Recently in the Spring Issue of Green Child Magazine, EC Wear's Diaper Belts were featured in a cloth diaper article. For myself and several others, I am sure this was the first many have heard of “diaper belts,” so I thought they'd be a perfect fit for my Uncommon Cloth series!
So…Diaper Belts! 
What are Diaper Belts?
Diaper Belts are typically used for Elimination Communication and potty training. They're a quite simple concept. They gently hold a prefold or homemade diaper on the baby or toddler making it easy for them to remove it and use the potty. Diaper belts make diaper changes easily and eliminate the need for cloth diaper fasteners like snappis or pins.
Diaper Belts provide a gentle fit, come in various sizes and are made from a variety of materials. They can be used with or without a waterproof cover and in my opinion would also be perfect for holding on a primitive wool cover or wrap for nighttime diapering, naps and car rides.
Wait, can we go back to Elimination Communication? So, this is the first you've heard of EC? EC is the practice of going diaper free. Mothers very early on begin to recognize and respond to their babies cues and place them on a potty. From birth through toddlerhood, EC'ing takes dedication and close supervision. The rewards…no need for diapers and extremely early potty learning. EC'ing saves you money and is extremely environmentally friendly, if you have the time to spend practicing it.
It's also important to note that EC'ing can be practiced as little or as much as you choose. Keep in mind, every time you recognize and respond to baby's cues you'll be saving yourself a disposable diaper or having to wash a cloth diaper!
So tell me, had you previously heard of Diaper Belts or Elimination Communication? Would you like to learn more? Make sure you visit EC Wear and check out the great information and products designed to help you live a diaper free life! There's even a book called Diaper Free Baby that will guide you through learning to EC.
I'm Julie, a former cloth diaper retailer who discovered a passion for the industry. Now, instead of selling cloth diapers, I advocate them and promote small businesses I love who sell and manufacture them.
I'm the wife of a fireman and mother of three. I have a daughter and identical twin sons.
Melanie says
It’s worth mentioning that EC does not have to be all-or-nothing. Check out Christine Gross-Loh’s “The Diaper-Free Baby”- you can choose to potty your child when they are most likely to need to eliminate (after feeding, at diaper changes, upon waking, when they cue you by their actions) and still use diapers the rest of the time. It’s still effective this way without having a newborn pooping on you all the time :)
Julie says
Thanks Melanie! You’re absolutely right. I just added that! Thanks.
Amber says
I make my own diaper-belts. For my very active boys it made diapering so much easier! A simple casing of wool or knit fabric, slide a piece of elastic through, sew at the ends to close the casing and hold the elastic in place. I used a skirt hook and loop (lays flat nicely) for a closure, but you could use snaps or velcro. Works like a charm and my boys prefer it over the snappi, pins or boingo.
Mandy - Frugal Full Time Mom says
I have been practicing EC since my son was 7 weeks old (now 2years). I am looking for easier ways to have my daughter go diaper free sooner. I think I will be looking into diaper belts, as they seem like a good option to work with all my pre-folds.
Rachel Z says
This is a very interesting concept! We love our prefolds, but this would be so much easier once DD is mobile. I’m glad I came across this post!
Tracy Adler says
Wow, this was an interesting read that is for sure! I honestly had no ckue about diaper belts until i read this blog. I have read a lot about elimination communication and figured i might try it soon since im a domestic animal trainer, and im naturally attuned to watching cues in animals, it should be similar in humans. Im very intrigued! Thanks for the interesting read.
Tracy Adler says
What an interesting read. I have been reading about elimination communication for some time now. Ive been thinking about trying it soon as im a domestic animal trainer so i am naturally attuned to visual cues from animals. People ahouldnt be much different. Thanks for the awesome idea. I love the diaper belt idea.
Brooke says
How interesting! I’ve never heard of a diaper belt before. This also got me more interested in EC. I have one not quite ready to potty train and one on the way. I’ll need all the tips I can get!
KimBEARly says
We use AIOs, but we have some good friends who use prefolds. I wonder if they’ve heard of these?
Sarah Hanna says
How interesting! Have to look into this more!
Jennifer says
Interesting. I’m not sure I’d have the dedication for EC. I like the idea of the belt for potty training though.
Rachel N says
Never heard of this before! I have heard of EC, we don’t really do it but I do put my daughter on the little potty sometimes and she does sometimes use it.
Jen Kleinot says
I’ve heard of EC, but this is the first I’m hearing of diaper belts. EC just isn’t for me in all honesty. I guess it’s gaining momentum now? At least that’s how it feels, since I seem to be hearing about it more and more often now!
Erin B. says
Interesting! I had heard of EC before, but never the belts. Sounds like a great concept!
Kaitlin says
I had never heard of them before that is sooo cool maybe the hubby could figure out how to do a prefold then huh!!
Michelle T says
I’m confused… How does it stay on? Wouldn’t it just slide up or down once baby starts wiggling? I’m intrigued… More photos of your little guy wearing it?
Heidi says
I love the idea of ec and have seen it in action in many of the small pacific islands we visited, but the time commitment it takes for someone who lives in a conventional house, life etc. is more than I am willing to take on….at this point. Maybe someday when we live in a small hut on a tropical island…….dream……:)
Allison O'Connor says
Never heard of diaper belts but have heard of EC on my diaper chats. I only did it after bath with my 1st. She would always pee while I dried her off so I dried her off on the toilet!
Danielle D says
I had never heard of such a thing! I agree with everyone else, this is something to think about. I do have a feeling that this could come in handy.
Sara Walden says
This is cool, I’ve never heard of EC’ing until now. I may have to give it a try when my son starts potty training.
Katie Jurisch says
Never heard of diaper belts. Why not just use trainers? Seems like one more thing to teach your kids when you could skip this and go right to training underwear. I love the concept of EC, though! Thanks for sharing.
Leigh Ann H. says
This is an interesting concept. We just started potty training, and I’m on the hunt for some good ways for her to start doing some of the work.