Cloth Diaper Series: FAQs

The moment I started cloth diapering my girls and wrote about it, many of my mommy and mom-to-be friends started pouring in their queries into my inbox asking a few general questions like how many cloth diapers will I need? Is it a pain to cloth diaper? At what age can I start cloth diapering my baby? What should be the wash routine? Etc etc. I don’t say that I’m an expert-cloth-diapering-momma but then who doesn’t learn from experience?? And I did try to answer many of their questions and so I thought I should do a post on it so it would get easier for other mommies who can’t take the pain of typing the whole text ( their query) down and then hitting that “send” button.

So here it is for you.

Question: How many cloth diapers will I need??

My answer:  The number of cloth diapers you will need to buy may depends upon several factors.

If your baby is a newborn, it’s likely that she/he might go through 10-15 cloth diapers in a day since they poop more in the initial months. Every time they poop, you have to replace the diaper. Imagine if you use disposable diapers, how much money you will be saving with re-usable cloth diapers! If your baby is a six months old baby who has formed regulated pooping habits and does not poop too often now then she will need 8-12 cloth diapers a day at this stage. And if your baby is a one year old  she will usually go through six cloth diapers in the day. So it all depends on your baby’s age. I personally started cloth diapering my one month old with only two diaper covers and six inserts in a day. And the rest of the time I used disposables (until I got a few more re-usables)

Question: Is cloth diapering is a pain?

My answer:  If you are willing to do some extra laundry then cloth diapers are for you! 😀

Question: How often should I wash?

My answer:  It’s best if you can manage to do the laundry everyday or you will need more number of diapers. And I have already done a post on my diaper wash routine.

Some manufacturer’s also recommend bleaching diapers every month. I do bleach my bumgenius diapers every other month, you may want to know how and why I bleached our cloth diapers.

Question: Should I be considering the weather conditions?

My answer:  In general babies tend to pee more during winter or rains. So better be prepared to use more diapers during colder days.

Question: Why should I consider cloth diapering my baby?

My answer:  I tried to list out the following factors why you SHOULD consider cloth diapering your li’l one.

1.The cost:  Cloth diapers can be a little costly at the start, but in the long run cloth diaper users are like to save more. A small investment in the beginning can save you money on thousands of rupees spent on disposable diapers that you are going to spend in the next few years. Plus they can be washed over and over again and continue to work effectively until your baby is potty trained (my toddler is yet to be potty trained though!)

2. It’s better for the baby’s skin:  Everyone will agree that cloth is better for your baby’s delicate skin. Cloth diapering mommies tend to have less problem with diaper rash, sore bottoms, and other common symptoms of disposable diapers parents. If you have a sensitive baby, you can choose from all natural, even biological, materials to use for diapers that go to your baby.

3. It’s better for the environment: Cloth diapers are re-usable and do not contribute to the non-degradable waste like disposable diapers. You will, at the most, require 30-40 diapers for the lifetime of your diapering needs and even after that, cloth can still be recycled.

4. It’s easier for potty training: Most of the parents who cloth  diapered their babies will tell you that they spent less time trying to potty train  Like your grandma probably told you, disposable diapers do not give the baby an indication of wetness at all and baby takes longer to get potty trained. Whereas, modern cloth diapers give the baby the right amount of wetness indication when full, without making the baby go cold because of wetness.

5. They look cute and fashionable:Considering the fact that modern Indian parents are becoming more style conscious about their child’s wardrobe, cloth diaper add that extra cuteness to the baby’s outfit and their beautiful prints and colours save the pain of covering them up with uncomfortable skirts or pants.

Question: Where can I buy cloth diapers in India?

My answer:  There are a bunch of websites at stock different brands of cloth diapers. 

You can visit the following websites if you are looking for a place to buy some cloth diapers.  www.smartbaby.in  or www.flipkart.com or www.firstcry.com or  www.amazon.in

You can also check out our new cloth diaper company EcoTush Cloth Diapers made by Indian work-at-home moms!

Have a question?? Or did I miss anything?? Feel free to shoot me a text or write it down, below in the comments section. I would love to do my bit!! 🙂

Happy Cloth Diapering!!