapers CONSTANTLY.

 

Re-use the newborn cloth diaper inserts as reusable wipes

I use the newborn cloth diaper inserts I bought (24 of them) as reusable diaper wipes now. I pour water on them, and then wipe down his butt.

Use Wet Bags and wash them daily

I love these wet bags.

I take them out with me when I am out with Baby Bun and when I change him, they hold the dirty diaper mess & smell in until I get home.

Dry the diapers thoroughly

I put it on “Extra dry” then another 30 minutes to make sure they’re BONE DRY. I don’t want any bacteria or mould growing.

Realize that newborn butts are bony and skinny, not fat, bubbly & chunky at first

You. Will. Need. Newborn. Sized. Diapers.

My baby was barely 6 pounds and even the smallest, eensiest, weensiest of any diaper (cloth or disposable) was HUGE ON HIM.

It swam on him.

It looked so funny, I should have taken photos of my trying to put a regular baby sized diaper on a newborn butt. It was ridiculously big.

Anyway, just realize that you need at least two major sizes — Newborn for the interim stage until about 3 months (skimp on buying these items, they’ll grow in no time & honestly, spend more money on the bigger diapers); and you’ll need the bigger diapers for 3 months and older (just change out the cover for a larger size as they get bigger).

My newborn was DEFINITELY SKINNIER THAN THIS ONE.

Mine had barely any fat on him and was so skinny, he was the size of a miniature teddy bear.

Use Soap Nuts to clean these diapers

Not all soap works on cloth diapers to clean them well.

Some commercial detergents leave residues or leave a kind of coating on the cloth which makes the liquid bead up & not absorb well.

If you want a SERIOUS cleanser that is natural, without phosphates and awesome for the environment PLUS it helps create sustainable jobs, then I recommend soap nuts.

Read: How to make your own natural laundry detergent

Wash them on a regular basis (nightly or bi-nightly)

I was thinking that I would be able to go at least 3 days or 4 days without washing these diapers, but NOPE.

You will want to wash them nightly or bi-nightly for 3 good reasons:

1. No sinking in of stains / *ahem* and crusting of content
2. Lots of hot water cleans them; not lots of soap — less stuff inside water = more hot water available to clean
3. You won’t have to invest as much money into these

Use disposables only at night for sanity if cloth diapering doesn’t work at night

Don’t sweat it.

I know some hardcore green-eco-freako parents do it successfully and are determined …. but Baby Bun must just hold a reservoir of pee or something and let it loose at night because he has been soaking through his clothes & the sheets a number of times from us trying.

I gave up.

I use biodegradeable diapers for nighttime. I empty that diaper pail once every 2-3 weeks now, and I only have a small bag of garbage to toss as a result.

I still feel twinges of guilt which is why I am trying to get him to be potty trained, but I do feel good that MOST OF THE TIME he doesn’t use disposables.

They even cloth diaper him at the daycare which is awesome. He is in cloth diapers every minute of the day except for at night.