Why Use Cloth Diapers: Guide and Tips For Millennial Parents

From parents of newborn children to parents of toddlers who are yet to be potty trained, one of the biggest number crunching happens when it comes to shopping for diapers! Unfortunately, diapers are not just their biggest baby-related expenditure, but also their biggest contribution against nature, thanks to all those plastics used in them.

In addition to highly advanced technology, disposable diapers use synthetic polymers, adhesives, dyes, and even fragrances to keep the baby smelling fresh. They may seem to be the “convenient” choice, but you may have to evaluate whether they are the right choice for both your baby and the environment. Have you ever thought about how much carbon footprint is left behind manufacturing those diapers filled with chemicals? Where do all those diapers you discard so casually, end up?

If you are conscious about not just what disposable diapers do to nature but also to that beautiful soft baby skin, cloth diapers are what you need! SuperBottoms could be just the right fit for your needs.

• What are Cloth Diapers?
• Why Use a Cloth Diaper?
• SuperBottoms UNO Cloth Diaper – The Right Choice for Your Baby
• How Many Cloth Diapers Would You Need for a Baby?
• 10 Tips for Changing a Cloth Diaper
• Washing Cloth Diapers

What are Cloth Diapers?

As the name suggests, these diapers are made of cloth instead of plastics and chemicals. The new age cloth diapers allow your baby to enjoy the goodness of cloth while it gives you – the parent, the convenience of a disposable diaper. It holds it all in, keeps your baby dry and comfortable and it can be reused!

SuperBottoms is India’s leading cloth diaper brand that uses high-quality organic materials to ensure the safety of both your baby’s skin and nature.

Why Use a Cloth Diaper?

Using a cloth diaper can be very beneficial for you, your baby, and nature!

1. Eco Friendly

Cloth diapers are made using cloth instead of plastics and gel that stay in landfills for years on end. If you consider SuperBottoms as your choice, their cloth diapers UNO can be washed and reused up to 300 times – yes you read that right – 300 times! In other words, you are reducing your contribution to land waste by at least 300 disposable diapers.

2. Child Friendly

Cloth is any day more breathable than disposable diapers. They do not cause a rash or soreness on those soft baby bums. A brand like SuperBottoms uses superior quality organic cotton which is soft on the baby’s skin and protects the tender skin from rashes. Even the colors used are chemical-free, to ensure your little one’s bottom is kept safe!

3. Pocket Friendly

Diapers are one of the biggest expenditures parents with young kids incur. When you take into account the total number of diapers your baby is likely to use, the cost can be shocking. With reusable cloth diapers, you will be cutting down your expenses by a good 70%. Now that is more savings or more money to spend on other useful things for your baby.

If you are wondering how to use cloth diapers and how to use SuperBottoms cloth diapers instead of the disposable ones, read on to find out more!

SuperBottoms UNO Cloth Diaper – The Right Choice for Your Baby

The UNO cloth diapers come in both newborn and free sizes. The newborn size can be used for newborn babies until they are 6 months old. The free-size diaper can be used for 3 months – 3 years old or if you go by weight – 5kgs – 17kgs.

Super Bottoms UNO 2.0

• These are free-size cloth diapers that can be used for your baby at all times – be it day or night.
• Stepping out and need extra protection? Add on a booster pad to the main dry feel pad and you are safe for many hours. This can be followed on regular days as well if your baby is a heavy wetter.
• They can keep your baby dry up to 12 hrs, thus making these a good choice for night diapering as well. If you have a heavy wetter and are already using the extra booster pad during the day, opt for the heavy wetter booster pad at night. This offers more protection.
• Want to take your baby for a swim? Use just the waterproof outer cover without any pads inside.

How Many Cloth Diapers Would You Need for a Baby?

Before shifting to cloth diapers, every parent wants to know – how many hours can cloth diapers be used and when to change the cloth diaper?

They can be used for up to 10 – 12 hours. If your child is a heavy wetter or is very active, you may need to change it more frequently to avoid accidents.

Going by the average calculation a child will require just 16 UNO diapers for a total of 3 years, right from day 1.

10 Tips for Changing a Cloth Diaper

Are you not sure about how to change a cloth diaper? Here are 10 tips for you:

1. Always check the diaper for poop before you remove it. You don’t want poop all over the floor.
2. Have a full diapering set, be it in the house or outside. This set should consist of:
   • Wiping cloth / wet tissues
   • A towel or a cloth big enough to lay the baby on
   • Extra clothes to handle accidents or leakage while changing
   • A leak-proof bag to store the used diaper in if you are out
3. Lay the baby on her back before you can remove or change the diaper.
4. Keep the clean/fresh diaper opened up and ready, by your side. These little ones are not going to wait patiently!
5. Always have a couple of toys on hand exclusive for diaper changing. This can help distract your child while you do your work without much of a struggle.
6. Use a wet tissue or a wet cloth to wipe away the child’s bottom before you put on the fresh diaper.
7. Put the soiled diaper down on the floor, to avoid any spillage on your bed or other furniture.
8. Once you snap the fresh diaper in place, check if it fits well. You can run your fingers along the leg holes to ensure it fits snugly, to avoid any accidents later.
9. Stand your child up to check if the diaper has been secured properly before you let that wriggling baby carry on with their important task.
10. Put away your diaper changing set, and carry-on to wash the used diaper or store it separately to wash later.

Washing Cloth Diapers

Wondering how to wash cloth diapers? Don’t know how to wash newborn cloth diapers? Follow these steps for a mess-free cloth diaper cleaning experience:

• Remove the diaper carefully, ensuring everything remains inside and does not spill out.
• Empty the poop into the toilet.
• Use the health faucet or a jet stream of water to get rid of all the poop that is still sticking to the liner and to also gently rinse the liner and diaper.
• Let the liner and diaper soak in a mild soap solution for half an hour before you can continue washing it.
• If you are washing them by hand, rub the liner and diaper well and wash them. You can gently squeeze the water out (do not wring them) and then put it out to dry under the sunlight.
• If you are washing them in a machine, you can soak them in a soap solution like mentioned above, and then toss them in the machine with other clothes, after rinsing it once and squeezing out the excess water. Alternatively, you can run a separate gentle cycle with the soiled diapers first to rinse them off before adding other clothes and running a usual cycle of clothes. You can wash them separately too if you don’t want to mix the soiled diapers with regular clothes.
• Use a water softener (for both hand wash and machine wash) if you have hard water.
• Avoid using any other fabric softener.

Tip: When you hang out the diaper covers to dry under the sunlight or just to dry out naturally, ensure you do not use a clothespin in the center of the cover to secure it to the clothesline. You can use the snap closure buttons to secure it to the line. The teeth of the clothespin might eat into the liner over a period of time, thus spoiling the leak-proof layer.