Cloth Diapering on the Go

I clearly remember the first time I changed a cloth diaper away from home. It was June 2008, and I was out with my two sons, (then 26 months and 3 months old), and my mother who was visiting from out of state. We had just finished lunch and were headed back to the car when I noted that it was time to change the baby’s diaper. I proceeded to lay Brendan down on the floor of the van behind the driver’s side seat and pulled out my diaper bag. I grabbed a Moonbeam bumGenius One Size 3.0 pocket diaper, my wet bag and some wipes. (At the time I was very new to cloth diapering and hadn’t made the switch to using cloth wipes yet.) I changed his diaper, rolled the wet diaper up and tossed it into my wet bag for the ride home. It was just as easy as changing a disposable diaper and I didn’t have to look for a place to throw away the soiled diaper. My mom was quite impressed with the bumGenius diaper, as when I was a baby, she cloth diapered me with prefolds, pins and “plastic pants”.
Since that day, I’ve changed countless cloth diapers while out and about. Some of the more memorable ones include, various zoos, Disneyworld, an airplane bathroom, the beach…the list goes on and on. It’s interesting to see the reactions of some people when they see that my children are cloth diapered. I think the most common comment I hear is, “Wow, that’s a cute diaper, is that a special brand?” I think most are surprised when I tell them they are reusable cloth diapers. Of course, my printed Blueberry Minky One Size diapers tend to get the most comments since the jaguar and cow prints are just downright irresistible. I’m not sure if anyone has gone home to do research on cloth diapering after encountering my cloth diaper change, but I guess you never know, right?

Now that I only have one child in diapers, my diaper bag is pretty basic when we’re out and about. I usually carry 1-2 bumGenius One Size 3.0 pocket diapers or Blueberry One Size pocket diapers, a wet bag, 3-5 cloth wipes, and a bottle of wipe solution. Although my cloth diaper stash includes everything from flats and prefolds to fitteds, all in ones and pockets, I tend to grab my pockets for on the go use. They seem to be the most absorbent and easiest to deal with while away from home. If we’re going to be away from the house for more than just a few hours, I will also throw a few extra diapers and wipes in a canvas bag to keep and stash it in the van. I’d rather make a trip to the car to restock, than carry an overstuffed diaper bag all day long.

-- by Katrina W.