Can I use reusable diapers in the daycare?

Did your diapers make it into daycare?

Taking reusable nappies to daycare doesn't have to be complicated.

While older children start school every year in September, babies go to day care all year round and there are new babies coming in practically every month. That's why I leave you this information here on the blog so that it will be useful when you need to create and organize the routine of reusable diapers for daycare.

Let's start with the obvious: every experience is different and the important thing is to be ready to send diapers to daycare when your baby is ready to go too. Read until the end and here I will explain what you need to prepare to send your reusable diapers to the school.

Simply put, preparing cloth diapers for daycare is done in three steps:

1. Confirm with the nursery that your baby can use reusable diapers

Normally, either the institution completely prohibits reusable diapers in the day care center, or they accept the use of reusable diapers but the educators are scared because they imagine having to fold diapers and put pins in the way it was done in the old days.

Explain to them that diapers are now modern and similar to disposable ones. Give them the peace they need, that you will provide everything and that for them it will be as simple as changing a disposable diaper.

2. Get ready to give the teacher a mini-training on how to use reusable diapers

If the educator already had another baby using cloth diapers, it will be simple. Anyway gives her the security she needs. You were also afraid of reusable diapers, right?

Then, explain that you are going to send the ready-to-use diapers, a bag to put the dirty diapers in and the wipes, if necessary. 

Don't demand too much from educators. They have to change many babies at a time and they also need your help to accept diapers with an open heart. And you can do that if you send them everything ready to use and explain how they can use the reusable nappies in the nursery.

What do you have to explain to the educator about reusable diapers?

How to get the perfect fit

Change a diaper with her! This may not be entirely possible now with COVID, but try to do it in writing or by explaining all the steps at the nursery door. Have a diaper handy so she can see where to check the fit. 

Explain that the diaper cannot be too tight or too loose. With the adjustment in height, she won't even have to worry, because you'll already send the diapers with the correct size setting - she'll just have to adjust them around the waist. And you already know that to know if the fit is right, you have to be able to run a finger over the waist and legs.

What to do with the diaper after changing

When the educator changes the diaper, asks you to close or fold it, as you already do with disposables, and place it in the waterproof bag for dirty diapers. If there's pee in the diaper, it doesn't matter, but when there's poop, it's a good idea to close the diaper so your bag doesn't get dirty with poop... So always ask to close it before putting it in the bag.

You can also send all diapers with a disposable liner, and then at home it's easier for you. Just take it out of the bag and treat each one: the liners with only pee can be washed along with the diapers, the liners with poop are discarded in the trash.

Explains how to use the reusable wipes

if you send reusable wipes to school, it also sends them ready to use. That is, already wet and in a waterproof bag or box. Thus, it will be as if they were using disposable wipes - with the difference that instead of going to the trash, they go to the waterproof bag along with the dirty diaper. And remember that when they are wet you have to wash them every three days even if they have not been used.

If you always use dry wipes, send them the spray bottle and explain that they have to wet each wipe before using it. Check with them if you can do this as they will need bench space to have your baby's spray.

And if it's complicated, there are marks of environmentally friendly disposable wipes.

3. Plan the diaper rotation routine with the teacher.

With COVID-19, daycare routines took a turn. In a normal situation, every day clean reusable diapers go and dirty diapers come back. But now, it varies from institution to institution: in some, everything goes on one day of the week and every day they give you back your diapers and dirty clothes. In others, they only return your diapers every X days. 

What what you have to ensure is that the dirty diapers come home from daycare at most every 2-3 days so you can do your washing routine correctly.

Now let's go to the list of what you need to send to the nursery when you use reusable diapers. After agreeing on the routine and knowing how long your baby will be at daycare per day, you build your materials list.

You will need:

• Reusable diapers. To find out how many, multiply the number of changes your baby needs by the number of days you have to send each time. Always send the diapers assembled and ready to put on, and if you use liners, send them already with the liners in place.

• One bag for dirty diapers for every day that dirty diapers are left at daycare. There should be a maximum of 3 bags.

• wipes enough for the same number of days. And if you send wet wipes, you also need a small bag to store them. If you use dry wipes, you also need to send the spray with the water or mixture you already use.

• A backpack or bag to put everything in, but that you should already have. If you haven't already, the pods are a great option because everything is visible and available to use.

I know it may seem complicated but once you have the routine agreed with the educator it becomes easy. This is still new to most educators and, by breaking the initial barrier of misinformation and fear, they will align with you.

Always remember to help them out and make sure they have everything ready to go whatever nappy system you use.

I hope this post and this video help you organize your routine and have a script to talk to your baby's educators. And if it's easier send him this link 🙂