On diapers

Annaliese is two months old!

As if to mark the occasion, she skipped her usual midnight feeding and slept solidly until 3am. Her papa and I appreciated it.


Many of you have asked about the cloth diapering thing. Here's our system:

baby in crib on uncovered wipe-down mattress

a basket full of cloth diapers-- the basic ones which are like squares, made from white cotton by Gerber, with absorbent centers

a few pull-up vinyl panties

and these.

Dirty diapers go off the bebe and straight into a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and some white vinegar on the bottom. When full, the pail is taken to the washer and its contents are run on hot water with heavy soil and extra rinse directions. We do this about every 3 days.

We bought our energy-efficient frontloader before I was even pregnant, but it sure has paid off. I can rest easy knowing we're using so much less water, and the diapers come out clean. Stained, but then we don't bother with bleach.

We put a disposable on at night so she doesn't sleep in a soaked diaper.

On day trips, we bring a plastic bag for used diapers.


That's it! Really pretty easy. If it was hard, I wouldn't be doing it; and our initial diaper investment was about $30-50; our only costs now are diaper cream and energy.