Mike and I have made the decision to only use cloth diapers and cloth wipes with out baby. The initial cost of using these two things is the one con that I see to using them. To help with that, I decided to make the wipes.
I found this blue flannel fabric at the LA Garment District for about $2. And no, I’m not talking per yard here…it was $2 for about 2.25 yards of fabric! That is my kind of deal! In my opinion, I don’t really care what color the flannel is, or how it looks because it will be used primarily to wipe up poo. So blue? Not a problem for me at all.
I made the wipes using these instructions for two layer, turned and top-stitched wipes, and nothing could be easier, or quicker to put together. In one hour, I was able to finishe 4 wipes, and cut out 20 more (and the cutting took the majority of the time). To moisten the wipes we will try a few combinations from some wipe solution recipes that I found online.
For those of you will kids, do you have any idea how many wipes I might need to start out with?
We cloth diaper but I didn’t care for cloth wipes, so we use disposable. So, my wipe estimation is based on disposable wipes… I would say for a newborn, you’ll need 1-2 wipes per diaper change on average, with an extra 5 per day needed for the bad ones (at least with the CDs you’ll avoid blowouts!) and the “daddy factor” if your hubby is anything like mine. :) Multiply that by 12 diaper changes for a newborn = 17-29 per day. Multiply that by the number of days you’ll need to go between washes. Also, a tip for when baby’s older and not pooping so much: save your peri bottle from the hospital and keep that full of water at your changing area. If baby only peed, use that for a quick squirt before taking the old diaper away. A moment or two to air dry before the new diaper, and baby is refreshed without using a wipe!
cute wipes!!
We go through about 4 wipes with each poopy diaper. And the number of poopy diapers per day varies. With a newborn, it can be several poopies in a day. So it’s hard to say how many you’ll need exactly. To be safe, I’d say make 25+. I guess what really matters is how often you want to do laundry.
Oh, and sometimes it’s just 1 or 2 wipes. I mean, you just never know!
ARE YOU MACGUYVER? If I show up at your apt with 4 random items what awesome thing will you make out of them??
Hi! I’m new to your blog; I found it through a link on Made by Rae. I love your woven items! They’re so beautiful! I’ll be stopping by regularly now. Anyhoo, as far as cloth wipes go, sometimes we use them when my kiddos sensitive bums get a bit rashy. Cloth wipes are a lot more effective than disposable wipes, and I can almost always clean up even a large poo with just one wipe. Just remember; wet, squeeze some water out onto the baby bum, wipe, fold, wipe, fold, wipe, fold. That said, newborns mess their diapers sometimes 12 times a day, and you use wipes for other things like cleaning spit up off of their hands and faces. Anyway, I would say that at first you need maybe at least 24-30 wipes and hopefully you won’t have to wash them every day. I think if you’re going to wash them every day you can maybe get away with 15.
Brilliant – you’ll love cloth diapering – it’s great. Our boiler has died and I’ve been forced back to using disposables because we just can’t dry the cloth ones quick enough with no heat! I’m devastated!
Re: cloth wipes, lovely as yours are, we got a load of old muslins, some terry towelling and general cast-off clothes, cut them up into squares and used them. You’ll need more than you expect, i tells ya!
It is great that you decided to go cloth, although all I can say is that I do not envy you washing all this stuff! I used cloth diapers with my oldest son because we could not afford the disposables and I clearly remember washing all the skin off my hands! With my second son I decided I will go without food to buy disposables! What a pleasure it was! I was thirty when he was born and had a very demanding career by then, so it just made sense to me (and my hands!). I don’t want to put you off though, so great for you to go this route by choice. It’s so long ago, I can honestly not say how many wipes you need, although it seems some other ladies were already helpful with their comments.
Thanks for asking that question. I’ve been wondering too! It’s pretty tricky navigating the baby gear for us first-timers (well, for me anyway), but one thing I’ve been told by many parents now is to have lots of wipes and towels on hand. Not just for diaper cleanup, but also for drool and similar delights.
I am also going the cloth diaper route, but using a service instead of washing my own. I didn’t even consider using cloth wipes. Those look great, and really easy!
Just curious – if you’re using cloth wipes, what do you keep them in between washings?
Way to go!!