Some may say that using cloth diapers when out in the wilderness is difficult, but given a bit of forethought and planning, it’s actually quite straightforward. Here are a few tips to keep in mind. What you’ll need: Your diapers: Decide whether you want to wash diapers in the campsite or if you want to save everything for once you get home. Take along as many diapers as you normally use each day, plus two extra per day. You don’t want to run out! (Children also tend to drink more when they’re outdoors all day.)  Organic prefolds are definitely the most space-efficient and easiest to wash, with pockets as a close second. Wipes: Calculate 1-2 wipes per change, so 2-3 dozen should cover your three day trip. Suds: If you want to wash in the campsite, also pack some detergent. Rockin Green Laundry Detergent is biodegradable and camp-friendly. Rope: You’ll need a clothesline! You can include clothespins if you so desire. Campsite Storage: Bring a wetbag or waterproof pail liner large enough to hold all your dirties.  Or if you are car camping (and have space) you can bring a small rubbermaid tote to use as your diaper pail.  If you are in bear country make sure you are "bear aware" and either store your dirty diapers in your car or hang them from a bear pole, or something similarly safe. A small wetbag will help you manage your system if you do day hikes or spend time away from your campsite. This will provide you with an easy way to transport the dirties back to camp. A basket, tote, or backpack: Keeping your clean diapers organized will keep you sane. If you’re car camping, stack them neatly in a basket or laundry tote. If you’re backpacking, group them in large Ziploc bags to keep them dry and pack them in your backpack. (In the backcountry, you have to pack out whatever you pack in anyway, including garbage, so using cloth rather than disposables is actually easier AND lighter. Bonus!) It’s Change Time! If there’s poop, deal with it before you put the diaper in the dirties’ bag. In camp, dump it in the outhouse. In the backcountry, bury it as you would your own. With urine-only diapers, either toss directly in the bag or if it’s going to be several days before a wash, rinse them first. You can do this in any running water that is downstream from other campers (n.b. NOT a lake) – and in the backcountry, if you’ve got time to let them dry, you’ll lighten your load considerably. How to wash in camp: Take your diapers to the nearest stream or collect fresh water in a bucket. Sprinkle soap on the diaper and scrub away. (Again, if you’re at a stream, make sure you’re downstream from your water supply and other campers.) Then hang the diapers with any stains facing outward and you’ll have nicely sun-bleached diapers ready for use in a few hours. If you’ve got the luxury of time, hang two diapers together – they’ll dry more slowly but they won’t be so “crunchy” when they’re done. A wash routine when you return home: If you bring home several days-worth of diapers to wash, you don’t have to do much differently than your normal routine. Make sure you do a cold rinse cycle at the beginning, and throw in a ¼ cup vinegar in the final rinse cycle – this will both soften your diapers and help to rinse out any detergent.  They’ll be as good as new! There – that’s all there is to it. Now you’ve both “saved” the environment and enjoyed the environment all at the same time.

As part of our Earth Day 2010 Contest, Gina shares her thoughts on how an education in cloth diapers bolstered her family's decision to jump in, right from day 1! For my hubby and I the biggest barrier to choosing cloth diapering for our future little man was the worry that they were going to be very confusing and a lot of extra work.  Most of our family told us that we were crazy and had no idea what we were in store for, which wasn't helping us out much.  So we only had the support of each other.  After doing a lot of research we started to believe that they weren't going to be a lot of work but were still very confused about the different types, brands, washing, etc. I signed the hubby and I up for a cloth diapering workshop with New & Green.  After the workshop we felt confident about using and caring for cloth diapers.  This helped us come to the decision that we were going to cloth diaper 100% from day 1 and were no longer scared about being overwhelmed.  Since we made this decision, we've discovered that our grandparents on both sides are extremely supportive of our decision to cloth diaper and they have told us that they are proud of us for looking into what is better for our little guy and the environment. Now we're having a ton of fun slowly stocking up on our supply of diapers and accessories, and love showing them off to anyone who will tolerate us!  They are all suprised by how far cloth diapers of come and are shocked that they aren't what they expected! *The opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the contest entrant and do not necessarily reflect that of New & Green Baby Co.  We wish to thank all of our contest entrants who graciously shared their stories to help further the education and support of families wishing to cloth diaper their children.  Read more about our Earth Day 2010 Contest.

If you're a parent who wants to swaddle your newborn baby in cloth as early as possible in life, and your baby will be born ina hospital, consider taking cloth diapers with you. There are a few good options for just-born newborns. Preemie-size prefolds paired with newborn Bummis covers are a convenient, easy-to-pack, inexpensive option and is a great option for nearly every newborn. The new TiniFit All-in-One is a great fitting, no-thought-required diaper, so it’s especially easy to use when you may feel a little fuzzy after the labour of labour! There’s also the extra-small Fuzzi Bunz Pocket Eiaper – so cute and especially great for smaller babies, such as preemies and multiples. We also recommend bringing a few fleece diaper liners or Bio-Soft Liners. Meconium, the tar-like poo of the first couple of days, is quite sticky and it’s just easier to deal with when it’s on a liner. Liners makes clean-up easy.  Meconium will likely stain, just so you know, but the green-ish undertone of the inside of your diapers will disappear with an afternoon in the sun. You won’t need many wipes, but bring along a few for the small messes you may encounter, maybe a dozen or so. Beyond that, you’ll just need a wetbag to transport the dirties home. Oh, and one more thing to keep in mind. For the sake of being sanitary, all supplies provided to a patient must be used or disposed of. This applies to the disposable diapers some hospitals provide as well. It may seem odd to espouse disposables as the best environmentally-friendly option, but if the disposable diapers are going to end up in the landfill either way, it seems more practical to USE them first. And if you just can’t stand the thought of a disposable on your baby’s bum, consider taking them home to give them as gifts to someone else or passing them onto a service that provides supplies for families in need. (As a side note, St. Paul's in downtown Vancouver provides prefolds for in-hospital use to all maternity ward patients. Talk to your doctor or midwife to see if there's anything special you need to bring.) We wish you a safe, healthy delivery and many blessings on your journey with your new babe in arms!

It’s easy to ooh and ahh over a newborn’s cute itty-bitty bum, but those ooh’s and aah’s can quickly subside if your diaper is leaking because it’s too big. What to do for your extra-small little one? There are some excellent extra-small diapers on the market these days and all are both practical and fashionable. For an easy, budget-conscience option, use preemie size organic cotton prefolds and lay them inside Newborn-size Bummis Super Brite Diaper Covers. These covers fit babies as small as four pounds, include a notch in the front to fit around the umbilical stump, and have a great reputation for containing every mess. This is an especially nice feature early in life when that gastro-colic reflex that makes your baby poo after every feed is in full swing. You can also use Organic Bamboo Flat Inserts in your covers in place of prefolds. Bamboo offers greater absorbency than cotton and is extra-soft against your baby’s bum. As a second variation of the prefold/cover combo, use small hemp-organic cotton Joey Bunz inserts inside a newborn size cover. They will provide ample absorbency for a small bladder, will catch all the messes, and best of all, require no folding. Joey Bunz are very versatile in their uses, so it’s great to have a few on hand for other diapering needs too! There’s also the new TiniFit All-in-One diaper, and it’s a soft, well-crafted diaper out of Scotland. This diaper is convenient and easy to put on, as well as absorbent and very trim fitting. It features bamboo rayon, which is Oeko-tex certified, and the diaper itself is both ethically and sustainably produced. It fits newborns as small as five pounds. Definitely one of our favourites! Pockets are a great way to go to get a trim fit as well. Extra-small FuzziBunz fit babies down to four pounds and offer the trimness and flexibility for which pockets are known. These are great diapers to use if you want the convenience of a diaper that goes on in one step, but want a diaper with variable levels of absorbency. This can be especially welcome if you have twins who pee differently – one who tinkles through the day and one who floods every few hours, for example. Here’s to all the parents whose extra-small babies take up an extra-big place in their hearts!  What has your best solution been?  How did you figure out what would work well?

Last week, we asked you "How would you convince your friends to give a Swimmi a try?" And these are the top 10 things you'd share about using Swimmis:

1. Tell them how much money they'd save!
2. Tell them how they would stop creating garbage after each swim!
3. Tell them how CUTE they are!
4. Tell them that they could be passed on to another baby.
5. Tell them that they are totally effective at keeping the poop contained!
6. Tell them that they are easy to care for (ie wash with swimsuit)!
7. Tell them they are chemical-free.
8. Tell them that they are breathable.
9. Tell them that they actually fit smaller babies.
10. Tell them that they are easy to use (in particular to achieve a good, snug fit and to take off at the end of swim)

Thank you to all who provided their wise words. Our randomly selected winner (comment number between 1-20 generated by random.org) is Thea on comment #7.  Congratulations!  Thea - please contact us within 10 days to claim your swimmi! And for some more Swimmi fun, head over to our Facebook Page ("like" us if you don't already ;)) and see what else you can get up to!  See you there. **** Update:  An honest oversight on our part.  When posting the winner, we randomly drew comment number 7 and contacted this mom to give her the prize.  We have had someone point out that the same person made comment 6 & 7 so to make everything fair and right, we have randomly (using random.org) generated another number to award another Swimmi.  The next winner is comment number 17 - Rachelle.  Rachelle, please contact us by August 1st to claim your prize!