Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3
During my diaper changing career, it has not set well with me watching diapers go into the trash and then stinking the place up. Or when you have those moments where you finish changing the diaper and a mess occurs as soon as you secure everything. Now you have to throw a “clean” diaper away. There had to be a better solution. With already being an old soul at heart, the idea of using cloth diapers was obviously attractive.
For my first child, I got my hands on some old-fashioned diapers my grandmother had used in the 50’s and 60’s. I truly wanted to like the whole experience. Alas, they were ill fitting, looked ridiculous, and the silly safety pins made me uncomfortable around my brand-new baby. Long story short, the whole ordeal did not last long.
When the time came for my second child to arrive, I had stumbled upon the new and improved washable diaper of the Modern Era. Alvababy was the original company that I came across, and their product solved all the issues that I had with the old-fashioned diaper design.
They were about $30 for a set of six, which came with the diaper cover and two liners each. The prints were numerous and adorable. And the best part: no safety pins! These diapers use adjustable snaps, so the diapers grow with your little one! At the time of this writing, my youngest is about to celebrate her second birthday and we are still using the same diapers we had from day one! Only two have lost some of their elasticity and I damaged two snaps on two separate diapers, but they all still work just fine!
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Side note, I do see now that they have a newborn option, and you may want to check out those sizes also. The diapers I used from start to finish were a little big on my averaged size newborn for the first two weeks, but they did their job, and she did not mind the extra fabric. The snap design has come in handy during potty training also!
When I purchased my diapers, I bought 36 total diapers just before my child was born for about $180 and she wore them until she was potty trained. They say the average disposable diaper costs roughly $0.25 each. If your child uses 5 diapers a day, you do the math. The savings can be astronomical.
We saw no real difference in our utilities. Our home has a well so that is not a bill of ours that plays a factor. As for my electric bill, I saw no real change in my bill, only a couple dollars more per month.
Whenever possible, I tried to hang them in the sun to dry. Doing so not only helps save on electricity costs, but the diaper liners and inner part of the diaper cover stay fresh and new looking as the sun naturally whitens them.
I had a designated basket for not so soiled diapers and a bucket with some soapy water for the dirtier diapers. If the poopy was mushy, I would wipe it off the best I could before dropping it into the soapy water.
All in all, I could not be happier with my choice of utilizing washable diapers. The cute prints are adorable, and the colors still look brand new even after all the uses and washes. Alvababy, the company I used, has a plethora of prints to choose from; flamingos, elephants, cacti, sailor theme, rabbits, camo, construction, holiday, and so much more, so to find a print that will suit your family will be a breeze. The hardest part will be deciding which ones to purchase!
Have you had experience in cloth diapers? I would love to hear about it. Please leave a comment below to inspire others!
Want to know more about my washable diaper journey? Leave your question here or email me at admiralacres@gmail.com and I would be happy to chat!
Thanks for looking and may the Lord bless you richly today!
Until next time, my friend.
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My diaper years are far, far behind me, but I was cloth diaper momma myself. I even made my own wipes and salves. I loved [almost] every minute of it! 🤭 🙈
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I am intrigued by the wipes and salves! Could you say more to this, please? It is on my list of things to do!
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I will send recipes soon!
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Here is my go-to Diaper Wipe recipe when my kids were wee ones. My container of choice was actually a large empty diaper wipe canister….the tall cylindrical kind.
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Julianne’s Homemade Baby Wipes (works great for Momma skin too!)
1 roll of heavy duty paper towels (Note: I use Bounty for wipes. I don’t use them in my kitchen, but cheap paper towels don’t work for wipes.)
Alternative (re-usable): Cut old receiving blankets or t-shirts into 8×8 inch squares. Fold them into wipes containers and pour same mixture (below) onto them or spray on each wipe with a spray bottle before using.
1 Rubbermaid #6 or #8 container (or similar sized container)
1¾ c. boiled water (or distilled), cooled but still warm
1 Tbsp. pure aloe vera
1 Tbsp. pure Witch Hazel extract
1 tsp. Liquid Castille Soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s)
Optional: 10 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract or 2 capsules of Vitamin E
Optional: 1 tsp. oil or almond oil
Optional: Essential oils of choice (I use 6 drops each of orange and lavender)
Cut roll of paper towels in half using a sharp knife. Place the wipes, cut side down in container. If using plastic shoe box or old wipe container, accordion-fold wipes the container. In bowl or quart-size jar, mix the water, aloe, witch hazel, castile soap, GSE/Vitamin E and oil and stir.
Add essential oils, if so desired, and stir. Pour over paper towels in container and let absorb…this takes about 5-10 minutes.
Flip the container over to make sure wipes are well-soaked. If using a Rubbermaid container, pull the cardboard roll out from the inside. This should also pull the innermost wipe out and start them for you.
Depending on the brand of paper towels you use, you might have to experiment with the amount of water to get the right amount.
Use as you would regular wipes, and smile, knowing you are not causing your beautiful child any future health problems! Note: If your child has extremely sensitive skin, you may need to leave out the essential oils or use calendula or chamomile.
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For diaper rashes, this was my “tried and true” recipe:
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Diaper Rash Butter
¼ oz. beeswax
1 oz. argan oil
½ oz. cocoa butter
Fill cooking pot about ¼ of the way with water and bring to a low, simmering boil. Weigh beeswax; place in a Pyrex glass measuring cup. Place measuring cup in pot with handle hanging over edge of pot. Melt beeswax. Add cocoa butter and melt. When the beeswax and cocoa butter are melted together, add argan oil and stir gently. Remove blend from heat and pour into 2 oz. glass jar. Let cool.
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I’ll send recipes for other salves as I find them.
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Thank you again for sharing these with me! I love the idea of using old t-shirts.
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