Wiped Out

When I first started cloth diapering, I was overwhelmed by all the choices available; the sprayer, the wetbag, the dry bucket, the deodorizer and the list went on and on. None of these were necessities, mind you, but they do make the life of a cloth diapering mama (and dad) run a lot more smoothly.

It wasn't until I had been cloth diapering exclusively for about a month that I stopped to realize there was no reason to be using disposable wipes when I didn't have a disposable diaper in which I could easily throw them away. I had been putting them in a plastic baggie but then it hit me that I'd ignored the most simple accessory; cloth wipes!

When we had H, the hospital in Portland used cloth wipes and it was a lot easier to get that sticky meconium off with a real cloth that had warm water on it, than with the disposable wipes we used on C at the hospital here.

There are a ton of 'recipes' for home-made wipes solution, you can buy ready-made solution like bumGenius Bottom Cleaner or California Baby Non-Burning and Calming Diaper Area Wash or you can turn on your tap and use plain old water. The possibilities will fit any budget and it's just one more way that you can streamline your process.

The wipes I picked first are the Imse Vimse Cloth Wipes. They came in a pack of 12, are an unbleached organic flannelette and are so, so soft. While they are a little smaller than standard wipes, they get the job done and wash and dry well, and at $11 they cost less than I pay for a case of disposable wipes, and I won't have to buy them over and over again. I think that even just 1-2 more packages would be all I'd need in order to have enough to make it from one wash load to the next.

I still pack disposable wipes in the diaper bag (throw them away with a biodegradable bag) and use them to clean hands and faces after lunch at the park or other outings, but I'm hoping that through this cloth diapering journey, I'll continue to streamline the process so that it's all ready to go for baby #3 (after C is potty trained, of course!)