Backpacking Diapers

Here is my system for crazy parents who take their wee babes backpacking with them.  For overnighters, especially with older children in diapers (like my son, who's almost 3.5 and is STILL in diapers...), you're better off using disposeables (like the Tushies brand, which uses no gel and therefore can dry out overnight, making less weight for Mama & Daddy to pack out).  But for multi-day trips, this system is my best solution.  Hooray for us lunatic parents!

You Will Need:
Diaper Covers (the waterproof layer)
Diapers (the absorbent layer)
Diaper liners (the permeable layer)
Diaper pins
Soap (biodegradeable, like Dr. Bronner's or similar)
rubber dishwashing gloves (optional)
gallon-size or larger plastic bags
Hand sanitizer
Diaper rash cream
water bottle or bladder for "wild water" (we use a 6 liter Platypus Water Tank)
Wash basin

For those of you who are only accustomed to using disposeable diapers, this system takes a little bit of learning.  You will have to get over any squeamishness about getting feces on your hands (carry soap and hand sanitizer).  Crunchy hippie cloth-diapering parents will get it in no time at all.  For an effective diapering system, you need three layers - a waterproof cover, an absorbant layer, and a liquid-permeable but non-absorbant layer.  There are multiple options for all of these layers.  I will share my favorites and provide brief lists of alternatives.

1.  The Waterproof Layer. 

This is the outermost layer, the thing that keeps urine and feces from escaping and getting all over the baby carrier (and you).  You can use the cheapo vinyl covers with elastic waists and leg holes that are still available in some Targets & Wal-Marts, but they pierce easily and will go stiff if the temperatures get around freezing.  Much better are diaper covers made of waterproof nylon, which I still find in stock at my local Babies-R-Us and which can be ordered online as well.  I have even sewn my own from siliconized nylon, which are very light but also a tad slippery.  There are additional varieties of diaper covers that are more convenient but also more expensive and heavier.  You can see a dazzling array of cover styles at Green Mountain Diapers.  Do not use wool soakers for backpacking, as the pressure of the baby's bottom will push moisture through the soakers and wet the carrier.

2.  The Absorbent Layer.

This is the middle layer, the part that absorbs and holds the liquids which your baby excretes.  In traditional cloth-diapering this layer is cotton, but for backpacing purposes cotton is less than ideal, because it doesn't dry quickly.  For a backcountry diaper kit you want something that absorbs readily but dries quickly and isn't too horrendously heavy.  Enter the Packtowl!  These super-absorbent synthetic towels are just the ticket.  You can buy the MSR Packtowls, or REI also has their version.  This will likely be the most expensive part of your diaper kit.  Buy two or three extra-large towels and cut them into rectangles of whatever size you need. Standard diaper sizes are:

Newborn/Infant (up to 16 or so pounds): 12 inches by 16 inches

"Regular Size": about 14 inches by 20 inches

Toddler size: about 15 inches by 20 inches

Larger diapers can be used on smaller babies, but will be bulkier than smaller diapers would be.  Smaller diapers can be used as "doublers" to increase absorption (for overnight use, for example).  Measure out the towels you buy and determine how many diapers of various sizes you can cut out of them. 

3.  The Permeable Layer.

This layer is necessary in order to keep feces solids from getting ground into the absorbent towel diaper.  It occasionally fails at this, when the liner slips to one side, but generally makes cleanup a lot easier. It also helps keep baby dry, and helps prevent diaper rash. There are many choices available, all with bonuses and drawbacks.  Gerber makes polypropylene diaper liners, they are as thin as a fabric softener dryer sheet and work fairly well.  The drawback is that they are not biodegradable.  They can be washed and reused, but are somewhat delicate and have to be treated gently if you do that.  They will stain.  Green Mountain has flushable paper liners  and also silk liners here.  Kushies also manufactures biodegradable paper liners.  I have used the Gerber liners and the Kushies liners.  I'm not sure which is better.  The Gerbers are easier to wash & pack out, the Kushies offer the temptation to bury them with the feces (which in some areas is irresponsible).  If you are on a serious budget, buy a roll of good-quality paper towels and cut your own liners. 

Using the System.

If you have never cloth-diapered a baby before, there is a slight learning curve to the process.  I will attempt to illustrate it for you with photographs.  In these pictures, my son is wearing a disposable diaper because what kind of mother would I be if I put naked pictures of my baby on the internet? 

step 1
Step 1 - lay the baby down on the changing pad (a Z-Rest sleeping pad here), remove old diaper, clean the baby.  Place new diaper under the baby like this (remember, the disposable diaper is there only so I'm not putting nude pictures on the internet).
 step2
Step 2- fold bottom of diaper as shown.
 step 3
Step 3 - lift baby's bottom and place liner underneath.  Make sure it's fanned out as widely under the bottom as possible.  The main purpose is to keep poop off of the diaper and to help prevent rash.
 step 4
Step 4 - fold up the front of the diaper like so.  The rock is there only for the picture - the diaper kept unfolding in the breeze!
step 5
Step 5 - pin the diaper.  I always pin with one hand in the diaper, just in case I get clumsy with the pin.  If you're scared you'll prick the baby, just go slowly until you get more comfortable. 
step 6
Step 6 - Put on the waterproof diaper cover.  This is a homemade siliconized nylon cover.  light, but a bit slippery.
 Step 7 - now you have to deal with a soiled diaper.  If the diaper is only wet, no problem.  Just rinse the diaper out with a little of your water (this isn't necessary if you have a long way to go until your next water source), wring it as dry as you can, then pin it to the outside of your pack or baby carrier.  It will dry as you hike.  Wash your hands or use a sanitizing gel.

Once the diaper has dried you can place it in a stuff sack or a large plastic bag.  Keep all dirties together in the same sack.  You will wash them all together later.

 If the diaper is poopy, you should dig a cat-hole (6 inches deep, far away from water sources) and bury as much of the poop as you can.  If you are in an area where burying TP is appropriate, you can also bury biodegradable diaper liners.  Never bury the polypropylene liners!  You can bag them as trash or wash them - it's your choice.  Rinse & wring out the soiled diaper and pin to pack or carrier tp dry.  If the poop has gotten everywhere, do the best you can to clean up.  This is when you resort to the large plastic bags.   If you have to put a really dirty diaper into a plastic bag, DON'T leave it out in the sun or you will get a really foul surprise later on.  Put the bag inside your pack and double-bag it if you are afraid the bag might get a hole poked in it.  It's OK to put a very dirty diaper in the same baggie with other dry used diapers.


Cleanup.

Here is the fun part.  I usually prefer to do the washing during our midday lunch breaks, but you can do this at whatever time of day you prefer.  Fill your wash basin (any collapsible waterproof bucket will do, we use a cheap see-through vinyl one from Coghlan's) with water and haul it FAR AWAY from your water source.  Don't put the wash bucket/basin into the water source; use a clean Nalgene or a water bladder to scoop water from the source and then fill the wash bucket.  Once you have used the wash bucket it will be contaminated by soap and feces and you should not place it into a water source.  Also, do not set up to wash in any dry drainages that will flow with water when it rains.  You do not want your waste water remains to be washed back into a water source.  Use your head here and don't pollute streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, springs or ANY water source.

Add soap to the water and manually stir it in.  Keep your soap handy; you may need it.  Add all soiled diapers and any other soiled items you wish to wash.  At this time you may want to use your optional rubber gloves.  Let the diapers soak for a while; your lunch break or once you are in in camp for the day is a good time to do the wash.  Come back to the diapers and begin scrubbing them, applying soap as necessary to items soiled with feces.  The water may get nasty, depending on how bad the baby's output has been and how well the liners have done their job.  As you get items clean, wring them out (you can wring the water back into the bucket or onto the ground; it's your choice) and pile them on a rock or log. 

Once everything has been washed, dump out the wash water.  Return to your source and re-fill the bucket (again, don't put the dirty bucket into the water!), then go back to your laundry.  This is your rinse cycle - repeat the same process as above.  Once all items have been rinsed & wrung out, spread them out to dry in the sun.  Large dead logs or low-hanging bare branches work very well as impromptu "laundry lines." Wash your hands well and follow up with sanitizing gel. If you need to move on, damp diapers can be pinned onto the outside of your packs or child carriers. 

When you re-use a washed diaper, be sure to use a clean liner.   Field washing will never get the diapers quite as clean as a good washing machine "heavy duty" was cycle will, so the liners help protect your baby's bottom from rashes!  Polyproplylene liners can actually be machine-washed and reused multiple times, but I would never re-use them after a field washing.

If you have ANY suggestions on how to improve the system, or how to reduce some of the weight, please email me.  tarbubble at yahoo dot you-know-what.
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1