One thing I love about gDiapers is how versatile they are. I can still use them easily while away from home. A reader asked if I could do a post on how I do that so here goes!
Out and About for a few hours
What to pack:
I take my gDiapers with me everywhere. With baby #2, I actually haven’t bought any disposable diapers at all and she’s almost four months (I’m kinda proud of that). With my first daughter, I always kept a regular disposable or two in my diaper bag to be on the safe side. I tend to overpack so take that into consideration! Usually when I leave the house, I put two fully assembled gDiapers and an extra pouch into my diaper bag, along with disposable wipes (I prefer the gDiapers brand wipes as well), small wet bag, and a changing pad all in my diaper bag. I also usually have two disposable inserts in my bag at all times, in case I’m in a rush and don’t pack everything I need. If I’m going to be out for a long while, I will take additional cloth as well. I have this
drawstring wet bag. I like it because it has a nice wide top so i don’t have to worry about getting my hands dirty and I can easily shake out the contents.
Sometimes I stuff the gDiapers with cloth inserts and sometimes I just stuff them with the disposable inserts. Usually I just take into account how long we’re going to be out and how far we’re going. For longer drives or occasions where I won’t have an easy way to change her, I prefer using the disposable inserts because they hold more than the cloth inserts do. If I’m just heading out to the market, then cloth works great and is my preference. The important part is that they’re assembled ahead of time so the diaper change is as easy and quick as possible.
The change (cloth insert):
Usually I just swap out the diaper. If I’m using cloth, and it’s a wet diaper, I throw the cloth insert into the wet bag and drop it into my dry pail when I get home. If it’s a dirty diaper, I unsnap the pouch with the insert inside, roll it up and throw it in the wet bag. Some people swish the insert in the toilet but I’m not comfortable doing that in a public bathroom. Right now I’m only dealing with EBF poo so it’s no big deal. When she starts solids, I will shake out as much of the mess as I can into the toilet and then put it into the wet bag. Or to make things even easier, you can use disposable/flushable liners on top of your cloth.
After swapping the diaper out, I then assemble the diaper for the next change, toss any wipes I used in the trash, and throw the wetbag into my diaper bag. If there’s a leak, I toss the pants into the wet bag too. I’ve never had stink issues. I have, however, forgotten to bring my wet bag. In those instances, I use a plastic bag if I have one or wrap the insert in a pouch and paper towels and hope it doesn’t get things around it wet. One of my diaper bags has a plastic pouch built in so I use that.
The Change (Disposable Insert):
If I’m using a disposable insert and I’m using a changing table within a bathroom stall, I will rip up the insert and flush it. If the changing table is outside the stall, then I just roll it up and toss it. If it’s a dirty diaper, I take the pouch and put it in my wet bag. If I’m at someone’s house, I usually put the insert into my wet bag and dispose of it when I come home. You never know who has a septic tank and the refills aren’t recommended for septic tanks. Since my baby is exclusively breastfed, I sometimes will rinse out the pouch before putting it in the wet bag.
The Aftermath (or the Afterparty if you please):
When I come home, I just dispose of the disposable inserts like I normally would, drop the pouches and wet bag into the dirty laundry and the cloth inserts into the dry pail. That’s it!
Traveling with gDiapers
Usually when I travel, I use the disposable inserts. It just makes life much easier. The only exception is if I’m going for an overnight trip or if I’m staying with my in-laws who have a washing machine and usually have cloth diaper safe detergent at their house. It’s like our second home so it’s fine. In general, you don’t want to wash the diapers in public washing machines because they may have detergent build up, which may transfer to the inserts and then you have to strip them. If you do plan on washing while traveling, I’d suggest taking Soap Nuts so you can take just what you need without worrying about spills or measuring like you would with liquid detergent. When I go up to my in-laws’, I take a regular pail liner/wet bag with me to store the inserts between washes and just keep it on the floor of the bathroom (we usually don’t share a bathroom with anyone else). If I’m just going for an overnight trip, then I just take a wet bag and do what I would do while out and about for the day.
Usually while travelling, I pack 2.5 gPants per day and 1.5 pouches per pant. The nice part about the pants and pouches is that you can wash those without any concerns about detergent build up. In an all-in-one cloth diaper, you would have to be more careful. I also take the usual number of diaper changes per day and add an extra two per day to calculate the number of inserts I’ll need. If you’re going to be gone for a while, you might want to consider ordering disposable inserts online and having them delivered so you don’t have to take up so much space in your suitcase. I’m never sure about how good the toilets are at hotels so I usually just throw them away instead of flushing and rinse the pouches so that they’re not too gross when I get home.
I try to balance convenience with greenliness (how do ya like THAT word???). If you’re comfortable using only cloth inserts and cloth wipes, great! If it’s too much hassle, you can use the disposable inserts and wipes – gDiapers are flexible!