What is the most economical way to cloth diaper a baby?

Today on diaperswappers.com I saw a post where someone was asking a question about whether it would be possible for her to cloth diaper her baby and toddler for $60 or less. She only wants to spend the amount that she spends on disposable diaper in one month. She was asking for suggestions about what kind of diapers/covers would work for this budget.
Well there are a lot of "high end" diapers out there now days that cost upwards of $20 per diaper, so those are definitely out, but you can cloth diaper for very little money these days.
My suggestion was to use flat diapers and Dappi brand nylon diaper covers, using pins or a snappi to secure the diaper. Let see how much this would really cost up front, not including washing costs.
At cottonbabies.com you can get a dozen cotton flat diapers (which fit from infant to toddler depending on how you fold them) for $19 per dozen. Dappi nylon pants are two in a package for $5. And a pair of pins are $1 each. So two dozen flat diapers, three pakages of medium Dappi pants (these fit 20-25lbs, she is diapering a 20 month old, so I am guessing on the size) and one package of size large for the toddler, along with two sets of pins: this would cost exactly $60. They offer free shipping for any size order and sometimes they have coupon codes for a discount off your total purchase. Perfect package for someone on a tight budget. Flat diapers are also the easiest diaper to clean since they are only a single layer of fabric. They can even be hand washed and air dried quickly. Nylon pull on covers are also super easy to hand wash and they dry in a snap. So question answered.

Mother-Ease: one of my favorite cloth diaper brands!

Mother Ease is a company out of Canada that manufactures superior cloth diapers and diaper covers. I have used both their one-size fitted diapers and also there sized fitted diapers, called Sandy's, on my daughter Isabelle from the age of about 10 months all the way through potty training.

Their one-size diapers adjust to fit a 10lb baby all the way up to potty training age or about 35lbs. There Sandy's diaper come in 4 sizes. Newborn for 6-12lbs, small for 8-20lbs, large from 20-35lbs and toddler size for 35-45lbs. Most children only need the size small and large to make it through potty training.
Both of their fitted diapers come in several different fabrics. You can pick from a rainbow of colors or white cotton, unbleached cotton, organic cotton (my favorite) and bamboo.

Mother Ease also makes water-proof polyester diaper covers. The "Air Flow"diaper covers are a size snap cover, so curious baby's will find it difficult to undo the diaper cover. The size snaps are positioned in such a way that the cover allows air to ventilate, but is still leak free. They come in white and a variety of pastel colors and prints. Mother Ease also makes velcro wrap diaper covers, all-in-one diapers and a variety of other products. I find Mother Ease fitted diapers and covers to be a good value and they are very effective at containing messes and they are nicely absorbent.

The organic cotton diapers are 100% cotton and while a bit more expensive, I feel like they are the best for my child and for the environment. The conventional cotton , unbleached, colors and bamboo have a small percentage of polyester in them for durability. These diapers wash well and can be tumbled dry or hung to dry.You can read an older post of mine for detailed washing instructions or you can go to www.mother-ease.com for more information.

I hope to become a Mother Ease retailer here in North Carolina sometime within the next few months. I am working on a plan for my own line of handmade children/baby items; diaper bags, cloth baby wipes, wool diaper covers and even some baby clothes. My hope is that I will have these items available in a home based boutique. Offering a line of good quality cloth diapers is also my goal. So watch for future posts about this adventure.

FuzziBunz Cloth diapers

FuzziBunz cloth diapers are some of the first cloth diapers that I used on my first child, Annabelle. They are called a "pocket" diaper, which is a waterproof outer layer of PUL that is sewn to a stay dry inner layer of fleece. The back of the diaper has an opening for the absorbent layers. They come with a microfiber insert that you "stuff" between the two layers. But you can use other inserts as well. I liked to use a 100% cotton infant size prefold in the diaper. They offer great absorbency and wash very well. FuzziBunz are easy for Dads, Grandparents and child care workers to use because they go on like a disposable diaper and when soiled you just remove the diaper and put on a new one.
They are adjustable in the waist and legs with snap closers that are very durable and longer lasting than velcro/aplix closures.
I would recommend FuzziBunz to new mommas that want to try out an easy cloth diaper. I am also an affiliate for them, so use this link to check them out and order if you wish.
http://sales.myfuzzibunz.com/SH1C

Making your own cloth baby wipes...

Cloth baby wipes are a great way to clean your baby during diaper changes and also save the waste of using disposable baby wipes. They can be washed along with your cloth diapers.
When Issy was born, I started with one dozen organic cotton baby wipes that I had purchased at www.babyworks.com. I quickly realized that a dozen wipes would not be enough to get me through until the diaper wash was done (every other day). So I started to use baby wash cloths as wipes as well. This still wasn't enough and I figured it would be easy to make my own.
Luckily my mom has a serger that was available for me to use and I found a couple of flannel receiving blankets and baby terry towels that I could cut up and re-purpose as wipes. I cut them in rectangles about 5 inches wide by about 8 inches long. This would fit in my wipes warmer perfectly. I placed the flannel and the terry layer wrong sides together and serged around the edges. That's it. I found them to be easy to make and they worked perfectly to clean up my little one's bum. I think I made about 2 dozen of these. I used these for almost 2 years on a daily basis, before I decided I wanted to make new ones (they weren't worn out, in fact I gave some to another mom to use on her baby). I just wanted to make new wipes with the wonderfully soft bamboo terry and velour that I had purchased. These new wipes inspired me to start making wipes and selling them to others.
Now I have a WAHM (work at home mom) page on www.diaperswappers.com were I can post pictures of my work and other moms can request an order. I have sold several dozen wipes now and I am also making and selling wool diaper covers and cotton print diaper bags. I have fun doing it and it keeps me in the diapering world, since my almost 3 year old is finally potty trained.!Check out my page at: http://diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1136705

Issy is trained!

My daughter is 32 months old and she has finally potty trained just this last week! She is doing so well and is very aware. So much so that she stays up late at night until she has gotten up one last time to go pee pee before falling asleep. While this is a bit annoying for mom, she is waking in the morning totally dry. Only one accident yesterday and its been over a week since I would say the "light when on". Its true that a child needs to be gently guided and not rushed into the potty training and that eventually a with "click". This happened a little later for Issy than for my first child, so I was worried. But each child is unique and I was patient with her. I now the Sandy's diapers that can be pulled up and down helped us greatly as well as the M+M rewards.
Now I am on to my new hobby with is sewing wool diaper covers for other peoples babies. I need to stay involved with this cloth diapering world until I get a newbie to diaper in cloth again :) You never know a girl can hope!!

Potty training sucess!

Issy has been potty learning for several months (with not much commitment on my part). Well recently, after being frustrated with all the accidents in her cotton training pants, I decided to purchase some side snapping cotton fitted diapers. They are great at containing a mess, but can pull up and down like regular underwear. I got Mother-Ease brand Sandy's diapers. I got some in pretty colors and told Issy they were her new pretty "fluffy underwear". She has been doing great with these. I pair them with a pair of wool pants to catch any moister. But to be honest she is having great success with going potty and staying dry. She has even started telling me when she needs to go. This has been a new development in the last few days.
I also purchased a large bag of peanut M+M's which have been a great motivation for her to use the big girl potty. We did this for a couple days until they were gone and now the behavior has continued even without the treats.
Another thing that has helped with the potty training is our "Potty Power" video. She loves watching it and knows the songs.
I am so proud of Issy and we are not longer having issues with night time "ammonia" diapers, because she is going pee on the potty right before bed and is dry until early morning. She is still wetting her diaper at this time, but at least she isn't laying in a urine soaked diaper all night.

Washing and Lanolizing Wool Diaper Covers

How to wash and lanolize your wool diaper covers.

1. Hand wash your soiled wool diaper covers in lukewarm water using a wool-safe wash (like Euculan or Northern Essence). Make sure the water is not too hot or cold. Fill a small sink or basin with lukewarm water; add 1 tsp. of Euculan and then your wool. Swish and soak for 5 minutes. When finished don’t ring out your wool, gently press out the water and roll in a towel. Then lay flat to dry.

2. To spot clean your wool (like for a poo stain, but the whole cover is not dirty). Use a bar of olive oil soap (Kiss my face makes a good one) and apply to the stain with some lukewarm water. Rub gently. Rinse and lay flat to dry.

3. To lanolize add a pea size amount of solid lanolin (like Lansinoh) in a small jar or container. Add some very hot water and 1/2 tsp. of the wool wash or baby shampoo(this helps emulsify the lanolin) swish or shake until well mixed. The mixture will become cloudy and you won't see oil floating. Fill your sink or basin with lukewarm water, add the lanolin mixture. Turn the cover inside out and add it to the basin. Let it soak for 15-30 minutes. Remove the cover and gently roll it in a towel and lay flat to dry. I usually lay my cover to dry on top of the dryer. Do not put your wool in the dryer. This will shrink the wool.

I usually always add lanolin to the wash each time I wash my covers (which in once every 2-3 weeks or sooner if they get a stain or something).

There are a lot of videos on youtube that show the process of washing and lanolizing wool diaper covers.