Summer is in full swing and we are basically living in the pool. Our Pearl Girl is a total water baby and wants to kick and splash just like her big brother. We have a few specific cloth swim diapers for her to use, but I want to let you in on a little secret I learned with the Bear. Almost ANY cloth diaper can work as a swim diaper. It’s true! We have used Bummis, Bumgenius, and Softbums shells as swim diapers and they all work perfectly.
Why do I love this little cloth diaper hack? It gives me variety and less stress. I don’t have to worry about buying expensive disposable swim diapers or wondering if my one little swim diaper is clean and dry. All I have to do is grab a shell from our stash and head to the pool. Anything that makes life with littles easier is a win in my book.
My favorite diapers to use as swim diapers are Soft Bums Echos and Bumgenius 4.0s. They are trim enough to fit under any swim suit and work really well to hold in poop and are also super easy to clean.
I’ve written before about how much money you can save using cloth swim diapers. We really stick to it and have never bought or used a disposable swim diaper in 3 years. We’ve saved a LOT of money.
I will say that you want to be careful exposing your favorite diaper to chlorine or salt water. However, serving as a swim diaper is a perfect use for those shells that are getting a little faded or losing their waterproofing. Or if you think like me, totally an excuse to buy a super cute diaper just for swimming. 😉 Head over to Kelly’s Closet and check out their selection of swim diapers and regular cloth diapers for your little swimmer.
I’ve always wondered about this. Sharing on my FB now! 🙂
This hack came at the best time, the start of summer, was wondering what to do with my 3 mo old.
Such a cool tip. I’m loving learning all about cloth diapers!!
I never thought to use diapers that aren’t my go-to diapers.
We use a Kawaii diaper as a swim diaper! Works great!! And it’s one size, so no buying more next summer!
Great Idea!
My son quickly outgrew the swim diapers we had for him, glad i wont have to go out and buy what i already have available in my stash! Thanks:)
I laughed at this post. I do this almost everyday. Living on the lake is amazing but if I used only a specific swim diaper we would be in trouble. I use any pocket shell I have at the moment handy I usually stick with the snaps just because it seems to stay on better.
I just found out we are pregnant with our first baby!! Yay! I already know I want to use cloth diapers and have had fun browsing and reading all about the different cloth diapers. Thanks for the great post… I hope out baby is a water baby like I was!!
This reminded me to pull out all the old diapers from my last son for my new baby, that weren’t in great shape for summer!
Thanks for passing this along! I have some cloth dipes that rarely make it into my normal rotation that I will repurpose as swim dipes if using a pool. Great to know I can just use regular cloth on beach days when swim dipe is dirty!
Perfect timing! I wasn’t looking forward to buying swim diapers for two kids.. We have a ton of one sized diapers. Thanks for the idea!!
Good to know as I start building our stash for our July arrival!
This is a cool diaper hack.
Thanks for the tips.
It’s good to know I can use any diaper shell as a swim diaper!
I went ahead and purchased a couple of Imse Vimse cloth swim diapers from Kelly’s Closet of course…the prints were pretty cute and I didn’t have to worry about ruining the cloth diapers that I had (I’m new to CDs so I didn’t have any old ones to use). My son looked pretty darn cute in his “baby-speedo” this past weekend.
I always use an old diaper I dont like that much.
This is a great tip! Thanks 🙂
Good to know! I will try it with one of my Bumgenius 4.0’s.
I never thought about using a shell. This was great advice….thanks!
My little girl is starting to out grow some covers and these would be great as swim diapers. Thanks for the advice.
I thought so! I’ve got a pile just waiting for a dip in the lake!
Good to know! We are going swimming for the first time soon 🙂
I love the idea of cloth diapers as swim diapers! It gives me so many more options for color and design.
Great idea for families on a tight budget!
I always love tips that save money!
I was needing a swim diaper but now I can use a pocket that’s just been sitting unused!
I wouldn’t have thought of using a pocket shell. Will have to try it with some of my worn out pockets when my baby is older next year.
Wish I would have known this with my son. I just recently learned this with my daughter though and am glad to not be buying disposable swim diapers as she is also a little fish who would live in the water if I let her
This is great advice! Love all these money saver ideas
I had just learned you can use a cloth in place of a swim but only to use one that is ready for the waste bin as the chlorine isn’t good for the diapers
Someone gifted me with a swim diaper but it’s good to know about this option as a backup!
Totally didn’t know that! Very helpful
Good to know! I’ll have to try this next time we go to the pool!! This was super helpful because I never quite knew what to do and I’m too cheap to buy a special swim diaper. 😉
This was very helpful! =)
This is a great tip! I always wondered if there was an easier way than to purchase a swim diaper!
I will be at the beach with my three month old soon- this is great to know!
As we have run out of all the hand me down disposable swim diapers (unused of course) the post about swim diapers was especially helpful for me
Thank you for sharing this tip! Is there any insert I should have in the shell so it functions just like a disposable swim diaper?
No, disposable swim diapers are essentially just a shell as well.