Cloth Diapering Basics

How to put a Prefold and Fitted cloth diaper on your baby?

 

Prefold Diaper:

 

1. Take a clean prefold diaper and fold over one of the stitched (serged) edges approx 2-3 inches (how much you need to fold over is dictated by how long your baby is. Longer babies require less, or no, foldover.

2. Lay the baby down on top of the diaper so that that folded edge is at the baby’s back waistline (use the belly button as an indicator of where the waistline is).

3. Between the babies legs, fold in the 2 sides of the diaper so they overlap in the middle and form a thick pad.

4. Bring that pad up between the baby’s legs so that it lands on the baby’s front waist (again, use the belly button as indicator that you have the proper rise).

5. Bring the back corners (“wings”) of the diaper around to overlap the pad you pulled up to the baby’s front waistline. The corners should overlap with that front pad by at least 1 inch on both sides (if not, take a moment to fan out the center pad at the top so that the back corners don’t have to reach quite so far around).

6. Place your hand gently on your baby and hold the diaper in place. Take your snappi and slide the teeth into one of the wings, then pull across and attach to the other wing, then pull the center arm of the snappi down to anchor it in place. If you find your snappi is too tight across the waist, just give it a few hard stretches to break it in and put it back on.

7. Cover the diaper with a diaper cover. Once the cover is fastened on, make sure all the cotton is tucked into the diaper cover (be particularly mindful of the area around the legs and across the back).

Fitted Diaper:

1. Slide a clean fitted diaper under your baby so that the top back edge is at the baby’s back waistline (use the belly button as an indicator of where the waistline is).

2. Bring the center of the diaper up between the baby’s legs. For smaller babies you should not need to pull the diaper to stretch the elastic, just gently bring it up between the baby’s legs. The diaper should land at the baby’s front waistline (again, use the belly button as indicator that you have the proper rise). If you find the top edge of the diaper comes up above the baby’s waistline, you can fold the front top edge of the diaper over an inch or so to achieve the proper rise. As your baby grows taller, you will find that you need to pull the diaper a bit to stretch out the leg elastic in order to have the top of the diaper reach the waistline. The diaper will “grow” with your baby until he/she has reached the max weight limit.

3. Place your hand gently on your baby and hold the diaper in place. Take your snappi and slide the teeth of the snappi into each side of the diaper waistband and then anchor the snappi in the center by pulling down on the center tab. If you find your snappi is too tight across the waist, just give it a few hard stretches to break it in and put it back on.

4. Cover the diaper with a diaper cover. Once the cover is fastened on, make sure all the cotton is tucked into the diaper cover (be particularly mindful of the area around the legs and across the back).

 

How to diaper your brand new baby and avoid the umbilical stump? 

Umbilical stumps generally fall off within 5-10 days after birth. Most pediatricians will recommend leaving it alone until it falls off and just keeping the area clean and dry. Which means making sure your baby’s diaper does not irritate it. Here’s how:

 

Prefold Diaper:                                               

1. Take a clean prefold diaper and fold over one of the stitched (serged) edges approx 4-5 inches

2. Lay the baby down on top of the diaper so that that folded edge is at the baby’s back waistline (use the belly button as an indicator of where the waistline is).

3. Between the babies legs, fold in the 2 sides of the diaper so they overlap in the middle and form a thick pad.

4. Bring that pad up between the baby’s legs so that it lands approx 1 inch below the umbilical stump. If it comes too close to the umbilical stump, you will need to fold over an extra inch or two in the back and start again. If it comes too far under the umbilical stump, simply fold over a bit less in the back and start over.

5. Bring the back corners of the diaper around and down to meet with the pad you pulled up to the baby’s front waistline. The corners should overlap with that front pad by at least 1 inch on both sides (if not, take a moment to fan out the center pad at the top so that the back corners overlap)

6. Place your hand gently on your baby and hold the diaper in place. Take your snappi and slide the teeth into one of the back corners, then pull across and attach to the other back corner, then pull the center arm of the snappi down to anchor it in place. If you find your snappi is too tight across the waist, just give it a few hard stretches to break it in and put it back on.

7. Cover the diaper with a diaper cover. Fasten the cover very very loosely and then do 1 of 2 things. You can fasten the diaper cover very very loosely and leave it like that, or you can fasten it loosely and then fold it over so that it is not touching the umbilical stump. Then give a check to make sure all the cotton is tucked into the diaper cover (be particularly mindful of the area around the legs and across the back).

 

 Fitted Diaper:

 1. Slide a clean fitted diaper under your baby so that the top back edge is at the baby’s back waistline (use the belly button as an indicator of where the waistline is).

2. Bring the center of the diaper up between the baby’s legs. For smaller babies you should not need to pull the diaper to stretch the elastic, just gently bring it up between the baby’s legs.

3. fold the top edge of the diaper under so that the diaper ends approximately 1 inch below the umbilical stump.

4. Place your hand gently on your baby and hold the diaper in place. Take your snappi and slide the teeth of the snappi into each side of the diaper waistband and then anchor the snappi in the center by pulling down on the center tab. If you find your snappi is too tight across the waist, just give it a few hard stretches to break it in and put it back on.

5. Cover the diaper with a diaper cover. Fasten the cover very very loosely and then do 1 of 2 things. You can fasten the diaper cover very very loosely and leave it like that, or you can fasten it loosely and then fold it over so that it is not touching the umbilical stump. Then give a check to make sure all the cotton is tucked into the diaper cover (be particularly mindful of the area around the legs and across the back).

 

 

How to change your baby?

 1. Remove the diaper cover and inspect it.

          -if it is clean and dry, set it aside for immediate reuse

          -if it is clean but damp, set it on top of your diaper pail to dry and use it again at the next diaper change. Grab a fresh diaper cover for this change. If you prefer, you can give it a wipe down with a baby wipe to “clean” it before you set it out to dry

          -if it has poo on it, set it aside for a full wash. For wash instructions see here

2. Remove Snappi and set aside for immediate reuse (do not lose it!)

3. Take diaper off baby and toss it in your diaper pail

          -baby pee and poo diapers all just go straight into your pail. No rinsing, shaking, plunking necessary. Once your baby starts eating full meals of solid foods you will want to “plunk” the bulk of the poo in the toilet before putting the diaper in your pail. You can read about easy ways to do that here

4. Wipe your baby clean. You can use Cloth Wipes or Disposable wipes.

5. Follow the instructions above to put a fresh diaper on your baby.

6. Repeat…and repeat….and repeat and then repeat again every 2-3 hours for a couple of years and then you’re done!

 

 This page is meant to give you a brief overview of how to use the 2 different styles of diaper we offer. If you’re still thirsty for more you are welcome to join us at one of our monthly hands-on Cloth Diapering 101 classes