All Hail The Wet Bag

All Hail The Wet Bag

All hail the Wet Bag.

Funny how our interests shift, isn’t it? Before becoming parents, where to eat, a great new app or even a fabulous pair of jeans that sucked in my stomach so I didn’t have to were all the rage in my life.

Now, it’s The Wet Bag.

I capitalize The Wet Bag because it is that important in my life and the lives of all parents with babies/toddlers. Even my neighbour who is nearing the end of potty training uses it daily and it with more adoration than she has for her husband (at times).

Wet bags are fairly common-place in the worlds of us who use cotton or cloth diapers, but that doesn’t make them any less brilliant for families who use disposables.

These reusable waterproof bags that contain dirty diapers until they’re washed have saved many a diaper bag – and hamper.

But they also:

  • Keep items sorted: I don’t like bibs and poop together. I keep bibs and clothes in one bag and diapers or poopy clothing in another. Particularly handy during toilet training.
  • Hold wet changes of clothes – With one for each child, a wet bag can go to school with a clean change of clothes inside and come back with the soiled or wet items. Tossed into the washer inside out along with the dirty items they are a handy way to make sure your kid’s clothes don’t come back in a flimsy plastic bag that can tear by the time you get to it. Gross.  Before turning to the wet bag for this, I was using large ziplock bags which meant a lot of unnecessary expense and waste.
  • Oops bag – Three kids and road trips means there are harmless accidents of all kinds: spills, messes, rushes to the public bathroom that don’t quite make it in time. Whether you have one child or ten, having an odour proof, water proof bag that you can toss in the wash is a handy thing to have.

My Wet Bags gets a lot of use with everything from bibs for our youngest who has Rett Syndrome to just worn “ripe” soccer socks, and anything else that needs to be contained.

If you’re someone who hasn’t ever used one, you’ll want to know that they come in various sizes and with different closures: zipper, velcro, sliding toggles.  You might develop a preference for one in particular. Many great companies make versions of this fabulous item, I like the zippered bag by Monkey Doodlez because it’s straight forward and just the right size, big enough for several pieces without being huge and lumpy in my bag. Here is a smattering of bags that might catch your fancy. Here is a link to various wet bag options on amazon.ca.

   

Flat or Fitted Cloth diaper. Which is best?

Flat or Fitted Cloth diaper. Which is best?

Just as there are options in disposables, there are options in reusable cloth diapers.

We use Flat diapers instead of fitted diapers. Why? (less bacteria)
Good question. After all, fitted diapers look more like disposables and are therefore more familiar. Plus they are touted as more “modern diapers”. 

The most important reason we opted for Flat diapers is that there is no diaper that gets as clean as a flat diaper. Fitted diapers trap waste and bacteria in ways that flat diapers cannot. In addition, flat diapers can be folded in different ways that suit where babies need the most protection. Therefore, providing more absorbency than other options.

Environmentally Friendlier
Another important but less noticeable reason for choosing Flat diapers is the fact that it takes less energy to wash flat diapers than it does to wash fitted diapers. Less water and less electricity means our entire process is more environmentally friendly than if fitted diapers were being washed. 

Will I need to pin or secure the cloth diaper to a diaper cover?
Ah, as in the “olden days” of pins, right? Nope!  Diaper covers are made to hold flat diapers in place. Instead of having multiple clips and Velcros from fitted diapers and diaper covers, Flat diapers sit flush within the cover; full coverage without the bulk.

Oh, and Flat diapers take up far less room in wet bags, which means flat’s are more portable for days out exploring with your baby.

We have put a lot of thought into the selection of Flat versus Fitted. Surveyed parents and tested several options over the 30 years we have serviced the community. Our recommendation is that Flat is a superior choice.