As any parent knows babies can be expensive! Diapers, clothing, formula etc. The list can go on and on. If you are a parent in a larger family no doubt you look for ways to spend less to get the same results. That is where cloth diapers came in for us!
When I was pregnant with my third child and my second child was still in diapers, I began to realize diapering two in disposables would be expensive. I never got the cheap kind they leak and lead to clothes stains, which was a higher cost there too! I started research on cloth diapers and how to use them. I started my second child in cloth figuring if I could do a toddler in cloth surely I could do a baby. She was fairly close to potty training, but I learned a lot. With the birth of the third child we started cloth diapers not exclusively at first but soon got to that. But good quality diapers cost a lot. $30 for a quality diaper was not abnormal, money-saving in the long run but not easy to do up front. We built up a good little stash of diapers in a variety of sizes and types.
With a fourth child now on the way and a third child still in them as well (hopefully potty trained by the new babies birth). My sense of money-saving has been renewed. How ever I would like to exclusive cloth diaper through the newborn and small baby phase. I have many reasons for trying to go exclusive enviromental impacts, baby health impacts and financial impacts. However Cloth diapering your baby is kinda fun and exciting, I like the prints and soft materials. Its kinda like shoes they can be addictive!
After a lot of Pinterest searching I came across a few blogs and patterns on making your own cloth diapers. Having not done alot of fitted and soakers before we decided that would be best for night-time diapering, instead of disposable at night. Fitted diapers are not water proof so an extra layer is needed at night wool or fleece soakers or diaper covers are the most commonly used. $20-$40 is and average price for one soaker. When you pair that with a store-bought fitted $40-$70 is covering your baby’s bottom to catch poop! That to me is a little pricey, even if I can re-use it. I have found that a yard or two of fleece and a sewing machine can give you the same prouduct for a 1/10 or less of the cost of a store-bought soaker.
*please take note I am no seamstress. I have very minimal experience and only recently decided to get a sewing machine to further my domestic skills, and  to save money.
Here is a great site with a free pattern
With a little fleece and a sewing machine and a few minutes of spare time this is what I came up with
this is a newborn size fleece soaker. Building a newborn stash has been pretty easy I have a few more to make but all in all making a soaker is pretty simple and very cheap!
I did decide to add an extra layer of absorbency in between the soaker and the extra wet-zone layer. I used a moderate level absorbent fabric from a diaper sewing supply store online. Also they sell size tags which make organizing cloth diapers much easier
This is just an easy soaker to make. And super cheap to build a baby stash. When I started cloth diapering I was worried about diapering to many children at once. And  parenthood is truly a journey, but as I go I find better cheaper and more efficient ways to deal with everyday parenting issues.
Are you a frugal cloth diaper mom? Are you new or experienced at cloth diapers? Share your journey!
Beth is a mother of 6 living on a handful of acres in an old farmhouse in central Kansas. Beth has a background in the military and health and fitness however her passions come from her homestead life. Beth is an enthusiastic homeschooling mom, avid organic gardener, chicken & goat wrangler, who is obsessed with herbs and natural remedies and maintaining an all-around Do-It-Yourself lifestyle. Beth loves to share all she has learned about and sustainable living. While striving for a healthy, natural life, family-centered life.