Cloth diapering and E.C. while traveling

On our first trip by plane with a 7 month old we couldn’t decide how to handle diapering and EC or elimination communication (a type of infant potty training) for the week. We used cloth diapers most of the time and were doing elimination communication since she was less than 5 months old. Did we want to take a break from it all and just do disposable diapers?

The thought of not using the potty really didn’t sit well with me. Our baby was getting so good at using it, I didn’t want to take a break, especially with the poops. I mean I haven’t had to clean up after a poopy diaper for more than a few weeks! Also since we would be spending most of our time at the pool we were bringing cloth diaper covers anyway as swim diapers. After that decision was made the rest was just logistics.

We decided that the best situation for us was to use disposable diapers for the days that we would be flying and the one day that we planned on driving almost 5 hours. It was more convenient for us all but more importantly she wouldn’t feel the wetness while sitting.

For elimination communication we brought the baby potty which is smaller than a regular toddler potty and it really didn’t take up a lot of room. We focused on using the potty after every time she woke up, before using the pool, and for poops. We were successful about half the time.

For cloth diapers we used flat fold because it is just one sheet of cotton that can be folded into an insert with a cover. The flat was easy to wash and dry in the washing machine at the hotel, but it was also easy enough just to wash in the sink and hang to dry.

Another item that we made sure to have with us was a wet bag to store the dirty diapers before washing them. It was very handy since we always had wet swimsuits with us as well.

Honestly the whole experience was a lot less stressful than I expected it to be. Surprisingly, I think even with the baby potty we used up less room in the suitcase than we would have had to with packing disposable diapers. It fit into our travel really well and we didn’t have to worry about diaper rashes that could happen with disposable, not to mention creating less garbage and that makes everyone happy!