10 New Baby Shower Gift Ideas for the Cloth Diapering Family

In honor of our Lil B's first birthday, we have compiled our top 10 list of the best baby shower gifts for a cloth diapering family based on our own experience and from a poll we conducted with other cloth diapering families. We are so excited to be able to include our blog's first giveaway with this post!


1. Cloth Diapers, of course!

There are many varieties and brands of diapers. If your friend doesn't have any on her registry (or doesn't have a registry), you can't really go wrong with opting for a pocket diaper that can be washed and dried in the machine. This is particularly helpful in climates that don't always support line drying. Though we love to line dry diapers, Utah winters don't make it possible year round.
We have absolutely loved our Glow Bug Diapers! Glow Bug offers great bundles for very reasonable prices and they don't take much time to wash, dry, or prep. We haven't experienced any major leaks or blow outs and can happily report that after a year of use, our Glow Bugs are still going strong!

Glow Bug's website offers helpful tips and explanations for first time cloth users. If you have questions about how many diapers you/your friend will need or how to wash them, Glow Bug has the answers you need.


2. Cloth Diaper detergent

Cloth diapers require diaper safe detergent. My favorite is Rockin' Green. Check back with them each season - they sometimes offer exclusive scents! Last summer they featured a Barry Mango-lo (mango scented) detergent that I love. I hope they've got something new and exciting like that for this summer because I'm almost out of my Mango-lo (even though I bought 3 bags).






Rockin' Green has fantastic scents and can be used for much more than just cloth diapers. I use it for all of my son's clothes and many of my own. We use it for blankets and soft toys, too. A cute way to wrap this up is to include some clothes pins and a cheap clothesline (something like this). Wrap the clotheslines all around the bag of detergent (or box if you're using a different cloth-friendly detergent like BumGenius) and then pop a cute little pin up at the top. You can wrap the whole thing in cellophane if that floats your boat, but it's not necessary. See item 4 for an even better idea. Another great tie-in for this gift would be a water testing strip. Knowing how hard your water is can be very important when washing cloth diapers.

(Rockin' Green offers Military and First Responder discounts!)






3. The Diaper Sprayer and Spray Pal 

Every now and again there is a diaper so tremendous that it requires special help. Now before y'all start with the "That's why I don't want to use cloth!" nonsense, let me just say this: It's the same with disposables. When your babe is completed covered in something that must have weighed more than they do, it's a mess and it requires a bit of effort to clean it up. When that happens, you can muddle through with wipes or you can use the most remarkable diaper cleaning combo I've ever seen.

I was so excited to share this shower gift with you that I contacted the makers of the Spray Pal and they graciously offered to give away a free Spray Pal to one lucky reader! Thank you, Spray Pal! 

For the rest of you, you can find their bundle that includes both the Spray Pal and a diaper sprayer HERE. To enter the giveaway, use the form at the bottom of this post. 

4. The gift wrap that keeps on giving: The Wet Bag 

There are many reasons for cloth diapering, but one of the most prominent is to reduce waste and protect the environment. Rather than spending any of your gift budget on wrapping that will be thrown away, try to think of ways to show your eco-lovin' friend that you respect their decision and the reasons behind it. A wet bag is a fantastic way to wrap any of the gifts on this list! 

What is a "wet bag"? 

A wet bag is a waterproof bag (usually zippered) that can be used to store dirty cloth diapers until it's time to wash them. A wet bag can be used to line a diaper pale, too. After Baby's outgrown diapers, a wet bag remains useful! You can use them in the kitchen to store wet rags or soiled bibs. Toss one in the glove box of your car for any moist stuff you don't want all over your seats. When we travel, we bring wet bags to store our swimwear and beach items! Our daughters will be taking small wet bags to keep their toiletries separated and clean when they head off to camp this summer. We've even used them as lunch bags on day trips to the zoo. Hikers get a ton of use out of a well-constructed wet bag. 

My favorite wet bags are from Monkey Foot Designs and I always recommend purchasing the largest double-pocket bag that fits within your gift budget. Pro Tip: A wet bag does not have to match the rest of Baby's layette! Have some fun with it! 

5. Cloth Diaper Wipes

Make 'em! If you've got a serger and some cotton flannel, you can make wonderful cloth diaper wipes. I chose to make my wipes 6"x6", but you can opt for larger or smaller ones if you'd like. I made mine with one side of cotton flannel and the other with terry cloth (cut up old towels that are getting ratty around the edges anyway! You'll get bonus points for recycling) but I will warn that terry cloth is a pain to sew. Your serger tension will need to be taken into account if you use terry. 

After everything was said and done, I ended up using the cotton flannel side more.

If I make another batch, I'm going to just use three squares of cotton flannel for thickness 

and forget all about the dreaded terry cloth. Tip: Choose busy designs. They hide stains!

6. Project Pomona Jeans

B received his first pair of Pomonas before he was born. When they arrived, I looked at the adjustable snaps and the cuff at the bottom of the legs and questioned whether they would really fit a newborn. Imagine my surprise: Not only did they fit him as a newborn, he hasn't grown out of them yet!

Celebrating his birthday today at the zoo. See? They still fit great!

ADMIRE THE PROJECT POMONAS!

The same pair of pants has fit him for a full year and he's still got plenty of room to grow before he'll outgrow them! Project Pomona pants are made especially to fit over cloth diapers, but because of their custom fit snaps, they'll fit over any diaper and they will adjust as the baby grows. The stitching is strong and they've held together extremely well despite many, many, many washings.

Project Pomona has been kind enough to join our giveaway and will be sending our lucky winner a free pair of their brand new shorts!

These are the girly ones. Follow the link to see the 

adorable prints for boys! Personally, I think I'll 

be buying a pair of the skull & crossbones for Lil B. 

You can find Project Pomona here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPomona
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/projectpomona/
and Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectpomona


7. Wool Dryer Balls 

Woolies are my personal favorite, but anything without a strong color will work. It's true: Cloth diapering means doing more laundry than you might otherwise. Wool dryer balls eliminate the need for dryer sheets and they do not contain any chemicals. They cut down on drying time, too! I bought mine for cloth diapers and now use them for everything.


8. Cloth-Safe Diaper Cream 

Desitin and petroleum jelly are not friendly to cloth diapers. Pinstripes and Polkadots has the best rundown of cloth-safe diaper creams I've ever seen. Since I don't feel I can improve upon it, I'll refer you to their post: Choosing and Using Diaper Rash Ointments and Creams


9. Disposable Bamboo Liners

This may seem counter intuitive, but there's a reason for these little gems. After Baby starts solid foods, the messes in their diapers will change consistency. If you're using a disposable FLUSHABLE liner in each diaper, you can simply drop the liner in the toilet and flush the mess away.
Interesting fact: Did you know that even with disposable diapers you're not supposed to throw solid fecal matter in the garbage? These flushable liners are fantastic not just for their convenience, but also for their minimal impact on the environment. Zulily often has these on sale. Sign up for their site and keep an eye out for all sorts of cloth diapering deals. You can also find them here on Amazon.


10. Hemp Inserts 

These are for overnight use. You can pop an extra insert into a pocket diaper and it'll help absorb more and keep baby dry during the night! Two of my best friends got me a set of hemp inserts for my baby shower and I have used them every week (except when we were traveling and used disposable diapers) since then! Thirsties inserts work great.

The moment you've all been waiting for: 

Time to enter to win our fabulous prizes! 

We once again would like to thank Spray Pal and Project Pomona 

for celebrating Lil B's birthday with us and for 

making this giveaway possible!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Winner must be living in the United States.


You might also enjoy: Baby Shower vs. Open House