These past few months with a newborn have been amazing and I’ve taken advantage of every second. Especially since he might be my last baby according to my husband (insert winky face emoji). And it went by wayyyy too fast. At 4 months old he’s not a newborn anymore, but he still poops like one!

As a new mom (or seasoned mom adding a new babe to the pack), you might feel like all you do is feed, clean, and change the baby. So the last thing you need in your life right now is more work. And I bet you didn’t realize (or forgot) just how much laundry a tiny little human can rack up in a matter of hours. Especially when those fun diaper blowouts happen! Shit happens, right? Here’s how you can avoid hours of scrubbing, laundry, and putting those important baby items out of commission because of stains (think baby carrier, swing, etc.). I have two words for you- ClOTH DIAPERS. These little babies are a lifesaver and a necessity for any new parent. But they’re not for you to use the way you are thinking…

Let me tell you a story. One night when Joey was about 4 weeks old I was up pumping with the him next to me in the rocker. He started screaming and when I went to pick him up, I could feel the wet poop all up his little back. Obviously, he had to be cleaned and changed, but now so did the liner of the rocker. Plus it had to be scrubbed right away to try to avoid it staining. I was exhausted and that was the last thing I wanted to be doing. But what really sucked was that the liner said it had to be air dried. It still wasn’t dry the next day which meant I had no rocker to put the baby in for the entire day which basically left me with either his crib or his car seat to put him down in because he was so little. It SUCKED. That’s where the cloth diapers come in. You lay them down over whatever surface the baby is going to be laying/sitting on, and it acts as a barrier between the poop and the fabric of the item. Of course, that day for whatever reason, the cloth diaper had gotten taken out of the rocker. Let me tell you I made sure that never happened again.

Whether you use cloth or disposable diapers for the actual diapering is up to you and doesn’t matter either way with this tip. Like I said above, what you use the cloth diaper for is to create a barrier between the baby and whatever surface they are on. For example, look at where the cloth diaper is on the baby carrier.

It’s right where the baby’s butt and back are. Now you put the baby in the carrier on top of the cloth diaper and make sure you adjust it so the cloth sticks out past the sides of the baby and a little up their back and down between their legs. This way when they have a blowout that goes right through their clothes (and it will), the cloth diaper will catch it all and save you the trouble of trying to get the stain off the fabric of the item (in this case the carrier). And then of course what would you put the baby in if the liner is stained? And on top of that what if you were on your way out?? Now you don’t have a car seat. With the cloth diaper you just throw the soiled one in the wash with the soiled clothes, put another one down, change the baby, and be on your way. It’s a game changer.

Now I can’t take the credit for this idea. My husband was the one who told me about this when we had our son. It was a trick he used with my stepson and when he told me about it, I pretty much hailed him a genius. And let me tell you, it came in handy on many, many occasions. There were times when we were hours from home and Joey would have a blowout while in the car. Imagine if I didn’t have a cloth diaper down? It would have gotten all over the lining of the baby carrier and then what do I do? Thank god we’ve always had a cloth diaper underneath him to catch the overflow (EXCEPT that ONE time I told you about…).

You’re probably wondering why do you need a cloth diaper and not just a receiving blanket or towel? Think about it. It’s what cloth diapers were meant for. To hold poop. So no matter how bad the blowout, or how much, it doesn’t leak through, whereas it might leak through a receiving blanket or a towel. Trust me, it’s a cheap investment for a huge time saver and to keep your baby’s things nice and poop-free. I’m usually a generic brand kind of girl, but I like these ones by Gerber better. They are thicker than the store brand and I think they wash better.

We bought a TON of them and we keep extras in the car and in the diaper bag. You can even put them under the baby when they use their activity gym, lay on your bed, ect. Just don’t put it down on their bed because babies should never be unattended with loose items. HOWVEVER, I have used them under the sheets as a mattress protector if I’m in a jam (think pack n play or dirty mattress cover in the middle of the night.

So all you moms of newborns (and also infants!) out there, make sure to grab these as quick as you can. Trust me, you will be thanking my husband too for this one!

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