Our parents raised us on disposable diapers because they were far more convenient than the cloth diapers that existed at the time. When our daughters were born, we carried on the disposable tradition because we had no idea there was a better option. Then we discovered Happy Heinys. They are not your mother's cloth diaper. They are more convenient, more cost-effective, and far healthier for your children than disposables, and they come in such beautiful designs that it's a shame to even cover them up with pants!

As an introduction for parents into the world of cloth diapering, we carry a limited selection of Happy Heinys cloth diapers and supplies here in our online store. Once you've fallen in love with cloth diapering, we have the best package deals available anywhere so you can get rid of all those old disposables. Our Cloth Diapering 101 page answers any questions you might have, from the smallest details of washing to the grandest philosophical and scientific reasons why every parent should give cloth a try. In short, we believe in Happy Heinys cloth diapers and want to give every parent the chance to diaper their baby in the best.

Cloth Diapering 101

Why Use Cloth? How Many Diapers Do I Need? Washing Your Cloth Diapers Homemade Diaper Wipe Recipes Happy Heinys Media Coverage & Awards

Why Use Cloth?

1. Money Savings While the initial cost of cloth diapering is greater than disposables, in the long run your savings will be huge. At the current average cost of about $.20 per disposable diaper, you are looking at spending between $1,700 and $2,200 on disposable diapers for your baby over the next 2 1/2 - 3 years. Add in disposable wipes and the ubiquitous diaper genie refills and you've brought the total up to about $2,600! Pocket diapers (like Happy Heinys) are generally accepted to be the best combination of ease of use and economical value. Cloth Diapering a baby in one-size pocket diapers for 3 years costs about $500. A baby in disposables will run about $1200-$2000 depending on the price of their diapers and how old they are when potty trained. That's a minimum $700 savings with cloth! Cloth Diapers for One Baby: 20 diapers with microfiber inserts (about 2 days worth of diapers for a newborn, 3 days for older babies) = $379 10 small Happy Heiny (HH) hemp inserts = $62.50 8 medium hemp inserts = $50 6 large hemp inserts = $37.50 2 packs extra ovals for added absorbency = $22.50 10% off for buying as a package = -$55.15 --------- Total = $496.35 Disposables for One Baby: For the 1st year: 11 diapers per day for 30 days (1 month) = 330 diapers 9 diapers per day for 60 days (2 months) = 540 diapers 7 diapers per day for 275 days (9 months) = 1925 diapers Total - 1st year = 2795 diapers For subsequent years: 6 diapers per day for 365 days (12 months) = 2190 diapers So, if your baby potty trains at 2 years (some do, some don't), that would equal 2795 + 2190 = 4985 diapers If your baby potty trains at 3 years, that would equal 2795+ 2190 +2190 = 7175 diapers 4985 diapers at .25 a piece = $1246 7175 diapers at .25 a piece = $1793.75 There are also ways to save even more money such as using cloth wipes and homemade wipes solution and air-drying your diapers. And did you know that you can also make approximately a 30% return on your investment by selling your diapers after your children have outgrown them? Wow! Parents of twins are especially conscious of ways to save money. Cloth Diapering is popular in the twin community because of it's great value combined with ease of use. 2. Chemicals in Disposable Diapers Disposable diapers contain many chemicals that the government does not allow in other products. The most commonly known is Dioxin, a by-product of the paper-bleaching process that goes into making disposables. It is the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals and has been shown to cause birth defects, skin and liver disease, immune system suppression, and genetic damage in laboratory tests. The amount found in a single disposable is very small, but your baby's overall exposure after years of diapering is significant, so why take the chance? Another component of disposables is Sodium Polyacrylate, the chemical that is responsible for making disposables so absorbent. Sodium polyacrylate can absorb up to 100 times its weight in water. In diapers, it can stick to baby's genitals and cause allergic reactions and, when injected into rats, it has caused hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death. This chemical was removed from tampons in 1985 when it was linked to toxic shock syndrome but it is still found in your baby's diapers. The dyes found in disposables are another health problem and can damage the central nervous system, kidneys and liver. Researchers from the Archives of Environmental Health also recently cited the chemicals emitted from disposable diapers as a possible asthma trigger and an article from ABC News reported that disposables may be linked to infertility. When we realized that our baby's most delicate areas were being clothed in these diapers 24 hours a day, we knew it was time to switch to cloth. 3. Comfort When our parents were babies, 100% of children were diapered in cloth. Now that number is only 10%. With the increase in the use of disposable diapers over the last 50 years, diaper rash has also risen from 7% to 61%. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54% of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16% having severe rashes. Diaper rash is now considered by new parents to be normal when, by every means, it is not. The culprit behind diaper rash is the waterproof nature and absorbability of disposable diapers (two features that sound great but really aren't). Disposables are not breathable and that keeps your baby's skin moist and susceptible to rash. The absorbability of the diapers also keeps many parents and caregivers from realizing that a baby needs to be changed and the bad stuff is left against your baby's skin for too long. Pocket cloth diapers are special in that they are waterproof (as long as they aren't left on for hours at a time) but the special laminate still allows air to circulate and keep your baby's skin dry. Babies in cloth have a radically lower incidence of diaper rash (about 7.1%) and their sensitive skin also does not have to deal with the perfumes and chemicals added to disposables. As an added bonus, that is also less money spent on diaper creams! 4. Save the Earth Disposable diapers generate significantly more solid waste and use more energy on a per-diaper basis than cloth diapers. It takes 440 to 880 pounds of fluff pulp and 286 pounds of plastic (including packaging) per year to supply one baby with disposable diapers. Every baby clothed in disposables accounts for the use of 4 1/2 trees just to make the stuffing that makes the diapers so absorbent. (That's 7 million trees per year in Britain alone!) After use, when the diaper goes to the landfill (where it takes 500 years to biodegrade) it takes along human waste. It is estimated that roughly 5 million tons of untreated waste and a total of 2 billion tons of urine, feces, plastic and paper are added to landfills annually from disposable diapers. This is not only unsanitary, it is a breeding ground for diseases and a possible danger to groundwater. Disposables represent the 3rd largest single item (after newspapers and food/beverage containers) in the municipal solid waste stream. Although some people worry about the amount of water it takes to clean cloth diapers, the fact is that cloth diapering uses even less water than disposables! The amount of water needed for laundering is roughly equivalent to adding another adult to your household. An adult would probably flush your toilet 4-5 times a day, which is about the same amount of water you will need for your cloth-diapered baby. In the end, disposable diapers use 37% more water during manufacturing than home-laundered or diaper-service-laundered cloth diapers do throughout their lifetime. Even here in the desert of New Mexico, cloth is best.

How Many Cloth Diapers Do I Need?

How many diapers you need will depend on the age of your baby and how often you want to do laundry. An easy rule of thumb is to get as many cloth diapers as your baby uses in 2 days (more if you want to go longer between wash loads). For full-time use with newborns, you will need approximately 24 small diapers. This allows for 10-12 changes per day and means you only have to do laundry every other day or so. Older babies only need to be changed about 6-8 times a day, so you will need at least 16 diapers in the medium size and 12-16 in large. Your babies wetting habits will determine the exact number but this is a good rule of thumb. We will want to double-up inserts during nap and bedtime. Hemp is the most absorbent insert while microfiber absorbs the fastest. A combination of the two will keep your baby dry at night. One Size Diapers come with a small and a large microfiber insert. Hemp Stuffins are available separately (starting at $6.25 each) and are specifically designed to fit Happy Heiny diapers. They can be customized for the wetting pattern of a girl or boy by moving the adjustable extra hemp oval. Additional ovals can be ordered in packs of 5 to add extra protection without bulk ($7.50 each).

Washing Your Cloth Diapers

You can wash all the cloth diapering items sold at Noss Galen Baby in one load but we suggest you separate the cotton/hemp items from the fleece (fleece includes your Happy Heinys diapers). The lint produced by the cotton and hemp will cause the fleece on your diapers to pill. The diapers will still work perfectly well but will not look as new as they once did. Seperating cotton/hemp and fleece is a matter of personal preference though, so do what is best for you. Happy Heinys Pocket Diapers Your diapers must be washed after every use. Use a dry diaper pail or waterproof hanging bag (you can purchase these in the hunting sections of most retail stores for about $4.00, or you can by one of our attractively-designed Wet Bags for $13.50) to store wet and soiled diapers. There is no need to rinse soiled diapers prior to washing, everything will come off in the cold presoak and the hot water of the wash (with no staining!) and it will rinse straight into your sewer system. You should shake the solid waste of older babies into a toilet though before throwing the diaper in the pail. To launder your diapers: Remove inserts from pocket Cold Prewash or Rinse Wash hot with about 1/4 cup of detergent Add a downy ball of vinegar to the wash if desired. The vinegar removes any smells, and we like to do it about once per month. The downy ball is recommended because it releases the vinegar at the correct time so you don't have to wait by the machine. Rinse well to ensure all detergent is removed from diapers. Hang dry for best results and a longer lasting diaper. Repeated drying in a dryer will decrease the life of the waterproofing laminate. Detergents to use: Happy Heinys recommends Tide, Sunlight, Cheer, Era, and Clout (Costco brand) for washing their diapers. These detergents are not made with any of the natural oily substances which leave residue on fleece. If you are looking for a natural detergent, we love Allen's Naturally. Detergents NOT to use: Natural soaps are often made with oils. These should NOT be used to wash your diapers. They will leave a residue on the fleece, causing it to repel urine. The following detergents will cause a soap build up, so DO NOT use them: Dr. Bronners Soap 7th Generation Bio-Kleen Ivory Snow Dreft Sensi-Clean/Sportwash (may cause allergic reactions) Charlie's Soap And all Free detergents (like All Free & Clear) Never use fabric softener of any kind on diapers. Liquid fabric softeners and dryer sheets both leave a waxy residue on diapers which causes fleece to repel urine and decreases the absorbency of your diapers. Also, NO bleach. Bleach breaks down fabrics. If you do end up with a stain, lay your diaper to dry in direct sunlight. It works wonders. Stripping Diapers: If you notice a decrease in the functionality of your diapers, "build up" may be the culprit. "Build up" refers to residue left by detergents, fabric softeners, and other substances used to clean diapers. In rare instances, baking soda will also react with certain minerals in water to cause build up. "Stripping" refers to the removal of residue or "build up" on diapers. To strip diapers, simply hand wash your diaper with your regular dish soap (it gets the oils out). To do this, add a bit of dish soap to the fleece, either rub the fleece vigorously together or use a medium bristle dish brush or hard bristle tooth brush to scrub the fleece. Turn inside out and repeat on this side. Rinse well, making sure that the water runs clear (you can do this by rinsing in the washing machine a few times if you want). You can use this method any time you feel that the diaper may be repelling or as a preventative measure once per week. If you are still having problems, special cleaning agents may be used to strip diapers. These options include a very hot wash using 2 scoops of Oxyclean (this is how we do it), or a hot wash with 1 ball of RLR. To Launder Prefolds, Inserts, Wipes, etc. Cold Prewash or Soak Hot Wash with 1/4 cup detergent Rinse well Air dry or tumble dry medium IT'S THAT EASY!!!

Diaper Wipes Recipes

We've also included a homemade baby wipe recipe to get you started. Try it and see what you think. Basic Recipe 2 c. water 2 tbsp. Baby, olive, or mineral oil (optional) 2 tbsp. Calming or Super Sensitive Shampoo/Body Wash You can use your homemade wipes solution in many different ways. Here are just a few: Keep in a spray bottle and spray directly on baby's bottom then wipe clean with a cloth wipe Pour over your cloth wipes or half a roll of paper towels in an old wipes/tupperware/margarine container Store in an old wipes/tupperware/margarine container and wet wipes as needed (This is the method we use, putting the solution in our old disposable-wipes warmer) Keep in a squirt bottle to apply on wipes as needed Make enough solution for a couple of days at a time. You can store extra solution in the refrigerator. We suggest you use distilled water for your wipes solutions as it lasts longer, but distilled water can be substituted by water that has been boiled and then cooled.

Happy Heinys in the Press

June/July 2008 Women's Journal May 2008 Celebrity Baby Blog April 2008 iParenting Award March 2008 Working Mother Magazine January 2008 Time Magazine December 2007 OK Magazine