How? When? And What Do I Need to Start Cloth Diapering?

Maisie's diaper stash before she was born. I now just use the colorful diapers (Katy-dids and Oh Katy's) on the right

We decided to cloth diaper Calan before he was born. I would love to say that we did it for the environment, but honestly it was for primarily financial reasons. (Though to be honest not sure how much money we really have saved.) Before being pregnant, I would have thought someone who cloth diapered was crazy, but knowing someone personally who cloth diapered made the idea less crazy and actually feasible back then.

There is a ton of information out there on how to cloth diaper and how to start, but reading it and actually doing it are two totally different things. I remember taking a how-to class and when it was done, Bob and I just stood there still overwhelmed by all the different options. While the class was priceless and beyond necessary, we still stood there clueless on what we actually needed and how to actually start. We knew we wanted to cloth diaper, but standing there overwhelmed made the idea seen crazier than we had already thought. 

So here is my tips on what you need to do to start cloth diapering:

• Signup for a how-to class at your local diaper store. If you are from Metro Detroit, check out Modern Natural Baby's classes. If you are from Ann Arbor area, Little Seedling is your go-to (Bob and I took their class).
• Before you buy any diapers visit a diaper store and actually touch different types of diapers. Cheaper diapers are cheaper for a reason, but the most expensive are not always best either. 
• After looking through diapers, Google search reviews on the diapers. There are hundreds of Mom-blogs that review cloth diapers. Find out the pros and cons, but remember no diaper is perfect and there is no perfect diaper for every baby.
• Decide if you are going to cloth diaper a newborn or wait till they are about 12 lbs. Newborn diapering requires a few extra purchases, but is absolutely feasible. Decide what you want to do for night-time diapering. As a newborn, a thick fitted works great, but it gets trickier as the baby gets older. We use disposables now, but we used fitteds at night for about 13 months before we went to disposables. 
• Now that you are filled with knowledge, REGISTER (if this is before your first baby). My friends and family really helped us get started.

What do you register for? (There are a ton of lists online, this is just what I would recommend to anyone)

1. Wetbags (2 medium)
2. Pail liners (2)
3. Diaper sprayer 
4. 24 prefolds (if cloth diapering a newborn)
5. Minimum of 3 small diaper covers  (if cloth diapering a newborn)
6. 3 cloth diaper snappies   (if cloth diapering a newborn)
7. Minimum of 20 one-size diapers (this is your main stash)
8. Variety of extra diapers (all-in-ones, pockets, etc.) 
9. 3 thick fitted diapers (for night-time diapers)
10. 3 hemp inserts (for night-time diapers)
11. 3 medium covers (for night-time diapers)
12. Minimum of 20 cloth wipes (easier than disposable wipes when you are cloth diapering, I think)
13. Cloth wipe solution
14. Cloth diaper safe detergent (I use Allen's Naturally)

You can register for a cloth-diaper safe diaper cream and a diaper pail too, but I would just buy a jar of coconut oil and a plastic tall trash can with a flip-lid. Just make sure that the trash can does not have step pedal. It ruins the pail liner.

Also, ask any questions. I don't know a single person who cloth diapers who doesn't like talking about it. Those that cloth diaper actually want to share their knowledge, so ask! Good Luck!