Guest blogger, Kayla Loflin (follow her on Instagram), shares her journey through cloth diapering that lead her to become an owner of a diaper service and her own cloth diaper brand! She's local to the triad and more than a business owner, she's an incredible mother. Read on and contact her with all your cloth diaper questions.
Imagine a world where you never run out of diapers. There's never a midnight trip to the store (or Amazon order) when you realize you've used the very last diaper and you need more before the next change. Imagine never stressing about what size diaper you need, or what shortages are coming. Imagine buying diapers one time, and using those same diapers all the way through potty-training. Now, imagine using those same diapers AGAIN for your next baby. Or, equally exciting: selling those diapers to another family and getting money back!
Here's the reality: disposable diapers have been universally accepted as the norm. Most everyone knows how to use them, and most everyone can recognize the stink of a dirty diaper sitting in the trash bin. Most parents ask for diapers more than any other baby item when they find out they're expecting, because diapering is a big investment... especially considering that they are going straight into the garbage after one single use.
There are countless reasons why moms around the world are ditching this mainstream practice of throwing away their diapers, and re-learning the ancient art of cloth diapering.
When my husband and I were expecting our first baby, cloth was the only option we considered. I had learned how to use cloth diapers while working in daycare, and our finances lined up much better with a one-time diaper purchase than a continuous cycle of buying and throwing away disposables for the foreseeable future. During that season, I learned everything there was to know about cloth diapers, and dove head first. We went the most affordable route possible and diapered our son from birth to potty training with a humble stash of 20 diapers. Those 20 diapers still had a lot of life in them after our son was potty trained, and we were able to re-sell them and make some money back. Cloth diapering our son for nearly three years, cost us a whopping $200.
As the years passed and our family grew, I taught many friends and family members about cloth diapering and all of the ins and outs of washing and getting a great fit. I tried different brands of diapers and found qualities I loved all across the board.
In May 2021 I joined forces with our friend who owned our local diaper service, and eventually bought the business. I was traveling throughout the Triad every week and delivering diapers to families, then doing everyone's diaper laundry before returning them the following week.
That summer, fully immersed in all things cloth diapering, I designed our own signature line of diapers-- pairing together all of my favorite diaper elements into my dream diaper. Sweetie Pie Diaper Service had officially branched off into Sweetie Pie Diapers, and not a moment too soon.
Before we knew it, we had three girls under three, all sharing their Sweetie Pie Diapers-- from 10lbs to 30lbs, and every size in between, our girls shared one size of diaper.
After teaching Cloth Diapering 101 to families throughout our community, I've listened and learned many of the common concerns and misconceptions. The most frequent being "What about poop?!" I like to respond to this question with another question: what do you do with your baby's clothes when they get poop on them? What do you do with your baby when there's poop on him/her? The answer is simple: we rinse, and then we clean. The same with cloth diapers! Small babies are the easiest for cloth diapering because their poop is still water-soluable. No extra steps, just toss it in and it all comes clean in the wash. Once baby is introduced to solid foods, we use a diaper sprayer that's attached to our toilet-- spray out the solid waste and flush. It's that simple.
**side note: did you know that you're supposed to flush solid waste from disposable diapers, too? It's right there on the package. Human waste is not supposed to go into the trash.**
The next question I get is usually, "How many diapers do I need?" The answer to this one comes down to how often you feel like washing diaper laundry. A humble stash of 20 will typically have you laundering every 1.5 to 2 days, whereas a large stash of 50 diapers can give you about 4-5 days between washes.
The conversation then turns to, "what do I do with the dirty diapers between washing?" In the spirit of keeping life simple, we recommend a plain old plastic laundry hamper. You know, the ones with the holes that allow a lot of airflow? That's right, the fancy diaper pails that keep disposables sealed up are sometimes marketed for cloth use too, but make no mistake: you don't seal up cloth diapers. Airflow is the key to keeping your diapers dry and free from build-up of ammonia and bacteria. You can sprinkle some baking soda on your diapers to absorb more moisture and odor, with the added bonus that baking soda is a laundry booster too!
One thing I tell all of our families, is that cloth diapering can be as simple, or as complicated as you want it to be. It's easy to be overwhelmed by all of the information you can find, but keep in mind-- if your great-great-great-grandmother could do it with no electricity or running water, you can too.
Sweetie Pie Diapers are available for purchase at sweetiepiediapers.com
For more information about our local cloth diaper service, go to clothdiapersdelivered.com
Comments