Ok, so here's a confession: I've never brought my cloth diapers on a trip. By a trip, I mean a trip involving a plane. Do I have a good
excuse? I like to think that the fees for bags that airlines now charge is a good one, or the fact that I usually have to pack for three children in addition to myself. But the truth is, I always feel pretty guilty about not bringing them and I cringe with every disposable I toss in trash cans on our trips. Now in my own defense, I do use cloth whenever we leave the house on local trips and when we go to outdoor music festivals. I bring them to the gym daycare--basically anywhere it won't be a problem to have a wet bag with a couple dirty diapers waiting in it. But I know that there probably many of you who are better persons than me--so dedicated to cloth diapering and being green that you've packed an extra suitcase for them or managed to stuff enough of them into any remaining crevices in an already full suitcase. In fact, I don't doubt there are a few of you who have even brought your cloth diapers on multiple-leg flights, on boats, or on trains! So go ahead and shame me and tell me how you do it. Here is what I want to know:
- How many cloth diapers would you pack for a long weekend trip--like from Friday to Monday?
- How many cloth diapers would you pack for a full week trip?
- Do you pack cloth wipes?
- Do you pack your own detergent? How do you pack detergent?? Or do you buy whatever detergent is available where you are going?
- Do you bring your diapers on the plane?
- If you do bring your diapers on the plane, how on the world do you fit them into the small and precious space in your diaper bag that also needs to be reserved for snacks, books and toys--especially if you have older siblings to entertain.
On our last couple of trips I’ve taken enough diapers to change her every two hours and enough for two days without washing. My baby will be spending a few weeks with her grandma in Las Vegas and ill be sending the diapers thrust the mail just si my mom wont feel overwhelmed with all the luggage. As for the detergent. I put some in a ziplock bag. As for wipes I pack about two dozen wipes. So far we’ve never run out of diapers nor wipes.
I packed most of my pocket diapers last year. The detergent we use is soap nuts, so those were easy to bring along. I kind of cheat with my wetbag sometimes – I don’t stuff it into the backpack I use as a diaper bag, I attach the bag to the top loop of the backpack. That way it doesn’t take up half of the space inside the backpack and it is super accessible.
However, I wouldn’t do it the same way again. I would use disposable inserts with hand-washable covers – you know, like my Thirsties. The washing on the trip was kind of a nightmare. The machines didn’t work well, and we were in a much more humid climate to begin with. Drying took forever, and the diapers didn’t really smell fresh. (We were using a top loader, non-HE machine too!) Not going to do it the same again.
I have traveled with cloth, but not on a plane. For a weekend trip, I usually bring 20 diapers and disposable wipes. I wait and wash when I get home. For a week long trip, I brought my whole stash ~30 diapers and washed in the rental washer with my own detergent.
We haven’t (Lo isn’t here yet), but I have a friend that always travels with her younger girls in cloth. It’s definitely doable if youre smart about it.
I can see myself traveling with thirsties diapers. My LO is wearing one now and these are simple, light, and compact. Really the ideal travel diaper. Also they wash easily anx more quickly than others so if you need to wash it won’t take forever like many other kinds do.
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