5 Tips for Having Two Children in Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapering two children at the same time can seem overwhelming, but don’t let it. Here are 5 tips for having two children in cloth diapers!

I really, really, REALLY wanted to have Elaine potty trained before Nolan’s birth, but she just wasn’t ready. When I realized that I would have two babies in cloth, I started making preparations.

I learned a few things along the way, and I discovered that having two in diapers isn’t as bad as it sounds. And if you promise not to tell, I almost think it is easier than having one baby in diapers, and one toddler who is potty training!

Boost Your Stash When You Have Two Children in Cloth Diapers

The biggest help to having two babies in diapers is to have enough diapers in your stash. This will allow you to go 2-3 days between wash cycles, rather than having the work of washing diapers every day. It will also prolong the life of the diapers in your stash because they will not be going through the rigorous wash cycle every single day.

Even though I was not a new mom for the first time, I was still a new mom, and there were still new adjustments. Having two little kids is alot of work, and I didn’t need to be washing diapers every day.

Most diaper manufacturer’s recommend 24 diapers as a full stash for one baby. So for two babies, you would likely double it. But you can fudge a little and get away with less. I had about 40 pockets in my stash.

I also kept a healthy stash of prefolds close by for backup in case I fell behind in my washing. I washed every other day, but my wash cycle takes longer because I don’t have a dryer. I had to factor air drying time (12-24 hours) into everything.

I think that you could probably diaper two babies pretty easily with 36 diapers, and a few in reserve.

I also added another hanging wet bag for my bathroom, and two more medium sized wet bags for my diaper bag. This allowed there to be one in the wash, one in my diaper bag, and one just in case. You can never have too many wet bags when you are a cloth diapering mom!

Buy A Bigger Diaper Pail

Maybe you already have a big pail in your nursery, but I didn’t. I was using a hanging wet bag and quickly discovered that I would need a new solution! I upgraded to a diaper pail and two pail liners. Extra dirty diapers mean you need extra dirty diaper storage!

One Size Diapers are Your Friends

Everyone has a personal preference when it comes to their favorite brand, style, and type of cloth diaper. Regardless of what your “style” is, when it comes to having two kids in cloth, you will find that one size diapers are your best friend.

What happens when the newborn flies through too many diapers? Or the toddler has an unexpected accident…in your last clean nighttime diaper? If you have one size diapers in your stash, you can easily adjust the size and use it on whoever needs it most.

I used primarily Rumparooz and FuzziBunz one size diapers. I kept half of the FuzziBunz set for Elaine’s size, and half of them set for Nolan’s size (FuzziBunz are a little more time consuming to change sizes).

But in a pinch…like when you’re shopping and realize you didn’t pack Elaine’s diaper…just unsnap that Rumparooz pocket and voila! Elaine can wear Nolan’s diaper!

Carefully Pack the Diaper Bag

For the very reason I just mentioned, I tried to pack only one size diapers with a snap-down rise in my diaper bag. More than once I was caught away from home with one kiddo who used too many diapers. The snap-down rise allows you to quickly and easily change the size.

I usually packed one diaper per child per three hours away from home. Then I threw in one extra diaper. I call it the peace diaper – just to give me peace of mind.

I also found it helpful to have a small wet/dry bag.

This was handy for fast outings when I wanted to have a diaper along just in case, but I didn’t want to drag the whole diaper bag with me. I would pack one diaper for each child and a few wipes into the dry pocket. If I did need to change a diaper while away from home, then the dirty could slip easily into the wet pocket. Easy peasy.

Utilize the Disposable Option

No…not disposable diapers. I don’t look down on anyone who chooses disposable diapers over cloth. It’s their choice for their baby. But I still can’t bring myself to do the disposable thing.

However, many hybrid cloth diapers offer a disposable insert. This is something that I did not avail myself of until recently. How I would have simplified my life on several occasions if I had only had a package of Flip Disposable Inserts handy!

Sometimes being a mom of two littles can be very overwhelming. And sometimes you just don’t need the extra work to run a load of laundry, the dirty diapers to cart home from an outing or vacation, or to be constantly maintaining a clean diaper stash.

Sometimes when the baby is teething, you haven’t slept in several nights, and your toddler has hit the “terrible twos”, you just need to make something a little easier.

There was a period of a month when Nolan was born that I used disposable wipes. Washing, hanging, drying, and folding all of the extra wipes for two kids in diapers was just a little too much. I didn’t want to give up my cloth diapers, so I gave up my cloth wipes. It was one less thing to worry about.

Once I had a better grip on life, I returned to my cloth wipes.

So that’s it. My tips on cloth diapering two kiddos at the same time. Enjoy the trip – it’s not as bad as some people make it sound!

Have you traveled this road already?
What did you do to make it easier?
Do you have a question about something I mentioned?

Thanks to Andrea for this guest post.