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Time for a Change
October 10, 2012 3:00 pm | by

Oh the joys of the first born baby! Remember how you kept little charts and records of when they ate, how long they napped and every time they pooped? Honestly, I don’t really remember doing it, probably due to sleep deprivation, but I do know I found my little notebook that documented my firstborn’s first weeks several months later. It was in my own handwriting, so I must have done it.

Somewhere along the way, life happened and I began to forget about diaper changes amongst all the other parenting duties. The thing that makes cloth diapers different than disposables is that they don’t get that tell-tale diaper sag to remind you that this diaper has been on a bit longer than it should be. We’ve all been there and left a diaper on a smidge longer than we should. 
 
So for cloth diapering parents, we often have to come up with little tricks to help us out. One of my friends used various colors to help her remember if it had been a while since the last change. ‘I remember he was wearing Ribbit at lunch, so I should probably change that diaper now!’ I preferred taking the guess work out of it and just changing the diaper, no matter what, at regular intervals during our daily routine. Wake up, change the diaper. After breakfast, change the diaper. Before lunch, change the diaper. You get the point. Since we recommend changing your baby’s cloth diaper every 2-3 hours, this worked well for me.
 
Some people prefer to check the diaper regularly and only change when it’s necessary. Whether you check at the back of the waist or the leg of the diaper, it can sometimes take an expert to tell when your little one is wet, depending on the style of cloth diapers you use.
 
What is your method for changing cloth diapers? Are you by the clock or are you an expert diaper checker? Do you have another method not mentioned here or tips to share? Tell us in the comment below.

About the Author

Heather is mom to four, born within 40 months (single, twins, single). She writes transparently about her chaotic household to encourage others through the twists and turns of parenting.

Comments

4 Comments

  • Jenny said...
    October 10, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    I’m about to be a first time mom in about a month! I’m really looking forward to using cloth diapers, although I am so used to using disposables from babysitting, etc. I guess I’ll adjust to knowing when she is wet.

  • Ginny White said...
    October 10, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    My son is only sleeping 4-5 hours at a time at night, so a regular BG 4.0 pocket diaper insert works fine. What do I need when he starts sleeping longer periods…heavier inserts? Can the heavier ones go all night? Thanks!

  • Jenny Bradford said...
    October 10, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    My little ones have been such crazy pee-ers that if I went too long with cloth, they’d just pee right through the insert! I think it really helped keep the changes frequent and regular, which in turn has kept either of them from really having diaper-related rashes. Another awesome thing about cloth diapers!