Cloth diapers?

[mommyto6]

I've been using cloth on my dc for about 1 1/2 yrs now. I started when I had 4 in diapers. I've never clothed a newborn as my youngest were about 6 months old when I started. My favorites & the easiest to deal with are the Bum Genius All-In-One (Target has them, but not the cheapest place to buy them there). I also really like the Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers as far as absorbency & keeping their clothing dry.

There are a few different types of diapers. Here is a link that will give you lots of great information on using cloth.

Jillian's Drawers - How to use cloth diapers

They also have a try cloth for $10 program where you get several different kinds for about $100, try them, decide which ones, if any, you like & send the rest back for a refund. Here's a link to info on that.

Jillian's Drawers - Try cloth diapers for $10, cloth diaper trial

As far as washing the diapers. It's not really that much more. I already have TONS of laundry with 6 dc, so adding in a load every 2 days is not that big of a problem. I have a hanging diaper laundry bag in my laundry room. I dump the contents in the toilet (if necessary) & throw the diaper in the bag. When the bag is full I wash them, and the bag. It does take a little longer than a regular load of laundry though, I do a rinse, then HOT wash full cycle, then double rinse to make sure all the detergent is out.

Here's one more link with a wealth of info about cloth diapers, There's also a swap section where you can buy sell cloth diapers.

Diaper Swappers - Cloth Diaper & Parenting Community

If you have any more question just ask
HTH!!

[cheapkittymom]

I do. I started CDing my son when he was a newborn but after his umbilical stump fell off. New mom, I was just nervous about it.

I really don't find it to be much work at all. I do a load of diapers every other day. I do laundry every day anyway, so it's not a big deal. We do use disposables at night. So, a package lasts forever.

Honestly, to never have to run to the store because you are out of diapers is wonderful. I also never have to search for deals on them.

I bought prefolds and Bummis covers and purchased my entire stash for about $100 - $150. I bought two sizes, infant and regular sized prefolds. These diapers have lasted me from when my son was a few weeks old to now. He is 13 months and everything still fits well and should until he hits about 30 pounds.

[jlkhorn]

I used cloth on ds and loved it. We used Fuzzi Bunz. The washing really was no trouble at all. I had enough diapers to last 2-3 days so I wasn't washing every night. Definitely check out diaperswappers.com. That's where I bought most of my diapers and sold them when it was time to size up. Some diapers have better resale value than others but overall I probably sold them for 75%-80% of my cost, then put that money into buying the next size up. With the Fuzzi Bunz I started with x-small when he was a newborn and he wore them about 2 months. Then he wore small for about 5 months, then medium until we stopped using them. The x-small can be bought used in excellent condition since they aren't used very long. They also have excellent resale value when you're done with them. The smalls are pretty good for resale too. Most babies wear mediums for a long time so sometimes it's harder to find them.

Overall cloth diapers saved us a TON of money, not to mention they were more comfy for ds, better for the environment, and better for ds's skin as they aren't loaded up with chemicals like disposables. I definitely think you should give it an honest try. You may need to try several different kinds before you settle on ones you love, but that's where diaperswappers comes in handy. You can try one or two of a specific style at a reduced cost, then sell it if you don't like it or buy more if you do (new or used). Good luck!

[tinabohio]

Originally Posted by TheWoman As far as convienence goes, disposables are hands down the winner. Not only can you just toss the mess, but if you don't change baby for several hours the diaper isn't going to leak. They also are less likely to leak or need changing during the night.

ACTUALLY, the mess isn't supposed to be tossed into the garbage. If you do a search on the Pampers website, they say to place the solids into a toilet. So, if I am going to be doing things right and correctly disposing of the bowel movements, why not skip the chemicals and go with cloth? I have also not had one leak at night or blowout since switching to cloth. No blowouts is awesome in my book. I haven't had to change my cloth diapered since October 2007 baby at night in a very long time. I think I did it the first week she was in cloth because I was used to doing it with the sposies. Between the chemical rashes and leaks at night in every brand, cloth has been incredible.

I use premium prefolds in Motherease Air Flow covers for at night. Bullet proof for us. During the day she can be in underwear now or sometimes a flat or one of our BumGenius or GADs. I also have a couple of Swaddlebees. I prefer the GADs and BGs though out of pockets. Prefolds and flats with pins will always be my favorites. I was a little afraid, but they work great and during the summer last year my girl ran around in a prefold with no cover most of the time. I added fleece to one side down the middle for a little bit of waterproofing help and she loved it. I was able to tell that she was starting to get into spacing out her pees and able to hold it in longer. It was interesting and good to know.
Now if I put a paper diaper on her (well, grandma insists and they are at least 7th Generation so less chemicals on the genitals), she tries to get it off and insists she is going to use the potty !
I even cloth diaper the neighbors baby when I watch her. We were able to better tell when she had bowel upset because the pamper soaked up a bit and the prefold showed it. She was able to call the doc and get advice without guessing. She appreciated it, can't use cloth at home with her washer that's dying and a pending divorce; but she liked being able to see what was exactly going on.

My only regret is not making a diaper sprayer! If we end up pregnant with #3 at some point (I'm hoping for sooner than later ) I will be building a sprayer!

[Michar]

another thing to consisder..if he is predictable with his pooping habits just sit him up on the toliet... that way you don't even have to mess with diapers... this is what we did with dd at a very early age... very rarely having to clean up poop diapers is so worth it :) and to have a 13 month old who rarely needs a diaper change is awesome ( we do still have to sit her on the potty every 2-3 hours though)

[loladooder99]

I may or may not be expecting my second child. If not then later this year we will be trying to get pregnant agian. With my first baby i wanted to cloth diaper but my husband was totally agianst it. But now that I see that I changed atleast 80 percent of the diaper I want to save money and cloth diaper. What are your experiences with it what brands of cloth diapers did you like and which were the cheapiest. I looked into bum genius the first time.

[BinahYeteirah]

I love cloth diapering. Once you get used to it (which can take a little while), it is second nature. I have cloth diapered all three of my kids; at this point it would be harder for me use disposables!

I could give you all kinds of thoughts about which cloth diaper brands are best, but I really think that these preferences are highly personal. My best advice is not to buy an entire system of one type of diaper before you even try them out on a real baby. It's good to buy several different types that appeal to you and see which you like best. Try the super basic prefolds-and-covers, fitted diapers, and a fancy AIO (like Bum Genius). Different babies fit the diapers differently and parents have their preferences, too.

If getting the cheapest system possible is a priority for you, prefolds and covers are it. You can always supplement with a few AIOs for outings, daddy, or babysitters. Buying used from places like eBay and diaperswappers.com can also help with costs, especially when you are just trying things out to see if you like them.

HTH!

[mommytaylor]

My 16 month old wears Skinny Large Snap Ez AIOs. He'll easily wear them to potty training. We do have a few GMD yellow edge infant prefolds for when DS gets diaper rash (very breathable, helps clear it up) and a couple small Firefly fitteds I use for naps.

I'm yet to find a cover I really like... love wool, but I'm allergic :sad: I've tried them all and mostly stick to the old dappi covers Hey, they're trim!


We do use disposables at night. No way any cloth would hold up to him at night (I've tried tons), night diapers get ammonia stink buildup easier in my experience, and DS wakes up because he is wet... even if I use stay dry inners.


We've CD'd since he was a day old. Mostly prefolds in the beginning as he was 5lbs so hard to fit anything, and they pee/poo ALL the time as newborns. Fleece pants (100% polyester) make GREAT covers for the prefolds too! Easy to wash and cheap Good luck!

[elemonj]

I have been cloth diapering since DD was 1 mo. old. I started with only about 8 diapers thinking I would od it part time. It has saved us sooooo much $!!! I actually bought all my diapers used off diaperswappers .com and have resold some that we were done with and nearly broke even. I also use cloth wipes since I am washing diapers anyhow. It is not much extra work washing the wipes. I make my own wipes solution which is sooo easy. I used 100% cotton (like t-shirt material) for wipes that I found at Joanns. This t-shirt material is awesome because you just cut it to the desired length, no sewing the edges needed, it does not fray. Hand made wipes are very expensive IMO and it was such an investment for the diapers that I chose the cheap route for wipes.
I have use so many different diapers and Fuzzy bunz by far are my favorite. The one size diapers are very bulky for babies. I hate velcro! But I know everyone is different. I have lots of extra inserts and I stuff the night diapers very heavily and we usually don't ahve leaks. As you baby gets older you may have leaks here and there, then you just tweak how/ how much you stuff the diapers and usually you find a groove again. I don't like to use diaposable at night because she leaks nearly everytime. SHe is a stomach though.
I highly recomend the FUzzi Bunz. I have kept all my smaller fbs for this upcoming baby.
Oh and I tried doing the cloth part time and I really found it to be difficult because you had to have 1 garbage can for diaposables and one pail for cloth, just took up so much more room. Then since it is only p/t you don't have enought to wash a decent size load of diapers so you eithor wash a tiny load which wastes water and soap or you save up the dirties till you have a bigger load and by then they are really stinky.
I felt the way was to do it Full time. It would be good to try them to see if you liek them, but after that I recomend full time. It really isn't too bad. Good luck

[loladooder99]

I Just got through trying my Bum Genius 3.0 and they are in the wash. I LOVE LOVE them. The velcro doesn't bother me and i don't think they are bulky really. THey are bigger then a disposable but my son who has worn disposables up to now at 13 months didn't even pay any attention to it. He didn't even pee through it at night unlike with the disposables his onsie would always be wet.