Swimming In Cloth

Summer brings with it many fun activities, one of the most popular being swimming and water sports. Whether it’s a trip to the beach, a local lake, or your backyard pool, water play adds a new twist to caring for a child in diapers. There are several options for cloth swim diapers, and I have personally used two of them with great success. When my son’s were just shy of 3 and 1 years old, we visited the beach for the first time while on vacation in Florida. Ian was no longer wearing diapers during the day, so he was able to wear regular swim trunks while playing in the saltwater and sand. Brendan on the other hand was just 11 months old and still needed numerous diaper changes each day. Having taken my fluff on vacation, I didn’t want to buy an entire package of disposable swim diapers just for one day, so I researched reusable cloth swim diapers. I purchased two different brands, Imse Vimse and Bummis. We spent only an hour or so at the beach, so I only used the Imse Vimse swim diaper, and it worked great while we were in the water.

Much like the disposable swim diapers, the cloth swim diapers are designed to catch the solid waste and not absorb the urine. After all, would you want your baby wearing a heavy, liquid soaked diaper in the water that would just pull him or her down? The swim diaper I used that day fit Brendan just perfectly. It was just snug enough around the waist and legs that any mess would have easily been contained to the diaper. I changed him into it upon arriving on the sand, and changed him out of it upon returning to the car after our fun on the beach. It sure was nice not having to hunt for a trash can to toss away a disposable swim diaper. I simply tossed it in the wet bag I brought for our wet towels and swim suits.

A few months later when the weather warmed up where we lived (Wisconsin) and we began using a little inflatable splash pool in the backyard I began using the Bummis swim diaper in our rotation. Up until that time, I used it as a diaper cover, but once I began using it as a swim diaper, it remained a swim diaper exclusively. I had a few pairs of swim trunks that I wanted to use on Brendan, so much of the time I would layer the swim trunks over the swim diaper, and off into the pool we would go.

One other swim diaper option that I heard people have success with was using an old pocket diaper without the inserts. I have several bumGenius 3.0 diapers that would fit the bill perfect for this use now. They show some wear around the seams after two years of use, but are otherwise in good usable condition. Without the inserts, they fit Brendan snuggly, and will probably see some use this summer out in the backyard wading pool. However, just as with the Bummis swim diaper, one I use a pocket diaper as a swim diaper, I will not return it to the diaper stash. Being a swim diaper, it will be exposed to harsh pool chemicals such as chorine, and I don’t want that to make it’s way into my fluff at wash time.

With several cloth options out there, I’m sure there is a solution for everyone wanting to avoid the pricey disposable swim diapers. Slather on the sunscreen, throw on a hat and some sunglasses, pull on a cloth swim diaper and let your little one have some water fun in the sun this summer.

By Katrina W- Regular Blog Contributor