How We Cloth Diaper at Daycare

So y'all probably know by now that we have decided to cloth diaper about 80% of the time. Primarily this is when we are at home/daycare and we use disposables at night and when we are out and about for a long period of time. 

One of our top criteria when deciding on a daycare provider for Kingston was if they were open to trying cloth for us. Thankfully, we only came across one lady and one center that didn't want to do it and everyone else was super receptive to it. 

I have tried my hardest to make everything as simple as possible for daycare because Kingston is their first in cloth and I didn't want to scare them away from it. His head teacher is actually pregnant right now so fingers crossed that she's considering it now that she see's how little extra work it actually is! 

Our set up:

Each day I send CT to daycare with a Kanga Care wet bag filled with pre-stuffed pocket diapers (alva/jc trade pocket diapers stuffed with 2 inserts: top insert - charcoal bamboo and bottom insert - hemp). Kingston is at daycare from about 730-300 each day and goes through about 4 diapers. I sent 8 diapers in the beginning but after seeing how many he actually goes through, now I try and keep a total of 6 diapers at daycare each day. So if he comes home with 3 soiled diapers I send 3 to daycare the next day. Every other Friday I have CT double check how many he has in his drawer just in case we get off track somewhere. 

I love these wet bags because they can hold up to 12 stuffed diapers. So I send CT with this bag filled with the clean diapers for the day, the small cooler filled with 3 bottles, sometimes a few bibs and a change of clothes if it's needed. They literally hold so much! 

When CT drops him off - he hands over the bag, they put the clean diapers in his drawer and hang the wet bag by the changing table. 

(Note: There have been a few days that I've sent Kingston in disposables because he has a few pairs of pants that won't fit if he's in cloth. My daycare is so good about just going with it.) 

Also attached to the wet bag is diaper 'instructions'. I hired someone to create these because I'm totally TypeA and I wanted to make things easy for anyone changing him.  Since many people aren't familiar with cloth and Kingston's daycare has high school students that work in there at different hours during the day - I figured instructions would be helpful. I know if I was new to cloth diapers I would want all the help I could get.

On these instructions cards you can find how to get the proper fit, what tips and trick help in doing so, the proper snaps they should be on, how to dispose of the diapers and what diaper creams are acceptable for cloth. 

 

I love that these are laminated so I can mark all over them with permanent marker and then easily remove the markings with an alcohol pad. 

As Kingston starts eating more solids and his poo's start to change - I will add liners to his diapers so those can be thrown away or flushed. At that time, I will update the soiled section of these cards to incorporate that extra step. 

Right now when he gets changed, the wet diapers go in the bag as is and I have them snap closed the poo diapers. This just helps me know which ones to be more careful with when I go to remove the inserts from them and put them in our bigger wet bag at home.

 

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My biggest fear when choosing to cloth diaper at daycare was them not getting the proper fit and then get discouraged because of him leaking. I've got to tell you, his head teacher is awesome at putting them on. There was a week in the beginning when Kingston came home in a different outfit than what he started the day in. We figured out this was because the students who help change him weren't familiar with them and they were having leaking issues. Now a few weeks in, everyone is catching on and there hasn't seemed to be problems.

All in all, cloth diapers have worked out extremely well for us. I'm glad that I had extra time at home before he went to daycare to find the proper fit and what inserts worked well. It really is a learning curve in the beginning but once you get it figured out - it is SO worth it. 

I've probably spent about $400 total on cloth diapers: diapers, inserts, wet bags, wipes and creams and I've only bought 1 thing of disposable diapers for nights and daycare backup. (Thankfully I was gifted a few diaper cakes, the hospital diapers, and 2 boxes of diapers to get us through those first few months before I got confident enough to try cloth. When number 2 comes along - we will start right away after the meconium and umbilical cord fall off.)

What's nice is that these cloth diapers should last him all the way through potty training and possibly onto the next kid if the elastic are still good in them. Think of all that money I have saved and will continue to save! Doing an extra 2 loads of laundry a week is nothing compared to all the extra dollars staying in my bank account. Like I've said before, diaper laundry is my favorite kind of laundry. 

Stay tuned  . . . I plan on writing more about our wash routine, which types of diapers we use and where I purchase them from! 

5 on Friday

Phew! Thankfully the week has come and gone and I'm so happy that we have a short 3 day work week next week!! It was my first week back to work after 16 weeks off (so naturally I'm looking forward to more time off) and Kingston's first week at daycare. Poor kid hasn't had a nap longer then 45 min in 5 days and his schedule is all sorts of messed up. I'm hoping things get better so my sweet baby can come back to me. He's been super tired = super grouchy.

Anyways . . . .

1. I confess . . . 2 minutes after dropping Kingston off on his first day of day care - I had to call them. I was trying my hardest to get in and out of there before I lost my composure, that I forgot to tell them when he ate last. When I called I promised them that I wasn't calling to check in on him already but they still probably thought I was crazy! It's been a week and I've already sent one note with tips and tricks. Yes - I'm totally that mom. Crazy! 

2. I confess . . . I'm debating if I even want to put up a tree this year. Usually I am ALL for decorations and being festive - but since having a baby and all the stuff that comes with him - our apartment doesn't have much room. Is that super grinch-y of me?

3. I confess . . . we are going to look at 13 more houses this weekend (10 looked at last weekend). Maybe we will find one we like enough to put an offer on? Fingers crossed that we find something  - we definitely are those people with champagne taste and a beer budget. 

4. I confess . . . I had never burnt a meal until I became a mom and since then, I have burnt 3. #isuckatlife

5. I confess . . . I'm afraid that Kingston is going to like his daddy so much more then me because he gets to see him much more often. Since Kingston goes to the daycare at his high school, CT goes down to see him at least once a day - either on lunch or his plan period. Not to mention, they will be off together all summer and every school break while I'm slaving away at work. =( It hurts my heart to think of all the time I spend away from him. I mean come on .. look how sweet he is. Even if he is grouchy because he's tired. 

Rock Chalk! 

Linking up with: The Farmers Wife, Lauren Elizabeth, A Little Bit of Everything, XOXO Rebecca,

 A Blonde Ambition

Intentional

Tomorrow I return to work after having 3.5 months off with my sweet baby boy. 

Tomorrow I take Kingston to a daycare provider I've met 2 times.

Tomorrow I become a working mom. 

As hesitant and anxious I am, this is something I have to do for my family and the 'lifestyle' we choose to live. 

When I think about it - I will have about 4 (awake) hours a day with Kingston throughout the week and 12 hours a day on the weekend. When I do the math, that's 44 hours out of the 168 total hours (70 of those he's asleep and 54 he's at daycare) I have with him while he's awake. That's not very much time I get to spend loving on my little man. 

That's why I'm making a commitment and a vow to be intentional with my time. 

The definition of intentional: done on purpose; deliberate. 

Especially for those 4 hours I have with him throughout the week, they are going to have a purpose. 

That means no time with my nose stuck down in my phone. 

That means meal planning so I don't waste precious minutes slaving away in the kitchen. 

That means tidying the house, starting the laundry and loading the dishwasher in the evening after he goes to sleep. 

That means packing our lunches and laying out our clothes at night, so I can get a few more giggles in in the morning. 

My goal is to be deliberate in all of my actions so I can be the best working mom possible.