Cloth Diapering in a Pinch

I’ll never forget the time I was caught diaperless, something fervent cloth diaperers 

vow won’t happen, and one of the wonderful things about using cloth. Well, it 

happened to me. My son and I were out running errands (he was around two 

months old at the time) and decided to make an impromptu stop at my husband’s 

office (about 45 minutes away from home). My son was still in the breastfeeding 

blowout stage, so we were going through at least twelve diapers a day. Needless to 

say, I had not prepared accordingly and we were caught without a diaper.

Thankfully, I was a full-time prefold diaper user at the time, so I was able to pull out 

a spare cover and use…a receiving blanket to fashion into a makeshift diaper. From 

that time on, I made sure to always keep a spare Snappi and cover in my diaper bag 

for those “just in case” kind of moments. Over time, I was better able to anticipate 

the number of diapers we would need for outings, always packing one or two extra, 

but I did find myself caught another time or two once my son entered toddlerhood 

(and diaper changes became more ‘predictable’). 

If you’re adept at cloth diapering, then you’ll find you can be very creative in 

‘emergency’ situations. We all seem to be gifted an insane number of receiving 

blankets, so keeping a few spare blankets in your car isn’t a bad idea. After 

forgetting to pack a wet bag in my diaper bag (they were still on the drying rack at 

home), I fished a spare disposable grocery bag from my car to contain a dirty diaper; 

I would later add that bag to my diaper bag, again, for “just in case” moments (and 

my spare bag came in handy on multiple occasions).

Even if you don’t diaper with flats, fitteds, or prefolds, I suggest purchasing a one-

size cover to keep on-hand in your diaper bag – you never know when it might come 

in handy! You know those cute bloomers people use over disposable diapers? I was 

gifted a few at my baby shower, and kept them, despite not knowing what I would 

ever use them for (especially because I have a boy who doesn’t wear pretty dresses). 

Those bloomers came in handy when my son had a nasty diaper rash; I folded a 

prefold or added an insert into the bloomers to give added security against messes 

while my son was able to “air out” his tush. 

So, when a cloth diaper emergency situation arises, remain calm and remind 

yourself that, by nature of cloth diapering, you’re able to become a Cloth Diaper 

McGyver – you’ve got this!

A freelance writer and skilled ghostwriter, Lauren Stevens proudly, and dually, wears 

the hats of both toddler-wrangler and wordsmith. You can find Lauren’s writing in The 

Huffington Post and Scary Mommy, in addition to her blog, lo-wren.com.