Traveling with Baby? Cloth Diapering Tips to Help

Are you planning to head out for a short vacation with baby in tow? Worried about diaper changes and whether you’d be able to use your cloth diapers when traveling? Yes, traveling with baby can be quite overwhelming for a new mom and when you add cloth diapers to the mix, it can become tougher still, right?
Well, you can set your fears aside.

Here are some cloth diapering tips and ideas to make travel time easy and stress-free for both baby and you:

1. Use Extra Absorbent Inserts

Firstly, reach for extra absorbent inserts that can keep baby feeling dry for longer than regular cotton inserts. Hemp inserts are great for travel time and we’re thrilled to be introducing them this month to the Smart Baby India family.

2. Pack Cloth Diapers That Suit Baby and YOU

Also, think about your cloth diapering style when choosing diapers to carry along. Would you like the ease and reusability of a Flip? Or would you prefer an All-in-One diaper, like the bumGenius Freetime?

Also, before you travel, track the number of diapers that your baby usually goes through during the day, so that you know how many diapers to carry. Always, add in a few extra to accommodate any diaper disasters.

3. Pack a Travel Diaper Bag 

Your travel diaper bag should consist of diapers, diaper wipes, disinfecting solution , a wet bag to hold the dirty diapers in and a changing pad. Since finding readymade wet bags is so difficult and next to impossible in India, I’d recommend looking at stores like Mother Care or making your own. Here’s an easy tutorial to help you sew your own wet bag or get someone to do it for you.

4. Cloth Diaper Care When Traveling 

Finally, how do you wash and clean cloth diapers when staying in a hotel? Simple. Either use the hotel’s laundering facility and give them your own baby detergent to use or wash them in the bathroom sink. Fill the sink with water, add a squirt of baby detergent and let the diapers soak, agitate the water. Let them soak a while before rinsing them clean. You can dry them under the fan if your hotel room doesn’t have a balcony, using the hangers and racks provided.
There, see, cloth diapering when traveling is not difficult. With the right kind and amount of diapers, it can be just as easy as using disposables, plus your bundle of joy stays rash-free, comfy and cutely diapered all the while!

How do you keep up with cloth diapering when out and about? 

Photo Credit: Mrs.Flinger

Winter Travel with Baby

Wintertime is usually holiday time! Shorter holidays than summer but reason enough to head out. This is the best season to drive out towards the countryside, enjoy rural bliss, fresh air and pure nature.


 Taking the kids is all about a family experience, letting children enjoy the wilderness and feeling a sense of freedom they don’t find in the city. 


Over the last decade the highways have gotten better and so have the getaways.


 So if you are planning a road trip with baby, then all you need is a plan, a place and of course ...packing! 


Keep these few essentials in mind when you pack and keep your baby, happy, healthy and cosy through the trip.

Winter Travel Packing Tips for Moms

1.       An extra set of cap and mittens/gloves: While it's likely that your baby will already have these on, it doesn't hurt to have a second pair with you. The good thing about add-ons is that once the car warms up, you just remove layers like caps and mittens.

2.       Fleece lined boots/booties: While they won't always leave socks on, ankle high boots are there to stay. Body heat escapes from the head and the feet, if you keep the feet warm, baby will be relatively comfortable on the road with you. If your baby is too small for boots, then fur lined baby booties work just as well, they tie around the ankle and stay in place for hours.

3.       A sleeper sack or baby sleeping bag: If your baby is close to nap time, and it's going to be a while before you reach a pit stop, take him out of bulkier clothes or snowsuit and place him in a sleep sack or sleeping bag. Many sleep sacks are made of fleece and are very warm. A sleep sack can also make a feeding go much more smoothly because your baby will be more comfortable. For older children, a child sized sleeping bag works just as well, even while at a pit stop, baby can take a nap anywhere, in the car while you rest or in a restaurant while you eat.

4.       Full sleeve/full leg onesies: This is a great layering piece for under sweat suit or snow suit, depending on the weather. It is a good idea to pack a thinner pair and a fleece pair so you are geared for days and nights. The thin pair can be layered while the fleece can be worn alone. This way when you carry baby and clothes move around, a cold draft never reaches the baby’s skin.

5.       Cloth diapers: Cloth diapers are natural, comfortable and more absorbent. Our FLIP day packs are ideal for travelling. Flip diapers give Moms flexibility because they can reuse the cover.  When travelling you can have a wet bag/diaper bag with you that keep’s the stink in the bag for used inserts until you are at a place to wash them. If you wish to go organic you can choose from bumGenius Elemental and FLIP inserts, apart from these all cloth diapers have exclusive benefits that range from rash free materials to longer dryness.

Enjoy the holidays!!

Cloth Diapers: The Gift of Comfort

Its Christmas season and everyone is pandering around for the ideal gift. Most of us veer towards the toy section when it comes to gifts for babies but the truth is at age 1 or 2, babies don’t know or care about the difference between the lovely toy nana bought or the box it came in. Whichever of the two looks more interesting is the ‘toy’ they like. This year make a conscious decision to send or give gifts that have meaning, utility and a long lasting effect in the lives of your loved one. Another great thing about utility based unique gifts is that they provide your loved ones with a new perspective and allow them to experience something …well, new! This introduction to new products, techniques, services is a mind opener and can lead to many changes in the person’s life and world.

Cloth Diapers: A Gift for Every New Mom

This year we at Smart Baby suggest you give a bumGenius or Flip cloth diaper for the babies in your family and among your friend circle. 


Give your mommy friends and relatives an opportunity to experience something that’s both new and modern, despite the fact that cloth diapering is actually the oldest method of diapering. Except back in the day, no one thought of inserts, all-in-ones, flaps and tabs. The number one reason for a gift like this is the comfort factor! 

Why Cloth Diapers Make Great Gifts

Babies are comfortable if they are changed when they need to be. Good hygiene can go a very long way to prevent diaper rash.  Our bumGenius Elemental Diaper and Flip Organic Insert is made of 100% natural organic soft absorbent cotton and are gentle on baby's skin. Cotton is a breathable material allowing fresh air to freely circulate, cooling and preventing diaper rash.

Cotton is kinder and more comfortable to baby's skin than paper or stiff plastic and contains no irritating perfumes or chemicals. The interior of single use disposable diapers do not breathe well and therefore can be at a much higher temperature. Parents tend to change single use disposable diapers less often than cloth diapers increasing the risk of diaper rash as heat and moisture provide an excellent medium for bacterial growth.


 Innovative cloth diaper designs provide a slim, tailored fit. Washable Stay Dry Liners keep moisture away from a child's skin. 


The fit, natural softness and dryness are all there for baby's cotton comfort so choose from the great colors in our bumGenius Elemental seriese and give the gift of organic cotton to special baby in your family this year. 

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas this year from the SmartBaby family and the wonderful brands we love bumGenius, Flip and Econonbum cloth Diapers. 

Colour me Comfy: Coloured Cloth Diapers to Brighten Up Baby's Wardrobe

It’s not always complexion that determines what colours suit us and the same applies to babies as well. 


Babies are lucky enough to have a big cuteness factor which allows them to look lovely in whatever they wear yet every parent and even baby has a preference. 


Gone are the days of blues for boys and pinks for girls, it’s all about hues, patterns and prints and babies are having a lot of fun in what they wear now. 


While it is true that young infants don't distinguish colours as well as older ones but by two months of age, most babies can tell the difference between most colours and white. But the question is do they prefer particular colours?

Studies show that babies can see colours at birth though often they will have trouble distinguishing similar tones. For this reason many babies prefer to look at black and white patterns or objects with similarly highly contrasting motifs in the early days. 


The ability to distinguish colours develops rapidly, and as early as 3-4 months old some babies begin to show a preference for certain colours. In the beginning a baby’s brain works hard to learn and tell colours apart. 


So it’s important for parents to notice a baby’s particular fondness for a colour and present them with an opportunity to make self decisions this early in life. Have fun and let baby experiment, lay out an array of coloured toys (for smaller infants, just 2 will do) and note if baby gravitates to similar tones again and again!

Once you are aware of your babies colour preferences it is easier to give them opportunities to pacify themselves with colours they enjoy and have developed a fondness and familiarity with. What a wonderful way to watch your baby become a complete and thinking person?! 


Patterns come in a bit later though it’s never too early to pick a theme for baby’s nursery and watch how they relate to objects and designs, yet you will always see your baby notice colour, first! It is these interesting developments that make parenting so enriching as an experience. 


Now when you step into baby stores you are overwhelmed with styles, colours, comfort and more, so why not extend the same to diapering ...it’s time to see that cute little ‘bum’ crawling across the hallway jazzed up with some colour!


 What do you think?