Thursday, March 17, 2011

How do I deal with dirty cloth diapers when outside the home?

Inevitably one question I get when I talk to a mom and/or dad curious about cloth diapering they want to know what  to do when you're out on the town with the baby? Do you walk around with the soiled diapers for the rest of the day? Well, yes, you do, but, there are ways to make it not so messy. 
  1. Diaper bag: if you don't already have a fancy super-compartmentalized diaper bag then get a nice eco-friendly diaper bag from Dandelion.  It's a washable canvas bag that's not ginormous.  I have a ginormous diaper bag that is just too much, and a smaller one that at times is just too small.  This canvas bag is just right.  Plus, if some milk or formula spills in the bag, which you know will happen eventually, just throw it in the wash.  Love it.
  2. Wet bag or Wet/dry bag: these awesome bags by Planet Wise are cute and functional all at the same time.  Either get a medium-sized wet bag to put the soiled diapers, or, get a medium-sized wet-dry bag to hold the clean diapers, and to put the soiled diapers.  These wet/dry bags are great for day care or a day with grandma as all the diapers are in one place.  These bags are zippered shut so they contain odors well and hold 8-9 diapers comfortably.
  3. Flushable liner: Who wants to walk around with a poop filled diaper? To mitigate this I line my diapers with a flushable liner so that if baby poops I can just flush it away leaving minimal poop, if any, on the diaper.  Way better than walking around with a poopy diaper all day long. 
  4. Bamboo wipes: Nothing against cloth wipes, but, when I'm out I'd much rather have some disposable wipes.  I much prefer the bamboo wipes because they are so much stronger than the name-brand wipes, and they have natural and organic ingredients that are soothing for the baby, and smell lovely.

OPTION: If you don't want to do cloth when you're out, you can also do a hybrid diaper, like Gro-Via.  So carry an extra Gro-Via shell, and a bunch of bio-soakers which are flushable/compostable/bio-degradable.  If you're afraid of flushing them in a public bathroom, then feel guilt-free tossing them in the garbage.  A mom gave me a great idea the other day - use biodegradable dog poop bags to wrap up the diaper before disposal.  Gotta love it!

Am I missing anything?  Share your tricks of the trade with us.

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