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Do You Travel With Cloth?

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
image of airplane
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.
Cooper and I will be traveling to visit my parents in December. We'll be traveling with my younger sister and her youngest son, Kevin, who will be about eight months by then. Both of us will be leaving two older siblings and Daddy at home to fend for themselves. Because I will only be packing for Cooper and myself, I promise that I will bring my cloth diapers and that I'll also use them on the plane. And of course, I promise to come back with a little anecdote about our adventure. Now it's your turn to share your experience and give me any tips that will help me travel efficiently with my Thirsties. PS: Here is a link to the Real Diaper Association's Travel Tip Sheet that might come in handy.
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38 comments

  • I have taken cloths on every trip we have ever taken. I never thought twice about it really. I can see the potential for it going rough however in our experience all worked well. First we fly southwest so baggage allowance is generous, we only have one little one with us and we are usually visiting family who have washer and driers to use. [also both my husbands sibling cloth diaper so no we visit really ever has a problem with us using their washer for diaper washing] We pack enough to wash about every other day,which is about 15 diapers. We wash when we have three or four left so we have diapers while they dry in the sun. We pack enough detergent in a ziplock bag, we have found it will be allowed to go through TSA just fine. We use rockin green detergent. Thus if we are on a ten day trip, which we are currently enjoying with family, and I expect to wash every day at the most I pack 5-6 table spoons. Most airlines allow a diaper bag plus a personal bag and a carry on. This means my husband and I together could bring about five bags on the plane alone. In truth we take the diaper bag,a snack bag and family entertainment bag. The later contains toys for both daddy and baby plus a book or so for mommy. Southwest Airlines allow two checked bags a piece so we have plenty of options to ack diapers not needed on flight. I use one bag, sometimes a second small backpack for mommies and babies cloths plus diapers. Daddy packs one backpack. Which means we could even check more if desired . I hope that helps some people:) Enjoy

    Santana on
  • About to go on out first baby trip! Going to visit Grandma for five days and we’ve already decided to bring the cloth. Fortunately it’s a short flight (2:30 hours) so bringing diapers with us in the diaper bag shouldn’t be a biggy … it’ll just be like any other outing.

    We’re bringing cloth wipes too and are going to wash at grandma’s — fortunately she has soft water, so the diapers’ll wash even better, I think!

    Robert W on
  • First of all, if we want to get more people to use cloth, then we need to stop acting like the world will blow up if we use a disposable diaper occasionally. There are times when it’s more practical to use disposable diapers. Take as an example the girl a few weeks back who was feeling guilty about using disposable diapers because there was a hurricane coming. There’s a hurricane coming and you’re worried about putting at most thirty disposable diapers in the trash? That is what drives people away from cloth.

    Now that I’ve got that off my chest . . . I have never taken a long trip with cloth diapers. But every time I visit my parents and use disposable diapers for the week, I miss my cloth diapers. They just work better. I don’t think they would take up much more space than disposable diapers. A pack of diapers and a box of wipes do take up a lot of space in a suitcase.

    Marcelaine on
  • I did it! But it only worked because I knew I wouldn’t need my full baggage allowance. We were flying to Australia from DC, so I used disposables on the flight, and then brought my entire stash in one checked bag. We did use disposable wipes while we were away though. We stayed at my parents’ place the entire time, so I knew it would be easy to pull off. The only issues I had was that the washing machine was a front loader and didn’t wash as nicely as my top loader. Also the laundry detergent was different, so I was worried I’d get build up, but they came out fine.

    Domestically, I only use cloth if I’m driving, and if I’m gone for 3 or less days (so I can do laundry when I get home). Otherwise, I do disposables, but may use cloth on the last day.

    auschick on
  • I have used disposables on the airplane, but would’ve been fine with well-stuffed pockets. Diaper changes on the plane are surprisingly convenient — everything is within arm’s reach!

    When we’ve had a “home base” with W/D when visiting, I took everything, including cloth wipes. I researched which brands of detergent worked best before leaving so I knew what to look for.

    When staying in motels, flat diapers w/covers are great — you can wash a flat in the sink, hang it in the shower overnight, and it’ll be dry in the morning.

    Lisa on

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