Diapers at Daycare

Since I went back to work when my daughter was 12 weeks old, I have been sending her to daycare with her cloth diapers. She goes to an in home daycare, however, we also looked at daycare centers and didn't meet anyone who refused to use our cloth diapers. I didn't do too much research into local laws or policies, but I did read somewhere that they are required to use an entirely new diaper at each change, i.e. no reusable covers and inserts. That left only pockets or all-in-ones as daycare diaper options, so I brought a couple of those to each interview. None of the people we spoke to had any experience with cloth diapering, but once I took out an example and showed them how easy they are to use they said it would be fine (it probably didn't hurt that I always brought the cutest ones!) The diapers I send are mostly BumGenius Freetimes with snap closures, or a few pockets, like BumGenius 4.0 and Kawaii.

Each day she goes to daycare, I send a dedicated cloth diaper tote bag which comes home with her at the end of the day. I don't leave any cloth diapers there, and the provider does not wash them there. In the tote I put two small wet bags, and enough diapers for a diaper change every two hours and a couple extra, just like I would pack for a day out with her. This tote is also useful for items which need to go back and forth daily, i.e. her bottles and breastmilk, an emergency disposable diaper, sunscreen, any crafts or notes she sends home, etc.

At the daycare she has her own cubby and in it she has a change of clothes, disposable wipes, a couple of disposable diapers, and a Grovia Magic stick, which is our preferred brand of CD safe ointment. When the daycare provider changes her diapers, she can put them directly into a wet bag, which goes back in the tote full of dirty diapers to come home at the end of the day. If its a poopy diaper, she will usually rinse it out, which is thoughtful, even though we have told her that it is not necessary. When we get home from daycare I put the wet diapers directly into my diaper pail, and rinse the dirty diapers off more thouroughly with my diaper sprayer.

I do my best to make sure that using cloth diapers is no harder for my daycare provider then disposables, and she doesn't seem to mind, so I must be doing it right. With the current rates for daycare, I am very happy about the money I save with cloth diapers!

Bio: Rebecca Azer is a working mom to one beautiful baby girl. She got into cloth diapers to save money, but quickly became an addict!


Would you like to be a contributor on The Cloth Diaper Whisperer? We're always looking for creative writers who would like to share their cloth diapering tips. To find out more Contact Us